Brian La Rose

Snapshots: Denisenko, World Cup, Perreault, Robins

September 10, 2025 at 6:52 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Although he decided to return home and play in the KHL this season, winger Grigori Denisenko hasn’t given up on playing in North America just yet. In an interview with Championat’s Lev Lukin, the 25-year-old indicated his dream is still to get back to the NHL. He hasn’t spent much time there lately, however, getting into just seven NHL games over the past two seasons with Vegas. He spent most of last season in the minors with Henderson and Milwaukee, collecting 17 goals and 21 assists in 65 games and rather than accepting a two-way deal as a Group Six unrestricted free agent and likely starting in the minors again, he’ll try to work his way back with a big season with Ak Bars Kazan.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

Speaking to reporters including NHL.com’s Dan Rosen at the media tour earlier this week, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly provided an update on the 2028 World Cup of Hockey. They have whittled through expressions of interest from both North American and European cities and are about to begin the bidding process. The belief is that there will be round-robin games on both continents before moving to North America only for the medal round. Daly added that while they hope to have a qualifying round down the road, that won’t be in place for this particular event.
UFA winger Jacob Perreault has a team for the upcoming season as the Bruins’ AHL team in Providence announced that they’ve signed him to a one-year deal. The 23-year-old was a first-round pick by Anaheim in 2020, going 27th overall but he has struggled considerably in the pros. Last season, he spent time with Montreal and Edmonton’s farm teams, collecting just three goals and 11 assists in 44 games, leading to a non-tender in late June. Perreault has made one NHL appearance, that coming back in 2021-22.
After being non-tendered by Ottawa this summer, unrestricted free agent winger Tristen Robins has reportedly found a place to play. Inside AHL Hockey’s Tony Androckitis reports (Twitter link) that the 23-year-old is set to sign in Czechia with Kladno. Robins was a 2020 second-round pick by San Jose and was moved to the Sens as part of the Fabian Zetterlund trade at the deadline. Robins played in 56 AHL games last year, picking up eight goals and 16 assists. He has three career NHL games under his belt back in the 2022-23 season.

Summer Synopsis: Pittsburgh Penguins

September 8, 2025 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

With training camps now just a couple of weeks away, the bulk of the heavy lifting has been done from a roster perspective. Most unrestricted free agents have found new homes, the arbitration period has come and gone, and the trade market has cooled. Accordingly, it’s a good time to take a look at what each team has accomplished this offseason. Next up is a look at Pittsburgh.

The Penguins have been at a crossroads for a little while now but it appears that they’re now set to take a bit of a step back to focus on the future. Dan Muse takes over from Mike Sullivan behind the bench with an eye on player development although Pittsburgh will be entering training camp with the oldest roster in the NHL. That will likely change at some point during the season if the standings dictate a sell-off of players as expected.

Draft

1-11 – F Benjamin Kindel, Calgary (WHL)
1-22 – F Bill Zonnon, Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL)
1-24 – F William Horcoff, Michigan (Big 10)
2-39 – D Peyton Kettles, Swift Current (WHL)
3-73 – D Charlie Trethewey, U.S. U18 (NTDP)
3-84 – G Gabriel D’Aigle, Victoriaville (QMJHL)
3-91 – D Brady Peddle, Waterloo (USHL)
4-105 – F Travis Hayes, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
5-130 – F Ryan Miller, Portland (WHL)
5-148 – D Quinn Beauchesne, Guelph (OHL)
5-154 – F Jordan Charron, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
6-169 – F Carter Sanderson, Muskegon (USHL)
7-201 – F Kale Dach, Sherwood Park (BCHL)

GM Kyle Dubas went into the draft with the most picks and was particularly active on the trade front, including trading down from 12 to 22 and then flipping one of the firsts acquired in that swap to move up to 24. For good measure, he swung two more swaps on the second day of the draft. Interestingly, at a time when a lot of teams mix in some international picks, all 14 of their selections played in North America last season.

