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Team Canada Announces 2026 Olympic Roster

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Hockey Canada has formally announced its 25-man roster for the NHL’s return to Olympic action. They’re the first major power to announce its roster for the event in Milan, Italy, trimming it down and altering it from a preliminary list of 42 players they released back in August.

Forwards

Defensemen

Goaltenders

The tournament’s most star-studded roster includes the vast majority of the players who took home Canada’s first true best-on-best championship since their gold medal at the 2014 Olympics at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off. That includes all eight defensemen – there are no changes on the Canadian blue line from one year ago.

The biggest changes are in the crease. Binnington, who was Canada’s starter at the 4 Nations, may not hold the same path to the No. 1 job as he did 12 months ago but has done enough internationally to maintain his spot on the roster. His .870 SV% and 3.44 GAA with -9.7 goals saved above expected (MoneyPuck) in 23 games have him positioned as one of the NHL’s worst starters in 2025-26, but after posting a .907 SV% at the 4 Nations and a .944 SV% at the 2025 World Championship, he’d made himself an effective lock on the roster.

Joining Binnington between the pipes are Kuemper and Thompson, both of whom finished in the top four in Vezina Trophy voting last year and have both kept up their momentum into 2025-26. Thompson’s 22.9 GSAx leads the league heading into the New Year, while Kuemper has logged a pristine .917 SV% and 2.19 GAA in 23 starts for Los Angeles. They replace Adin Hill (Golden Knights), who’s spent most of the season on injured reserve, and Sam Montembeault, who’s lost his grip on the Canadiens’ starting job to Jakub Dobes.

There’s also some significant turnover among Canada’s forward group. Out from the 4 Nations roster are Sam Bennett, Travis Konecny, and the injured Seth Jarvis. Inserted into the group – as Canada can carry another forward to the Olympics – are Celebrini, Horvat, Suzuki, and Wilson.

Once again, it will be Canada’s forward group that will form its identity. They boast the league’s three leading scorers in MacKinnon, McDavid, and the 19-year-old Celebrini – arguably the front-runner for the Hart Trophy at the halfway point of the season. But beyond that, general manager Doug Armstrong opted to leave a good portion of the country’s top scorers this season at home, at least initially. Three players who are currently top 20 in the league in points – Wyatt Johnston, Mark Scheifele, and Connor Bedard – did not make the team.

It will be Canada’s reluctance to completely lean into its young talent, including Bedard and Calder Trophy frontrunner Matthew Schaefer on defense, that dominates the discourse in the coming days. Of course, injuries over the next month could pave the way for both to join their country in Milan. For some, it will be reminiscent of the 2006 Olympics, the last time Canada failed to medal with NHLers on its roster, when it opted to leave young offensive firepower in Sidney Crosby, Jason Spezza, and Eric Staal and was shut out by Russia in the quarterfinals.

Rangers Activate Adam Fox, Reassign Scott Morrow

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Dec. 31: The Rangers announced that defenseman Scott Morrow has been assigned to AHL Hartford, indicating Fox will be activated from long-term injured reserve and return to the lineup tonight against the Caps. Morrow had been up since just before Fox exited the lineup and had gotten a few reps as New York’s top power play quarterback in Fox’s absence, but the 23-year-old transition defender remained relatively unproductive.

As the Blueshirts’ most dynamic defense prospect continues to shift between the NHL and AHL, he’s up to three assists and a -1 rating in 16 games in the top flight this season while averaging 15:34 of ice time per game.

Dec. 30: The New York Rangers might soon be able to put a nightmare injury behind them. Star defenseman Adam Fox has been designated as a game-time decision for Wednesday’s match against the Washington Capitals, per Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic. Fox has missed the last 14 games with a shoulder injury sustained on Nov. 29.

Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan called Fox a “very difficult guy to replace,” speaking with Mollie Walker of The New York Post. That sentiment has reflected on the scoreboard for the Rangers, who have a 6-5-3 record and 34-to-39 goal differential since Fox’s injury.

Even after a month out of the lineup, the 2021 Norris Trophy winner still ranks third on the Rangers in scoring with 26 points in 27 games. Fox was tied with Artemi Panarin for the scoring lead at the time of his injury. He was also riding a six-game scoring streak that saw him rack up 10 assists, including one in the game he was injured.

Fox could keep that scoring streak rolling with a strong return from injury. He has been taking practice reps alongside Vladislav Gavrikov, who stepped up as New York’s top defender in December. Gavrikov averaged 25:11 in ice time over the last month, the seventh-most of all defensemen in the NHL. That run included Gavrikov reaching nearly 29 minutes of ice time in New York’s December 20th shootout-win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Fox should help shoulder that load and could find a chance to ease back into minutes against a Capitals team that New York beat 7-3 last week.

