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Poll: Who Is The Early Favorite To Win The 2026 Calder Trophy?

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The hockey world was treated to a true gift by the race for the 2025 Calder Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL’s top rookie. The class lived up to years of expectations, headlined by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson tying Larry Murphy for the most assists by a rookie defender. He took home the Calder ahead of San Jose Sharks top center Macklin Celebrini and Calgary Flames starting goaltender Dustin Wolf – who both managed star-studded and historic performances of their own. The heap of talent left players who could have won the trophy outright in seemingly any other year – options like 26-goal-scorer Matvei Michkov. A rookie class so strong will be impossible to follow up, but the group in 2025-26 seem to have a great chance to come close.

Early predictions will have the Calder Trophy staying put through in 2026. The Canadiens are set to award star rookie Ivan Demidov with his first NHL season, after he led KHL super-club SKA St. Petersburg with in scoring with 49 points in 62 games last season. He was a sheer force at Russia’s top level, showing a pace, strength, and finesse that was unmatched by his competition. Demidov finished the year with five points in six Gagarin Cup Playoff matchups, before scoring four points in his first seven games with Montreal.

Demidov is now set to assume a key role in the Canadiens’ lineup. It’s hard to imagine he won’t play true top-line minutes. He offers the in-tight skill and low-zone grit to perfectly complement spot-shooter Cole Caufield and playmaking, two-way center Nick Suzuki. The stars will be Demidov’s ceiling if he gets a full year to such talented players. He nearly recorded a 20-30-50 season in the KHL – a league often lauded as near-equal to the NHL. That standing could set him up for 60, or even 70, points in his first year with Montreal.

It will be a tight race to catch up to, and overcome, Demidov. A slew of star collegiate players signed their entry-level contracts at the end of the season, and could easily be set for major minutes of their own. Sam Rinzel fills a need for right-shot defense for the Blackhawks and Oliver Moore seemed to bring his slick-passing to Chicago, Gabe Perreault looked like a strong utility player with the New York Rangers, and Ryan Leonard showed an ability to match the Washington Capitals’ pace.

And yet, all four could be outdone by Minnesota Wild defenseman Zeev Buium, who managed an impressive 98 points in 83 games at the University of Denver. He appeared in four Stanley Cup Playoff games, but only managed one assist. Also atop the defense charts is top KHL defender Alexander Nikishin, who ended a stalemate when he finally joined the Carolina Hurricanes for the playoffs. Nikishin ranked second on SKA St. Petersburg with 46 points in 61 games, and matched Buium’s postseason statline.

Even still, the OHL could emerge. Sam Dickinson served as the star of the 2025 Memorial Cup-winning London Knights, and seems well-primed for a big role with the desolate San Jose Sharks. He could be joined by the reigning ’OHL Player of the Year’ Michael Misa, who managed an incredible 62 goals and 134 points in 65 OHL games last season. Misa was drafted second in this year’s class, with New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer the only selection before him. The smooth-moving, sharp-eyed Schaefer could be another Calder candidate, though he hasn’t played a season-game since sustaining a broken collarbone during the World Junior Championships last December.

It will be hard for any player to rival the record-breaking heights that Hutson reached last season, but the list of candidates looking to follow him up seems endless. Any one of the aforementioned players could find their way into a star role, or the award could go to someone entirely different – like 2025 Hobey Baker Award-winner and Edmonton Oilers winger Isaac Howard.

With so much talent on the board, who do you think will win the 2026 Calder Trophy? If you choose ’Other’, comment your pick below!

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Filip Gustavsson Open To Extension With Wild

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The Minnesota Wild can finally turn their attention towards the 2026 summer after locking up top restricted-free agent Marco Rossi to a three-year deal. One of their top tasks will be making a decision on the future of their crease. Veteran goaltender Filip Gustavsson will play through the final year of his three-year, $11.25MM contract next season and be due for a much richer salary next summer. Ahead of returning to Minnesota for training camp, Gustavsson told Michael Russo of The Athletic that he is open to inking a new deal. The netminder said:

I’ve had the conversations with my agent and all that stuff, and what we’re looking into and what we would like to do… {We} haven’t started actively talking to {Bill Guerin} or anything. When they want to talk, then we talk, and otherwise I have this year left and I’m just gonna play and win.

