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Poll: Who Is The Early Favorite To Win The 2026 Calder Trophy?

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The hockey world was treated to a true gift by the race for the 2025 Calder Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL’s top rookie. The class lived up to years of expectations, headlined by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson tying Larry Murphy for the most assists by a rookie defender. He took home the Calder ahead of San Jose Sharks top center Macklin Celebrini and Calgary Flames starting goaltender Dustin Wolf – who both managed star-studded and historic performances of their own. The heap of talent left players who could have won the trophy outright in seemingly any other year – options like 26-goal-scorer Matvei Michkov. A rookie class so strong will be impossible to follow up, but the group in 2025-26 seem to have a great chance to come close.

Early predictions will have the Calder Trophy staying put through in 2026. The Canadiens are set to award star rookie Ivan Demidov with his first NHL season, after he led KHL super-club SKA St. Petersburg with in scoring with 49 points in 62 games last season. He was a sheer force at Russia’s top level, showing a pace, strength, and finesse that was unmatched by his competition. Demidov finished the year with five points in six Gagarin Cup Playoff matchups, before scoring four points in his first seven games with Montreal.

Demidov is now set to assume a key role in the Canadiens’ lineup. It’s hard to imagine he won’t play true top-line minutes. He offers the in-tight skill and low-zone grit to perfectly complement spot-shooter Cole Caufield and playmaking, two-way center Nick Suzuki. The stars will be Demidov’s ceiling if he gets a full year to such talented players. He nearly recorded a 20-30-50 season in the KHL – a league often lauded as near-equal to the NHL. That standing could set him up for 60, or even 70, points in his first year with Montreal.

It will be a tight race to catch up to, and overcome, Demidov. A slew of star collegiate players signed their entry-level contracts at the end of the season, and could easily be set for major minutes of their own. Sam Rinzel fills a need for right-shot defense for the Blackhawks and Oliver Moore seemed to bring his slick-passing to Chicago, Gabe Perreault looked like a strong utility player with the New York Rangers, and Ryan Leonard showed an ability to match the Washington Capitals’ pace.

And yet, all four could be outdone by Minnesota Wild defenseman Zeev Buium, who managed an impressive 98 points in 83 games at the University of Denver. He appeared in four Stanley Cup Playoff games, but only managed one assist. Also atop the defense charts is top KHL defender Alexander Nikishin, who ended a stalemate when he finally joined the Carolina Hurricanes for the playoffs. Nikishin ranked second on SKA St. Petersburg with 46 points in 61 games, and matched Buium’s postseason statline.

Even still, the OHL could emerge. Sam Dickinson served as the star of the 2025 Memorial Cup-winning London Knights, and seems well-primed for a big role with the desolate San Jose Sharks. He could be joined by the reigning ’OHL Player of the Year’ Michael Misa, who managed an incredible 62 goals and 134 points in 65 OHL games last season. Misa was drafted second in this year’s class, with New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer the only selection before him. The smooth-moving, sharp-eyed Schaefer could be another Calder candidate, though he hasn’t played a season-game since sustaining a broken collarbone during the World Junior Championships last December.

It will be hard for any player to rival the record-breaking heights that Hutson reached last season, but the list of candidates looking to follow him up seems endless. Any one of the aforementioned players could find their way into a star role, or the award could go to someone entirely different – like 2025 Hobey Baker Award-winner and Edmonton Oilers winger Isaac Howard.

With so much talent on the board, who do you think will win the 2026 Calder Trophy? If you choose ’Other’, comment your pick below!

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McDavid Comments On Contract Situation

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As Canada’s Olympic orientation camp got underway today, plenty of the focus was on Connor McDavid’s contract situation with the Oilers, namely that an extension hasn’t been completed yet.  Speaking with reporters today including Sportsnet’s Eric Francis, the center indicated that he has every intention to win with Edmonton and that is his only focus.  However, when asked if he’d be okay opening the season without a deal, McDavid indicated that all options are on the table.

