Canadiens’ Nick Suzuki Wins Frank J. Selke Trophy
Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki has won the 2025-26 Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL forward who “best excels in the defensive aspects of the game,” the league announced today.
Suzuki beat out fellow finalists Brock Nelson of the Colorado Avalanche, and Anthony Cirelli of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Suzuki earned the trophy in a landslide, per the voting conducted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. He earned 151 first-place votes and 1,726 total points. Cirelli, who placed second, received 10 first-place votes and 467 points.
The Canadiens captain is a first-time finalist for the Selke Trophy, but finished 13th in voting in each of the prior two campaigns.
The trophy was won by Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov in both 2023-24 and 2024-25, though Barkov missed the 2025-26 season with an injury.
With today’s news, Suzuki has become just the third Canadiens player to take home the Selke Trophy. The other two Canadiens forwards to win the award – Bob Gainey and Guy Carbonneau – are both enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Suzuki, 26, is one of the game’s most valuable all-around centers. For years, he has drawn comparisons to legendary Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron, who is himself a six-time Selke Trophy winner. This past season, Suzuki lived up to those comparisons.
He set a career-high in terms of offensive production, leading a young, ascendant Canadiens team in scoring with 29 goals, 72 assists, and 101 points. He became the first Canadiens forward to reach 100 points in a season since Mats Naslund had 110 points in 1985-86.
Suzuki was able to reach those new heights offensively while redoubling his commitment to the defensive side of the game. Centering the Canadiens’ first line alongside sniper Cole Caufield and blossoming star Juraj Slafkovsky, Suzuki often had to endure being matched up against the top lines of opposing teams. But despite that challenging environment, Suzuki was able to consistently win his minutes on the ice and lead the Canadiens to a stellar regular-season finish.
While it is somewhat unconventional for a player to win the Selke Trophy playing more of a reserve role on the penalty kill (Suzuki is not a leader in the Canadiens’ short-handed rotation), his lack of a leading role is more a credit to the number of specialist defensive centers the Canadiens have (Phillip Danault, Jake Evans) than any kind of statement on his defensive quality.
In fact, Suzuki’s defensive quality has not been a matter of intense debate. Dating back to the start of the season, Suzuki consistently polled as the favorite to win the Selke. He led in the polling for the award conducted by ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski for five straight months, suggesting that voters took to the spirit of the award, which is to recognize the whole of a player’s two-way contributions.
Draft Notes: Ruck Twins, Belchetz, Cali
Liam Ruck and Markus Ruck, two top WHL scorers who expect to go in the first two rounds of the upcoming NHL draft, will return to the WHL for the 2026-27 season. (Via NHL.com’s Mike Morreale) In doing so, they will bypass opportunities to spend the season playing college hockey. Many of the Ruck twins’ peers among the elite draft prospects in the CHL have elected to make college commitments over the past week. The Rucks have decided that remaining with the Medicine Hat Tigers for an additional campaign is the best path for their development en route to the NHL.
The Ruck twins enjoyed a rapid rise up draft boards over the course of the 2025-26 season as they tore up the WHL as leading scorers for the Medicine Hat Tigers. Both Rucks stand 6’0″, while Liam is a winger and Markus a center. Liam scored 45 goals and 104 points in 68 games last season, while Markus scored 21 goals and 108 points. Neither brother came close to the point-per-game mark the previous year, making 2025-26 quite the breakout season for each player. Of the two, Liam is considered by most public-facing scouts to be the superior prospect. In the poll of 10 NHL scouts conducted by Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects, Liam slotted in as the No. 24-ranked prospect, while Markus ranked No. 33.
Other notes from the NHL Draft Combine in Buffalo, NY:
- Ethan Belchetz, one of the draft’s top prospects from the OHL, appears to have recovered well from his season-ending injury, per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. Belchetz’s season ended in March after he suffered a broken clavicle. Belchetz told Wheeler that he could play and feel “close to 100 percent” if there was a game tomorrow, and is participating in all of the fitness testing at the combine outside of the pullups and bench press. A Michigan State commit, Belchetz has a chance to be a top-10 pick. The 6’5″, 228-pound winger scored 34 goals and 59 points in 57 games for the Windsor Spitfires last season, and was ranked as the No. 9 prospect in the class by Elite Prospects.
