Milan Lucic Announces Retirement
Former Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic announced his retirement from professional hockey today, per the NHL Players’ Association. The announcement officially concludes a professional career that includes 1,177 NHL games.
Lucic, 38, is a large power forward who is best known for his work as a member of the Boston Bruins, the team he played for from 2007 to 2015, with an additional four-game stint with the team coming in 2023.
A 2006 second-round pick out of the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, Lucic was a fast-developing prospect, going from 19 points in 62 games in his 2005-06 draft campaign to 30 goals and 68 points in 70 games during his first season as a drafted Bruins prospect.
A WHL champion with Vancouver, Lucic made a quick adjustment to the pro game in 2007-08. He made the Bruins’ NHL roster as a 19-year-old rookie, scoring eight goals and 19 points in 77 games, while also registering 179 hits and 89 penalty minutes.
His aggressive, physical style was already earning plaudits from around the league, as despite his relatively pedestrian rookie year production, he ended the campaign with two fifth-place votes for the Calder Trophy.
Lucic’s NHL breakout came during his sophomore campaign. He avoided the dreaded second-year slump that impacts many young forwards, instead boosting his production to 17 goals and 42 points in 72 games. He did so while playing an even more effective physical style, racking up 259 hits and 136 penalty minutes. Even from his first few seasons in the NHL, it would become abundantly clear that Lucic represented the exact kind of identity the Bruins have wanted out of their players – someone who pairs real offensive touch with relentless aggression and a mastery of the physical side of the game.
2008-09 would also be the year when Lucic showed just how valuable his style could be in the postseason. Although Lucic would be suspended for a game during the team’s first-round series sweep over their arch-rival Montreal Canadiens for a cross-check to the head of Maxim Lapierre, he would finish the playoffs with nine points in 10 games in a run that ended in game seven of the second round.
Although Lucic’s next season, 2009-10, was a bit of a struggle in the regular season (he battled multiple injuries) he remained a valuable playoff contributor, scoring nine points in 13 contests.
The following campaign, 2010-11, would prove to be arguably Lucic’s best in the NHL. He finished the regular season with 30 goals and 62 points in 79 games, showing just how consistently effective he could be when healthy. In the playoffs, he scored 12 points in 25 games as the Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks in a dramatic seven-game series to win their first Stanley Cup since 1972.
By that point, Lucic had established himself as one of the game’s premier emerging power forward talents. That began a stretch where he would consistently score around a 50-60 point pace, a level of consistent production that would persist even beyond the conclusion of Lucic’s Bruins tenure. He also remained hugely valuable in the playoffs, including in 2012-13 when he scored 19 points in 22 games during the Bruins’ run to the Stanley Cup Final, where they would be eliminated in a dramatic game six at the hands of the Chicago Blackhawks.
As he entered his late 20s, Lucic neared unrestricted free agency, and the Bruins traded him to the Los Angeles Kings. Lucic spent one year, his age-27 season, in Los Angeles, scoring 20 goals and 55 points. After his year in Los Angeles, Lucic became one of the league’s most in-demand free agents. In the end, the Edmonton Oilers, led by GM Peter Chiarelli, who had managed Boston to its Stanley Cup in 2011, won the bidding war for Lucic and secured his services on a seven-year, $6MM AAV contract.
At first, that deal looked like it might just work for the Oilers, who enjoyed a 23-goal, 50-point debut campaign from Lucic. Lucic registered 202 hits, and there was hope his power forward style, fearsome physicality, and veteran leadership would help in teenage phenom Connor McDavid‘s development into an NHL star. McDavid missed half of his rookie campaign with an injury, but broke out for 100 points during Lucic’s first season with the Oilers.
Unfortunately, while the Oilers enjoyed solid immediate returns on their investment in Lucic, the contract would quickly turn into one of the league’s foremost financial anchors. Lucic’s production declined to 34 points in 2017-18, and in 2018-19, it lowered to just 20 points. Lucic’s foot speed declined considerably, and his offensive value cratered along with it. At one point, Lucic failed to register a goal in over 40 games.
In the summer of 2019, the Oilers traded Lucic to the Calgary Flames in a deal that swapped underperforming big-ticket UFA wingers between arch rivals. The Oilers received James Neal, the Flames’ own $5.75MM AAV free agency investment, in exchange for Lucic and a conditional third-round pick.
While the fresh start did not result in Lucic rediscovering the offensive touch he had in past years in his career, he did find a way to hold onto a consistent lineup spot with the Flames, providing some value as a highly physical veteran fourth-liner, even if his contributions did not ultimately match his compensation.
Lucic played out his seven-year contract with the Flames, and when it expired in the summer of 2023, Lucic elected to sign a one-year, $1MM contract to return to the Bruins.
