NHL-ийн багууд шинэ улирлын бэлтгэлдээ гарч байгаа энэ үед лигийн хэмжээнд шийдэгдээгүй хэд хэдэн чухал асуудал анхаарал татаж байна.
Виннипег Жетс багийн хаалгач Коннор Хеллебайк солилцоогоор явах хүсэлтээ гаргасан нь багийн удирдлагын хувьд томоохон сорилт болж байна. Жетс багийн ерөнхий менежер Кевин Чевелдайофф солилцоог яаравчлах ямар ч шалтгаан байхгүй тул энэ үйл явц удаашрах эсвэл бүр зогсонги байдалд орох магадлалтайг мэргэжилтнүүд онцолж байна. Үүний зэрэгцээ Миннесота Уайлд баг хамгаалагч Куинн Хьюзтэй гэрээгээ сунгах тал дээр ажиллаж байгаа ч тоглогчийн чөлөөт агент болох хугацаа ойртож буй нь багийн хөгжөөн дэмжигчдийн дунд түгшүүр төрүүлж байна.
Колумбус Блю Жакетс багийн Адам Фантилли болон Анахайм Дакс багийн Каттер Готье нарын гэрээний асуудал мөн олны анхааралд байна. Аарон Портцлайн Фантиллигийн хувьд таван жилийн гэрээ байгуулах магадлал өндөр байгааг тэмдэглэсэн бол Анахайм Дакс баг Готьегийн гэрээг цалингийн цэсэндээ нийцүүлэх сорилттой тулгарчээ. Түүнчлэн Детройт Ред Уингс баг шинэ ерөнхий менежерээ томилох, багийн ахлагч Дилан Ларкины солилцооны асуудлыг шийдвэрлэх шаардлагатай байгаа юм.
Монреаль Канадиенс багийн хувьд өнгөрсөн улиралд үзүүлсэн амжилттай тоглолтын дараа энэ зун идэвхгүй байсан ч багийн цалингийн төсөвт 10 орчим сая долларын зай байгаа нь ирээдүйд томоохон өөрчлөлт хийх боломжтойг харуулж байна. Лигийн хэмжээнд шилдэг 150 тоглогчийн чансааг шинэчлэн гаргасан бөгөөд Коннор Макдэвид, Никита Кучеров, Натан Маккиннон нар жагсаалтыг тэргүүлж байна. Мөн энэ улирлын Калдер цомын төлөөх өрсөлдөөнд Филадельфия Флайерс багийн Портер Мартон тэргүүтэй залуу тоглогчид хүчтэй өрсөлдөгчөөр нэрлэгдэж байна.
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Howdy. Back from vacation — and just in time, as we’re about a week out from NHL rookie camps and two weeks from main camps. Let’s get you caught up on some of the top storylines around the league.
Connor Hellebuyck. (Rich Gagnon / Getty Images)
Still On The Docket
5 biggest unanswered questions
When hockey’s news cycle started slowing down back in early July-ish, post-offer-sheet mania, a surprising number of big-time storylines were still left hanging in the air.
Sure, some things have been resolved — and Macklin Celebrini and Cale Makar are now very wealthy men — but a few teams still have huge questions to answer, many of which need to be handled in the next few weeks.
Here are my five major things to keep an eye on this month, with some insight from our writers around the league as we start to get going again.
1. What do the Jets do with their franchise goaltender wanting out?
Connor Hellebuyck’s trade request went public late last week, and that’s led to widespread scuttlebutt about potential landing spots for the three-time Vezina winner. Jets writer Murat Ates says don’t hold your breath waiting for a resolution here, however.
💬 Ates: “Hellebuyck and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff are each stubborn enough for this situation to turn into an all-out saga. The Jets have no impetus to rush a trade — and Jets fans are well-versed in Cheveldayoff’s stubborn patience from Jacob Trouba’s 2016 contract holdout and trades involving Evander Kane, Trouba, Patrik Laine and Pierre-Luc Dubois.