At this point, it doesn’t appear as if there have been any substantive conversations between the two sides.  TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reports (Twitter link) that there hasn’t been a back-and-forth between the Oilers and McDavid’s camp regarding either salary or term.  Given that McDavid could plausibly sign a short-term or a long-term deal, it’s not a situation as simple as focusing on an eight-year deal and only worrying about the money.  He’ll carry a $12.5MM AAV for the upcoming season and is expected to beat that by several million per season whenever he puts pen to paper on a new deal.

New Fan Park Pushed Forward In Edmonton

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The city of Edmonton is one step closer to receiving a new fan park outside of Rogers Place, as the city council voted in favor of the proposed master agreement with Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG). This will clear the way for the proposed construction of the $250MM downtown event park, Village at Ice District land work, and demolition of the coliseum, per Keith Gerein of the Edmonton Journal.

Tyson Barrie Announces Retirement

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Amid his participation in yesterday’s Avalanche alumni game, defenseman Tyson Barrie confirmed to Nathan Rudolph of the DNVR Avalanche podcast that he’s retired.

A third-round pick of the Avalanche in 2009, Barrie was a highly intriguing offensive option out of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets and quickly looked like he could be something of a steal. He led the league in assists by a defenseman in his post-draft year and was named the WHL’s top defenseman as a result, but concerns about the righty’s size and defensive acumen meant he returned for a fourth and final season of junior hockey before making the jump to the pro ranks in 2011-12. Even then, he spent most of that year in the minors and only received 10 NHL games.

He slowly worked his way up the Avs’ depth chart, seeing less and less AHL time each season before earning his final recall in November 2013, early in his age-22 season. While he checked in as a fringe top-four option at even strength, he overtook Erik Johnson as Colorado’s top power-play quarterback and ended up recording a 13-25–38 scoring line in 64 games over the balance of the campaign. Those 0.59 points per game placed him inside the top-15 among NHL rearguards that year.

The 2014-15 campaign marked Barrie’s true coming of age. He broke the 50-point plateau – the first of four times he’d end up doing so in his career – while serving as Colorado’s de facto No. 1 option for a good portion of the season with Johnson injured. He would continue averaging north of 21 minutes per game for the remainder of his Colorado tenure, twice earning fringe votes for year-end All-Star honors.

Colorado didn’t have a ton of team success during Barrie’s six-year run as a full-timer there, though, only making the playoffs three times and winning a round once. His struggles away from the puck played a significant role in that. Only once, his final season in Denver, did Barrie manage to record a positive expected rating based on shot quality generated and allowed when he was on the ice at even strength. He posted a negative actual plus/minus rating in his last four years for Colorado, including a league-worst -34 mark in the Avs’ disastrous 22-win season in 2016-17.

Entering the 2019-20 season, Barrie was a pending unrestricted free agent and had been made redundant with Cale Makar’s emergence in the preceding postseason. That kicked off the latter journeyman phase of his career, beginning with a July 1 blockbuster that sent him to the Maple Leafs in exchange for Nazem Kadri. It didn’t work out all that well for Barrie or Toronto. He was no longer his club’s top power play option, sitting behind Morgan Rielly on the Leafs’ power play pyramid, and his offensive output declined to a more pedestrian 5-34–39 scoring line in 70 games as a result.

With Barrie’s point production his only real calling card, the fit in Toronto obviously wasn’t going to be a long-term one. They let him become a free agent during the COVID-laced 2020 offseason, and he proceeded to land a one-year, $3.75MM “prove-it” deal with the Oilers.

Barrie was plopped onto a top power-play unit in Edmonton with the two-headed monster of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid – the league’s two leading scorers in the shortened 2021 season – and responded with the best campaign of his career. He recorded 48 points in the truncated 56-game schedule, leading the NHL in scoring among defenders. His defensive deficiencies remained quite visible, though. He only managed a +5 rating compared to regular partner Darnell Nurse’s +27 mark, and as Edmonton was swept in the first round of the playoffs, Barrie became the first defenseman in league history to lead the position in scoring while not receiving a single Norris Trophy vote.

While Barrie remained a fine puck-mover for the Oilers, his production never quite found that gear again. His minutes began to drop back below the 20-minute mark, and at the 2023 deadline, he was sent to the Predators in the deal that landed Edmonton two-way dynamo Mattias Ekholm.

