The former New Jersey Devils forward is being inducted into the 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame class, as announced by the selection committee on Tuesday.
Mogilny joins the class, which includes Joe Thornton, Zdeno Chara, Duncan Keith, Brianna Decker, Jennifer Botterill, Danièle Sauvageau, and Jack Parker.
— Hockey Hall of Fame (@HockeyHallFame) June 24, 2025
“I am happy to be part of a great organization like the Hockey Hall of Fame,” Mogilny said. “I want to thank both my Russian and NHL teammates for helping me achieve this honor.”
He most noticably made NHL history by becoming the first player from the Soviet Union to defect for the purpose of playing in the League. Over his 16-season career, he played for the Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Devils.
Mogilny appeared in 121 games as a Devil over three seasons. He put up 114 points (58 goals, 56 assists). He won the Stanley Cup with the Devils in the 1999-2000 season.
At the international level, Mogilny helped the USSR to a gold medal at the Olympics, World Championships, and World Juniors in 1989.
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Zdeno Chára is one of eight members of the 2025 Hockey Hall Fame class who will be inducted in November. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
Dave Sandford via Getty Images
The 18-member committee met Monday and Tuesday to nominate and elect a class of eight players and builders. Players must not have played in a professional or international game in any of the previous three seasons. Builders are eligible even if they are still active in the game.
Candidates must receive at least 75% of the vote from the Selection Committee in order to be elected.
Jennifer Botterill (Player) — A three-time Olympic gold medalist, Botterill helped Canada win five IIHF World Championship gold medals while averaging over a point per game in her international career (62 goals and 164 points in 162 games). Before starring on the international level, Botterill was a standout player at Harvard and was a back-to-back winner of the Patty Kazmaier Award, which recognizes the top women’s collegiate player.
Zdeno Chára (Player) — "Big Z" played for the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals over a 1,680-game NHL career that saw him score 209 goals and 680 points. An unmistakeable presence on the ice at 6-foot-9, Chara was one of the best defensemen of his era winning the 2008-09 Norris Trophy as the league's top blue liner. He was also a three-time NHL first-team All-Star and was a part of the 2010-11 Stanley Cup winning Bruins squad. Chára also holds the hardest shot record with a 108.8 mph blast during one of his five Hardest Shot competition victories during NHL All-Star Weekend. Internationally, Chára won silver medals at the IIHF World Championship and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey representing Slovakia.
Remember in 2012 when @zdeno33 broke the NHL Hardest Shot record?
Brianna Decker (Player) — Decker finished her decorated hockey career in 2017 with a mantle full of individual and team honors. While playing collegiately at Wisconsin, she won the 2011-12 Kazmaier Award. She began her international career while still in college and would go on to win six gold and two silver medals at the IIHF World Championships, along with one gold and two silvers at the Olympics. Decker also claimed two CWHL Clarkson Cups and the NWHL's Isobel Cup, where she was also two-time league MVP.
Duncan Keith (Player) — Keith spent all but one season of his 17-year NHL career with the Chicago Blackhawks where he helped the franchise win three Stanley Cups. During that time he also won two Norris Trophies, was named the 2015 Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP and was twice voted a first team NHL All-Star. Over his career, he scored 106 goals and recorded 646 points. He was also a part of the 2010 and 2014 Canadian Olympic teams that claimed gold.
Alexander Mogilny (Player) — Mogilny was the first Soviet player to defect west and when he arrived in the NHL he quickly made his mark. His 76-goal season in 1992-93 tied him for the NHL’s goal scoring lead with Teemu Selänne. He would finish with 127 points that season. A year later the Sabres named him the first European captain in league history. When it was all said and done, the six-time All-Star had scored 473 goals and recorded 1,032 points. He’s a member of the IIHF’s Triple Gold Club after winning the Stanley Cup, Olympics and IIHF World Championship. He also helped the Soviet Union to gold at the World Junior Championship.
I feel like the world has forgotten how amazing Alex Mogilny was.