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images.

Kings Activate Darcy Kuemper, Reassign Pheonix Copley

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The Los Angeles Kings will have a major piece back in the lineup when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. 2025 Vezina Trophy finalist Darcy Kuemper has been activated off of injured reserve after missing the last six games and 15 days with an upper-body injury. He returned to practice on Saturday. To make room for Kuemper’s return, the Kings have reassigned depth goaltender Pheonix Copley.

Kuemper could be eased back into Los Angeles’ lineup over their upcoming four-game home stretch. He has continued to be an elite option in net for the Kings, posting 10 wins and a .917 save percentage in the 23 games he has played in this season. That’s narrowly in-line with the .921 save percentage that Kuemper recorded in 50 games last season, while again battling routine injury. He earned a third-place finish in Vezina Trophy voting – and a top-20 finish in Hart Trophy voting – with that performance.

Overall, Kuemper has averaged a .920 save percentage over the last two seasons, tying him with Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck and Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy for the highest in the NHL. He also has seven shutouts in that span, tied for second in the league behind Hellebuyck, Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky, and Minnesota’s Filip Gustavsson who all have eight.

The Kings have struggled significantly in Kuemper’s absence. They posted a 2-4-0 record and 16-to-20 goal differential since his injury, while leaning on Anton Forsberg as their starter. Forsberg has totaled a 6-6-3 record and .901 save percentage in his first season with the Kings. He held the lion’s share of minutes while Kuemper was out, though Copley did appear in one game. Los Angeles lost that game while Copley recorded a .893 Sv%. That is narrowly above the .885 Sv% he has recorded in 13 AHL games this season. With this move, Copley will have a chance to boost up those minor-league numbers, while Los Angeles get a much-needed upgrade in net.

Golden Knights’ William Karlsson Won’t Be Healthy For Olympics

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Bad news has come through for a potential core memebr of Team Sweden’s 2026 Winter Olympics squad. Despite hoping to return before the tournament, Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson won’t be healthy enough to play per TSN’s Darren Dreger. Karlsson is recovering from a lower-body injury sustained in Vegas’ November 8th loss to the Anaheim Ducks. He appeared in 14 games and scored seven points before the injury.

Karlsson has run into a streak of bad injury luck stretching back to the start of last season. He didn’t make his season debut until Vegas’ ninth game of the 2024-25 season and fell back out of the lineup for 21 games in late January. Those absences, and 23 missed games this season, give Karlsson more than 50 absences since October 2024.

That injury luck has left Vegas with a major hole in their center position. Tomas Hertl has stepped up to help fill the hole – posting a 58.0 faceoff percentage on 584 faceoffs. That success rate puts Hertl near the bottom of the top-10 faceoff takers this season. Hertl also has 29 points in 37 games this season, putting him on pace to narrowly pass his 61 points last season. Those impacts have helped Vegas lean on Colton Sissons and Brett Howden as their bottom-six centers. Both have posted faceoff percentages north of 50 percent though they only have five and 11 points respectively.

Karlsson is routinely challenges 50 points  when he’s at full health. He scored 30 goals and 60 points in 70 games during the 2023-24 season, the highest marks he’s reached since posting career-highs with 43 goals and 78 points in 2017-18. Karlsson was scoring well below his career-average to start this season. Now, he won’t be able to right that ship until Vegas returns from the NHL’s Olympic break on February 25th, at the soonest. That return date would force Karlsson to miss 20 more games.

More than hurting Vegas’ lineup for the start of the new year, this news will pull Karlsson’s first chance to play for Sweden’s Olympic roster. He has seldomly played for his country over the course of his NHL career, largely thanks to Vegas’ success in the postseason. An appearance at the 2025 World Championship, where Karlsson posted one point in four games, was his first international tournament since the 2017 World Championship. Karlsson has won a Gold medal at the World Championship and World Junior Championships with Team Sweden.

The former SHL ’Rookie-of-the-Year’ would be a reliable center for Sweden in the Olympic games, even though he has only scored four points in 14 World Championship games in his career. Sweden leaned on Mika Zibanejad, Joel Eriksson Ek, Leo Carlsson, and Elias Lindholm as their centers at the 2025 4-Nations Face-Off. This news could help cement those four down the middle when Sweden heads to the Olympic games in Milan.

