World Championships

Evening Notes: Ehlers, Red Wings, Kings

May 22, 2025 at 8:32 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain 12 Comments

Although it’s already been heavily reported that winger Nikolaj Ehlers has no intention of signing a new contract with the Winnipeg Jets, that won’t change the team’s approach. According to TSN’s John Lu, the Jets are still expected to make a run at Ehlers before he hits the open market.

Specifically, Lu quoted Winnipeg General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff saying that the team will “put our best foot forward” in making their case for Ehlers to stay with the only organization he’s ever known. Still, the team is pausing until Ehlers finishes his run at the IIHF World Championships with Team Denmark, which pulled off a miraculous win against Team Canada earlier today.

There is a slight chance that Ehlers may re-sign with Winnipeg, despite earlier reports this year. He’s arguably the second-best winger on the free agent market this summer behind Mitch Marner, and he may become a rebound candidate for teams that strike out on the former, giving the Jets some additional time.

Other notes from this evening:

If Max Bultman of The Athletic is correct, the Detroit Red Wings will be on a few key forwards during this year’s free agency period. Bultman believes the Red Wings will take a run at Marner, Colorado Avalanche center Brock Nelson, and Florida Panthers’ Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand. In all seriousness, even though Detroit has the financial flexibility to pursue any free agent, Bennett is the only player whose age aligns with their timeline, making them tougher to compete against and filling both short- and long-term needs.
In a long-winded interview with the Los Angeles Kings’ new General Manager, Ken Holland, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun believes the Kings are going ’big game hunting’ under their new leadership. Per a quote from the interview, Holland said, “I plan to be aggressive. Ownership is prepared to go to the cap. The goal is to put a competitive team on the ice and, at the right time, be aggressive to try to make the team better and more exciting. Whether that happens in the next six to seven weeks or next year at the trade deadline or next offseason … but certainly the plan is to be aggressive at the right time.“

Islanders’ Bo Horvat Suffers Lower-Body Injury

May 20, 2025 at 8:30 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain Leave a Comment

According to an announcement from the New York Islanders, forward Bo Horvat sustained a lower-body injury for Team Canada during the IIHF World Championships. The team stated that Horvat is returning to New York for evaluation from the team’s doctors.

Horvat wraps up his first international tournament in seven years with four goals and eight points in six games for Team Canada. Canada will enter the playoff round as the highest-ranked seed from the ’Group A’ Division.

While the Islanders were vague about Horvat’s injury, the team remains hopeful he can begin training camp on time. He’s been remarkably healthy since moving from Vancouver to Long Island during the 2022-23 season, appearing in 162 regular-season contests for the Islanders over the past two years.

In a separate announcement, Hockey Canada shared that they have already found Horvat’s replacement for the remainder of the tournament. Top prospect for the 2025 NHL Draft, Porter Martone, has joined Team Canada’s roster.

Martone is considered a safe top-five selection in this summer’s draft, and could even find his way into the top-three. He recently concluded his junior season with the Brampton Steelheads, recording 37 goals and 98 points in 57 games, along with an additional four goals and nine points in six postseason contests.

He’s no stranger to international hockey, either. Martone is only a year removed from an impressive showing at the U18 World Junior Championships for Team Canada, scoring five goals and 17 points in seven tournament games.

Maple Leafs Notes: Tavares, Marner, Matthews, Nylander

May 20, 2025 at 7:00 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain 15 Comments

The head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Craig Berube, has addressed Mitch Marner and John Tavares’ upcoming unrestricted free agency. According to Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun, when asked if he’d like them to return, Berube said, “100%.”

The news comes with little surprise, as few coaches would want 176 points to walk away for nothing. Still, a report from TSN’s Chris Johnston a few days ago suggested there’s no guarantee Marner will re-up with the Leafs this summer.

There’s more room for optimism when it comes to Tavares. Aside from Berube’s desire to have him back, Toronto’s former captain shared with David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period today that he believes he’ll sign a new deal with the Maple Leafs, and has already spoken briefly to General Manager Brad Treliving.

