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East Notes: York, Persson, Rangers Coaches

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Despite his tumultuous 2024-25 season, Cam York was cemented as a key part of the Philadelphia Flyers’ future when the club signed him to a $5.15MM AAV contract extension that runs through the 2029-30 season. Today at training camp, new Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet confirmed the importance of York to the club’s short and long-term plans, stating that York “has been keeping that pattern pretty high” in terms of the consistency of his performance. As relayed by The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz, Tocchet added that he hopes York will be able to “can carry his own pair” for the club this season.

Tocchet’s point about York potentially carrying his own defensive pairing is notable as York spent significant time paired with Travis Sanheim in 2024-25. Sanheim is the Flyers’ top defenseman, and separating York from Sanheim would be a large show of faith in York’s abilities. York has so far spent time in camp paired with young blueliner Helge Grans, who has played in just six career NHL games. Being the steady veteran a rookie partner can rely on is a large responsibility for an NHL defenseman, and should Tocchet elect to deploy York in that matter, it would further underline just how dramatically York has elevated his stock in Philadelphia since he was benched for a full game under interim coach Brad Shaw.

Some other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • Training camp is the setting where aspiring NHLers look to make their mark and steal a spot on an NHL roster, and each year there are young players who come out of nowhere to leave a strong impression on their team’s management, even if they don’t ultimately land an NHL role that year. That exact scenario could end up playing out in Washington, where 2022 third-round Capitals draft pick Ludwig Persson has, per The Hockey News’ Sammi Silber, really “stood out” in the early portion of camp. The Swedish winger turns 22 in October and spent last season in the Finnish Liiga, scoring 16 points in 52 games for Jukurit. Persson got the chance to skate with established NHLers Connor McMichael and Tom Wilson at camp on Saturday, and while it’s difficult to see him ultimately making the team’s opening-night roster (he has just one game of professional experience in North America), his early camp performance could make him a prospect to watch moving forward for Capitals fans.
  • The Athletic’s Peter Baugh and Vince Z. Mercogliano reported from New York Rangers training camp today that head coach Mike Sullivan has revealed how his staff of assistant coaches will split their responsibilities this upcoming season. Sullivan told the media that assistant David Quinn, the former Rangers head coach, will work with the team’s defensemen and run the club’s power play. Quinn ran Sullivan’s power play with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season and managed a strong sixth-place leaguewide finish in success rate. Assistant Joe Sacco, the former Boston Bruins interim head coach, will run the club’s penalty kill and work with Rangers forwards. The Bruins’ penalty kill ranked 24th in the NHL last season, killing penalties at a 76.3% rate.

Snapshots: Canadiens Defense, Steeves, Burns

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The Montreal Canadiens made one of the offseason’s biggest trades when they acquired top-pairing blueliner Noah Dobson in a trade with the New York Islanders. After the deal, most had pencilled in Kaiden Guhle as Dobson’s likely partner, often citing Guhle’s defensive reliability as a factor that would hypothetically allow Dobson to play a more aggressive offensive style, perhaps one that would help him reach the scoring heights he hit in 2023-24, when he notched 70 points. Today, The Athletic’s Arpon Basu reported that Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis appears likely to stick with his current training camp defense pairings at least until he can see how they fare against regular season competition, which would mean Dobson is slated to begin the season paired not with Guhle, but instead veteran Mike Matheson.