Flames Sign Devin Cooley To Two-Year Extension

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The Flames have signed goaltender Devin Cooley to a two-year extension, according to his agent, Gold Star Hockey’s Dan Milstein. The deal carries an average annual value of $1.35MM for a total value of $2.7MM, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports.

Few goaltenders have seen their stock rise since training camp as much as Cooley’s has. The 28-year-old entered Calgary’s camp with just six games of NHL experience to his name, coming with the Sharks in the 2023-24 season. He was viewed as a challenger, but not the favorite, to Russian free agent pickup Ivan Prosvetov to begin the season as Dustin Wolf’s backup.

Neither performed exceptionally well in the preseason, leading Calgary to opt to keep Cooley and waive Prosvetov – a move made more out of familiarity than anything else. He’s in the back half of a two-year, league minimum deal he signed as an unrestricted free agent in 2024 and served as the starter for the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers last season, going 21-17-7 with a .905 SV%, 2.94 GAA, and three shutouts en route to an All-Star Game nod.

Not only has Cooley since emerged as one of the better backup options in the league, but he’s also outperformed Wolf by a significant margin – albeit in a lesser workload. In 10 starts and three relief appearances, he’s 11th in the league in save percentage (.914) and goals against average (2.40). He is second in the league with 1.046 goals saved above expected per 60 minutes among qualified netminders (≥12 GP), per MoneyPuck.

As Wolf continues to recapture his game following his spectacular rookie effort, he’ll have Cooley as a fine No. 2 option behind him at a highly affordable cap hit. The 28-year-old Cooley, instead of testing free agency next summer, locks in early to land the first six-figure cap hit of his career.

Image courtesy of Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images.

Hurricanes’ Pyotr Kochetkov Placed On IR, Potentially Out For Season

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The Carolina Hurricanes have placed goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov on injured reserve. Kochetkov has been battling a hip injury since the start of the season. He missed all of October and the last week of November due to the issue. Now, after being forced out of the lineup for a third time, Kochetkov has elected to undergo surgery to address the injury, head coach Rod Brind’Amour told Chip Alexander of The News and Observer.

Kochetkov has only played in nine games this season. He was successful in those appearances, posting a 6-3-0 record, .899 save percentage, and 2.33 goals-against-average. He also had one shutout on the year. Kochetkov’s stat line ranked second in Carolina’s goaltending room across the board, behind emerging starter Brandon Bussi.

Bussi will be who Carolina leans on in Kochetkov’s absence. The 27-year-old has posted 12 wins, a .910 Sv%, and a 2.10 GAA in the first 14 games of his NHL career this season. He has been a standout in the minor leagues since signing with the AHL’s Providence Bruins out of college in 2022. Bussi posted a first .922 Sv% in the first 37 games of his AHL career, spanning the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. That entrance into the league earned Bussi an AHL all-star recognition in 2023 – an accolade he followed with 23 wins and a .913 Sv% in 41 games with Providence in 2023-24.

In competition with Michael DiPietro, Bussi fell to a .907 Sv% in 33 AHL games last season. That slip prompted a move to the Hurricanes this summer, which has quickly paid off. Bussi has not appeared in the AHL yet this season and could have a clear path to a true starter’s role ahead of struggling veteran Frederik Andersen.

In a corresponding move to Andersen’s IR designation, the Hurricanes have also recalled defenseman Gavin Bayreuther. He will help the team back up a handful of game-time decisions on defense, Brind’Amour told NHL.com’s Walt Ruff. Bayreuther spent last season with Lausanne HC in Switzerland’s National League. He scored 23 points in 52 games, a small scoring spark that seems to be bleeding into this season. His 13 points in 24 games rank second on the Chicago Wolves’ blue line behind Domenick Fensore. Bayreuther hasn’t played in the NHL this season, his last game being back in 2023, though he has been recalled as a backup once by Carolina.

With their shifting lineup, the Hurricanes will hope surgery helps Kochetkov return to form. He has posted a sub-.900 save percentage across his last 56 NHL games, dating back to the start of 2024-25. The performances have been a steep drop from the 38 wins and .910 Sv% Kochetkov recorded in 69 games through his first three NHL seasons. He is a fringe starter when healthy and should still fill a need in Carolina’s lineup on the other side of his recovery. Kochetkov carries a $2MM cap hit through the end of next season.

Penguins Acquire Yegor Chinakhov From Blue Jackets

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Forward Yegor Chinakhov will finally have his trade request honored. According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the Columbus Blue Jackets are trading Chinakhov for draft capital. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman later shared that Chinakhov is headed to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In exchange, Pittsburgh is sending Columbus winger Danton Heinen, the St. Louis Blues’ 2026 second-round pick, and the Washington Capitals’ 2027 third-round pick. The Blue Jackets confirmed the deal.