Other notes from the Maple Leafs:

In a vague comment passed along by Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun, Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews said he’s been dealing with a ’mystery’ injury since training camp, and it flared up throughout the regular season and playoffs. Matthews played in fewer than 70 games for the first time since the COVID-19-shortened 2020-21 NHL season, and achieved his lowest goal total since his junior campaign in 2018-19.
There’s a chance that host country of the 2025 IIHF World Championships, Sweden, could get a major boost to their roster before the playoff round begins. According to Chris Johnston, William Nylander is contemplating joining his home country for the remainder of the tournament. Nylander hasn’t played in the international tournament since 2022, when he scored three goals and two assists in three games.

Metropolitan Notes: Shaw, Chatfield, Sandin, Eller

May 17, 2025 at 6:00 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 2 Comments

Yesterday, Flyers general manager Daniel Brière confirmed an earlier report that associate coach and briefly interim head coach Brad Shaw won’t be back with the team next season. According to Jonathan Bailey of The Hockey News, Shaw wasn’t enthused about going through the interview process a second time to remain a part of new head coach Rick Tocchet’s staff after finishing as the runner-up to Tocchet in head coaching interviews over the past few weeks.

“He called me yesterday and said he didn’t feel like he could fully invest himself going through the [interview] process again to see if he was to be part of [Tocchet’s] staff moving forward,” Brière said.

Now with 21 years of experience as an assistant/associate and interim head coach on NHL benches, Shaw is likely going to emerge as a candidate for at least one of the league’s four remaining head coach vacancies in Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Seattle. He reportedly received interest from the Capitals and Ducks in 2023’s hiring cycle.

“We’re really appreciative of what Brad has done,” Brière said. “He’s helped a lot of our young guys on defense, especially, and he was considered.”

We have more from the Metropolitan Division:

When the Hurricanes won Game 5 of the second round against the Capitals to advance to the Eastern Conference Final, they did so without the services of defenseman Jalen Chatfield. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour is hopeful but uncertain regarding his status for the beginning of the third round, Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer relays.
On the other side of the Carolina/Washington coin, Caps defenseman Rasmus Sandin is expected to join Sweden’s blue line at the World Championship, according to Hockeynews.se’s Henrik Sjoberg. Sweden’s roster is at the 22-skater maximum, so they’ll presumably be dropping a player (likely one of defenseman Gabriel Carlsson or forward Christoffer Ehn, neither of whom has played in the tournament yet) to make room for him. The Swedes are dominating the tournament on home ice, going undefeated through six group stage games and recording three consecutive shutouts against Latvia, Slovenia, and France. Sandin previously suited up for them at the 2023 Worlds.
Still in Washington, pending UFA center Lars Eller told Sammi Silber of The Hockey News he has every intention to keep playing next season (article link via DC Backcheck). “I’ll definitely keep playing. My body feels good,” Eller said. The 36-year-old Dane was limited to 22 points in 80 games split between the Penguins and Capitals this year, recording under 0.30 points per game for the second time in the last three years. Whether his future is in Washington, elsewhere in the NHL, or in Europe remains to be seen.

William Karlsson And Jonas Rondbjerg To Play In World Championship

May 17, 2025 at 3:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 6 Comments

While the Golden Knights saw their playoff run come to an end when they were eliminated by Edmonton earlier this week, at least two of their players will see their season continue for at least a few more days. The team announced (Twitter link) that center William Karlsson will join Sweden and winger Jonas Rondbjerg will join Denmark for the rest of the World Championship.

Karlsson is coming off a particularly rough year, both in terms of injuries and from a production standpoint. The 32-year-old was limited to just nine goals and 20 assists in 53 games during the regular season. He produced at a similar rate in the playoffs, picking up three goals and three helpers in their 11 contests. With Sweden co-hosting the event this year, they have a strong roster and Karlsson will certainly give them a boost heading into the medal round.

