Monthly Archives: September 2025

Hockey News

Ottawa Senators Preseason Promo Tour Rolls Into Quebec Nordiques Country

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The Ottawa Senators' six-day preseason trip to Quebec City has already been a whirlwind of bonding with that city's hockey community.

The Sens held a red-carpet event with fans before their first practice at the Videotron Centre, where fans were invited to stay and watch the two on-ice sessions on Saturday morning. They held a long meet and greet with fans, signing autographs and posing for photos. They visited La Bouchée Généreuse, a foodbank in Quebec City, to help sort food donations and scrub and wash  the donation bins. Former Senators Patrick Lalime and Antoine Vermette visited Centre mère-enfant Soleil at the local children's hospital to spend time with the patients and their families.

On Sunday, they'll play the first of two preseason games in Quebec, hosting the New Jersey Devils (3 pm) before taking on the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. 

It's all very nice, of course – really nice. But it begs the question, why are they pouring this love into a neutral site? Why not just play preseason games as usual at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, where your season ticket holders live? 

It comes down to this. The Sens see opportunity in the Quebec City market. They would love to recruit Nordiques fans who entered free agency when their NHL team left town. Remarkably, this year marks the 30th anniversary of the Nordiques bolting for Denver to become the Colorado Avalanche.

"I'm of the generation that had the Nordiques growing up, and the rivalry was alive and well," Sens owner Michael Andlauer said on the day the Quebec City games were announced. "If you loved the Nordiques, you didn't like the Montreal Canadiens.

"And for me, it's an opportunity to relate to the city of Quebec, as Ottawa, and continue that rivalry."

Team President Cyril Leeder echoed those comments on TSN 1200 radio.

“It’s a move on our part designed to help us expand our broadcast footprint, especially with francophone fans. Our broadcast territory goes from Kingston to Newfoundland.

"So this has been in the works for us to help grow that footprint and that fan base.”

There's no question that Quebec City remains a hockey hotbed. And if the Senators are right, and Quebec City's NHL fandom remains available to some degree, it probably won't be for much longer. With the Battle of Quebec lying dormant for 30 years, there's now an entire generation of francophone fans who didn't grow up with the rivalry, so it's quite likely that the Habs have begun to win some of them over, much to their parents' chagrin.

That will never happen with the 40-and-over crowd, of course. They remember the fierce rivalry of the Battle of Quebec, and their favourite team is now, generally speaking, the team that's playing the Habs on any given night.

But will Quebec City's fans turn out for the Sens promo tour this week because they're really interested in becoming Ottawa Senators fans, or because they want to show Andlauer and the NHL that their city and arena remain a great alternative if things ever go sideways in the capital, as they have at times in the past? 

It's probably a little from column A and a little from column B, and that's okay. The latter option is never happening, and when the Sens accounting department totals up this week's gate receipts, there's no column in the ledger for buying motivation.

More Sens Headlines From The Hockey News Ottawa:
Former Senator Josh Norris Embraces New Opportunity To Prove Himself
Ottawa Senators Cut 17 Players Before Heading To Quebec City
Will This Be Shane Pinto's Breakout Year With The Senators?
Drake Batherson Joins Ottawa Senators List Of Preseason Injury Concerns
Pinto Plays Hero In Senators Preseason Overtime Win Over Leafs
After Two Broken Clavicles, Kaliyev Targets Capital Comeback

Hockey News

New Blackhawks Forward Has Impressive Game

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Dominic Toninato (© Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images)

The Chicago Blackhawks had a far quieter off-season this year than they did this past summer. While this is the case, they still brought in a few new players.

One of the Blackhawks' new players is forward Dominic Toninato, as the Central Division club signed him to a two-year, $1.7 million contract in free agency. With this move, Toninato is expected to provide the Blackhawks with more forward depth, whether he starts the year in the NHL or down in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Rockford IceHogs.

Toninato certainly stood out for the Blackhawks in their most recent preseason contest against the St. Louis Blues, as he put together a multi-point performance.

At the 10:58 mark of the third period, Toninato scored the Blackhawks' first goal of the game to cut St. Louis' lead to 2-1. This goal proved to be important, as it was the start of the Blackhawks' third period comeback.

Toninato did not stop there, either, as he then recorded the primary assist on Gavin Hayes game-tying goal at the 11:25 mark of the third period. Toninato showed off his playmaking skill, too, as he beautifully set up Hayes. 