Nashville marked the last real turning point in Barrie’s career, and it wasn’t for the better. While he was still quite effective for the Preds down the stretch after the trade, recording 12 points in 24 games, that didn’t last very long. In 2023-24 – the final year of a three-year, $13.5MM extension he signed with Edmonton – Barrie tumbled down Nashville’s depth chart and ended up becoming a routine healthy scratch by the time the season ended. As such, he was limited to just one goal and 15 points in 41 games and only drew into the Preds’ playoff lineup once in their first-round loss to the Canucks.

Ahead of his age-33 season and with his value at an all-time low, Barrie ended up needing to settle for a professional tryout with the Flames to participate in an NHL training camp last fall. He did convert that into a $1.25MM contract in early October, but the fit wasn’t quite what Calgary hoped for. He only logged 13 appearances for the club and even ended up on waivers and cleared, seeing his first AHL action in over a decade with the Calgary Wranglers.

Barrie was a free agent this summer, and there was no reported interest in him on the open market. He hangs up his skates with 822 games played in 14 seasons, 23rd among his rather stacked draft class. He scored 110 goals and added 398 assists for 508 points, 10th in the league among defensemen since he debuted back in the 2011-12 season. He averaged just over 21 minutes per night for his career and made $47.85MM in estimated total earnings, per PuckPedia.

All of us at PHR congratulate Barrie on his fine career and wish him the best in his next steps.

Image courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.

Connor McDavid, Oilers Still Talking Extension

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Despite being one of the biggest storylines of the offseason, superstar Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers have yet to reach an agreement on a contract extension. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes there’s a clear window where both sides could come together to get a deal done.

With one year remaining on his deal, McDavid would be set for unrestricted free agency next offseason if an extension with the Oilers cannot be worked out. But on his 32 Thoughts podcast, Friedman noted his belief that the two sides can come together following Team Canada’s Olympic Camp (Aug. 26-28) and before Oilers training camp kicks off.

“At the start of camp, I could see it. I just think everyone wants to get it done,” said Friedman, who added his belief that both sides would be motivated to get it done before training camp to avoid any potential distractions. “I would expect between Olympic camp and training camp that they sit down and say, ’How’s this going?'”

While talks have dragged on longer than the Oilers might prefer, a departure has always seemed unlikely for the four-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner. GM Stan Bowman further removed doubt in late July when he noted that extension talks were ongoing and heading in a positive direction. At the time, Bowman said he was “very encouraged” by his early conversations with McDavid’s agent, Judd Moldaver.

The real question isn’t if the extension will get worked out, but when and for how much annually. McDavid’s current contract carries a $12.5MM AAV, and it’s conceivable he’ll aim for the highest annual salary in the league — a mark currently held by teammate Leon Draisaitl, whose new deal carries a $14MM AAV over the next five seasons.

McDavid tallied 26 goals and 100 points in 67 games last season, notching the seventh 100-point campaign of his already remarkable career. He followed that up with a league-leading 33 points in the playoffs.

Oilers Notes: Berezkin, Gregor, Nicholl

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Winger Maxim Berezkin is one of the more intriguing players in Edmonton’s prospect pool.  The 23-year-old was a fifth-round pick back in 2020, going 138th overall but has become somewhat of a later bloomer after becoming a full-time KHL player three years ago.  He’s coming off his best season at that level, one that saw him produce 15 goals and 27 assists in 66 regular season games while adding 14 points in 21 playoff contests with KHL Lokomotiv Yaroslavl as they won the Gagarin Cup.

Berezkin signed a new one-year to remain in the KHL back in May but that shouldn’t be viewed as a sign that he doesn’t want to come to North America.  In an interview with Daria Tuboltseva for Vseprosport, he indicated that he still intends to sign with Edmonton but that he felt it would be best for his development to spend this season back home over potentially spending this year in the minors with AHL Bakersfield.  Now, whenever he ultimately signs, Berezkin will be capped at a one-year entry-level deal.

