Tag Archives: Hockey
Devils’ Toughest Opponents in 2025-26
Rangers Need Will Borgen to Prove 2024-25 Was Not a Fluke
Wilf Paiement: The Maple Leafs’ Forgotten 40-Goal-Scorer
Five-Time AHL All-Star Cal O'Reilly Signs In Swiss NL
Five-time AHL All-Star and two-time Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award winner Cal O'Reilly has signed a contract with the SCL Tigers of the Swiss NL until the end of October with an option to extend.
One of the most prolific players in AHL history, O'Reilly recorded 177 goals, 606 assists, and 783 points in 1022 games over parts of 18 seasons. He has the eighth most games played in league history, sits sixth all-time in assists, and is 18th all-time in points.
The 38-year-old recorded 11 goals and 49 points in 68 games to lead the Milwaukee Admirals in scoring last season and was an assistant captain.
A fifth round selection of the Nashville Predators in 2005, O'Reilly has 16 goals and 49 points in 145 career NHL games with the Predators, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, and Minnesota Wild.
O'Reilly is known as a fantastic leader and won the Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award as the AHL player who best exemplifies sportsmanship in 2021 and 2025. He served as captain with four different AHL franchises over his career.
An AHL All-Star in 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016, and 2019, O'Reilly led the Calder Cup Playoffs in assists in 2015.
While he is only signed until the end of October there is a good chance we have seen O'Reilly's Hall of Fame AHL career come to an end.
Check out our AHL to KHL signing tracker and AHL Free Agency signing tracker.
Three NHL Calder Candidates Flying Under The Radar
The NHL's Calder Trophy race is always one of the most unpredictable storylines heading into the NHL season.
While much of the spotlight tends to shine on hyped rookies and high draft picks, history has shown that lesser-discussed players can emerge as serious contenders.
Artemi Panarin, Kirill Kaprizov and, most recently, Dustin Wolf, are just a few of the stars who have proven that opportunity, situation and timing can be just as important as raw talent.
The 2025-26 NHL rookie class is stacked with potential difference-makers, such as Ivan Demidov and Zeev Buium. But let’s look at three players who may be flying under the radar for potential Calder Trophy consideration.
Sam Rinzel, D, Chicago Blackhawks
Calder Trophy winner odds on BetMGM: 41.00 (+4,000)
Sam Rinzel is joining a crowded dressing room of young defenders within the Chicago Blackhawks organization.
The Blackhawks have eight defensemen who played NHL games last year under contract heading into the 2025-26 season, not including RFA Wyatt Kaiser. Seven of them are younger than 25. It’s far too early to cement anyone’s role within the lineup, but Rinzel possesses the skill set to be the team’s top offensive defenseman this season.
Rinzel joined the Blackhawks for the team’s final nine games of last season and showed some real offensive promise, finishing with five assists, three of which came on the man-advantage. He led the Blackhawks in ice time per game in that stretch (23:22) and was immediately thrust onto the team’s top power-play unit.
It’s a short sample size, but that level of production would give Rinzel 45 points over an 82-game season, which would likely put him near the top of rookie defenders in scoring.
Unfortunately, the Blackhawks will likely not be near playoff contention this season, making it difficult for him to make a case for himself to have improved a franchise as much as other rookies. While it will be difficult for him to stand out, it shouldn’t rule out his chance completely.
Jimmy Snuggerud, RW, St. Louis Blues
Calder Trophy winner odds on BetMGM: 18.00 (+1,700)
Jimmy Snuggerud made his NHL debut on April 1 and played in seven regular-season games with the St. Louis Blues, where he recorded a goal and three assists.
However, the Minneapolis, Minn., native was also an integral part in all seven of the team’s first-round playoff games against the Winnipeg Jets, picking up two goals and two assists in the series.
Snuggerud was slotted on the Blues’ top line alongside Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich, and that role appears to be his to lose heading into training camp this fall. He even took some shifts on the top power-play unit, which could give him every opportunity to be a top offensive contributor for the Blues this season.
Snuggerud, 21, enters the season as one of the older rookies eligible for the Calder Trophy, putting him in a much more advantageous position over this rookie class of forwards. He’s also already earned the trust of coach Jim Montgomery with his offensive instincts and scoring ability, as he was playing just over 17 minutes per game in the playoffs.
There’s not a ton of competition for Snuggerud’s role with Jordan Kyrou being glued to the wing of Brayden Schenn on the team’s second line. If he can replicate the same level of production over 82 games and solidify himself as a top-line player, there’s a strong chance he’ll be a finalist for the Calder when the season concludes.
Leevi Merilainen, G, Ottawa Senators
Calder Trophy winner odds on BetMGM: 61.00 (+6,000)
The goaltending situation in Ottawa will be intriguing this season.
