The Montreal Canadiens are one of the NHL's most intriguing teams, as they have several promising young players who have the potential to become big parts of their future. However, they also have some veterans on their roster to watch in 2025-26, and forward Brendan Gallagher is certainly one of them.

While Gallagher's role has changed in recent years with the Canadiens, he is still an important part of the club's roster due to his leadership. With the Canadiens looking to continue to trend in the right direction, having Gallagher around as a mentor for their several youngsters is undoubtedly a good thing. 

Gallagher also showed this past season with the Canadiens that he is still capable of providing decent secondary scoring at this point of his career. In 82 games with the Habs during the 2024-25 season, the veteran winger recorded 21 goals, 17 assists, and 38 points. He also made an impact with his physicality, as he finished the year 92 hits. 

The Canadiens will now be hoping for Gallagher to continue to give them solid depth offensive production, leadership, and grit during this upcoming season. He makes the Canadiens a more difficult team to go up against when he's playing at his best, and it will be fascinating to see what kind of year he can put together for the Habs in 2025-26 from here. 

Canadiens Defenseman Is Interesting Breakout CandidateEarlier this off-season, the Montreal Canadiens re-signed defenseman Jayden Struble to a two-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $1.4125 million. Getting this deal done with Struble was important for the Canadiens, as he is among their most promising young defensemen.

The NHL's 2025-26 schedule has been out for a while now, and THN.com's Buffalo Sabres site has been analyzing every team the Sabres will take on next season. We've worked our way through the Eastern Conference teams, and we're currently focusing on the Central Division teams. And in today's file, we're turning our attention to the Nashville Predators.

To say the Predators had a disastrous season would be an understatement. The Preds plummeted down the Central Division standings, eventually landing in seventh place in the division -- their worst finish since the 2013-14 season. Let's look at their record against the Sabres, their new players, and more in our analysis below:

BUFFALO SABRES VS. NASHVILLE PREDATORS

NEW PREDATORS PLAYERS: Erik Haula, LW; Nicolas Hague, D; Nick Perbix, D;  

2024-25 SERIES: Sabres 1-1-0, Predators 1-1-0

2025-26 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER:  January 20 at Nashville; March 7 at Buffalo 

CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM?  The Predators were brutal last season, despite bringing in stars including wingers Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, and defenseman Brady Skjei. Nashville GM Barry Trotz began his tenure running the team with multiple stumbles, but the good news is that the Preds at long last got a high-end draft pick out of it -- fifth-overall pick Brady Martin. 

In any case, we're going to be serious skeptics about the Predators in 2025-26. Adding Haula is a fringe move. A more meaty move was adding two veteran defensemen in Hague and Perbix, although neither blueliner will be the reason why Nashville suddenly turns into a playoff team. At their peak, we think the Preds are a mushy-middle team -- not bad enough to get a No. 1-overall draft pick, but not good enough to make the playoffs.

And that's why the Sabres need to sweep their two-game series against the Predators next season. Buffalo has to take care of business against teams that on paper the Sabres absolutely should beat. No more split seasons of 1-1-0 hockey, as was the case when Buffalo took on Nashville last year. The Sabres need to go 2-0-0, and add the standings points they earn against the Predators in the effort to end Buffalo's 14-year playoff streak.

Know Your Enemy, Sabres Central Edition: Will Superstar Kaprizov And Minnesota Wild Roll Over Sabres?The NHL's 2025-26 season is nearly here, and here at THN.com's Sabres site, we've been examining every one of the Buffalo Sabres' opponents next year. Earlier, we looked at the Atlantic Division's seven teams, followed by the Metropolitan Division's eight teams, and now, we're four teams deep in the highly-competitive Central Division. 

The Sabres can't afford to be swept by any opponent next season. Even if they only get an overtime-or-shootout-loss point against a few teams, that will be an improvement for Buffalo. But ideally, the Sabres have to be thinking bigger than that. And that's why making statements against weak teams like the Preds is incredibly important for Buffalo. 

And can you imagine if lowly Nashville wins both games against the Sabres? It will be lost opportunities of that nature that sink Buffalo's playoff hopes next year. The Sabres simply cannot afford to lose in regulation time, twice, against any opponent in 2025-26. But in particular, when it comes to bottom-shelf teams like the Predators, it's an absolute must that Buffalo at least gets one point in the series.

