One thing to remember about each NHL team ahead of training camp

In what feels like the blink of an eye, we’ve gone from the Carolina Hurricanes lifting the Stanley Cup in June, to Labour Day in September. That winter chill may not be in the air yet, but the encroaching fall weather is bringing training camp and pre-season games with it. Before you know it, the 2026-27 NHL season will be in motion.

Events begin this week, with the North American player media tour running Tuesday-Thursday in Vegas, followed by the opening of rookie camps into next weekend. Team golf tournaments will be happening, and in another week main camps will open, followed by a short pre-season.

We wouldn’t blame you if you pulled down your NHL antenna to focus on other summer activities the past couple months, but Labour Day is our demarcation line for the end of the off-season and the beginning of a new hockey year. This is why we felt it would be a good time to present you with one interesting thing to remember for each NHL team.

Anaheim Ducks: Cutter Gauthier still does not have a contract

GM Pat Verbeek has developed a reputation as a tough negotiator and in the past this has resulted in players such as Trevor Zegras (2023) and Mason McTavish (2025) missing training camp because they did not have contracts in time. We’re getting close to the same scenario with Gauthier, who is an RFA but has limited leverage because he cannot sign an offer sheet with another team.

Leo Carlsson’s $18 million AAV offer sheet from Philadelphia got all the attention this summer, but it’s Gauthier who led the Ducks in goals (41) and points (69) last season. Anaheim has slightly over $9 million in cap space and, given the changing contract landscape, Gauthier could reasonably seek more than that. Perhaps this ends up in a bridge deal, or some other move will have to happen with the roster.

Boston Bruins: JJ Peterka could play opposite David Pastrnak … or not

This is really a reminder that Boston’s biggest off-season acquisition was Peterka, who scored 25 goals in his one year with the Mammoth but saw his point total dip from 68 to 47. The Bruins gave up two first-round picks for him, the 23rd overall in 2026 and Florida’s top-10 protected in 2028, so they see value in adding a player with Peterka’s speed and rush game, and envision him getting back to the breakout level he was at in Buffalo. Speaking to Evan Marinofsky of the New England Hockey Journal in late August, Bruins coach Marco Sturm acknowledged he’d love for Peterka to share a line with David Pastrnak, but that will be something to feel out in pre-season.

“I also believe and hope if JJ and a guy like David would connect, that would be outstanding, but maybe they’re not,” Sturm said. “That’s something for sure we will try out at one point, (but) I probably will try JJ out on a different line to see if he feels better on the left or right, or on a different line.”

Buffalo Sabres: They had the third-best team save percentage in all situations last season

One point of criticism near the end of former GM Kevyn Adams’ tenure was that he carried three goalies on the roster. This wasn’t resolved by the time he was fired in December, and it still hasn’t been resolved in September as we head toward another pre-season. At the moment, Jarmo Kekalainen still has Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon and Colten Ellis all on the roster, and all would have to pass through waivers to be sent down. Each of them were above league average by save percentage last season, and each had a positive goals saved above expected. Lyon and Luukkonen, in fact, ranked 11th and 17th in that stat. All told, the trio together ranked third in team save percentage in all situations, and eighth at five-on-five. For all the Connor Hellebuyck rumours, Buffalo’s crease was not a disaster … but can the three be counted on in the biggest games?

Since 1983, the Saddledome has been home to the Calgary Flames, with a shape on the skyline unlike any other arena. It’s hosted three Stanley Cup Finals — a 1986 loss to Montreal, a 1989 win over the Canadiens and a 2004 loss to Tampa Bay — though the only time the Cup was lifted on its ice in celebration was by the away team in ’86. The arena has its quirks, and is now past its best-before date, but the memories over 40-plus years will be recalled and celebrated again in the Saddledome’s last ride during the 2026-27 season. It’s unfortunate the Flames won’t be a Cup contender and will be hard-pressed to even make the post-season, but this is how the arena’s story will end before the team moves into its new digs in 2027-28.

Carolina Hurricanes: Even with over $9 million in cap space, RFA Alexander Nikishin remains unsigned

The defending Stanley Cup champions were one of the quietest teams this off-season, keeping intact a roster that rolled through the playoffs with just three losses. The Canes have just under $10 million in cap space though, so they are lurking on the transactions front and able to still make an impact move. Hellebuyck is certainly one player to wonder about here — the money already makes sense.