Leevi Merilainen, a third-round pick in 2020, suited up 12 times for the Senators last season and had an impressive .925 save percentage and 1.99 goals-against average. His 8-3-1 record in that span helped the Senators end a losing skid and put them back on course for a playoff spot.
That short stint would indicate that he’s undoubtedly earned himself the chance to play a larger role throughout the regular season, now that backup Anton Forsberg signed with the Los Angeles Kings.
Obviously, the Senators have a commitment to Linus Ullmark for the next four years with a hefty $8.25-million cap hit, but his injury history, age and overall durability would suggest that Ottawa may have a tandem this season as opposed to Ullmark carrying a heavy workload.
In his 10-year NHL career, Ullmark’s career high in games played is 49, coming with the Boston Bruins in the 2022-23 season. His statistics have been remarkable within the 40-to-50 game range. But if Merilainen continues to have positive outings, then there’s less pressure on coach Travis Green to have Ullmark overwork himself in favor of having him well-rested for a potential playoff run.
It will be a crowded field of players for the Calder Trophy, and with only three goaltenders winning in the last 25 years, the odds are stacked against Merilainen. However, if the Senators can build off their 2024-25 campaign and remain in post-season contention, there’s a good chance he played a big part in that success and could be a worthy candidate for the award.
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Maple Leafs Dangling D-Man For One Last Big Summer Trade
Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving And Darren Ferris Discuss Free Agent — Could It Be Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk?
Even after the Mitch Marner saga, player agent Darren Ferris says it’s business as usual with Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving.
The agent appeared on the 100% Hockey Podcast with Daren Millard and John Shannon last week to discuss Marner’s departure from the Maple Leafs and his arrival with the Vegas Golden Knights after a sign-and-trade in late June.
Toronto and Marner agreed to an eight-year, $96 million contract before sending him to Vegas in exchange for Nicolas Roy. Marner’s exit from the Maple Leafs was, and still is, a massive talking point amongst fans within Toronto.
However, during the interview with Millard and Shannon, Ferris indicated that nothing had changed within the relationship between the agent and GM, adding that the two had spoken about a free agent recently.
“[The relationship is] still cordial. I’ve known Brad quite a while. He’s a good man, and he’s got a tough job in front of him. Toronto’s not an easy organization to work in with all the noise on the outside, but he seems to weather it. Everything’s fine between us,” said Ferris.
“We were talking about a free agent that I have currently that’s still out there, just recently acquired, and we just had a discussion, and we continue to, I mean, it’s business as usual.”
Among the free agents still available under Ferris is defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. The 31-year-old is coming off a full season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he tallied one goal and 40 points while averaging 20:37 of ice time on the blue line.
Grzelcyk had the second most points among Penguins defensemen, and if he were on the Maple Leafs, he’d have been one point off Morgan Rielly for the team lead. This past season with Pittsburgh was his best year to date, as he registered career highs in assists and average ice time.
Would bringing in Grzelcyk make sense for Toronto?
If there’s anything different about the upcoming season for the Maple Leafs, it’s the amount of quality defensemen they already have within the organization.
Any team, of course, would love to have as many defenders as possible, just in case injuries pop up, and the Maple Leafs have that. They’ve got the six defensemen (Rielly, Brandon Carlo, Chris Tanev, Jake McCabe, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Simon Benoit) who just helped push the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers to seven games.
Toronto has also brought in Henry Thrun from the San Jose Sharks in the Ryan Reaves trade, plus they have Matt Benning, Dakota Mermis, Philippe Myers, Marshall Rifai, and William Villeneuve waiting in the ranks.
The only reason Toronto should bring Grzelcyk in is if they’re afraid of losing a couple of defensemen to waivers at the beginning of the season, which could very well occur.
Benning has mentioned he’d like a chance in the NHL with the Maple Leafs, or elsewhere. He could be a candidate to move if he has a strong training camp with Toronto and doesn’t make the team.
The Maple Leafs kept Myers as depth for most of last season, which I’d assume they’d do again after signing him to a two-year, $1.7 million contract in January. I could see them doing that with Thrun instead, depending on which player has a better training camp.
Adding Grzelcyk wouldn’t necessarily be a bad move, especially if he comes in on a professional tryout, similar to how Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz did last training camp. As it stands currently, though, the Maple Leafs have $1,919,722 in cap space, according to PuckPedia.com.
Would you rather see Toronto spend that on another depth defender like Grzelcyk, with the chance of losing a couple of defensemen at the start of the season to waivers? Or would you like to see Treliving keep that money for an addition at the trade deadline?
Either way, these last few weeks before training camp could be fascinating to watch if you’re a fan of the Maple Leafs.
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