While there was definite excitement for the return of a fan favorite player, Lucic’s second stint in Boston ended after just four games played. Lucic missed most of the 2023-24 season after entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Lucic entered the program after he was arrested for an alleged domestic incident. Charges against Lucic were eventually dropped.
Lucic would exit the program after missing the rest of the 2023-45 season. He would go on to sign a PTO with the St. Louis Blues for 2025-26.
The PTO did not result in Lucic receiving any NHL time, though he did play in five games for their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. Remarkably, those were the first AHL games of Lucic’s professional career. Lucic would eventually leave the AHL and signed overseas for the first time in his career, joining Scotland’s Fife Flyers of the EIHL, the top division of pro hockey in the United Kingdom. Lucic scored 12 points in 26 games for the Flyers.
Beyond his club career, Lucic did play some international hockey as well – in one tournament in his late thirties. Lucic was a veteran presence on team Canada at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championships, serving as an alternate captain.
Lucic helped guide Canada through the team’s group stage games in Riga, Latvia, helping the team rebound after a shocking shootout loss to Norway. When the tournament shifted to knockout games in Tampere, Finland, the Canadians upset the hosts in the quarterfinals, survived a challenge from an upstart Latvia team in the semifinals, and handily defeated Germany in the finals to win a gold medal.
While that would be the only time Lucic represented Canada in his career, he made the most of it by winning what is the country’s most recent gold medal in senior-level men’s IIHF play.
Photos courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Gerry Meehan Passes Away At 79
Former Buffalo Sabres captain and general manager Gerry Meehan passed away at the age of 79 on Friday. Meehan played through 10 seasons in the NHL between 1968 and 1979. He then kicked off a decade-long managerial career that spanned some of the Sabres’ brightest days as a franchise.
Meehan’s hockey career began in Toronto-area junior hockey. That presence led to a fourth-round selection by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1963 and a quick ramp to the Toronto Marlboros lineup in 1964. He spent four years with the junior club and emerged as a key part of their run to the 1967 Memorial Cup. His point-per-game scoring carried over to his first season at the pro flight. He scored 72 points in 70 games of the 1967-68 Central Professional Hockey League season, then one of many minor-pro leagues in North America.
The Maple Leafs promoted Meehan to the NHL roster in 1968. He only recorded two assists in the first 25 games of his NHL career, leading to a trade to the Philadelphia Flyers just a few months after his NHL debut – as part of a deal that also sent a young Bill Sutherland to the Flyers. Meehan didn’t figure much more out in his move to Pennsylvania and earned a reassignment to the WHL Senior League – another minor-pro league – after just 12 games and three points with the Flyers.
Meehan stuck in the WHL through the 1969-70 season. He was then selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1970 NHL Expansion Draft, sparking a sudden move to the East coast before he could earn another chance in Philadelphia. The move proved incredibly fruitful for the Sabres, who were able to quickly elevate Meehan into an important lineup role. While sharing a lineup with the likes of Gilbert Perreault and Eddie Shack, Meehan managed to breakout with 55 points in 77 games of Buffalo’s inaugural season. That level quickly became his norm, as he twice reached 46 points and once reached 60 points over the next three seasons. At the same time, Meehan was named the second captain in Sabres history, after Floyd Smith filled the role in the final, full season of his NHL career in Buffalo’s first year.
Where Perreault, Rene Robert, and Rick Martin brought the offense – Meehan brought the reliability. He continued in an important role with the Sabres until being traded to the Vancouver Canucks in 1974. Meehan scored a modest 25 points in 57 games for the Canucks but was still flipped to the Atlanta Flames five months later. That move again proved successful, as Meehan reached 41 points in 52 games with Atlanta. He was flipped again in 1976, this time headed to the Washington Capitals in a package deal for two-time Stanley Cup winner Bill Clement.
Meehan spent the final three years of his career with the Capitals. On the other side of multiple moves, he clawed back to productive hockey – and a captaincy – in Washington. He totaled 144 points in 208 games – including a career-high 64 points in the 1976-77 season – through his time with the Capitals. He was impactful until the very end – and earned a waiver designation, and brief stint with the WHA’s Cincinnati Stingers, once his role became obsolete. Meehan retired from his playing career in 1979.
After a brief period away from the NHL, Meehan rejoined the Sabres as an assistant general manager in 1984. He was promoted to the GM role partway through the 1986-87 season, after Buffalo relieved both their GM and head coach. Meehan quickly began an aggressive managerial career. He acquired veterans near the end of their career in Mark Napier and Jan Ludvig, then countered the moves with strong drafting. Meehan brought in Pierre Turgeon with the 1987 first-overall pick – the only player to reach 100 games (he reached 1,294) out of Buffalo’s 13 draft picks that year. After Turgeon turned into an instant impact, Meehan entered the 1988 draft with confidence and selected Keith Carney, Alexander Mogilny, and Rob Ray.