Overall, this was a good game for Toninato. It will be intriguing to see how he builds off it from here. 

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Should More Teams Try The Five-Forward Power Play?

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NHL coaches are always looking to find new tactics or philosophies to improve their teams and get the upper hand. 

Years ago, the standard power play consisted of three forwards and two defensemen, just like a regular lineup. These days, it's the status quo to deploy four forwards and one defenseman on the man advantage. Nonetheless, teams have recently introduced a five-forward power-play unit. 

Throughout the history of the game, the power play has seen coaches attempt to be creative and improve their efficiency. We’ve seen several setups and different teams take advantage of the power play in several ways.

The umbrella and overload were the popular setups teams used, but those approaches have seen tweaks to improve their effectiveness. Now, most teams are looking to work the puck around to set up a one-timer.

Others prefer to use players on their strong sides to almost skate into a shot, a tactic Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs previously utilized.

Coaches have also introduced different ways to enter the offensive zone, with most teams using the sling shot or drop pass to generate speed and make clean offensive zone entries.

During the 2024-25 season, the Leafs and the Los Angeles Kings used the five-forward power-play unit, and did so with success. The Florida Panthers and the Montreal Canadiens, too, have previously attempted to use the five-forward unit.

The Minnesota Wild had briefly tried it out, but with 19-year-old D-man Zeev Buium set to become a full-time NHLer, he'll likely be given the keys to the power play.

With the Leafs, Mitch Marner quarterbacked the power play with Matthews and William Nylander on the flanks, John Tavares in the bumper position and Matthew Knies as the net-front presence.

The power play's effectiveness escalated far more than it was with defenseman Morgan Rielly at the point because Marner was a greater threat to shoot the puck, his skating ability, and was just an overall better playmaker.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Leafs scored six power-play goals in six games, all of which came from the top unit. For a large part of the regular season, the Leafs used the five-forward unit and clicked at 24.8 percent, equalling the Colorado Avalanche for eighth-best in the NHL. 

The Kings, who also adopted the five-forward power play when Andrei Kuzmenko arrived in Los Angeles, found plenty of success in their first-round series against the Edmonton Oilers, single-handedly keeping them in the series, converting at 40 percent across six games.

For the Kings, their setup saw Adrian Kempe quarterbacking the unit, with Kevin Fiala and Anze Kopitar on the flanks, Kuzemenko as the net front and Quinton Byfield in the bumper. 

Adrian Kempe, Andrei Kuzmenko and Anze Kopitar (Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images)

"Confidence is the main thing," Kempe said after Game 2. "We got (Kuzmenko) at the deadline, and he's been great since he got here. Whether it's 5-on-5 or 5-on-4, you can tell that he's a guy that's been playing that role there before, he's skilled and makes a lot of plays."

"He's been working with the puck and without the puck, and he's been getting rewarded, and everyone on the team is happy to have him. He's been a big factor why the power play has been a lot better, too," the Swedish right winger added.

The Kings will likely continue to use this setup, but the Leafs, on the other hand, are forced to move on, at least for now.

With Marner now a member of the Vegas Golden Knights, the Leafs will be starting the season with Rielly at the point. The Leafs do have forwards like Matias Maccelli and Max Domi who have the playmaking prowess to run quarterback a power-play unit. But with little to no experience doing so, the Leafs, at the very least, will be starting the season with Rielly.

The Golden Knights are experimenting with Marner at the point, doing so in his lone pre-season appearance. Shea Theodore, a defenseman with plenty of experience running the Golden Knights' power play, still features on the man advantage, but does so on the opposite flank of Jack Eichel.

Vegas were able to capitalize on the power play with Marner at the point in their 3-2 overtime win against the Utah Mammoth.

Whether that changes when the regular season starts is unknown, but it wouldn’t be unlikely to see coach Bruce Cassidy throw a five-forward unit with the likes of Marner, Eichel, Mark Stone, Tomas Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev.

It’s far too early to come up with a verdict about whether the five-forward unit is more effective than the other setups, but as teams become more confident using it, a clearer answer will emerge. The Leafs were hesitant to make the change, reverting to Rielly after the initial attempt.

“Like, five forwards is tricky,” Berube said after a 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 11. “And, you know, teams are going to look at that and they're going to attack all the time on it. That's going to be their mindset to penalty kill. And it's not that I don't like five forwards. They move the puck well in the zone and do some real good things. I don't like when it goes the other way.”