On that front, Alexander Nikishin has been attached to trade rumours all off-season. The soon-to-be 25-year-old has one NHL season under his belt, scoring 11 goals and 33 points, but he is an offer-sheet ineligible RFA so can only negotiate with the Hurricanes. It’s reasonable to think Nikishin’s AAV on a long-term extension could reach $7 million on the low end, but when K’Andre Miller ($7.5 million) and Jaccob Slavin ($6.396 million) are your highest-paid blue-liners, Carolina will be in tough to manage that internal cap with Nikishin. With training camp so close, will an extension get done, or do the Hurricanes still have a big off-season move up their sleeve that would involve sending Nikishin elsewhere?

Columbus Blue Jackets: Returning coach Rick Bowness wants to change the culture

Bowness took over behind the Blue Jackets bench on Jan. 12 and the team immediately went on a hot streak, going 19-2-4 to move into second in the Metropolitan Division and in good shape to make the post-season. However, they then won just three of their last 13 games, including going 0-5-1 in their last six at home, missing the playoffs by five points. After that final game, Bowness aired it all out.

“I don’t know if I’m back, but if I’m back, I’m changing this culture,” Bowness said, before signing a new contract to come back. “These guys, they don’t care. Losing is not important enough to them. It doesn’t bother them. How can you go out and play like that?”

What followed was a lot of uncertainty. Speculation intensified that Zach Werenski, with two years left on his contract, would want out and the Blue Jackets did consider those options. One was a trade with Dallas, which Werenski vetoed. While that situation could have spiralled out of control, in the end Werenski voiced his commitment to Columbus and that ended all trade talk.

Meantime, Adam Fantilli remains an RFA, and despite widespread speculation he could follow Carlsson as an offer-sheet target, none has been signed yet. Deadlines spur action, though, and as Bowness seeks to establish his culture, it’ll be vital to have these two key players bought in and ready to go for the opening of camp.

Chicago Blackhawks: Connor Bedard will miss the start of the season

With Patrick Kane back in the fold, Anton Frondell ready to step into a full-time NHL role after a strong finish to last season, and a big bet being made on defenceman Bowen Byram (signed to a six-year extension at a $12.5 million AAV), the Hawks hope to progress into the playoff race this season. As other rebuilding teams on similar timelines (Anaheim, San Jose) stepped up in 2025-26, Chicago still barely got to 70 points and it hasn’t won 30 games in a season since 2019-20.

Unfortunately, the Hawks will be without their franchise player to kick off the 2026-27 season. Bedard had left-shoulder surgery in July after sustaining an injury while practising in Vancouver. The original timeline was a four-month recovery period, putting Bedard on track to return around November. The long end of that timeline would see him miss roughly a quarter of Chicago’s season.

Colorado Avalanche: Since joining the Avs, Scott Wedgewood is the league leader in save percentage and GAA

Early in the 2024-25 season, Colorado realized it needed to change its makeup in net and so went out and acquired two goalies in separate deals: MacKenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood. It was presumed Blackwood would take on most of the workload, but that the pair would work in tandem. Wedgewood, now 34, had been a serviceable NHL backup for some time.

Instead, over the past two years Wedgewood has gradually become the lead. He was excellent in 19 games in 2024-25 and even better in 2025-26, when he played in 45 games and finished fifth in Vezina voting. Interestingly, in 64 regular-season games played with Colorado over two seasons, Wedgewood is tied with Andrei Vasilevskiy atop the league with a .917 save percentage, and stands alone at the top with a 2.13 GAA. This season will be his last under contract making $2.5 million, after which he could become a UFA.

Dallas Stars: Thomas Harley returns to a team that tried to trade him

Harley is the highest-paid blue-liner on the Stars, and will be starting an eight-year extension in 2026-27 that he signed last October. He doesn’t have any trade protection in place until 2029-30, which will leave him open to that possibility for a few more years. But how often does a team trade a highly regarded 25-year-old defenceman who’s represented Canada at the highest level of international tournaments? Well, Dallas did try to.

