Ranking Sabres’ Top 5 Players Under 25
The Buffalo Sabres have been one of the youngest teams since 2022, as the team started a new rebuild once they traded Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights in…
Monthly Archives: August 2025
NHL Summer Splash Rankings: No. 3, Vegas Golden Knights
The Hockey News’ NHL summer splash rankings are in the home stretch, with the Vegas Golden Knights in third place.
Our rankings focus on each team’s off-season additions, departures, hirings and firings to see which teams improved, worsened or stayed the same. It's not necessarily who had the best or worst off-seasons, although there were exceptions at the bottom of the rankings for teams that did significantly less than expected, and there are a couple of squads in the top tier that did more than expected to prevent being much worse.
One of the NHL’s boldest teams in its short history, the Golden Knights once again acquired a marquee-level talent. In 2024, it was Calgary Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin and San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl. In 2021, it was former Buffalo Sabres star center Jack Eichel. In 2019, it was Ottawa Senators right winger Mark Stone. So Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon wasn’t really shocking anyone when he made a trade this summer for former Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Mitch Marner.
Sometimes, a team ranks relatively higher in these summer splash rankings because they’ve made many moves. But in the case of the Golden Knights, sometimes one single move can elevate you to a higher level. As we’ll explore below, Vegas is now positioned to be one of the NHL’s most dangerous groups next year.
Additions
Mitch Marner (RW), Colton Sissons (RW), Jeremy Lauzon (D)
The Breakdown: The Golden Knights weren’t flush with salary cap space heading into the summer, but McCrimmon acquired the best pending free agent on the market because he made the cold-blooded choices to move on from a couple of veterans and expects to put another player on long-term injured reserve.
Yes, Colton Sissons and Jeremy Lauzon are footsoldier-type players who played for the Nashville Predators last season, but who’s kidding who – acquiring Marner as a 28-year-old who just put up 75 assists and 102 points last season is one of McCrimmon’s greatest coups.
Marner is an excellent two-way star who does a lot of things that help teams win – at least, in the regular season. But in Vegas, he’s going to be able to relax and be part of an organization that has plenty of Stanley Cup experience, good and bad. In Toronto, it was mostly bad, and that’s why Leafs fans will be watching closely this season to see if Marner can deliver in the playoffs in a way he never did with the Maple Leafs.
If Vegas can unlock that next-level performance from Marner, the trade and lucrative contract extension will be well worth it. At both ends of the ice, the Golden Knights are better, directly as a result of what Marner brings to the table.
NHL Prospect Pool Overview ’25-26: Vegas Golden Knights Have One Top-Tier ProspectThe Vegas Golden Knights are today’s focus in the NHL prospect pool overview series.
Departures
Nicolas Roy (C), Victor Olofsson (LW), Tanner Pearson (LW), Nicolas Hague (D)
The Breakdown: The Golden Knights had to pay a price to fit Marner’s enormous salary into their payroll, and that meant giving up on a couple of capable competitors in trades – Roy was sent to Toronto in the Marner trade, and defenseman Hague was traded to the Predators.
Roy’s experience as a gritty third-line center who puts up at least 30 points a season will be missed, as will the 17 minutes of physical defending Hague averaged per game. Pearson was a decent depth forward who had 27 points, while Victor Olofsson had 29 in 56 games.
Although he’s still under contract, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo’s health concerns make him a potential departure.
Pietrangelo lived up to expectations since he came to Vegas from the St. Louis Blues, but all the miles on his odometer have caught up to him. He announced on June 30 that it’s unlikely his body will recover to the standard an NHL player needs to compete, so he could end up on the long-term injury reserve for the final two seasons of his contract. That hurts, since Pietrangelo still averaged 22:24 in ice time last year, and he produced 33 points from the blueline. But the Golden Knights’ depth on ‘D’ should help soften the blow.
The Bottom Line
The team that landed Marner this summer was always going to be high on these NHL summer splash rankings. Marner’s all-around skill set makes him worth the $12 million per season he’ll be making for the next eight years, and that move was the biggest home run of any NHL team this summer.
With Marner in the lineup, his creativity and finesse game will change what Vegas is as a team, but Vegas will also change who Marner is as a player. At least, that’s the plan for Marner. And we see it as a solid plan.
The Golden Knights are focused on being a legitimate Cup threat once again, and acquiring Marner makes them exactly that.