- OHL prospect center Ryder Cali has generated some buzz recently, and Morreale reported from the combine that he is set to interview with 29 of the league’s 32 clubs. The 6’2″, 219-pound center is one of the draft’s youngest players (born September 6, 2008) and scored 16 goals and 36 points in 47 games for the North Bay Battalion as an OHL rookie. Cali recently committed to play NCAA hockey at Providence College and has a somewhat wide range of rankings by public-facing scouts. He generally sits somewhere on the bubble of the first-round, such as No. 33 (McKeen’s Hockey) or No. 37 (Wheeler), but as low as No. 68 (The Hockey News’ Tony Ferrari).
Marcus Foligno Awarded 2026 King Clancy Trophy
The NHL has announced that Marcus Foligno has won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The award is given to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.
The 34-year-old finished his ninth season with the Minnesota Wild, scoring 13 points in 56 games. He has two-years remaining on a four-year, $16M contract signed back in 2024-25. Marcus becomes the second Foligno to win the award, alongside his brother and teammate Nick Foligno, the 2017 winner of the King Clancy trophy. Nick surprised his brother with the trophy today while Marcus was touring the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota.
Per the NHL press release, Marcus and Nick had a campaign called The Foligno Face-Off, which raised more than $200,000, funding a research grant for breast cancer research that will be named in honor of their mother Janis. The campaign evolved with the Wild trading for the former Blackhawks captain from Chicago, joining Marcus as a teammate for the first time in both players’ NHL careers.
Foligno won a $25,000 donation from the National Hockey League to benefit a charity or charities of his choice. The Wild are eligible to receive a grant of up to $20,000 from the NHL, as directed by Foligno, to organize a special activation related to his cause.
Each NHL team nominated a player for the King Clancy Trophy. The winner is determined by a selection committee consisting of Commissioner Gary Bettman and former winners of the trophy and the historic NHL Foundation Player Award.
Daxon Rudolph Commits To Denver for 2026-27 Season
According to his Instagram, top NHL Draft prospect Daxon Rudolph announced his commitment to the University of Denver for the 2026-27 season, first reported by Brad Elliott Schlossman of Grand Forks Herald.
Rudolph has a consolidated ranking of ninth among the major outlets that cover prospects eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft and is seventh on the Elite Prospects 2026 NHL Draft Guide. In his second season with Prince Albert, he scored 28 goals, tying Josh Morrissey for the club’s record in scoring by a defenseman, for 78 points in 68 WHL games. The 18-year-old added 27 points in 19 playoff games for the Raiders, losing in the Western league final to the Everett Silvertips. As an assistant captain for Canada’s U18 team at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he scored four points in five games and notched two assists in three games for the CHL team at this past Prospects Challenge.
That capped off a career with 119 points and a +45 rating in his two seasons there. Formerly the first overall pick in the 2023 WHL Draft, the Lacombe, Alberta native has demonstrated an ability to score, even registering 15 multi-point games within a 20-game stretch.
Rudolph is described by draft outlets as an offensive defenseman. The 6-foot-2.5 right-shot profiles as a player whose tools can produce high-end goals and effective playmaking. Combine that with his poise, and he’s able to make plays calmly to help him in his transition game and complement the steady offensive reads he visualizes. Defensively, he utilizes his stick as the primary approach. He’s said to have precision in the on-puck game due to his hand speed and quick reaction. What Rudolph needs to work on is his physicality, as he transitions into the NCAA, a big question mark will be how he acclimates to a much more steady gamestyle with bigger competition.
According to Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects, Rudolph had narrowed down his choice of NCAA schools to three top-tier programs. Aside from Denver, which emerges triumphant in the race for Rudolph, Michigan State and Boston College were also in the running as his preferred destinations. A visit to Denver was in the young defenseman’s travel plans in late May, per Robinson.
Set to join the defending national champions in Denver, Rudolph will round out an elite right side that already has fellow top 2026 prospect Ryan Lin, who recently announced his commitment to the Pioneers, and Blake Fiddler (2025-SEA-2nd), both of whom also stem from the WHL. Add on Calgary natives Ben Macbeath and sophomore Eric Jamieson, and that totals five blueliners with WHL roots for the Pioneers. Rudolph certainly adds intrigue to this blueline, but he will have some competition for top-pair minutes among his teammates.
David Carle’s program has dominated during the young coach’s tenure. Since 2019, Carle has taken Denver to five Frozen Fours in nine seasons, winning three national championships in the last five years, all with 29+ wins. Peter Baugh of The Athletic spoke to Rudolph at the NHL Scouting Combine, where he said, “It’s so appealing the amount of success they’ve had in that program, especially with him. Looking forward to playing for a guy like that.”
