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Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy Good To Go For 2025-26

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Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy hasn’t played in game action since sustaining a shoulder injury during February’s 4-Nations Face-Off. He specifically injured the AC joint in his right shoulder. The injury then became infected, forcing McAvoy to undergo an irrigation and debridement procedure to remove debris from his shoulder. It would prove a season-ending ailment for McAvoy, but despite procedures and an extended stay away from the ice, the Bruins’ top defenseman has shared he’ll be ready for puck drop next season. He told Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald:

[My summer training plan] was [focused on] ‘how are we going to get better? How are we going to get healthy? How are we going to get to where I know I can be going into this year?’ And then since then, it’s just been all excitement, hitting a lot of marks and accomplishing a lot off the ice and now I’m starting to ramp up more on the ice, so I feel great. And mentally, I’m super-excited about this year.

McAvoy ended the season with seven goals and 23 points in 50 NHL games, and no scoring in two 4-Nations games. The Bruins would go on to miss the postseason for the first time since the 2016 season, before McAvoy had joined the team. He expressed frustration with missing the postseason for the first time in his career, but found the silver-lining of some extra time to condition his injury.

Health specifics aside, it’s hard to imagine McAvoy wouldn’t have tried to push his way into the lineup had the Bruins made the playoffs. He has been the team’s confident #1-defenseman since his second year in the NHL in 2018-19. By then, Bruins legend Zdeno Chara had crossed the hill of age-40, and was working his way out of a nightly top-pair role. McAvoy was there to make up for the lost minutes. He’s averaged north of 22 minutes each night in every single season of his eight-year NHL career, and took over the title of most minutes on the team in 2018-19.

With a clear-cut role on the top pair, McAvoy has found his way to lofty totals on the scoresheet’s scoreboard and penalty box. He scored a career-high 10 goals and 56 points in 78 games of the 2021-22 season, while averaging 24:38 in nightly ice time. It was a true career performance that McAvoy kept up with 52 points in 67 games of 2022-23, then one-upped with 12 goals, 47 points, and 24:51 in average ice time in the 2023-24 season.

His scoring pace dwindled this season – though McAvoy’s final score of the season marked his 300th NHL point. It took him 504 games to get their, making McAvoy the third-fastest Bruins defender to reach the mark, behind record-holder Bobby Orr and Boston legend Ray Bourque.

It will be the momentum of joining two iconic Boston defensemen that pushes McAvoy forward heading into next season. He emphasized his good health, and shared with Conroy that he and winger David Pastrnak will serve as the club’s assistant captains in the new season. 2025-26 will mark the fourth-year in the eight-year contract extension McAvoy signed in 2021. He’s so far recorded 122 points in 191 games on the contract – or an 82-game average of 52 points each season. Improving on that mark will be top priority as McAvoy enters his prime years, and age-27 season.

Bruins Prospect Cole Spicer Won’t Play At Arizona State University

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Boston Bruins forward prospect Cole Spicer won’t move forward with his commitment to Arizona State University, per Brad Elliot Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald. Spicer previously played two years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, but returned to the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints for the 2024-25 season. He was set to join Arizona State as a junior-year transfer this fall. Instead, it will be a fall of uncertainty for the 2022 fourth-round pick.

Of note, Spicer’s split from ASU could be a result of being sidelined. He was said to be dealing with significant injury issues, per sources available to Ty Anderson of Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub. Spicer dealt with concussions through his time in junior and collegiate hockey, and has been severely limited through multiple parts of the last two seasons. He missed 20 games with Minnesota-Duluth in 2023-24 due to a concussion and being declared academically-ineligible for the second semester. His injury woes continued through this season, as he missed 25 games with Dubuque for various reasons. He even sustained an injury in his very first game with the Fighting Saints.

