Senior writer at THN Adam Proteau has given the Calgary Flames a ranking of number 28 in The Hockey News' NHL summer splash rankings.

That is only above the Los Angeles Kings, Winnipeg Jets, Chicago Blackhawks and Buffalo Sabres.

It was not a surprise as the Flames had a quiet free-agency with most notable signings being that of defenceman Nick Cicek and goalie Ivan Prosvetov. 

The team lost many players including back-up goalie Dan Vladar to the Flyers, leaving Prosvetov and Dan Cooley to battle it out for the spot behind Dustin Wolf.

There is a lot of talent in the Flames system and the future seems bright as ever, but for the next season senior players like Mikael Backlund, Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau will take the reigns in Southern Alberta. Calgarians will (and have good reason to) be hoping pleasant surprises from younger talents like Matt Coronato and Zayne Parekh. 

EDMONTON – Special teams are special for a reason.

The Edmonton Oilers superstars know their way around a powerplay. Unfortunately, for the Stanley Cup runner-up, they struggled on the penalty kill in their most recent playoff run.

Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers team site to never miss the latest news, game-day coverage, and more. 

Luckily for fans and the team, a plan is in motion to address the contender’s glaring weakness.

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How Bad Was The Oilers' Penalty Kill?

During the 2024-25 playoffs, the Oilers’ penalty kill was successful 67.1 percent of the time. The Cup Finalists' penalty kill was ranked 14th out of the 16 teams in the playoffs.

The only teams with a worse penalty kill were the Ottawa Senators and the Los Angeles Kings. The team with the best penalty kill was the repeating Stanley Cup Champions, the Florida Panthers.

Kris Knoblauch Outlines The Plan To Improve

Oilers head coach, Kris Knoblauch, made an appearance on the Oilers Now show with Bob Stauffer on Monday, July 21st. The two had a wide-ranging conversation, with one of the talking points being around the penalty kill and the strategy surrounding it going into the new season.

“We knew we were going to be making changes,” Knoblauch told Stauffer. “We were waiting to see how many changes we were going to make…we were waiting to find out what our team would look like next year.”

Personnel is a key factor to a successful penalty kill. Knoblauch continued by emphasizing what the focus is for the team and coaching staff, as it pertains to the penalty kill. 

“Who are the guys who are going to be (penalty) killing? What kind of killers are they going to be?” Knoblauch asked. “Is it going to be more skating? Is it going to be more shot-blocking? And having all those aspects (figured out) before we made all those decisions.”

Knoblauch then laid out a potential framework for improvement, serving as a jumping-off point to investigate what has worked for other teams and identify what can be applied to them.

“Yes, it will definitely look different,” Knoblauch said of the penalty kill. “More similar to what other teams are doing. I think we’ll be doing a lot of copying of what some of the other successful teams have been doing around the NHL.”

Where Can The Oilers Learn To Have A Better Penalty Kill?

There are a few teams that have consistently performed well on the penalty kill over the last three years. Looking at the NHL.com stats, one team stands above the rest: the Carolina Hurricanes.

While the New Jersey Devils and Dallas Stars have recorded a top-five performing penalty kill in two out of the last three seasons, only the Hurricanes have had a top-five shorthanded unit for three consecutive years.

The Hurricanes have had the best penalty kill over the past two years (83.6 & 86.4 percent, respectively), and the second-best kill three years ago (84.4 percent).

When speaking to Cory Lavalette of The Athletic, a few Hurricanes’ players cited a few reasons for their success on the penalty kill. For some players, it comes down to using their speed and offensive creativity to anticipate their opponent’s next move. For others, it’s playing aggressively and not being afraid to block shots.

One thing is for certain: if the Oilers are going to use any team in the league as an example to mold their penalty kill after, there isn’t a better option than the Hurricanes.

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Welcome back to The Hockey News - Vancouver Canucks site’s Coaches as Players series. Last time, we looked at newly-appointed Canucks head coach Adam Foote’s long-tenured NHL career with the Québec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets. Today, we’ll turn to one of Foote’s new assistant coaches, Kevin Dean. 

Dean, a defenceman, played in two seasons with Culver Military Academy Prep before being drafted into the NHL 86th overall by the New Jersey Devils in 1987. He then moved onto the University of New Hampshire in the NCAA, playing there for four seasons before joining the Devils organization. In his time with New Hampshire, Dean scored 14 goals and 36 assists in 131 games. This included a 10-goal, 12-assist season in 31 games back in 1990–91. 

