The Montreal Canadiens couldn't keep up to the Carolina Hurricanes and now, held home for the summer. Montreal took a giant step forward in the team's development over the course of this season, but at the trade deadline, GM Kent Hughes sat on his hands, meanwhile during the Eastern Conference Final, head coach Martin St. Louis made zero adjustments down the stretch. This offseason there's going to be changes as the roster will look a little bit different heading into training camp in Se...
about 5 hours ago
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The longest-tenured Toronto Maple Leaf could be starting the next chapter of his career. Reports have surfaced indicating that Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly is contemplating his future and is softening his stance on his no-movement clause. There is belief that Rielly is now open to a trade to the Western Conference, and there's a few teams that make sense as destinations. Nick Kypreos: Before Toronto’s new front office was put in place, industry sources believed the Leafs would be looking int...
about 6 hours ago
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We're less than a month out from the 2026 NHL Draft. With the lack of depth on the unrestricted free agent market, trades are going to be the topic around the league this summer—it will be the only way for teams to get significantly better. And that should start with a vengeance ahead of, or at, the draft. The Vancouver Canucks were supremely disappointed that they didn't get the No. 1 overall pick in the lottery. Instead, they fell to the 3rd pick. San Jose is ahead of them, at No...
about 17 hours ago
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Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson's hubris may have yielded unintended consequences with the NHL this week. It was announced that the team shopped forward Ilya Mikheyev's rights , before he reached unrestricted free agent status, attempting to gauge interest in the bottom-six forward. "I guess it was let known across the league that Chicago probably isn't going to be able to sign Ilya Mikheyev," Friedman said. "His rights are available if any team wants to talk to h...
about 18 hours ago
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It was a stressful offseason for Mason McTavish last summer as he and the Anaheim Ducks battled it out until 10 days into training camp before they came to terms on an extension for the restricted free agent. After missing all that time at camp, the regular season wasn't much better for McTavish, despite being armed with a six-year, $42 million contract ($7M AAV). Aside from a few brief spells of inspired play, he suffered his lowest production and ice time in his four NHL seasons,...
about 19 hours ago
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The Bruce Cassidy/Vegas Golden Knights drama carries on. With the team now getting set for the Stanley Cup Finals beginning next week, they will most surely be standing pat on their refusal of all interview requests for their fired (but still under contract) head coach Bruce Cassidy. The Edmonton Oilers are one team that was notably turned down. He seems like exactly the head coach that club needs. Is it possible they'll continue waiting to see if he has interest in the job... Or do they...
about 20 hours ago
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The Toronto Maple Leafs ' head coaching search has already taken a number of twists and turns, and in-person interviews aren't even fully underway yet. It was just two days ago that we heard from a couple of insiders that the Leafs were granted permission to interview former Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft (currently an assistant coach with the Anaheim Ducks), and that he was a 'frontrunner' for the job in Toronto. But now we're hearing that not only is an interview not co...
about 21 hours ago
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After 14 years with the NY Islanders , the last eight as captain, Anders Lee is 'not a slam dunk' to return, according to a report from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Yes, the Islanders have indicated to their captain that they'd like to bring him back. But, with Lee about to turn 36, and his numbers taking a bit of a dip this past season, LeBrun writes that there are some hurdles to clear before there's a path for that to happen. My understanding is that New York Islanders GM Mathieu Da...
After the shocking good fortune of winning the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NHL Draft Lottery, the Toronto Maple Leafs , by all accounts, seem set to take either Gavin McKenna (most likely) or Ivar Stenberg as a blue-chip building block for the future when this year's Draft takes place next month. Or will they? According to insider Pierre LeBrun in The Athletic , new Toronto GM John Chayka is not opposed to listening to offers from rival teams interested in the top pick. Not t...
Shocking and devastating news for the hockey community on Thursday, as one of the great playoff leaders and clutch performers of all-time, Claude Lemieux, has died at the young age of 60. NEWS: Claude Lemieux, a four-time Stanley Cup champion and one of the fiercest playoff performers in NHL history, has died at 60. Lemieux played 21 years in the NHL, winning the 1995 Conn Smythe Trophy and the four Cups with three separate teams. https://t.co/u4bkMXaPnd pic.twitter.com/euk324WOIW — The Athlet...
The Anaheim Ducks took a major step forward on the ice this season, and it sounds like general manager Pat Verbeek is going to take some major steps forward off the ice this offseason. Trade talks are buzzing around the Ducks these days, and it's all reportedly centered around Mason McTavish. It was a wild season for McTavish, as the 23-year-old pesky forward saw his role diminish at times this season with the Ducks, and then when he was given the opportunity to play meaningful minutes, ...
The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to be the team to watch this offseason. John Chayka and Mats Sundin have a ton of cap space, they have the number-one overall pick at next month's draft in Buffalo, they have a committed captain in Auston Matthews, and they also have their top goaltending prospect playing amazing for the Toronto Marlies in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman recently mentioned Artur Akhtyamov's name on an episode of 32 Thoughts, and opened up about the ...
Leafs Nation, you're going to want to hear this. After shocking the NHL and winning the draft lottery a few weeks ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs are set up to select Gavin McKenna with the first overall pick, and while some folks were wondering about his interest in heading to a wild hockey market, it turns out he's all for it. McKenna was a guest on TSN's panel at the Memorial Cup, and was asked about if he's thought about become a Maple Leaf. Obviously, it's the biggest hockey market in ...