Early interest in an extension could benefit Gustavsson. He’s set to be backed up by top Wild prospect Jesper Wallstedt for the first time next season, after hockey legend Marc-Andre Fleury announced his retirement last season. Wallstedt was a first-round pick – 20th overall – in the 2021 NHL Draft. He moved to the AHL’s Iowa Wild two seasons later, and has served as the team’s de facto starter in the three years since. That tenure started positive – with a .908 save percentage in 38 games of his AHL rookie season. He followed it with a .910 Sv% in 45 games of the 2023-24 season, but soured this year with a bleak .879 Sv% in 27 games, low enough to cede the starter’s chair to Samuel Hlavaj.

Despite the dip, Wallstedt still stands as one of the best goalie prospects in the world, and will finally get a chance to show his might at the NHL level next season. He won’t stand much of a chance to overcome Gustavsson, who spent the last three seasons firmly planting his feet in Minnesota’s starter’s crease. After years of fluctuating between NHL and AHL lineups, Gustavsson flourished with a move to Minnesota in 2022. He had a career-year in his debut season with the Wild, recording a .931 Sv% and lofty 22-9-7 record in 39 games.

With a path to the starting role carved out, Gustavsson quickly established himself as Minnesota’s surest bet to win games. He was a composed, big-moment goaltender, who stood as one of the squad’s bright spots in a slumping 2023-24 season. Gustavsson recorded a team-best .899 Sv% and 20-17-5 record in 45 games that year. It was a slight dip, on a Wild roster that was outscored by 12 goals on the full year, and Gustavsson continued to surge as Fleury entered his final season this year. The 27-year-old Swede managed a bright 31-19-6 record and .914 Sv% in 58 games. That performance not only marked the most Gustavsson played in a single season, but also gave Gustavsson the fourth-highest save percentage of any starter in the NHL.

It is on the heels of that performance that tremendous Gustavsson will now beginning entertaining a new contract. Even with the pressure of Wallstedt, there’s no question over who Minnesota’s top goaltender is. Gustavsson has shined as a consistent performer, through both extended runs in the regular season and spot performances in the playoffs. He’s also square in the middle of his prime years, and could stand up to a starter’s year through the next four, five, or six seasons.

Gustavsson’s rise to the starter role, and standout performance last year, are both very comparable to 28-year-old Mackenzie Blackwood. Blackwood was dealt around the NHL over the last two seasons, but planted his feet with the Colorado Avalanche last season, stamped by a five-year, $26.25MM contract extension. That price tag – a yearly cap-hit of $5.25MM – could be the mark that Gustavsson shoots for on a new deal. He could even ease his way closer to $6MM, with the benefit of a career-long .913 Sv% sitting higher than Blackwood’s .906.

The Wild could prefer waiting to see how Wallstedt performs in his first full NHL season before they commit to Gustavsson long-term. But with a lofty 73-46-17 record and .914 Sv% in 142 total games with the Wild, it will take a monumental performance to bump Gustavsson out of his seat. Should he stick in it through the full season, a rich payday seems all but certain next summer.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports.

Wild Sign Marco Rossi To Three-Year Deal

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1:36 p.m.: The Wild have made Rossi’s new deal official in a team release.

10:36 a.m.: After months of trade speculation, restricted free agent center Marco Rossi is signing a new deal in the State of Hockey. PuckPedia reports the forward will sign a three-year deal with the Wild worth around $15MM in total, working out to a cap hit around $5MM. The backloaded deal will pay Rossi $4MM in 2025-26 and increase by $1MM increments each season, giving him a $6MM qualifying offer when he can become an RFA again upon expiry in 2028, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic.

It’s a welcome increase for Rossi as he comes off his entry-level contract, but it’s still significantly less than he was hoping for. The 2020 ninth overall pick took major strides in his development last season, posting a career-high 24 goals and 60 points for Minnesota in first-line deployment despite missing star wingman Kirill Kaprizov for more than half the season. As a result, he entered talks this summer looking for a long-term deal in the $7MM range annually.

