Colorado Avalanche Game Four Injury Updates
With Game 4 of the Western Conference Final between the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights about to get underway, the Avalanche will have both Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar in the lineup as they look to stave off elimination in Vegas, per Danny Webster with the Review-Journal.
The status of Colorado’s two superstars was a major storyline heading into tonight, and the fact that both Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are willing to push through and play in this one speaks volumes about what’s on the line. Down 3-0 in the series and facing elimination, the Avalanche simply could not afford to be without either of their franchise cornerstones, and both are clearly playing through something to be in the lineup tonight. That kind of commitment in a must-win game is the sort of thing that can galvanize a locker room, and Colorado will need every ounce of it if they hope to extend the series and send things back to Colorado for Game 5.
One notable change up front: Joel Kiviranta will draw into the lineup in place of Valeri Nichushkin, per Jesse Granger with The Athletic. Kiviranta is no stranger to high-leverage playoff moments, and the Avalanche will be hoping he can provide a spark in a must-win spot. Nichushkin’s absence is a significant one for Colorado’s forward group, but the Avalanche have little choice but to turn the page and focus on the task in front of them.
Puck drop is set for 8 PM CST.
Evening Notes: Byram, Calgary, Columbus
Bowen Byram‘s agent, Darren Ferris, is slated to meet with Buffalo Sabres GM Jarmo Kekäläinen at the Draft Combine in Buffalo next week to discuss a potential contract extension, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The 24-year-old defenseman is not set to become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) until summer 2027, but LeBrun says he would not be surprised to see an extension come this summer before Byram would have the chance to hit the open market.
It is believed Byram really likes it in Buffalo, and his play this season certainly backs up that assessment. Byram tied his career high in goals with 11, and posted additional career highs in assists (31), points (42), and plus/minus (+15). Additionally, Byram was relied on heavily during the Sabres’ playoff run and rose to the occasion. He was only second to superstar defenseman Rasmus Dahlin in ice time per game with 22:24 a night, and posted seven points in 13 games.
On the flip side, it has been noted that Ferris often will advise the players he represents to fully take advantage of their UFA options, so it would not come as a shock to see him advise Byram to do the same, especially with the cap continuing to increase after next season. Only time will tell.
Additional Notes
- Game four of the Western Conference Final kicks off at 8 PM CST tonight, and the Vegas Golden Knights have the chance to pull off the improbable sweep of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche. However, it is not just Vegas fans who may be rooting for the sweep. When the Golden Knights acquired defenseman Rasmus Andersson from the Calgary Flames leading up to this year’s trade deadline, they sent Zach Whitecloud, a 2027 first-rounder, a 2028 second-rounder, and prospect Abram Wiebe over in the deal. If Vegas goes on to win the Stanley Cup, that 2028 second-round pick turns into a first-rounder, as reported by Eric Francis with Sportsnet. Calgary already holds six first-round picks from 2026-28, and adding a seventh would certainly help a team in the midst of a rebuild. It is worth noting that two of Calgary’s six first-round picks are already courtesy of the Golden Knights, so with a Vegas Cup win, that becomes three out of their potential seven. So, while this all still takes five more Vegas wins to come to fruition, it may sway the rooting interest of some of the Flames faithful.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, were eliminated on Sunday night at the hands of the Toronto Marlies in heartbreaking fashion. It was do-or-die for the Monsters in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference divisional round, as a late third-period lead quickly disappeared when Toronto scored with 4:30 and 0:11 remaining to advance to the Eastern Conference Final. Now that the Monsters’ season has come to an end, it is expected that there will be an announcement in the near future that head coach Trent Vogelhuber will be promoted to join Rick Bowness‘ staff as an assistant coach, as reported by Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. During Vogelhuber’s four seasons as head coach, Cleveland was 145-108-21-14 (.564).
Coaching Notes: Laviolette, Roy, Bednar
The Los Angeles Kings spoke with head coaching candidate Peter Laviolette, Pierre Lebrun of The Athletic reports.
Last serving as head coach of the New York Rangers until his firing one year ago, the 61-year-old sat out 2025-26 but seems to be gearing back up with several openings up for grabs. Known for his fast-paced aggressive systems always in “win-now” mode, Laviolette’s teams are often quick to make noise, something which fits Los Angeles’ objectives with a locked up core, no plans in store to take an intentional step back after legend Anže Kopitar’s retirement.