More from Edmonton:

  • There has been some speculation that the Oilers will be looking at some tryouts heading into training camp. One player who hasn’t had discussions with Edmonton on that front yet is winger Noah Gregor, according to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal.  An Alberta native, Gregor has had to go the PTO route to secure a full contract before and after putting up just four goals and three assists in 52 games last season between Ottawa and San Jose, there’s a good chance he’ll have to settle for a tryout in the coming weeks.
  • Prospect Will Nicholl won’t be starting his 2025-26 for quite a while. His junior team, the London Knights of the OHL, announced (Twitter link) that the forward underwent successful upper-body surgery earlier this summer and will miss four to six months.  The 19-year-old was a seventh-round pick back in 2024 and had a solid showing last season, picking up 21 goals and 36 assists in 66 games.  Edmonton must sign Nicholl by June 1st or relinquish his rights so it’s fair to say the few months he does play this season will be crucial.

Could Janmark Lose His Spot? Oilers Believed To Have Considered Signing Puistola

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With the Oilers adding some extra depth up front this summer, there should be some good battles at training camp next month.  To that end, Allan Mitchell of The Athletic suggests (subscription link) that winger Mattias Janmark’s roster spot could be in some jeopardy.  The 32-year-old had a 25-point campaign just a couple of years ago but since then, he has only managed six goals and 24 assists combined, including only two goals in 80 games last season.  While his speed and defensive game are assets, they could free up $1.15MM in cap space by waiving and demoting him to the minors, lowering his cap charge to $300K.  That would certainly give them some extra breathing room on the salary cap with PuckPedia currently projecting them to open the season at barely $225K under the Upper Limit.  Carrying one less roster player would help in that regard and Janmark being that casualty would maximize their flexibility.

  • Still with the Oilers, it appears as if they at least thought about bringing in another forward from Europe to add to their depth as they did with David Tomasek. Forward Patrik Puistola acknowledged to Nerikes Allehanda’s David Hellsing that he was aware of some speculation that Edmonton was readying a contract offer for him although a formal offer never ultimately materialized.  Puistola was drafted in the third round by Carolina back in 2019 with his rights being moved to the Oilers in 2023 although those rights have since lapsed, making him an unrestricted free agent.  After a strong season with SHL Orebro last year and four goals at the Worlds for Finland, Puistola could be someone to keep an eye on to come to North America next year.

Players Who Could Start The Season On LTIR

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While only a handful of teams project to need cap relief via long-term injured reserve to open the season, multiple candidates across the league might technically qualify for a placement. Doing so would bar the player from returning until Oct. 31 at the earliest – 24 days from the season start date of Oct. 7.

Avalanche: Logan O’Connor

O’Connor underwent hip surgery in early June. Given the five-to-six-month projected recovery window, he won’t be available until early November at best, putting him past the 10-game/24-day threshold required for LTIR. Colorado, which has $2.10MM in current cap space, will likely place O’Connor on standard IR if they don’t make any other cap-affecting moves between now and October. If they need the relief, though, they could create up to O’Connor’s $2.5MM cap hit in cushion for the first few weeks of the season if they need it.

Blues: Torey Krug

St. Louis general manager Doug Armstrong announced in May that Krug’s career is done because of pre-arthritic conditions in his left ankle that surgical intervention only slowly corrected. Since the Blues only have around $625K in cap space, Krug and his $6.5MM cap hit will be going on LTIR as soon as they need the flexibility for a call-up.

Canadiens: Carey Price

What’s certain is that Price won’t play this season or ever again. He’s entering the final season of his contract at a $10.5MM cap hit after confirming nearly two years ago that his knee injury would prohibit him from suiting up again. What’s uncertain is whether or not he’ll begin the season on LTIR. Montreal isn’t in a great position to optimize its LTIR relief, either by matching his cap hit in excess or getting down to $0 in space before placing him on the list. That’s made his contract a trade chip for teams who might need the relief more.

Devils: Johnathan Kovacevic

Kovacevic underwent knee surgery in early May and won’t be ready for training camp and likely opening night as well. Whether that stretches past Oct. 31 and makes him eligible for an LTIR placement if New Jersey needs cap relief early on remains to be seen.