Meehan continued to shake up the lineup with trades through the 1990 NHL Draft. He represented the Sabres in the blockbuster deal that sent Phil Housley, Scott Arniel, and the draft pick utilized on Keith Tkachuk to the Winnipeg Jets in 1990 – returning Dale Hawerchuk and the draft pick used on Brad May to Buffalo. Their presence continued a true cycle of the Sabres lineup under Meehan’s guide – something that continued in force when Turgeon was traded to the New York Islanders in a package for Pat LaFontaine in 1991.
Meehan also brought in Philippe Boucher, Sean O’Donnell, and Matthew Barnaby to New York through the draft. On the heels of the 1992 NHL Draft, he again made the move to acquire a historic Sabre with the August acquisition of eventual superstar-goaltender Dominik Hasek from the Chicago Blackhawks. Hasek only played 28 games in his first season with the Sabres, which kept Meehan from bearing the fruits of one of the NHL’s greatest trades. His GM tenure came to an end just weeks after the 1993 NHL Draft, where Meehan landed Scott Nichol in the 11th-round. He stayed with Buffalo as the Vice President of Hockey Operations through the 1995-96 season.
While his time in hockey was marked by up-and-down action as both a player and manager, there is no doubt about the value that Meehan brought to the teams he supported. He was a core piece of Buffalo’s early lineups, then dedicated a decade towards bringing in all-time-greats to support the Sabres into the 2000s. He will be remembered as a true builder who carried a torch handed off by head coach and GM Scotty Bowman. Pro Hockey Rumors sends condolences to Meehan’s family, friends, and many Sabres fans.
PHR Mailbag: Larkin, Trocheck, Salary Cap, Wild, Canadiens
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include Dylan Larkin’s trade request from Detroit, a discussion about the implementation of the salary cap and how it could relate to MLB’s CBA talks, and more. If your question doesn’t appear here, check back for it in one of our next two columns.
Johnny Z: Where does Larkin go and will his leaving spark a retool with more Detroit vets being traded. I don’t see Kane coming back either, now.
GBear: Simply, who makes the deal for Larkin?
Let’s jump right in with the big news of the week with the news of Dylan Larkin’s trade request getting leaked out. By all accounts, this wasn’t from his agency and we know it wasn’t the Red Wings who put this out there as that’s the last thing they’d have wanted. I note this as it’s quite possible that the request was made a little while ago and just got out now.
GM Steve Yzerman is known for his patience (sometimes to a fault) and also for not having his hand forced into doing things. He had Jonathan Drouin in Tampa Bay who wanted out. It took quite a while before that actually happened. The scenario that no one is talking about is that Yzerman doesn’t budge and keeps Larkin in the fold. This isn’t just a 1% chance thing; I think this is a legitimate option on the table here.
Look at how Detroit operated at the trade deadline, adding Justin Faulk and shoring up their veteran depth with an eye on making the playoffs. That’s not the doings of a manager who is thinking about a retool. He wants to win now and that’s much easier to do with Larkin on the roster than off of it. Would it be a difficult situation? Sure. Might they have to take away the captaincy? Perhaps. But I suspect Yzerman would much rather do that than have his hand forced into a trade.
Now, having said that, the demand for impact centers is so high that Yzerman should be able to generate a substantial trade return for Larkin’s services. The only way that doesn’t happen is if Larkin provides a very small list of teams that he’d waive his no-trade clause for. And if that happens, Yzerman will tell him to expand the list or be ready to report for training camp in Detroit in September.
The types of offers that Yzerman receives over the next three-plus weeks will ultimately dictate if they stay the course or take a short-term step back. I agree with the use of the word retool here and not rebuild as they’re not looking to start all over again. Is there another disgruntled high-impact top liner out there looking for a change of scenery that forms the basis of a swap? If so, they’re probably staying the course in terms of trying to make the playoffs. If there’s an offer that features a quality veteran and some ready (or close-to-ready) youngsters, they’re again probably staying the course with the hopes of nabbing a free agent or making another trade to bridge the gap. But if it’s more of a futures-based return, then the step back to try to take two steps forward later approach makes more sense.
As for where he goes, I’ll say Minnesota. There’s a connection with GM Bill Guerin and USA Hockey. Guerin, meanwhile, is under pressure to secure that elusive impact center to help his team try to take the next step forward in a crowded Central Division. He’d likely be hoping that securing Larkin would make a contract extension for Quinn Hughes look more palatable for the defender as well. There’s a lot of motivation to get things done. I suspect a deal would be in the second category of the three I mentioned (a quality veteran plus some near-ready or ready youngsters like Danila Yurov, for example) so Detroit’s offseason approach will be to try to add to the roster, not subtract more veterans.
lgr34561: Will Larkin requesting a trade affect the Rangers on trading Vincent Trocheck and trying to maximize on a deal in a negative way?
