ELMONT, NY -- At the start of the third period of Monday night's New York Islanders preseason game against the New York Rangers, general manager Mathieu Darche joined the MSGSN broadcast.
Brendan Burke asked Darche about what he's thought of Matthew Schaefer so far, the No. 1 pick who was in the midst of his third preseason game.
"He's been really good," Darche told Burke. "His scoring ability just stands out. When you watch him, one aspect that has actually impressed me, which a lot of times with younger players, it takes longer, is his defending. Because at the end of the day, you can be great on offense. If you don't defend, you can't play in this league, so he's been very good.
"Talk about another guy that's making a push to be here on October 9. So again, there's a game tonight, there's a game on Thursday, we'll make those final decisions, but he's been as advertised.
— Isles on MSGSN (@IslesMSGN) September 30, 2025
Through three preseason games, Schaefer has played a total of 69:12 minutes, recording two assists, with eight shots on goal, six individual scoring chances, five rebounds created, three hits, 11 hits taken, with four penalty minutes -- both coming in his first preseason game.
When the puck drops against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arean on Oct. 9, opening night, Schaefer will (very, very likely) make his NHL debut, skating alongside Scott Mayfield, who has proven to be a rather strong partner for the rookie.
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This year, Crave’s offering of Montreal Canadiens’ content is not limited solely to The Rebuild: Inside the Montreal Canadiens Season 2. No, there’s a new show on the streaming service that’s definitely worth a look for Canadiens’ fans. The three-part series called Toujours Canadiens dedicates one episode to each of the three Canadiens’ players involved in the project: Stéphane Richer, Chris Nilan, and Claude Lemieux.
The first episode, which focuses on Richer, was released on September 23 and takes us through the Ripon-born athlete’s career. For those who grew up in the 80s, watching the Tricolore and Richer score goal after goal, it will bring back some fond memories, while also giving a glimpse of what was happening behind the scenes.
Canadiens: St-Louis Shakes Up His Lines
Canadiens: The Big Battle For The Third Pairing
Canadiens: The Remaining Question Mark
Richer candidly speaks about the highs and lows of his career, including the fame that came with scoring 50 goals, as well as the hate and jealousy that accompanied it. The coverage in the paper got a little bit much: the allegations of alcohol and drug abuse, about his sexual orientation, and everything else.
Back then, an athlete could hardly go to the GM and ask for help because he was having mental health issues. The NHL and NHLPA player assistance program was only established in 1996, and Richer could have used it long before then.
He doesn’t just detail his struggles though, he happily recalls meeting Maurice Richard after scoring 50 goals, the legend was brought to the dressing room to congratulate him, he also speaks of his junior days in the QMJHL with the Granby Bison, training alongside Patrick Roy who used to tell him they’d make the NHL, play for the Sainte-Flanelle and win the Stanley Cup. A prophecy that did eventually come true.
It's interesting to hear how it felt for Richer to be traded and how landing in New Jersey was a rude awakening, far away from the circus that surrounds the Canadiens. He also won a Cup there before being sent back to Montreal, which didn’t turn out very well for him. We gain a comprehensive overview of his career and the emotional rollercoaster it was.
The episode also includes interviews with Serge Savard, Larry Robinson, Patrice Brisebois, and former New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello. Overall, it’s a good hour of television and one you won’t regret watching.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
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The Detroit Red Wings hope that 2025 1st round selection Carter Bear is able to live up to his name. He's only 18 years old and has been getting his first taste of experience in the NHL in Detroit's pre-season.
So far, so good.
Despite the listless 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at Little Caesars Arena on Monday night, Bear was right in the thick of things.
He mixed it up with Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves during what were a series of frank disagreements on the ice between the two teams, demonstrating some of the tenacity that head coach Todd McLellan believes will not only improve over time but will lead to his being, as he described afterward, a "heck of a player".
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"He's involved in the game consistenyly, night after night," McLellan said of Bear. "As he grows and matures, he's going to get stronger and stronger, and those battles for him are going to be - not that he didn't win his battles tonight, but they'll be even more winnable becuase he'll be stronger. A very smart player. Mother Nature will help him, and he's going to work hard and he'll be a heck of a player."
