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Hockey Canada Announces Coaching Staff For 2026 Winter Olympics

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Unsurprisingly, there will be no changes coming to Team Canada’s bench for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. According to a public announcement, Team Canada will have an identical coaching staff to that of the 4 Nations Face-Off this past February, sharing that Bruce Cassidy (Vegas Golden Knights), Peter DeBoer, Rick Tocchet (Philadelphia Flyers), and Misha Donskov will be assistant coaches for Team Canada behind head coach Jon Cooper (Tampa Bay Lightning).

The 4 Nations Face-Off proved to be a positive litmus test for Team Canada, as the United States has become a more potent competitor in recent years. Still, despite suffering a Round Robin loss to Team USA, Canada won the tournament, defeating their North American counterpart in overtime of the championship on a goal from Connor McDavid. There could be some mild changes coming to the roster for the upcoming Olympic tournament, but Canada will likely have the fewest tweaks.

Like their eventual roster, Canada has a star-studded coaching staff. Even without factoring in the playing careers of those who played in the NHL, Team Canada’s coaching staff has six Stanley Cups, three IIHF World Championship gold medals, and two Jack Adams awards.

All four assistant coaches have extensive international hockey experience, including their work in the NHL and the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, although none have previously coached in the Olympic Games. Cassidy and Tocchet are more recognized for their international ice hockey careers, while DeBoer and Donskov, former coaches of the Dallas Stars, have achieved significant success in the World Junior Championships.

Edmonton Oilers Expecting Big Year From Matt Savoie

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As the focal piece acquired by the Edmonton Oilers in the trade that sent center Ryan McLeod to the Buffalo Sabres last summer, many believed Matt Savoie would become a low-cost, high-upside option that the Oilers could put next to Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl in the team’s top-six. Hindsight being 20/20, Savoie only played in four games with Edmonton throughout the 2024-25 season, spending much of his time with their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.

Still, the team expects Savoie to register his rookie campaign during the 2025-26 campaign and be a potent contributor. In a recent piece by Derek Van Diest of NHL.com, Oilers’ General Manager Stan Bowman laid out his expectations for Savoie, saying, “There is some growth from within. I think Matt Savoie is probably poised to take a big step next year.”

The team’s head coach, Kris Knoblauch, shared similar sentiments, saying, “With Savoie, the one thing that I’m very optimistic about is penalty kill and how good he was in Bakersfield in that role. He didn’t have any penalty-kill time when he was with us but certainly, we saw him being a reliable two-way player at 5-on-5. The opportunity for Savoie is on the penalty kill, not that he can’t be on the power play, but I definitely see him being a big part of our penalty kill.”

Interestingly, Knoblaugh highlighted the penalty kill regarding Savoie. He’s been an efficient scorer at the AHL level over the past two years, scoring 21 goals and 59 points in 72 games between the Condors and the Rochester Americans. There’s little expectation that Savoie earns a spot on the team’s first power-play unit. Still, there’s reason to believe he should be viewed as a top candidate for the Oilers’ second iteration of their man-advantage deployments.

Savoie only has five NHL contests to his name, so it’s difficult to tell how effective he would be on the penalty kill. He finished last season with a +21 rating, which is impressive given that Bakersfield as a team finished with a -9 differential. He’s not an overly physical player, but his high pace and skating ability could be viewed as a positive variable to plug into a penalty kill unit.

At any rate, Edmonton is expected to insert some high-upside youthful talent into its group next season. Especially after acquiring the 2024-25 Hobey Baker Award winner, Isaac Howard, a few weeks ago from the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Oilers will have a lot of options to play around with in their top-six as they pursue their first Stanley Cup championship since 1990.

Michal Svrcek Expected To Remain In The SHL

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At least one prospect from the Detroit Red Wings’ 2025 draft class has decided where he will play next season. According to a report from Mattias Persson of Hockey News (Sweden), forward Michal Svrcek will remain with the SHL’s Brynäs IF for another year.