The move would allow Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson to remain paired with Guhle, the player he finished 2024-25 paired with. The idea of pairing Matheson with Dobson is one that has merit, even though Matheson can sometimes garner harsh criticism from Canadiens fans. Although he can sometimes be mistake-prone, Matheson has shown a real, highly valuable ability to log heavy minutes: he averaged 25:05 time-on-ice per game in 2024-25, despite losing his role as first-unit power play quarterback to Hutson. While he’s not as highly regarded as a defensive force compared to Guhle, he is the Canadiens’ most experienced defenseman, so it’s not unreasonable for St. Louis to expect Matheson to be a solid partner to help Dobson settle in with his new team.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • Outside of star David Pastrnak, the Boston Bruins don’t have the NHL’s most standout collection of forwards. But where there is a lack of established talent, there is also opportunity for less-experienced players to establish themselves, and that’s exactly what 25-year-old AHL standout Alex Steeves appears to have the opportunity to do. The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa reports that Steeves, who has been playing on a line with Casey Mittlestadt to start training camp, “should have a better chance to stick” on Boston’s NHL roster than he did with the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he was generally an AHL scorer. According to Shinzawa, playing with Mittlestadt has been “a good spot” for Steeves, who had 36 goals and 62 points across 59 AHL games last season. While it’s unwise to put too much stock into early training camp deployments, one thing is clear: this preseason is perhaps the largest opportunity for Steeves to become a full-time NHLer as he’s had in his entire pro career thusfar.
  • Veteran defenseman Brent Burns won’t play in the team’s preseason contest as he’s currently dealing with a “minor tweak,” reports Colorado Hockey Now’s Aarif Deen. Deen added that the injury is “nothing serious” but that the club felt it would be best to hold him out of the upcoming contests. Burns, 40, has been remarkably healthy throughout his NHL career, and has logged 82 games played across four consecutive NHL seasons. So while Burns may not play in the club’s upcoming games due to injury, one should not expect this development to impact his readiness to contribute in the regular season.

Metro Notes: Fabbri, Gauthier, Schneider

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Three days ago, we covered news that the Pittsburgh Penguins were bringing veteran winger Robby Fabbri to their training camp on a PTO. Today, Fabbri spoke to the media in Pittsburgh and divulged new details on his offseason and how he came to sign his PTO with the Penguins. Fabbri told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Matt Vensel that his decision-making process “came down to the very last day,” adding that there were “a handful of teams circling ever since July 1” but he ultimately could not land a full contract offer.

That Fabbri had to settle for a PTO should not come as a huge surprise, as despite the winger’s clear talent, he has struggled immensely to stay healthy throughout his 442-game NHL career. As Vensel explained in his piece, Fabbri “has a history of knee issues” and the combination of knee troubles alongside a broken hand limited Fabbri to just 44 games and 16 points last season. But the year before, in 2023-24, Fabbri was a solid contributor, scoring 18 goals in 68 games played. Still just 29 years old, Fabbri offers the Penguins an experienced veteran option to occupy a winger spot should one of their young players struggle in training camp or the preseason, and it would be difficult to imagine Fabbri going the entire preseason process without eventually landing a permanent place to play the 2025-26 season.

Some other notes from across the Metro Division:

  • Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported today that Penguins minor-league goaltender Taylor Gauthier will be sidelined “longer-term” due to an undisclosed injury. Gauthier, 24, is signed to an AHL contract and was expected to serve as depth for the club’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. The 24-year-old turned pro in 2022-23 and got into 20 AHL games, going 8-3-6 with a .907 save percentage. For the last two seasons, Gauthier has been largely an ECHL goalie who has played sporadically in the AHL – he posted a strong .928 save percentage in 30 ECHL games in 2024-25 and got into one AHL game – a 32-save shutout. In addition to Gauthier, the Penguins also have Kazakh netminder Maxim Pavlenko signed to an AHL deal to provide further depth.
  • New York Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider has been cleared for contact, reported the New York Post’s Mollie Walker. The 24-year-old defenseman is dealing with a shoulder ailment, and it had been previously reported that Schneider’s hope is to be ready to play in the team’s final few preseason contests. This injury won’t play any major role in the Rangers’ roster-building calculus as Schneider’s spot in the club’s lineup is guaranteed. He’s been a steady defensive force for the Rangers since making his NHL debut in 2021-22, and logged almost 18 minutes per game, including time on the penalty kill, last season.