"I Wasn't Impressed": Todd McLellan Speaks Bluntly After Red Wings Play Flat In 2-1 Loss To Penguins The good news for the Detroit Red Wings is that their 2-1 setback at Little Caesars Arena against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins is that it won't count against them in the standings, as it was the fifth pre-season game of their schedule.
Not only did Bear rank second overall last season with the Western Hockey League’s Everett Silvertips in total penalty minutes with 77, he also showed his clear scoring touch by lighting the lamp 40 times.
For his efforts, he was appropriately named to the WHL’s Western Conference Second All-Star Team.
Bear explained that he hasn't been intimidated by the physical nature of the NHL, and that he's going to continue his playing style regardless of who the opponent is.
"I'm just trying to play my game," Bear said. "I don't care who I'm against, I'm just gonna try to play my game against them."
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Wild sign Kirill Kaprizov to record-breaking $136 million extension originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Kirill Kaprizov can skate to the bank.
The Russian forward signed a record-breaking contract extension with the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday worth $136 million across eight years.
The deal is the richest in NHL history in total money and average annual value ($17 million). Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin held the previous record for total money ($124 million) and Edmonton Oilers All-Star Leon Draisaitl held the previous record for AAV ($14 million).
Kaprizov will play the 2025-26 season on the final year of the five-year, $45 million contract he signed with the Wild in 2021. His new extension will kick in with the 2026-27 season.
The eight-year deal will be one of the last in the NHL, as the league’s new collective bargaining agreement will limit players re-signing with their own teams to seven-year maximums. Free agents joining new teams can sign for a maximum of six years.
The Wild selected Kaprizov in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut in January 2021 and went on to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top rookie. In 2021-22, he set team records in single-season goals (47) and points (108) and earned the first of three straight All-Star appearances.
Kaprizov notched 25 goals and 31 assists across 41 games in 2024-25 before a lower-body injury cut his season short.
The Wild open the 2025-26 regular season against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, Oct. 9, as they look to win their first playoff series since 2014-15.
On the surface, a fantasy hockey draft seems quite straightforward. Draft the best players, dominate, and win. Of course, it's not that simple. By following a handful of these simple draft strategies, you can give yourself the best chance of outlasting your competition when all is said and done.
[Join or create a fantasy hockey league for the 2025-26 NHL season]
For the record, this is not my preferred strategy, but it seems to be a more reasonable option than a year ago, given how badly top picks such as Igor Shesterkin and Juuse Saros flopped. A couple of things need to happen for this to work successfully. For starters, you need to be in a league with a limited number of teams.
If your league has 10-plus teams, any goaltender remotely worth considering is going to be drafted. Second, to even consider this, you must be prepared to devote a ton of time to managing your team because you're going to have to scour the waiver wire every single day to find backups and platoon-mates that are starting. It can work in the right scenario, especially given the fact that there are so few workhorse No. 1 options left in the league, but it requires a ton of work.
Stacking is a very popular way to go about things in football drafts. For example, if you draft Ja'Marr Chase with your top pick in fantasy football, adding Joe Burrow at quarterback is a smart move because any Chase success will be the result of Burrow throwing him the football, health permitting, and you'll essentially double-up your point total.
It's not that simple in hockey. For starters, most coaches these days change lines like the average person changes their underwear. Giving Vincent Trocheck a boost because he's expected to center Artemi Panarin with the Rangers sounds great in theory, until Mike Sullivan changes his mind, and next thing you know, Trocheck is skating with Brett Berard and Taylor Raddysh, and you passed on an inferior player on draft day because you already had Panarin. It's just not a sound strategy.
This is my preferred strategy every single season, but it's more important this year than in recent memory. Last year's rookie class was loaded. We had Macklin Celebrini, Lane Hutson, Will Smith, Cutter Gauthier, Dustin Wolf, etc. You get the point. Who are we expecting to break out this time around?
