Monthly Archives: March 2025
Sensational Puck Movement Pushes Lightning Past Islanders
Projected Lineups for the Rangers vs Sharks – 3/29/25
Corner Stones Event Week 2 In NHL 25
Corner Stones Event Week 2 is live now in NHL 25 Hockey Ultimate Team.
The new master set players are 92 overall Mats Sundin, Brian Leetch, Patrick Marleau, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, and Shea Weber.
These 92 overall master set players can be acquired for any three 89+ Corner Stones cards and any two 89+ players.
89 overall Corner Stones can be acquired for any three 87+ Corner Stones cards, while 87s can be had for any three 85+ players. There are also Collectible Sets available.
All new cards can be seen in the video above.
Any two 92 overall MSPs can be traded in for a 93 overall Corner Stones choice pack which contains 93 overall versions of the master set players.
A 93 overall Sidney Crosby and 92 overall Wayne Gretzky Milestones cards were added to celebrate Crosby reaching 20 point per game seasons.
For more NHL 25 news make sure you bookmark The Hockey News Gaming Site or follow our Google News Feed. For gaming discussion check out our forum.
Projected Lineups for the Flames vs Oilers – 3/29/25
Five Teams Brad Marchand Could Play For Next Season
NHL star left winger Brad Marchand made his debut with the Florida Panthers Friday night, but his contract status – that makes him a UFA at the end of this season – has already started speculation as to where he could wind up playing next year and beyond.
Here are five teams we could see Marchand playing for after this season:
1. Boston Bruins
Let’s get this out of the way first: Marchand OK’d a move out of Boston, but there was no sense he or the Bruins had burned bridges with each other. So, if he doesn’t find an option that’s to his liking, Marchand could elect to return to Beantown.
He’ll be 37 years old by the time he signs a new contract, so his next deal could be his last NHL deal. But if Boston can get the money right – somewhere in the area of his current annual salary of $6.125 million – it wouldn’t be out of the question to see him return to the Bruins.
Marchand served Boston well as their leader on the ice and off of it, and although he probably would’ve wanted to spend his entire career with the same team, he could, in theory, win a Stanley Cup with the Panthers, then find a way to come back to his first NHL home.
Stranger things have happened than a return to Boston for Marchand, and he might decide that a few months away from the Bruins was too long and return to the Bs at the first chance he gets.
2. Colorado Avalanche
The Avs are one of the odds-on favorites to win the Cup this season, but if the Panthers repeat as Cup champions, Marchand could choose to play with fellow East-Coast Canadian Nathan MacKinnon on a Colorado team that will have the cap space to sign him for at least a couple of seasons.
Like all the teams on this list, the Avalanche could use Marchand’s grit and playoff experience, and playing in the relative calm of Denver may be exactly what Marchand wants at this stage of his career.
Marchand would help out the Avs’ second line, and Colorado has enough cap space to get a deal done that will satisfy Marchand’s pride. Closing out his career with the Avs would allow Marchand to satisfy his competitive drive, and the Avalanche would be thrilled to land someone with the pedigree Marchand can boast of.
3. Pittsburgh Penguins
This one is admittedly more of a long shot, as the Penguins are still going to be a fringe playoff team next season. But the opportunity to play alongside another East-Coast Canadian legend in Sidney Crosby would no doubt appeal to Marchand, and the Pens would welcome Marchand as they try to win another Cup in the Crosby Era.
Marchand has been a thorn in the side of just about every opponent, so the chance to make him a Penguin would be a no-brainer for Pittsburgh GM Kyle Dubas. But the Pens would almost assuredly have to make more notable moves to assure Marchand that he’s not going to be the only new face with the Penguins.
Marchand might want to change out his Black-and-Gold Bruins colors for a similar set of colors in Pittsburgh, and the Penguins could offer him the chance of a lifetime when it comes to playing on the same side as clear-cut Hockey Hall-of-Famers in Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
4. Toronto Maple Leafs
Okay, before you get snippy, hear us out: let’s assume the Maple Leafs falter early in the playoffs once again this spring. In the wake of that disappointment, there will likely be a massive change in Toronto – and what better way to effect significant culture change than to sign a proven winner and Leafs-haunter in Marchand?
He’d have to acclimate to playing in the huge hockey fishbowl that is Toronto, but it’s not as if Marchand isn’t used to that in Boston.
The Leafs might be a bigger long-shot than Pittsburgh on this list, but if Marchand values playing in another Original Six market where hockey is everything, he could spend his remaining few seasons in Toronto and be an integral part of what could be something special. The Leafs would be motivated buyers for him, and he’d fill an obvious need for grit and spunk.
5. Tampa Bay Lightning
The Panthers were clearly Marchand’s choice to play for this season, but if Florida can’t find a way to re-sign him, perhaps the other Sunshine State team can make him a member of the Lightning.
Like the Panthers, the Bolts will be tight to the salary cap ceiling, but Lightning GM Julien BriseBois always seems to find a way to land big fish, the way he did last summer when he signed star left winger Jake Guentzel. So, Marchand could be one of the final pieces of the puzzle in Tampa next year.