As for Rondbjerg, he spent the bulk of the year with AHL Henderson but did get into 13 games with Vegas where he was held off the scoresheet. While he hasn’t been able to crack their lineup full-time, he has seen action with the Golden Knights for the last four years, spanning 76 games in total. Meanwhile, with the Silver Knights, the 26-year-old had 11 goals and 15 assists in 53 games. While pending free agents often don’t play in this event, Rondbjerg will be an exception as he’ll be eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency this summer. He wasted little time flying over for the event as he scored today against Norway.

Earlier today, it was revealed that center Tomas Hertl had hoped to play for the Czechs but didn’t receive medical clearance from team doctors. It remains to be seen if any other Golden Knights will head over for the final half of the tournament with the medal round set to start on Thursday.

World Championship Notes: Hischier, Reichel, Hertl, Lauko

May 17, 2025 at 11:49 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Switzerland will be without one of their top players for the rest of the World Championship as Devils team reporter Amanda Stein relays (Twitter link) that Nico Hischier has been ruled out due to a muscular injury. He picked up two goals and an assist in four outings before suffering the injury, one that’s not believed to be a long-term concern and that his sitting for the rest of the event is largely precautionary. Hischier had a career-high 35 goals this season in New Jersey along with 34 assists in 75 games while logging over 20 minutes a night for the first time in his eight-year NHL career.

Metro Notes: Palát, Berard, Hollowell

May 13, 2025 at 2:30 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain 3 Comments

In a recent article from Todd Cordell of Infernal Access, he opines that the New Jersey Devils should look to move on from veteran winger Ondřej Palát this offseason. Whether through a buyout or trade, Cordell believes the salary cap savings could be better used to improve other areas.

Cordell’s argument is credible. Palát is making $6MM in 2025-26 and 2026-27 with a full no-movement clause and a modified 10-team no-trade clause. He hasn’t scored more than 31 points in a season since joining the Devils, and his ice time has dropped significantly over the last three years.

Assuming New Jersey is unable to find a trade partner, given the heavy trade protection, it’s likely the Devils buy out the remaining two years of Palát’s contract if they no longer want him on the team. Using PuckPedia’s buyout calculator, New Jersey would be on the hook for $3.533MM in 2025-26, $2.533MM in 2026-27, and $1.483MM in 2027-28 and 2028-29. Aside from Luke Hughes, the Devils don’t have many high-end players to retain this offseason. Should they need the extra cap savings to pursue a notable free agent, buying out Palát’s contract may be the best route.

More notes from the Metropolitan Division:

According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, New York Rangers forward Brett Berard has been removed from Team USA in the IIHF World Championships due to “physical limitations”. Neither Walker nor team representatives shared specifics regarding Berard’s injury, but he’s expected to be ready for the Rangers’ training camp in September.
In his recurring segment analyzing players within the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, Seth Rorabaugh of the Tribune-Review recently looked at defenseman Mac Hollowell of the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Hollowell led all WBS defensemen in scoring this year with one goal and 31 points, but injuries limited him to only 56 games. Despite his offensive maturity in the AHL, there’s Rorabaugh doesn’t believe the Penguins will retain him, given they never recalled him this season.

Snapshots: Fiala, Norringer, Bertucci, Hemming, Terness

May 11, 2025 at 1:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Kings winger Kevin Fiala’s season hasn’t come to an end just yet. After originally being unable to play at the Worlds due to some travel issues, the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation announced that Fiala will indeed be able to join the squad, filling their final spot. The 28-year-old was the tournament MVP last year, notching seven goals and six assists in just eight games. This season, Fiala had a career-high 35 goals in 81 games for Los Angeles while recording seven points in six games in their first-round exit at the hands of Edmonton.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