It's unclear if 2025 No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer will even begin the year in the NHL. My guess is that he does, but I'm barely interested in drafting top forwards on the Islanders, let alone an 18-year-old defenseman. I really like Ivan Demidov in Montreal. Zeev Buium in Minnesota and Zayne Parekh in Calgary should get a chance to make an impact, but none of these guys are sure things, and I'm not passing on a proven veteran commodity on draft day to roll the dice on one of them.
If there's one lesson I learned from taking part in dozens of fantasy leagues last year, it was this. Hockey, at least from a fantasy standpoint, is very much an individual sport, believe it or not. We're betting on individual talents and hoping they lead us to success. If a team struggles, then all bets are off.
I want to start by saying this applies to goaltenders a bit more than skaters. I touched on Shesterkin and Saros earlier. The Rangers and Predators crumbled to unprecedented levels a season ago, and both netminders saw their numbers crater as a result. Shesterkin still played well despite the ugly statistics, but Saros was all but unplayable late in the year. The same goes for Boston's Jeremy Swayman. Even if a worst-case scenario hits only 5-10% of the time, it's worth considering.
If the Penguins are terrible as everyone expects, maybe Sidney Crosby agrees to be traded. That would be great for his fantasy value. On the flip side, maybe the team is out of it, and he wants to stay, and he gets shutdown late in the season with a nagging injury. All the scenarios are worth monitoring on draft day.
When it comes to evaluating past injuries, I always take the upside consideration into account. Take Jack Hughes in New Jersey, for example. Hughes has played exactly 62 games in each of the past two seasons. In other words, he's missed 40 of 164 regular-season games over the same period. If you spent a late-first or early-second round pick on him in your draft, you were probably in a boatload of trouble. That said, his ceiling, health permitting, is that of one of the top five scorers in the NHL. A player like that, at any sort of discount, can win you your league.
On the flip side, take a guy like Mark Stone in Vegas. Stone played 66 games last season and had 67 points, but he's upwards of a decade older than Hughes and has a more checkered injury history. The upside simply isn't as high, and I'm not rushing to pick him on draft day. Again, evaluate on a case-by-case basis.
Swinging for upside is always a positive in fantasy drafts, and it's the approach I like to go with. That said, you're almost always in better shape selecting the known commodity instead of a potential breakout candidate. For every breakout candidate you "steal" in your draft, you're going to make countless poor picks employing that strategy. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, 40-year-old Alex Ovechkin is highly unlikely to approach the 44 goals he scored a season ago. Evgeni Malkin, 39, is a future first ballot Hall of Famer. He also had just 50 points in 68 games last season and plays for one of the worst teams in the league. Maybe you roll the dice on an upside play instead of one of them. In his rookie year, Connor Bedard was being drafted ridiculously high, going ahead of perennial All-Stars. He went on to have 22 goals and 61 points in 68 games in his freshman campaign. There's a reason the same, steady performers go off the board early in drafts every single year.
On Monday night at Honda Center, the Anaheim Ducks hosted the San Jose Sharks for the first time this exhibition season and in their fifth of seven overall preseason games.
The Ducks iced a squad nearly full of NHL-caliber players that will likely closely resemble their opening night roster.
The Sharks, on the other hand, sent a team mostly consisting of AHL players, not one of which was over 30 years old. It was a tale of two rosters, and the Ducks were expected to control play from puck drop.
Ville Husso got the start for the Ducks and stopped 22 of 24 shots, not allowing many second-chance opportunities and working to find pucks through traffic.
Opposite Husso, Jakub Skarek got the start for the Sharks and stopped 13 of 16 shots before he was pulled in a scheduled goalie switch halfway through the second period. Gabriel Carriere entered the game in relief and saved all 14 shots he saw off Ducks sticks.
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Anaheim Ducks Training Camp: Drew Helleson Breakout Key to Unlocking Blueline
Once again, it is preseason, but for this game especially, any statement surrounding it should be taken with a grain of salt.
