It is not exactly a secret that the Montreal Canadiens want to improve at the center position. Due to this, during a recent episode of The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro, TSN's Travis Yost discussed a few potential center targets for the Canadiens. One name brought up by Yost was Chicago Blackhawks center Jason Dickinson.

"This group has real juice in the top six," Yost said about the Blackhawks' center group. "This is not going to be a playoff team. Does Jason Dickinson make a ton of sense for the Blackhawks long-term? I think that's an interesting question. He's definitely a capable third-line center. He immediately improves Montreal if he comes into Montreal."

The #GoHabsGo desperately need help down the middle, but who's available?@travisyost joins @TonyMarinaro to break down some possible center options on the trade market!#thesickpodcastpic.twitter.com/bs968tAduj

— The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) August 29, 2025

Dickinson is entering the final season of his deal in 2025-26 and is a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA), so it is understandable that Yost is questioning the Blackhawks center's future in Chicago. He certainly could be a rental target for playoff teams once we get closer to the 2026 NHL trade deadline, assuming that the Blackhawks do not hold a playoff spot and he is not signed to a contract extension by then.

Dickinson's solid defensive play could make him a nice addition to the Canadiens' bottom six and penalty kill if acquired. However, given his importance to the Blackhawks' lineup and as a veteran in the room, Chicago would likely expect a decent return for him in a potential move.

In 59 games this past season, Dickinson recorded seven goals, 16 points, and 102 hits. This was after he set career highs with 22 goals, 35 points, and 143 hits in 82 games during the 2023-24 season.

Blackhawks Ranked in Bottom Half of Every Position for 2025-26The Chicago Blackhawks are not going to be very good this season and that's no surprise to anyone, but there are certain areas of their game and players to be excited about. TSN tiered every team's centers, winger, defensemen, and goaltending, and the Blackhawks found themselves in the bottom half of every position, whether you agree with that or not.

As the 2025-26 season is still a month away, the days are trickling down for teams to reach an agreement with their RFAs that aren’t signed yet. Most of the Montreal Canadiens’ fanbase is keeping an eye on the Anaheim Ducks and Mason McTavish, but the Habs’ brass should be keeping a close watch on the Luke Hughes negotiations with the New Jersey Devils.

Not that the Canadiens would be interested in acquiring Jack Hughes’ brother, but rather because, like Lane Hutson, he’s a young offensive defenseman, and his deal could be a good indicator of where the market is heading with the new CBA soon coming into force and the salary cap steadily increasing.

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According to Sportsnet, the sticking point in the Hughes negotiations would be the term. The team wants the 21-year-old to either sign a three-year bridge deal or a full eight-year extension, but the player would rather sign a five-year deal, which would end when his brother’s contract with the Devils also expires. It would make both Hughes brothers unrestricted free agents before the start of the 2030-31 campaign.

Speaking to RG.org, the Devils’ GM Tom Fitzgerald is confident that the younger Hughes’ contractual issue will be settled before the start of the season, as the Devils have no interest in finding themselves in another Dawson Mercer kind of standout, and the GM adds that the player and his agent are also hoping to avoid that.

In 155 NHL games, Hughes has picked up 93 points and 44 penalty minutes. That’s a 0.6 point-per-game average, which is a pretty good number for a defenseman. In comparison, Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber has 76 points in 162 games, for a 0.47 PPG, and was signed to an eight-year, $8.5 million AAV deal.

The Devils' GM also mentions that what fans don’t necessarily realize is that not all teams can spend right up to the cap, and that they may have an internal cap in place, which prevents them from giving too onerous a contract.

Whatever term and number the Devils and Hughes settle on, it’s sure to interest Hutson and his agent. Interestingly, Noah Dobson, who has a 0.59 PPG, was signed to an eight-year deal with a $9.5 million AAV by the New York Islanders, but with the Canadiens’ agreement. Will Hughes managed to secure a similar contract coming out of his entry-level deal, despite not having a large sample size. There lies the question.

As for Hutson, by recording 66 points in 82 games in his rookie season, he has given himself a 0.80 PPG. Does that put him in a position to break the bank right away, considering the cap increase and everything else? Hard to say. However, Canadiens GM Kent Hughes made a point of differentiating Dobson’s deal and those of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky because the defenseman had more experience and wasn’t just signing his first standard contract. One could argue that his situation is different from Hutson’s, and that’s clearly what Hughes will try to do, especially if New Jersey manages to ink its defenseman to a reasonable contract.  

With Carey Price’s bonus being paid on Monday, things could start to fall into place in Montreal sooner rather than later…

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Whether led by Sam Ersson or newcomer Dan Vladar, the fate of the Philadelphia Flyers will be decided by their goaltending in the 2025-26 season.

As a team, the Flyers, spearheaded by Ersson and a combo of Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov, had the worst save percentage in the NHL last season at a paltry .872.

Their cumulative 3.40 GAA ranked fifth-worst in the NHL, and overall, the Flyers' struggles in goal doomed them to placing as the fourth-worst team in the league.

That worked out in their favor, though, as it helped them land star winger prospect Porter Martone with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

But, eventually, the Flyers are going to have to start winning games and not drafts. That's why Rick Tocchet, Trevor Zegras, and Vladar were brought in.