The Lightning can sell Marchand on the no-tax state of Florida and the opportunity to stay on the East Coast. We don’t see Marchand agreeing to take a huge pay cut to play in any market, but in Tampa Bay, his dollars would go further, and he’d have the luxury of great weather all year long. Thus, his current experiment with the Panthers could keep him in Florida but in another market.
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Anaheim Ducks Prospect Spotlight: Evaluating Lucas Pettersson's Options After SHL Club's Relegation
The end of March and the flipping of calendars to April indicate one thing in the hockey world: playoffs. CHL playoffs are underway as are playoffs in the European hockey leagues, soon to be followed by the AHL and, eventually, the NHL.
Anaheim Ducks Prospect Spotlight: Lucas Pettersson's Impressive Start to 2025
Anaheim Ducks forward prospect Lucas Pettersson (35th overall in 2024) recently saw his 2024-25 SHL season come to an end at the hands of fellow Ducks forward prospect Herman Traff (91st overall in 2024) in a relegation battle between Pettersson’s MoDo Hockey and Traff’s HV71.
As a result of the best-of-seven series in which HV71 won 4-2, MoDo will be relegated to the HockeyAllsvenskan for the 2025-26 season, Sweden’s second-tier professional division.
Pettersson (18) had his 2024-25 season split between playing for MoDo, the SHL club that owns his rights, and on loan for Ostersunds IK in HockeyAllsvenskan. He tallied just one point for MoDo at the SHL level (0-1=1) in 29 games while rarely playing more than six minutes per game.
Early in the season, he had played eight games at the J20 level for MoDo and scored eight points (4-4=8). The majority of the second half of his season was spent with Ostersunds IK of HockeyAllsvenskan, where he found his footing in an increased role against grown men and scored 19 points (9-10=19) in 26 games.
Remain in Sweden
The confluence of his performance at the HockeyAllsvenskan level and his club’s relegation from the SHL leaves questions about where he could play next season in 2025-26.
He could remain in Sweden and play another year in HockeyAllsvenskan for MoDo, a division he might be outgrowing.
Play in the Ducks Organization
He could make the transition to North America and have two (or even three) options in front of him. The unlikeliest is that he signs his ELC and performs well enough in Ducks training camp to earn a spot on the NHL roster. If the San Diego Gulls, the Ducks AHL affiliate, need center depth, he could play the 2025-26 season in close proximity and about 90 miles south of Honda Center.
Head to the CHL
If the Ducks organization doesn’t deem him ready for professional hockey in North America, he could play in the CHL next season. He was drafted by the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL in the second round of the 2024 CHL Import Draft (116th overall).
As opposed to the professional levels, the CHL would allow Pettersson to explore the limits of his offensive game. He is already well-lauded for his detail and two-way prowess, often compared to Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson. He possesses enough offensive tools like above-average mobility, puck skills, and change-of-pace vision to provide true offensive impact at the NHL level.
Taking the time and putting forth the effort into developing and translating those skills to the North American pro-style game could elevate Pettersson’s ultimate potential and even mold him into a significant piece of the Ducks' core moving forward.
The “win at all costs” ideals of professional hockey aren’t always conducive or ideal for growing and refining the offensive talents of teenage players. Pettersson is at a critical point in his ultimate progression, and it will be curious to monitor how the Ducks organization manages the young centerman.
Report: Ducks, Verbeek 'Good With Cronin Coming Back Next Season'
Analyst: Marner Won’t Join Elite Group Unti “He Leaves the Leafs”
Projected Lineups for the Bruins vs Red Wings – 3/29/25
The Great Debate Rangers On John Tortorella Or Not For Rangers Coach?
The Maven's urging the Rangers to immediately hire John Tortorella did not win immediate approval from my studious audience.
Nor will I hide the dissent from you.
"Torts is the Rex Ryan of the NHL," says avid fan and critic Steve Viuker of Brooklyn. "He may be great for an NHL Network TV gig but – as a coach – he wears thin on a team in a short period of time."
Viuker singles out a couple of reasons why Torts got canned in the NHL's homestretch.
"In his last eleven games, the Flyers won one and lost ten. Plus, they didn't have a power play goal for all of March. Torts is the baseball version of Billy Martin of the George Steinbrenner years."
By contrast, Harvey Cohen of New Jersey fires this broadside at Viuker.
"The Rangers need Torts because they need a jolt right now. They are a direct reflection of their coach," Cohen explains. "They make no in-game adjustments. Laviolette is too passive, stagnant, predictable and statuesque."
Others point to GM Chris Drury as the prime culprit for allowing a soft offensive core to remain intact while paying no attention to team defense. "Kris Knoblauch would have suffered the same result as Lavy because he would be coaching the same soft core."
A sizeable number of fans would love to see John Davidson return – this time as general manager – "because he knows the qualities that a good coach would have to have to coach in New York."
Hey! Let's not kid ourselves; the bottom line is simply that any decision will be made – or not made at all – by MSG majordomo Jim Dolan.
Until we hear differently from him, Peter Laviolette still has a job. Whether The Maven likes it or not!