Carle has seen a few defenders in recent memory carry on their talents to the NHL past the NCAA, like former Hobey Baker winner Will Butcher, Scott Mayfield of the Islanders, and most notably, Zeev Buium.
Anders Lee Could Be Heading to Free Agency
The New York Islanders are facing the very real possibility of losing their captain this summer. According to a report from TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, long-time Islanders forward Anders Lee appears increasingly likely to test the open market as an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
LeBrun reports that Lee’s agent, Neil Sheehy, met with Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche to discuss a potential extension. However, the two sides remain “far apart” on the parameters of a new deal. While the organization reportedly intends to keep negotiating and wants their captain back in the fold, the current gap in expectations means that the draft and free agency period could mark the beginning of the end for Lee’s tenure on Long Island.
With several weeks remaining before the official start of the new league year, there is still time for negotiations to shift. Front offices and agents frequently use the threat of free agency as a final leverage point, and a breakthrough in talks could materialize.
However, if Lee does hit the open market, the 35-year-old forward will draw plenty of attention from contending teams looking for size, leadership, and net-front production. Lee has spent his entire 13-year NHL career with the Islanders, serving as team captain since 2018. Replacing his locker room presence and physical edge would be a massive challenge for Darche. For now, the Isles will need to do all they can to course correct in their conversations, or determine if their captain will wear a new sweater next season.
Evening Notes: Cassidy, Dallas, League Expansion
The NHL has publicly backed the Vegas Golden Knights in the Bruce Cassidy situation. Speaking ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final in Raleigh, commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Vegas is well within its contractual rights to deny rival teams permission to interview Cassidy, whom the club fired in March but who remains under contract through next season. “Obviously, we don’t find it unreasonable because we’re allowing it to happen,” Daly said.
Bettman framed it as a consequence of the long-term deal Cassidy signed. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reported that the league stated, “There are contracts in the league that wouldn’t have allowed this to happen. His was not one of them.” Regarding that contract situation, Cassidy told The Athletic today that just for the chance to interview for the current NHL coaching vacancies, he’d forfeit the reported $5 million the Vegas Golden Knights are on the hook to pay him not to coach next season.
Additional Notes:
- In speaking with the media earlier today, Bettman tempered NHL expansion talks stating, “we’re not ready to expand yet, but we are exploring those expressions of interest”, as reported by Cory Lavalette with NSJNews. Bettman has maintained that an interested group needs to check every box: ownership, market, arena, and arrive with a concrete plan before he’d bring it to the Board. The NHL has sat at 32 teams since Seattle joined for the 2021-22 season.
- The Dallas Stars announced a non-binding letter of intent for a proposed new arena and entertainment district at The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano, roughly 18 miles north of downtown, with the letter of intent heading to the Plano City Council on June 8. The lease at the current American Airlines Center run through 2031, putting any move about five years out, and the news landed a day after the Mavericks announced their own plans to leave downtown.
Penguins Goalie Update, Future With Skinner, Silovs, Murashov
The Penguins do not have a goalie for the 2026-27 season…yet.
They do, actually, but regarding the two NHL goaltenders that finished this past NHL season for them, both aren’t under contract, and that could be the case moving forward. According to Josh Yohe of The Athletic, Pittsburgh is weighing a few of its options in the crease at PPG Paints Arena for next year. Stuart Skinner appears to be on his way to free agency when July 1 comes around, but that isn’t the Penguins’ only path, per Yohe.
The 27-year-old Skinner is an unrestricted free agent, coming off a 27-game stint in Pittsburgh, having posted a 2.99 goals against average and an .885 save percentage in black and gold. Among goaltenders with three playoff games, he finished 15th out of 18 goalies in goals against average (3.08) and second-last in save percentage (.873).
His Penguins stretch came in the latter half of his 2025-26 season. Prior to the Oilers trading him with Brett Kulak in December of 2025 for Tristan Jarry and Samuel Poulin, he had a 2.83 GAA and an .891 SV% in Edmonton. He also amassed 8.3 goals saved above expected, which was nearly ten stops higher than his -1.5 GSAx tally in 51 games with the Oilers last season.
Pittsburgh leadership loved Skinner as a locker room presence and considered him good enough for his performance; however, one should consider the future in two ways. Yes, Skinner brought major playoff experience to a team that is trying to maximize its elder core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson, but it’s doubtful he’ll settle for his previous cap hit of $2.6MM from his four-year contract with Edmonton signed back in 2022 on the open market.