I’d say no but it certainly doesn’t help either. It’s a supply-and-demand thing and generally, more supply isn’t good. But with the supply of impact centers being limited to only a handful of players and the number of potential suitors representing more than half the league, the demand for Trocheck’s services is still going to be really high. Larkin being there isn’t going to make the quality of the offers drop.
But where it might hurt is that it takes GM Chris Drury out of the control seat on the market. Maybe Nico Hischier becomes available but until contract talks reach a breaking point, he’s not in play. Maybe Robert Thomas is still in play but that seems unlikely. Without them, Trocheck was the top center available until this got out. Now, if Yzerman is going to go ahead and make a trade, Larkin becomes the prized pickup, the one that teams will prioritize first.
Teams aren’t going to want to make their best offer for Trocheck in case those pieces are needed for a Larkin trade. Eventually, if a deal gets done, there will be one less suitor for Trocheck but one less player available, potentially upping the desperation level from other general managers. But they’re no longer necessarily in control of the timing. If Drury wanted this done by the draft, for example, that might not happen if Larkin’s situation drags out. And when you no longer control the timing, it has the potential to affect the rest of the offseason planning as one move typically leads to another. If that first move is delayed, it could mess up the rest of the planning.
To be clear, this sounds more doom-and-gloom than it probably should be. At the end of the day, the Rangers were poised to get a significant return for Trocheck before the Larkin news. I still think they’re going to get one after this news. From that standpoint, I wouldn’t worry. But the timing of such a move gets a little trickier now and that’s where this news could wreak some havoc.
highflyballintorightfield: For a mailbag or even a separate post…how did the NHL handle the transition to a hard salary cap in 2005 (compliance buyouts, etc.)? This will be a helpful reference for the baseball side as commenters there argue about the upcoming MLB CBA negotiations.
Spending in the NHL wasn’t anywhere as prolific then as it is in MLB now so it’s not necessarily a great comparison. A few teams had to trim some salaries but while there were compliance buyouts that were exempt from the cap, only 13 were utilized league-wide. Everyone else was able to trade their way back into compliance or were already under the then-$39MM cap. By comparison, when the 2012-13 lockout prevented the cap ceiling from reaching its projected amount, there was another round of compliance buyouts (over two seasons) where 28 were utilized.
Having said that, there are some other elements that came in with the NHL cap that I’d be intrigued to see if MLB puts in its offers as we settle in for what sure feels like a long battle.
One of those is the maximum salary. It’s set at 20% in the NHL and when the cap first came in, the $7.8MM maximum was hit a couple of times. Going off of MLB’s $245MM initial offer, 20% of that is $49MM which is well below what Juan Soto makes, for example. Obviously, their Upper Limit is going to go higher in subsequent offers and there’s no guarantee they try to put in a maximum salary (or tie it at 20%) but that’s something to keep an eye on. I’m also a little intrigued to see if anything happens with salary deferrals, something that was allowed when the cap came in but was actually outlawed this summer as part of the latest CBA agreement.
Another big element that could help the transition to a hard cap in MLB should one get done is the treatment of bonuses. One of the things that’s allowed for cap creativity is the bonus cushion. Only the base AAV of a contract is guaranteed to count against the books for any given season. If bonuses are achieved on a contract, they apply against the current-year books but if not, they roll over and are charged against the following season.
I’ll use Max Scherzer’s contract with the Blue Jays as an example. He gets a $3MM base salary with $10MM of incentives, plus $1MM at 65 innings pitched with $1MM extra every 10 innings after that until 155 innings. So, with the way the NHL structures their cap, only $3MM is guaranteed to count against the cap this season. If Toronto has additional cap space after the season, any reached bonuses count until they hit the ceiling, then the rest roll over to 2027. Let’s say Scherzer pitches 100 innings, giving him $4MM in earned bonuses. Toronto finishes $1.5MM under the hypothetical cap. $1.5MM of his bonuses would count against the 2026 cap and the other $2.5MM would come off their 2027 spending limit.
To get around teams abusing this, there are restrictions on who can have performance bonuses in their contracts. For the NHL, players on entry-level deals get them, as do players over 35 if they sign one-year agreements (multi-year pacts are ineligible). There is also a provision for 400-game players who spent 100 days or more on injured reserve who aren’t 35 to receive a one-year deal with incentives. For MLB players, I imagine it’d be a little more restrictive, something like 10-year veterans or 35-plus players (I know there’s not always a difference between the two) being eligible.