Kindel was a surprising selection at 11th overall. Viewed as likely to land more in the late teens or early 20s, he wound up nearly going in the top ten with Pittsburgh believed to have tried to move up to make sure they got him. He plays with the type of pace that Dubas is hoping the Penguins will one day get to as their roster eventually gets younger and while he’s a little undersized, he profiles as a top-six piece for them. Kindel has played down the middle at times and if he’s able to stick at that position in the pros, he’ll become that much more valuable.

Zonnon is another player who went a bit earlier than expected with most of his rankings ranging from the late 20s to the early 40s. Like Kindel, he brings a lot of offensive creativity to the table as Pittsburgh’s early goal in the draft was clearly to increase their skill. Horcoff was another player picked well above his rankings but as a six-foot-five center, that was bound to happen. He wasn’t much of a difference-maker in the USHL but a midseason move to the University of Michigan helped his offensive game and certainly contributed to his rise on rankings lists. He might ultimately pan out as a two-way third liner but those players can be quite impactful overall. None of these three picks are likely to push for a spot with the big club for at least a couple of years.

In terms of their selections on the second day, they went in a different direction. Kettles is a big shutdown defenseman who profiles as someone who might best fit in on the third pairing but whose size and reach should cause some havoc if he develops as planned. Trethewey came into the season as a projected first-round pick, even slotting in with a lottery ranking in some preseason lists. But his season with the US National Team Development Program wasn’t as impactful as hoped. The raw tools are there to be a potential top-four selection but he’s someone who might wind up being a longer-term project.

D’Aigle was an interesting pick as he struggled mightily last year with QMJHL Victoriaville to the tune of a 4.53 GAA. But the Tigres were a weak team and at six-foot-four, he has the size that teams covet between the pipes. Peddle is a physical blueliner who wasn’t able to produce much in the USHL during the regular season although he flashed a little more upside in the postseason. He’ll move to the QMJHL this season and then head to college; both of these players are longer-term picks as well, a theme that can be said for most of the rest of their selections.

Trade Acquisitions

D Connor Clifton (from Buffalo)
D Mathew Dumba (from Dallas)
G Arturs Silovs (from Vancouver)

While Clifton and Dumba are veteran right-shot defensemen (the side teams typically covet), their additions were more about the second-round picks that accompanied them than they were about adding the players. Clifton will add some grit on the third pairing while Dumba may be in tough to simply crack the lineup. Both players are pending unrestricted free agents and likely won’t be part of their plans beyond this season.

That isn’t the case for Silovs. While he struggled considerably in limited action with Vancouver last season, he held his own when a pair of injuries pressed him into their starting role in the playoffs the year before. He was the top goalie at the Worlds in 2023 and the AHL Playoff MVP this spring with Abbotsford and while it was widely expected that the Canucks would have to waive him with their veteran tandem now in place for several years, Dubas decided to jump the queue and swing a trade for him. He’ll go into training camp as the likely backup goalie with a chance to push for a bigger role if he fares well early on. He has a 3.13 GAA and a .880 SV% in his first 19 NHL regular season games.

UFA Signings

D Alexander Alexeyev (one year, $775K)
F Justin Brazeau (two years, $3MM)
F Connor Dewar (one year, $1.1MM after non-tender)^
F Rafael Harvey-Pinard (one year, $775K)*
F Bokondji Imama (one year, $775K)*^
D Caleb Jones (two years, $1.8MM)
D Philip Kemp (two years, $1.55MM)*
F Joona Koppanen (one year, $775K)*^
G Filip Lindberg (signed in Finland)
F Anthony Mantha (one year, $2.5MM plus $2MM in bonuses)
F Philip Tomasino (one year, $1.75MM after non-tender)^
D Parker Wotherspoon (two years, $2MM)

*-denotes two-way contract
^-denotes re-signing

Mantha was easily Pittsburgh’s most intriguing addition this summer. At his best, he has been an impactful top-six forward but consistency has been a challenge. Signed by Calgary last summer in effectively the same type of situation the Penguins are in now, he suffered a torn ACL barely a month into the season, making him eligible for performance incentives which are tied to games played. A good showing could be enough to convince Dubas that he’s worth keeping around a little longer or he could ultimately find himself on the trade block a few months from now. While most of their additions were of the depth variety, Mantha is one who brings a bit of upside if he stays healthy.