For clarification, although there was a non-zero chance he’d make Detroit’s roster next season, there was no expectation he was going to. The OHL’s Windsor Spitfires had drafted Svrcek in the 2025 OHL Import Draft, which would have only required Red Wings’ staff to cross the Ambassador Bridge to watch him play.

The Red Wings selected Svrcek with the 119th overall pick of the 2025 NHL Draft after spending a large chunk of the season with Brynäs IF J20 of the J20 Nationell. He performed well for his age group, scoring 14 goals and 30 points in 30 games, with a +9 rating. Despite the team not advancing very far in the postseason, the Zilina, Slovakia native performed well, scoring two goals and adding four points in three postseason contests.

Svrcek spent a brief period with Brynäs IF’s professional team, scoring one goal and three points in 17 games, with a -1 rating. His lack of size was noticeable, but he sustained his high motor and remained a nuisance against the opposing team’s defense.

Detroit is making a gamble that Svrcek will be better served in the SHL, which is widely regarded as the second-best league outside of North America. There will likely be some growing pains, but it’ll be a shorter step to the NHL if he continues his development. In an interview on the Slovak television channel TVNoviny, Svrcek was quoted, saying, “This week I agreed with my agent and Detroit’s management that I will stay in Brynäs for another season, where I will try to start the season in the A-team.”

Ty Smith Signs With KHL’s Dinamo Minsk

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After watching his opportunity in the NHL pass him by over the last few years, defenseman Ty Smith is going to try his luck overseas. According to a team announcement, Dinamo Minsk of the KHL has signed Smith to a one-year contract for the 2025-26 KHL season.

It wasn’t all that long ago that Smith was considered one of the better defensive prospects in the NHL. After an impressive year with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs in which he scored 14 goals and 73 points in 69 games with a +44 rating, the New Jersey Devils selected Smith 17th overall in the 2018 NHL Draft.

Smith spent a few more years in Spokane before jumping directly to the NHL for the 2020-21 season. Despite having relatively high expectations, Smith performed well in his rookie season, scoring two goals and 23 points in 48 games with a -9 rating, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per game. That year was good enough for a spot on that year’s All-Rookie Team, and for seventh in Calder Trophy voting.

Unfortunately, Smith’s fall from grace was relatively rapid. He scored five goals and 20 points in 66 games the following year, watching his average ice time drop closer to 17 minutes. His -26 rating was the worst on the team that year, and his 87.7% on-ice save percentage was second-to-last among defensemen, behind Dougie Hamilton.

Having a potent desire to upgrade, the Devils packaged Smith and a 2023 third-round pick in a deal to acquire John Marino from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Believing that he needed to take a step back in his developmental process, the Penguins stashed Smith with their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, for much of the 2022-23 season.

Still, the AHL Penguins is where he’s had the most success in his professional career, scoring nine goals and 43 points in 63 games during the 2023-24 AHL season. Regardless, the Penguins dealt Smith to the Carolina Hurricanes at that year’s trade deadline in the Jake Guentzel trade.

Being his last year in North America for the time being, Smith scored five goals and 28 points in 36 games for the Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, during the 2024-25 season. He registered an additional eight contests at the NHL level, scoring one goal and one assist.

He’ll join a Dinamo Minsk team that advanced beyond the quarterfinals of the Gagarin Cup playoffs for the first time in four years, losing to Traktor Chelyabinsk in the semifinals. He’ll join fellow countrymen Chris Tierney and Xavier Ouellet in Belarus.

Kuznetsov Willing To Take Bonus-Laden Contract For NHL Return

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On this week’s rendition of Hello Hockey with Shawn Belle and Tom Gazzola, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period spoke briefly about Evgeny Kuznetsov’s desire to return to the NHL. To ensure a return to the sport’s top league, Pagnotta indicated that Kuznetsov would be willing to sign a low AAV deal with performance bonuses.

It’s been a few years since Kuznetsov has been a highly relevant NHL center. He was a point-per-game scorer during the 2021-22 season with the Washington Capitals, recording 24 goals and 78 points in 79 games with a +7 rating, while averaging 20:17 of ice time per night.