“Meanwhile, Hellebuyck’s commitment to his convictions is central to his identity as a goaltender. A trade could happen at any moment, of course; all it takes is someone to meet Cheveldayoff’s ambitious ask. But this could also be an absolute stalemate — holdout included.”
Here’s more from Murat on what this means for the Jets and potential Hellebuyck replacements in net.
2. Can the Wild get Quinn Hughes signed to an extension?
The record-setting eight-year, $20.4 million-a-season contract for Makar was one thing — and it likely set the parameters for just how expensive Hughes is going to be. But Minnesota is in a tough spot given what it gave up for him and the fact that Hughes is less than 10 months from becoming an unrestricted free agent.
Should Wild fans be getting nervous?
💬 Wild writer Michael Russo: “Those close to Quinn Hughes continue to indicate he intends to extend his contract, but we’re almost a week after Makar signed and two weeks from Wild players reporting to camp. GM Bill Guerin continues to say he’s confident he will extend Hughes before the season, and he, being on the inside, knows what’s going on.
“Yet, there’s significant angst in the market because Hughes is one year from free agency, we all know he wants to eventually play with his brothers and the Wild gave up the equivalent of four first-round picks for him. We assume Hughes wants a significantly shorter-term deal than Makar, which theoretically means his AAV should be less than Makar’s. It surely can’t be much more, as $20.8 million is the 20 percent max he can receive. So, Hughes has the Wild over a barrel, and whatever he wants he’d probably receive. If he wants three years at $60 million, we can see the win-now Wild having to fork it over.”
Michael and Joe Smith have more here on the Hughes situation and how Makar’s massive deal is likely to affect things — and those trade rumors floating around.
3. Will big-name RFAs Fantilli and Gauthier get new deals by camp?
If you’re looking for other holdout possibilities, there are just six RFAs still in need of contracts as camp approaches, including Detroit’s Simon Edvinsson (who we’ll get into more below), Carolina’s Alexander Nikishin and Montreal’s Zack Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj.
The two headline names, however, are young players looking at eight-figure AAVs after the fireworks of Leo Carlsson’s massive offer sheet this summer: Adam Fantilli in Columbus and Cutter Gauthier in Anaheim.
💬 Blue Jackets writer Aaron Portzline on Fantilli: “I believe a five-year deal is most likely, but other terms have been discussed, too. I don’t think he wants to go beyond five, though, and to get a sixth year would require a big AAV bump. I’m told they are not discussing a max eight-year deal that would need to be done before Sept. 15.
“I suspect something gets done later this week or early next. It’s still amicable. Both sides seem to be waiting on the other to lose patience, but with two old pros in agent Pat Brisson and GM Don Waddell, that might take a while. My guess? Five years at $13.5 million a season.”
💬 Ducks writer Eric (Ice Man) Stephens on Gauthier: “There’s motivation for both sides to get a deal done, and the fact that communication continues to remain open between the Ducks and Gauthier’s agent, Kurt Overhardt, is a positive sign.
“If Gauthier and his camp desire a shorter-term deal, the Ducks will want a lower AAV, and that’s obviously important with their looming salary cap issue. The Ducks would like to go longer, but you imagine Gauthier’s side wants a higher AAV, which will make it that much tougher for Anaheim to manage its roster. They’re already expected to need to jettison a salaried veteran to fit under the cap with Gauthier’s new contract.”
4. When are the Red Wings getting a GM, and what do they do with Larkin?
Detroit is the only club without a GM right now, after Steve Yzerman was removed from the role on July 15. Some massive decisions await whoever gets the gig, too: deciding what to do about captain Dylan Larkin’s trade request and getting Edvinsson under contract.
Finding a way back to the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade is definitely on the agenda, too.
💬 Red Wings writer Max Bultman: “The GM search has been as quiet as it’s been long, but with the prospect tournament just over a week away, it’s nearing the finish line. Getting Edvinsson signed shouldn’t be a big issue; that’s something the new GM can get done fairly quickly — i.e., in time for Edvinsson to hit the ice with the Red Wings when camp opens Sept. 17.