The Kings still have interim D.J. Smith in the mix, but they’ve been noncommittal especially after being sent packing in the first round in just four games. Any club set to hire Laviolette this summer would become his seventh, and they’d hope to become the fourth he’d lead to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Sticking on the coaching front, Lebrun also reported in the article above that no team has yet asked the Islanders for permission to speak with Patrick Roy, who was fired by New York in April. Landing on Long Island mid-season in 2023 after nearly eight years out of such a position, Roy had a solid start to his tenure, making the playoffs which ended unceremoniously. In the last two seasons his Islanders were unable to take another meaningful step forward, with a late season collapse dooming their season and prompting the change. The storied goaltender may have to wait until the next cycle in a calendar year to find another opportunity, but either way he’ll stay busy as a part-owner of Bordeaux, a professional French team in Ligue Magnus.
- As for teams still in action, Chris Johnston of The Athletic speculated on Jared Bednar’s future, the Colorado head coach finding his club down 3-0 to Vegas in the Conference Final. By no means out yet, if the sweep is completed tonight, tough questions will be raised with another year of the Avalanche’s window coming and going. Making it this far was a step forward, the first time they passed the second round since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. Injuries have also been a factor, but going out with a whimper would be tough for a team which won 55 games in the regular season. Johnston raised the fact that it’s happened before, Dallas firing Peter DeBoer after their Western Conference Finals defeat just last season. Time will tell, but it’s fair to say that teams on the coaching hunt will at least keep a watchful eye on Bednar depending on Game 4’s result. Even if he returns, other changes behind the bench are a strong possibility.
Free Agent Focus: Buffalo Sabres
Free agency is just over a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. Even with the UFA crop being thinned out in recent months, there will be some quality veterans set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Sabres.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Zach Benson – A feisty winger who already has 211 games under his belt having just turned 21, Benson’s imprints were all over Buffalo’s playoff run, tying for team lead with five goals in 13 games and nine points overall. The former 13th overall pick took another step ahead with 43 points in 65 games, getting real top line usage with the stakes at their highest this spring. Having other business to tend to, there’s a possibility of a bridge deal somewhere under $5MM, but if Buffalo is serious about locking things up now, Benson would command closer to $7MM on a contract which would shoot him right up among Tage Thompson and Joshua Norris as the club’s biggest ticket forwards. Such a commitment would have implications on their unrestricted free agent strategy, outlined below, but the sooner Benson is taken care of, the better. GM Jarmo Kekäläinen already referred to him as a “core piece” who they’re looking to reward with a long term deal.
F Peyton Krebs – Acquired as a prospect with higher end potential, Krebs is now 25, a valuable role player to the team but with questions on his long term future in Buffalo. The former Golden Knights first-round pick set a career high with 39 points, reaping the benefits of a top six role at times due to injuries, part of his campaign filling a variety of roles. Still, Krebs was scoreless in the Montreal series, not the only former Golden Knight to do that. Likely to command a contract at least doubling his current $1.45MM AAV, the Sabres will have to make some difficult decisions with cap constraints, and it makes one wonder if Krebs could emerge in trade talks. If Kekäläinen retains both him and Benson, they’d need to prepare for their second leading goal scorer to walk away, a name who comes up shortly.
D Michael Kesselring – Battling injuries throughout the campaign, the 6’5″ defender skated in just 34 games, a step down from all 82 with Utah last season. He also was unable to contribute offensively, posting just two helpers, versus 29 points put up in the Mammoth’s inaugural season. A key piece in the JJ Peterka trade, the 26-year-old struggled to find a role with the Sabres with ice time cut down over four minutes, despite being a righty, a natural fit into their lineup. While dealing Krebs would be an unfortunate result of the numbers game, Kesselring makes more sense to land on the block, both based on cap limitations and on-ice contribution. Plenty of teams would have interest in the South Carolina native, eyeing a return to his production with the Mammoth organization. Either way, a short-term agreement hovering around the $2.75MM range is realistic.