If teams that use five forwards on their power play continue to click at a high percentage, teams will follow. Hockey, and sports in general, are very ‘follow the most recent trend,’ and if five forwards increases the likelihood of scoring, coaches will give it a go.

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Kampf’s Days Numbered, Kuznetsov Linked to Leafs & More NHL Rumors

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In today’s NHL rumor rundown, we look at David Kampf and how his days with the Toronto Maple Leafs could be numbered. Elsewhere, Evgeny Kuznetsov is still eyeing an NHL…
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Islanders Showcase New Practice Lines At Sunday's Training Camp Skate

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ELMONT, NY  -- During Sunday's training camp skate, New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy altered a few of his lines a bit. 

Maxim Shabanov, who had been stapled to Bo Horvat, dropped down the depth chart while Emil Heineman, who had been alongside Casey Cizikas, jumped up to No. 14's wing. 

Anthony Duclair, who had been skating alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Simon Holmstrom, found himself alongside Cizikas and Maxim Tsyplakov, with Tsyplakov returning from a minor injury. 

Calum Ritchie, who remains up with the club, skated as an extra with Kyle MacLean and Marc Gatcomb.

Here's the rest of the lines: 

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Revisiting Zadina’s Draft Night Warning: “I’m Going to Fill Their Nets”

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The Hockey News has released its archive to all THN subscribers: 76 years of history, stories, and features.

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Seeking Vengeance - Aug. 20 2018 - Vol. 72 Issue 2 - Ryan Kennedy

BEWARE, MONTREAL AND Ottawa: Filip Zadina has already put you on blast. The dynamic Czech sniper was crestfallen when he slipped out of the top five at the 2018 NHL draft, and though he was happy to be scooped up by Detroit sixth overall, he had a warning for the Habs and Sens, both of whom passed on him: “I told my agent if they pass on me, I’m going to fill their nets with pucks.”

It was the line of the night in Dallas, and since all three franchises reside in the Atlantic Division, Zadina has a chance to make his new rivals pay frequently. And based on Detroit’s depth chart, he’ll probably get the opportunity to do it as early as this coming season.

"I Had A Clearer Mind": Alex DeBrincat Explains Difference Between First and Second Seasons With Red WingsThe Detroit Red Wings acquired a true homegrown star player in the 2023 offseason when they traded for Farmington Hills native Alex DeBrincat from the Ottawa Senators, and he immediately began making an impact for Detroit on the scoresheet once the regular season began.

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The Red Wings were an undisputed winner at the draft (see pg. 50), grabbing Zadina and then lucking out again when Drummondville center Joe Veleno slipped to No. 30, allowing Detroit to pick him up with the first-rounder they acquired from Vegas in the Tomas Tatar trade. “Anything can happen at a draft, you just have to stay patient,” Veleno said. “I was nervous the whole way, but I was excited at the same time. Just to hear your name called is pretty special.”

Veleno probably should have been taken in the middle of the first round, but the Friday night of the draft is always a study in chaos. He likely heads back for another season of junior in the QMJHL. A playmaking center who can kill penalties, boost the power play and bring leadership, he upped his game after a trade from Saint John, the franchise with which he won a league title the year before. The Sea Dogs went into rebuilding mode after that, and Veleno seemed suppressed by the pressure of being one of the few remaining weapons on the team.

Detroit actually went into the first round targeting blueliners up top, but changed course when Zadina, a scoring Czech with a great release, became available. The Halifax Mooseheads’ left winger has already made a great impression on Detroit’s fans, dazzling with his stickhandling and shot at the Red Wings’ development camp. For a franchise lacking a lot of high-end skill right now, he’d be a welcome addition on a line with Dylan Larkin or Henrik Zetterberg next season. “I want to do every single step the right way,” Zadina said. “I will do anything for it and hopefully it happens.”

Though he didn’t expect to be a Red Wing, the charismatic kid is already excited for the future – and not just because of his potential linemates. “They have some pretty good ‘D,’ too, like Niklas Kronwall,” Zadina said. “I’ll have to be careful at my first practice.”

That is, if the veteran blueliner can catch Zadina.

Sabres' Tage Thompson Continues Rampage Vs. Red Wings In 5-2 Pre-Season Win Sabres' Tage Thompson Continues Rampage Vs. Red Wings In 5-2 Pre-Season Win Something about playing against the Detroit Red Wings seems to agree with Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson, be it during regular season play or in Saturday afternoon's instance, pre-season play. 

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