NHL Articles - Page 162

The Florida Panthers knew they would lose a few players in NHL Free Agency. One player they did not want to lose, though, was forward Sam Reinhart. Reinhart played a vital role in helping the Panthers win their first Stanley Cup this year, and he would have been tough to replace. Florida worked on a […]

The New York Islanders hired Patrick Roy as head coach midway through the 2023-24 season. New York struggled to remain the hunt for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And they hoped Roy — coming off a successful stint with the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts — could steer them in the right direction. In the end, it worked. […]

The Florida Panthers don’t have many things to change about their past four months. They went on a dominant run through the Stanley Cup Playoffs, ending in a Game 7 win over the Edmonton Oilers. There were concerns about losing their leading goal-scorer Sam Reinhart to free agency, but the parties agreed to an eight-year, […]

The Dallas Stars thought they were about to advance to their second Stanley Cup Final of the decade when they had a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference Finals. However, disaster struck when trade deadline pickup Chris Tanev blocked a shot and lost most of his mobility. Tanev may have gotten away with it […]

The Minnesota Wild signed one of their best players to a huge contract in NHL Free Agency. Brock Faber inked an eight-year contract extension with the Wild ahead of the 2024-25 season. This new contract kicks in before the start of the 2025-26 campaign. Faber called this new deal a “dream” for him, and it’s […]

The New York Rangers tried to trade Jacob Trouba earlier in the offseason. Their much-publicized effort came around the NHL Draft. The Rangers reportedly had a deal in place with the Detroit Red Wings. However, Trouba had no interest in going home to Michigan. One complication involved his contract. Not necessarily the money involved as […]

The Columbus Blue Jackets received an update on Patrik Laine rather recently. Laine entered the NHL’s player assistance program during the 2023-24 campaign. However, he recently cleared the program, allowing interested teams to contact him ahead of a trade away from the Blue Jackets. But a trade involving Laine doesn’t appear close, according to general […]

The Utah Hockey Club is about to make its debut in the NHL. Following the sale of the Arizona Coyotes, the Utah HC officially entered the NHL following the 2023-24 season. Utah made a big splash at the NHL draft, trading for Mikhail Sergachev from the Tampa Bay Lightning to announce their arrival. After NHL […]

The Buffalo Sabres have had quite the offseason. They invested in one of their own as goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen signed a new contract after a promising 2023-24 campaign. However, the Sabres bought out Jeff Skinner and shockingly traded Matt Savoie to the Edmonton Oilers. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, to say the least. […]

The New Jersey Devils are hoping the 2024-25 season brings a better outcome than the one before. New Jersey had a ton of promise heading into the year. However, they floundered, fired their head coach, and missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Now armed with Sheldon Keefe behind the bench and an impressive NHL Free Agency […]

The Tampa Bay Lightning don’t have many trade candidates to target. The Lightning have already done plenty of work, with the most controversial coming by letting their longtime captain Steven Stamkos walk to the Nashville Predators. Tampa Bay used Stamkos’ cap space to sign Jake Guentzel to a seven-year contract. They extended Victor Hedman for […]

Pavel Buchnevich may not be a name that hockey fans think deserves an $8 million cap hit from the St. Louis Blues on his contract extension. However, he has been integral for the Blues over the last three seasons. He appeared in 216 regular-season games, ranking third on the team in points, second in goals, […]

The St. Louis Blues are left wondering what they can do to return to the playoffs next season. They were hot down the stretch, led by their defensive core of Torey Krug, Nick Leddy, and Justin Faulk, and almost snuck into a wild card spot. They finished six points short of that spot and fell […]

The Colorado Avalanche made light work of the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the playoffs. There were concerns about their goaltending, but Alexandar Georgiev proved the doubters wrong and outdueled Connor Hellebuyck. It may have said more about the Jets than the Avalanche, but they also gave the No. 1 seed in the […]

It wasn’t an easy 2023-24 season for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The year started with tons of hope as Adam Fantilli made the team out of training camp. However, Patrik Laine fell with an injury after 18 games and then entered the NHLPA’s Player Assistance Program. They hoped for a rebound season from Elvis Merzlikins, […]

Macklin Celebrini is just weeks away from his first National Hockey League training camp with the San Jose Sharks — and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft is ready to help turn the club into a contender. “I couldn’t be more excited,” the 18-year-old phenom said at the Hobey Baker Memorial […]

Ryan Lindgren was on the road to an arbitration hearing, but that will no longer be necessary after the bruising defenseman signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract extension with the New York Rangers on Tuesday. The 26-year-old was a pending restricted free agent, but can now focus on helping the Rangers in their quest for […]

General Manager Craig Conroy and the Calgary Flames have already been busy since he took control of the team. The Flames traded Tyler Toffoli, Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, and Jacob Markstrom over the last 14 months. They’ve added three first-round draft picks, nine young players, and six later-round picks. As much […]

The Florida Panthers won their first Stanley Cup title in 2024. The triumph completed a very long rebuild that started with picking Aaron Ekblad first overall in 2014. The Panthers’ defenseman was outdone by Gustav Forsling and Brandon Montour in the playoffs and is headed to free agency in the 2025 offseason. While he is […]

