Maple Leafs Take Bigger Swings With Their Cap Room
The Toronto Maple Leafs are utilizing the additional cap space they ended up with when Mitch Marner left to move up a level in the NHL’s salary cap. Whereas before…
Monthly Archives: July 2025
Flames’ Potential Defensive Pairs On Opening Night
The Calgary Flames project to go into the 2025-26 season with a forward group very similar to last season, but persistent trade rumours surrounding defenceman Rasmus Andersson and the arrival…
NHL Rumor Mill – July 19, 2025
2026 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini’s Way-Too-Early Top 32
With the 2025 NHL Draft in the books, it’s never too early to start looking towards next year’s crop of top prospects. The 2026 draft class is starting to shape…
2026 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini’s Way-Too-Early Top 32
With the 2025 NHL Draft in the books, it’s never too early to start looking towards next year’s crop of top prospects. The 2026 draft class is starting to shape…
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 19, 2025
Sam Bennett, Sasha Barkov have names added to Hall of Fame hardware
We’ve spent a good amount of time talking about the Stanley Cup lately, and rightly so.
Last month, the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row. In the time since, they’ve celebrated with it all over South Florida, and it’s already been to Canada and back after having all the Panthers’ names engraved right next to last year’s winners.
But the Stanely Cup isn’t the only historic trophy that has had the names of Panthers players added to it this summer.
In fact, a pair of Panthers were honored with awards and had their names added to trophies.
They are Florida centers Sasha Barkov and Sam Bennett.
In a photo posted on X by Phil Pritchard, the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Keeper of the Cup, Bennett’s name was in the process of being added to the Conn Smythe Trophy, which is given annually to the player voted most valuable to his team during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Ladies and Gentlemen, your MVP of the #stanleycup playoffs is now on the Conn Smythe Trophy.@FlaPanthers@HockeyHallFame@NHLpic.twitter.com/AjQKiIndfH
— Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) July 18, 2025
Bennett led all skaters with 15 postseason goals, closing out the playoffs with tallies in each of Florida’s final six road games, scoring eight times during those six contests.
About a week later, Bennett signed an eight-year, $64 million extension that will keep him with a growing, championship core that’s built to continue succeeding in South Florida.
Another big part of that core is Barkov.
Last season, Florida’s captain was voted the winner of a pair of pieces of hardware.
He won his second consecutive Selke Trophy, given each season to the NHL’s top voted defensive forward.
Overall, it’s Barkov’s third Selke Trophy win, and probably not his last.
He wasn’t done there, though.
Barkov was also voted the winner of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is given to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities both on and off the ice.
It was fitting that when Barkov was told about his double victories, he was informed by a group of children from Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, Barkov’s longtime charitable partner.
Since the start of the 2019-20 season, when Barkov committed to donate $1,600 for every goal he scores and $800 for each of his assists, he has contributed over $400,000 to the hospital.
Pritchard also shared photos of Barkov’s name being added to both trophies.
Just in case you didn't know, Sasha's name is on a few more trophies this season as well. #stanleycup champions @FlaPanthers@NHL@HockeyHallFamepic.twitter.com/E9s8XakwfL
— Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) July 16, 2025
Eventually, you have to think that all three of these beauties, along with the Stanley Cup itself, will all be together in South Florida.
Perhaps on Opening Afternoon…er, Opening Night?
We shall see.
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Photo caption: Mar 31, 2022; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) celebrates his goal against the Chicago Blackhawks with center Sam Bennett (9) during the third period at FLA Live Arena. (Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images)
Alex Nylander Scores Albatross, Shares Golf Photo With Maple Leafs' William Nylander
When hockey players aren't spending time on vacation or in the gym during the summer, they are almost certain to find themselves on the golf course. William Nylander and a pair of former Leafs recently hit the links, and it looks like William’s brother Alex took to his Instagram account to celebrate draining an albatross. For those golf-illiterate, an albatross is when you score three shots under par on a single hole.
Following the shot, Alex Nylander posed with William and Washington Capitals defenseman and former Leaf Rasmus Sandin. It’s not the first time the Nylander brothers have found success on the links this offseason. Both won the inaugural NHLPA Golf Tournament, held during the RBC Canadian Open weekend on May 29.