The other goalie to consider is pending restricted free agent Arturs Silovs. The 25-year-old Latvian is coming off a two-year deal at $1.7MM ($850K AAV) and saw 39 games in 2025-26. He averaged a 3.07 goals against and an .888 save percentage, adding on a -11.9 goals saved above expected (89th in 2025-26), which is not the most attractive stat line. However, Silovs rebounded in the playoffs with a 1.52 GAA (2nd in postseason) and a .939 SV%, salvaging two wins for the Penguins before the Flyers’ lone goal in Game 6 ended the season for Pittsburgh.
One certainty seems to ring true with the Penguins: Sergei Murashov is ready for the NHL next season. The 22-year old spent the majority of his year with the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton club, but also saw five NHL games with Pittsburgh. He ended the regular season with a 24-9-4 record, a 2.20 goals against average, and a .919 save percentage (both 3rd in AHL). The AHL Penguins are currently in the midst of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Toronto Marlies, and Murashov has averaged below two goals against a game and, through 12 contests, has posted a .936 SV%.
Murashov is set to end 2026-27 as a restricted free agent, which will be after the third season of his entry-level contract signed back in 2024. The Yaroslavl, Russia native has been under the Penguins organization since they drafted him in the 2022 fourth round at 118th overall. The Penguins have liked his development since he crossed the pond, and according to Yohe, he is on pace to be in between the pipes next season.
So, do you trade Silovs’ rights while the value is high and the NHL is in a window where goaltending is a need for teams? Do you let Skinner go to free agency and re-sign Silovs for less money? Do you keep Skinner, raising the annual number on his paycheck with a lengthy extension to tandem with the young rookie? Kyle Dubas has a load of cap space, around $37.8MM to work with, and a goalie room that shows promise, but how will he play it as the summer progresses?
Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Zach Werenski Wins 2025-26 Norris Trophy
The NHL announced this morning that Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets has won the Norris Trophy, which is annually awarded to the defenseman who demonstrates the greatest all-around ability in his position.
Werenski finished the 2025-26 season scoring 22 goals for 81 points in 75 games this season. He received 113 first-place votes and 48 second-place votes with 16 third-place votes in the PWHA poll for a total of 1,589 points, and was a top-five pick on 194 of 198 ballots. A total of 14 defensemen received votes, with only Colorado’s Cale Makar eclipsing the 1,000-vote mark, second to Werenski and Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin, rounding out the top three with 13 first-place votes and 657 points.
The 28-year-old led the Blue Jackets in assists, points, points-per-game, and finished third in goals. He became the 10th defenseman in NHL history to lead his team in scoring in consecutive campaigns, scoring 82 points in 2024-25. Those back-to-back seasons helped him become the fifth U.S.-born defenseman in NHL history to record multiple 80-point campaigns and is the third to accomplish the feat in consecutive seasons, joining Phil Housley (1991-92 to 1992-93 in Winnipeg) and Brian Leetch (1990-91 to 1991-92 with the New York Rangers). In winning this season, he joins Rod Langway (2x), Chris Chelios (3x), Leetch (2x), Adam Fox, and Quinn Hughes as the sixth American player to win the Norris Trophy.
According to the Blue Jackets press release, Werenski is the seventh player in franchise history to win a major NHL award: joining Rick Nash – Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy (NHL goals leader), 2003-04; Nash – NHL Foundation Player Award (Community Service), 2008-09; Steve Mason – Calder Memorial Trophy (Best Rookie), 2008-09; Sergei Bobrovsky – Vezina Trophy (Best Goalie), 2012-13 and 2016-17; Nick Foligno – King Clancy Award (Leadership & Community Service), 2016-17; Foligno – Mark Messier Leadership Award, 2016-17; John Tortorella – Jack Adams Trophy (Best Coach), 2016-17; Sean Monahan – Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (Perseverance, Sportsmanship, Dedication to Hockey), 2024-25.
The Grosse Pointe, Michigan native is set to enter the fifth season of a six-year contract that he signed back in July of 2021 with a total value of $57.5MM (9.583MM AAV). He’s spent his entire career in Columbus, signing a three-year $15MM ($5MM) deal in 2019 and his entry-level contract, which paid him $925K annually from 2016 to 2019. After being taken eighth overall in 2015 by Columbus, Werenski spent his post-draft season with the University of Michigan, scoring 36 points in 36 games.
Photo Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images.
Why The Flames Should Root For A Golden Knights Stanley Cup Win
It may sting for Calgary Flames fans if you’re watching the Golden Knights succeed right now.
