Poll: Who Should Win The 2026 Jack Adams Award?
The NHL season is beyond its halfway point and the standings have turned into one of the closest races in recent memory. Teams like the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres sit in playoff contention, while the back-to-back Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers are on the outside looking in. Such a tight year has brought on a heap of questions. Buried under the team projections and playoff hopes sits an almost-impossibly tough question to answer: who should take home the Jack Adams Award as ‘Coach of the Year’ in a year like this?
The evergreen candidates are certain to be at the top of the list. Jared Bednar has worked out a miracle season with the Colorado Avalanche. Just one week away from February, the Avalanche have only lost six games in regulation and 15 in total. Their 35 wins in 50 games is the third-highest win-percentage (.790) since 2000, behind only the 2022-23 Boston Bruins and the 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks. Bruins’ head coach Jim Montgomery won the Adams for his record-setting season but Chicago’s Joel Quenneville wasn’t awarded the same honors. That could mean Bednar has more to prove, even as his team decimates a quiet Western Conference.
Jon Cooper, Bruce Cassidy, and Rod Brind’Amour have each continued their own success through a new year. Each of the three – representing Tampa Bay, Vegas, and Carolina – sit in playoff contention on the back of familiar stars and breakout years.
But their success has become routine over recent years. The same can’t be said for the Buffalo Sabres, who have blazed a shocking season thanks to Lindy Ruff in his second year back with the club. Buffalo boasts a 29-17-5 record or .618 win-percentage, miles above the 36-39-7 and .482 win-percentage they set last season. Ruff was the last head coach to lead Buffalo to the postseason, all the way back in 2011. He took the club to eight postseason appearances, and one Stanley Cup Final, over 12 years with the club from 1998 to 2011. After a year to settle back into his spot, it appears Ruff could do it again, and snap the longest-running playoff drought in major men’s sports.
Ruff will lead a class of underdog candidates for the Jack Adams. He’s sat next to rookie NHL coach Dan Muse, a former staple of USA Hockey who brings unique tactics behind the bench. Muse is one of the league’s younger head coaches and has made do with a transforming Penguins lineup, bringing the best out of rookie Benjamin Kindel and second-chance winger Anthony Mantha. If that is enough to win out the Adams in a tight year is yet to be seen – though it’s certainly a statement way to start an NHL career.
Red Wings’ head coach Todd McLellan will hold a flame after leading the club to the top of the Atlantic Division following his usurping of Derek Lalonde last season. Montreal’s Martin St. Louis, Boston’s Marco Sturm, and Utah’s Andre Tourigny could also make the list – thanks to how well they’ve pulled together rosters in flux.
The race for Jack Adams is often closely-followed, but seems to carry a bit more weight in a season split between record-setting winners, drought-enders, and unsuspecting stars. Each candidate holds a strong case for taking home hardware this summer. Who do you think should hear their name called?
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Five Key Stories: 1/19/26 – 1/25/26
With the Olympic trade freeze coming up soon, trade activity is starting to percolate around the NHL. To that end, a swap of significance plus a youngster being in play highlight the key stories from the past seven days.
Seven For Doan: Jarmo Kekalainen wasted little time getting a big contract done after taking over as GM. It just wasn’t with who many thought it would be (Alex Tuch). Instead, the Sabres have signed winger Josh Doan to a seven-year, $48.65MM extension (a $6.95MM AAV). Acquired from Utah as part of the JJ Peterka trade over the offseason, Doan has quickly locked down a top-six spot and has 15 goals and 20 assists in 51 games this season. This extension, which buys Buffalo four more years of club control, is a sign that management feels that Doan has another level or two to get to offensively and if so, this could become a team-friendly pact fairly quickly.
Ullmark Returns: Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark returned to the active roster on Sunday after missing the last four weeks on a leave of absence for mental health reasons. Youngster Leevi Merilainen struggled mightily in Ullmark’s absence, posting a save percentage of just .843 that ultimately resulted in Ottawa signing veteran James Reimer to try to give them a slight boost. Ullmark has had his struggles as well this season but if the Senators are going to turn things around and get back into the playoff race, they’ll need him to have even a chance of doing so.