While the Werenski chatter was heating up, Elliotte Friedman reported that Blue Jackets defender vetoed a move to Dallas, a deal that would have made Harley the centrepiece of the return to Columbus. That possibility appears to be over for now but until Harley’s NMC kicks in and Werenski extends in Columbus (which he’s not eligible to do until July 1), we have no choice but to wonder about Harley’s long-term place on Dallas’ blue line.

Detroit Red Wings: Captain Dylan Larkin still has a trade request hanging out there

As Friedman reported in early June, Larkin had requested a trade out of Detroit with five years left on his contract, writing that there were two critical factors: “Detroit’s inability to make the playoffs, and a somewhat frosty relationship between the captain and the team’s top hockey executive.”

Since then, Steve Yzerman has vacated the GM seat, but no one has yet replaced him. There is no indication Larkin has rescinded that request, or that he will give the Red Wings freedom to cast a wide net in working around his no-trade clause. Training camp is right around the corner and if left unfinished, this could create an awkward reunion. Will Larkin report and/or rescind? Will he allow Detroit more trade options? Can he remain captain? Who is even making these calls?

Edmonton Oilers: Their two healthy goalies are Tristan Jarry and Devon Levi

The Oilers have been looking for a solid goaltender for years, and not even back-to-back Cup Final appearances could keep Stuart Skinner around. GM Stan Bowman made a risky trade for Jarry last season (one year after the Penguins waived him), a low-risk pickup of Connor Ingram, and Calvin Pickard was a carryover. In the end, the Oilers had the league’s worst five-on-five team save percentage last season. Ingram was the best of the three, but he remains a free agent.

Jarry is back after posting an .858 save percentage in 19 games with Edmonton. Levi was added via trade, and while his AHL numbers have been strong for a few years, his NHL exposure has been limited and the 24-year-old couldn’t grab a job in Buffalo. With those two around, Edmonton felt it still needed more to secure the position, so it signed Frederik Andersen, who is already injured and will miss the start of the season. There is a lot on the line in Edmonton this year and, at the moment, it looks like the Oilers will start with a serious concern in net. We should also note that they have not gotten off to great starts recently, beginning 10-10-5, 11-9-2 and 5-12-1 in the past three seasons.

Florida Panthers: It took a very, very long time … but the goalie of the future is back

In 2008, the Panthers used an early second-round pick on Jacob Markstrom, the third goalie taken off the board after Chet Pickard and Tom McCollum. Labelled as their “goalie of the future” at the time, Markstrom developed in their system for a few years in the first post-Roberto Luongo era as Florida transitioned through the seasons with Tomas Vokoun and Jose Theodore. But after leading the team with 23 games played in the lockout-shortened 2013 season, Markstrom struggled in 2013-14 and was traded to Vancouver in a deal that brought Luongo back to Florida.

So, the goalie of the future never arrived. Instead, Markstrom had five full, solid seasons in Vancouver, four more years in Calgary, and then to New Jersey, where he helped improve the crease in his first season and got the Devils to the playoffs. His second season, however, was one to be forgotten.

Now 36 (turning 37 in January), Markstrom has two years left on a $6-million contract the Devils signed him to then wanted to bail on. The Panthers have every expectation to return to the playoffs and take another Cup run, but is it now too late to do that with Markstrom, who has made the playoffs three times in his career, has never made it beyond Round 2 and whose minus-11.9 goals saved above expected last season was only ever so slightly better than Sergei Bobrovsky’s? Over the past four seasons combined, Markstrom’s .896 save percentage ranks 50th among 57 goalies who’ve played at least 100 games.

Los Angeles Kings: Drew Doughty has one year left on his contract and the team wants to wait it out

A franchise cornerstone and Team Canada mainstay for over a decade and a half, it’s hard to envision Doughty wearing any other NHL jersey, so it was interesting to hear Kings GM Ken Holland talk about the 36-year-old’s expiring contract earlier this summer.

“We did meet with Drew,” Holland said. “We’ve agreed that we’re not going to sign him to an extension. He loves it here. He wants to be here. I told him, and we both agreed, let’s see where he’s at, let’s see where the team is at a year from now.”