Tomasino and Dewar were both non-tendered to avoid salary arbitration but re-signed fairly quickly after the free agent market opened up. Tomasino got off to a tough start in Nashville and was flipped to Pittsburgh in November for a future fourth-rounder. He was able to hold down a regular role (when healthy) with the Penguins but still didn’t show the top-six upside he had at the beginning of his career. He remains RFA-eligible moving forward but will remain a non-tender candidate because of the arbitration rights. Dewar played sparingly with Toronto last season and was moved in a cap-clearing deal at the trade deadline. The change of scenery allowed him to play a bigger role and with seven points in 17 games following the swap, he did well enough to earn another chance. He and Tomasino should be in the mix for bottom-six roles.

Brazeau will also be a part of that mix. He only played his first full NHL campaign last season, splitting time between Boston and Minnesota in largely a fourth-line role. Given the later start to his NHL career, the 27-year-old still could have a bit of upside; otherwise, he’ll likely reprise that fourth-line role with the Penguins. Wotherspoon also played his first full NHL season in 2024-25 at the age of 27. He quietly logged 18 minutes a night for Boston and with the left side of Pittsburgh’s back end not particularly strong at the moment, he could have a chance to play a bigger role. Jones and Alexeyev also have NHL experience and could find themselves in the mix for a spot in training camp.

RFA Re-Signings

None. Pittsburgh non-tendered all of their restricted free agents except for one (who had already signed in the KHL). Dewar and Tomasino were eventually retained but as UFAs as noted earlier.

Departures

F Raivis Ansons (signed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL, NHL rights relinquished)
D Isaac Belliveau (trade with Buffalo)
F Emil Bemstrom (signed in Switzerland)
F Kasper Bjorkqvist (signed in Finland)
D Nathan Clurman (signed with Montreal, one year, $775K)*
G Taylor Gauthier (signed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL, NHL rights relinquished)
D Matt Grzelcyk (unsigned)
D Mac Hollowell (signed in Russia)
F Jimmy Huntington (signed with San Jose, one year, $775K)*
D Vladislav Kolyachonok (trade with Dallas)
D Filip Kral (signed in Czechia)
F Marc Johnstone (signed with Toronto, AHL)
D Pierre-Olivier Joseph (signed with Vancouver, one year, $775K)
F Mathias Laferriere (signed in Slovakia)
G Alex Nedeljkovic (trade with San Jose)
F Matthew Nieto (unsigned)
D Colton Poolman (unsigned)
F Vasiliy Ponomarev (signed in Russia, Pittsburgh retains his RFA rights)
F Chase Stillman (trade with Vancouver)
D Conor Timmins (trade with Buffalo)

*-denotes two-way contract

Grzelcyk had to settle for a one-year deal last summer and responded about as well as he could. He posted a career high in assists (39) and points (40) while logging over 20 minutes per game for the first time. In essence, it looked as if he had shown that he can still be a legitimate top-four defenseman. And yet, more than two months into free agency and training camps almost upon us, he’s still looking for a contract. Speculatively, his camp aimed high coming off the year he had and the limited options on the open market but his smaller stature likely didn’t help his cause. Now, another one-year deal might be what he has to wind up settling for.

Among the other blueliners who saw some NHL action last season, Timmins was the other part of the cap-clearing move from Toronto at the deadline. He played a somewhat limited role for them down the stretch and will have a similar role with Buffalo. Kolyachonok has been up and down in recent years and was a waiver claim back in February and likely would have been on the outside looking in at a roster spot had he stayed in Pittsburgh. Joseph’s second stint with the Penguins didn’t go particularly well which made his non-tendering for the second straight year a pretty safe decision.