The NHL’s salary cap also brought on the concept of Long-Term Injured Reserve, or LTIR. For players out long-term, the general concept of LTIR allows teams to exceed the cap by up to the amount of the player’s salary less any existing cap room. For example, a player making $4MM lands on LTIR on a team that has $1MM in cap space. They can then exceed the cap by the difference of $3MM. If the injured player returns, the team then has to get back into cap compliance. This has long been a contentious subject with loopholes that an 18-wheeler could drive through, leading to some pretty significant controversies and rule changes. But the concept of that would likely appear, giving some teams near the cap ceiling some potential flexibility if injuries arise.
aka.nda: I wanted to ask about the Wild’s goaltending situation when it appeared Gustavsson and Wallstedt were both healthy because Hlavaj looked very good in the Olympics and the Wild were keen on a few costly moves. I was going to ask what you think Gustavsson would fetch, but I guess now I’m wondering if they’re going to “show their hand” more with Hlavaj by needing someone to pair with Wallstedt, and if you think they’ll get less of a return because other GMs will become more acutely aware that Guerin is trying to sell from a surplus rather than negotiate from a more “even” pool? Or am I just way overvaluing Hlavaj based on my Olympic viewing, or as some might suggest, under-estimating the stupidity of 50+% of the league’s GMs?
I’ll answer the last bit first. You’re overvaluing Samuel Hlavaj. He does well when he plays for Slovakia internationally but it has failed to translate to success in the pros. My understanding is that he wants a change of scenery and that Minnesota tried to give it to him at the trade deadline but trade interest was basically non-existent. A pending RFA, I suspect he’s hoping for a non-tender and that if Minnesota qualifies him, he’ll probably go back overseas. If he gets non-tendered, he’ll hope to land in another organization but still might not be valued more than as a fourth option.
Filip Gustavsson’s injury complicates things for the Wild as he or Jesper Wallstedt could have plausibly been trade candidates this summer. Now, it’d be hard to part with one unless Gustavsson’s post-surgery rehab is going really well. So, for this summer, I suspect their goalie plan will be to add a James Reimer-type of veteran, one who could start in the NHL if Gustavsson isn’t ready to start the year, could stay as a serviceable enough backup if one of the two incumbents are traded, or serve as a viable third-string option in the minors. But I’d be very surprised if Hlavaj is in their plans.
hasamadsnarl666: So Kent Hughes decides to attack the Leafs, hmm what has his teams ever won?? He hasn’t won anything; it’s been five years before his team made the ECF, but didn’t show up in ECF but he has something to say? Keep in mind that the East had a shift; NY was out, Islanders were out, Leafs out, Buffalo in. Not a year to attack other teams. Didn’t they “own” the Canes in the regular season??
For those who didn’t see this, during his end-of-playoffs presser, Montreal’s GM awkwardly referenced Toronto’s top players not necessarily being their top players in the playoffs in the past. It came as a random add-on to a comment about the marketability of the Montreal market, a high-pressure one like Toronto. Montreal’s top players weren’t their best in the playoffs either but the narrative around them feels different than it did when Toronto’s top players underperformed. That happens when one team is just starting out while the Maple Leafs kept stalling out early; they haven’t been to a Conference Final since 2002 in large part due to their top players underachieving. I think he was maybe going for something about the narrative being more forgiving and that patience is needed but yeah, it was a little odd.
Part of me wonders if he just saw an opportunity to take a shot at Toronto given the now-leaked details of the failed trade at the deadline that would have seen Matthew Knies in Montreal had then-GM Brad Treliving filed the paperwork on time. Or that president Keith Pelley randomly name-dropped (and butchered) Michael Hage’s name in one of his press conferences earlier. But yes, this was clumsy at best and probably unnecessary altogether.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.
Canadiens’ Nick Suzuki Wins Frank J. Selke Trophy
Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki has won the 2025-26 Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL forward who “best excels in the defensive aspects of the game,” the league announced today.
Suzuki beat out fellow finalists Brock Nelson of the Colorado Avalanche, and Anthony Cirelli of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Suzuki earned the trophy in a landslide, per the voting conducted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. He earned 151 first-place votes and 1,726 total points. Cirelli, who placed second, received 10 first-place votes and 467 points.
The Canadiens captain is a first-time finalist for the Selke Trophy, but finished 13th in voting in each of the prior two campaigns.
The trophy was won by Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov in both 2023-24 and 2024-25, though Barkov missed the 2025-26 season with an injury.
With today’s news, Suzuki has become just the third Canadiens player to take home the Selke Trophy. The other two Canadiens forwards to win the award – Bob Gainey and Guy Carbonneau – are both enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Suzuki, 26, is one of the game’s most valuable all-around centers. For years, he has drawn comparisons to legendary Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron, who is himself a six-time Selke Trophy winner. This past season, Suzuki lived up to those comparisons.