Chris Kreider-The Ducks have been starved for a true netfront difference-maker, especially on the power play, and that’s where Kreider earns his money. He instinctively knows how goalies move when tracking pucks throughout the offensive zone and reacts accordingly to always remain in their field of vision.
His battling ability was on display in this game, as he consistently won pucks back that were shot and deflected below the goal line to extend zone time substantially, an underrated but impactful quality.
Cycle-Since the start of camp, coaches have implemented a cycle system in the offensive zone built on constant player and puck movement from all five skaters on the ice. Rather than continuous efforts to move pucks from low to high, followed by a shot, and an attempt to win an ensuing board battle, forwards run give-and-gos up the wall to defensemen, who jump to the middle or switch with their d-partner to create one-timer looks.
There are elongated sequences where forwards remain high at the blueline, weaving while defenseman remain low after shifting in efforts to draw defenders well out of position.
“Just kept it simple,” Nikita Nesterenko said after the game. “Got the puck in, trying to create energy for the other lines, tie their D up. I think every like was rolling. Leo’s line played incredible. It’s fun to watch those guys.”
Leo Carlsson-This was a game that Carlsson was expected to dominate while implementing some of the aspects of his game that needed refining in the past. He didn’t disappoint. He displayed vision, patience, and anticipation skills with the puck on his stick he’d only shown flashes of to this point in his career. This game may have solidified Kreider a spot on his left wing for the foreseeable future with the way they consistently found each other in dangerous areas of the ice.
Beckett Sennecke-Sennecke was one of the few players for the Ducks in this game who could stand to gain a lot. This was the most dynamic he’d been all preseason and displayed true game-breaking potential with the kind of quick strike offense that teams crave. Whether it’s a pure strength factor or if he needs to tweak his approach, the next step in his progression will be to enter battles more efficiently and come away from them with the puck with greater frequency.
“I thought he didn't play a lot, but every time he was out there, he was a threat & he was dangerous,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said after the game. “He was fun to watch, and on every given night, it could be a different situation. He gives you a lot of versatility as a wild card player.”
The Ducks will head to San Jose to take on the Sharks again on Wednesday night for their sixth of seven preseason games.
Ducks Sign Mason McTavish to Six-Year Extension
Ducks GM Pat Verbeek on McTavish Extension
Anaheim Ducks Training Camp: Lukas Dostal an Underrated Benefactor of New Coaching Staff
Pittsburgh Penguins' training camp is beginning to draw to a close, and there is sure to be a lot of drama in the next several days.
So, it's a perfect time for a Mailbox Monday, as I'm sure many fans have burning questions on their mind regarding camp, the final roster, impressions of young players, and more.
You asked, and I did my best to answer.
If you were GM how would you balance the seemingly conflicting aims of making Pens long term contenders and reaching the playoffs with the core 3? Given the lack of trades, it seems Dubas has been pressured into competing sooner, but I don't see a long window with no new core.
- @liam_rhea
I actually love questions like this because they are a reminder of why I am not an NHL GM. There is a lot that goes into this, so I'll do my best.
There are a few things to consider here. First, Evgeni Malkin is in the final year of his contract. Given the roster situation, an entirely new coaching staff, and youth just beginning to push for the NHL, it's hard to imagine the Penguins being contenders this season in any capacity unless they go young, and the prospects all perform immediately.
So - if I'm the GM - with Malkin, I'd have the expectation that if he wanted to contend one more time with this team, he'd probably have to sign another contract. That would be a pretty clear message.
As far as trades, at this point, I'm holding out for the right deal - especially for Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust. The best window to trade Rakell may have already passed, and Rust is worth keeping around the young guys. I would, however, trade Erik Karlsson if presented with the opportunity to accrue more leverage in draft capital.
Penguins' Mid-Camp Prospect Tiers: Who Is Most Likely To Make NHL Roster?We're officially 10 days into Pittsburgh Penguins' training camp, and if one thing is for certain, there has been a ton of competition.