The plot around Spicer’s relationship with hockey has grown thick. He cited recovery from concussions as a major limiter of his academic performance in a 2024 interview with Joe Haggerty of the Boston Sports Journal. Spicer also cited the mental health challenges that came with routine absences, low-scoring, and battles through concussion recovery. Struggles with concentration and mental health are two common, but often underdiscussed, symptoms of concussions that can drag on beyond official clearance to return.

Spicer was once a top prospect in America’s 2004 age group. He was recruited to the U.S. National Team Development Program’s 2004 cohort in 2020, after a 15u AAA season that saw him post 51 goals, 118 assists, and 169 points in 63 games with Honeybaked. Spicer struggled to earn a starring role at the NTDP behind Logan Cooley, Frank Nazar, and Rutger McGroarty. He was relegated to a bottom-six role in both seasons, and scored just 21 points in 46 USHL games with the Program. Still, his high-motor and gritty forechecking was enough to convince Boston to draft Spicer with the 117th-overall pick in 2022.

Spicer followed his draft selection with a move to the Bulldogs lineup. He again found himself trapped behind a stacked top-six, and scored just six points in 32 games from a fourth-line role in his freshman year. He added nine points in 17 games as a sophomore, before stepping away from the team. It was a quartet of underwhelming seasons for the feisty centerman – but one that he made up for with a return to the USHL this season. He scored 35 points in 37 games on the full year, good for Dubuque’s team-lead in points-per-game.

As things stand, there appears to be no clear path forward for Spicer. At age 21, he’ll no longer have eligibility to return to the USHL or CHL. He could transfer to a third – or, fourth, after an initial commitment to North Dakota – collegiate program, though another NCAA move would be a surprise on the heels of this news. With that, it seems minor-league, or European, pros will be his best options, should he decide to continue his career next season. The Grand Forks-native will be one to watch for Bruins fans trying to get a full picture of the team’s pipeline.

Red Wings Activate Carter Mazur From Injured Reserve

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In the rare summertime injury transaction, the Detroit Red Wings have activated center Carter Mazur off of injured reserve, per PuckPedia. Mazur sustained an upper-body injury in his NHL debut on March 6th. The injury forced a four-month stay on IR, but Mazur told NHL.com’s Jonathan Mills that he’s back to full health, and has even added 15 pounds, this summer.

Mazur grew up just over an hour outside of Detroit, and played locally for Little Caesers AAA and the U.S. National Team Development Program in youth and junior hockey. He left Michigan for two seasons in both the USHL (Tri-City) and NCAA (Denver), but returned to Grand Rapids to begin his AHL career in 2023. He quickly became a feature of the Griffins’ offense, with a combined 58 points in 86 career AHL games.

Mazur had plenty of steam headed into 2024-25-  but was knocked out of the lineup by injury just three games into the AHL season. He returned in late-January and quickly got back to routine scoring, even ramping up to a point-per-game pace through 11 games between February and March. That hot hand was enough to earn Mazur his NHL debut on a Spring road trip to Utah. But bad luck struck once again, when Mazur suffer an awkward, upper-body injury just a few minutes into the game. The injury would prove season-ending, limiting Mazur to 15 points in 20 AHL games and just a couple of shifts with the Red Wings.

The 23-year-old prospect told Mills that strengthening up has become a core focus of his development plan in the months since, including a detailed nutrition and conditioning plan. Mazur said:

I was called up for a reason. My game is still there… Gaining strength was always a big part of probably why I’ve gotten hurt a lot. I’m on the smaller side, but [Griffins Strength and Conditioning Coordinator] Marcus [Kinney] and [Griffins Physical Therapist] Zack Harvey put me in a good spot heading into the summer.

Some added bulk, and emphasized persistence, could take Mazur to new heights in the 2025-26 season. He’s found his way into a top-six role and strong scoring numbers at every level he’s played at – often on the back of gritty and fearless forechecking. He’ll be a candidate to shape the Griffins’ top-line to start the season, but could win out a depth roster spot, or top call-up consideration, with a strong training camp.