Currently making $11 million against the cap, Doughty easily averaged the most ice time on the Kings last season but his offensive production and overall impact are slowly deteriorating. Eventually, the Kings will need to turn over to younger players, and this season that will be managed by new head coach Peter Laviolette. Perhaps Doughty ends up re-signing in Los Angeles and finishes his career a King, but Holland has certainly left the door open to a different possibility. Doughty has a seven-team trade list in his contract: if Los Angeles falls behind, might we see his name emerge in trade rumours?

Minnesota Wild: Filip Gustavsson will likely miss the start of the season

After last season ended, it was announced that starting goaltender Gustavsson would undergo hip surgery, which put into question his readiness for the start of training camp. Gustavsson, who started last season as the No. 1 goalie, struggled mightily after the Olympics, which allowed Jesper Wallstedt to take over. When healthy, the two together make up one of the best tandems in the league, but now it’s looking less likely that Gustavsson will be ready for even the start of the regular season.

“He won’t be ready for training camp, but we’ll see how far into the season it is,” GM Bill Guerin said last week. “I wouldn’t expect him in the first couple of weeks.”

For a time last season, it was believed the Wild might try to use a netminder like Wallstedt to acquire a much-needed top centre, but then Wallstedt became a vital part of the team. Interestingly, he is now going into the final season of his contract paying $2.2 million and will be an RFA next summer. Gustavsson, meantime, has five years left on his $6.8 million AAV and a full no-movement clause for this season and next.

The Stanley Cup window is opening and the Canadiens are well-positioned under the cap with the core they’ve locked in. They head toward camp with just under $10 million in cap room, and with two RFAs unsigned who, together, will come in under that number.

First is Bolduc, who played a career-high 78 games last season and is still just 23 years old. According to Eric Engels, it would be a surprise if an extension for Bolduc wasn’t done before camp opens on Sept. 16 at around $4 million AAV. And then there’s Xhekaj, who played 65 games but had trouble locking down a role and didn’t get into the lineup at all in the conference final. Both players are still offer-sheet eligible.

Nashville Predators: Only four players remain from the 2023-24 roster, the last time they made the playoffs

To say the Predators have changed over their roster is an understatement. The last time this franchise reached the playoffs, it posted 99 points in 2024 and was eliminated by the Canucks in Round 1. That off-season, the Preds “won the summer,” led by their big-splash additions of Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, but crashed in the standings.

Curiously, just last week the Predators traded away 24-year-old winger Luke Evangelista, who was the sixth-highest point-getter on that playoff team and fourth-highest last season. Without him, the only remaining players from the 2024 playoff team: Roman Josi, Juuse Saros, Ryan O’Reilly and Filip Forsberg. They have resisted the urge to trade O’Reilly, who now enters the final year of his contract. But after so much roster change in a short amount of time, and two consecutive playoff misses, the Predators still faces a confounding question: What is their direction?

New Jersey Devils: They had the league’s worst five-on-five PDO last season

Sometimes referred to as the measure of “luck,” PDO combines a team’s shooting and save percentage to get an idea if someone is running too hot or cold and due a course correction. And while an average team could be anticipated to end up around 1.000 in the stat, oftentimes there is a good reason that a team would be above or below that number.

The Devils were 24th in five-on-five save percentage as Markstrom struggled and Jake Allen took over the job. Markstrom is no longer in the picture and Allen returns with Nico Daws — but Hellebuyck trade rumours swirl here too. If Allen and Daws remain in net all season, the Devils could end up on the wrong side of league average at the position again.

But the even bigger drag on PDO was shooting percentage, where the Devils finished dead last, at 7.22. Calgary, Detroit and Vancouver were the teams directly above them. Timo Meier scored 24 times with a near-career-low 8.9 shooting percentage, but the four other 20-goal scorers all converted at around their career averages. It was a lack of depth after them that harmed the Devils, so new arrivals such as Evan Rodrigues and Anthony Mantha (who scored on over 21 per cent of his shots with Pittsburgh) must contribute — along with Meier — to pushing that number up. They probably won’t lead the league in PDO, but reasonable improvement should be expected. More context: the Predators had the league’s worst PDO in their disastrous 2024-25 campaign, then got back closer to average and improved by 18 points in 2025-26.

New York Islanders: Semyon Varlamov is back in the picture

The last NHL game Varlamov played was nearly two years ago, a 5-4 loss to Washington on Nov. 29, 2024. Knee injuries ended his season and then carried over into 2025-26 and caused him to miss nearly the entire schedule. While he did get back to some practices with the Islanders in March and April, the only games he played were two with AHL Bridgeport, where he picked up a couple of wins.