Sherwood To Sharks: Going into the season, few would have expected the Sharks to be adding a rental player. However, with the final few playoff spots in the West (and the Pacific Division, in particular) up for grabs and a better-than-expected first half, San Jose is now a buyer. To that end, they dealt a pair of second-round picks along with AHL defenseman Cole Clayton to Vancouver in exchange for winger Kiefer Sherwood. The 30-year-old got off to a great start offensively this season and has 17 goals in 44 games. Meanwhile, after recording a league-record 462 hits in 2024-25, Sherwood has 210 this season, or 4.77 per game. A pending unrestricted free agent, Sherwood is in line for a significant raise from his current $1.5MM cap charge and should be in line for a fairly long-term contract as well.
Help For Florida: It has been a rough year on the injury front for the Panthers but they got some good news on that front. First, winger Matthew Tkachuk returned after missing the first 47 games due to an adductor injury. He has averaged more than a point per game over the last four seasons and gives them their top winger back in the lineup. To make cap room for Tkachuk, Seth Jones was moved to LTIR and was subsequently replaced on Team USA’s Olympic roster by Jackson Lacombe. Meanwhile, Florida also got Brad Marchand back from an undisclosed injury that went from day-to-day to multiple weeks. The veteran was their leading scorer before the injury while being pressed into a bigger-than-expected offensive role due to the injuries. The Panthers are five points out of a playoff spot but now have their top wingers back to aid in their postseason push.
Wright In Play? It wasn’t too long ago that Shane Wright was the projected top pick of the 2022 draft. He ultimately fell to fourth where Seattle was happy to scoop him up. However, the Kraken are now believed to be open to moving him, feeling that they can leverage their center depth to fill another area of need on their roster. The 22-year-old is in his second full NHL season but after a strong showing in 2024-25 where he had 19 goals and 25 assists in 79 games, his output has dipped this year. Through 51 games so far, Wright has just seven goals and 11 helpers while his ice time has dropped under 14 minutes per night. That said, Wright still has one more year left on his entry-level contract and five more seasons of club control so Seattle will justifiably be aiming high if they ultimately decide to move him.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images.
PHR Mailbag: Sabres, Ott, Panarin, Penguins, Lightning, CBA, IIHF
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include Artemi Panarin’s future which now won’t be with the Rangers, theorizing a possible Nikita Kucherov extension, and much more. We had enough questions from our latest callout for two more columns so if your question doesn’t appear here, watch for it in one of those.
12Kelly: I really think the Sabres should re-sign Tuch and continue to build this team around the core of Tuch, Thompson, Dahlin, etc. The talent is in place to be able to deal from our young players such as Ostlund, Rosen, and maybe even Power to acquire a solid secondary scorer. Thoughts?
I imagine most Buffalo fans want to see Alex Tuch re-signed to a long-term deal. At a time when the team is trying to make the playoffs and emerge from a rebuild that has had several iterations already, losing a top-line winger is going to make that process much more difficult. Yes, it’s going to cost a lot of money (he’s not going to be on a value contract anymore) and with the long-term extension given to Josh Doan this week, it’s not going to leave a lot for pending RFA Zach Benson, among their others who need new deals. But this is a case of sign him and figure it out later.
While I agree philosophically that your other suggestion of moving youth for win-now help makes sense in the long haul, I’m not sure now is the right time for that. Right now, the Sabres are doing so well that it’d be hard to mess with team chemistry. And given how largely inexperienced they are, I’d want to see how their current core fares with the prospect of meaningful games down the stretch and possibly the playoffs. I’d then use those evaluations to help determine how best to proceed over the summer. By then, they’ll know what’s happening with Tuch and whether they’re needing to replace him. Meanwhile, if they do re-sign him, they may be hard-pressed to afford another top-six piece for next season.