While Alex is making headlines on the golf course, his professional hockey career remains at a crossroads as the upcoming season approaches. Alex recorded no points in five games with the Maple Leafs. However, he did score 23 goals and added 21 assists in 64 games with the Marlies. His 44 points were second on the team behind Alex Steeves, who recently signed a deal with the Boston Bruins.
Why The Maple Leafs Signed Alex Nylander To A One-Year NHL DealNylander, previously on an AHL contract with Toronto, was signed as the team navigates a shortage of forwards.
It was this month last year that the Toronto Marlies signed Alex to an AHL contract, which was later converted to an NHL deal as the Leafs dealt with injuries. However, with the Leafs loading up on depth forwards this season like Nicolas Roy, Mattias Maccelli and Dakota Joshua, it’s hard to see where a player like Alex would fit in Toronto’s plans.
He has nothing left to prove in the AHL, and as a first-round pick (8th overall) from the 2016 NHL Draft, he would probably be best served with a professional tryout with another club if he has ambitions of returning to the NHL next season
(Top image credit: Alex Nylander on Instagram)
Ranking Every NHL Arena Media Meal (Part 2): Venues 17 to 24 RevealedWelcome back to the second part of our summer-long series ranking NHL media meals. With the schedule revealed this week, I've started booking road trips for the upcoming season, which is also making me hungry and excited for the media meals next season. This week, we count down the No. 17 through 24 media meals in the NHL.
Ryan Reaves Thanks Maple Leafs In Social Media Post After Being Traded To SharksRyan Reaves is grateful for his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
'Just Putting Rims On A Prius': Which NHL Teams Took Shots At The Maple Leafs In Their Schedule Reveal Videos?For the first time, the NHL had a coordinated schedule release where clubs had a chance to flex their creativity. Of course, this also gave some clubs (not all) a chance to poke fun at the Maple Leafs. Some took the high road, and others did not. Either way, I sat through the other 31 NHL clubs’ videos (if they made one, some of them did not participate) to show you what might make for some bulletin board material.
Calgary Flames Extend Affiliation Agreement With Rapid City
Photo Courtesy of the Rapid City Rush
The Rapid City Rush, the ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, announced Friday the two clubs have agreed to terms on a multi-year affiliation extension.
The agreement will keep the Rush partnered with the Flames and the Calgary Wranglers of the American Hockey League.
“The Rush and Flames have had an excellent relationship, and we are excited to continue that,” Dave Smith, Rush Head Coach and General Manager, said in a statement. “The communication has been great. It is all about the progression of each player’s skills in a championship-type environment where they are working on their game, while also helping to provide Rapid City with the tools we need to win.”
In 2024-25, seven members of the Rush also saw time in Calgary with the Wranglers, totaling 72 games played. Five of them made their American Hockey League debuts this past season.
Former Rush forward Rory Kerins made his National Hockey League debut in January, making him the first player to graduate through all three levels of the Rapid City/Calgary system. He is the eighth Rush alumnus to reach the NHL.
In total, 14 members of the Rush have suited up for the Wranglers and/or Flames since the affiliation began in 2022.
“The Calgary Flames are pleased to extend our affiliation agreement with Rapid City,” Brad Pascall, Assistant General Manager of the Flames, noted. “Rapid City is a great place to play and they are an organization with great ownership, and that share our principles and objectives regarding player development.”
Since their move from Stockton, Calif. to Calgary, the Wranglers have posted winning seasons and playoff berths in all three years, including a 51-win season in 2022-23, the first year of the Rush-Calgary partnership.
Meanwhile, the up-and-coming Flames are coming off their winningest season in three years.
“This is an important day for the Rush organization,” Jared Reid, President of the Rush, stated. “Our relationship with Calgary has never been stronger. Their commitment to player development, vision and dedication to winning make this a true partnership and I am excited to continue that.”
The Flames are the Rush’s third affiliate in franchise history. Rapid City was partnered with the Arizona Coyotes from 2015-17, and again from 2019-22. The Rush were also affiliated with the Minnesota Wild for the 2017-18 season.
NHL Summer Splash Rankings: No. 31, Chicago Blackhawks
The Hockey News’ NHL summer splash rankings continue with the Chicago Blackhawks.
The series focuses on which NHL teams improved the most or got worse so far this off-season in terms of acquisitions, departures, hirings and firings. As always, there are exceptions to the rules – in some cases, there are teams that aren’t flat-out worse than they were last season but made significantly fewer moves than they either should’ve made or were expected to make.
