The St. Louis Blues have signed forward Connor McMichael to a six-year, $40.5MM contract extension per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The same could be said for the Predators (who signed Steven Stamkos), Brady Skjei and Jonathan Marchessault to huge contracts in free agency, only for Nashville to fall apart and miss the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. The moves did not go as planned, as Tkachuk took the Panthers to three straight Stanley Cup Finals, while Huberdeau signed arguably the worst contract in the NHL. Still with the dust settling from last month’s NHL draft (soon when the analysis picks up on 2027), expect Santala’s name to stand out. The OHL’s London Knights have landed another big-time prospect (forward Luca Santala), who signed on an OHL Scholarship and Development Agreement. A third-round pick (74th overall) by the Sabres in 2022, Neuchev spent parts of three seasons in Buffalo’s system before the move, posting 66 points (24 goals, 42 assists) in 130 games with AHL Rochester.
For decades leading up to 1995, the American broadcast partners of the league experienced significant changes. In contrast to other professional leagues in America, the NHL has historically struggled to gain traction on American television. Regional broadcasts are provided by Sportsnet, TSN, and RDS for games not included in the national rights agreement.
Rules
In 1934, the first NHL All-Star Game was held, to benefit Ace Bailey, whose career ended on a vicious hit by Eddie Shore. In 1926, Native American Taffy Abel became the first non-white player in the NHL and broke the league’s colour barrier by playing for the New York Rangers. The NHL embarked on a rapid expansion in the 1920s, adding the Montreal Maroons and the Boston Bruins in 1924, the latter being the first American team to join the league. Following the conclusion of the regular season (16 teams advance to the Stanley Cup playoffs), a four-round tournament that runs into June to determine the league champion. Salt Lake City was awarded an expansion franchise in 2024; it acquired the hockey assets of the Arizona Coyotes, which were deactivated, and established the Utah Hockey Club (now the Utah Mammoth), thus maintaining the total number of teams at 32. The league added six new teams to double its size as a result of the 1967 NHL expansion (then increased to 18 teams by 1974), and to 21 teams due to the 1979 NHL expansion.
Where do the Oilers, Flames & Canucks end up in the Pacific? Opens in new window
The Hurricanes have re-signed RFA forward Viktor Neuchev — to a one-year, two-way contract, per puckpedia. The 25-year-old, a seventh-round pick in the 2020 draft, returns as organizational depth in a crease fronted by Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov, and has yet to appear in an NHL game. The New York Islanders re-signed goaltender Henrik Tikkanen to a one-year (two-way contract worth betting and predictions $850,000 at the NHL level on Wednesday), per Puckpedia. The No. 41 pick of the 2017 NHL draft, Anderson-Dolan has been on the NHL/AHL roster bubble for the better part of the last half-decade. These improvements led NBC and the cable channel Versus to sign a 10-year broadcast deal, paying US$200 million per year for both American cable and broadcast rights; the deal will lead to further increases in television coverage on the NBC channels.
- While ‘Bob’ will see his former team in Toronto for the first time on December 13 (he will have to wait until March 6 to return to Sunrise), a place he called home for the previous seven years.
- Quebecor Media held national French-language rights to the NHL, with all coverage airing on its specialty channel TVA Sports.
- On October 24 in Philadelphia and again on January 3 in Anaheim — the two teams will meet for the first time.
- For the first time (NHL hockey in North America gets started before October), with puck drop in Raleigh on September 29.
As much as it might pain some Canadiens fans, Hughes has built up the credibility to be trusted in this situation based on his track record. There is an argument to be made that many of the moves this summer have been overpays, particularly if you look at a deal like the Bowen Byram trade to Chicago. Make no mistake (though), that indifference is patience, and Habs fans should be happy to see it from management at a time when most GMs would have made a move just to make one. The Everblades (based in Estero), Florida, brought home the 2026 Kelly Cup as ECHL Champions. Last month the Chicago-based Hoffmann Group was granted approval to acquire the Penguins, quite the step up from their only other venture into the hockey world, owning the Everblades.
Canadiens re-sign RFA Dach to one-year, $3.6 million deal
That scoring pace (0.65 points-per-game), put Dach on pace for 20 goals and 54 points across 82 games. Toronto made a pile of ill-advised forays into free agency that resulted in a lack of cap space, and in some cases, trading away premium assets to make bad contracts go away (Patrick Marleau, for example). Just ask the Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators — who both won the previous summer only to fall apart during the regular season. Some might disagree and point to the Noah Dobson trade as an example of the opposite, but at this time, it’s hard to call a winner in that move.
Colorado Avalanche Hire Jussi Ahokas As AHL Head Coach
Fighting in the NHL leads to major penalties while IIHF rules, and most amateur rules, call for the ejection of fighting players. The rule is unofficially nicknamed the “Martin Brodeur rule”; Brodeur at the time was one of the best goaltenders at getting behind the net to handle the puck. The NHL’s rules are the basis for rules governing most professional and major junior ice hockey leagues in North America. The NHL’s rules are one of the two standard sets of professional ice hockey rules in the world, the other being the rules of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), as used in tournaments such as the Olympics. A committee led by Bettman and chairman Jeremy Jacobs is responsible for vetting new ownership applications, collective bargaining, and league expansion.
Timeline
In his initial 16 games of the season (he netted 12 goals), showcasing breakaway speed and sharp playmaking that resonated with the veterans in Washington. Following that performance, Washington proposed a two-year extension to McMichael—a chance for the young center to prove himself and potentially earn more once he established his role. After being drafted 25th overall in 2019, McMichael turned professional with Washington in 2020 and made his NHL debut in 2021.
The Atlantic and Metropolitan divisions make up the Eastern Conference — while the Western Conference contains the Central and Pacific divisions. Each conference is divided into two divisions, with 16 teams in total per conference and 8 teams in each division. Comprising 32 teams in total, the NHL includes 25 teams located in the United States and 7 in Canada.
With no new agreement in hand when the contract expired — league commissioner Gary Bettman announced a lockout of the players union and closed the league’s head office for the 2004–05 season. Would Leo Carlsson’s addition boost the Flyers’ odds of winning their division? Gavin McKenna announced as Maple Leafs’ No. 1 overall draft pick Buchnevich scored just 48 points in 81 games – and spent time on the fourth line late in the year. He finished the year with just 14 goals and 46 points, while posting a 43.0 faceoff percentage – exactly in-line with his career average.