The Montreal Canadiens ' rebuild arrived ahead of schedule.
They've made it to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes, seven wins away from the Stanley Cup, and are doing it with a roster younger than almost anyone in the league expected to be here this fast. They're currently down 3-1 in the series after winning the first game, however.
The question Kent Hughes now faces is whether to stay patient and trust the system or accelerate the timeline by moving one of his ...
The St. Louis Blues enter the 2026 NHL Draft with three first-round picks, twelve total selections, and a prospect pool that The Athletic 's Scott Wheeler ranked tenth in the league as recently as March. They also have a problem. As Wheeler wrote, the Blues' pool is missing a truly elite prospect. With picks at 11th and 15th overall, plus Colorado's first-rounder slotting in somewhere around 30th when the Avalanche's season ends, the Blues have the assets to be aggressive. The question everyon...
The Toronto Maple Leafs ' extended head coaching search continues. A lot of names have cropped up so far, some more practical than others. We're hearing on Wednesday that one of the more realistic candidates is one step closer. According to Nick Alberga of The Leafs Nation, the Anaheim Ducks have granted the Leafs permission to speak with their assistant coach Jay Woodcroft. Hearing the Ducks have given the Leafs permission to speak to Jay Woodcroft. Initial interview pending. No s...
14-year NHL veteran Vladimir Tarasenko had a redemption season with the Minnesota Wild in 2025-26. After looking like he might be done as a top-notch scorer, with an 11-goal year in Detroit last season, the Wild took a chance and acquired Tarasenko from the Red Wings last June. It paid off handsomely. A six-time 30-goal scorer in his younger days, the Russian forward registered 23 goals this season. In addition, he played a mentor role for his young linemate, Russian rookie Danila ...
It was quite the turn of events after an almost record-setting regular season, but the Colorado Avalanche were swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final. There's going to be significant roster changes coming for the Avs, as general manager Chris MacFarland will be busy this offseason. Looking ahead to next year, here's there Avalanche players who aren't expected back with the club next season: Brent Burns The Avs were trying hard to win Burns the illusive Stanley Cup, a...
Keep an eye on the Toronto Maple Leafs and San Jose Sharks this offseason as trade winds are swirling. There's been multiple reports surfacing that the two teams have discussed a potential summer trade that involves defenceman Morgan Rielly. The longest-tenured Maple Leaf does hold a no-movement clause, however is rumored to be open to deals on the west coast. Frank Seravalli: Re Morgan Rielly: This is a very movable player; consider a team like the Sharks for instance, two NHL defenseme...
When the Toronto Maple Leafs claimed Troy Stecher on waivers from the Edmonton Oilers back in November, it was sort of a "break glass in case of emergency" situation, as Toronto needed to add some defensive depth with the team being riddled with injuries to their blueline. But Stecher immediately grew into a crucial, valued member of the Leafs' defense corps. His high level of compete and tenacity earned him significant ice time in the top-four, while averaging over 20 minutes of ice ti...
The fallout from the Colorado Avalanche's disastrous four-game ouster at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights is only just beginning in Denver. What went wrong for the Presidents' Trophy-winning Avalanche that led to getting swept in the Western Conference Final by Vegas? Injuries? Goaltending? Poor performances on the ice from key players? Maybe any of the above. But according to longtime Denver sports insider Tony Renck in the Denver Post , it is head coach Jared Bednar w...
The most important player on the New Jersey Devils ' roster has one year left on his contract, and the organization's new general manager is now in the early stages of figuring out what comes next.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reported that Hischier's agent, Allain Roy, stopped into New Jersey for a first meeting with new GM Sunny Mehta approximately two weeks ago, en route to Switzerland to meet with his client before the IIHF World Championships.
LeBrun's take on those initial conversat...
The Brady Tkachuk trade conversation got reignited recently when former Florida Panthers head coach Doug MacLean made a confident prediction on the Real Kyper & Bourne show.
"Think about this," MacLean said. "Everybody's trying to get in the top ten. Florida has the ninth pick in the draft. Where is Brady Tkachuk gonna want to go?"
He continued: "Florida will never have another top-ten pick for two or three years. This is the time when you've got to move on Florida. You pick up a couple of...
It was a brutal way to go out. Kris Knoblauch led the Edmonton Oilers to two Stanley Cup Finals, but after bowing out in the first round this season, he found he was no longer in the team's plans through a leaked rumor. That gut punch has apparently soured Knoblauch on coaching an NHL team anytime soon, as we get a report from The Leafs Nation's Nick Alberga that not only is Knoblauch not considering a run at the Toronto job opening, he's not considering getting back behind a bench at al...
The Ottawa Senators are desperately in need of some help for Linus Ullmark. The Sens No. 1 goalie needs help in more of a "tag-team" type of arrangement , instead of being counted on night after night. To that end, there have been rumors of Ottawa's interest in the Minnesota Wild's sensational rookie netminder Jesper Wallstedt. But according to Bruce Garrioch in the Ottawa Citizen , the asking price for the Wild's freshman phenom between the pipes has skyrocketed to a point that a ...