We kicked off the series with the Buffalo Sabres in last place. Their defense corps may have improved slightly, but their forward group worsened, and they did significantly less than expected to take a step forward. The Blackhawks also did less than expected.
Additions
Andre Burakovsky (LW), Sam Lafferty (C), Dominic Toninato (C), Jeff Blashill (coach)
The Breakdown: Imagine you’re Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson. You’re in the midst of a full rebuild, and you start seeing solid development in a talented core of youngsters. To that end, superstar Connor Bedard is leading the way, and he needs some talented wingers to play with.
The Blackhawks’ big get this free agency was Burakovsky, who put up 37 points in 79 games this past season.
We beg your pardon, but is this really the best the Blackhawks can do this summer? He’s a good addition in itself, but he hasn’t produced enough in recent years to give hope that he’ll be the solution on Bedard’s wing.
The Hawks still have $21.4 million in salary cap space and apparently no high-end players to spend it on. That’s what has to irritate Blackhawks fans more than anything. They were busier in past off-seasons, when they acquired Teuvo Teravainen, Tyler Bertuzzi, Nick Foligno, the since-traded Taylor Hall and others, but they haven’t found that right line combination for Bedard. They still have tons of room to be active this summer, so the optics are not ideal.
It’s possible that the Hawks could eventually put newly drafted first-rounder Anton Frondell on a line with Bedard at some point during their careers, but a report by Expressen suggests Frondell is headed to the Swedish League for 2025-26.
Coming in to handle all that is Blashill, the former Detroit Red Wings coach who spent the past three years as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He replaces Anders Sorensen, who remains as an assistant coach. Sorensen didn’t do all that bad of a job as the interim coach, despite posting a 17-30-9 record in 56 games.
At 51 years old, Blashill can still connect with his players and play to their strengths. But like his predecessors in Chicago, Blashill will have a challenging time trying to coax upper-level play out of a lineup that doesn’t have the horses to get them playing meaningful hockey down the stretch next year.
Departures
Patrick Maroon (LW), Philipp Kurashev (C), Joseph Veleno (C), TJ Brodie (D), Alec Martinez (D)
The Breakdown: The Blackhawks lost a great deal of veteran professionalism in the departures of defensemen Brodie and Martinez and winger Pat Maroon. Also gone are depth players Kurashev and Veleno. Kurashev actually played decently well with Bedard in the latter’s rookie season, with 54 points, but he only had 14 points this past season. Chicago didn’t give him a qualifying offer, and he signed with fellow rebuilding club, the San Jose Sharks.
Martinez, Maroon and Brodie were all true pros right up until the end, but none of the departures left a massive hole that can’t be filled. Eventually, the Hawks’ young players should be taking up most of these jobs, and five open jobs on the NHL roster should be sufficient motivation for those youngsters to take the next competitive step. That’s Plan A, but if it doesn’t work, Plan B could stand for Big trouble.
The Bottom Line
The Hawks have exciting young players, including Bedard and prospects Artyom Levshunov, Frank Nazar, Sam Rinzel, Oliver Moore and newly drafted center Anton Frondell.
The problem in Chicago isn’t the future. It’s the present.
Despite having Bedard leading the charge, the rest of the Blackhawks’ current lineup includes either mid-tier veterans, outright journeymen or youngsters still finding their way.
Re-signing Donato at a $4-million cap hit is a nice piece of business for Davidson, and the player will have high expectations to take himself and Bedard to another level. But look at their roster as a whole, and you’ll see they didn’t improve much at all.
Let’s be clear – Davidson did the right thing by tanking. However, the moves he has made to be competitive while they rebuild haven’t been sufficient, especially in the ultra-competitive Central Division.
Just because some of their past veteran additions underperformed doesn't mean this summer's conservative approach was needed, even if they're not the most attractive free-agent destination right now. They have picks and cap space to make more upgrades via the trade market, and they have two salary retention slots in case an addition doesn't work out.
Is there a potential for a Cinderella miracle in Chicago? Anything is possible, we suppose. But when their biggest acquisition of the off-season is Burakovsky – who hasn’t scored more than 13 goals in any of the past three seasons – they won’t likely improve in the standings. Their only saving grace at this point is getting the chance to draft Gavin McKenna next year.
Summer Splash Rankings
31. Chicago Blackhawks
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