Snapshots: Beck, Krug, Robertson

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2021 Calgary Flames draft pick Jack Beck is headed to college hockey. SunDevilSuource’s Gabriella Chernoff reports that Beck has committed to play for Arizona State University this season. On the surface, Beck’s commitment might seem like a normal roster addition, but the reality is it’s anything but. Beck was a professional hockey player in 2024-25, playing most of the year with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers.

The NCAA had long held that athletes in almost all cases, at the moment they receive compensation in exchange for their services as players, sacrifice their eligibility to compete in NCAA competitions. But the college sports landscape has undergone massive shifts over the last several years, and Beck’s commitment is indicative of a major shift within hockey. CHL players, who were previously ineligible to play college hockey, have been committing to NCAA programs en masse for months – and now players who have signed professional contracts and played professional games, like Beck, are following them. In light of this development, is not immediately clear where the NCAA draws the line in terms of what pro experience is allowed for a player to retain his eligibility, but ESPN’s John Buccigross commented today that college coaches “aren’t happy” with the direction things are headed.

Other notes from the hockey world:

  • In a bit of unfortunate but also expected news, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford reported that veteran defenseman Torey Krug failed his season-opening medical, and will, barring a hugely expected turn of events, not play in 2025-26. Rutherford added that the organization hopes to be able to place Krug on in-season long-term injured reserve to give them a “greater ability” to use the additional financial flexbility such a move would create over the course of the season.
  • The Dallas News’ Lia Assimakopoulos relayed word from Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill related to pending restricted free agent Jason Robertson: Nill said negotiations with Robertson, who is repped by Pat Brisson of CAA, are currently “at a standstill.” Nill added that both sides want to see where the market progresses before continuing further – but added that he remains confident they’ll reach an agreement on a new contract. Robertson, 26, is one of the Stars’ best players, scoring 80 points in 82 games in 2024-25.

Atlantic Notes: Lightning Free Agents, Paul, Dach

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have a slate of notable pending free agents, including veterans Ryan McDonagh and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Today, Lightning general manager Julien Brisebois told the media, including team reporter Benjamin Pierce, that contract negotiations with the representatives of its pending free agents will be tabled until after the season. Brisebois also added that despite doing so, the club still plans on retaining McDonagh beyond this season.

Brisebois said that when they re-acquired McDonagh, they informed him that “the plan was to not only have him finish his contract here, but sign another contract after that.” He added that his expectation is that McDonagh will do just that. Brisebois pointed to Yanni Gourde and his six-year contract extension as the model for what he’s “hoping and expecting will happen after the season” with McDonagh. Even at 36 years old, McDonagh remains an effective all-around defenseman. He scored 31 points in the regular season for Tampa, three points in five playoff games, and averaged 20:35 time-on-ice per game including the most short-handed ice time on the team.

Some other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • Brisebois provided some additional detail on the status of injured center Nick Paul. Brisebois said, via team reporter Gabby Shirley, that Paul’s injury is one “he had been dealing with most of last season.” He added that “everything” the team tried to heal the injury “wasn’t working,” leading the player and team to address the matter via surgery. The original news of Paul’s injury was covered in more detail earlier today here.
  • Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis told the media today, including TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie, that he currently views Kirby Dach as the club’s second-line center behind captain Nick Suzuki. Dach had an impressive first season in Montreal, scoring 38 points in 58 games. But injuries have been a persistent issue for Dach, even including 2022-23, and as a result it would be fair to question whether Dach has the ability – and availability – to stick in such an important lineup spot. But Dach, the 2018 third-overall pick, certainly possesses the natural ability and potential to do it.

Avalanche Notes: Third-Line Center, Landeskog, Malinski, Injuries

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The Colorado Avalanche have a roster bursting at the seams with high-end talent, and as a result, many players enter this year’s training camp with their spot in the lineup relatively assured. But not all players have that luxury: Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told the media today, including outlet DNVR Avalanche, that the club considers its third-line center role to be among the few key spots in the lineup up for grabs in the preseason.

