THN.com's ongoing series on the Buffalo Sabres and their opponents next season continues with this look at the New York Rangers and the considerable changes the Rangers have made thus far this off-season, as well as their record against the Sabres and their schedule head-to-head this coming season.

The Rangers have a new voice guiding them on the ice in former Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins coach Mike Sullivan. And the Blueshirts were quite active in the trade and free-agency departments, so the Sabres team that mostly stayed the same is going to see a much different Rangers squad. So we're excited to see the way the games between the two teams shakes out this year.

BUFFALO SABRES VS. NEW YORK RANGERS

NEW RANGERS PLAYERS: Vladislav Gavrikov, D; Taylor Raddysh, RW; Justin Dowling, LW; Scott Morrow, D

2024-25 SERIES: Sabres 2-1-0, Rangers 1-2-0

2025-26 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER:  October 9 at Buffalo; January 8 at Rangers; April 8 at Rangers

CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM?  The Rangers and Sabres squeezed in their regular-season action last year by the third week of February. which is a bit of a shame, as this rivalry is a favorite of ours and needs more games deep down the stretch of the regular season.

Thankfully, the NHL schedule-maker is giving us this year's three games betweeen the Sabres and Rangers at very different points in the season. First, Buffalo takes on the Rangers in their first game of the year. Then, they meet again in the first week of January. And finally, they wrap things up in a game that's the fourth-to-last on the Sabres' schedule.

That latter game has the potentil to be a powderkeg game, with both teams possibly fighting it out for a wild card berth. But by then, each team will have worked far past the trade deadlne, so we could be talking about two very different rosters.

Know Your Enemy, Sabres Metropolitan Edition: Are Retooling Islanders A Better Team Than Buffalo?Welcome back to  THN.com's Buffalo Sabres site. In recent days and weeks, we've been focusing on the teams the Sabres will square off against next season. And in today's file, we're turning our attention to a team Buffalo will be taking on in the latest battl(es) of New York (state) -- the New York Islanders.

Regardless, the Sabres will be taking on a Rangers team that said goodbye to longtime cornerstone winger Chris Kreider, as well as veteran defenseman K'Andre Miller. In their place is former L.A. Kings stalwart Gavrikov and...well, a few depth players in Raddysh, Dowling and Morrow. There shouldn't be any sizeable expectations of those three players, but Gavrikov will definitely be an upgrade defensively on Miller.

This Rangers team has essentially doubled down on its core, including star winger Artemi Panarin, blueliner Adam Fox, and goalie Igor Shesterkin. None of those three players had an good year typical of them at the NHL level, but teams and players go through sub-par strethes and rebound from them, and that's what Blueshirts GM Chris Drury is banking on.

If things somehow go right for the Sabres and Rangers next season, there's a possibility the teams eventually meet in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Granted, that would take a particular game of plinko from the hockey gods to make happen, but again, the Sabres and Rangers have that built-in relationship that should be developed as much as possible. If the teams aren't going to be in the same division anytime soon -- and that's even if expansion winds up having an effect on the current divisional setup -- then the schedule-maker can continue giving us three games in the season. 

Know Your Enemy, Sabres Metropolitan Edition: Will Devils Remain Formidable Metro Team -- And Will New Jersey Once Again Beat Sabres In Season Series?The Buffalo Sabres are a team that needs to make a playoff appearance this coming season. But in a continuing series, we're examining each of Buffalo's Eastern Conference-rivals that could be in the way of the Sabres making it into the post-season. And in this file, we're examining the rivalry between the Sabres and New Jersey Devils.

 If Shesterkin in particular can look like his old self, the Rangers should be in the mix for a wild card berth. It's now within the realm of possibility, though, that the Sabres take advantage of their games against the Blueshirts and play a key role in the Rangers missing the post-season for the second straight season. And if that's what happens for the Rangers next year, we can see Drury totally dismantle his core and start with a new group.