Predators prospect Viktor Norringer has decided where he’ll play college hockey as he announced on his Instagram page that he has made a verbal commitment to Boston University. The 18-year-old was a fourth-round pick last year, going 127th overall. Norringer had a dominant showing in Frolunda’s junior system this season, tallying 24 goals and 33 assists in just 39 games. It’s expected that Norringer will debut at BU in 2026-27 so for next season, he could remain at home or look to play in the USHL.
Two of Dallas’ top prospects have seen their seasons extended. Per the AHL’s transactions log, defenseman Tristan Bertucci and forward Emil Hemming have been assigned to AHL Texas. Bertucci was a second-round pick in 2023, going 63rd overall, and spent the season with OHL Barrie, notching 37 points in 52 regular season games while adding 18 more in 16 playoff contests. Hemming, meanwhile, was a first-round pick (29th overall) by the Stars last June. The 18-year-old had 48 points in 60 games with Barrie during the regular season but also improved his output in the playoffs, collecting 15 more points in those 16 playoff outings.
Still with the Stars’ farm team, they’ve added some goalie depth for their playoff run. Per an announcement from Ohio State (Twitter link), Texas has signed Logan Terness to an ATO agreement. The 22-year-old split his college career between UConn and Ohio State and saved his best performance for last, putting up a 2.46 GAA and a .917 SV% in 25 outings this season. Terness will use this stint to try to earn himself a pro deal for 2025-26.

Atlantic Notes: Stutzle, Byram, Hughes, Protz

May 10, 2025 at 10:28 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

While he wasn’t on Germany’s initial roster for the World Championship, Senators forward Tim Stutzle will now join that team, relays Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. He indicated last weekend that he hoped to play but when he wasn’t originally named to the team, it looked as if either he’d had a change of heart or didn’t receive medical clearance. The 23-year-old led the Sens in scoring this season with 24 goals and a career-high 55 assists in 82 regular season games before adding five points in six playoff contests. Germany opens up its tournament action today but they’ll have to wait until Tuesday before Stutzle is able to suit up versus Norway as he’ll miss both games this weekend.

NHL-Affiliated Players in the 2025 World Championship

May 9, 2025 at 9:52 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 1 Comment

After a few days of pre-tournament action, the 2025 World Championship kicks off today in earnest in Denmark and Sweden. There’s a slightly increased contingent of NHLers at this year’s event, with some talents on non-playoff teams looking to prove they belong on Olympic rosters as the league releases its players for the 2026 event for the first time in over a decade.

Leading the pack are Canada and the United States, the only two countries to have their rosters comprised entirely of NHL-signed or NHL-drafted players. This year’s two new faces are Hungary and Slovenia, who were the top two finishers in last year’s Division IA tournament to gain promotion to the top level (Great Britain and Poland were relegated from last year’s Worlds). While Slovenia has a lone NHL representative, Hungary enters without one, as does Kazakhstan. At least one of those countries will stay up for next year’s tournament as they’re both in Group B.

Sorted by country, here’s all the NHLers heading to this year’s Worlds:

* – denotes unsigned/reserve list

Austria

D Gregor Biber (Mammoth)*
F Marco Kasper (Red Wings)
F Vinzenz Rohrer (Canadiens)*

Canada

G Jordan Binnington (Blues)
G Marc-Andre Fleury (Wild)
G Dylan Garand (Rangers)
D Noah Dobson (Islanders)
D Ryker Evans (Kraken)
D Mike Matheson (Canadiens)
D Brandon Montour (Kraken)
D Travis Sanheim (Flyers)
D Jared Spurgeon (Wild)
D MacKenzie Weegar (Flames)
F Macklin Celebrini (Sharks)
F Sidney Crosby (Penguins)
F William Cuylle (Rangers)
F Phillip Danault (Kings)
F Adam Fantilli (Blue Jackets)
F Tyson Foerster (Flyers)
F Barrett Hayton (Mammoth)
F Bo Horvat (Islanders)
F Kent Johnson (Blue Jackets)
F Travis Konecny (Flyers)
F Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche)
F Ryan O’Reilly (Predators)
F Brayden Schenn (Blues)