He set a career-high in terms of offensive production, leading a young, ascendant Canadiens team in scoring with 29 goals, 72 assists, and 101 points. He became the first Canadiens forward to reach 100 points in a season since Mats Naslund had 110 points in 1985-86.
Suzuki was able to reach those new heights offensively while redoubling his commitment to the defensive side of the game. Centering the Canadiens’ first line alongside sniper Cole Caufield and blossoming star Juraj Slafkovsky, Suzuki often had to endure being matched up against the top lines of opposing teams. But despite that challenging environment, Suzuki was able to consistently win his minutes on the ice and lead the Canadiens to a stellar regular-season finish.
While it is somewhat unconventional for a player to win the Selke Trophy playing more of a reserve role on the penalty kill (Suzuki is not a leader in the Canadiens’ short-handed rotation), his lack of a leading role is more a credit to the number of specialist defensive centers the Canadiens have (Phillip Danault, Jake Evans) than any kind of statement on his defensive quality.
In fact, Suzuki’s defensive quality has not been a matter of intense debate. Dating back to the start of the season, Suzuki consistently polled as the favorite to win the Selke. He led in the polling for the award conducted by ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski for five straight months, suggesting that voters took to the spirit of the award, which is to recognize the whole of a player’s two-way contributions.
Draft Notes: Ruck Twins, Belchetz, Cali
Liam Ruck and Markus Ruck, two top WHL scorers who expect to go in the first two rounds of the upcoming NHL draft, will return to the WHL for the 2026-27 season. (Via NHL.com’s Mike Morreale) In doing so, they will bypass opportunities to spend the season playing college hockey. Many of the Ruck twins’ peers among the elite draft prospects in the CHL have elected to make college commitments over the past week. The Rucks have decided that remaining with the Medicine Hat Tigers for an additional campaign is the best path for their development en route to the NHL.
The Ruck twins enjoyed a rapid rise up draft boards over the course of the 2025-26 season as they tore up the WHL as leading scorers for the Medicine Hat Tigers. Both Rucks stand 6’0″, while Liam is a winger and Markus a center. Liam scored 45 goals and 104 points in 68 games last season, while Markus scored 21 goals and 108 points. Neither brother came close to the point-per-game mark the previous year, making 2025-26 quite the breakout season for each player. Of the two, Liam is considered by most public-facing scouts to be the superior prospect. In the poll of 10 NHL scouts conducted by Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects, Liam slotted in as the No. 24-ranked prospect, while Markus ranked No. 33.
Other notes from the NHL Draft Combine in Buffalo, NY:
- Ethan Belchetz, one of the draft’s top prospects from the OHL, appears to have recovered well from his season-ending injury, per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. Belchetz’s season ended in March after he suffered a broken clavicle. Belchetz told Wheeler that he could play and feel “close to 100 percent” if there was a game tomorrow, and is participating in all of the fitness testing at the combine outside of the pullups and bench press. A Michigan State commit, Belchetz has a chance to be a top-10 pick. The 6’5″, 228-pound winger scored 34 goals and 59 points in 57 games for the Windsor Spitfires last season, and was ranked as the No. 9 prospect in the class by Elite Prospects.
- OHL prospect center Ryder Cali has generated some buzz recently, and Morreale reported from the combine that he is set to interview with 29 of the league’s 32 clubs. The 6’2″, 219-pound center is one of the draft’s youngest players (born September 6, 2008) and scored 16 goals and 36 points in 47 games for the North Bay Battalion as an OHL rookie. Cali recently committed to play NCAA hockey at Providence College and has a somewhat wide range of rankings by public-facing scouts. He generally sits somewhere on the bubble of the first-round, such as No. 33 (McKeen’s Hockey) or No. 37 (Wheeler), but as low as No. 68 (The Hockey News’ Tony Ferrari).
Marcus Foligno Awarded 2026 King Clancy Trophy
The NHL has announced that Marcus Foligno has won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The award is given to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.
The 34-year-old finished his ninth season with the Minnesota Wild, scoring 13 points in 56 games. He has two-years remaining on a four-year, $16M contract signed back in 2024-25. Marcus becomes the second Foligno to win the award, alongside his brother and teammate Nick Foligno, the 2017 winner of the King Clancy trophy. Nick surprised his brother with the trophy today while Marcus was touring the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota.
Per the NHL press release, Marcus and Nick had a campaign called The Foligno Face-Off, which raised more than $200,000, funding a research grant for breast cancer research that will be named in honor of their mother Janis. The campaign evolved with the Wild trading for the former Blackhawks captain from Chicago, joining Marcus as a teammate for the first time in both players’ NHL careers.