Between then, we're going to get three games between the Sabres and Rangers. And while there are some Sabres opponents who don't move the needle as playing especially-intriguing games against Buffalo, the Rangers are not one of those teams. And given the tightness of the playoff race in both conferences, the games between the Sabres and Rangers are likely to be highly-entertaining. 

Who do we like to win those three games? Well, not to be all safe about it, but we see Buffalo -- for the second straight season -- winning two of their three games against the Rangers. It's hard for any team to sweep an opponent given the modern-day parity of the league, but the Sabres have what it takes on paper to beat the Rangers more often than they lose.

Know Your Enemy, Sabres Metropolitan Edition: Sabres Could Be Battling Up-And-Coming Blue Jackets For Wild Card BerthThe Buffalo Sabres are one of the teams most desperate to make the Stanley Cup playoffs next season. And one of the teams the Sabres could be battling for one of the two wild card berths next season is another team desperate to end a prolonged playoff drought -- the Columbus Blue Jackets.

We'll see how our prediction lands, but it will nonetheless be intriguing to watch the Sabres/Rangers games this season. They've both got some solid components, but there has to be a desperation to both teams' attack. If not, it will be a long season, and an even longer summer next year, for the team that doesn't get into the post-season.

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz appears to be in peak offseason training mode.

The 31-year-old’s goalie coach, George Bosak, shared a video of Stolarz training on Instagram earlier this week. The 6-foot-6 goaltender commanded the crease as players fired shots at him from his left and right sides.

“Anthony Stolarz has been looking very sharp in workouts,” Bosak wrote in the post’s caption. “The first thing he said to me this summer is that there’s unfinished business on the table. I know he is incredibly grateful for all the fan support in Toronto and is motivated to bring home a title for the Maple Leafs faithful.”

It was an up-and-down season for Stolarz, who dealt with two significant injuries throughout the year. After a strong start with Toronto, where he had 10 wins and a .927 save percentage in 17 games, the goaltender picked up a knee injury in December, forcing him to miss nearly two months.

Stolarz returned in early February and finished the season with a .926 save percentage (the best among NHL goaltenders who played 30-plus games) and 22 wins in 34 games. He entered the playoffs as Toronto’s starting goaltender, helping them get past the Ottawa Senators in the first round.

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However, things took a turn when Stolarz took a forearm to the head courtesy of Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett in Game 1 of the second round. He was diagnosed with a concussion and didn’t play another game for the Maple Leafs in the playoffs, only returning to backup Joseph Woll in Game 7 against the Panthers.

Stolarz is entering his second season of a two-year, $5 million contract he signed with Toronto last summer. Last season was the first in which Stolarz was heavily relied upon as a goaltender in the NHL.

He played with the OHL’s London Knights in junior hockey and had Dale Hunter as his coach. The 65-year-old looked back on Stolarz’s time with the Knights on Wednesday while on The Fan Morning Show with Ben Ennis and Brent Gunning.

“Yeah, he had all the makeup for it. Sometimes it takes longer for goalies. He played for us. He brought us to the Memorial Cup. Unfortunately, we ran into this Nathan MacKinnon guy, and he got us,” said Hunter.

“[Stolarz] played very well. He's in a good place right now. Being an ex-London Knight, I watch him a lot. He's confident and he looks like he's ready to roll for the Leafs.”

Stolarz has a .918 save percentage and a 116-64-39 record in 142 games with the Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks, Panthers, and Maple Leafs. His 34 games played with the Maple Leafs last season were a career high.

This article originally appeared on The Hockey News: 'There's Unfinished Business': Anthony Stolarz's Summer Training In Full Swing Ahead Of Second Season With Maple Leafs

(Top photo of Stolarz: Nick Turchiaro / Imagn Images)

Ottawa Senators defenseman Nik Matinpalo is coming off a rookie NHL season that can best be described as unexpected.

At this time last summer, Matinpalo was a 25-year-old Finnish pro who had gone undrafted in the NHL, and had just completed his first year of pro hockey in North America. That included 67 games for the Belleville Senators, scoring 14 points, and four games with no points for Ottawa.

Very few people thought he was in line to be an NHL regular last season. 