Nedeljkovic had his ups and downs between the pipes, briefly taking over as the starter at times while at others, he struggled considerably to the point of his lowest full-season save percentage, checking in at .894. Considering their goal of getting a little younger, bringing Silovs into Nedeljkovic’s role carries a bit more risk but also more upside.

Among the forwards that moved on, Ponomarev is the most surprising given that he accepted a three-year deal in Russia at a time that the Penguins were hoping to see some prospects take a step forward and push for a roster spot. They’ll have to wait a while for that to happen with him now. Nieto dealt with more injury trouble last season and wasn’t anywhere near as effective as he was when he was last healthy in 2022-23. At this point, he’s a PTO candidate at best. Bemstrom’s stock had dropped in recent years, going from a roster regular with more than 200 games of NHL experience to someone who cleared waivers and spent most of last season in the minors.

Salary Cap Outlook

Even after taking on some pricey contracts for depth defensemen in Clifton and Dumba, the Penguins still have plenty of cap space, a little over $13MM, per PuckPedia. Depending on how the roster is configured, that number could still go up. They have all three of their retention slots remaining and although being a third-party retainer is out of the question following the early institution of the more restrictive rules on salary retention, Pittsburgh is well-positioned to try to utilize some of that flexibility, either through retention or taking on more unwanted contracts.

Key Questions

When Will The Trades Happen? Defenseman Erik Karlsson has been in trade speculation for a while now. So have wingers Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell. Even centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have seen their names out there although the likelihood of them moving is much less certain (only if they decide they want to move which is far from a given). But as of yet, Dubas hasn’t pulled the trigger on a move, even though it has been a market featuring way more buyers than sellers this summer. Will he look to try to get more leverage closer to the trade deadline or will something materialize earlier in the season?

Can Novak Bounce Back? Among the moves made last season was Dubas acquiring center Thomas Novak from Nashville near the trade deadline. It was an odd move for a selling team to acquire a veteran middleman but it was an intriguing buy-low acquisition. Novak came into last season with back-to-back years of 40-plus points with strong possession numbers. Last season, the latter was still good but his point output dropped and he was injured two games after the trade. If Novak can get back to that 40-point level, he’s someone who could plausibly become part of their plans beyond the end of his contract in 2027 or, alternatively, become an intriguing trade chip in a market that is lacking in center depth.

Will Jarry Provide Starting-Level Goaltending? When Dubas signed Tristan Jarry to a five-year deal after being hired, it was a vote of confidence that Pittsburgh’s goaltending was set for a while. But the first two seasons of that deal have been up-and-down, to say the least, with last year being particularly rocky as he found himself clearing waivers and in the minors at one point. It’s clear that the team views Silovs as a possible piece for the future while Joel Blomqvist is waiting in the wings as well. If Jarry can get back to being a legitimate starter, things can settle down between the pipes for a bit. If not, his future with the team could get murky in a hurry.

Photos courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel and Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Snapshots: Evangelista, Barzal, Jarvis, Luypen

September 8, 2025 at 7:56 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

Predators winger Luke Evangelista is one of the few remaining restricted free agents with training camps on the horizon. Nick Kieser of Lower Broad Hockey relays that the two sides are focused on a bridge deal with the sides discussing contracts between one and three years but that there is still a gap to work through with more talks scheduled for this week. The 23-year-old notched 10 goals along with 22 assists in 68 games last season and has 86 points in 172 career appearances with Nashville. A short-term pact should carry a price tag in the $3MM range, one that they can easily afford with more than $9MM in cap room, per PuckPedia. Kieser added that there has not been any talk about trading Evangelista so far.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