Chinakhov’s story in Columbus is well known up to this point. The 21st overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft has been with the Blue Jackets for much of the last five years, though the relationship began souring last season after Columbus hired Dean Evason as the team’s head coach.

Before Evason’s hire, during the 2023-24 season, Chinakhov had the strongest campaign of his career. The young Russian finished ninth on the team in scoring with 16 goals and 29 points in 53 games, averaging 15:10 of ice time per game. Had he played the whole season at the same pace, Chinakhov would have finished with around 25 goals and 45 points.

Still, despite the strong offensive performance, there were legitimate concerns with other areas of Chinakhov’s game, particularly on defense. He finished that season with an 89.4% on-ice save percentage at even strength despite starting a majority of his shifts in the offensive zone. Unfortunately, nothing has improved since.

Since Evason took over behind the bench, Chinakhov’s ice time has been limited. He has yet to replicate his output from the 2023-24 campaign, scoring 10 goals and 21 points in 59 games since, averaging 13:03 of ice time. His possession metrics have improved mildly, though his metrics on the defensive side of the puck have continued to fall.

Chinakhov became so disheartened with his role with the organization that he eventually requested a trade from Columbus last summer. There were reportedly teams interested in his services, though General Manager Don Waddell was only willing to include him in a player-for-player swap, thus limiting his market. By the time that preseason action had begun, there were some indications that Evason and Chinakhov had improved their relationship.

Regardless of the perceived improvements to their relationship, that hasn’t turned into more ice time for Chinakhov. In fact, he’s averaged the lowest ATOI of his young career this season. Now, instead of being isolated to a fourth-line role with the Blue Jackets, he has the opportunity to crack a middle-six role with a different Metropolitan Division team.

Given their recent play, it’s highly unlikely that the Penguins are going to break up either of their top two lines. However, Chinakhov would be an immediate improvement on Ville Koivunen, who has scored one goal and four points in 25 games on the team’s third line. Additionally, Chinakhov could find his way onto Pittsburgh’s second power-play unit.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images. 

Oilers, David Tomasek Terminate Contract

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Dec. 29th: Insider Frank Seravalli confirmed that Tomasek has cleared waivers after being designated yesterday. Both sides are now free to officially terminate his contract.

Dec. 26th: Oilers forward David Tomasek is expected to sign with the Swedish Hockey League’s Färjestad BK after the holiday roster freeze lifts on Sunday, Jonas Griberg and Johan Ekberg of Värmlands Folkblad report.

Tomasek has already left Edmonton and returned to Sweden, according to the report. The Oilers can place Tomasek on unconditional waivers on Sunday, allowing him to formalize the termination and register a new contract with Färjestad on Monday.

The 29-year-old right winger is ticketed to return to the squad where he had immense success over the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons before attempting to kickstart an NHL career by signing a one-year, $1.2MM deal with Edmonton in April. He led the league in at least one major statistical category on both occasions and was named the SHL’s Most Valuable Player last season with a 24-33–57 scoring line and +5 rating in 47 games.

Tomasek was technically left off the Oilers’ opening-night roster due to salary cap constraints, taking advantage of his waiver-exempt status to send him to AHL Bakersfield. However, he was recalled the next day and made his NHL debut on the fourth line with Adam Henrique and Isaac Howard. He recorded an assist, but the lack of ice time wasn’t conducive to his ability to make an impact on the scoresheet.

The one-time World Championship gold medalist has good size at 6’2″ and 210 lbs, but doesn’t play a particularly physical game, profiling more as a one-way offensive threat and power play specialist. That made him an unnatural fit in a bottom-six checking role, serving the dual purpose of not allowing him to demonstrate enough skill to push his way into a top-nine job and see meaningful even-strength time with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Tomasek will end his stint in Edmonton with three goals, two assists, and a -6 rating in 22 appearances, averaging 10:46 of ice time per game. He had been a healthy scratch in six straight contests, last appearing against the Maple Leafs on Dec. 13.

The cap impacts are significant for the Oilers, who will be immediately relieved of his $1.2MM cap hit upon termination. Since they’re dipping into their LTIR pool to stay cap-compliant, they’re not accruing cap space. Removing Tomasek won’t change that, but it will increase their current cap space from $612.5K to $1.81MM, giving them more flexibility to reinstate one of their four LTIR-bound players in Connor Clattenburg, Kasperi Kapanen, Noah Philp, and Jake Walman.

Image courtesy of Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images.