Jack Parker (Builder) — Parker coached Boston University for 40 years and helped the Terriers claim three NCAA national championships and six Hockey East tournament titles. He's a three-time Spencer Penrose Award winner as the top Division-I men's coach and owns the record for most wins with one school with 897 and the most NCAA tournament appearances with 24.
Danièle Sauvageau (Builder) — Sauvageau is the first woman to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the builder category and earned the honor following a coaching career that saw her guide Canada's women's team to a silver medal at the 1998 Olympics and then gold four years later in Salt Lake City. She's been part of seven Olympics with Canada serving as head coach, general manager and consultant.
Joe Thornton (Player) — Thornton's 24-year NHL career saw him suit up for the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers after being the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 NHL draft. He fell short of Stanley Cup glory, but did win an Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer, a Hart Trophy as NHL MVP and was a first team NHL All-Star. Thornton did find success on the international stage with Canada winning gold at the 1997 World Junior Championships, 2010 Olympics, and two World Cups of Hockey. "Jumbo" finished with 430 goals and 1,539 points in 1,714 games. He is one of only 16 players in NHL history to have reached the 1,500-point mark.
Here's 2+ minutes of Joe Thornton picking opposing defenses apart with next level passing pic.twitter.com/O7RS5Sgpqk
It’s been a week since the Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in six games to become back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions, but the team is already looking toward the future.
On Tuesday, Florida announced their 2025 NHL Preseason schedule.
It begins with their traditional preseason doubleheader, which this year will take place on the road in Nashville on Sept. 21.
There will also be a neutral site game played between Florida and Tampa Bay Lightning on Sept. 30 at Kia Center in Orlando.
The Panthers will play only two preseason games on their home ice in Sunrise.
They will host the Carolina Hurricanes on Sept. 29 at Amerant Bank Arena, then five days later on Oct. 4 Florida will welcome the Lightning to close out the preseason.
While the Panthers will play seven preseason games, they’ll only face three different teams.
The full preseason schedule for the Cats can be seen below:
Florida has not set an official start date for training camp yet, but it will likely be around a week before they begin playing exhibition games.
The NHL has yet to release the 2025-26 regular season schedule, but whenever Florida’s home opener arrives, they’ll be excited to raise another Stanley Cup Championship banner to the rafters.
Enjoy your summer, folks. Once again, it’ll be a shorter one.
Photo caption: Sep 30, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Maxim Groshev (52) tips a shot toward Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Jim Rassol-Imagn Images)
The six-foot-five and 186-pound Sarnia, Ontario, native center could certainly help fill one of the Habs’ needs. Not only does he have a large frame that he’s not afraid to enter the dirty areas with, but he also possesses a high hockey IQ and a knack for making opponents forget about him in the offensive zone, creating opportunities for himself.
He is a real power forward who doesn’t fear puck battles in the corner to retrieve the puck and feeds his teammates at both ends of the ice. He’s a responsible forward who’s well aware of a center’s defensive responsibilities.
On a struggling Windsor Spitfires team in 2023-24, he picked up 18 points in 58 games and was a significant part of the team’s much-improved result this past year, putting up 64 points in 65 games.
Nesbitt possesses a great package of skills, size, and hockey IQ. Still, he’s far from being a finished product and will need time to develop, focusing on both his speed and skating once he has fully developed and added some muscles to his already big frame.
There’s no consensus on where he’s likely to fall, however. While TSN’s Bob McKenzie has him at 17, Craig Button ranks him at 38, THN’s Tony Ferrari at 51, and Ryan Kennedy at 20. McKeen’s Hockey has him at 27, Recruit puts him at 44, and Dobber Prospects places him at 33.
The Canadiens did meet Nesbitt at the Scouting Combine in Buffalo, and the youngster was reported as saying, “It would be cool to go to Montreal, that’s where my father grew up.” The youngster added he felt the Canadiens were interested. According to TVA Sports, Nesbitt had filled out a questionnaire for the Habs and had a meeting as well.
The 18-year-old compares his play to that of Winnipeg Jets captain Adam Lowry, saying he plays a physical game on the 200-foot and can also score essential goals. That’s a profile that’s currently missing in Montreal, and adding Nesbitt would be an excellent investment for the future on the Canadiens’ part.