But after starting the year with Belleville again, playing in 24 games for the AHL club, he was able to overtake the injured Jacob Bernard-Docker and Travis Hamonic on the Ottawa depth chart. He went on to play 41 NHL games plus all six Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Senators.

He also represented Team Finland in the NHL's Four Nations Face-Off event in February and at the World Hockey Championships in May. To cap off his turnaround season, Matinpalo signed a two-year, one-way contract with Ottawa, just a few days after the club was eliminated.

The deal will pay him $875,000 for each of the next two years, and because the contract was taken care of so quickly after the season, it looked from the outside like an NHL job was all but assured.

Ottawa Senators AHL Team Signs Owen Sound Attack's Top ScorerThe Belleville Senators announced Tuesday the signing of Landen Hookey to a two-year American Hockey League contract.

Despite giving Matinpalo that two-year contract and a bit of security, the Senators didn’t mince words during exit meetings, making it clear that nothing is guaranteed this fall.

"Yeah, they said that I need to train hard," Matinpalo said on Thursday on the Coming in Hot podcast. "And when I come into training camp, I need to think like I'm not on the team. I need to boost myself to be better every day this summer. So yeah, I think that was the biggest message to me."

That's some tough love. But in hindsight, they may have been preparing him for what was about to happen because Matinpalo's clear path back to his NHL job has been quickly littered with new obstacles.

The club brought back right-shot defenseman Lassi Thomson, a former Sens first-rounder and fellow Finn. Then they went out and acquired LA Kings right-shot defenseman Jordan Spence in a draft-day trade. And of course, their first-round pick from last year, Carter Yakemchuk, is another right-shot who's hungry to reach the NHL as soon as possible, especially after being the team’s final cut last season.

That certainly changes things, especially if Nick Jensen is healthy and ready to start the season.

Outdueling those players may prove to be a tougher challenge than last season’s leapfrogging of two players whose NHL stock has fallen sharply over the past couple of years. But Matinpalo will trust his own game and try to stay in the headspace that worked for him last year, when he didn’t let the stage get too big.

"Yeah, I think I'm not that young anymore. Like, maybe this is the last chance for me to play in the NHL. So maybe that was the one thing. Like, I'm just gonna trust my game and do whatever takes to play."

Ottawa Senators Prospect Piling Up More Penalty Minutes At World Junior Summer ShowcaseOne of the defining traits of the Ottawa Senators' 2024 NHL Draft class was the team's clear preference for size. While amateur scout Don Boyd says the organization didn’t enter that draft thinking they would deliberately go after bigger players, forsaking all others, that's certainly how it worked out.

Matinpalo’s real life has already surpassed his dream, which was about as modest as it gets for an NHL prospect.

"Everybody always thinks they can play (in the NHL). But when you go to training camp, you see there's like 15 D-men already. So I'm not really thinking I'm gonna play in the NHL. But of course, that was the motivation, like, I want to play one game in the NHL. Or that's it. Maybe I wasn't thinking about that too much. But that was the dream, playing that one game."

Times change, and so can goals and dreams.

Matinpalo says he still has a lot of developing to do, and the two-year contract affords him more time to improve. But given his spectacular learning curve from last season, one suspects he might be right back in the thick of things at camp this fall.

You can listen to Matinpalo's full interviewhere.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa
Image Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

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The Detroit Red Wings may have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the 2024-25 NHL season, but one of the major positives that they will be taking into the upcoming 2025-26 campaign was the goal scoring output of forward Alex DeBrincat.

DeBrincat, who was acquired just over two calendar years ago from the Ottawa Senators, scored 39 goals in what was his second season with the Red Wings. It was a 12-goal improvement from his output of 27 in 2023-24, and was also the most he'd scored since tallying 41 in the 2021-22 NHL season with the Chicago Blackhawks. 

In fact, DeBrincat's 39 tallies were the most by any Red Wings player in a single season since Marian Hossa lit the lamp 40 times in his first and only campaign with the Red Wings in 2008-09. 