The Avalanche finished last season with veteran Charlie Coyle in that spot, but Coyle has since been traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Today, Bednar highlighted Ross Colton and Jack Drury as the two main contenders for the third-line center role. Colton, 29, is Bednar’s more experienced option. He is playing on a $4MM AAV contract that runs through 2026-27 and had a career-high 17 goals and 40 points in 2023-24, his first with the Avalanche. Competing with Colton is Drury, who arrived in Colorado from the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the first Mikko Rantanen trade. Drury’s resume does not suggest he has as much offensive ability as Colton, though Drury brings a more advanced defensive element to the picture – he factored into Colorado’s penalty kill last season while Colton did not. (1:24 average short-handed time-on-ice compared to Colton’s 0:05) Regardless of who ultimately prevails in this preseason lineup competition, it’s clear Bednar has an abundance of quality options to choose from at the center position – an extremely valuable asset for any coach.

Some other notes from Denver:

  • The Denver Gazette’s Evan Rawal relayed word from Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog today that the veteran forward is a “full go” entering the 2025-26 campaign. That Landeskog will be able to play this season without restriction is notable due to the fact that he has missed a massive amount of time due to a complex knee issue. After captaining the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup championship in 2022, Landeskog missed the next three full regular seasons. He returned to play in five playoff games for Colorado, but given the length of his absence, there was some concern that Landeskog might be limited entering 2025-26. Based on today’s comments, it appears those worries can be dismissed.
  • Jared Bednar told the media today, including Guerilla Sports’ Meghan Angley, that they will try to play right-handed defenseman Sam Malinski on the left side this season as a response to the club’s abundance of NHL-caliber right-shot blueliners. Malinski, 27, finished last season paired with the since-departed Ryan Lindgren on his right side, meaning this change will require a new adjustment from Malinski. The former Cornell standout broke into the NHL last season, scoring 15 points in 76 games whilst averaging nearly 16 miutes of time-on-ice per game. The offseason addition of veteran blueliner Brent Burns, who is a right shot, appears to be what has prompted this adjustment for Malinski.
  • Colorado Hockey Now’s Aarif Deen reported updates on various injuries to Avalanche players today, including the club’s projected starting netminder. Per Deen, Mackenzie Blackwood is out week-to-week dealing with an offseason injury, but is hopeful to be ready within the first week or two of the regular season. Veteran Samuel Girard is dealing with a lower-body injury and will miss time in the preseason, but is hopeful to be ready for opening night. And finally veteran winger Logan O’Connor is dealing with a hip ailment, and is on track to miss the start of the season with a recovery timeline that places his return more in the range of early November.

Chicago Blackhawks Sign Wyatt Kaiser

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The Chicago Blackhawks have announced that defenseman Wyatt Kaiser has been signed to a two-year, $1.7MM AAV contract. Yesterday, we covered how the Blackhawks and Kaiser hadn’t made much progress on a new deal. The fact that he’s signed his new contract today is a testament to just how quickly things can change in the hockey world.

Kaiser, 23, will see his compensation rise sharply compared to last season, when he carried a $916K cap hit. Kaiser is a 2020 third-round pick who enjoyed his best professional season to date in 2024-25. Kaiser got into 57 NHL games last season, a large increase compared to 2023-24, when he played in 32 NHL contests. Kaiser averaged 18:07 time-on-ice per game, which ranked fifth among regular Blackhawks defensemen. That 18:07 mark includes a 1:33 per-game average in short-handed situations, which ranked fourth among the club’s blueliners.

The Blackhawks have a large number of talented young defensemen in their system as things currently stand, and despite his solid 2024-25, he’ll need to fend off challenges from those players in order to retain his roster spot. Sam Rinzel, who earned a nine-game cameo at the end of last season, is all but guaranteed a lineup spot, and 2024 second-overall pick Artyom Levshunov could pose a serious threat for a spot as well.

In addition to those two names, who are both right-shot blueliners, Kaiser will also have to compete with several talented left-shot blueliners for a lineup spot on his natural side. Nolan Allan, the club’s 2021 first-round pick, got into 43 NHL games last year and offers real defensive ability, while Kevin Korchinski is the 2022 seventh-overall pick who holds quite a bit of organizational investment.

But despite the presence of numerous quality defensive prospects to compete with for a lineup spot, the fact remains that Kaiser has more NHL experience than almost all of them. With this new contract in hand, Kaiser will now be able to focus entirely on training camp and securing his spot on Chicago’s opening-night roster.

Pacific Notes: Canucks Updates, Hyman, Walman

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After trading J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers last season, the Vancouver Canucks no longer have the luxury of two first-line caliber centers in their lineup. The departure of Miller via trade and the free agent departure of Pius Suter (the club’s highest-scoring pivot in 2024-25) has left the Canucks in a somewhat vulnerable position down the middle – but it’s one the club hopes to be able to trade its way out of. Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin told the media, including Sportsnet 650’s Brendan Batchelor, that the club is “not waiting” when it comes to adding center reinforcements from outside the organization, and is “open for business” regarding making trades to add players.

This past summer’s trade market has been described by figures across the NHL’s front office and media landscape as uncharacteristically slow, with far fewer teams interested in trading established NHL talent for future assets such as prospects or draft capital. Allvin specifically said he believes the Canucks “have enough assets in our organization” and enough “draft capital if that’s needed.” The main element of a trade they appear to be missing, at least at this point in time, is another club willing to part with a capable center in exchange for something Vancouver those assets Vancouver is seeking to offer up.

  • Allvin also updated the media on injuries to three Canucks players: Jett Woo, Ty Mueller, and Anri Ravinskis. Woo, 25, had surgery in August and is currently out on a month-to-month recovery timeline. It’s a tough blow for Woo, who was likely eyeing this upcoming preseason to make a push for an NHL roster spot after helping lead the AHL Abbotsford Canucks to a Calder Cup championship. Mueller, 22, is injured on an undisclosed timeline, while Ravinskis is recovering from summer hernia surgery.
  • The Nation Network’s Jason Gregor reported today that Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman won’t be on the ice with the rest of the Oilers for the first week of the club’s training camp. Hyman is still dealing with the wrist injury that knocked him out of last season’s playoffs, one that required offseason surgery. Hyman declined to establish a specific timeline related to his recovery. The 33-year-old is one of the Oilers’ most important forwards, scoring 54 goals and 77 points in 2023-24 and 27 goals last season.
  • Oilers defenseman Jake Walman will begin the season playing on his off-hand side alongside Darnell Nurse, per Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. Walman is a left-handed defenseman who ended last year playing on the left side alongside John Klingberg, but will now take up a role next to Nurse on what will presumably be the Oilers’ second pairing. Walman is entering a crucial contract year and if he can repeat his strong 2024-25 performance (he had seven goals, 40 points) he could line himself up to cash in nicely in free agency.

Mammoth Notes: Cooley, O’Brien, Injury Updates

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The Utah Mammoth didn’t make the playoffs in their first season in Salt Lake City, but they did take meaningful steps closer to contention, and perhaps their most important step forward was through the development of 2022 third overall pick Logan Cooley. Today, Utah general manager Bill Armstrong told the media, including The Deseret News’ Brogan Houston, that Cooley’s representation has been “very patient” regarding Cooley’s next contract. He added that there’s no rush to get an extension done.

Cooley, who is repped by Brian & Scott Bartlett of Bartlett Hockey, is in line for a major contract extension after a breakout 2024-25 campaign. The 21-year-old is a dynamic playmaker and ranked second among Utah players in scoring last season with 25 goals and 65 points. Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky, who was drafted two spots ahead of Cooley at the 2022 draft, received a $7.6MM AAV on his long-term second contract. Given Cooley will be signing his extension at a later stage than Slafkovsky, and will have more experience on his resume at the time of signing, it stands to reason that Cooley’s next deal will exceed Slafkovsky’s. Given his age and production, Cooley could very well see his next deal exceed Mikhail Sergachev’s $8.5MM AAV to become the highest-paid player in Utah.