Photo credit: Michael Augello
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After finishing near the bottom of the NHL standings in 2024-25, the Boston Bruins were going to have a top-10 pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. What Bruins fans…
Finally, after nearly two decades away from the game, former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Alexander Mogilny will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The announcement came on Tuesday afternoon, with several others being inducted, including Jennifer Botterill, Zdeno Chara, Brianna Decker, Duncan Keith, and former Maple Leaf Joe Thornton. The two builders being inducted are Jack Parker and Danielle Sauvageau.
We now don’t have to wonder why the forward, who only spent three seasons with the Maple Leafs, wasn’t inducted. Mogilny played 13 seasons — with the Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, and New Jersey Devils, which included a 127 point year and 76 goals in 1992-93 and a Stanley Cup in 2000 — before joining Toronto in 2001.
Aside from Teemu Selanne, who also had 76 goals that year, no player has scored more in a season since Mogilny’s 76 in 1992-93. The two shared the Rocket Richard Trophy that year.
Mogilny spent three seasons with the Maple Leafs and averaged nearly a point per game in his tenure, scoring 166 points (65 goals and 101 assists) in 176 games. He also won the Lady Byng Trophy — given to the player “adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability” — with Toronto in 2002-03.
After a season plagued by a hip injury in 2003-04, which forced him to miss most of the year, Mogilny became a free agent and signed with the Devils. He played a combined 71 games during the final two seasons of his career, scoring 55 points in that span.
His career finished with the Cup, a Lady Byng and the Rocket Richard Trophy, and is a part of the triple-gold club (an Olympic gold medal, a World Cup gold, a World Junior gold). Mogilny’s career finished with 473 goals and 559 assists for 1,032 points in 990 games, plus 86 points (39 goals and 47 assists) in 124 playoff games.
Although his time in Toronto was brief, Mogilny will be remembered for his speed, tenaciousness, and skill, all while helping the Maple Leafs win three playoff rounds from 2002 to 2004.
The Edmonton Oilers are expected to be gauging the goaltending market this offseason to see if they can change some things between the pipes heading into the 2025-26 season. There…
The New Jersey Devils recently released a video taking fans behind the scenes of an amateur scout meeting ahead of the 2025 NHL Draft. In the two-minute video, general manager Tom Fitzgerald stated, "We are not coming back with the same guys. We have got some decisions we have to make."
One pending unrestricted free agent who is waiting for the Devils to make those decisions is Daniel Sprong.
New Jersey acquired the 28-year-old from the Seattle Kraken on Mar. 7, 2025, for a seventh-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. He appeared in 11 games for the Devils, collecting two assists.
During his end-of-season media availability, Sprong praised Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe, "He is my favorite coach I have played for in the NHL so far. He is honest. He says it how it is. That works really well for me."
To begin the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Keefe put Sprong on the third line with Paul Cotter and Cody Glass. After Game 1, Sprong was taken out of the lineup and served as a healthy scratch for the remaining four postseason games.
Despite not playing in those final games, he shared that he enjoyed his limited time with the Devils.
"I loved it here," Sprong said during his exit interview. "A great group of guys (and) great fans. I would say everything before New Jersey (this season) was pretty difficult. Mentally, I had a lot of ups and downs, mostly downs, but when I got to New Jersey, I think I fit in well."
With free agency fast approaching, The Hockey News contacted the forward's agent to confirm if Sprong was preparing for free agency and was informed that they are "waiting on New Jersey." NHL free agency will begin in one week on Tuesday, July 1, at noon ET.
Over nine seasons in the NHL, Sprong has also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks, Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings, Vancouver Canucks, and Kraken. He has 166 points in 374 games.
He is one of six unrestricted free agents that the Devils have, along with Nathan Bastian, Justin Dowling, Curtis Lazar, Brian Dumoulin, and Jake Allen.
Make sure you bookmark THN's New Jersey Devils site for THN's latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
It’s the 2025 NHL Draft week (June 27), and as usual, the Chicago Blackhawks are the team to watch. Because they have a lot of draft capital (15 picks in…