Czechia

G Josef Korenar (Mammoth)*
G Karel Vejmelka (Mammoth)
G Daniel Vladar (Flames)
D Filip Hronek (Canucks)
D David Spacek (Wild)
F Adam Klapka (Flames)
F Jakub Lauko (Bruins)
F Martin Necas (Avalanche)
F David Pastrnak (Bruins)

Denmark

F Oscar Fisker Molgaard (Kraken)

Finland

G Justus Annunen (Predators)
G Juuse Saros (Predators)
D Atro Leppanen (Oilers)
D Nikolas Matinpalo (Senators)
F Lenni Hameenaho (Devils)
F Waltteri Merela (Lightning)*
F Juuso Parssinen (Rangers)
F Teuvo Teravainen (Blackhawks)
F Eeli Tolvanen (Kraken)

France

G Antoine Keller (Capitals)*
F Alexandre Texier (Blues)

Germany

G Philipp Grubauer (Kraken)
G Arno Tiefensee (Stars)
D Moritz Seider (Red Wings)
D Maksymilian Szuber (Mammoth)
F Lukas Reichel (Blackhawks)
F Josh Samanski (Oilers)
G Tim Stutzle (Senators)

Hungary

none

Kazakhstan

none

Latvia

F Martins Dzierkals (Golden Knights)*
F Dans Locmelis (Bruins)
F Eduards Tralmaks (Red Wings)

Norway

D Stian Solberg (Ducks)
F Noah Steen (Lightning)*

Slovakia

G Samuel Hlavaj (Wild)
D Samuel Knazko (Blue Jackets)
D Patrik Koch (Mammoth)
F Martin Chromiak (Kings)
F Dalibor Dvorsky (Blues)
F Samuel Honzek (Flames)
F Pavol Regenda (Sharks)
F Adam Sykora (Rangers)

Slovenia

D Jan Golicic (Lightning)*

Sweden

G Samuel Ersson (Flyers)
G Jacob Markstrom (Devils)
G Arvid Soderblom (Blackhawks)
D Rasmus Andersson (Flames)
D Jonas Brodin (Wild)
D Simon Edvinsson (Red Wings)
D Erik Gustafsson (Red Wings)
D Adam Larsson (Kraken)
D Marcus Pettersson (Canucks)
F Mikael Backlund (Flames)
F Leo Carlsson (Ducks)
F Filip Forsberg (Predators)
F Emil Heineman (Canadiens)
F Marcus Johansson (Wild)
F Elias Lindholm (Bruins)
F Isac Lundestrom (Ducks)
F Lucas Raymond (Red Wings)
F Alexander Wennberg (Sharks)
F Mika Zibanejad (Rangers)

Switzerland

D Tim Berni (Blue Jackets)*
D J.J. Moser (Lightning)
D Jonas Siegenthaler (Devils)
F Kevin Fiala (Kings)
F Nico Hischier (Devils)
F Simon Knak (Predators)*
F Timo Meier (Devils)

United States

G Joey Daccord (Kraken)
G Hampton Slukynsky (Kings)*
G Jeremy Swayman (Bruins)
D Zeev Buium (Wild)
D Cole Hutson (Capitals)*
D Michael Kesselring (Mammoth)
D Jackson LaCombe (Ducks)
D Mason Lohrei (Bruins)
D Andrew Peeke (Bruins)
D Brady Skjei (Predators)
D Alex Vlasic (Blackhawks)
D Zach Werenski (Blue Jackets)
F Matty Beniers (Kraken)
F Brett Berard (Rangers)
F Logan Cooley (Mammoth)
F Josh Doan (Mammoth)
F Michael Eyssimont (Kraken)
F Conor Garland (Canucks)
F Cutter Gauthier (Ducks)
F Isaac Howard (Lightning)*
F Clayton Keller (Mammoth)
F Michael McCarron (Predators)
F Frank Nazar (Blackhawks)
F Drew O’Connor (Canucks)
F Shane Pinto (Senators)
F Will Smith (Sharks)
F Tage Thompson (Sabres)

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