Patrick Kane makes a beautiful pass to Alex DeBrincat in his 1,300th NHL game! 🤩 #NHLStats: https://t.co/tvOJyFYJin

📺: @NHLNetworkpic.twitter.com/oHLiP7zsIY

— NHL (@NHL) April 14, 2025

DeBrincat's 2024-25 NHL season output was the kind of production envisioned by Red Wings fans and management when the Michigan native was acquired, and he attributed his increased production not only to his style of play but to less mental stress. 

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

"There’s a lot of things that contribute to it but overall, I think it's just been a better year," DeBrincat said in April via The Detroit Free Press. "Mentally, a lot less hard on me. I've tried to stay more consistent - that was a goal of mine this year. Overall I feel like I’ve been a lot more consistent, not only with points and goals, but just the way I’ve been playing and being a factor every night."

That being said, DeBrincat also acknowledged his disappointment in the fact that he and his teammates weren't able to secure a berth in the postseason. 

"Overall I think it’s a fine year, but obviously not good enough," he said. "With the position we’re in, everybody in the room wants more, feels like they can contribute more."

Upon his acquisition by the Red Wings, DeBrincat signed a four-year, $31.5 million contract with a reasonable $7.875 million cap hit.

DeBrincat and the Red Wings are aiming for bigger and better things as they begin preparations to enter the crucial 2025-26 NHL season.

If the Red Wings are to challenge for a postseason spot and ultimately get over the hump to bring postseason hockey to Little Caesars Arena for the first time, they'll need DeBrincat to keep the form that made him Detroit's leading goal scorer in 16 years. 

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Stanley Cup summer celebrations are kicking up a notch this week.

After spending time with Florida Panthers forward Jonah Gadjovich in his hometown of Whitby, Ontario, the Cup moved east to Nova Scotia.

That’s where one of the newest, and arguably most popular Panthers players hails from, and that’s where several non-Panthers NHL stars found themselves this week.

Taking his turn with the Stanley Cup was Brad Marchand, and joining him in his hometown of Halifax were fellow superstars Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon.

During Marchand’s party, video surfaced showing him being lifted literally into the Cup by a couple of his buddies.

In addition to his Cup fun with friends, Marchand also loaded himself and the historic trophy into the back of a pickup truck.

The pair then took a ride to a nearby Tim Hortons, where Marchand placed an order from the back of the pickup.

Keeper of the Cup Phil Pritchard snapped a photo of the iconic donut order and posted it on social media.

Brad Marchand at Tim Horton’s drive thru: “Oh, a Boston Cream donut!…uhh, maybe I better not.” (Middle Sackville, Nova Scotia) #StanleyCup@FlaPanthers@NHL@HockeyHallFame@TimHortonspic.twitter.com/AM4UX99DRy

— Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) July 31, 2025

Marchand’s kids also enjoyed their own Stanley Cup feast, filling the silver bowl with some yummy ice cream, according to NHL.com.

I can’t wait to see where the Cup ends up next!

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Photo caption: Brad Marchand poses with the Stanley Cup and fellow Canadian hockey greats Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, who are all from Nova Scotia. (@keeperofthecup on X)

Ken Daneyko and Mike Kelly sat at the desk at the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey, believing Connor Brown was a perfect fit for the Edmonton Oilers when he signed as a free agent with the club in July 2023. 

"They are right there," Daneyko said of the Oilers. "Everything has to fall into place. Adding those subtle pieces like Connor Brown should help. Can they take that next jump? A lot of teams believe they can." 

Turns out the Oilers secured the right pieces to make the jump. 

During his tenure with Edmonton, Brown reached the Stanley Cup Final in consecutive seasons, both times falling short to the Florida Panthers. 

In the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, Brown, along with his linemates Mattias Janmark and Adam Henrique, were an effective third line. Throughout the 2023-24 postseason, the trio combined for 21 points, with nine of them earned in the Final against Florida. In addition to their contributions to the scoresheet, Brown and Janmark were assets on the penalty kill. 