It was how Rossi ended the season that set the stage for a rather sour offseason. After cooling off down the stretch, posting nine points and a -11 rating in 20 games after the trade deadline, he was demoted to fourth-line deployment in their first-round loss to the Golden Knights. He still managed two goals and 11 shot attempts in the six-game battle, but averaged only 11:08 of ice time per game.

In most cases, that would be seen as only a minor roadblock for a high-potential pick. But Rossi, who was Bill Guerin’s first draft pick as the Wild’s general manager, had been the subject of trade speculation for some time – to the point where Guerin said outright last December that he was highly impressed with Rossi’s forward progress and wasn’t looking to move him. The Wild’s hesitancy to offer a long-term deal remained, though, leaving the two sides at an impasse for most of the offseason and forcing Guerin to explore trade packages, none of which were appealing enough to get a deal done despite wide-ranging interest.

The contract itself is likely bang-on for his market value. AFP Analytics projected a long-term pact for Rossi to come in at seven years at $7.4MM per season and a short-term one to be two years at $4.5MM annually. With an extra year thrown in on top of that shorter projection, it makes sense that the AAV comes up a notch as well.

After trade interest quieted in July, the Canucks and Kraken had reportedly resurfaced in talks in recent days, with Rossi’s contract situation still unresolved. Whether that was a significant impetus for Rossi’s camp to agree to a bridge remains to be seen – either to solidify his future in Minnesota or to make himself a more palatable trade asset with cost certainty.

Rossi’s long-term projection as a legitimate top-six center remains optimistic. After losing a good chunk of his development due to a serious bout with COVID, he’s steadily upped his offensive production each year since turning pro. He’s improved on draws as well, going from a 44.7% win rate in his rookie season to 46.8% last year. He was significantly more involved in the forecheck in 2024-25 compared to 2023-24, nearly doubling the amount of hits he laid, and he has had strong relative possession impacts in each of his two full NHL seasons.

The Wild now end up with a full roster and north of $4.4MM in cap space to open the season, per PuckPedia. The club projects to have much more financial flexibility to make in-season adds than they have in the last couple of years as a result. He’ll enter camp as the odds-on favorite to start next season alongside Kaprizov again despite how his minutes were cut in last year’s playoffs, firming up a familiar center corps of himself, Joel Eriksson Ek, Ryan Hartman, and Nico Sturm.

Image courtesy of Nick Wosika-Imagn Images.

Wild Making Progress In Contract Talks With Marco Rossi

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One way or another, it looks like RFA center Marco Rossi won’t be in limbo for much longer. After reports this morning indicated the Canucks and Kraken had shown renewed interest in trading for his signing rights, the Wild now made “significant progress” in talks to re-sign him and keep him in Minnesota, according to Michael Russo of The Athletic.

It’s not expected to be a long-term pact of any sort if it gets across the finish line, Russo relays, indicative of the two sides’ hesitancy to commit to each other over the past few months. After breaking out for 60 points and playing all 82 games in 2024-25, upping his rookie season production by 50%, Wild head coach John Hynes demoted Rossi to fourth-line duties during their first-round playoff loss to the Golden Knights. That prefaced a summer where general manager Bill Guerin’s focus was seemingly set on trading the young pivot rather than keeping him in the fold, looking to leverage him for a more experienced middleman.

There was an effective months-long moratorium on actual contract negotiations between Guerin and Rossi’s camp, led by The Will Sports Group’s Ian Pulver, with new talks likely kicking off only within the last couple of weeks. Rossi can only sign a deal up to three years in length to remain a restricted free agent upon expiry – a four-year commitment would make him UFA-eligible at the earliest possible point in 2029.

