Avalanche Reassign Jack Ahcan, Josh Manson Expected To Return
An important piece of the Colorado Avalanche lineup could be back in the near future. The team reassigned defenseman Jack Ahcan in anticipation for Josh Manson‘s return from an upper-body injury sustained in Game 3 of the first round per Peter Baugh of The Athletic. The Avalanche “feel good” about Manson’s chances of returning on Saturday, head coach Jared Bednar told Baugh.
Manson has operated as Colorado’s second-pair right-defenseman behind Cale Makar. His physical, two-way presence was a gut punch behind Colorado’s top pair all season long. Manson marked that impact with 31 points in 79 games, the most he’s scored since the 2017-18 season. He also recorded 99 shot blocks and 174 hits, both ranked second on the team. Manson added two assists, one block, and 10 hits through the first two-and-a-half games of Colorado’s playoff run, before running into injury after just five minutes of ice time.
Ahcan will return to the Colorado Eagles’ run in the Calder Cup Playoffs. He has played in three of the team’s playoff games so far, with no scoring or penalties. Ahcan racked up a career-high 50 points in 61 games with the Eagles this season. He has posted a new scoring peak in each of his three seasons with the Eagles, after beginning his career in the Boston Bruins organization. He will step back into an important, top-four role on an Eagles team already pacing the AHL postseason. The Eagles have won four of their five games and boast a playoff-best +12 goal-differential.
Avalanche Assign Ilya Nabokov To AHL
The Colorado Avalanche’s minor-leaague affiliate has received a boost in the midst of their race for the AHL’s Calder Cup. Goaltender Ilya Nabokov has been reassigned to the Colorado Eagles following the end of his season with Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL’s Gagarin Cup Playoffs semi-finals.
Nabokov spent the season on loan to Metallurg from the Avalanche. He once again filled a starter role in Russia, though this season brought dimmer results than his first two years in the KHL. Nabokov set a 22-7-5 record and a .901 save percentage in 38 games this season and dressed for an additional 21 games as backup. His record shined more than in year’s past, though this was Nabokov’s first KHL season without a save percentage north of .920. He recorded 23 wins in each of the last two seasons, to go with a .930 save percentage in 43 games and a .923 save percentage in 49 games respectively.
The first of those two seasons marked a true breakout for Nabokov. He rocketed up from the Metallurg’s junior roster to their KHL starting role and finished the regular season tied for the sixth-highest save percentage in the league. Not to be outdone, Nabokov then pushed Metallurg – a perennial Gagarin Cup contender – to a championship win with 16 wins and a .942 save percentage in 23 playoff games. That performance shined on NHL draft radars, ultimately earning Nabokov a top-40 selection despite 2024 being his second year of draft-eligibility.
The Eagles have been valiantly led by Trent Miner in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Miner has three shutouts, four wins, and a playoff-best .960 save percentage while playing in all five of the team’s games. He will continue to hold onto Colorado’s starting role, while Nabokov will challenge Isak Posch and Kyle Keyser for the backup chair. Miner would have to decline quickly to make way for Nabokov’s AHL debut, though his move to the Calder Cup Playoffs could be a good sign of his chance at securing a minor-league role next season. Nabokov could also see a recall to the NHL to serve as a third-string goaltender and get reps in with goalie coach Jussi Parkkila per Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette.
Leafs’ John Chayka To Meet With Auston Matthews, Craig Berube
The Toronto Maple Leafs have opened the doors to a new age after hiring John Chayka as general manager and Mats Sundin as a senior advisor. First order of business for the new staff will be finding how they want to define Toronto’s short-term goals – a task helped along by the club’s win at the 2026 NHL Draft lottery. With the top pick in hand, Chayka is now turning his attention towards meeting with the club’s most influential figures – head coach Craig Berube and franchise star Auston Matthews – in the near-future, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic on Thursday’s episode of TSN Overdrive.
There are conflicting reports of if a meeting date has been set yet, though. TSN’s Darren Dreger joined Overdrive to share that Chayka and Matthews do not have a date carved out yet, despite LeBrun’s mention of the inevitable meeting.
Whenever a meeting is held, the question to both Berube and Matthews will likely be the same: what role do you want to play in the Maple Leafs’ next few seasons? Reports have varied on Matthews’ commitment to the club that drafted him first-overall in 2016. He has already secured the franchise record with 428 career goals, passing Sundin’s 420 career goals earlier this season. Matthews also ranks fourth on the club with 780 career points. He has delivered a true star to the Toronto area, though the Maple Leafs weren’t able to turn that asset into postseason success, even with the support of Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares.