Unfortunately, things began slipping the following season, as Kuznetsov finished the 2022-23 campaign with 12 goals and 55 points in 81 games with a -26 rating, seeing his average ice time drop to 18:04. It wasn’t necessarily bad production from a second-line center — but it was a far cry from what Kuznetsov had been able to do even a year earlier.

Things completely unraveled during the 2023-24 campaign. He had a dreadful start to the year with Washington, mustering six goals and 17 points in 43 games with a -11 rating. After spending a month in the NHL Player Assistance Program, the Capitals waived Kuznetsov in early March, sending him to their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, after clearing.

His time with the Capitals in late January of 2024 ended up being the last moments of his time with the team. Washington traded Kuznetsov to the Carolina Hurricanes at the trade deadline for a mid-round draft pick. He finished the year with two goals and seven points in 20 games for the Hurricanes, adding another four goals and six points in 10 postseason contests.

Having little desire to retain him for the 2024-25 campaign, Carolina placed Kuznetsov on unconditional waivers for a mutual termination of Kuznetsov’s contract, allowing the Chelyabinsk, Russia native to return home to continue his professional career. A few weeks later, Kuznetsov signed a four-year deal with the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg.

There’s a decent chance some of his offensive value has been rebuilt after a strong year with St. Petersburg. Kuznetsov scored 12 goals and 37 points in 39 games with a +13 rating. Pursuing another chance in the NHL, Kuznetsov and SKA mutually parted ways in April, leaving us where we are now.

Although it seemed like a natural fit, it’s already been reported that the Montreal Canadiens wouldn’t pursue Kuznetsov this offseason, and they seemingly filled their need for center depth yesterday by signing Joe Veleno. Additionally, other reports have indicated that a reunion with the Capitals isn’t on the table.

After briefly looking through projected rosters for the 2025-26 season, and assuming Kuznetsov is open to a bottom-six role, the Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins could all use additional depth, especially at the center position.

Montreal Canadiens Sign Joe Veleno

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According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Montreal Canadiens are closing in on a contract for center Joe Veleno. It’ll be a coming-home party for the former first-round pick, who’s from Montreal and spent his junior days with the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs and Drummondville Voltigeurs. The Canadiens confirmed it is a one-year, $900K contract for Veleno.

Veleno has had an unexpected path through the NHL. He was drafted 30th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2018 NHL Draft, using one of the picks acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Tomáš Tatar. It was a relatively steep fall in draft stock for Veleno, who had been projected as a top-10 talent on most boards before the 2017-18 season.

Still, his prospect pedigree grew a year after being drafted, putting together an impressive showing with the Voltigeurs, scoring 42 goals and 104 points in 59 games with a +63 rating. He was relatively successful throughout his time for Team Canada during the World Junior Championships, scoring one goal and eight points in 11 tournament contests over two years.

Unfortunately, he began to stagnate upon joining the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Veleno remained a quality defensive player, but the scoring capacity he showed at the junior level didn’t follow him into professional hockey.

Throughout his time in Detroit, Veleno was largely utilized in a bottom-six role, averaging 13:05 of ice time over five and a half seasons. He finished his tenure as a Red Wing with 35 goals and 74 points in 288 games with a dreadful -56 rating.

Still, his defensive metrics paint a different picture and prove he has some value on that side of the puck. He averaged a 90.3% on-ice save percentage throughout his time in Detroit, while starting 54.0% of his shifts in the defensive zone. His faceoff percentage (46.6%) is subpar for a defensive-minded center, but Veleno continued to hold his own.

Considering that the Red Wings were a lethargic defensive team throughout Veleno’s tenure, he proved to be one of the few bright spots defensively. His time with Detroit ended last season, when the team traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks at the trade deadline for Petr Mrázek and Craig Smith.

Unsurprisingly, with a need to graduate more prospects to the NHL level, Veleno’s time in Chicago lasted 18 games. He was traded to the Seattle Kraken this offseason for André Burakovsky and was subsequently bought out by the Kraken.