The Wild haven’t had many forwards in Rossi’s age range come up through their system in recent years, so it’s hard to gauge precedent. In applicable situations, Guerin and the Wild have tended to go long-term with who they perceive as core pieces, so zeroing in on a bridge pact is a notable departure that continues to signify his long-term future in Minnesota is anything but guaranteed. Minnesota’s other top-six center, Joel Eriksson Ek, was an RFA at age 24 coming off a two-year bridge and signed an eight-year pact. Defenseman Brock Faber got an eight-year extension last summer, before he even wrapped up his entry-level deal.

If there’s a desirable trade still to be had for the Wild involving Rossi, applying some cost certainty to him for the next year or two could end up boosting their odds of getting the deal across the finish line. Earlier in the summer, Rossi’s desire for a long-term contract in the $7MM range annually was the principal hold-up in talks, along with only a limited number of teams being willing to part with a top-six forward piece in kind to acquire him.

Locking in a bridge deal would remove one of those factors. It’s still up to Guerin to decide whether playoff success this season is a more realistic endeavor with Rossi in the fold compared to any of his potential replacements via trade, but the obstacles to finding the 2020 No. 9 overall pick a long-term home would be easier to overcome.

Canucks, Kraken Re-Engaging In Marco Rossi Trade Talks With Wild

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While previous reports indicated the Canucks and Kraken both had interest in acquiring Wild restricted free agent center Marco Rossi at various points during the offseason, talks have been quiet for weeks now after Minnesota didn’t land the type of offers they wanted. However, with less than a month now until training camp, they’re now restating their interest in acquiring him if “contract talks between Rossi and the Wild reach a point of no return,” a league source told RG’s James Murphy. Neither club has had intensive talks with Minnesota since mid-July at the latest, the source added.

Wild general manager Bill Guerin spoke to Murphy last week and gave a rather cliché non-update on talks with both Rossi and pending UFA superstar Kirill Kaprizov, saying there were “no real updates” on either player. The two sides haven’t had serious contract discussions since June, leaving them with little time to work out a new deal if a trade doesn’t come to fruition in the next few weeks. The latter outcome is undoubtedly the preferred outcome for both sides at this point, given how the summer has transpired, but that’s been difficult too with Rossi’s desire for a lucrative long-term commitment and the Wild’s need for a top-six forward coming the other way to stay competitive.

For those reasons, the Kraken seem like a better match on paper. As Murphy’s piece pointed out, Seattle has a nearly perfect veteran to offer to satiate Minnesota’s particular desires in Jared McCann, who they were reportedly open to moving last month.

McCann has been a staple atop Seattle’s roll-four-lines attack over the last four years as one of the crown jewels of their expansion draft haul. While he’s spent more time on the wing for the Kraken as his career has progressed, he has plenty of experience down the middle and could feasibly be a direct replacement for Rossi on the depth chart to join Joel Eriksson Ek as the Wild’s top-six pivots. The 29-year-old rattled off 61 points in 82 games last season, but that was actually his lowest per-game output since his first year in Seattle. He’s also due to reach unrestricted free agency in 2027.

While Seattle has a multitude of other veteran forwards slated to hit the open market next summer, there’s likely still an appetite from general manager Jason Botterill to better align the age of their forwards on longer-term deals to match their timeline to emerge as perennial playoff contenders – still a year or two away. Rossi, who put up a nearly identical scoring line to McCann last season and is more comfortable down the middle, would be more expensive to sign than McCann’s current $5MM cap hit but is nearly six years younger. Now entering his age-24 season, he’d be giving Seattle his prime in the middle of a cost-certain deal as the cap rises if they reached a long-term commitment out of the gate.

It’s harder to see how the Canucks could put together a competitive offer for Rossi. He would be an offensive improvement over their current young second-line piece, Filip Chytil, but his concussion history means he’s not likely to move the needle for Guerin, especially if McCann is a realistic option.

It’s also worth noting that the Kraken and Wild have already connected on a trade this summer. Seattle picked up center Frédérick Gaudreau in exchange for the 102nd overall pick in this year’s draft, which Minnesota used on skilled but undersized pivot Adam Benák.

Players Who Could Start The Season On LTIR

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While only a handful of teams project to need cap relief via long-term injured reserve to open the season, multiple candidates across the league might technically qualify for a placement. Doing so would bar the player from returning until Oct. 31 at the earliest – 24 days from the season start date of Oct. 7.