Foligno won a $25,000 donation from the National Hockey League to benefit a charity or charities of his choice. The Wild are eligible to receive a grant of up to $20,000 from the NHL, as directed by Foligno, to organize a special activation related to his cause.
Each NHL team nominated a player for the King Clancy Trophy. The winner is determined by a selection committee consisting of Commissioner Gary Bettman and former winners of the trophy and the historic NHL Foundation Player Award.
Daxon Rudolph Commits To Denver for 2026-27 Season
According to his Instagram, top NHL Draft prospect Daxon Rudolph announced his commitment to the University of Denver for the 2026-27 season, first reported by Brad Elliott Schlossman of Grand Forks Herald.
Rudolph has a consolidated ranking of ninth among the major outlets that cover prospects eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft and is seventh on the Elite Prospects 2026 NHL Draft Guide. In his second season with Prince Albert, he scored 28 goals, tying Josh Morrissey for the club’s record in scoring by a defenseman, for 78 points in 68 WHL games. The 18-year-old added 27 points in 19 playoff games for the Raiders, losing in the Western league final to the Everett Silvertips. As an assistant captain for Canada’s U18 team at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he scored four points in five games and notched two assists in three games for the CHL team at this past Prospects Challenge.
That capped off a career with 119 points and a +45 rating in his two seasons there. Formerly the first overall pick in the 2023 WHL Draft, the Lacombe, Alberta native has demonstrated an ability to score, even registering 15 multi-point games within a 20-game stretch.
Rudolph is described by draft outlets as an offensive defenseman. The 6-foot-2.5 right-shot profiles as a player whose tools can produce high-end goals and effective playmaking. Combine that with his poise, and he’s able to make plays calmly to help him in his transition game and complement the steady offensive reads he visualizes. Defensively, he utilizes his stick as the primary approach. He’s said to have precision in the on-puck game due to his hand speed and quick reaction. What Rudolph needs to work on is his physicality, as he transitions into the NCAA, a big question mark will be how he acclimates to a much more steady gamestyle with bigger competition.
According to Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects, Rudolph had narrowed down his choice of NCAA schools to three top-tier programs. Aside from Denver, which emerges triumphant in the race for Rudolph, Michigan State and Boston College were also in the running as his preferred destinations. A visit to Denver was in the young defenseman’s travel plans in late May, per Robinson.
Set to join the defending national champions in Denver, Rudolph will round out an elite right side that already has fellow top 2026 prospect Ryan Lin, who recently announced his commitment to the Pioneers, and Blake Fiddler (2025-SEA-2nd), both of whom also stem from the WHL. Add on Calgary natives Ben Macbeath and sophomore Eric Jamieson, and that totals five blueliners with WHL roots for the Pioneers. Rudolph certainly adds intrigue to this blueline, but he will have some competition for top-pair minutes among his teammates.
David Carle’s program has dominated during the young coach’s tenure. Since 2019, Carle has taken Denver to five Frozen Fours in nine seasons, winning three national championships in the last five years, all with 29+ wins. Peter Baugh of The Athletic spoke to Rudolph at the NHL Scouting Combine, where he said, “It’s so appealing the amount of success they’ve had in that program, especially with him. Looking forward to playing for a guy like that.”
Carle has seen a few defenders in recent memory carry on their talents to the NHL past the NCAA, like former Hobey Baker winner Will Butcher, Scott Mayfield of the Islanders, and most notably, Zeev Buium.
Anders Lee Could Be Heading to Free Agency
The New York Islanders are facing the very real possibility of losing their captain this summer. According to a report from TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, long-time Islanders forward Anders Lee appears increasingly likely to test the open market as an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
LeBrun reports that Lee’s agent, Neil Sheehy, met with Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche to discuss a potential extension. However, the two sides remain “far apart” on the parameters of a new deal. While the organization reportedly intends to keep negotiating and wants their captain back in the fold, the current gap in expectations means that the draft and free agency period could mark the beginning of the end for Lee’s tenure on Long Island.
With several weeks remaining before the official start of the new league year, there is still time for negotiations to shift. Front offices and agents frequently use the threat of free agency as a final leverage point, and a breakthrough in talks could materialize.
However, if Lee does hit the open market, the 35-year-old forward will draw plenty of attention from contending teams looking for size, leadership, and net-front production. Lee has spent his entire 13-year NHL career with the Islanders, serving as team captain since 2018. Replacing his locker room presence and physical edge would be a massive challenge for Darche. For now, the Isles will need to do all they can to course correct in their conversations, or determine if their captain will wear a new sweater next season.