Other RFAs: D Zachary Jones, F Olivier Nadeau, D Isaac Belliveau, D Nikita Novikov
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Alex Tuch – Widely thought to be the best forward to hit the market, Tuch remains standing in a free agent class which has gotten thinner with each passing month. After five seasons with Buffalo, three of which he surpassed the 30-goal mark, the winger went cold in the Montreal series failing to record a point. Not the ending he wanted after helping lead the Sabres to new heights, it’s Buffalo who may be more hesitant to fork over a king’s ransom to keep him, as opposed to undeterred suitors who’d have no problem offering a long-term deal with an AAV around $10MM. Expected to circle back in the coming weeks before July rolls around, there’s reason for a resolution, as a Syracuse native who grew up a fan of the team. Yet needing to lock up Benson, the Sabres would have to shed a salary such as Jordan Greenway‘s $4MM. Even then, it wouldn’t be surprising if Tuch’s value in a deserted free agent class is just too much, leaving him with ample options for a huge payday.
D Logan Stanley – A lefty whose on-ice play is sometimes not so kind from the eye test, the Sabres surrendered meaningful assets to acquire Stanley due to his frame at 6’7″, 231 lbs, and mean streak, which are coveted in today’s game. As the 28-year-old former first-round selection enters free agency, that will continue to be the case. Starting 65% of his work in the defensive zone as a Sabre, far ahead from anything he saw in Winnipeg, Stanley came away with an impressive 51.3% corsi for at five-on-five. Having a glut of left-handers on the back end, naturally there’s questions on his fit, but that didn’t stop Buffalo from seeking him out at the trade deadline. Projected by AFP Analytics to fetch a two year contract worth just under $3MM per season, Buffalo could feasibly bring him back to fill a need physically, but Stanley’s steady play in the postseason would reward him on the open market, predictably more than the Sabres have to offer.
D Luke Schenn – The second piece coming back in the Winnipeg deal, Schenn’s on-ice contributions in Buffalo were minimal, making just four appearances closing out the regular season, and two more in the playoffs, where he averaged 7:33 of ice time against Montreal. At this point the 36-year-old is largely valued for leadership. As a veteran of 10 NHL clubs to this point, he’s no stranger to moving around in the off-season either. Any future for Schenn would be as a continued seventh defenseman on a one-year contract around $1MM. However, with Zach Metsa in the fold, along with Conor Timmins who especially makes him redundant, the Saskatchewan native will likely be searching for a new home to put the finishing touches on a career which has spanned over 1,100 games and two Stanley Cups.
F Beck Malenstyn – Acquired for a second round pick from Washington two years ago, the winger is the exact type of player whose work ethic has helped Buffalo turn the corner. A relentless forechecker and penalty killer, Malenstyn played in all but one regular season game, recording 14 points. He was a constant presence in the playoffs also, skating in all 13 games and scoring a goal to help give the Sabres a 3-1 series lead over Boston. During the Montreal series, the British Columbia native caught a skate to the hand on the penalty kill, but still cleared the zone and finished his shift while wounded. Many teams would love to staple the 28-year-old to their fourth line, so the Sabres should be prepared to offer at least a $1 million raise from his current $1.35MM cap hit. Assuming at least one of their acquisitions from Winnipeg above are not brought back, there should be no issue in affording such an offer.
Other UFAs: F Joshua Dunne, F Tanner Pearson, F Jake Leschyshyn, D Gavin Bayreuther, F Trevor Kuntar (Group 6)
Projected Cap Space
The Sabres enter this summer with just under $13MM in cap space. Taking care of Benson, along with their other restricted free agents, will quickly dissolve anything left to match what Tuch would be offered on July 1, not to mention addressing the hypothetical losses of Stanley and Schenn on the back end. A point Buffalo fans are already tired of hearing about, unfortunately Jeff Skinner‘s $6.44MM buyout charge is a huge factor this offseason. Finally having assembled the right pieces on their roster, now it’s about keeping together as much of the core as they can. If there’s any chance Tuch is back in blue and gold next year, they’ll have to find the space by trading another forward away. No doubt a difficult situation for Kekäläinen to navigate, the dilemma of keeping a playoff team together is one the Sabres only wished they had over the last decade.
Photo courtesy of Winslow Townson-Imagn Images (Benson). Contract information courtesy of PuckPedia.
Central Notes: Blackhawks Defense, Sturm, No. 4 Pick
The Chicago Blackhawks’ priority in the offseason will be “adding a quality defenseman,” writes Scott Powers of The Athletic. There has been some belief that Chicago might be aggressive in pursuing a young top-six winger who can partner with franchise center Connor Bedard, and that still may be on the table, but Powers writes that the Blackhawks are likely to seek defensive help to stabilize a blueline that featured several young defensemen last season.