But the other part of this is a bit more complicated because I think it all depends on how the organization views the current crop of young players who already are or are very close to NHL-ready. You mentioned a "new core." Well, even if they don't yet have a franchise center or a star defensemen, I would argue that a few members of that "new core" have already arrived.
Ben Kindel has the talent and the smarts to be a top-six center, so I would consider him a potential part of a new core. Harrison Brunicke should be a top-four defenseman and, at his ceiling, a top-pairing blueliner, so he could also be part of that. And then there's Sergei Murashov, whose camp and track record prove that he could be the real deal - and that he has potential as a star NHL goaltender.
If I'm GM, I'm feeling pretty confident about three of my current prospects - plus, perhaps, at least one of Rutger McGroarty or Ville Koivunen - and think part of that core is already here. So, perhaps I don't push super hard to compete in a strong draft year, bank on drafting that franchise talent, and go from there, depending on who that is.
'Inspiring': Penguins' Top Goaltending Prospect Reflects On Fleury, Game To Remember Marc-Andre Fleury's final game in Pittsburgh was an unforgettable experience for many, fans and longtime teammates alike.
Hypothetically, if the Penguins do draft a franchise center or defenseman in 2026 who can help immediately - and those other three have another year of development at that point - I'm looking at that $50 million-plus of cap space and boatload of draft capital I have next summer, and I'm going to get aggressive in trying to acquire whichever that other "missing" core piece is.
And that is the best shot I have at competing in the final year of Crosby's contract while also managing not to mortgage the long-term future of the franchise. And, hey, maybe that also means 87 sticks around for a few more years before hanging them up, which is never a bad thing.
Why couldn't Kindel make the roster? Other than being a little small, he didn't look out of place to me.
- @ThePuckMike
I'm going to be honest, Mike: I'm not sure that he shouldn't.
I hear a lot of arguments about "rushing" Kindel onto a non-playoff NHL team. While I understand that side of the coin, I'm also of the belief that no two players are alike. No two players have the same timeline for NHL readiness. And no two players are predictable.
Kindel has thoroughly impressed me in this camp, and the thing that impresses me most is how he's gotten better each game as the competition has gotten better. His reads are up to NHL speed, his skating is fine, and his smarts are off the charts for someone his age.
Benjamin Kindel Finding His Footing In First Penguins Training CampIt's been almost three months since the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Benjamin Kindel with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
If a player is legitimately ready for the next level, there's no such thing as "rushing" them. If they're not behind, why not reward them for showing that they're ahead?
I'm not even saying that Kindel needs to stay beyond a nine-game trial. But, if Kyle Dubas meant it when he said "the young guys are coming," Kindel has earned those nine games through his performance. Him cracking the NHL roster wasn't on my training camp bingo card, but he should certainly be in the conversation at this point.
If the Pens keep a younger player or two who has earned a spot (Broz, Brunicke), can you explain how that would work logistically/financially? Is it as simple as waiving/sending Dumba or whoever down to the AHL? It has to be more complicated, right? Thanks for all your reporting!
- @jeffrose810.bsky.social
Thanks, Jeff. I appreciate you reading along.
And, in this case, no, I don't think it's more complicated than that.
Again, if Dubas meant what he said about young guys earning spots, he won't hesitate to move the veterans they beat out for roster spots however he has to. Ideally, he would execute a trade - but trading players during training camp is difficult because teams are well-aware of the waiver wire and that they can probably get that same player for free on waivers rather than giving up an asset for them.
So, I do not think waivers will be an issue. The Penguins have more than $11.75 million in cap space, so they can afford to bury a few contracts if that's what it comes down to.
'The Young Guys Are Coming': 3 Observations From Dubas's Pre-Season Press ConferenceOn Thursday, the Pittsburgh Penguins opened their 2025 training camp with a few words from general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas.
The Athletic writers have the Pens dead last. I get the blue line may have issues, but the forward group looks too good to finish there. What do you think?
- @WadeWorkman3
Quite frankly, I disgree with that assessment. And I feel especially confident in saying that after watching five Penguins' pre-season games and seeing some of the newfound structure that Dan Muse and his coaching staff are implementing.