I want to highlight Owen Power specifically for a moment. Yes, he’s overpaid for the role he has right now but Bowen Byram is eligible for unrestricted free agency in less than a year and a half. If you trade Power for a scorer and then Byram goes elsewhere in 2027, now the back end is in trouble. If they can extend Byram, then Power looks like more of a viable trade chip. Needing to wait to do an extension (that can’t happen until this July) should take Power off the table for the time being.
vincent k. mcmahon: What are your thoughts on Steve Ott being named the HC of the Thunderbirds for the rest of the season?
Also, do you think this is a potential tryout for Ott to be the next HC if the Blues move on from Jim Montgomery? (which I don’t foresee happening but it’s not completely off the table).
I’m a little surprised it took this long for Ott to get that spot. I thought he’d have landed it a couple of years ago when Steve Konowalchuk took over behind their bench. By all accounts, Ott has done a very solid job behind the bench in St. Louis since ending his playing career to the point where he has been brought up as a speculative head coaching candidate off and on the last two offseasons. This is the next logical step in his coaching career.
If things go well (it’s always a little tough with more veteran-laden teams where the floor is high but the ceiling often low) and things turn around down the stretch, Ott might get serious head coaching consideration this summer. Realistically, it might take another year or two. By then, we’ll know if the Blues are partway through a rebuild or if they’re still trying to win with a veteran core in which case a rookie head coach might not make the most sense for them.
That said, knowing that the shelf life of an NHL head coach is often only a few years, there’s a possibility that the window lines up for Ott and the Blues. But I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s already behind another NHL bench by the time St. Louis ponders its next coaching change down the road.
LA All Day: I’m curious as to where the Artemi Panarin sweepstakes are at, and if the Kings are considered a frontrunner or possible landing spot here. Does Holland’s aggressive nature end up landing the Kings their much-needed scorer, or will another team end up out-bidding LA once again?
Tucsontoro1: Should the Hawks make a serious run at Panarin?
At this point, it’s too early in the process to call anyone a frontrunner for Panarin. By all accounts, his goal was to re-sign with the Rangers. He just wasn’t willing to take a big discount to do so but I believe his and his agent’s expectation was that eventually, something would get done. While he didn’t say much in the aftermath of the letter that GM Chris Drury released a little more than a week ago, I think the confusion he spoke about was genuine. To go from that to having a shortlist of teams to go to in a week seems a little too quick for me.
I don’t expect Panarin to give the Rangers a big list of teams he’d be willing to go to. And with full trade protection, he controls the show. I could see the list only being two or three teams deep. Whoever those are will be the ultimate frontrunners. It might take until after the Olympics for that list to be presented.
As for the Kings specifically, they need offense and Panarin brings a lot of it so from that standpoint, there’s a fit. I’m not sure he necessarily fits in with the way they play but talent is talent and they need more firepower. Sometimes, it’s best not to overthink it. They’re also a big-market team and that mattered to Panarin in free agency. Having said that, given their inability to get past the first round in recent years and that they continue to spin their wheels, so to speak, I’d be surprised if Los Angeles is on that shortlist. If they are, however, they have the cap space and some younger assets that might appeal to the Rangers so they could make a real push for him. I expect GM Ken Holland would go big on an offer, especially if it comes with a contract extension.
Chicago is an interesting idea. Is he too old to fit in with their young core? Probably. But at the same time, they need a legitimate influx of firepower and for all the cap space and young assets they have, they haven’t been able to get a true top liner. They’ve done alright with some in-between fillers (Tyler Bertuzzi, for example) but Panarin’s at another level. But for the fit to be viable, there would have to be a contract extension as part of the swap. Trading for Panarin as a rental isn’t a great idea for a team whose playoff aspirations aren’t the greatest. But if Panarin is willing to return to the Blackhawks for the longer term, putting him as Connor Bedard’s winger (or anchoring a second line) would certainly help get them to the next phase in their rebuild, one that sees them legitimately battling for a playoff spot.
rayk: The NYR now have only $2.26 mill in cap space. Even at the deadline, how can they find teams Panarin okays (has NMC) that can afford him at his big salary, even with some salary retention? Most of the contenders have little cap space also, and will need the max retained.