Speaking at the NHL Player Media Tour today, Islanders forward Mathew Barzal provided reporters, including Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin (Twitter link), an update on his recovery from a knee injury that ended his season early. While he stopped short of declaring himself fully healthy (acknowledging he might not get back to that point), he will be ready to go in training camp. Between this injury and one earlier in the season, the 28-year-old was limited to just 30 games last season where he had 20 points.
Hurricanes winger Seth Jarvis told reporters at the NHL Player Media Tour today, including Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin (Twitter link), that his rehab from a shoulder injury has gone great. He opted not to undergo surgery this offseason despite dealing with the issue for the second year in a row, calling it a pain tolerance situation. Jarvis, who had 32 goals and 35 assists in 73 games last season, also signalled an openness to being tried at center again, an experiment that hasn’t gained much traction over the last two seasons.
After being non-tendered by Chicago back in June, unrestricted free agent winger Jalen Luypen has found a team for the upcoming season as ECHL South Carolina announced that they’ve signed him to a one-year deal. The 23-year-old spent most of last season in the AHL with Rockford, notching eight goals and six assists in 56 games.

Predators Sign Dylan Gambrell To PTO

September 8, 2025 at 6:52 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

Several teams have added players on professional tryout (PTO) agreements in recent days and many more will do so before training camps open up. It appears the Predators have joined the list as Daily Faceoff’s Anthony DiMarco reports (Twitter link) that forward Dylan Gambrell has inked a PTO agreement with Nashville.

The 29-year-old isn’t too far removed from playing a regular role in the NHL. Between 2019-20 and 2022-23, Gambrell played in at least 49 games per season while splitting time between San Jose and Ottawa. 2020-21 saw him log more than 16 minutes a night of playing time but beyond that, he largely played on the fourth line. In 233 NHL games between the two teams, he has 17 goals and 23 assists along with a 46.1% faceoff rate.

However, Gambrell has been limited to just AHL action over the past two seasons. In 2023-24, he picked up 14 goals and 22 assists 66 games with Toronto’s farm team while playing on a one-way contract. He wasn’t able to secure that last summer, instead inking a two-way deal with Columbus. With the AHL’s Monsters, he picked up 13 goals and 12 assists in 54 appearances.

Gambrell has enough professional experience to qualify for veteran status at the AHL level; teams can only dress five skaters with 320 games of experience which has made it a challenge for some capable veterans to find a home at that level for the upcoming season. At this point, it’s unlikely that Gambrell would be able to command a one-way deal from the Predators but a solid showing in training camp could be enough to earn him another two-way agreement and a spot with AHL Milwaukee for the upcoming season.

Five Key Stories: 9/1/25 – 9/7/25

September 7, 2025 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

The calendar has turned to September and preseason games are only a few weeks away. As a result, there was a bit more activity on the transactions front around the NHL over the past seven days, the most notable of which is recapped in our key stories.

Rule Changes Starting This Season: The CBA extension that was agreed upon back in the spring called for some notable changes starting in 2026-27. But as it turns out, some will be in effect for this season instead. Chief among those is the changes to LTIR that will see the pool limited to the NHL average salary unless the player is out for the season and the institution of a playoff salary cap. Additionally, contracts with deferred compensation will only be allowed until October 6th, players assigned to the minors must play in one game before being recalled (to try to dissuade paper moves), a player can only have his contract retained on a second time after 75 regular season days have passed from his original trade, and post-deadline recall limits being expanded from four to five.

Price’s Contract Traded: After the Canadiens paid Carey Price’s signing bonus on Monday, it was widely expected that they’d move him to get out of using LTIR, a position they’ve been in since 2021. They did just that, sending the injured netminder to San Jose with a 2026 fifth-round pick in exchange for defenseman Gannon Laroque. Price hasn’t played since 2022 but has carried a $10.5MM AAV during that stretch, causing Montreal to have carryover bonus penalties each season since then which is why they were willing to part with a draft pick to avoid being in that spot this season. Meanwhile, the Sharks will only be responsible for paying 40% of his $2MM salary (insurance will cover the rest), meaning they’ve effectively bought a draft pick for $800K. As for Laroque, he has played in just 22 games over the last three years and didn’t suit up at all last season and his playing future remains in question.