One year later, in the same situation, Brown saw his ice time increase as he potted five goals in 20 postseason games. 

"Connor Brown is a really good two-way player, whether we put him out there as part of a shutdown line," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch told NHL.com back in June. "His penalty kill skills are second-to-none. He is usually paired with (Mattias) Janmark, and the two of them we rely on quite a bit. But you see, during the playoffs, he has come up with some really big goals, especially early in our playoff run against L.A. (in the first round). He is a guy who can move up and down the lineup, especially right now (when) we are short on right wingers."

As a free agent, Brown left Edmonton and signed a four-year contract worth $12,000,000 to play for the New Jersey Devils on July 1. 

During his first media availability, the 31-year-old spoke to Devils reporters about his decision to sign with New Jersey. 

"It was a balancing act to narrow down the places I wanted to be," Brown explained. "I mean, ultimately, I would say the main factor is the skill of the team and the direction of the team. I think the team is in a position to get better and better over my term, and I anticipate some good playoff runs and things like that. There are other things that go into it. The East Coast is closer to our family. We got a little guy, so to be able to have family visit him a little bit easier and things like that."

On the ice, it is clear why the Devils made a pitch to Brown, and it goes beyond his playoff experience. 

New Jersey's depth, or lack thereof, was a glaring issue in both the regular season and Round 1 of the postseason against the Carolina Hurricanes. It was one area that general manager Tom Fitzgerald needed to address this summer. 

Many expect Brown to slide into the third line right-wing position to begin the season, slotting behind Jesper Bratt and Stefan Noesen.

NHL (@NHL) on XHow far will the @NJDevils go with this projected lineup? 🤔 Read more from @NHLdotcom ➡️ https://t.co/Ks3Zqblm6D

As a two-way winger, the foundation of Brown's game is penalty killing and being positionally sound.  

"I think as I have gotten older in my career, I think I really have a defined role," Brown said. "I imagine that (head coach) Sheldon Keefe will get me some D-zone starts and things like that. Penalty kills late in games, trying to close out games as well. Adding to that offense is really important, and making sure I am contributing." 

Depth Scoring at Even Strength 

Last season, he appeared in 82 games and earned 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists). It marked the fifth time in his career that he reached the 30-point mark. 

Scoring at even strength was something Fitzgerald focused on as he explained to the media on July 2. 

"The one thing we were looking for was 5-on-5 play," he explained. "When you look at the goal totals of Brown, the majority of (his) goals are at 5-on-5."

Connor Brown's fourth goal of these #StanleyCup Playoffs caps off a Game 1 win for the @EdmontonOilers! 🤩#NHLStats: https://t.co/diFqic26NUpic.twitter.com/Vecfi8vNEq

— NHL (@NHL) May 7, 2025

Out of his 13 goals in 2024-25, 12 were scored at even strength. To take it a step further, throughout his career, Brown has 107 goals, and 90 of them were scored at 5-on-5. 

Becoming An Asset In New Jersey 

There are specific roles that every successful hockey team needs in addition to star forwards like Jack Hughes and Bratt. 

Having Brown should help ease some of Nico Hischier's responsibilities, especially on the penalty kill, as he led all Devils forwards in shorthanded ice time last season. Taking some of the defensive assignments away from Hischier would benefit both the captain and the team. 

Fitzgerald acknowledges the versatility that the Toronto native brings to his lineup, already playing with superstar Connor McDavid.  

"Brown is a guy who can move around your lineup," Fitzgerald said. "He gives you speed and is a fantastic penalty killer. He is a guy that (Keefe) will use at the end of games as well." 

Another Perfect Fit?

If there is one takeaway from the 2025 Stanley Cup Final, it is that having a dominant third line matters. The Panthers' line of Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, and Brad Marchand is a prime example. 

Brown has the tools to add a spark to a line that was virtually nonexistent for the Devils in Round 1 against the Hurricanes. His playoff experience and knowledge could be beneficial for players like Cody Glass and Paul Cotter, who got their first true taste of the playoffs this past April. 