But from 2020-21 through 2023-24, Varlamov was one of the league’s best backup goalies after Ilya Sorokin took the starter’s job. It wasn’t clear if he would ever return, but with one season left on his contract, the 38-year-old Varlamov is expected to be at camp and to play pre-season games, with a hope he can ease Sorokin’s workload.

“It’s almost a miracle,” Islanders GM Mathieu Darche said last week. “He’s really put in the work. He’s been back here for at least a month. He’s on the ice four to five times a week, no medication, no pain.”

New York Rangers: Adam Fox was not a fan of Letter No. 2 last season

In 2018, the New York Rangers put up the white flag, issuing a “letter to the fans” from Glen Sather and Jeff Gorton, offering a transparent plan to step back, retool and take a longer-term approach to winning. In 2026, Chris Drury took a similar action, explaining he would seek to “retool” the Rangers rather than rebuild when it became apparent the season was lost. Artemi Panarin was traded shortly after and Vincent Trocheck followed him out in the off-season.

But one player wasn’t overly enthusiastic by the letter. “It’s not fun to hear,” Fox said. “We’re competitive people in here. We want to win. You lose a guy like (Panarin) and you don’t know what else could happen. Obviously, we put ourselves in this position, and that’s what happens. It obviously sucks when something like that happens.”

Trade rumours kicked up around Fox, who worked his way to this choice destination in the first place, but ultimately nothing happened. And, at this point, any movement is unlikely to happen around Fox. The Rangers made some additions, headlined by Pavel Dorofeyev, in an effort to return to the playoffs. But if this season falls similarly flat, with frustrations boil again?

Had the Senators drawn a more favourable first-round opponent than the eventual Stanley Cup-winning Hurricanes, there might be more optimism nationally about them … even without Tkachuk. After struggling through the opening months, the Senators went 26-12-6 over their last 44 games, the league’s sixth-best points percentage in that span. Over the back half of the season, they also ranked (at five-on-five): third in shots against per 60, fourth in expected goals against per 60, and fifth in high-danger chances against per 60. They became a much better defensive team, and, sure, they’ll need Linus Ullmark to deliver more consistently, but their finish as a unit should give some hope that they can overcome the loss of Tkachuk.

Philadelphia Flyers: Matvei Michkov had a bumpy first season under Rick Tocchet

From the get-go, Michkov was playing catchup in his sophomore NHL season. The Flyers had a new head coach in Rick Tocchet, who is not shy to challenge his players and wants the younger, up-and-coming stars to earn the minutes the wider public thinks they should be given. Michkov, for his part, arrived at training camp “out of shape” and had a hard time earning Tocchet’s trust all season. In the end, Michkov averaged 14:50 of ice time per game, eighth among all regular Flyers forwards. His production dipped by six goals and 12 points from his first to second NHL season, and some corners were wondering about the possibility of a trade.

Meantime, 2025 sixth-overall pick Porter Martone arrived at the end of the season and took the league by storm with 10 points in nine regular-season games, and two game-winning goals in his first two playoff games. Martone will have a leg up and be eyeing a top-six spot at camp. Michkov, who seems to have had a good summer of training, will also look to earn a role there. If he can get a top-line spot out of camp, the 21-year-old might be a great breakout candidate. Perhaps there is extra motivation to be found in a contract year, as Michkov will be due a raise next summer, when he will be offer-sheet eligible.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson are all on expiring contracts

The Penguins snapped their three-year playoff drought in 2026, but were quickly eliminated and still haven’t won a round since 2018. GM Kyle Dubas continues to slowly try to turn over parts of this roster, but this core of veterans will never be easy to move on from. Malkin, after all, would have been a free agent this summer, but was brought back on a one-year deal.

We’ve thought this before, but this could be the final ride for the Crosby-Malkin duo in Pittsburgh, and don’t be surprised if Karlsson’s name comes up on our trade board this winter if the Penguins are on, or outside, the bubble. In another year, Kris Letang will also be on an expiring contract.

Seattle Kraken: Two star players have rejected them

It’s no secret the Kraken lack star power and have really made an effort to fix that. But those efforts have failed in spectacular fashion.