In Montreal, it may be an opportunity for Veleno to become a full-time winger. Having Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook, and Jake Evans on the roster for next season, Veleno doesn’t serve as an objective improvement over any of their available options.

There’s a decent chance Veleno will become a fourth-line left wing in Montreal, while serving as a center option if the team runs into injury trouble.

Samuel Kňažko Signs In Czechia

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are losing one of their organizational depth defenseman for the time being. According to a team announcement, defenseman Samuel Kňažko has signed a multi-year contract with HC Vítkovice of the Czech Extraliga.

Kňažko wasn’t the most well-known defensive prospect in the Blue Jackets system. The 22-year-old blue liner was selected with the 78th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft by Columbus, coming from TPS’s U20 SM-liiga program. He never displayed higher-level offensive talent, but he proved to be an efficient puck mover and more than capable in the defensive zone.

He came to North America for the 2021-22 season after transferring to the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. Kňažko scored five goals and 20 points in 27 games with a +14 rating, with one goal and six points in 26 postseason contests. He even suited up in seven games for Team Slovakia during the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, helping Slovakia to a bronze medal.

Unfortunately, since he started playing in the Blue Jackets organization with their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, his development has stagnated. Since the beginning of the 2022-23 AHL season, Kňažko has scored seven goals and 49 points in 149 regular-season contests with a -27 rating, and three assists in five Calder Cup playoff matchups. He only played in two games for Columbus over that stretch, going scoreless.

Carrying a bevy of defensemen in their pipeline and on their NHL roster, the Blue Jackets likely didn’t prioritize retaining Kňažko this offseason. He’ll join a Vítkovice team that finished 12th in the Extraliga during the 2024-25 season and was quickly eliminated in the wild-card round of the postseason.

Islanders Sign Victor Eklund To Entry-Level Contract

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1:42 p.m.: According to PuckPedia, Eklund will earn an NHL salary of $877.5K, an AHL salary of $85K, and a signing bonus of $97.5K each year, and up to an additional $500K in “A” performance bonuses. That’ll bring his cap hit to $975K, and his AAV up to $1.475MM.

1:30 p.m.: The New York Islanders have put pen to paper with one of their first-round selections of the 2025 NHL Draft. According to a team announcement, the Islanders have signed forward Victor Eklund to a three-year entry-level contract.

Using one of the draft selections acquired in the trade that sent defenseman Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens, New York selected Eklund 16th overall. The Stockholm, Sweden native was the second-ranked European skater according to NHL Central Scouting, and was projected as a mid-first-round talent.

A teammate of Chicago Blackhawks prospect Anton Frondell, Eklund is coming off an impressive season with HockeyAllsvenskan’s Djurgårdens IF. His recent campaign saw his draft stock improve slightly, as Daily Faceoff projected him as the 24th overall pick around this time last year.

Helping promote Djurgårdens IF back to the SHL after their relegation in 2021-22, Eklund scored 19 goals and 31 points in 42 games with a +16 rating. In their postseason run back to the SHL, Eklund scored an additional two goals and seven points in 18 contests, besting AIK in the SHL Qualifier Final in five games.

He’s shown first-rate talent on the international stage, particularly over the last two years. Suiting up for Sweden’s U18 and U20 teams, Eklund has scored six goals and 12 points in 14 games during his age-appropriate appearances in the IIHF World Junior Championships. Additionally, he’s tallied 16 goals and 38 points in 40 international contests (including his WJC appearances).

It’ll be an important developmental year for the recent first-round selection. Eklund will have the opportunity to play in one of the better international leagues outside of the NHL, which should legitimize his offensive capabilities should he continue his developmental arc. Being a team starved for offense, Eklund may have a one-and-done year in the SHL should he flourish.

San Jose Sharks Re-Sign Jack Thompson

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12:45 p.m.: According to PuckPedia, the Sharks will pay Thompson an NHL salary of $800K and an AHL salary of $115K, with $135K guaranteed.

12:03 p.m.: Despite loading up their defensive core this offseason, the San Jose Sharks are additionally retaining some of their depth from last year. The Sharks announced they’ve signed defenseman Jack Thompson to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2025-26 season. The team did not disclose any financial information.