The young franchise that has taken the NHL by storm is en route to its third Stanley Cup final in its ninth season ever. Through its aggressive approach to making many ‘win-now’ moves to benefit this team’s contention window, it has been able to acquire many of the NHL’s top talents from other squads, and most have paid off in their time wearing gold and grey. A few of those acquisitions came from the blue line of the Canadian team north of Sin City.
The Flames are well set up in their current rebuild; they, in part, have Vegas to thank for that. Calgary currently has six total draft picks in the top-64 of the 2026 NHL draft. One of those 2026 selections in the top 32 came from dealing away Noah Hanifin to the Golden Knights for a 2025 first-round pick. That eventually resolved to Calgary’s second first-round selection coming up in this year’s draft because of a condition, as Vegas traded its 2025 first to San Jose in a package for Tomas Hertl. In 2025, the first was used by Nashville to select Ryker Lee via the Yaroslav Askarov trade.
So the conditions involved in Hanifin’s deal are resolved, and the Flames have a late first-round pick to utilize later in June. Along with that, a future selection in a later NHL Draft might go in favor of the Flames, depending on the outcome of this year’s Stanley Cup Final.
Back in the middle of January, the Flames traded defenseman Rasmus Andersson to the Golden Knights, retaining $2.275MM of his AAV for a package deal that highlighted a return of defensemen Zach Whitecloud, Abram Wiebe, and two draft selections added to the team’s cupboard. Both picks have conditions that could help the future of the Calgary Flames, but they’d have to witness their former players emerge victorious for a championship.
Both draft picks Vegas sent as of today reside as a 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick, per Puckpedia. For the 2027 pick, it isn’t exactly locked in for Calgary yet. General Manager Kelly McCrimmon placed a top-10 protection on the 2027 selection. Although this outcome is unlikely, this means that if the Golden Knights end up finishing next season in the top-10 of the NHL Draft after the lottery, Calgary will instead receive a 2028 first-round pick. If Vegas ends up winning the Stanley Cup in 2026 and then they finish as one of the worst teams in 2027, Calgary would then receive a 2029 first from the Golden Knights.
The 2028 second also has a condition on it, but banks on the Golden Knights winning this year. If Vegas wins the 2026 Stanley Cup, the 2028 second-round pick will upgrade to a first-round pick for the Flames in that respective draft.
So if the Golden Knights are Stanley Cup Champions in 2026, all signs will point to the Flames receiving upgrades on their future capital. Barring a Vegas collapse in 2027, they’d own a Golden Knights first-round pick in each of the next three first rounds of the 2026, 2027, and 2028 NHL drafts, along with each of their own.
The Flames are set to begin their offseason with a selection at sixth overall in the 2026 NHL Draft in Buffalo, followed by a 30th or 31st overall selection, depending on the result of the Cup Final. Calgary finished this past season seventh in the Pacific Division with a record of 34-39-9, reaching just 77 points.
They have not made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since the 2021-22 season, but with these draft developments, it can add to a youthful prospect pool that can help them get back there in time. Most notably, their prospect pool will see two major additions alongside 20-year-old defenseman Zayne Parekh, 19-year-old NCAA centers in Cole Reschny and Cullen Potter, 20-year-old winger Matvei Gridin, and the 2025-26 NCAA scoring leader, Quinnipiac’s Ethan Wyttenbach.
Photo Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Blues Sign Will Cranley To One-Year Extension
The St. Louis Blues have signed goaltender Will Cranley to a one-year, two-way contract extension. Cranley spent last season as the third-string netminder for the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. He has slowly risen the ranks of the pro circuit since making his ECHL debut in 2023, three years after the Blues selected him in the sixth-round of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Cranley racked up six wins and a .892 save percentage in 10 AHL games last season. He posted much more encouraging numbers in the ECHL, where he totaled 14 wins and a .915 Sv% in 18 games during the regular season. Despite those strong numbers, Cranley was not included in Florida’s race to the ECHL’s Eastern Conference Finals. While that limited his postseason appearances to part of one start with Springfield, it also served as a small bode of confidence in Cranley’s spot in the AHL.
After racking up 34 wins and a .896 save percentage in 74 career ECHL games, Cranley seems well-set for a full-time promotion next season. He will compete with Vadim Zherenko and Georgi Romanov for starts in Springfield’s crease. Zherenko posted the best statline of the bunch last season, with 17 wins and a .902 Sv% in 42 games. Romanov recorded nine wins and a .896 Sv% in 28 games. His numbers should be surmountable for the 24-year-old Cranley, though Zherenko appears set to hold onto the starting role for the foreseeable future.