For the next four seasons, Dean split his playing time with the Utica Devils and Albany River Rats of the AHL and the Cinncinati Cyclones of the ECHL and later IHL. His time with the River Rats was most notable of these, as he had a career-high in goals in an AHL season with nine in 1993–94, as well as 33 assists in 70 games. He was also named the team’s captain the season after and helped them win the 1995 Calder Cup. 

Dean made his NHL debut in the 1994–95 season, skating for the Devils on February 27, 1995 against the Montréal Canadiens. He played in 17 games for New Jersey in this season, grabbing his first NHL point in his sixth game — an assist against the Ottawa Senators. As well as winning the 1995 Calder Cup, he also dressed in three of the Devils’ playoff games, adding two assists and winning his first career Stanley Cup with the big club. He is part of a small group of players who have won both the Calder Cup and Stanley Cup in the same season. 

In the seasons after winning both the Stanley Cup and Calder Cup, Dean spent the bulk of his time with New Jersey. From the 1995–96 season to 1998–99, he played in 181 games with the Devils, scoring three goals and 28 assists in this span of time. He also represented Team USA at the 1997–98 IIHF World Championship, skating in three of the team’s games. 

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The 1999–2000 season saw Dean move on from the Devils organization, which he’d been with since being drafted nearly 13 years prior. In this particular year, Dean skated with three different NHL teams — the Atlanta Thrashers, Dallas Stars, and Chicago Blackhawks. He played in 23 games with the Thrashers, scoring one goal in a November 3 matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning. On December 15, he was traded to the Stars in exchange for future considerations (later a ninth-round pick that was converted into Mark McRae). He spent 14 games with Dallas before his next move on February 8, in which himself, Derek Plante, and a 2001 second-round pick were flipped to Chicago for Sylvain Cote and Dave Manson. 

Chicago was the team that Dean rounded out his NHL career with, as he played the remainder of the 1999–2000 season with them, scoring two goals and eight assists in his final 27 games of the season. After this, he spent one more year with the Blackhawks, posting 11 assists in 69 games in 2000–01. In 2001–02, Dean made his return to the AHL, playing in 76 games for the Milwaukee Admirals and tallying five goals and 14 assists. Less than five years later, Dean began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Lowell Devils. 

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Florida's loaded cap space make back-to-back champion Niko Mikkola a possible cap causality next summer

The 2026 NHL offseason has the potential to completely alter the league’s landscape. Unlike recent years, when top-tier players mostly chose to stay put, this upcoming free agent class could see several franchise-altering talents test the open market.

With names like Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, and Artemi Panarin possibly available, front offices around the league are already strategizing for a summer that could redefine their rosters and their futures.

One team that could find itself at the center of this shake-up is the Florida Panthers. Fresh off back-to-back Stanley Cup wins, Florida has a core locked in long-term, but not everyone may stick around. Veteran defenseman Niko Mikkola enters the final year of his deal, and with the Panthers’ salary cap tightening, he may become a cap casualty despite being a key piece of their playoff success.

Niko Mikkola Called For Boarding On This Hit From Behind 😬#NHL #Hockey #shorts #NHLshorts #NHLhighlights #StanleyCup #Panthers #FloridaPanthers #TampaBayLightning #Lightning

At 6-foot-6, Mikkola brings the kind of physical edge and defensive reliability that thrives in postseason hockey. He’s not flashy on the scoresheet, typically hovering around 20 to 25 points per season, but his value lies in his shutdown ability.

Over the past two seasons, Mikkola has posted a strong +23 rating, logged 335 hits (13th-most in the NHL), and led the Panthers in blocked shots with 212. He’s the type of stay-at-home defenseman every contending team wants come April.

Can Winnipeg Contend After Losing Key Players in Lowry, Ehlers?Examining the Winnipeg Jets roster following lineup losses like Adam Lowry, Nikolaj Ehlers and Mason Appleton.

That kind of production won’t go unnoticed. If Mikkola hits the open market, he’s expected to draw serious interest, and one team that could make a strong push is the Winnipeg Jets. With $10 million in projected cap space and more flexibility on the horizon, Winnipeg is in a solid position to add a dependable veteran like Mikkola.

The contracts of Gustav Nyquist and Tanner Pearson are likely coming off the books, freeing up $4.25 million, and another $5.5 million could be cleared if defensemen Luke Schenn, Colin Miller, and Logan Stanley aren’t re-signed.