Three For Zary: One of the few remaining restricted free agents reached an agreement on a new contract as the Flames re-signed forward Connor Zary to a three-year deal that will carry a $3.775MM AAV. The 23-year-old was a first-round pick by Calgary back in 2020 but he hasn’t seen a ton of action at the NHL level thus far, just 117 outings over two seasons. Last season, Zary was limited to just 54 games due to a pair of knee injuries but when he was in the lineup, he was reasonably productive with 13 goals and 14 assists. The deal is a sign that the Flames feel he still has another level to get to offensively. When this contract expires in 2028, Zary will be arbitration-eligible with one year of RFA eligibility remaining.

Calling It A Career: After parts of ten NHL seasons, veteran center Derek Ryan has called it a career, announcing his retirement at the age of 38. A free agent this summer, he acknowledged that he wasn’t actively pursuing a contract although he would have been open to returning to Edmonton. Ryan took the long route to the NHL, not getting his first contract until 28, that coming after stints in Canada’s college system and three seasons in Austria, hardly a common route. But Ryan eventually became a quality bottom-six center for several years, chipping in with 209 points and a 55.3% success rate on faceoffs in 606 games between Carolina, Calgary, and Edmonton.

Dryden Passes Away: Early Saturday, the Canadiens announced that their long-time goaltender and Hall of Famer Ken Dryden passed away at the age of 78 after a battle with cancer. He was an elite netminder for Montreal in the 1970s, winning six Stanley Cups and five Vezina Trophies over eight seasons and is tied with Dominik Hasek for the highest save percentage in NHL history (among goalies with at least 100 games) at .922. Dryden retired in his 20s but remained in the game as an announcer, an author, and later, as team president in Toronto for several seasons before pursuing a career in Canadian politics. Dryden was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983.

Photo courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.

West Notes: Canucks, Necas, Bardakov

September 7, 2025 at 8:02 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

Ever since they traded J.T. Miller midseason, the Canucks have been on the lookout for help down the middle. However, they haven’t had any success doing so just yet. Speaking with Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, GM Patrik Allvin acknowledged that he hasn’t given up looking for center help just yet and continues to keep an eye on the market:

We continue to talk to teams but there hasn’t been a whole lot available here leading up to this point. Obviously, it comes down to the cost of acquisition and, you know, where the fit is for (coach) Adam Foote and his style of how we want to play. That’s definitely something we continue to look at.

You’re right, the more depth you can have at centre, probably the stronger you are as a team. It’s an area where we’ve identified that if we’re going to make a trade. . . our preference to strengthen our lineup is a centre iceman.

As Allvin noted, there hasn’t been much in the way of available impact centers this offseason. Several free agents ultimately re-signed with their teams while the trade market hasn’t materialized either, especially with so many teams joining the Canucks in their pursuit of a middleman. As things stand, Filip Chytil projects to be Vancouver’s second center heading into training camp, a spot on the depth chart he hasn’t held too often in his career.

PHR Originals: 9/1/25 – 9/7/25

September 7, 2025 at 7:05 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

The waning days of summer yielded plenty of original content over the past seven days here at PHR as we eagerly wait for an uptick in transactions with training camps on the horizon. In case you missed them earlier, we’ll run through the pieces here. And if you have suggestions for content or features for the upcoming season, please note them here.

As is always the case, last season saw some players have breakout years and other long-time producing veterans wound up struggling. Josh Cybulski took a look at some of the players who could be in line for bounce-back seasons with Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry, Vancouver center Elias Pettersson, and Los Angeles winger Andrei Kuzmenko among the candidates to see their performance tick back up in the right direction.