For the Rangers, that cap space number is with Panarin on the books in full at $11.643MM. Even if they retain the maximum of 50% of that, they’re still freeing up over $5.8MM (in full-season space) so they’re more than fine in that regard. Now, it does limit them a bit in that they can’t take much more back in offsetting salary than what they’re freeing up but it will be more than workable for them to find a suitable trade for him.
A roughly $5.82MM price tag (with max retention) is a lot for some contenders to afford today. But six weeks from now at the trade deadline, it’s a lot easier. A team with around $2.5MM in space today has over $5MM at the deadline, assuming no other roster moves are made between now and then.
Looking at some playoff teams (or close enough teams) that have around $5MM in room at the deadline (per PuckPedia), I see Colorado, Anaheim, Boston, Buffalo, Minnesota, Utah, Carolina, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh above that threshold. Several others are already there that aren’t playoff threats at the moment but things could change between now and then. Are all of them going to want Panarin? Or, more specifically, how many of those will he want? I wouldn’t be too worried about the cap element, it will be workable enough for New York to get a good return.
Specialist412: Do you think the Pens will be buyers or sellers? Dubas is real quiet right now, I wonder if he has something big up his sleeve.
Kyle Dubas has never been shy about taking swings but I think deep down, he knows this core is not good enough to be a long-term contender. So I don’t see him being a big buyer, at a minimum. If they’re still in the mix six weeks from now, they have extra picks in the second and third rounds for each of the next three years. Flipping one or two of those for short-term help would make sense and could be justified within the context of not significantly affecting their long-term core or depleting their prospect pool. I doubt they’d do more than that, though.
I think his preference would be to capitalize on a seller’s market if they’re out of the race. The parity plays into the favor of whoever decides to sell given that there will be more buyers than sellers so there should be good returns out there, especially for someone like Rickard Rakell who it feels like has been in trade speculation for years now. But the fact they’re in the race will cause them to push pause for the time being and assess things coming out of the Olympic break.
Lightning Place Charle-Edouard D’Astous On IR, Recall Maxim Groshev
Another shakeup is inbound for the Tampa Bay Lightning defense. Budding youngster Charle-Edouard D’Astous has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and recalled Maxim Groshev, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. D’Astous left Tampa Bay’s Saturday loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third period after a leg-on-leg collision.
It seems that hit will leave more than just a bruise and D’Astous will now be required to miss at least one week of action. Tampa Bay plays two games in the next week. D’Astous will be eligible to return just before Tampa Bay’s Stadium Series matchup against the Boston Bruins on February 1st.
D’Astous has climbed into an important role for the Bolts in his rookie NHL season. He has averaged 19:23 in ice time through 43 games and ranks second on the blue-line in scoring with 17 points. He has also racked up 45 blocks and 53 hits. The undrafted D’Astous has had a breakout season this year, enough to earn a one-year extension with the Lightning earlier in the season. As a veteran of the ECHL, his climb up the depth chart has been impressive, and should continue on the other side of a stinging injury.
In the meantime, Groshev will return to the NHL. He made his NHL debut on December 28th and recorded one assist. It was a strong first-look, though Groshev has run into a quiet streak in eight games since returning to the minors. He still ranks second on the Syracuse Crunch’s blue-line in scoring with 13 points in 35 games. That performance has been enough to pull the 24 year old up Tampa Bay’s call-up sheet – and may even earn him a return to the NHL lineup. Groshev is a left-defender, like D’Astous, which could give him the advantage over right-defense Simon Lundmark who is in Tampa Bay’s press box.
Avalanche Activate Scott Wedgewood; Reassign Jack Ahcan, Isak Posch
Goaltender Scott Wedgewood is back with the Colorado Avalanche after welcoming the birth of his second child. He has been activataed from the non-roster list, while defenseman Jack Ahcan and goaltender Isak Posch have been reassigned to the minor-leagues.