That potential $9.75 million cushion gives the Jets plenty of wiggle room to make Mikkola an offer while still preserving cap space for other priorities. A low-cost depth signing or internal promotion could round out the blue line, and they’d still have the flexibility to explore extensions for key players like captain Adam Lowry, Kyle Connor, and potentially Jonathan Toews, depending on how his return to the NHL unfolds.

From a roster perspective, adding Mikkola would bolster what’s already one of the league’s top defensive units. The Jets have allowed the fewest goals in the NHL over the last two seasons, and putting a shot-blocking, physical defender like Mikkola on the third pairing would only strengthen that identity.

While defense isn't an urgent need in Winnipeg, the opportunity to add playoff-tested depth could be too good to pass up especially for a team with championship ambitions.

Could Winnipeg Target Pending Free Agent Martin Necas?Insider reports indicate the Avalanche feeling forward Martin Necas may not re-sign and could look to deal him.

The Buffalo Sabres are desperate to be a playoff team next season -- but they're in the NHL's toughest division -- the Atlantic Division. And their games against Atlantic teams will be crucial to help decided whether or not they'll be a playoff team next year. As such, we're analyzing Buffalo's chances against each Atlantic team in a THN.com series; We started alphabetically with the Boston Bruins, then turned our attention to the Detroit Red Wings, followed by the defending Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers.

Today, it's time for a look at another team that wants to be a playoff team next year -- the Montreal Canadiens. Do the Sabres have what it takes to edge out the Habs for a wild card berth next season? Look below for our best guess.

BUFFALO SABRES VS. MONTREAL CANADIENS

NEW CANADIENS PLAYERS: Noah Dobson, D; Kaapo Kahkonen, G; Joe Veleno, C; Zack Bolduc, LW; Sammy Blais, LW

2024-25 SERIES: Sabres 0-3-1, Canadiens 4-0-0

2025-26 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER:  October 20, at Montreal; January 15 at Buffalo; January 22 at Montreal; January 31 at Buffalo

CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM?  The Canadiens made one of the biggest splashes of the current off-season when GM Kent Hughes acquired star defenseman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders.  The deal instantly gave the Habs one of the NHL's best defense corps -- but they're going to have a tough test in the Sabres' equally deep group of blueliners.

However, it's not only the defense that's improved in Montreal. Hughes also fortified his group of forwards by trading for former St. Louis Blues winger Bolduc, and signing pluggers Veleno and Blais to help fill out the bottom-six group of forwards. All in all, the Habs now have a terrific core of young talent -- including captain Nick Suzuki and rookie-of-the-year D-man Lane Hutson -- and they're almost certainly going to battle for one of the wild card berths in the Eastern Conference.

Last season, the Canadiens had Buffalo's number, beating the Sabres in all four games the teams played against one another. And while things may be different in 2025-26, there's a distinct possibility Montreal once again dominates the Sabres.

Know Your Enemy, Sabres Edition: Does Buffalo Have Any Hope Of Beating The Defending Stanley Cup-Champion Panthers?The Buffalo Sabres are under massive pressure to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 15 years. To do so, they're going to have to make the most of their games with their Atlantic Division rivals. And in this continuing THN.com series, we're analyzing Buffalo's chances against each of their seven Atlantic rivals.

All four of the games between the two teams will be played by the end of January, so from Buffalo's perspective, it's crucial that the Sabres set a tone by coming out of the gate strongly and poutting Montreal on notice that this year will be different than last year.

Indeed, if the teams in the Metropolitan Division send four teams to the playoffs this coming season, that will leave only four playoff spots for the Atlantic's teams to battle over. And it easily could come down to one or two standings points separating the playoff teams from the non-playoff teams.

In the macro picture, then, every game really does matter for Buffalo and Montreal. An overtime or shootout loss could dictate whether the Sabres end their 14-year playoff drought, or whether it will continue for another painful year. And if Buffalo once again loses all four games against the Habs, it's going to be very difficult for them to eke out enough points elsewhere to make up for it.

Know Your Enemy, Sabres Edition: Can Buffalo Beat The Playoff-Desperate Detroit Red Wings?The Buffalo Sabres have completed most of their off-season moves this summer. We've examined the most-likely trade partners for Buffalo, and in this file, we're continuing our new THN.com series "Know Your Enemy, Sabres Edition". In this series, we're breaking down the Sabres' seven Atlantic Division rivals, focusing on what changes those seven teams have made, Buffalo's record against them last season, their games against each other this coming year, and our opinion of whether the team is one the Sabres should be beating next year.