Josh Erickson held his usual weekly chat plus an extra one on Labor Day. In the first, topics included the state of the Devils and the Luke Hughes negotiations, whether St. Louis should look into moving Jordan Binnington, and Filip Chytil’s potential as he’s set to begin his first full season in Vancouver. In the second, discussion points including Wyatt Kaiser remaining unsigned in Chicago, Berkly Catton’s potential to make Seattle’s roster next season, and who the first head coach to be fired might be this season.

Our Summer Synopsis continued as I examined Seattle’s offseason while Brennan McClain and I did the same for San Jose. The Kraken were busy early on with the hiring of a new coach and the promotion of Jason Botterill to GM but there wasn’t a lot of roster turnover although they added some grit on the wing in Mason Marchment and some defensive depth in Ryan Lindgren. Meanwhile, the Sharks were quite active this summer, swinging five trades while bringing in several veterans on short-term deals, including Dmitry Orlov, Jeff Skinner, and John Klingberg. San Jose isn’t expected to be in contention for a playoff spot but with so many short-term contracts on their books, they could be active on the trade front over the coming months as well.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic wasn’t expecting to be in this summer’s free agent class but he was among the few players who were bought out in June, sending him to the open market for the first time. Josh Cybulski looked at the veteran blueliner’s options while noting that a guaranteed NHL deal is going to be difficult for him to come by at this time. Vlasic made it clear he intends to keep playing but at this time, he’ll either have to settle for a PTO or look at overseas opportunities.

Among the changes that the NHL and NHLPA would like to bring in for the upcoming season is an exemption that would allow each NHL team to assign one 19-year-old CHL player to the minors. That amendment is pending an agreement between the NHL and CHL that is not yet in place at this time. If something can be worked out, Josh Erickson previewed some of the candidates to start in the AHL, including several top prospects.

Our tour of the Central Division continued in our annual Salary Cap Deep Dive series as I profiled Minnesota. The Wild had ample cap space at their disposal this summer for the first time in several years but wound up largely staying quiet aside from the acquisition of Vladimir Tarasenko and the signing of Nico Sturm. They left themselves ample flexibility to re-sign Marco Rossi and now, barring any late-summer activity, will be in a spot to bank plenty of cap space over the course of the season.

The Islanders brought in a new GM this summer with Mathieu Darche taking over. He made one significant trade by moving Noah Dobson to Montreal but has made it clear that he’s not intent on beginning a rebuild despite adding three lottery picks to his prospect pool in June. Josh Cybulski wonders what the team will be able to do this season; there’s a viable path for them to get back to the playoff picture but if some of their veterans struggle, they could find themselves outside the postseason once again with the odds of another draft lottery win being rather low.

While Matthew Tkachuk’s surgery will give Florida some LTIR flexibility heading into the season (though not as much as expected with the new LTIR rules coming into play this year instead of next), that will only allow them to kick the can down the road for a little bit when it comes to getting into cap compliance upon Tkachuk’s eventual return. Josh Erickson went through the roster for the Panthers to see what players could be the odd ones out when Florida gets back to full health midseason.

Kris Letang has been a mainstay on Pittsburgh’s back end for the better part of two decades; he’s set to play his 20th season with them this season. But his offensive output dropped sharply last season to 30 points, his lowest total since 2013-14 when he missed more than half the season due to injury. Josh Cybulski asked whether the 38-year-old can rediscover his game or if the decline is a sign of things to come. With three years left on his contract heading into this season, the Penguins are certainly hoping that he’ll be able to rebound from his tough 2024-25 showing.

Summer Synopsis: San Jose Sharks

September 6, 2025 at 6:25 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 5 Comments

Expectations weren’t particularly high for the Sharks heading into last season as their extended rebuild continued with their struggles to land another top draft pick. This summer saw GM Mike Grier be quite active overall, although expectations for the upcoming season will once again be low, as the bulk of their summer activity was adding short-term veterans who could potentially be flipped later in the season.