According to Powers, the Blackhawks are hoping their young defensemen, such as Artyom Levshunov and Sam Rinzel, are able to take steps forward, but also acknowledge that they “need some support.” Don’t look for the Blackhawks to prioritize right-shot defensemen, though. Powers would “be surprised if” Chicago was looking for a right-shot blueliner to compete with Rinzel and Levshunov, who will be all but assured spots in the opening-night lineup barring some sort of steep unexpected decline in form.
Other notes from the Central Division:
- The Minnesota Wild may be forced to choose between veteran fourth-line centers Nico Sturm and Michael McCarron over the next month, write Joe Smith and Michael Russo of The Athletic. The Wild traded a second-round pick to acquire McCarron, a pending UFA, from the Nashville Predators. McCarron indicated in his end-of-season media availability that he will be seeking to maximize his financial security with his next contract. If the Wild decide to pay the market price for McCarron, they could be forced to move Sturm. The 31-year-old has one more year left on his deal at a $2MM cap hit.
- The Blackhawks “are preparing for the possibility” that the upcoming draft’s top three forward prospects (Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, Caleb Malhotra) aren’t available at No. 4, writes Powers. Such an outcome would put the Blackhawks in a position where the next few top-ranked players are all likely to be defensemen. Chicago has already invested a recent top pick in a right-shot defenseman (Levshunov, the 2024 No. 2 pick) so according to Powers, they could be hesitant to pick someone such as OHL defenseman Chase Reid. The top left-shot options expected to be on the board are WHL blueliner Carson Carels and Latvian international Alberts Smits.
Avalanche Notes: MacKinnon, Blackwood, Wedgewood
Colorado Avalanche star forward Nathan MacKinnon will dress tonight for game four of the Western Conference Final against the Vegas Golden Knights. MacKinnon suffered a lower-body injury in game three, but that won’t stop him from taking the ice as Colorado looks to stave off elimination and avoid being swept by the Golden Knights. The news means Colorado will have both MacKinnon and star defenseman Cale Makar in their lineup tonight. Makar had missed game one and game two with an upper-body injury.
The importance of MacKinnon’s health to the Avalanche cannot be overstated. The 30-year-old is Colorado’s best player, and is one of the most impactful scorers in the game. MacKinnon won the Rocket Richard Trophy this past season with 53 goals. His total of 127 points in 80 games marked the second-highest point total of MacKinnon’s career. While his production has been down a tick in the playoffs, he is still tied for the third-most points in this year’s playoff scoring with 15 in 12 games. He’ll hope to add to that number tonight and extend the Avalanche’s season.
Other notes from Colorado:
- The Avalanche are making a change in net, and will start MacKenzie Blackwood in goal rather than Scott Wedgewood, according to reports from the team’s optional morning skate. Blackwood hasn’t played against the Golden Knights, but did see some time in net in the second round. Blackwood got his first start of the playoffs in game four of the second round against the Minnesota Wild. He stopped 19 of 21 shots in the Avalanche’s 5-2 win, but lost his job as starter in the following game after surrendering three goals on 13 shots in an eventual Avalanche comeback victory. The 29-year-old, who is signed at a $5.25MM AAV through 2029-30, went 23-10-2 in the regular season with a .904 save percentage.
- The move to start Blackwood means Wedgewood, 33, may have already played in his final game of his 2025-26 season. Wedgewood’s 2025-26 campaign stands as, without question, the strongest of his career. The longtime backup seized the No. 1 role in Colorado, playing in a career-high 45 games. Wedgewood improved on his stellar form from last season, posting a 31-6-6 record and a .921 save percentage. While he was not named as a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, he and Blackwood took home the William M. Jennings Trophy. Wedgewood is under contract for one more year at a $2.5MM cap hit.
Penguins Sign Evgeni Malkin To One-Year Extension
The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed future Hall of Fame center Evgeni Malkin to a one-year contract extension, per a team announcement. The deal contains an AAV of $5.5MM.
According to Chris Johnston of The Athletic, Malkin can exceed his $5.5MM guarantee by earning up to $500K in games played bonuses, $1MM if the Penguins reach the playoffs, and $500K for each playoff round the team wins. The contract also contains a full no-move clause. PuckPedia has reported the deal contains a $3MM signing bonus.
Malkin’s extension puts an end to what was months of speculation about his Penguins future.