First, there was the attempt to trade for Artemi Panarin in February, but that needed to come with a contract extension. According to Friedman at the time, Panarin was offered a deal that was worth more than Leon Draisaitl’s $14 million per season, but turned down the Kraken. Instead, he was traded to Los Angeles and now makes $11 million against the cap.

And then there was the Jason Robertson saga in June. This time, Friedman reported the Kraken offered Robertson an eight-year deal worth about $15 million per season and had a trade lined up with Dallas. Robertson turned them down as well and ended up staying with the Stars on a one-year deal paying $12 million.

In the end, it was an overall quiet summer in Seattle. The most notable event was perhaps an audit they had done by a third party to review their hockey operations from top to bottom. We’ll see what impact that may have on the franchise but at the moment it’s clear they are having problems attracting talent to the market.

San Jose Sharks: It’s going to be a ‘prove it’ year for Yaroslav Askarov

In 2025-26, Askarov finally played a full season in the NHL, appearing in a career-high 47 games and taking on the job of San Jose’s No. 1 netminder. It’s been a long time coming for the 11th-overall pick of the 2020 draft, who was traded to the Sharks a couple of years ago after his former team, Nashville, chose to re-sign Juuse Saros for eight years.

By the numbers, it wasn’t amazing. Askarov finished 96th of 98 goalies in goals saved above expected, and had a 3.60 GAA and .884 save percentage that were both worse marks than teammate Alex Nedeljkovic’s.

Now, the Sharks are looking to take another step. The blue line’s top four is almost entirely new, with Jacob Trouba, Darnell Nurse and Michael Kesselring coming in as the three biggest acquisitions. Team defence could be better, but it’s not as though they were a disaster there last season: the Sharks were middle of the pack in expected goals against and high-danger chances allowed at five-on-five. Askarov is also heading into the final season of his contract, so there is some earning potential at stake here. The extremes this season for the 24-year-old netminder are to either exceed and lock in as San Jose’s No. 1 goalie, or struggle to improve and open up questions about potentially addressing the position.

St. Louis Blues: Jordan Binnington is on an expiring contract

A regular on Nick Kypreos’ trade board last season and at the start of the summer, there was reason to believe Binnington would be tending a new net in 2026-27. His play behind St. Louis’ defence continued to tail off and even though the Blues had the NHL’s second-best points percentage after the Olympic break (17-5-3 record), the majority of that workload and credit went to Joel Hofer.

In fact, both of St. Louis’ goalies are on expiring contracts but while Hofer is a 26-year-old pending RFA, Binnington is 33 and able to test unrestricted free agency next summer. It would seem more likely than not that only one of these goalies will still be a Blue in 2027-28, and Binnington is the one who will remain a trade candidate throughout this season.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Everyone’s rooting for Victor Hedman’s return

Last season was a tough one for Hedman. First there was an undisclosed injury in November that kept him out nearly a month, then after returning for just three games, he was placed on injured reserve and had elbow surgery. That kept him out until just before the Olympic break, when he joined Sweden, but again he was injured in the medal round. Upon returning to the NHL, Hedman dressed for 12 more games, but after playing just a few shifts in a mid-March game against Vancouver, he took personal leave due to performance anxiety that ended his season, including playoffs.

Speaking to NHL.com in August, Hedman described what he was going through at the time, and noted that he was ready to return with high expectations for the 2027-28 season.

“I felt it was important for me to do to get a handle on everything mentally and physically,” Hedman said. “Someone told me that for good leaders, sometimes doing the right thing for the team is to kind of step away. I thought that was the right decision for me. I wasn’t myself on the ice. I felt I wasn’t helping the team. So, I felt the best thing for the team was for me to focus on myself (while) away. I don’t regret that decision at all. It was the right thing to do.”

With big signings for new leaders on the blue line and in net, a slew of new bottom-six forwards in the mix, and the No. 1 overall pick on board, there is a lot to explore about this year’s Maple Leafs. At the top is a new head coach, so for all the potential highs and lows ahead, Jim Hiller is in control of direction.