Avalanche: Logan O’Connor

O’Connor underwent hip surgery in early June. Given the five-to-six-month projected recovery window, he won’t be available until early November at best, putting him past the 10-game/24-day threshold required for LTIR. Colorado, which has $2.10MM in current cap space, will likely place O’Connor on standard IR if they don’t make any other cap-affecting moves between now and October. If they need the relief, though, they could create up to O’Connor’s $2.5MM cap hit in cushion for the first few weeks of the season if they need it.

Blues: Torey Krug

St. Louis general manager Doug Armstrong announced in May that Krug’s career is done because of pre-arthritic conditions in his left ankle that surgical intervention only slowly corrected. Since the Blues only have around $625K in cap space, Krug and his $6.5MM cap hit will be going on LTIR as soon as they need the flexibility for a call-up.

Canadiens: Carey Price

What’s certain is that Price won’t play this season or ever again. He’s entering the final season of his contract at a $10.5MM cap hit after confirming nearly two years ago that his knee injury would prohibit him from suiting up again. What’s uncertain is whether or not he’ll begin the season on LTIR. Montreal isn’t in a great position to optimize its LTIR relief, either by matching his cap hit in excess or getting down to $0 in space before placing him on the list. That’s made his contract a trade chip for teams who might need the relief more.

Devils: Johnathan Kovacevic

Kovacevic underwent knee surgery in early May and won’t be ready for training camp and likely opening night as well. Whether that stretches past Oct. 31 and makes him eligible for an LTIR placement if New Jersey needs cap relief early on remains to be seen.

Flyers: Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Ristolainen

Ellis’ career is over after sustaining a wide-ranging muscular injury in his pelvis just four games into his Flyers tenure in 2021. Ristolainen underwent a procedure on his right triceps tendon on March 26 with a six-month recovery time, putting him right on the edge of potential LTIR eligibility. Philly will have a better idea of the latter’s LTIR deployment potential after he undergoes his training camp physical. With $370K in cap space, they’re in a good position for near-max LTIR capture and will almost certainly at least place Ellis there to begin the year to give them call-up flexibility.

Golden Knights: Alex Pietrangelo

Pietrangelo is already on offseason LTIR, meaning the Knights actually still have to add an additional $1.2MM to their roster before opening night to optimize his capture and unlock his full $8.8MM cap hit’s worth of relief for this season. The team confirmed he requires multiple undisclosed but significant surgeries that will likely mark the end of his playing career, but it’s unclear if he’s actually had them done yet.

Jets: Adam Lowry

Lowry underwent hip surgery in late May and won’t be available until after Thanksgiving at the earliest. Winnipeg likely won’t be formalizing an LTIR placement with nearly $4MM in cap space, though.

Mammoth: Juuso Välimäki

Välimäki underwent ACL surgery in early March. He likely won’t end up on LTIR given Utah’s current cap flexibility ($6.68MM), but he’ll be out until at least early November so he’ll be there as an early-season option in case they need relief for whatever reason.

Oilers: Zach Hyman

Hyman’s inclusion here is on the speculative side. The winger could very well be ready for the start of the season. However, there hasn’t been much clarity on how much recovery he still needs after undergoing surgery to repair a severe wrist injury that kept him out of the Stanley Cup Final. A report in early June indicated there was uncertainty about his status for training camp, with no meaningful updates since then.

Panthers: Matthew Tkachuk

Tkachuk told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski earlier this month that he’s still deciding whether he wants to undergo surgery to address the adductor issue that hampered him down the stretch and in the playoffs after sustaining it at the 4 Nations Face-Off. All signs point to him opting for it and spending the next two to three months on the shelf as a result, though. Placing him on LTIR is the only way the Panthers, who currently have a cap exceedance of $3.725MM, can be compliant to start the season without shedding a significant contract, something they aren’t keen to do.