Just this morning, we covered reports indicating that Malkin’s sights were set on an extension with Pittsburgh, and that he was unlikely to be headed elsewhere. This represented a distinct shift from what had been reported over the last year.
A year ago, Josh Yohe of The Athletic reported that the 2025-26 season would be Malkin’s “last in Pittsburgh.” He cited sources within the organization who indicated that the Penguins were “not expected to offer him another contract with the franchise.”
It seems Malkin’s performance this past year, as well as the Penguins’ surprisingly strong regular season, changed the organization’s thinking.
Malkin, who turns 40 at the end of July, seemed to turn back the clock in 2025-26. He scored 19 goals and 61 points in 56 games, his first season pacing at above a point-per-game rate since 2022-23. The Penguins endured a difficult series against their arch-rival Philadelphia Flyers, losing in six games in the first round, but that doesn’t erase what he was able to accomplish in the regular season.
The key question for Malkin is health. While he was perfectly healthy in 2022-23 and 2023-24, he has missed some time in each of the last two years. In 2024-25, he played in 68 games, and this past year was limited by upper-body injuries as well as a lengthy five-game suspension. Malkin’s on-ice qualities remain exceptional, but there has been concern about his ability to stay on the ice, as well as how his on-ice value will fare if the pace of his game slows further.
Pittsburgh appears determined to turn over their team to a new generation of young forwards, including promising rookie center Ben Kindel. Much of the prior reporting indicating Pittsburgh was hesitant to extend Malkin can likely be explained by the organization’s desire to carve out as much ice time and prime power play opportunities for its young forwards.
But Malkin showed he still has quite a lot to offer in the NHL, and the Penguins don’t have to pick between keeping Malkin and developing their young players – they can do both. Kindel, for example, could stand to benefit from another season sharing the ice and locker room with Malkin.
Now, he’ll get the chance to do so as the Penguins have elected to keep one of their two legendary centers for an additional season.
Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Claude Giroux To Continue Playing For 2026-27 Season
Veteran scorer Claude Giroux will not hang up his skates for at least one more season, reports Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. According to LeBrun, Giroux “needed some time after the season to mull over his future” as he was considering retirement, but now the 38-year-old “has decided he wants to come back and play another season.”
Giroux’s decision means a 1,345-game NHL career that began in 2007-08 will continue for at least one more campaign. Complicating Giroux’s situation is the fact that he is a pending unrestricted free agent. Giroux has been playing for his hometown Ottawa Senators since 2022, arriving there from the Florida Panthers. Giroux was on the Panthers as a rental trade addition. Before that, he was a top scorer and face-of-the-franchise player for the Philadelphia Flyers.
One of the greatest Flyers in the franchise’s modern history, Giroux is no longer the star scorer he once was. At 38 years old, that’s to be expected. But he has shown himself to still be a productive scoring winger for the Senators even as he’s aged. In 2025-26, he scored 14 goals and 49 points. That’s not quite at the level of his debut season in the Canadian capital (35 goals, 79 points in 2022-23) but still more than strong enough to make him worth his cap hit of $2MM. (Base cap hit, he also earned $1MM in performance bonuses)
Looking ahead to next season, it seems overwhelmingly likely that Giroux will remain in Ottawa. Another one-year contract with a relatively low base salary and stocked full of performance bonuses, similar to the contract he played last season on, seems most appropriate.
Playing at least one more year, Giroux will be able to help the Senators try to win their first playoff series since their run to the Eastern Conference Final in 2017. He’ll also be chasing some individual milestones, like 1,400 games played, 400 goals, and 1,200 points.
Leo Lööf Signing With Liiga Club Ilves
A St. Louis Blues prospect is taking his talents back to Scandinavia.
As first reported by Mike Meyer of STL Sports Central, defenseman Leo Loof is signing a two-year contract with Ilves in Finland for the 2026-27 season. According to the club’s press release, the 24-year-old defenseman will return to his former club, where he previously spent two seasons before his journey to North America.
Loof finished his 2025-26 season in the AHL, scoring six points in 47 regular-season games played with Springfield. He did not dress during their Calder Cup playoff run, which ended via an 8-1 Game 5 loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The former third-round pick in 2020 spent three seasons under the St. Louis Blues organization on a three-year entry-level contract signed back in 2023 that paid him $2.6MM ($867,500 AAV). The 6-foot-1, 201-pound Swede did not see an NHL debut, playing all three of those ELC seasons with the Thunderbirds for a total of 168 AHL games.