Nicklas Backstrom Signs With SHL’s Brynäs IF

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Jul. 28th: According to a team announcement, Brynäs IF has confirmed Backstrom’s signing.

Jul. 27th: Brynäs IF of Sweden’s SHL will hold a press conference on Monday where they’re expected to announce the signing of former NHL center Nicklas Backstrom, per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. The news was first reported back in May by Tomas Ros and Hans Abrahamsson of Aftonbladet They mentioned that Backstrom’s deal is expected to run only one-year.

Backstrom played in eight NHL games during the 2023-24 season, and missed the entirety of 2024-25, as he works his way back from hip resurfacing surgery conducted in 2022. The surgery was the culmination of eight years of hip pain and discomfort for Backstrom. He first underwent an arthroscopic surgery in 2015 to identify and remedy causes of hip pain. That helped Backstrom stay on the ice long enough to win a Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018, but his hip injury took a downturn with flare ups in the 2020-21 season. He’d go on to miss the first two months of the 2021-22 season while looking for non-surgical remedies, but ended up moving forward with a Belgium-based surgery in the following summer.

Backstrom has missed a lofty 234 games over the last four seasons, dating back to 2021-22. That’s 71 percent of the possible 328 games he could have appeared in. He’s made hardy attempts at returning throughout those long-term absences, but ran into continued hip pain and was forced out soon after each return. Those routine exits have been tough to bear given Backstrom still performed at a top level when he maintained good health. He scored 31 points in 47 games of the 2021-22 season, and 21 points in 39 games of the 2022-23 season.

Outside of his near-decade long battle with hip injury, Backstrom’s prowess is hard to ignore. He was the perennial top-line center for the Capitals from 2007 to 2019 – routinely rivaling 20 goals and 70, or 80, points. His career year came early into his career – when he scored 33 goals and 101 points in 82 games of Washington’s 2009-10 campaign, then went on to net six points in four games with Team Sweden at the 2010 Winter Olympics. But Backstrom was effective for a decade beyond that peak, and will go down in history as the playmaking centerman setting up the NHL’s all-time leading goal-scorer, Alex Ovechkin.

Now, Backstrom will leave behind his NHL legacy to try and return to the ice with his hometown club. He grew up through the Brynäs youth hockey program, and made his professional debut with the club in the 2004-05 season. In total, Backstrom has racked up 66 points in 110 games with the Brynäs clover on his chest. He’ll hope to return to those levels of productivity – or, perhaps first, routine games – with the club next season, after racking up 1,033 points in 1,105 career NHL games since his last league game in Sweden.

Latest On Tyson Foerster

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The Philadelphia Flyers are at risk to start the season without top winger Tyson Foerster, after an elbow injury he sustained at the World Championships became infected. Foerster underwent surgery earlier this month and will further receive a follow-up MRI next week that should make his timeline clearer, per NHL.com’s Kevin Kurz.

The Flyers would have a major role to fill in Foerster wasn’t ready for the start of the year. He found a comfortable role on the team’s second-line and second-power play unit, but routinely stepped up as an X-factor for the team’s offense. He finished the season with 25 goals and 43 points in 81 games. Only Matvei Michkov (26) scored more goals than Foerster. The two could very well directly compete for top-line minutes next season, though Michkov would assume the runway should Foerster miss time.

Despite a potential top-six hole to fill, Kurz adds that Philadelphia likely won’t turn towards a veteran free agent for insurance. Instead, he expects they’ll lean on some of their young prospects, or a potential professional try-out during training camp. Philadelphia has a long list of top prospects who could win out an NHL role at training camp, headlined by Porter Martone, Jett Luchanko, and Alex Bump.

All three forward could offer interesting upside in Philadelphia’s bottom-six. The Flyers drafted Martone with the sixth-overall pick this year. He’s long been lauded as one of the top wingers in his age group, and managed 98 points in 57 OHL games this season, while serving as the Bramtpon Steelheads’ captain. He also appeared in three games at the World Junior Championship and two at the World Championships. His aggression and puck-handling could warrant a chance to make an immediate impact.