With Brown preparing to start this chapter as a Devil, the same questions that Daneyko and Kelly had two years ago still apply. Will the addition of a subtle piece like Connor Brown help New Jersey? Can the Devils take that next jump? 

Time will eventually reveal how impactful Brown can be as the Devils must take the next step in becoming a contender for the Stanley Cup.

Make sure you bookmark THN's New Jersey Devils site for THN's latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.

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Photo Credit: © Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

Retooling the defense has been a major focus for the Nashville Predators, but two defensemen's contracts have come under scrutiny. 

In an article published by The Athletic on Thursday, Dom Luszczyszyn ranked defensemen Brady Skjei and Nicolas Hague's contracts as the fourth and fifth worst contracts in the NHL.

Nashville was the only team in the article to have two contracts in the top 10 rankings. 

Skeji is in year two of a 7-year, $49 million contract, with an annual hit of $7 million. Hague signed a 4-year, $22 million contract, with an annual hit of $5.5 million in July. 

Luszczyszyn said that despite Skeji's acquisition during the 2024 free agency period looking like a "win," the defenseman had a "steep drop-off" in his first season with the Predators.

He scored 33 points in 82 games and had a plus/minus of -24. It was a 14-point drop-off and a plus/minus decrease of 40 from his previous season with the Carolina Hurricanes. 

Luszczyszyn noted that Nashville needs a strong No. 2/3 defenseman, but Skeji appears more suited to a fourth-line role. Considering his age and regression, the contract puts the Predators in a difficult spot. 

On the flip side, while Skjei has regressed, Hague has yet to prove that he is a No. 2/3 defenseman, which is the role Nashville is expecting him to take on.

Luszczyszyn claims that Hague's acquisition is based more on height and less on his on-ice play. Hague is 6 feet 6 inches.  

"It seems there’s a growing trend for teams to pay defensemen per inch rather than per win lately, and that’s how Hague was paid to be a No. 3 defenseman despite a career being a third-pair guy," Luszczyszyn wrote. 

During his six seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights, Hague did win a Stanley Cup in 2023, but he has not played in a top-four role nor had more than 17 points in a single season. This past season, he scored 12 points in 68 games and had a plus/minus of -2, the lowest among Vegas defensemen. 

Considering that General Manager Barry Trotz has historically gone after bigger and more physical defensemen, the Hague acquisition may be a swing and a miss. 

 

The Buffalo Sabres took care of their final unresolved contract situation of the summer, signing goalie Devon Levi to a two-year, $1.625 million deal ($812,500 AAV). The 23-year-old  was 2-7-0, with a 4.12 GAA and .872 save % in nine NHL games last season, but posted a very strong 25-13-4 record, 2.20 GAA, and .919 save % with AHL Rochester. 

The Dollard-Des-Ormeaux, Quebec native was originally a seventh-round pick of the Florida Panthers in 2020, but was acquired along with a first-round pick (Jiri Kulich) for Sam Reinhart in 2021. After winning consecutive Mike Richter Awards as the NCAA’s top goaltender at Northeastern, Levi signed with the Sabres and was 5-2-0 at the end of the 2022-23 season, which convinced GM Kevyn Adams and former head coach Don Granato that at 21, he could be the club’s future between the pipes. 

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After a slow start, the Sabres switched to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as their primary starter, and the young netminder was demoted to the Amerks, where he went 16-6-4, with a 2.42 GAA, and .927 save percentage. Luukkonen’s strong second half and new five-year contract seemed to signal that Levi was more on a devlopmental track, and when veteran James Reimer was reclaimed off of waivers, the youngster was once again sent to the AHL. 

The deal is one-way and at the NHL minimum $775,000 in year one and $850,000 in the second year. With the signing of veteran Alex Lyon to a two-year deal, it appears that Levi will begin next season in the AHL, sharing the goaltending duties with 20-year-old prospect Scott Ratzlaff. Expectations for Levi are still extremely high but his waiver exempt status this upcoming season makes it almost certain that his year will start in Rochester. 

Follow Michael on X, Instagram, and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo