Latest On Rick Tocchet
May 13th: According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Tocchet won’t have to wait much longer for a new head coaching role. Dreger indicates that Tocchet will land a new gig this week, and the Bruins, Flyers, and Kraken have been the most interested suitors, similarly to Friedman.
May 12th: Former Canucks bench boss Rick Tocchet is the most recent entrant to the market after unproductive extension talks led Vancouver not to pick up his contract option for 2025-26. While there’s been some expected interest in his services already – the Bruins are believed to want to interview him – the market for his services isn’t as strong as some would have anticipated, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman told CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal today.
Weeks before it was clear Tocchet wouldn’t be back with the Canucks, he was being linked to the Flyers, where he spent a good portion of his playing career. Philly remains on the hunt for a permanent bench boss after firing John Tortorella late in the season. While Tocchet was reported as a favorite a few weeks ago, there’s yet to be confirmation he’s been interviewed by the Flyers. Friedman told Dhaliwal that Tocchet remains “high on their radar,” but they’ve expanded their search to other names enough (like Pat Ferschweiler and Jay McKee) that Tocchet is no longer a clear-cut frontrunner for the job.
As for other landing spots, Friedman believes Tocchet will ultimately end up commanding too much money for Boston to go his direction. Vancouver’s extension offer to Tocchet was in the $4MM range annually, Friedman said. While money wasn’t the primary reason Tocchet opted not to extend, it stands to reason he won’t take much less, if at all, than that figure after receiving a firm offer.
Another team demonstrating interest in Tocchet during this offseason’s hiring cycle is the Kraken, Friedman relays. It doesn’t appear the interest is mutual at this stage, though. There’s a legitimate possibility he goes unhired and returns to a familiar television job on TNT’s intermission panel, where he served between being let go by the Coyotes at the end of the 2020-21 season and being picked up by the Canucks midway through 2022-23.
There are other jobs out there – the Blackhawks and Penguins. It stands to reason he wouldn’t prefer the former if he’s not interested in another Western Conference non-contending team in Seattle. Pittsburgh remains an intriguing option – he won a combined four Stanley Cups there as a player and assistant coach – but it’ll be a while before they make a decision, Josh Yohe of The Athletic wrote earlier this month.
Evgeni Malkin Considering Retirement In 2026
Penguins great Evgeni Malkin squashed any retirement rumors earlier this season, at least as it relates to this summer. With one year left on his contract, though, the tide is shifting toward Malkin ending his NHL career when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2026, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period wrote Monday.
If he does end up retiring, at least from the NHL, it shouldn’t be a drastic surprise. The 38-year-old center remains a surefire Hall-of-Famer whenever he’s up for election, but his point pace has steadily declined over the past four years. This season saw Malkin average just 1.84 shots on goal per game, down 41% from his career average.
Malkin’s 0.82 points per game in 2023-24 and his 0.74 mark in 2024-25 rank as the two lowest figures of his 19-year career. Nonetheless, that’s still a good clip for a player with a rather reasonable $6.1MM cap hit stemming from the four-year, $24.4MM extension he signed in 2022 to secure the end of his career in Pittsburgh after nearly reaching the open market.
As the team around him continues to enter aggressive retool mode, Malkin remained less of a second-line fixture than he has in years past – perhaps intentionally as the team prepares for life without him in the 2C role. He spent significant portions of the season at left wing with Sidney Crosby and finished fifth on the team in scoring with 16-34–50 in 68 games.
A three-time MVP finalist and one-time winner, Malkin remained steadfast earlier this year that he doesn’t plan on finishing his NHL career anywhere other than Pittsburgh. Depending on how strongly he still feels about that statement, the Penguins’ wish to accelerate their roster turnover next summer by not offering him an extension could play a significant factor in his decision to retire.
As for Malkin’s impact on the Penguins franchise and the league in general, it can’t be overstated. His 1,346 points in 1,213 regular-season games rank 31st in NHL history. Another 50-point year in 2025-26 could push him all the way up to 24th. Only Crosby and Mario Lemieux have tallied more points than him in a Penguins uniform. The 6’5″, 210-lb Russian also ranks first in franchise history with 1,202 PIMs.
Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.
D.J. Smith Interviewing For Multiple Head Coach Vacancies
The Kings have given associate coach D.J. Smith permission to pursue head coaching opportunities across the league this offseason, Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period reports. He’s already received multiple interviews.
Smith has been with L.A. for just over 15 months. The Kings hired him in February 2024 after the Senators fired him as their head coach two months prior. He was brought in less than a week after L.A. canned former head coach Todd McLellan and elevated current bench boss Jim Hiller to the interim HC role.
For teams looking for an experienced head coaching hire, Smith fits the bill. He’s one of the younger options available at age 47, but he spent over four full seasons in control of the Ottawa bench and, before that, spent four years with the Maple Leafs as an assistant. In 317 games coaching the rebuilding Sens, Smith compiled a 131-154-32 (.464) record. He’s still looking for his first playoff berth.
But by the end of his tenure in Ottawa, Smith had coached the Sens into being an above-average defensive squad. Goaltending and poor finishing luck were the Sens’ downfalls in 2022-23, his last full season behind the bench, but they were a playoff-caliber team by most other metrics. Ottawa ranked eighth in power play percentage and 14th in penalty kill percentage while posting good 5-on-5 scoring chance suppression numbers.
Briefly a depth defenseman in the NHL with the Leafs and Avalanche, Smith also spent three years as a head coach in the junior ranks with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals, winning Coach of the Year and a league championship in that span.
Nicolas Mattinen Signs In Germany
Defenseman Nicolas Mattinen is heading back to Europe after one year in the Maple Leafs organization. Adler Mannheim of Germany’s DEL announced today they’ve signed him to a one-year deal for 2025-26.
Mattinen, an Ontario native, was a sixth-round pick by the Leafs in 2016. The 6’5″, 216-lb righty didn’t land a deal with Toronto when his time in juniors ended. Instead, he took the college route and spent three years at the University of Ottawa.
After COVID limited Mattinen to 42 college games over three seasons, he landed a tryout with the Canadiens’ AHL affiliate to end the 2021-22 season. That didn’t result in a firm NHL or AHL contract offer, so he opted to head overseas instead.
It was an excellent decision for Mattinen, who spent two years tearing up Austria and Germany with Villacher SV and the Straubing Tigers. After posting 42 points in 46 games with Villacher in the ICEHL and being named a league All-Star in 2022-23, he signed on with Straubing in the more competitive DEL for 2023-24 and posted a 16-30–46 scoring line in 52 games with a +14 rating en route to being named the top German league’s Defenseman and Player of the Year.
Eight years after drafting him and six years after losing his exclusive signing rights, the Leafs were finally ready to offer the 27-year-old a contract. They signed him to a two-way deal last April to cover the 2024-25 campaign. He didn’t get an NHL call-up, though, and he was limited to just four assists in 22 games with AHL Toronto. With virtually no meaningful playing time, it was a presumably easy decision for Mattinen to pursue a return to a league where he’s had considerable success.
Golden Knights’ Nicolas Roy Receives Fine
8:00 PM: The Department of Player Safety made its ruling and it’s a fine of $7,812.50 for Roy, the maximum allowable under the CBA,
12:44 PM: The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced today they’re reviewing Golden Knights’ forward Nicolas Roy‘s cross-checking penalty in overtime of last night’s Game 2 loss for a potential suspension. Roy will have his hearing tonight after being assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct for the initial infraction.
Vegas killed off the five-minute penalty, which Roy committed just over five minutes into the extra frame. After engaging in a board battle with Oilers winger Trent Frederic, Roy lifted his stick for a cross-check and hit Frederic directly in the mouth/jaw area (video via Sportsnet). Frederic left the game for repairs but did return for a shift before Leon Draisaitl secured a 2-0 series lead for Edmonton.
Roy being unavailable is a significant blow to Vegas’ depth forward group. He’s averaged 13:55 per game in the postseason and has a goal and two assists through eight games. The 28-year-old has been the Knights’ best regular faceoff man with a 59.7% win rate. Despite his minus-four rating, Roy’s 57.3% shot-attempt share at even strength ranks fourth on the team.
In the overwhelmingly likely scenario Roy misses at least Game 3, head coach Bruce Cassidy will presumably shift Brett Howden to center and hope winger Pavel Dorofeyev can return after missing the last three games with an undisclosed injury. If not, Cole Schwindt is the only extra forward on the roster who can play center and would presumably enter the lineup in Roy’s place.
Dominik Kubalik Signs Two-Year Deal In Switzerland
There’s no NHL comeback yet for winger Dominik Kubalik. He’s signed a two-year deal to stay in Switzerland with National League club EV Zug, the team announced – although it contains an NHL out clause if he receives an offer.
Kubalik last played in the NHL with the Senators in 2023-24. It was a nightmarish season for the Czech forward, who managed only 11 goals and 15 points in 74 games (with a -30 rating) after rattling off four straight seasons above 30 points to begin his NHL career.
Understandably, there wasn’t much interest in his services on the open market after such a stark dropoff. He returned to Switzerland last summer on a one-year deal with HC Ambri-Piotta, the club where he had two seasons above a point per game before signing with the Blackhawks in 2019. Kubalik, now 29, regained his status as a top-tier scoring threat overseas with a 27-22–49 scoring line in 52 games to lead the team. That was also good enough to lead the NL in goals.
He may still land an NHL offer this summer after his resurgence, but if not, he’s got a backup plan with Zug. His intra-league move links him up with former NHLers Gabriel Carlsson, Raphael Diaz, and Fredrik Olofsson.
Sharks Sign Mattias Havelid To Entry-Level Deal
The Sharks announced they’ve signed defense prospect Mattias Havelid to his entry-level deal. It’s a three-year pact beginning next season, keeping the 21-year-old under contract through 2027-28. PuckPedia reports that the contract will have a $905K cap hit and a $950K AAV including potential bonuses.
San Jose selected Havelid midway through the second round (No. 45 overall) in 2022. The 5’10” righty is the son of longtime NHL defender Niclas Havelid and, nearly three years on from draft day, still brings an intriguing offensive skillset to the Sharks’ backend.
He’s had somewhat of a rocky development path, not getting as much playing time in the top-flight Swedish Hockey League as the Sharks would have liked. His SHL club, Linköping HC, opted instead to loan him to Djurgårdens IF of the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan for a good chunk of 2024-25. That was a great decision – Havelid finished the year with 14 points and a plus-seven rating in 18 games and helped them earn promotion back to the SHL for 2025-26.
Havelid suited up for the Swedes at last year’s World Juniors, posting six points in seven games en route to a silver medal. He’ll presumably slide in with the Sharks’ AHL affiliate next season after recording 19 points in 110 career SHL games, unless San Jose reaches an agreement with a Swedish club to loan him back overseas until he’s NHL-ready. He’s not under contract with Linköping past this year.
The agile skater did not check in among the Sharks’ top 15 prospects when Scott Wheeler of The Athletic put together his prospect pool rankings midseason, but that comes with the territory of being an intriguing yet flawed prospect in the league’s deepest system. San Jose was still a year away from losing his signing rights, so the organization is obviously still invested in his development.
Islanders To Interview Mathieu Darche For GM Vacancy
The Islanders have received permission to interview Lightning assistant general manager Mathieu Darche to fill their GM vacancy, Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News and NHL.com reports (link from The Elmonters).
Darche has been receiving calls for GM roles ever since Tampa Bay’s back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021. He was a contender for the Canadiens’ in-season vacancy in 2022 before they hired Kent Hughes, and he was also considered for the Canucks’ vacancy in the same window. More recently, he was a finalist for the Penguins’ GM job two years ago before president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas decided to take over the role himself.
The 48-year-old Darche has been in the Bolts’ front office since 2019. He first joined as their director of hockey operations but had AGM added to his title ahead of the 2022-23 campaign. Working under Tampa GM Julien BriseBois, Darche has played a role in not only assembling the Bolts’ championship squads but keeping them in legitimate playoff/championship contention in the years since.
The Quebec native had a 250-game NHL career spanning parts of nine seasons as a depth call-up, mainly consisting of stops in Montreal and Tampa (although he was also a member of the inaugural Blue Jackets). His position with Tampa is the only front-office role he’s held since retiring as a player in 2012.
He’ll emerge as one of the stronger backup options to Hall-of-Fame executive Ken Holland, whom Arthur Staple of The Athletic said earlier this week is New York’s preferred candidate to succeed Lou Lamoriello in the GM’s chair. Other names firmly linked to their search so far include Kings senior advisor Marc Bergevin and Devils AGM Kate Madigan.
Jakub Skarek Signs With Finland’s HIFK
Islanders pending Group VI unrestricted free agent goaltender Jakub Skarek won’t return to the team – or the NHL – next season. He’s signed a one-year contract with Finland’s HIFK with a second-year option, the team announced.
Skarek has spent the better part of the last six years in North America. Selected by the Isles in the third round back in 2018, they kept waiting for the 25-year-old to take a significant step in his development, but it never came. Over six seasons with AHL Bridgeport, the Czech netminder never once posted a save percentage at or above .900, averaging a .890 mark with a 3.34 GAA and just five shutouts in 161 appearances. He compiled a 49-84-17 record as the Baby Isles made the Calder Cup Playoffs just once in his tenure.
The 6’4″, 211-lb netminder finally made his NHL debut late this season, with injuries taking No. 2 and No. 3 options Semyon Varlamov and Marcus Högberg out of the equation behind starter Ilya Sorokin. He allowed five goals on 39 shots for a .872 SV% across one start and one relief appearance.
Skarek now returns to Finland, where he had some success in the top-flight Liiga with Pelicans in 2018-19, his post-draft season. He logged a 2.45 GAA, .906 SV%, and a 6-8-7 record in 22 appearances there. He’ll now add to his Liiga resume in 2025-26 in Helsinki, positioned as the backup behind former Wild draft pick Niko Hovinen.
NHL-Affiliated Players in the 2025 World Championship
After a few days of pre-tournament action, the 2025 World Championship kicks off today in earnest in Denmark and Sweden. There’s a slightly increased contingent of NHLers at this year’s event, with some talents on non-playoff teams looking to prove they belong on Olympic rosters as the league releases its players for the 2026 event for the first time in over a decade.
Leading the pack are Canada and the United States, the only two countries to have their rosters comprised entirely of NHL-signed or NHL-drafted players. This year’s two new faces are Hungary and Slovenia, who were the top two finishers in last year’s Division IA tournament to gain promotion to the top level (Great Britain and Poland were relegated from last year’s Worlds). While Slovenia has a lone NHL representative, Hungary enters without one, as does Kazakhstan. At least one of those countries will stay up for next year’s tournament as they’re both in Group B.