Evening Notes: Cassidy, Dallas, League Expansion
The NHL has publicly backed the Vegas Golden Knights in the Bruce Cassidy situation. Speaking ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final in Raleigh, commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Vegas is well within its contractual rights to deny rival teams permission to interview Cassidy, whom the club fired in March but who remains under contract through next season. “Obviously, we don’t find it unreasonable because we’re allowing it to happen,” Daly said.
Bettman framed it as a consequence of the long-term deal Cassidy signed. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reported that the league stated, “There are contracts in the league that wouldn’t have allowed this to happen. His was not one of them.” Regarding that contract situation, Cassidy told The Athletic today that just for the chance to interview for the current NHL coaching vacancies, he’d forfeit the reported $5 million the Vegas Golden Knights are on the hook to pay him not to coach next season.
Additional Notes:
- In speaking with the media earlier today, Bettman tempered NHL expansion talks stating, “we’re not ready to expand yet, but we are exploring those expressions of interest”, as reported by Cory Lavalette with NSJNews. Bettman has maintained that an interested group needs to check every box: ownership, market, arena, and arrive with a concrete plan before he’d bring it to the Board. The NHL has sat at 32 teams since Seattle joined for the 2021-22 season.
- The Dallas Stars announced a non-binding letter of intent for a proposed new arena and entertainment district at The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano, roughly 18 miles north of downtown, with the letter of intent heading to the Plano City Council on June 8. The lease at the current American Airlines Center run through 2031, putting any move about five years out, and the news landed a day after the Mavericks announced their own plans to leave downtown.
Penguins Goalie Update, Future With Skinner, Silovs, Murashov
The Penguins do not have a goalie for the 2026-27 season…yet.
They do, actually, but regarding the two NHL goaltenders that finished this past NHL season for them, both aren’t under contract, and that could be the case moving forward. According to Josh Yohe of The Athletic, Pittsburgh is weighing a few of its options in the crease at PPG Paints Arena for next year. Stuart Skinner appears to be on his way to free agency when July 1 comes around, but that isn’t the Penguins’ only path, per Yohe.
The 27-year-old Skinner is an unrestricted free agent, coming off a 27-game stint in Pittsburgh, having posted a 2.99 goals against average and an .885 save percentage in black and gold. Among goaltenders with three playoff games, he finished 15th out of 18 goalies in goals against average (3.08) and second-last in save percentage (.873).
His Penguins stretch came in the latter half of his 2025-26 season. Prior to the Oilers trading him with Brett Kulak in December of 2025 for Tristan Jarry and Samuel Poulin, he had a 2.83 GAA and an .891 SV% in Edmonton. He also amassed 8.3 goals saved above expected, which was nearly ten stops higher than his -1.5 GSAx tally in 51 games with the Oilers last season.
Pittsburgh leadership loved Skinner as a locker room presence and considered him good enough for his performance; however, one should consider the future in two ways. Yes, Skinner brought major playoff experience to a team that is trying to maximize its elder core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson, but it’s doubtful he’ll settle for his previous cap hit of $2.6MM from his four-year contract with Edmonton signed back in 2022 on the open market.
The other goalie to consider is pending restricted free agent Arturs Silovs. The 25-year-old Latvian is coming off a two-year deal at $1.7MM ($850K AAV) and saw 39 games in 2025-26. He averaged a 3.07 goals against and an .888 save percentage, adding on a -11.9 goals saved above expected (89th in 2025-26), which is not the most attractive stat line. However, Silovs rebounded in the playoffs with a 1.52 GAA (2nd in postseason) and a .939 SV%, salvaging two wins for the Penguins before the Flyers’ lone goal in Game 6 ended the season for Pittsburgh.
One certainty seems to ring true with the Penguins: Sergei Murashov is ready for the NHL next season. The 22-year old spent the majority of his year with the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton club, but also saw five NHL games with Pittsburgh. He ended the regular season with a 24-9-4 record, a 2.20 goals against average, and a .919 save percentage (both 3rd in AHL). The AHL Penguins are currently in the midst of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Toronto Marlies, and Murashov has averaged below two goals against a game and, through 12 contests, has posted a .936 SV%.
Murashov is set to end 2026-27 as a restricted free agent, which will be after the third season of his entry-level contract signed back in 2024. The Yaroslavl, Russia native has been under the Penguins organization since they drafted him in the 2022 fourth round at 118th overall. The Penguins have liked his development since he crossed the pond, and according to Yohe, he is on pace to be in between the pipes next season.
So, do you trade Silovs’ rights while the value is high and the NHL is in a window where goaltending is a need for teams? Do you let Skinner go to free agency and re-sign Silovs for less money? Do you keep Skinner, raising the annual number on his paycheck with a lengthy extension to tandem with the young rookie? Kyle Dubas has a load of cap space, around $37.8MM to work with, and a goalie room that shows promise, but how will he play it as the summer progresses?
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