Is Vladar really an upgrade, though, or are we in for an even split from Kim Dillabaugh's crew this season?

Flyers Goalie Sam Ersson Positioned for Success in 2025-26Despite the prolonged dissatisfaction with the state of the goaltending, the Philadelphia Flyers have positioned incumbent starter Sam Ersson for success in the 2025-26 season.

Since Feb. 1, 2024, which is shortly after Carter Hart took an indefinite leave of absence from the Flyers, Ersson is 33-27-9 with a 3.10 GAA, a .883 save percentage, and one shutout.

Across that same span, even though it's not relevant to Vladar individually, the former Calgary Flames goalie was 13-13-6 with a 3.04 GAA, a .892 save percentage, and two shutouts.

Effectively, there wasn't much of a difference separating the two goalies over the last year and a half.

Now, from Oct. 1, 2023, to Feb. 1, 2024, Ersson was 12-9-3 with a 2.60 GAA and a .898 save percentage with three shutouts. It should be noted that, in the three games that immediately followed Hart's departure in that span, Ersson surrendered 11 goals on 60 shots.

Take away those three games, and Ersson is 12-6-3 with a 2.36 GAA, a .909 save percentage, and three shutouts from Oct. 1, 2023 to Jan. 22, 2024.

So, I threw a lot of numbers out there, and the conclusion is effectively that the Swedish incumbent performed significantly better when he wasn't shouldering the load alone.

Flames Sniper Backs 'Excellent' Aleksei Kolosov to Stay with Flyers, Continue NHL CareerGoalie prospect Aleksei Kolosov has all the talent and experience to stay with the Philadelphia Flyers and forge a successful NHL career for himself, but will he?

Once nerves set in and the lackluster support behind him faltered, so did Ersson and the Flyers as a whole.

I also think Vladar is a better goalie than his stats indicate, but you have to wonder why he's never started more than 29 games in any of the last four seasons for the Flames.

Sure, Jacob Markstrom and Dustin Wolf earned their playing time, but Vladar isn't going to be allowed to give those guys many nights off with seasonal save percentages below .900 across 20-30 total games played.

Based on that, I'm expecting Sam Ersson to lead the Flyers onto the ice for opening night at Xfinity Mobile Arena on opening night.

He's the Flyers' homegrown goalie prospect-turned-regular, and we've already seen his upside in this environment. The key, however, is now figuring out if that was his ceiling.

If so, it means more opportunity for Vladar.

When looking at the Montreal Canadiens' roster, it is clear that their defense is a major strength. This is because they have seven caliber NHL defensemen, and they have multiple prospect blueliners who are knocking on the door to becoming NHLers.

The Canadiens only strengthened their blueline this off-season, too, as they brought in star defenseman Noah Dobson from the Montreal Canadiens in a trade with the New York Islanders. Thus, it is hard not to feel optimistic about the Canadiens' blueline heading into the 2025-26 campaign.

Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis certainly is confident in the club's defensive group heading into the season. While speaking to reporters, including Habs 360's Chris G, Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble revealed that St. Louis had some massive praise for the Habs' blueline.

"Marty was doing his rounds, calling guys in the summer. He was "I'll take out seven d versus anyone in the league, and I would agree with that," Struble said.

Struble then discussed why he agrees with St. Louis' take on the Canadiens' defense.

"We have some really good young talent," Struble said. "We have some good young guys. We have some good older veterans. We have a good mix of skill and hard-nose, so it's going to be fun. It's going to be interesting to see how the year goes, but I think I'd take out seven guys versus anyone's."

St. Louis being so confident in the Canadiens' defense is certainly nice to hear, and it clearly has resonated with Struble. The Canadiens undoubtedly have some very good defensemen to work with this campaign, and it is a big reason why there is plenty of excitement surrounding the club heading into the 2025-26 season.

Noah Dobson Thrilled To Play For CanadiensEarlier this off-season, the Montreal Canadiens acquired star defenseman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders. They then signed him to an eight-year, $76 million contract, so he will be a big part of the Canadiens' present and future. 

Mitch Marner was nearly traded to the Carolina Hurricanes. 

At around the time of the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, Marner was asked by Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving to waive his no-movement clause to facilitate a potential trade to the Carolina Hurricanes for Mikko Rantanen.

Marner ultimately vetoed the trade and did not waive his no-trade clause. 

The superstar forward finally explained why he refused to go to Carolina, but it was nothing personal against the Hurricanes organization. 

“The last two years there were a lot of rumors going on, a lot of different stuff swirling around. You didn’t know what was going to happen,” Marner said via NHL.com. “Then the whole Carolina thing comes up in the middle of the season. It’s a bit of an awkward one. My wife was six or seven months pregnant, we really didn’t want to be a deadline player.

“I would have had to leave and go back to Toronto because my wife wasn’t coming down with me, so I was moving into Carolina myself if I did that. The logistics of it and everything, it just didn’t make sense and then from that point on, we told [the Maple Leafs] we were committed to [Toronto] and we were going to play it all out.”

Once this blockbuster deal fell through, the Hurricanes traded to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Logan Stankoven, a 2026 first-round and third-round pick, a 2027 third-rounder and a 2028 first-rounder.

Marner was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in July and signed an eight-year, $96 million contract.