Sorted by country, here’s all the NHLers heading to this year’s Worlds:
* – denotes unsigned/reserve list
Austria
D Gregor Biber (Mammoth)*
F Marco Kasper (Red Wings)
F Vinzenz Rohrer (Canadiens)*
Canada
G Jordan Binnington (Blues)
G Marc-Andre Fleury (Wild)
G Dylan Garand (Rangers)
D Noah Dobson (Islanders)
D Ryker Evans (Kraken)
D Mike Matheson (Canadiens)
D Brandon Montour (Kraken)
D Travis Sanheim (Flyers)
D Jared Spurgeon (Wild)
D MacKenzie Weegar (Flames)
F Macklin Celebrini (Sharks)
F Sidney Crosby (Penguins)
F William Cuylle (Rangers)
F Phillip Danault (Kings)
F Adam Fantilli (Blue Jackets)
F Tyson Foerster (Flyers)
F Barrett Hayton (Mammoth)
F Bo Horvat (Islanders)
F Kent Johnson (Blue Jackets)
F Travis Konecny (Flyers)
F Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche)
F Ryan O’Reilly (Predators)
F Brayden Schenn (Blues)
Czechia
G Josef Korenar (Mammoth)*
G Karel Vejmelka (Mammoth)
G Daniel Vladar (Flames)
D Filip Hronek (Canucks)
D David Spacek (Wild)
F Adam Klapka (Flames)
F Jakub Lauko (Bruins)
F Martin Necas (Avalanche)
F David Pastrnak (Bruins)
Denmark
F Oscar Fisker Molgaard (Kraken)
Finland
G Justus Annunen (Predators)
G Juuse Saros (Predators)
D Atro Leppanen (Oilers)
D Nikolas Matinpalo (Senators)
F Lenni Hameenaho (Devils)
F Waltteri Merela (Lightning)*
F Juuso Parssinen (Rangers)
F Teuvo Teravainen (Blackhawks)
F Eeli Tolvanen (Kraken)
France
G Antoine Keller (Capitals)*
F Alexandre Texier (Blues)
Germany
G Philipp Grubauer (Kraken)
G Arno Tiefensee (Stars)
D Moritz Seider (Red Wings)
D Maksymilian Szuber (Mammoth)
F Lukas Reichel (Blackhawks)
F Josh Samanski (Oilers)
G Tim Stutzle (Senators)
Hungary
none
Kazakhstan
none
Latvia
F Martins Dzierkals (Golden Knights)*
F Dans Locmelis (Bruins)
F Eduards Tralmaks (Red Wings)
Norway
D Stian Solberg (Ducks)
F Noah Steen (Lightning)*
Slovakia
G Samuel Hlavaj (Wild)
D Samuel Knazko (Blue Jackets)
D Patrik Koch (Mammoth)
F Martin Chromiak (Kings)
F Dalibor Dvorsky (Blues)
F Samuel Honzek (Flames)
F Pavol Regenda (Sharks)
F Adam Sykora (Rangers)
Slovenia
D Jan Golicic (Lightning)*
Sweden
G Samuel Ersson (Flyers)
G Jacob Markstrom (Devils)
G Arvid Soderblom (Blackhawks)
D Rasmus Andersson (Flames)
D Jonas Brodin (Wild)
D Simon Edvinsson (Red Wings)
D Erik Gustafsson (Red Wings)
D Adam Larsson (Kraken)
D Marcus Pettersson (Canucks)
F Mikael Backlund (Flames)
F Leo Carlsson (Ducks)
F Filip Forsberg (Predators)
F Emil Heineman (Canadiens)
F Marcus Johansson (Wild)
F Elias Lindholm (Bruins)
F Isac Lundestrom (Ducks)
F Lucas Raymond (Red Wings)
F Alexander Wennberg (Sharks)
F Mika Zibanejad (Rangers)
Switzerland
D Tim Berni (Blue Jackets)*
D J.J. Moser (Lightning)
D Jonas Siegenthaler (Devils)
F Kevin Fiala (Kings)
F Nico Hischier (Devils)
F Simon Knak (Predators)*
F Timo Meier (Devils)
United States
G Joey Daccord (Kraken)
G Hampton Slukynsky (Kings)*
G Jeremy Swayman (Bruins)
D Zeev Buium (Wild)
D Cole Hutson (Capitals)*
D Michael Kesselring (Mammoth)
D Jackson LaCombe (Ducks)
D Mason Lohrei (Bruins)
D Andrew Peeke (Bruins)
D Brady Skjei (Predators)
D Alex Vlasic (Blackhawks)
D Zach Werenski (Blue Jackets)
F Matty Beniers (Kraken)
F Brett Berard (Rangers)
F Logan Cooley (Mammoth)
F Josh Doan (Mammoth)
F Michael Eyssimont (Kraken)
F Conor Garland (Canucks)
F Cutter Gauthier (Ducks)
F Isaac Howard (Lightning)*
F Clayton Keller (Mammoth)
F Michael McCarron (Predators)
F Frank Nazar (Blackhawks)
F Drew O’Connor (Canucks)
F Shane Pinto (Senators)
F Will Smith (Sharks)
F Tage Thompson (Sabres)