It doesn't look like this team is playing nearly as high-risk. They aren't bleeding odd-man rushes, and they're playing a much cleaner game in the neutral zone. They also aren't afraid to use center drive, which is something Muse has talked about.
In addition, the Penguins have some legitimate young talent pushing for the roster. If even a few of those guys make the team, I think it, by default, makes the Penguins a better team. The forward group is better on paper than it was last season - even without the young guys in the mix - and the defense corps isn't much changed, especially since Marcus Pettersson wasn't at his best for much of the season last year before the trade.
And, at the end of the day, I still think there are at least a handful of other teams that are simply way better-positioned to tank than the Penguins are, especially since they have not moved any of their higher-value veterans. As long as those guys are still on the roster, teams like the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken, Buffalo Sabres, and Anaheim Ducks are likely to finish behind them.
Penguins Make Five More Roster Cuts On MondayThe Pittsburgh Penguins trimmed their training camp roster again on Monday.
What's ur 23 man roster prediction
- @DrakeBarrett8
Well, isn't this the million-dollar question? It's also the hardest question on here. My answer changes by the day.
If you would have asked me 24 hours ago whether or not Ben Kindel would be making a legitimate case for the NHL roster, I would have said "no." But, his performance against the Detroit Red Wings in a 2-1 win on Monday changed my tune a bit, and I believe he has earned his way into the conversation. Same with Filip Hallander.
That said, I still think Kindel ends up back in juniors. There are simply too many young forwards vying for few spots, and I do think others have earned it, too. I'm not saying it won't happen. I just think it's a longshot.
"I Wasn't Impressed": Todd McLellan Speaks Bluntly After Red Wings Play Flat In 2-1 Loss To Penguins The good news for the Detroit Red Wings is that their 2-1 setback at Little Caesars Arena against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins is that it won't count against them in the standings, as it was the fifth pre-season game of their schedule.
But... here goes. I'll probably change my answer immediately after writing this:
Forwards (13)
Sidney Crosby
Evgeni Malkin
Bryan Rust
Rickard Rakell
Ville Koivunen
Anthony Mantha
Filip Hallander
Philip Tomasino
Tristan Broz
Justin Brazeau
Blake Lizotte
Connor Dewar
Tommy Novak
Defensemen (8)
Erik Karlsson
Kris Letang
Parker Wotherspoon
Connor Clifton
Harrison Brunicke
Owen Pickering
Matt Dumba
Ryan Shea
Goaltenders (2)
Tristan Jarry
Arturs Silovs
Injured Reserve:
Kevin Hayes
Rutger McGroarty
Marc-Andre Fleury Steals Show For Penguins On Saturday It was Marc-Andre Fleury's night in Pittsburgh on Saturday as the Pittsburgh Penguins picked up their second preseason win. They beat the Columbus Blue Jackets by three, 4-1, thanks to two goals from Rickard Rakell, one from Sidney Crosby, and one from Ville Koivunen.
Can't wait to see what I think at this time tomorrow. But that's where my head is at right now.
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On Monday, former Pittsburgh Penguins' defenseman Derrick Pouliot was placed on waivers by the New York Rangers.
Pouliot, 31, was drafted eighth overall by the Penguins in the 2012 NHL Draft after a standout campaign with the Portland Winterhawks, where he put up 11 goals and 59 points in 72 games. Pittsburgh drafted him in hopes that he would become an elite, two-way, play-driving defenseman.
Unfortunately, things never translated for Pouliot at the NHL level. In his first three NHL seasons with the Penguins from 2014-17, Pouliot played a combined 67 games and put up a total of two goals and 14 points. He was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in the summer of 2017, where he spent two seasons before signing as a free agent with the St. Louis Blues.
He has spent the past four seasons with four different teams, and he signed a two-year contract with the Rangers this summer. Pouliot has played in only 26 NHL games since signing with St. Louis, and he has eight goals and 54 points - as well as a minus-31 rating - in 226 career NHL games.
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