Luchanko did as much last year, making the Flyers’ roster out of camp and playing through his first four NHL games before being reassigned to the OHL. He went on to score 56 points in 46 games as the captain of the Guelph Storm. He finished his year with 16 games, and nine points, in the AHL. Luchanko more often fills the center role, but can be rotated to right-wing. He’d be a hard-nosed addition to Philadelphia’s mix of skill in the bottom-six.

Bump may offer the most unique upside, though. The left-wing is coming off a starring role in Western Michigan University’s run to their first NCAA National Championship. He recorded 23 goals, 47 points, and a plus-11 in 42 games during the run. It was a major step up after Bump scored 36 points in 38 games as a freshman last year. He finished his season with five points across nine games with Lehigh Valley. He’s a former fifth-round pick, compared to first-rounders Martone and Luchanko, but could make the same push with the momentum of a strong season.

All three young forwards would have to earn their jump to the NHL roster with an impressive training camp. Should they underwhelm, the Flyers are hopeful enough about Foerster’s outlook to not look beyond a minor addition. That will set Foerster up for a clear return to the Flyers’ top-six as soon as he’s back to full health. He faces an uphill battle in repeating his 17.6 shooting percentage from last season, but he has a track record of finding more goals than assists. He scored 20 goals and 33 points in 77 games as a rookie in 2023-24, with a 12.0 shooting percentage.

Flyers’ Tyson Foerster May Miss Start Of Regular Season

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The Philadelphia Flyers could be missing a valuable top-six winger once the 2025-26 season begins in October. According to Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia, winger Tyson Foerster may be sidelined at the season’s start due to elbow surgery.

Rather than an orthopedic repair, Foerster’s elbow surgery was intended to remove an infection that had developed after an injury sustained during the 2025 IIHF World Championships. Despite the injury, Foerster had a solid showing throughout the international tournament, scoring two goals and three points in seven games, finishing with a +7 rating.

When asked about the surgery’s recovery timeline, General Manager Daniel Brière said, “He came and saw our doctors and they decided they had to go in and remove the infection. What I’m finding out is it takes a long time for all the samples to come back negative and that’s what we’re still waiting on, we don’t know. At that point, we’ll reevaluate and see if more needs to be done. Or if we’re lucky enough, that’s the end of it and he can move on and be ready for the start of the season. But there’s no guarantee of that, so we’re sitting and waiting right now to see how serious it is or not.”

Fortunately, the Flyers already have a readily available in-house candidate to replace Foerster on the wing if he misses time. Although they’d ultimately like to see him move back to center, recent acquisition Trevor Zegras would be an adequate replacement to place on the second line.

Still, for better or for worse, Philadelphia has its eyes on contention this season, and having Foerster in the lineup helps them do that. Despite the team having a disappointing campaign, Foerster is coming off a career year with the Flyers, scoring 25 goals and 43 points in 81 games, good for second on the team in goal-scoring and fourth in point production.

Alex Pietrangelo Placed On LTIR, Unlikely To Play Again

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Vegas Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon stated today that defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has officially been placed on LTIR and that the veteran is unlikely to play again, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. McCrimmon’s grim outlook reinforces the picture that both he and Pietrangelo have been painting in recent days regarding Pietrangelo’s future.

On Sunday, after weeks of speculation, it was announced that Pietrangelo would need to undergo “multiple major surgeries” this offseason, likely putting his 2025-26 season in jeopardy. On Monday, things became even more bleak as Pietrangelo and McCrimmon discussed the defender’s future, with Pietrangelo stating how challenging the last few seasons have been on his physical well-being.

“After exploring options with doctors as well as my family, it’s been advised to remove the intensity of hockey to see if my body can improve so that I can return to a normal quality of life. This decision has been difficult to come to terms with after the last 17 years of competition and the camaraderie with my teammates and coaches. The likelihood is low that my body will recover to the standard required to play, but I know this is the right decision for me and my family,” he said.