Through nine consecutive postseason appearances between 2017 and 2025, Matthews has been the one under the microscope – especially after picking up the team’s captaincy in 2024. His game has faced scrutiny at every level – criticisms that are hard to curb as Matthews attempts to recover from an MCL tear sustained in March of this season. That injury contributed to Matthews only potting 53 points in 60 games this season, his first under a point-per-game since his rookie season in 2016-17.
With two seasons left on a four-year, $53MM contract signed in 2023, Matthews will have to answer the question of if he can handle the heat. The postseason will remain Toronto’s primary goal for as long as Matthews, Nylander, and Tavares are headlining the offense. If those runs will include Berube is yet to be seen, after the Stanley Cup-winning head coach failed to lead the Maple Leafs to the playoffs in his second season with the club. Berube led Toronto to 52 wins last season. He has made the postseason in five of his nine years manning an NHL bench, excluding his mid-season firing from the 2023-24 St. Louis Blues.
Should Matthews want to explore greener pastures, or Chayka decide to move on from Berube, the Maple Leafs would again be faced with having to fill a major hole. Matthews’ departure would bump Tavares into a starring role and clear path for Gavin McKenna – or another choice at first-overall – to move into a spotlight role. Dismissing Berube would make the Maple Leafs a top candidate for coaching free agents like Bruce Cassidy, Dean Evason, Jay Woodcroft, or Gerard Gallant. More changes would only further separate the Maple Leafs from their era of short-lived playoff runs – a task Chayka will begin to face before the 2026 NHL Draft rolls around.
Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.
Nick Suzuki Offers Canadiens A Franchise Cornerstone
The Montreal Canadiens are in the midst of a close playoff race – but no matter the end result, the 2025-26 season will mark another step forward in Montreal’s long-term outlook. Top-line center Nick Suzuki reached 101 points this season, marking the first time a Canadiens player has crested the century-scoring mark since Mats Naslund reached 110 in 1986. Suzuki becomes only the fourth Canadien to reach that mark, joining Naslund and some of the core players in Montreal’s six Stanley Cup wins from the 1970s.
Suzuki’s was undoubtedly propelled by the additions of Lane Hutson, Juraj Slafkovsky, Cole Caufield, and Ivan Demidov – who have each posted breakout years early into their career. Hutson has, specifically, offered a jolt to the Canadiens’ offense – bringing a top-tier playmaking that helped him notch 146 points in the first 166 games of his career. But Suzuki has stood tall in the middle of Montreal’s dynamos, offering a full-ice awareness that has proved pivotal to the Canadiens’ movement up the ice for the last two seasons.
That full-ice ability was honored when Suzuki was named a finalist for the 2026 Selke Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL forward who best excels at the defensive side of the game. Only two players in NHL history have won the Selke Trophy and scored at least 100 points in the same season: Doug Gilmour in 1993, and Sergei Fedorov in both 1994 and 1996. Should he win, the 26-year-old Suzuki would join Hall-Of-Fame-company. Even a nomination emphasizes Suzuki’s ability to provide a top-tier impact on both sides of the ice.
Best yet, the Canadiens’ top center is still at least a couple of years away from his prime – and carries a reasonable $7.88MM cap hit through the 2029-30 season. He checks boxes across the board, locking down Montreal’s top-line and capable of performing next to a rotation of wingers – all at a discount price. Those traits, and Suzuki’s clear hockey IQ, were enough to earn him the title of youngest captain in Canadiens history when he was awarded the ‘C’ at the age of 23, in 2022. Four years later, Suzuki is continuing to find new heights in Montreal, while bringing the lineup along with him. His cohesive playmaking helped propel Caufield to 51 goals this season, second-most in the league to Nathan MacKinnon‘s 53 goals.
The Canadiens have pushed into the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after ending a three-year playoff drought last season. They seem well-set to enter the next decade of NHL action as one of the Eastern Conference’s heavy-hitters, on the back of an emerging roster. While questions still remain for some of their young guns, there is no doubt about Suzuki’s spot in Montreal’s future. With a controlled contract and incredible impacts on both ends of the ice, the Canadiens will move forward with Suzuki in a starring role – with potentially even higher heights still yet to come.
Islanders’ Ryan Pulock Undergoes Shoulder Surgery
New York Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock has undergone surgery to address a shoulder injury that he played through this season per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. Rosner adds that the injury was one of a few Pulock played through this season, and that the veteran defender is expected to be back to full health before training camp next season.