And really, even then, you'd have to consider a 0-1-1 record against the Preds not good enough for the Sabres. The reality is that Buffalo fans, media and management all believe the Sabres should be winning this series outright. The Predators still have too many question marks to put them at the level the Sabres should be performing at, and Buffalo has to put its foot on the gas when they're playing vulnerable teams like the Preds.

Know Your Enemy, Sabres Central Edition: Can Sabres Keep Up With First-Rate Dallas Stars?The Buffalo Sabres have little room for error next season as they attempt to end a 14-year Stanley Cup playoff drought -- and that means they need to beat above-average teams. That includes the Dallas Stars, who the Sabres will take on twice this coming year. 

So, to answer the question, "should the Sabres beat this team?", we say a hearty "yes". Buffalo should absolutely knock the Predators around and take their lunch money. Nasvhille still has some proud players who won't lay down for any opponent, but the Preds' depth is sub-par, and their ability to play at a high level should be questioned by all who have yet to see that from them. The Sabres need to dominate the Predators, as any lost opportunities could come back to haunt Buffalo.

Ilya Mikheyev was among the Chicago Blackhawks' bright spots from their 2024-25 season. After being traded by the Vancouver Canucks to the Blackhawks in a cap dump move, Mikheyev proved to be a nice fit on the Blackhawks' roster. In 80 games on the year, the 6-foot-2 winger scored 20 goals and recorded a career-high 34 points. 

Besides providing the Blackhawks with solid secondary scoring, Mikheyev was also impactful due to his solid defensive play and penalty killing. Due to this, he ended up being a strong addition to the Blackhawks' roster during his first year with the team, and they will be hoping for more of the same from him in 2025-26. 

Yet, the Blackhawks will also have a decision to make with Mikheyev in the coming months. The veteran forward is entering this upcoming season as a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA), so the Blackhawks will need to decide if he is a player that they plan to keep around or not.

With Mikheyev fitting in so nicely with the Blackhawks, they could consider signing him to a contract extension. This is especially so if he continues to perform well for them in 2025-26. However, with the Blackhawks having several promising youngsters in their system, it is certainly possible that they could decide to move on from him, whether that is at the 2026 NHL trade deadline or when his contract expires next summer.

Nevertheless, it is going to be interesting to see what ends up happening between Mikheyev and the Blackhawks. 

Ex-Blackhawks Forward Among Remaining Free AgentsThe Chicago Blackhawks moved on from multiple players this off-season. One of them was forward Andreas Athanasiou, as he became an unrestricted free agent (UFA) on July 1 after the Blackhawks did not re-sign him. Now, with the halfway point of August almost here, the 31-year-old is still looking for his new home.

Will the 2025-26 season be Jonathan Quick’s last dance in the NHL?

Quick has not hinted at any sort of retirement, but he signed a one-year contract extension, so he’ll be an unrestricted free agent next offseason, setting himself up for retirement if he chooses to.

Toward the end of his tenure with the Los Angeles Kings and through his brief time with the Vegas Golden Knights, it seemed as if retirement was certainly looming for Quick since his individual game began to take a dip. 

However, he signed with the New York Rangers during the summer of 2023, and everything changed. 

Quick revitalized his career in New York, and over the past two seasons, he’s found a solidified role as the Rangers' backup goalie under Igor Shesterkin. 

This past season, the 39-year-old goalie showed some signs of Father Time catching up to him, but for the most part, he proved that he can still play at a high level in a backup role. 

Rangers Rank 10th In The Hockey News’ Exclusive Summer Splash SeriesThe Hockey News’ exclusive summer splash series evaluating the off-seasons of every NHL team is into the final stretch. To put these rankings together, we’ve focused the spotlight on every franchise’s off-season additions, departures, hirings and firings. And we’ve labelled each team as belonging to one of three categories – teams that have improved, teams that essentially stayed the same, and teams that have regressed. 

Given his age, retirement has to be at the back of everyone’s mind in terms of predicting Quick’s future after this upcoming season, and nobody knows what he’s truly thinking. 

Right now, Quick still has the motivation to play hockey, and fans should continue to cherish every moment he’s in the NHL before he ultimately decides to hang up the skates for good.

When training camp comes around this year, Montreal Canadiens’ goaltender Jakub Dobes will show up as an NHLer. Unless Kaapo Kahkonen manages to cause a big surprise, the 24-year-old should spend the year in the NHL backing up Samuel Montembeault. He took the organization by surprise last season with an electrifying start to his NHL career, and while he did eventually slow down, he’s still in pole position for the backup role.