Things did fly off the cliff for the Maple Leafs last season. No team allowed more shots on goal, as their defence imploded and the goaltenders mostly struggled. The offence was nerfed by Craig Berube’s north-south dump-and-chase, and only five teams had fewer expected goals and high-quality scoring chances, by NaturalStatTrick‘s measure.

So in comes Hiller, who previously was head coach of a Los Angeles Kings team that had a reputation for being defensive. Over his two full 82-game seasons there, Los Angeles allowed the third-fewest goals and fifth-fewest shots at five-on-five. And while they weren’t among the top goal-scoring teams, Hiller’s Kings did have favourable shot and goal shares at five-on-five. His vision, and what he can get out of a more skilled roster on paper, is one of Toronto’s biggest early storylines.

Utah Mammoth: They are adding a veteran push

The Mammoth are one of those teams we’ve all seen coming for a couple of years. After building so much draft equity in Arizona, those picks are bearing fruit in Utah and providing the team with quality players and trade options. The Mammoth got to the playoffs last season and, don’t forget, had a 2-1 series lead over Vegas before falling in six games.

Ahead of the 2025 off-season, Utah management talked about not wanting to add too many players over the age of 30, but the plan was much different this year. After acquiring 32-year-old MacKenzie Weegar before the trade deadline, the Mammoth traded for 33-year-old Vincent Trocheck and signed 36-year-old Anders Lee. With still more high upside prospects on the way, Utah doesn’t want to be a one-and-out playoff team: it accomplished one goal, saw what it took to get to the next step, and acted.

It’s been a couple years since we’ve seen Demko healthy and at the top of his game, and his 2025-26 season was cut short in January by hip surgery. We had a glimpse of peak Demko last October, but it was short-lived. With three years remaining on his contract, the Canucks hope he can still contribute to something here, and training camp is the first big milestone in his latest comeback. Over the weekend Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre reported that Demko has been on the ice for goalie sessions in Vancouver, but has not yet joined a bigger group that started skating before Labour Day. Co-president Henrik Sedin said, “hopefully, he’ll be ready to go when training camp hits.”

In the meantime, Kevin Lankinen returns and Chris Driedger will be at camp on a PTO. Nikita Tolopilo will also be in the picture after he played 21 Canucks games last season and would have to clear waivers to go back to the AHL.

Vegas Golden Knights: Ryan Craig becomes the team’s first head coach who didn’t previously hold that title in the league

With their well-worn reputation of being a team that will always seek out proven and available veteran talent for the roster, the Golden Knights have a similar history with head coaches. Gerard Gallant had coached two teams before Vegas, Peter DeBoer had been to two finals before Vegas, Bruce Cassidy had seven playoff appearances before joining the team, and John Tortorella had a previous Stanley Cup win before leading Vegas back to the final.

But instead of continuing on with Tortorella after he shocked the team awake, the Golden Knights decided to promote Craig, who was an assistant coach on the NHL team for six years before becoming the AHL team’s head coach the past three. While he bucks Vegas’ trend of choosing veteran NHL head coaches, Craig is familiar with the organization and its players. Under Craig, the Henderson Silver Knights made the playoffs once.

Washington Capitals: They were the winners of the off-season

In come veterans Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou and Boone Jenner, plus expected full seasons from highly anticipated rookies Ilya Protas and Cole Hutson. Suddenly, this team that missed the playoffs by only four points last season looks like a good bet to climb back in — though we should caution that “off-season winners” don’t always play out so positively when the real games get going.

Still, on paper, the Capitals can put together three very strong lines, and No. 1 goalie Logan Thompson finally got Team Canada’s attention and finished the NHL season as the league leader in goals saved above expected. In what could be Alex Ovechkin’s final season after he re-upped for a bonus-heavy one-year deal, the arrow is pointing up again for the Caps.

While it was believed Hellebuyck had requested a trade after the Jets’ season ended short of a playoff berth, the team didn’t make a move at the draft and stayed quiet all summer. The market was jolted awake early, though, when Hellebuyck made his trade request public in late August, putting a little more pressure on the front office and doubt in the minds of the fan base.

Without Hellebuyck, it’s hard to see how the Jets can move forward, though we wait to see what the return will be to pass judgment. The only leverage Winnipeg has is that Hellebuyck has five years remaining on his contract, but we have to wonder: if the goalie is not dealt by the opening of training camp, will he report?