McCrimmon added that Pietrangelo would need to have bilateral femur reconstruction in order to resume his playing career, and that the procedure would not guarantee a return to health.

“Our hope in February during the NHL’s break for the 4 Nations Face-Off was to give Alex treatment and rest to help provide relief, but instead, what we found were diminished positive results and a process that is no longer sustainable moving forward. Alex has given everything to the game and to the Golden Knights and has played through significant challenges in the pursuit of trying to win another Stanley Cup in Vegas,” McCrimmon said.

A day later, it appears McCrimmon has seemingly made Pietrangelo’s future official. If this is the end of the road for Pietrangelo’s playing career, the 35-year-old retires with 1,087 games played, 637 points, and two Stanley Cup championships.

Alex Pietrangelo Expected To Miss 2025-26 Season

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Monday: The Golden Knights have released statements from Pietrangelo and GM Kelly McCrimmon.  While stopping short of announcing it officially, it would appear as if Pietrangelo’s playing days may very well be over.

Pietrangelo:

The past few years have been very challenging on my physical well-being, and I am in a difficult position with my overall playing health. After exploring options with doctors as well as my family, it’s been advised to remove the intensity of hockey to see if my body can improve so that I can return to a normal quality of life. This decision has been difficult to come to terms with after the last 17 years of competition and the camaraderie with my teammates and coaches. The likelihood is low that my body will recover to the standard required to play, but I know this is the right decision for me and my family.

McCrimmon:

Alex has our organization’s full support in prioritizing his long-term health and quality of life. Alex is dealing with hips that would require bilateral femur reconstruction, with no guarantee of success. Throughout the season, the steps that Alex needed to take to be able to play and practice began to grow and take a significant toll on his body. Our hope in February during the NHL’s break for the 4 Nations Face-Off was to give Alex treatment and rest to help provide relief, but instead, what we found were diminished positive results and a process that is no longer sustainable moving forward. Alex has given everything to the game and to the Golden Knights and has played through significant challenges in the pursuit of trying to win another Stanley Cup in Vegas. He is one of the most respected players in the league, not only for his elite talent but for his character, leadership, competitiveness, and professionalism. Today’s decision is a difficult one for both Alex and the Golden Knights, but it is being made for the right reasons – so that Alex can be the family man we all know him to be.

Sunday: After weeks of speculation, it’s looking more like Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo won’t be available next season. He’s in line for “multiple major surgeries” this offseason that will go so far as to jeopardize his career, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports.

The news comes just days after general manager Kelly McCrimmon spoke after the draft on Pietrangelo’s future. When asked whether or not Pietrangelo would be healthy enough to play next season, McCrimmon said it was something that still needed to be sorted out.

“We’re going to know more on that in the coming days. Alex and I have had a number of discussions. There are a number of decisions that need to be made. When I spoke earlier about having a number of things that need clarity, that would be one of them,” he said.

As rumors continue to intensify linking pending free agent Mitch Marner with the Golden Knights, Vegas now seemingly also faces the challenge of replacing Pietrangelo’s leadership and production. But moving Pietrangelo to long-term injured reserve before the start of free agency may free up the space the team needs to sign Marner, as outlined by Danny Webster of Las Vegas Review-Journal. Pietrangelo has two years remaining on his $8.8MM AAV deal, and the Knights currently have just $5.615MM in cap space, per PuckPedia.

Pietrangelo, 35, appeared in 71 games for the Golden Knights last season, posting four goals, 33 points, and a plus-11 rating. While he missed 11 games on the year and opted out of the Four Nations Faceoff due to injury, Pietrangelo averaged over 22:24 of ice time per game on the year, showcasing his ability to log meaningful minutes when healthy. The two-time Stanley Cup winner has produced 637 points throughout his 17-year career.

PHR’s Paul Griser contributed significantly to this article.