Some other notes from the NHL’s newest franchise:

  • Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny told the media today that veteran forward Liam O’Brien is currently dealing with a lower-body injury, and is out on a week-to-week timeline. Injuries limited the 31-year-old bruiser to just 28 games played last season, and he also only managed two points. Although it’s not a contract year for O’Brien – his $1MM AAV deal runs through 2026-27 – he’ll look to get back on the ice in order to re-establish himself as one of the league’s more physically imposing bottom-six players.
  • Alongside O’Brien, Tourigny also established who the club’s other injured players are for the start of the team’s training camp. Tourigny named Anson Thornton, Juuso Valimaki, Caleb Desnoyers and Terrell Goldsmith as the remaining injured players. The most relevant name from that list from a roster-building perspective is Valimaki’s, as he is a veteran of 271 career NHL games. With that said, Mammoth fans are likely to pay close attention to the status of Desnoyers, the 2025 fourth-overall pick.

Snapshots: Necas, Maccelli, Blue Jackets Invites

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The focal point of the Colorado Avalanche’s return package in the blockbuster trade that sent Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes was forward Martin Necas, and although he enjoyed a solid start to his tenure in Colorado, his situation is far from settled. The 26-year-old scored 28 points in 30 games in Denver, but his future with the club is cloudy due to the fact that he is set to hit unrestricted free agency after the 2025-26 season. The Denver Post’s Corey Masisiak called Necas’ contract situation “a tricky negotiation for both sides,” and provided some detail as to why.

First and foremost, Masisiak cited Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov’s contract situation as a factor that could hold up progress – Necas may not want to sign his deal until his camp, led by Eclipse Sports Management’s Michael Deutsch, gets to see what Kaprizov’s deal is valued at. From the Avalanche’s side of the equation, the team needs to find a way to figure out if they can fit Necas’ next contract onto their books, which currently feature Nathan MacKinnon at a $12.6MM cap hit and are set to feature Cale Makar’s likely record-setting extension in two years’ time. Necas is an extremely talented hockey player and has proven to be a quality fit for the Avalanche, but retaining him, for the reasons Masisiak detailed, could prove challenging.

Some other notes from around the league:

  • At the end of 2023-24, it looked as though Matias Maccelli was inching his way to star status as an NHL scorer. The Finnish winger had scored 57 points in his second full season in the NHL, but things went badly wrong in 2024-25. Maccelli’s offense cratered, and he found himself in-and-out of the Utah lineup en route to a final total of just 18 points. Now with the Toronto Maple Leafs thanks to an offseason trade, Maccelli is a candidate to have a real bounce-back year in 2025-26. He told The Hockey News’ Nick Barden today that his level of motivation is “probably the highest it has ever been,” and expressed some hope that he’ll get to play with and learn from some of the Leafs’ “top names.” Toronto has a major scoring void to fill after the departure of Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights, so Maccelli will have a massive opportunity to get his career back on the right track. If he can show chemistry with one of Toronto’s two star centers, he could quickly find himself back in the strong statistical company he once held.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced today, as part of their larger training camp roster announcement, that two of the club’s free agent invites to its now-concluded rookie camp have been extended an invite to full training camp. One if the invites is of 20-year-old Saginaw Spirit forward Nicholas Sima, who team reporter Jeff Svoboda referred to as a “standout” of the team’s prospect games. The other invite is of defender Marcus Kearsey, who captains the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders. While neither player is a real candidate to win an NHL job (they’d need to sign an entry-level contract in order to do so, anyway) these invites give each player the opportunity to further impress Blue Jackets brass.

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