Ahcan has played three games since being recalled before Wednesday’s shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks. He recorded one assist, three shots on goal, and a minus-one in the trio of appearances. Those marks bring Ahcan up to two points in nine NHL games this season. He also leads the AHL’s Colorado Eagles defense in scoring with 24 points in 29 games. The 28 year old has proven a reliable utility-knife down Colorado’s depth chart. He will return to a minor-league role and stay a top call-up option for the next time the Avalanche are in need.
Posch did not play with the Avalanche on what was the first call-up of his pro career. He has recorded a 12-5-5 record and .902 save percentage in 20 games as an AHL rookie this season.
Wedgewood missed Colorado’s last two games on his personal leave. Top goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood took over the net and posted a 1-1 record, while allowing eight goals. Wedgewood has earned the lion’s share of Colorado’s starts this season, while Blackwood recovered from injury. He has recorded a dazzling 20-3-5 record and .918 save percentage in 30 games, both just better than Blackwood’s 14-3-1 record and .911 Sv%. The two will continue to operate as one of the best one-two-punches in the league now that Wedgewood is back with the team.
Islanders Recall Isaiah George, Assign Cole McWard To AHL
Saturday: The Islanders announced that they have indeed recalled George from Bridgeport. To make room on the roster, McWard has been sent down.
Friday: The New York Islanders are expected to turn towards a top prospect to help them with injuries. Defenseman Isaiah George appears to have been recalled to the NHL just before the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders’ Friday night game per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News.
This would be George’s first call-up of the 2025-26 season. He has spent the first half of the year in a focused role with Bridgeport, that he’s rewarded with 10 points, 10 penalty minutes, and a plus-five in 24 games. That performance is a hardy step up from the 14 points and minus-16 that George recorded in 33 AHL games last season. He also played the first 33 games of his NHL career last year, netting five points and a minus-three. Through a struggled stat line, George showed flashes of two-way upside at the NHL and AHL level last season. He has looked well improved in the minor-leagues this season. With better footing, George could be set to make a stronger push for an NHL role.
He could see ice time right out of the gates as New York looks to address a day-to-day injury to top-four defenseman Ryan Pulock. Extra defenseman Cole McWard would be the de facto replacement if Pulock couldn’t play. McWard has scored 16 points in 29 AHL games and no points in three NHL games this season. He is also a right-handed shot, which wouldn’t pair as nicely with righty Adam Boqvist as the left-handed George. That could be enough to earn George a shot at his first NHL game of the season, should Pulock need to miss time.
Hurricanes’ Eric Robinson Could Be Out Through Olympic Break
The Carolina Hurricanes could face an extended stretch without one impactful winger. Eric Robinson could be out until the team returns from the Winter Olympics break on February 26th, head coach Rod Brind’Amour told Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer. Robinson left Carolina’s Monday win over the Buffalo Sabres in the first period after he was knocked awkwardly into the ice by Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin. He was nursing his left shoulder on his way off the ice and has since appeared at practice with that arm in a sling.
Robinson has returned to the utility role he carved out in the Hurricanes lineup last season. He has 10 goals, 15 points, and an offense-best plus-seven in 44 games this season. Those marks are well in-line with the 14 goals, 32 points, and plus-14 – all career-highs – that Robinson posted in his first year with Carolina. Even from a bottom-six role, the 30-year-old winger has proven to bring a routine, positive impact.
The Hurricanes brought Jesperi Kotkaniemi back into the lineup after a healthy scratch, following Robinson’s injury. Kotkaniemi made good work of the return, recording one assist, two shots, and three hits in Thursday’s shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. He could stick in the lineup for at least six more games should Robinson indeed sit out through the Olympics. Carolina could also see this as a chance to reward one of their top prospects with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. The Wolves are led in scoring by Justin Robidas, Bradly Nadeau, and Felix Unger-Sorum – all candidates to earn a brief recall if Robinson lands on injured reserve.
Hurricanes Open To Moving Alexander Nikishin For Star
The Carolina Hurricanes have made a habit out of making big moves for impact veterans at the Trade Deadline. It appears they’re gearing up to repeat that trend this season. The Hurricanes would even be open to moving star rookie defenseman Alexander Nikishin if it meant landing a high-end addition, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period on Thursday’s episode of Sportsnet Today.