Thompson has been a difficult defenseman to project since coming to San Jose from the Tampa Bay Lightning in the deadline deal for Anthony Duclair a few years ago. During his time with the Lightning organization, the former 93rd overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft played particularly well with their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, scoring 13 goals and 56 points in 118 games.

His scoring output and overall play have dropped since joining the Sharks organization. However, much of that can be blamed on his inconsistent use within the organization. Thompson hardly plays when he’s on the Sharks roster, being an oft-healthy scratch when the team has a healthy blue line. Given that he’s only 23 years old, the Sharks may benefit from Thompson spending the entire 2025-26 campaign with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda to ensure consistent reps to aid in his development.

He’s performed well for the Barracuda when on the roster, scoring four goals and 23 points in 43 games. Extrapolated over a full season, Thompson is pacing out for seven goals and 36 points in 72 games for the Barracuda, which would have been good for second on the team in scoring among defensemen for the 2024-25 campaign.

Throughout his brief play in the NHL with the Sharks, Thompson has shown flashes of quality hockey. From October 20th to November 23rd this past season, Thompson scored two goals and five points in 13 games for San Jose with 20 blocked shots. From March 1st to April 13th, he scored another two goals and five points in 11 contests with 26 blocked shots. There were some rough months in between, but Thompson has proven his quality two-way play at times.

Ultimately, any true opportunity at the NHL level for the Courtice, Ontario native came and went this summer. The Sharks added Dmitry Orlov, John Klingberg, and Nick Leddy to a blue line that already had Mario Ferraro, Timothy Liljegren, Vincent Desharnais, and Shakir Mukhamadullin. As mentioned, to give the best possible opportunity for development, the Sharks should consider keeping Thompson in the AHL for the 2025-26 season, and only recall him in case of injuries to the defensive core.

Edmonton Oilers Make Multiple Coaching Changes

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Some changes are coming to the Edmonton Oilers’ coaching staff for the 2025-26 campaign. The Oilers announced they’ve hired Paul McFarland as an assistant coach, Peter Aubry as a goaltending coach, and Conor Allen as a skills coach. Making room for McFarland as an assistant, Edmonton also shared that legendary defenseman Paul Coffey will return to his previous role as a special advisor to ownership and hockey operations.

It’ll mark a return to the NHL for McFarland. He’s had three brief trips through the NHL, spending two years as an assistant coach for the Florida Panthers, one year as an assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and three years as an assistant coach for the Seattle Kraken.

The Richmond Hill, Ontario native spent last season serving as the head coach of the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen, guiding them back into the WHL postseason. McFarland coached the Hitmen to a 45-17-3-3 record with a +83 differential. Unfortunately, their success ended relatively early, losing in the second round of the WHL playoffs to the Lethbridge Hurricanes in seven games.

Meanwhile, Aubry replaces Dustin Schwartz as the Oilers’ goaltending coach, who had been serving in the role since the 2014-15 season. Schwartz had presided over some strong play from Cam Talbot, Mikko Koskinen, and Stuart Skinner over the last decade, but the team’s performance in the crease over the past two years warranted a change in mentorship.

Despite serving as the associate coach for the NCAA’s University of Nebraska-Omaha for the past two years, Aubrey has plenty of professional experience to fall back on. He served as the developmental goaltending coach for the Chicago Blackhawks from 2015 to 2023, helping graduate prospects such as Anton Forsberg, Kevin Lankinen, and Collin Delia to the NHL level. Unfortunately, since the Blackhawks had Corey Crawford for much of Aubrey’s time, none of his proteges had a real opportunity to flourish in Chicago.

Lastly, Allen is making the long trek from Plymouth, MI, to Alberta after being an assistant coach for the U.S. National U17 team last season. He’s a veteran of 284 games at the AHL level, scoring 22 goals and 93 points with a -37 rating, and of seven NHL contests with the New York Rangers from 2013 to 2015.

Jeff Marek of Daily Faceoff was the first to report that the Oilers were expected to hire McFarland. 

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