Pulock only missed six games this season, despite battling through a few different ailments. All of those absences came in the second half of the season – with Pulock missing two games in January, three games in March, and New York’s season finale. He otherwise filled a pivotal role in the lineup, standing opposite of rookie-phenom Matthew Schaefer on the Islanders’ top pair. Pulock served as the defensive backbone that helped Schaefer tie Brian Leetch‘s record for most goals by a rookie defenseman in NHL history (23).
On his own, Pulock racked up 27 points, 49 hits, and a team-leading 147 shot blocks on the year. It was his highest-scoring season since he scored 35 points in the 2019-20 season, when much of his year was spent alongside Devon Toews. Pulock also posted the lowest goals-against per 60 minutes of ice time on the Islanders’ blue-line this season, per HockeyStats.com. It was another successful year for the veteran defender – a testament to his impact on the nightly lineup despite an injury-plagued year.
Pulock is signed to a reasonable, $6.15MM cap hit through the 2029-30 season. That contract will help keep his focus solely on returning to full health this summer. He will enter the 2026-27 season looking to continue backing Schaefer’s high-scoring offense. Pulock’s top spot is nearly unrivaled on the depth chart, backed by Scott Mayfield, Adam Boqvist, and pending free agent Tony DeAngelo.
Hockey Canada Releases World Championship Roster
One day after USA Hockey announced the preliminary group that they would be bringing to Switzerland for the 2026 IIHF World Championship, Hockey Canada followed suit. Instead of their preliminary roster, Hockey Canada revealed the final group they’ll bring to the international tournament. It consists of three goalies, eight defensemen, and 12 forwards and is as follows:
Goaltenders
Jet Greaves (Blue Jackets)
Jack Ivankovic (Predators)
Cam Talbot (Red Wings)
Defensemen
Evan Bouchard (Oilers)
Dylan DeMelo (Jets)
Sam Dickinson (Sharks)
Denton Mateychuk (Blue Jackets)
Darnell Nurse (Oilers)
Morgan Rielly (Maple Leafs)
Zach Whitecloud (Flames)
Parker Wotherspoon (Penguins)
Forwards
Mathew Barzal (Islanders)
Connor Brown (Devils)
Macklin Celebrini (Sharks)
Dylan Cozens (Senators)
Emmitt Finnie (Red Wings)
Dylan Holloway (Blues)
Fraser Minten (Bruins)
Ryan O’Reilly (Predators)
Mark Scheifele (Jets)
John Tavares (Maple Leafs)
Robert Thomas (Blues)
Gabriel Vilardi (Jets)
As is typically the case with any iteration of Team Canada, the team will be led by offensive firepower. Celebrini, 19, is a major addition to the team after scoring 45 goals and 115 points in 82 games for the San Jose Sharks in his sophomore campaign. Additionally, Celebrini brought the same talent to the Olympics, where he registered five goals and 10 points in six games. Even being under 20 years old, there’s a worthwhile argument that Celebrini will be the best player at the World Championship.
Sticking to the forward corps, the Canadians are bringing a lot of experience to the team. O’Reilly, Scheifele, and Tavares are all considered longtime veterans at this point and are still producing like top-tier players. Furthermore, Barzal, Cozens, Holloway, Thomas, and Vilardi will not only give Canada a formidable top six but also the ability to put out three strong scoring units.
The questions for Team Canada begin to arise on the blue line. Bouchard will likely be treated as the top option, but he has too many flaws in his defensive game to warrant ice time in all situations. Nurse and Rielly have plenty of experience, but have each seen their play drop off considerably in recent years. Unlike their forward corps, the Canadians may be led by younger defensemen rather than veteran talent.
Interestingly enough, the Canadiens don’t look too bad between the pipes. Greaves was underappreciated in the national spotlight this season, managing a 26-19-9 record with the Blue Jackets with a .908 SV%, 2.60 GAA, and 18.6 Goals Saved Above Average. Although Cam Talbot has played for Team Canada once before, the Canadians may lean on Ivankovic as the backup, who backstopped the University of Michigan to the top team in the NCAA regular season this year.
Latest On Vancouver Canucks GM Search
It appears that the Vancouver Canucks are down to their two finalists for the next General Manager of the organization. According to Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV, Vancouver has begun to tell prospective candidates that they are no longer under consideration, and the team is down to Ryan Johnson and Evan Gold as the finalists.
Johnson, 49, is an obvious choice to take over the Canucks front office, especially considering that the team denied the Nashville Predators permission to interview him. Even if they didn’t consider him a candidate, Vancouver can refuse any team’s interest in their staff, as is their right, but it likely would have lowered their credibility around the league if they denied Nashville and didn’t give Johnson a fair shot.