The New York Rangers are doing whatever they can to finally eclipse the Eastern Conference Finals and compete for a Stanley Cup. They’ve won two games in the East Finals in two of the last three postseasons but haven’t gotten any closer. Their previous trip to the Stanley Cup Final was in 2014, and they […]

The Vancouver Canucks are right up against the salary cap, which is why they may target a trade before the beginning of the regular season. They have just $15,000 projected cap space with 23 players on their active roster, so gaining some flexibility would be at the top of their list. The Canucks made some […]

The Philadelphia Flyers suffered an unfortunate late-season collapse in 2023-24. The Flyers fought for the final wild card spot until the last weeks of the season before ultimately missing the playoffs. Philadelphia had a hold on a Metropolitan Division playoff spot for most of the year. However, they lost that after a brutal run of […]

The Washington Capitals have made some bold moves this offseason. The Capitals traded for Pierre-Luc Dubois in a deal with the Los Angeles Kings. They also picked up Andrew Manigapane and Logan Thompson through trade. Finally, a swap with the Ottawa Senators landed Washington defenseman Jacob Chychrun. The Capitals have gone all out in trying […]

The Seattle Kraken missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2023-24. The ensuing offseason was one of change for the NHL’s second-youngest franchise. Seattle fired head coach Dave Hakstol during the playoffs. And they went all out in NHL Free Agency. The Kraken signed Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson to big contracts this summer. The Kraken […]

The Columbus Blue Jackets are looking to take a step in 2024-25. So far in NHL Free Agency, they have kept their business relatively in-house. The Blue Jackets did sign Sean Monahan to a five-year contract when the market opened on July 1. Since then, though, they’ve signed internal restricted free agents such as Kent […]

The Montreal Canadiens are starting to see their core taking shape. Former first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovksy earned a contract extension after a breakout performance in 2023-24. They did miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2024. But Slafkovsky’s emergence alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield gives Montreal a solid foundation as they continue their rebuild. Montreal […]

The Carolina Hurricanes have seen some players leave town over the years. In NHL Free Agency this year, Jake Guentzel signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Brett Pesce joined the New Jersey Devils, for example. However, they will see a former player return to Carolina during the 2024-25 season. The Hurricanes are retiring the […]

After missing the playoffs for the first time in several years, the Minnesota Wild stayed fairly quiet in NHL free agency. The Wild made a few minor additions, but overall, there wasn’t a ton of turnover. Of course, their hands have really been tied by the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts. The total cap […]

The Montreal Canadiens have been active over the last few days as they signed the rest of their restricted free agents. One player who received a new contract was Kaiden Guhle. The Canadiens signed Guhle to a six-year contract extension that takes effect beginning in the 2025-26 campaign. Guhle finished the 2023-24 season ranking second […]

Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals are gearing up for another long season in 2024-25. The Capitals made the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, but lost to the New York Rangers in the first round. This year, though, there is hope for better days ahead on the ice. After the game, though, players like to […]

Although the Nashville Predators were not expected to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2023-24 after missing the year before, the Preds went on an incredible run in the second half of the season. Nashville won 16 games in 18 tries to put the hockey world on notice, eventually finishing 47-30-5 and occupying the top […]

The Montreal Canadiens locked up their top defenseman of the future, Kaiden Guhle, on a six-year contract extension on Wednesday. Guhle will receive $5.5 million per year, starting in 2025-26. Guhle remains on his entry-level deal for one more year, but the Canadiens felt it was necessary to sign him to an extension once he […]

The Vegas Golden Knights have been one of the best teams in the league since their debut in 2017-18. Their core included players like Shea Theodore, William Karlsson, and Brayden McNabb, but they were never able to get the team over the hump. It took Kelly McCrimmon bringing in players like Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, […]

Tyler Toffoli has been on a long road leading up to his return to California to play with the San Jose Sharks. It’s a bold move for a player who has only been on contending teams in his career, but we have some predictions about Toffoli’s Sharks tenure. Toffoli began his career with the Los […]

Toronto Maple Leafs fans have been asking for a trade shake-up for years. The core four of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares have been unable to get the team past the second round of the playoffs despite their high salaries. The salaries also hurt the development of their young stars like […]

The New York Islanders have made improvements to their forward unit this offseason. They added wingers Anthony Duclair and Maxim Tsyplakov to improve their goal-scoring prowess but there’s no such thing as too many goals in the NHL. While most trades are done, the Islanders can add goals through Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Rutger […]

The Vancouver Canucks finally gave Jake Debrusk his wish and got him away from the Boston Bruins after signing him to a seven-year contract at the beginning of free agency. The Canucks signed him to a $38.5 million contract, which gave him well-needed security. Debrusk revealed recently that he asked for a trade twice during […]

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a trio of impact signings on the opening day of free agency to bolster their team’s defense. Their first move was trading for the rights to Chris Tanev at the draft, who they feel is the key to decreasing their opponent’s scoring chances. It took longer than expected, but the […]

The Boston Bruins have come up short in two consecutive postseasons. They advanced past the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round this year thanks to Jeremy Swayman, David Pastrnak, and Hampus Lindholm. However, they didn’t have the depth to defeat the Florida Panthers in the second round. They tried to address that depth issue […]