Wild’s Jonas Brodin Underwent Surgery, To Miss Start Of Season

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According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, General Manager Bill Guerin has confirmed that Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin underwent upper-body surgery a few weeks ago, and he’ll likely miss the beginning of the 2025-26 season.

It’s an interesting development considering Brodin played for Team Sweden at the 2025 IIHF World Championships a few weeks ago. After scoring three goals and seven points in 10 tournament contests, Russo indicated that despite being medically cleared to play in the international competition, Brodin’s upper-body injury flared up again.

If Guerin’s assessment is correct and Brodin misses several games at the start of the 2025-26 season, it will be the seventh consecutive year that he has not played 80 or more games. The 13-year veteran has been mired by injuries for much of his career, failing to register even 70 games in three straight years.

Being limited to only 50 regular-season games during the 2024-25 campaign, it was Brodin’s lowest games played total since his rookie campaign during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. Still, he was able to avoid his worst offensive output, managing four goals and 20 points with a +10 rating when available.

Because he’s such a quality option for Minnesota when healthy, it would be inappropriate to call Brodin’s contract a sunk cost. Sure, the Wild would like more availability from their third-highest-paid defenseman, but his ability when healthy makes up for the lost time.

It’ll be interesting to see how Guerin fills the void left by Brodin. Depending on the duration of his absence, the team may shift Marco Rossi’s trade negotiations towards a readily available top-four option. Still, due to their urgent need for a second-line center, Minnesota is likely to wait for Brodin’s return and utilize internal candidates to fill the gap.

Blues Notes: Krug, Lindstein, Buyouts

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St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong confirmed that defenseman Torey Krug won’t play next season after undergoing ankle surgery this year, shares Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic. It will be Krug’s second-consecutive missed season. The news was previously reported in early May, but now comes with official word behind it. Krug’s surgery was to address a diagnosis with pre-arthritis in his left ankle. The injury stemmed from a fractured ankle sustained in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Krug has played in 360 games, between the regular season and playoffs, since sustaining that ankle injury at age 27 in 2018. For better or worse, he looked no worse for wear in the years to follow. He posted a career-high 47 assists in 64 games of the 2018-19 season, and continued to pace-for or top 40 points all the way through his last season in 2023-24. He was mobile and effective for the Blues, bringing a puck-moving energy and snappy offense that the team lacked since moving away from Vince Dunn and Alex Pietrangelo. With Krug out, the Blues were forced to rediscover that spark through the brazen play-driving of Colton Parayko and breakout season of Philip Broberg. Both players will continue to be leaned on, while Krug eyes retirement after 778 games, and 13 seasons, in the NHL.

Other notes out of St. Louis:

  • The Blues will get reinforcements for Krug’s absence in the form of SHL prospect Theo Lindstein, who Armstrong says will play in either the NHL or AHL next season per Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Lindstein grew into a hardy role with the SHL’s Brynas IF this season – netting nine points, six penalty minutes, and a plus-nine through 44 games. He also contributed five points in 17 games to Brynas’ postseason run. His stat linen may not jump off the table, but Lindstein’s ability to handle responsibility away from the puck was strong enough to warrant a first-round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft. He followed that draft selection by winning an SHL championship with Brynas in 2024. Now, Lindstein will take the stride to North America – where his jumpy skating, poised positioning, and quick reactions should all lead to a solid role. Fans should expect the 20-year-old to begin the year in the minor leagues.
  • Armstrong also shared with DeFranks that the Blues will not be utilizing any buyouts ahead of July 1st. There aren’t many aged and costly contracts on the team, especially with Krug’s $6.5MM deal set to be placed on long-term injured reserve. Perhaps the most unreasonable contract would be the $4MM due to Nick Leddy this season, though Armstrong has emphasized Leddy’s guaranteed role in next year’s lineup. Leddy scored five points in 31 games last season. With no contracts set to be cut, the Blues will enter the postseason with an estimated $5.03MM in cap space, per PuckPedia.

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