Pagnotta added that Carolina would need a star, or even superstar, return and contract control to be swayed enough to give up Nikishin. That likely cuts down the change of the rookie moving by quite a bit – but there’s no doubt that teams will line up for the Russian defender. Nikishin has recorded six goals, 20 points, and a plus-12 through 50 NHL games this season. Those stats rank second, third, and first respectively among rookie defenders.
Nikishin also leads rookie defenders in hits (92) and ranks second in blocks (61). He has proven an ability to fit wherever Carolina needs him, even while working through cold feet to start the year. This comes after Nikishin posted a true breakout season in Russia’s KHL last year. He blew out the record for most points by a U22 defenseman in KHL history, finishing the year with 11 goals and 55 points in 65 games – 20 points more than second place. Nikishin emerged as the top defender for Russia’s biggest club – SKA St. Petersburg – and finished the year with a four-game stint in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Carolina wields clear, top-end value by dangling Nikishin to potential buyers regardless of where they are in the standings. He could be a strong fill-in for the injured Lian Bichsel with the Dallas Stars, potentially enough to land scoring winger Jason Robertson. Or Nikishin could be seen as a final piece for a struggling club like the St. Louis Blues, who have faced trade rumors around top center Robert Thomas.
It is hard to say who Carolina could be in on as the Deadline rolls around. The Hurricanes will have an estimated $35.48MM in deadline cap space, per PuckPedia. They also have two first-round picks, and one second-round pick, over the next two drafts. That flexibility, along with Nikishin, could help Carolina match just about any offer when trade season really heats up.
Will Depth Players Get Paid Again This Summer?
Something funny was happening in the summer of 2019. Depth players began getting serious term on multi-year deals to a level we’d rarely seen before.
Take the contract for depth forward Brandon Tanev, who signed a six-year, $21MM deal with the Penguins. At the time, that contract raised a lot of eyebrows, as Tanev had topped out at just 14 goals and 15 assists in any single season, and a $3.5MM average annual value was especially steep on such a long-term deal.
The deal was an outlier on July 1, 2019, with no close comparison other than the Panthers signing Brett Connolly to a four-year, $14MM deal. Connolly was coming off a 46-point season, which far exceeded any of Tanev’s offensive contributions.
There was a sense at the time that the NHL might shift, with depth players able to secure longer-term, higher-dollar contracts. When Colton Sissons signed his seven-year extension with the Predators a few weeks later, it certainly looked that way.
Sissons was two years younger than Tanev and an RFA, whereas Tanev was a UFA, yet their eventual contracts were comparable. However, the global pandemic in 2020 stalled the league’s growth and led to a flat salary cap, effectively shutting teams out of paying for depth and fringe players’ big-money deals.
The stars still got their money, as evidenced by 2020 free agency, when Alex Pietrangelo was still paid handsomely (seven years, $61.6MM), while depth players had to take one-year deals at or around the league minimum.
The stars have continued to get their money, and top salaries have escalated over the last few years, while second-line players have also been rewarded handsomely as the salary cap has eventually climbed. But the depth players in the NHL have continued to feel the squeeze to this point, and it does feel like that might change this summer, with another big cap jump coming, multiple teams with loads of cap space, and a very weak free agency market.
In previous summers, solid defenders such as Calvin de Haan and Matt Grzelcyk, as well as forwards Jack Roslovic and Evgenii Dadonov, have been part of a large group of NHL-caliber players who have experienced a very tight free-agent market when they have been available to all NHL teams. Now, it’s not unheard of for players to fall short of salary expectations in free agency, but it has become a common occurrence over the last six years, and it feels like this could be a summer where teams overpay for depth.
There has been a surge in signings in recent weeks, with the most recent being the Penguins locking up fourth-line center Blake Lizotte to a three-year deal worth $6.75MM total, and the Canadiens inking Alexandre Texier to a two-year deal worth $2.5MM per season. These deals were not massive signings, but they show that teams are moving to lock up their depth as they look to the summer UFAs and realize there isn’t much out there.