Summer Splash Rankings
3. Vegas Golden Knights
9. Utah Mammoth
10. New York Rangers
13. St. Louis Blues
16. Ottawa Senators
17. Boston Bruins
18. Edmonton Oilers
19. Minnesota Wild
20. Seattle Kraken
27. Dallas Stars
28. Calgary Flames
30. Winnipeg Jets
32. Buffalo Sabres
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Which Division Is The Strongest In The NHL?
It's Friday, Ask The Maven Time. Today's question is from Jim Resnick of Flatbush: (Take it away, Jim.)
WHICH DIVISION IS THE STRONGEST IN THE NHL?
The Maven Replies: It has to be the Atlantic; no questions asked. Start with the fact that it's home to the two-time Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. Not that long ago, the Atlantic's Tampa Bay Lightning won two straight Stanleys. While the Maple Leafs never win the prize – and may never - Toronto, the NHL's richest team, always delivers a formidable entry. Likewise, the youth-filled Senators and Canadiens threaten to become serious Cup challengers next season and for many seasons thereafter.
It's a tie for the runner-up. The Central Division and Pacific have a lot to boast about. Edmonton's McDavid-Draisaitl combo went to the Final twice in two years. And Vegas won a Cup not very long ago. On the other hand the Central's Stars, Avalanche and Jets have been strong in their own right.
This should not be taken as a slight to the Metropolitan Division. Take the surprising Alex Ovechkin-paced Washington Capitals as Exhibit A for strength in the Met. Nor were the Hurricanes a slouch either; they never are; and the Devils are an up and coming team. But, when the Islanders and Rangers both miss the postseason, it's cause for reflection – and the reason why the Met comes in close-to-the-third fourth!
Bottom Line: As long as Florida keeps winning Cups, the Atlantic stays on top!
Canadiens 2025-26 Player Previews: Nick Suzuki
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Matthew Tkachuk Being Named NHL 26’s Cover Athlete Shows How Far the Panthers Have Come
After celebrating their second straight Stanley Cup – the first team to do so since the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021 – the Florida Panthers will look to…
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Being a Toronto Maple Leafs fan is a bit like living in a constant tug-of-war between optimism and skepticism. For the past few months, we’ve been told this is the…
Canadiens: Hutson’s Big Payday Will Come
It’s been a busy offseason for general manager Kent Hughes. The Montreal Canadiens GM stole the show at the NHL draft when he acquired Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders, before sending Cayden Primeau to the Carolina Hurricanes and Logan Mailloux to the St. Louis Blues for some much-needed help up front.
He also signed all of his RFAs and got some help on the free agency market in Samuel Blais, Joe Veleno, and Kaapo Kahkonen. When he put pen to paper with defenseman Jayden Struble, he signed the last contract he had to sign this offseason, but there’s one contract Canadiens’ fans would like to see sorted out in advance: Lane Hutson’s.
Canadiens Defender Has Become Key Piece
Canadiens: Hutson Makes The Top 20 Defensemen List
Canadiens: Savard Is A Big Hutson Fan
Earlier this week, RG.org’s Marco D’Amico wrote that the negotiations are already ongoing between the two sides and that the relations are very cordial. He has that right now; the sticking point is to agree on the correct term and the right price tag, which makes sense. D’Amico also adds that the best comparables for Hutson shouldn’t be new teammate Dobson and his $9.5M cap hit, but young stud defensemen who signed the second deal of their career coming out of their ELC, like Ottawa Senators’ Jake Sanderson or Minnesota Wild's Brock Faber.
While that makes perfect sense from a business standpoint for Hughes and the Canadiens, one fact remains. Those young players signed their deal before the astronomical rise in the salary cap came into play and before the new CBA came into effect with its new limitation on contract terms.
If Hughes and the Canadiens want to be able to sign Hutson to an eight-year deal, which they can do until the new CBA comes into force on September 16, 2026, they will have to compensate Hutson handsomely. While the young blueliner has very little leverage right now, given the fact that he won’t be eligible for an offer sheet next season, he does have the possibility to delay his signing until the Habs can only ink him to a seven-year deal.
Considering the way the salary cap is rising and how significant a role Hutson has shown he can play for Montreal, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him get a deal that’s very close to Dobson’s. The young blueliner has superstar potential, and it’s never been as obvious that Hughes wants him to be part of his team’s scoring. Keeping him for an extra year is well worth an extra million a year.
When Hughes spoke to the media about Dobson’s contract, he made a point of saying the defenseman was in a different situation than Caufield and Slafkovsky when they signed theirs, since the rearguard wasn’t just coming out of his ELC. Still, Hutson’s body of work speaks for itself; he has set himself in a category of his own.
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