The Canadiens are clearly a team on the rise. The Sabres want to be as well, but in the zero-sum industry they're operating in, both Buffalo and Montreal understand there's not room for everyone to be a playoff team next year. This past season was an anomaly in that five Atlantic teams made it into the post-season. If we were betting, we'd bet that wouldn't happen again next season.

So the challenge is clear for the Sabres -- avenge their four losses to the Canadiens by beating them more often than not this time around, or suffer a similar fate to the one they've been dealing with for nearly a decade-and-a-half.

It's that straightforward, and beating Montreal is going to be one of the keys, one way or another, to deciding how Buffalo's year plays out.

A former Montreal Canadiens forward is reportedly heading overseas.

According to Expressen's Johan Svensson, Djurgardens IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) are signing former Canadiens forward Charles Hudon.

Mer silly.
Det händer ännu mer grejer i Djurgården.
Enligt uppgifter till 🐝 har man en riktig poängmakare på ingång i truppen. https://t.co/JSD7lpmrFG

— Johan Svensson (@MrMadhawk) July 21, 2025

Hudon spent the entirety of this past season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Ontario Reign. In 67 games with the AHL squad in 2024-25, he posted 20 goals and 64 points in 67 games. This was after he had 20 goals and 54 points in 56 contests with the Reign in 2023-24. 

Hudon last played at the NHL level with the Colorado Avalanche during the 2022-23 season, where he recorded zero points, two penalty minutes, and a minus-2 rating in nine games. 

Hudon kicked off his career with the Canadiens, as they selected him with the 122nd overall pick of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. From there, he played five NHL seasons with the Canadiens from 2015-16 to 2019-20, posting 14 goals, 27 assists, 41 points, and 242 hits in 125 games.

Hudon's best season with Montreal was in 2017-18, as he set career highs with 10 goals, 20 assists, and 30 points in 72 games.

Insider Shares Big Update On Canadiens Star Trade TargetThe Montreal Canadiens are one of the teams that have been connected to Calgary Flames star forward Nazem Kadri. It is easy to understand, as the Canadiens are in need of a second-line center, and acquiring Kadri would provide them with just that.

Photo Credit: © Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

A familiar face to Nashville Predators fans will be behind the bench for Slovakia's men's ice hockey team at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. 

Tuesday, Hockey Slovakia announced that former Predators forward Vladimír Országh, who played with the team from 2001 to 2004, will be the head coach for Slovakia at the Olympics in February. 

Orszagh recently served as Slovakia's interim head coach at the 2025 IIHF World Championship and has previously been an assistant coach for the team.

Orszagh signed a three-year contract with the Slovak Ice Hockey Association. 

He is currently the head coach of HC '05 Banská Bystrica, which plays in Slovakia's top ice hockey league, Slovak Extraliga. 

Orszagh was drafted 106th overall in the 1995 NHL Draft by the New York Islanders before being signed by the Predators as a free agent in the 2001 offseason. 

During his time in Nashville, Orszagh played in 223 games, scored 47 goals and 58 assists for 105 points. Orszagh's best season came during the 2003-04 season, when he had 37 points in 82 games. 

Due to the lockout in 2005, he returned to Slovakia for the following season to play in the Slovak Extraliga, where he recorded 30 points in 37 games. Orszagh returned to the NHL for a final season in 2005-06 with the St. Louis Blues, where he had 14 points in 16 games. 

On the international level, Orszagh has represented Slovakia eight times in his career, winning Slovakia's first and only Gold Medal at the 2002 IIHF World Championship. He also won a Bronze Medal at the 2003 IIHF World Championship.

Orszagh replaces longtime Slovakia head coach Craig Ramsey, who had been Slovakia's international team since 2017 and had spent 14 seasons as the Buffalo Sabres head coach from 1971 to 1985. 

The Canadian-born coach helped Slovakia achieve its best Olympic result at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, defeating Sweden 4-0 to win the Bronze Medal.

It was the first time Slovakia had ever won a medal at the Olympics. 

Two Predators have already been named to preliminary Olympic rosters: Roman Josi (Switzerland) and Juuse Saros (Finland). 

The 2026 Olympics will be held from February 11 to 22. This is the first time that NHL players will participate in the Olympic Games since 2014.