Wild: Jonas Brodin

Minnesota has $9.41MM in cap space, but that number will shrink once they re-sign restricted free agent Marco Rossi (or add salary while trading his signing rights). Neither scenario will likely push them into a situation where they need to use LTIR relief, but they might have Brodin and his $6MM cap hit as an option for some short-term flexibility if required. He underwent an upper-body procedure in early June and is questionable for the beginning of the season, so it’s not yet clear if he’ll miss enough time to qualify.

“No Updates” On Talks Between Wild And Kirill Kaprizov, Marco Rossi

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There continues to be a lack of meaningful progress in contract talks with pending UFA superstar Kirill Kaprizov or restricted free agent center Marco Rossi, Wild general manager Bill Guerin told RG’s James Murphy in an interview published Wednesday.

That said, it’s not a point of stress for the front office, Guerin said. “The talks have been pretty consistent, and I’ve been happy with them.. I don’t like to put really anything out in the public when it comes to negotiations, but no, there’s no real updates.”

There’s obviously less urgency on Kaprizov’s deal – they still have nearly 11 months before he can hit the open market. Going into the regular season without an agreement with Rossi or an appropriate trade return for his rights, however, leaves them without one of just three 20-goal scorers from last season with no surefire insurance policy.

To that end, there had been speculation that Rossi wasn’t considering any contract offers from Minnesota until Kaprizov’s situation was settled. That statement never made much sense, considering Rossi remains under team control through the 2028-29 season, and Guerin refuted it in the interview.

Even though that isn’t a factor, there’s still an interminable stalemate. Reporting last month indicated Rossi’s camp hadn’t engaged in contract talks with the Wild since June, after which they pivoted to trade discussions only. Whether that’s changed in recent weeks, or if Guerin’s response of consistent talks is nothing more than a platitude, remains unclear.

With trade talks remaining similarly quiet around Rossi at this point in the offseason, a bridge deal is presumably the best way forward for both sides – even if he’s shown some hesitation about leaving himself exposed to a trade to an undesirable destination. A bridge deal should come across in the $4.5MM range annually for the next two seasons, AFP Analytics projects. With nearly $9.5MM in cap space, that wouldn’t be a concern for Minnesota.

It’s likely not worth checking in on either situation until the beginning of training camp, when Rossi’s camp will be more inclined to acquiesce on a bridge deal and Kaprizov will be back in Minnesota.

Wild Sign Jack Johnson To PTO

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The third-overall pick of the 2005 NHL Draft feels he has more in the tank. According to a team announcement, the Minnesota Wild have signed veteran defenseman Jack Johnson to a professional tryout agreement.

Johnson, 38, is coming off a one-year agreement with the team he’s spent the most years of his career with, the Columbus Blue Jackets. His performance did little to inspire confidence in his playing abilities, as he only managed six assists in 41 games while averaging 12:52 of ice time per game. Johnson was arguably the worst defenseman on the Blue Jackets last season, finishing with the second-lowest CorsiFor% at even strength (44.8%), and the lowest (by a considerable margin) on-ice save percentage at even strength (85.5%).

In Johnson’s defense, it’s notable that he is only two years removed from a relatively productive season with the Colorado Avalanche. He scored three goals and 16 points in 80 games, averaging nearly 15 minutes of ice time during the 2023-24 campaign. It could be because he was surrounded by better talent in Denver, but Johnson managed a far better 49.1% CF% and 92.7% oiSV%.

Still, it’s hard to imagine where Johnson fits into the Wild’s defense, even if he has a strong training camp and preseason. Minnesota boasts one of the better defensive units in the league, which is even more impressive considering Jonas Brodin isn’t expected to start the season on time. Assuming a healthy unit, the Wild’s seventh defenseman would theoretically become Zach Bogosian or David Jiříček.

Unlikely to accept a demotion to the American Hockey League at this stage of his career, Johnson may be using his PTO with the Wild as a means to find an opportunity with a different organization, as many players do with this style of agreement.

Poll: Who Will Be The Next RFA To Sign?

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The summer is winding down across the NHL, but a rich group of remaining restricted-free agents are keeping multiple teams from closing their books just yet. There are still multiple top, young players awaiting contracts for the 2025-26 season – including top-line features like Luke Hughes, Marco Rossi, and Mason McTavish. Pending any holdouts, it seems hard to imagine any of the top names not finding a new deal before the start of the season. But who will get the assurance next?