That’s not to say the Canucks ultimately have to promote Johnson, but he has been with the team for more than a decade and has dramatically improved the state of their AHL affiliate. After his playing career ended following the 2010-11 campaign, Johnson was hired by the Canucks as a development coach in 2013-14. He served in that role for two years before being promoted to the Assistant Director of Player Development in 2015-16.
Since the 2017-18 campaign, Johnson has served as the General Manager of their AHL affiliate and the Assistant General Manager of Vancouver. He spearheaded the transition from the Utica Comets to the Abbotsford Canucks for the 2021-22 campaign and oversaw the team that won the Calder Cup last season.
Meanwhile, Gold would be an outside hire if the Canucks landed on him. Gold has served as the General Manager of the AHL’s Providence Bruins and the Assistant General Manager of the Boston Bruins for several years, being considered more analytical than Johnson. Before that, he served in the legal affairs team in Boston for the Hockey Operations department after obtaining his law degree from the University of Toronto. Unlike Johnson, Gold doesn’t have any professional or even semi-professional playing experience to speak of.
Regardless, today’s update from Dhaliwal shows how much things can change. Only a few days ago, reports indicated that the Canucks had settled on Pierre Dorion as the team’s next General Manager, only to have today’s news indicate he’s no longer under consideration. Considering the lengthy duration of the process and Dhaliwal’s assertion that finalists have been selected, a definitive hiring decision is expected within the next few days.
Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid Named Hart Trophy Finalists
According to an announcement from the league, Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers are the three finalists for the Hart Memorial Trophy. The award is given annually “to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team.”
Although he hasn’t won the award since the 2018-19 campaign, Kucherov becomes a finalist for the league-MVP for the third consecutive year. Despite not leading the league in scoring this season, it’s hard to argue that Kucherov isn’t deserving of the award. Given the number of injuries the Lightning dealt with this season, especially to the defensive corps, there’s no telling how bad the season could have gone if they didn’t have Kucherov’s point-producing offense (although a significant argument can be made that it was Andrei Vasilevskiy doing the heavy lifting).
Most impressively, Kucherov managed his fourth consecutive season in which he managed to register more than 80 assists. His final scoring line was 44 goals and 130 points in 76 games with a +43 rating, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per game. In some of the major scoring categories, Kucherov ranked eighth in goals (44), second in assists (86), second in points (130), third in goals created (46.3), fourth in even-strength goals (35), fourth in goals per game (0.58), first in assists per game (1.13), first in points per game (1.71), and second in goals created per game (0.61).
MacKinnon, on the other hand, has a strong case, being the most dominant player on the most dominant team. Like Kucherov, he has become synonymous with the award over the last several years, finishing in the top five in voting for four consecutive years, and winning the award in the 2023-24 campaign.
He’s already won one major award this year, taking home the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the highest-scoring player. MacKinnon finished with 53 goals and 127 points in 80 games with a +57 rating, averaging north of 22 minutes of ice time per game. Compared to the other finalists, MacKinnon finished first in goals (53), third in assists (74), third in points (127), second in goals created (48.0), first in even-strength goals (42), first in goals per game (0.66), fifth in assists per game (0.93), third in points per game (1.59), and third goals created per game (0.60).
Meanwhile, everything that is true of Kucherov and MacKinnon is true of McDavid. The 29-year-old has already won the award three times and has finished in the top 10 in voting every year of his career after his rookie campaign. As incredible as McDavid has been throughout his career, he quietly had the second-highest scoring season of his career, scoring 48 goals and 138 points in 82 games with a +17 rating, averaging nearly 23 minutes of ice time per game.
Taking home the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s highest-scoring, McDavid finished third in goals (48), first in assists (90), first in points (138), first in goals created (50.5), fifth in even strength goals (34), third in goals per game (0.59), second in assists per game (1.10), second in points per game (1.68), and first in goals created per game (0.62).
Despite each of the three finalists having a strong claim for the award, the conversation can’t be had without mentioning youngster Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks. The language used by the NHL regarding the award, along with the writers who make up the PHWA’s interpretation of it, has sparked considerable debate in recent years.
The argument regarding MacKinnon doesn’t seem as convincing, considering how dominant his teammates on the Avalanche were this year. However, there is a valid point that the Lightning and Oilers might not have made the playoffs this season if they hadn’t had either player available, though this is likely less applicable to the Lightning.