Leading into the 2020 NHL Draft, Loof was profiled as a tough player in his own end, who was efficient in his poise and ability to make strong reads on a play and deliver heavy hits. His accolades before coming across the pond included Bronze Medals with Ilves and the Swedish World Juniors team. He also won a Hlinka Gretzky Cup Bronze in 2020 and was considered the J18 Best U18 Defenseman while scoring the most points (12) by a defenseman in the J18 Allsvenskan in 2018-19.
The former 88th overall pick was in a logjam in comparison to other left-handed defensemen in the Blues system. St. Louis already extended Philip Broberg through 2032 at $48MM ($8MM AAV), Cam Fowler through 2030 at $18.3MM ($6.1MM AAV), as well as Tyler Tucker, who has a year left at $925,000. Among his counterparts in the pool, ELCs were signed by Lukas Fischer, at age 19, in late March, and Colin Ralph put ink to paper out of Michigan State in early April. Already in the AHL, Theo Lindstein and Michael Buchinger both played more games than Loof this past season.
New general manager Alexander Steen will inherit three selections in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft, where some prominent defensemen could potentially be available for the taking, who would rank high among their prospect pool if selected. St. Louis could use those picks to take a defenseman at either the guaranteed 11th or 15th overall picks (Colorado’s standing to be determined). As the Blues look to build back into playoff contention out of their fifth-place finish in the Central Division, they currently carry $15.7MM in cap space.
Morning Notes: Malkin, Kane, Pronger
Some familiar names from the 2000’s have circulated recently in the hockey world.
The biggest is one who, as expected, doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. Evgeni Malkin is not likely to sign anywhere but Pittsburgh, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The long-time Russian star turns 40 a month after free agency opens on July 31, and his agent, J.P. Barry, has already been in discussions with the Pittsburgh Penguins about coming back on a one-year deal. The length appears to be consistent with both parties, but now it comes down to the question of how much money Malkin is to be paid.
Malkin is coming off the final season of a four-year contract worth $24.4MM ($6.1MM AAV). He finished his age-39 season with 19 goals for 61 points in a season where he played just 56 games, finishing fifth on Pittsburgh in scoring. That tally puts him at a cost of $100k per point, however, because of his contract being frontloaded, his $4.8MM in total salary from 2025-26 is likely where LeBrun believes the Penguins want to begin their number, while Malkin’s camp wants to start around his previous cap hit. It’s not out of the question that if Pittsburgh, who carries $42.5MM in cap space, wants to save as much as they can among their eight free agents and beyond, they can give Malkin performance bonuses to hinder the AAV on the contract.
Additional notes include:
- According to Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey Now, Patrick Kane‘s name has emerged as the potential lone unrestricted free agent that the Detroit Red Wings could be considered in re-signing in Hockeytown. The all-time American star finished with 57 points in 67 games in his third consecutive one-year contract with the Wings that paid him $3MM in his age 37 season. Kane’s cost per point carried a low $53K that Detroit would hope to continue benefiting from. If true, general manager Steve Yzerman will be parting ways with forwards David Perron and James van Riemsdyk, as well as defenseman Travis Hamonic and goaltender Cam Talbot. Simon Edvinsson is the lone defensive restricted free agent, and with $32.6MM in cap space to spare, a chunk of that will head towards the young Swede’s future paycheck.
- Allen’s tweet in particular referenced that van Riemsdyk’s spot, which fluctuated in many spots on the wing, would be filled by a younger player. Perhaps Carter Mazur (8 GP in 2025-26), Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (14 GP in 2025-26), and even Nate Danielson (28 GP in 2025-26) can compete for more ice time if this development comes to fruition.
- Chris Pronger interviewed for the Toronto Maple Leafs president of Hockey operations role, he confirmed as a guest on TSN 1050’s OverDrive show. The 51-year-old said that he had a good conversation about the team’s direction and his thoughts on their needs with MLSE president and CEO Keith Pelly. While he received positive feedback for his discussions, Toronto ultimately went for their options in John Chayka and Mats Sundin. Pronger previously denied rumors that he was interviewing for the Leafs GM role on another TSN show. The Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman, while working in media right now, isn’t opposed to a front office role but emphasized that it needs to be a situation that is right for him to take a new opportunity.