Hughes seems like a confident bet. There’s no denying the warm relationship between his family and the New Jersey Devils organization, and both team and player have already expressed interest in locking up a long-term contract. But that desire has been the exact hang-up in contract negotiations, as the Devils sit with just over $6.1MM in available cap space, per PuckPedia. Hughes scored 44 points in 71 games last year, and 47 points in 82 games in the year prior. That scoring is the second-most from any U23 defender in the NHL over the last two seasons, just behind Jake Sanderson (95 points) and ahead of Brock Faber (76 points).

Both Sanderson and Faber have already found their contracts for the future – each signing eight-year deals with cap hits north of $8MM. That seems to set a clear market for what Hughes, but it’s a price tag that New Jersey is currently priced out of. Landing a new deal with Hughes will seemingly take a gentleman’s agreement, or a supplemental move like parting with the $1.15MM cap hit of Kurtis MacDermid.

New Jersey’s holdups could pave way for Anaheim Ducks center McTavish to land a deal first. McTavish is another undeniable talent, who worked his way to a lofty 22 goals and 52 points in 76 games last season – good for second on the Ducks in scoring. He seems well set up for another big step next season, on an improved Ducks lineup with a new head coach. But McTavish’s continued divide with a rich Ducks team – currently wielding $20.54MM in cap space – has many speculating about what the two sides could be disagreeing on. That dialogue has made McTavish a top option for any team considering a late-summer offer sheet, though Anaheim’s rich cap space would make it tough to successfully buy McTavish. Instead, it seems the two sides will be tasked only with deciding between a short-term bridge deal or a deal that carries McTavish through his prime.

The Minnesota Wild will be facing a similarly challenging question with top center Marco Rossi. Rossi is another player who managed a true breakout last year, with 24 goals and 60 points in 82 games. He stepped into a prime role with the Wild in the second-half of the year, taking on the top-line center role with Joel Eriksson Ek out with injury and routinely earning north of 20 minutes of ice time. Rossi looked up to the task, but then was surprisingly relegated to a fourth-line role for Minnesota’s six postseason games. The Wild are clearly at ends with the question of whether Rossi’s 5-foot-9 frame can stand up to a true #1 role. That hang-up has made Rossi’s situation perhaps the most likely to drag through the pre-season. And still, it’s hard to imagine Minnesota will give up easily on their most recent top-10 draft pick. Rossi could be a strong candidate for a short-term, prove-it contract – which would give Minnesota the time to figure out his lineup role. The Wild sit with just over $9.4MM in cap space.

There are plenty of strong candidates to sign next outside of the big three names. The gap between the Calgary Flames and impressive center Connor Zary has been revealed as narrow. Multiple players have already carved out lineup roles with their signing team, and now only need the deal to prove it – players like Seattle’s Ryker Evans and Nashville’s Luke Evangelista. And other teams are merely one contract away from a full book, like the Vegas Golden Knights with winger Alexander Holtz. Any of those situations could quickly cave, and land another promising young player with the ramp they need for next season.

Who do you think will sign next? Answer in the poll below and let us know why in the comments:

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ECHL's Iowa Heartlanders Sign Jaxon Nelson

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The 20-year-old native of Nagano, Japan, recently completed his second season in the WHL. Though he started his WHL career with the Wenatchee Wild for the 2023-24 season, he was acquired by the Victoria Royals for the end of the season. He excelled at the WHL level, scoring 63 goals and 166 points in 123 games, achieving a +49 rating, along with 10 goals and 25 points in 16 postseason contests.

[SOURCE LINK]

  • The ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders, affiliate of the Minnesota Wild, announced today that they’ve signed forward Jaxon Nelson to an ECHL contract for the 2025-26 season. The former captain of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers had been playing for the AHL’s Providence Bruins the past few years, to disappointing results. Still, Nelson is only two years removed from scoring 19 goals and 31 points in 39 games for Minnesota.

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