Hurricanes Claim Noah Philp Off Waivers, Reassign Bradly Nadeau

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According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Carolina Hurricanes claimed center Noah Philp off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers. The Hurricanes shared that they’ve reassigned forward Bradly Nadeau in a corresponding roster move.

Interestingly enough, Friedman reported this morning on 32 Thoughts that this could be coming down the pipeline for Philp. Friedman suggested that multiple teams had contacted the Oilers regarding Philp. It stands to reason that the Hurricanes were one of those teams.

It would have been much easier for Edmonton to trade Philp after he had cleared waivers, given that he wouldn’t have to be waived again for some time if a team was wishing to stash him in the AHL. Given that the Hurricanes claimed him today, they’ll need to attempt to pass Philp through waivers again should they try to reassign him to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.

Regardless, Philp will have a new opportunity in Carolina for the time being, though it’s not clear where exactly he fits into the lineup. Seth Jarvis is currently the only injured forward on the team, and there’s little chance of Philp taking a hold of a first-line role.

Realistically, if the Hurricanes want him in a consistent role, Philp will take over for Jesperi Kotkaniemi or Mark Jankowski, each of whom has disappointed throughout the season. Philp doesn’t have much experience to fall back on, though, scoring two goals and five points across 30 games in Edmonton.

Still, his relatively large frame and respectable output in the AHL likely inspired Carolina to take a flyer on him. Despite briefly retiring for the 2023-24 season, Philp owns a 38-34-72 scoring line in 130 AHL contests.

Meanwhile, Nadeau returns to AHL Chicago after being recalled to replace Jarvis on the active roster. The 20-year-old winger played in two games for the Hurricanes throughout the recall, scoring one goal while averaging 13:54 of ice time per game.

Lightning Sign J.J. Moser To Eight-Year Extension

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Dec. 28th: PuckPedia provided the yearly breakdown of Moser’s new extension:

  • 2026-27: $881K salary, $7.9MM signing bonus
  • 2027-28: $1.381MM salary, $7.4MM signing bonus, full no-trade clause
  • 2028-29: $8.777MM salary, full no-trade clause
  • 2029-30: $6.584MM salary, full no-trade clause
  • 2030-31: $5.27MM salary, 16-team no-trade clause
  • 2031-32: $4.269MM salary, $1MM signing bonus, 16-team no-trade clause
  • 2032-33: $4.269MM salary, $1MM signing bonus, 16-team no-trade clause
  • 2033-34: $4.269MM salary, $1MM signing bonus, 16-team no-trade clause

Dec. 27th: The Tampa Bay Lightning have locked in one of their best defensemen from this season. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Lightning are closing in on an eight-year, $54MM ($6.75MM AAV) extension with J.J. Moser. Tampa Bay confirmed the extension a few moments later.

Moser, 25, is in his second year with Tampa Bay after being one of the pieces brought back in the trade that sent defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to Salt Lake City two summers ago. He was headed toward restricted free agency after this season, with arbitration rights, but will now wait until after the 2033-34 season to sign his next deal.

The Biel, Switzerland native has gotten much more attention this year, largely due to the number of injuries the Lightning have dealt with on their blue line. He’s scored three goals and 12 points in 34 games, equating to the second-best performance of his career on an 82-game basis.

Still, despite his boxcar stats being somewhat mediocre, they don’t come close to painting the whole picture regarding Moser’s value.

His even-strength metrics are some of the best in the league and are in most categories. He’s managed a 57.8% CorsiFor% and 94.6% on-ice save percentage throughout the year, both of which are first on the team among defensemen by a significant margin.

Additionally, according to MoneyPuck, out of the 218 defensemen that have played over 200 minutes this season, Moser is first in the league in on-ice Goals% with a 73.8% mark. Cale Makar, who is again the favorite for the Norris Trophy, is in second place with a 72.7% output.

That level of performance made an extension a priority for General Manager Julien BriseBois in Tampa Bay. Moving forward with Moser locked in, the Lightning have the combination of Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh signed through the 2028-29 season, and Erik Černák locked in through the 2030-31 campaign.

If Moser can continue his current level of productivity, even if only for the next few years, this contract will quickly become a bargain if it isn’t already. Assuming the upper limit of the salary cap remains relatively similar to the projections, Moser’s contract will account for 6.49% of the salary cap next season and will drop to 5.94% by the second year of the deal.

Given that Tampa Bay didn’t attempt to line up Moser’s contract to expire alongside another blue liner, as they did with Hedman and McDonagh, it’s clear that the Lightning have high expectations for him moving forward.

Photo courtesy of Brad Penner-Imagn Images. 

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