Even though the Sharks didn’t qualify for postseason play, there’s little rationality that the team would have been in striking distance of a playoff spot without Celebrini. The second-year forward scored 45 goals and 115 points in 82 games for the Sharks this season, with the next closest player, Will Smith, finishing with 59 points (albeit in limited action due to injuries). Furthermore, the gap between Celebrini’s and Smith’s point totals, 115 and 59, respectively, is significantly more than the gaps that Kucherov, MacKinnon, or McDavid had on their teams this season.
Regardless, the votes have already been cast, and we’ll find out in a few short weeks which one of the trio will ultimately be named the league MVP for the 2025-26 season.
Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig of USA TODAY Sports.
Avalanche Recall Isak Posch
May 8th: After being reassigned after Game 2, the Avalanche have recalled Posch to the playoff roster ahead of Game 3, according to the AHL’s transactions log. He’ll serve as Colorado’s emergency backup netminder tomorrow night in St. Paul.
May 3rd: The Avalanche recalled goaltender Isak Posch from AHL Colorado on Saturday night, per the AHL’s transactions log. He will once again serve as the Avs’ emergency backup as they kick off their second-round series against the Wild tonight after doing so for their first-round sweep of the Kings.
Colorado initially recalled Posch at the beginning of the postseason. However, with such a lengthy break in between rounds, thanks to their sweep of L.A., Colorado had returned Posch to the minors last Monday so that he would be an option for the Eagles if needed. He didn’t see any action, as usual third-stringer Trent Miner is the Eagles’ clear-cut starter in the Calder Cup Playoffs, in which they’re currently up 1-0 over Henderson in the best-of-five Pacific Division Semifinals after sweeping San Diego in a best-of-three first round.
In the playoffs, unlike in the regular season, NHL teams must dress one of their contracted netminders as their emergency backup if both their dressed starter and backup are forced out of the game. This is to prevent the arena-designated EBUG, much like regular-season “off-the-street” cult heroes David Ayres and Scott Foster, from ever seeing action in a high-stakes postseason environment.
Oftentimes, this will mean a team’s fourth- or fifth-string netminder will be in the press box if their AHL affiliate is still active in the postseason. That way, a high-impact AHL starter isn’t rendered “useless” while their club fights for their playoff lives.
Posch, 24, is Colorado’s #4 behind Scott Wedgewood, Mackenzie Blackwood, and Miner. An undrafted free agent signing out of St. Cloud State, the first-year pro logged a .891 SV%, 2.78 GAA, two shutouts, and a strong 15-8-7 record in 28 appearances behind Miner this season. The 6’3″, 209-pounder has another year left on his entry-level contract at a $872,500 cap hit before becoming a restricted free agent next year.
Blackhawks To Sign Roman Kantserov
After months of speculation, it’s now confirmed that the Chicago Blackhawks are adding another high-level forward prospect to their roster. According to an announcement from the KHL’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk, prospect Roman Kantserov has terminated his contract with the team and will be signing an entry-level deal with the Blackhawks.
Kantserov, 21, was drafted 44th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft by the Blackhawks. He was coming off an impressive year with the MHL’s Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk, registering 27 goals and 54 points in 45 games with a +23 rating.
Since then, it’s been all KHL for the Magnitogorsk, Russia native. He got off to a slow start during the 2023-24 campaign, but he has become one of the league’s top scorers since. Beginning in the 2024-25 campaign, Kantserov has scored 49 goals and 102 points in 110 games with a +21 rating. Over that same timeframe, he has registered four goals and 10 points in 21 postseason contests.
The most prominent development in Kantserov’s game has been his goal-scoring capacity. At the time of his draft selection, Kantserov was known as a pass-first forward with tremendous hand-eye coordination reminiscent of Pavel Datsyuk‘s stickhandling ability. However, not only did Kantserov have more goals than assists this season, he led the entire KHL in goal scoring by a margin of four.
Assuming this trend continues, Chicago will be even more ecstatic about their selection. Regardless, even if Kantserov reverts to being a quick, playmaking forward, the Blackhawks won’t be disappointed in that either.
Furthermore, Kantserov continues the trend of Chicago signing some of their recent draft picks and adding some overwhelming talent up front. Already with young, top-six forwards like Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar, the Blackhawks also added Anton Frondell and Sacha Boisvert toward the end of the 2025-26 campaign.
Despite finishing as one of the worst teams this season, Chicago’s influx of young forward talent, especially over the course of an entire season, could propel the team forward, reminiscent of the San Jose Sharks’ significant step forward this year. The Blackhawks still have plenty of development and kinks to work out on defense, but the forward corps has the talent to overcome those deficiencies.