Flyers: Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Ristolainen

Ellis’ career is over after sustaining a wide-ranging muscular injury in his pelvis just four games into his Flyers tenure in 2021. Ristolainen underwent a procedure on his right triceps tendon on March 26 with a six-month recovery time, putting him right on the edge of potential LTIR eligibility. Philly will have a better idea of the latter’s LTIR deployment potential after he undergoes his training camp physical. With $370K in cap space, they’re in a good position for near-max LTIR capture and will almost certainly at least place Ellis there to begin the year to give them call-up flexibility.

Golden Knights: Alex Pietrangelo

Pietrangelo is already on offseason LTIR, meaning the Knights actually still have to add an additional $1.2MM to their roster before opening night to optimize his capture and unlock his full $8.8MM cap hit’s worth of relief for this season. The team confirmed he requires multiple undisclosed but significant surgeries that will likely mark the end of his playing career, but it’s unclear if he’s actually had them done yet.

Jets: Adam Lowry

Lowry underwent hip surgery in late May and won’t be available until after Thanksgiving at the earliest. Winnipeg likely won’t be formalizing an LTIR placement with nearly $4MM in cap space, though.

Mammoth: Juuso Välimäki

Välimäki underwent ACL surgery in early March. He likely won’t end up on LTIR given Utah’s current cap flexibility ($6.68MM), but he’ll be out until at least early November so he’ll be there as an early-season option in case they need relief for whatever reason.

Oilers: Zach Hyman

Hyman’s inclusion here is on the speculative side. The winger could very well be ready for the start of the season. However, there hasn’t been much clarity on how much recovery he still needs after undergoing surgery to repair a severe wrist injury that kept him out of the Stanley Cup Final. A report in early June indicated there was uncertainty about his status for training camp, with no meaningful updates since then.

Panthers: Matthew Tkachuk

Tkachuk told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski earlier this month that he’s still deciding whether he wants to undergo surgery to address the adductor issue that hampered him down the stretch and in the playoffs after sustaining it at the 4 Nations Face-Off. All signs point to him opting for it and spending the next two to three months on the shelf as a result, though. Placing him on LTIR is the only way the Panthers, who currently have a cap exceedance of $3.725MM, can be compliant to start the season without shedding a significant contract, something they aren’t keen to do.

Wild: Jonas Brodin

Minnesota has $9.41MM in cap space, but that number will shrink once they re-sign restricted free agent Marco Rossi (or add salary while trading his signing rights). Neither scenario will likely push them into a situation where they need to use LTIR relief, but they might have Brodin and his $6MM cap hit as an option for some short-term flexibility if required. He underwent an upper-body procedure in early June and is questionable for the beginning of the season, so it’s not yet clear if he’ll miss enough time to qualify.

Bakersfield Announces A Series Of AHL Deals

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  • The Edmonton Oilers’ top affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, signed four players to AHL deals, per a team announcement. The team signed forwards Matt Brown and Trevor Janicke and defensemen Mats Lindgren and Luke Prokop. Of note, Propkop was a third-round selection of the Nashville Predators in the 2020 draft, while Lindgren was a fourth-round selection of the Sabres in the 2022 draft.

Bowman: Talks With Other Extension-Eligible Players To Occur In Next Six Weeks

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While a significant chunk of extension speculation surrounding the Oilers involves Connor McDavid, there are other notables also entering the final year of their respective contracts, highlighted by defensemen Mattias Ekholm and Jake Walman along with their goaltending tandem.  Earlier this week in an appearance on Oilers Now (audio link), GM Stan Bowman indicated that there have been a couple of preliminary talks with the agents for some of their pending UFAs and that he feels those discussions will pick up over the next six weeks or so to see if there’s something that lines up for both sides heading into training camp.  Edmonton has around $45MM in cap room for 2026-27 per PuckPedia, with a big chunk of that earmarked for McDavid’s next contract.  However, there will still be ample space for them to re-up some of their other key expiring deals while still allowing for a bit of flexibility to reshape their roster next summer.

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