Center Christian Dvorak is another excellent example, having recently signed a five-year deal with the Flyers after settling for a one-year deal last summer. Dvorak has long been injury-prone and inconsistent, but the Flyers felt they had to ink him to an extension amid a career year in Philadelphia.
So, what depth players will get shocking contracts this upcoming summer, or will they? If you go by the old cliché that a rising tide raises all boats, it sure looks like the players at the bottom of the lineup will finally start to get a bigger slice of the pie.
Could a player like Ryan Shea, Connor Dewar, or Philipp Kurashev get a big-money, multi-year deal this summer? Or will teams continue to show restraint in the lower rungs of the free agency market, even though they have more wiggle room?
It’s hard to believe there won’t be some silly deals on July 1, 2026. There are always head-scratching choices NHL GMs make. But this could be a free agency unlike any we’ve seen in a decade or so.
July 1, 2016, is hard to forget for some teams, as massive mistakes were made that were clearly bad choices at the time. Loui Eriksson signed with Vancouver, Milan Lucic signed with Edmonton, and David Backes signed with Boston. Several other players were given ridiculous contracts relative to their future projections, which wasn’t anything new, especially for players with a history of being top-six NHL players.
However, some general managers watched those errors and learned a valuable lesson that carried through the COVID years, when there was a massive salary-cap squeeze. While teams didn’t have the salary-cap space to make the egregious contract offers, some GMs still did, and they usually paid the price for it.
A good example was Penguins GM Ron Hextall, who made some odd choices in free agency, particularly when he signed a Tanev replacement in the summer of 2021. Hextall inked Brock McGinn to a four-year, $11MM contract that was a poor value for the Penguins and was eventually traded along with a sweetener to the Anaheim Ducks in 2023.
That deal, along with contracts like Pierre Engvall’s, highlighted why many teams stayed away from giving terms to their depth players. But this summer, the stars are aligning for some wild contracts to be handed out to players who likely won’t last the length of the deal in the NHL. For fans of contending teams, or teams on the upswing who think they are just a player away from contention, you just have to hope your favorite team isn’t among the unlucky ones handing out the money.
Kraken Recall Jacob Melanson, Place Ben Meyers On IR
The Seattle Kraken will be down a hot hand for the final two games of their current homestand. Depth forward Ben Meyers has been placed on injured reserve due to a lower-body injury that has him out week-to-week. Meyers scored three points in his last two games. The Kraken have responded to his injury by recalling forward Jacob Melanson in a corresponding move.
It isn’t entirely clear when Meyers sustained his injury. He played through the final minute of action in Wednesday night’s win over the New York Islanders and recorded one point and one shot in the contest. Meyers didn’t appear to be nursing an injury in his final shift but will now land on the shelf for a minimum of one week and three games. He will be eligible to return on January 29th, when the Krkaen host the Toronto Maple Leafs to close out a six-game homestand.
Meyers has chipped his way up to Seattle’s third-line with a strong, two-way effort as of late. He ranks third on the offense in hits (15) and second in penalty-kill ice time (20:41) since the start of 2026. On the year, Meyers has recorded 11 points, 36 hits, and 40 shots on goal in 31 games. He’s proven to be a responsible veteran near the bottom of Seattle’s lineup, a role that could be hard to replace with an AHL call-up.
Melanson has been a responsible piece of the Coachella Valley Firebirds’ lineup this year, with 16 points and 28 penalty minutes in 26 games. He has carved out a top-six role and ranks third among Firebirds forwards in plus-minus with a plus-seven. That diligence hasn’t quite translated to the top flight, with Melanson boasting only four points and a minus-two in 15 NHL games this season. They are the first NHL games of his career, except for his NHL debut, which he made at the end of last season.
That inexperience could be a motivator as Melanson looks to make himself comfortable in a bottom-six role in place of the toolsy Meyers. He will compete with Tye Kartye for a spot in the lineup. Kartye has recorded seven points and a minus-seven in 37 games this season.