He signed a new contract this offseason, a one-way and two-year deal that solidifies his position with the team. He can still be sent down to the AHL without clearing waivers, however, contrary to Kahkonen.

Canadiens May Have A New Rivalry
Canadiens Had Trouble With The Rangers
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This weekend, he took part in the Kevin Raphael Classique at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard, helping raise over $60,000 for Leucan and delighting fans with spectacular saves. It wasn’t his first charity event this offseason either; he was one of the players who headed to St. John’s, Newfoundland, for Alex Newhook’s golf tournament.

Dobes also had time to relax and unwind this summer. He published photos of a fishing trip he took with some teammates, likely when he attended the golf tournament, since he was with Newhook, Arber Xhekaj, Jayden Struble, and Michael Pezzetta. It’s wonderful to see players who will likely be involved in a tough battle for the role of sixth defenseman spend time together this summer; it goes to show how tight this group is.

Dobes was also one of the players who attended Patrik Laine’s wedding in Florida, and he seems to have a good bond with the Finnish sniper, who recently took to Instagram to troll the young netminder who struck an odd pose for Matelas Jump on his account. Xhekaj also commented with a couple of crying laughter emojis. What’s a team without some trolling?

Jakub Dobes has had a busy summer. Photo credit: Jakub Dobes Instagram account #GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/okECowSkAf

— Karine Hains (@KarineHains) August 10, 2025

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The Colorado Avalanche have revealed their 30th Anniversary Logo, which will be at all home games this upcoming season.

Three decades of Avalanche Hockey and a whole lot to celebrate.

📰: https://t.co/Ukn5DX6xJgpic.twitter.com/42a9Rtzgka

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) August 10, 2025

It all started back on August 10, 1995, when the NHL world welcomed the Colorado Avalanche. Today, they celebrate the 30th anniversary.

Currently, there is no official confirmation of any patches being added to the jersey or any confirmation of an "alternate" third jersey. Though it comes with many speculations and rumours of them reviving the Quebec Nordique jerseys.

The Nordiques had a history of struggling both on the ice in terms of performance and off the ice, dealing with major financial issues, which ultimately led the team to be moved to Denver, Colorado, and the Avalanche being born. 

Over the past 30 years, the team has had success in multiple "eras".  Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Adam Foote were part of the Nordiques' core that relocated with the team and helped them win the two Stanley Cups in 1996 and 2001. 

Following many ups and downs after, the team one again achieved glory when the team won the Stanley Cup again during the 2022 playoffs.

Avalanche Storylines to Watch: 2C Locked InHeading into the 2025-26 NHL season, the Colorado Avalanche finally have something that they haven’t had since the 2021-22 season: a true second-line center that's under contract for the next couple of seasons. Avalanche Swap Prospects with the San Jose Sharks, Acquire Forward Danil GushchinThe Colorado Avalanche announced on Friday that they have acquired forward Danil Gushchin from the San Jose Sharks in return for forward Oskar Olausson.

The Hockey News’ exclusive summer splash series evaluating the off-seasons of every NHL team is into the final stretch. To put these rankings together, we’ve focused the spotlight on every franchise’s off-season additions, departures, hirings and firings. And we’ve labelled each team as belonging to one of three categories – teams that have improved, teams that essentially stayed the same, and teams that have regressed. 

The New York Rangers ranked as the No. 10 team in these summer splash rankings. 

It was a busy offseason for the Rangers, as the team kicked things off by firing head coach Peter Laviolette and replacing him with Mike Sullivan. 

Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury has already fired three head coaches since 2021. Sullivan could offer the Rangers that much-needed stability behind the bench. 

Before the Stanley Cup Final even ended, the Blueshirts traded Chris Kreider to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward prospect Carey Terrance and a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

On July 1, the Rangers went out and signed arguably the top defenseman on the market, Vladislav Gavrikov, to an eight-year, $49 million contract. 

After bringing Gavrikov on board, Drury decided to trade restricted free agent K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes for a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 or 2027 NHL Draft, and defenseman Scott Morrow. 

Peter Laviolette Enters 2025-26 Season Without A Coaching Job It looks as if Peter Laviolette will begin the 2025-26 season without a coaching job. 

The Rangers rounded out their offseason by signing forward Taylor Raddysh to a two-year, $3 million contract.

It was an eventful summer for the Rangers, and we’ll have to see if these moves help change their fortunes during the 2025-26 season.