“But the late timing of the hire points toward Larkin’s trade request not being resolved before camp opens. We’ll see what happens when the new GM speaks with Larkin, and what conclusions they reach in those initial conversations. Still, the possibility for some captain-related drama and distraction grows greater by the day.”
Here’s more from Max on the mess the next GM is inheriting.
5. Do the quiet Canadiens have a big move coming?
Montreal was one of the stories of the 2025-26 season with its run to the Eastern Conference final, but the Habs did almost nothing during one of the league’s sleepiest offseasons. The Canadiens still have a pile of cap space — nearly $10 million — to work with, too. (Some of that will go to their RFAs.)
💬 Canadiens writer Arpon Basu tells us he believes any move they make will be pushed into the season as they wait for teams to be more willing to move roster players for futures. But they remain an intriguing team to watch both on the trade front and otherwise, as he explains here and here in his latest columns.
Thank you to all of those excellent reporters. Let’s keep moving.
(Graphic via The Athletic)
Tiered Up
Top players and prospects, ranked
It’s the start of September, so we’re rolling out a couple of our major ranking projects here at The Athletic NHL HQ, with player tiers publishing yesterday and prospect tiers up today.
To give you a flavor of what’s in there, here are our top 11 NHL player rankings, which covers everyone in Tier 1A, 1B or 1C, defined as “the best player on almost any team in the league”:
1A: Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon
1B: Leon Draisaitl, Quinn Hughes, Cale Makar
1C: Aleksander Barkov, Macklin Celebrini, Rasmus Dahlin, David Pastrňák, Zach Werenski
In all, our panel of five writers and 20 people inside the game ranked 150 players, more than 20 percent of the league. Check out the full list here for more on the methodology and writeups on everyone included.
And if prospects are more your thing, Scott Wheeler’s comprehensive ranking of the 145 best and brightest players under age 23 is here.
Atop the list? Unsurprisingly, it’s Mr. Celebrini, although Matthew Schaefer isn’t far behind.
Zdeno Chára. (Rich Gagnon / Getty Images)
Coast to Coast
💛 Zdeno Chára, now an adviser to the Boston Bruins, returned to his native Slovakia to play in an exhibition billed as a salute to his 24-year NHL career. Patrice Bergeron, Ray Bourque, Marián Hossa, Jaromír Jágr and David Pastrňák joined in the game, among others. Neat.
🏊♀️ McKenzie Siroky was all set to play Division I hockey before changing her mind and going to Tennessee for swimming. Now she’s looking like an Olympic medal favorite. Peter Baugh dives into the story.
🏒 Team Trans, an all-trans hockey team, gathered from across the country to play a series of friendlies in Boston, less than two months after the Supreme Court upheld state bans on trans athletes. The players sought only what most want out of casual sports: camaraderie and good competition. Good read.
💻 It’s time to start prepping for your fantasy hockey drafts! Dom Luszczyszyn and Shayna Goldman have a fantasy hockey cheat sheet to help you out. Downloadable and customizable spreadsheets for Excel/Numbers for Yahoo and Fantrax: Get ’em here.
🔮 For a ninth straight season, we’re predicting the NHL’s rookie of the year. Here are the top 20 candidates for the Calder Trophy, led by the Flyers’ Porter Martone.
📺 The NHL’s broadcast landscape continues to evolve. Prime Video has become the exclusive streamer for the Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues within each team’s regional territory.
🏆 The two-time PWHL Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost did not protect American hockey legend Kendall Coyne Schofield in June’s expansion process, leading to some questions about the 34-year-old’s future. Earlier this week, she put pen to paper and is returning to the Frost for two more seasons. The captain is back.
📰 The Arizona State University Police Department is investigating the events surrounding the collapse and hospitalization of hockey player Matthew Mayich. This is separate from the “review” the university has said it is conducting. Details here.
Mailbag Time
No trivia this week (apart from The Athletic’s excellent weekly all-sports trivia) as we continue to ease our way back in.
Next week’s newsletter is going to go heavy on your questions, so if you have any burning queries for the Mirtbag, get them to us at redlight@theathletic.com in the next few days, and we’ll do our best to answer as many as we can. Thanks for reading.
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