The Toronto Maple Leafs signed Jani Hakanpaa in the summer of 2024 despite a chronic knee issue. The big, physical defenseman managed to play in just two games for the Buds as he spent most of last season still recovering from his latest knee procedures. But it appears that all is well (or at least as well as can be) with the 6-foot-7 d-man's health, as he has signed a contract for the rest of the 2026 season—in his native Finland. Maple Leafs LEGEND Jani Hakanpaa has signed a one-year d...
12 days ago
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The Toronto Maple Leafs have surged back into a playoff spot and they are looking good. They have done that while dealing with injuries and a banged up defensive group. Chris Tanev is the key piece missing from the back-end, and it doesn't look like he'll be returning to action during the regular season, so an addition is in order. David Pagnotta said, "Chris Tanev's season is probably over, for the regular season anyways. They're going to look to see if they can make an addition on that back-...
12 days ago
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Alexandre Texier has made a significant impact for the Montreal Canadiens since coming on board in late November. His $1 million 'bet on himself' signing with the Habs has paid off quickly, as Montreal has now signed the versatile forward to a two-year extension worth $5 million ($2.5M AAV). #GoHabsGo signed Alexandre Texier to a two-year extension: 2 years x $2.5 million = $5 million total. — Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) January 14, 2026 Texier had his contract mutually terminated by th...
12 days ago
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The Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks met at Canadian Tire Centre in the nation's capital on Tuesday night (a 2-1 Ottawa win), but the Sens' president of hockey operations and general manager Steve Staios couldn't wait for that to get a look at several potential Canucks' trade targets. He also made a trip to Montreal the day before to get another look at Vancouver's assets. As Bruce Garrioch reported in the Ottawa Sun, Staios is "actively working t...
12 days ago
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The Montreal Canadiens are still looking to upgrade further this season. They feel like they have as good a chance as any in the Eastern Conference and want to continue to build off of last season and the previous additions to make the team better. The Canadiens are dealing with injuries to Alex Newhook, Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach, and Jake Evans, so they have been hit very hard at center. To address this a little, Phillip Danault was re-acquired from the Los Angeles Kings , but he isn't having ...
12 days ago
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The Vancouver Canucks have lost eight games in a row and 10 of their last 111. The team sits dead last in the league and already traded away their franchise player in Quinn Hughes. There is no reason to think that more moves aren't coming soon with the way things are going. One of the biggest, even the biggest piece that the Canucks can trade is Kiefer Sherwood. David Pagnotta said, "Dallas has been in on it. Boston, Minnesota even prior to the Quinn Hughes move. There are others." There is no...
12 days ago
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The Toronto Maple Leafs are getting real production from a winger making just $1.35 million and now have to decide whether that value is worth paying for long term. At 29 and trending toward unrestricted free agency on July 1, Bobby McMann has made himself harder to ignore by producing like a top six piece, with 20 goals last season and 14 goals already this year while flashing the speed and edge that popped when he got a look higher in the lineup.
Keep Bobby McMann and pay the new pri...
12 days ago
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The Pittsburgh Penguins are keeping the buy and sell doors open at the same time. Pittsburgh Hockey Now’s Dan Kingerski leaned into that reality by flagging four young players Kyle Dubas should have on the radar as trade chatter heats up, all guys with pedigree, upside, and the kind of “change of scenery” appeal the Penguins have chased in recent years.
Jakob Pelletier
Kingerski’s list starts with Jakob Pelletier , a 2019 first round pick (26th overall) who is now in the Tampa Bay Li...
12 days ago
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The Vancouver Canucks ' season has been bad, and is getting worse by the day. The Canucks are dead last in the NHL. But the bad vibes in Vancouver are nothing new in recent years, as former head coach Bruce Boudreau pointed out on TSN's First Up show this week. Boudreau was the Canucks bench boss for parts of two seasons, as recently as 2023. He's not surprised to see what's happening there today, given the culture that has surrounded the franchise. Over the past three years,...
12 days ago
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The Pittsburgh Penguins lost a key piece of the blueline as the team announced on Tuesday, Erik Karlsson is out for a couple of weeks with a lower-body injury. The Swedish blueliner recently logged over 23 minutes on the weekend in a 1-0 loss to the Boston Bruins, and has yet to hit the ice since, and now the team has announced they'll be moving on with him for the time being. The Penguins are going to play multiple weeks without the injured Erik Karlsson. This is a real problem. He’s been exc...
13 days ago
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The Winnipeg Jets have dealt with a ton of adversity this season and unfortunately for them, are near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is open for business and not necessarily just around his rentals. There's been brewing speculation that the Jets are open to 'hockey trades' as well and have interest acquiring players with term left on their contract. None the less, there's trades coming from the Jets, and here's three trade candidates who could be moved ah...
13 days ago
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It seems pretty apparent that Dougie Hamilton’s days with the New Jersey Devils are numbered. His healthy scratch on Sunday brought to the forefront the issue that has been simmering in New Jersey for many months. The team has tried to trade him on at least a couple of occasions , only to have Hamilton invoke his no-trade clause (he has a 10-team trade list). One of the three teams that is said to be among the most serious in pursuing the 32-year-old puck mover is the Utah Ma...
13 days ago
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It was a scary-looking injury. Tampa Bay Lightning star forward Brayden Point's knee was bent in an excruciatingly unnatural way when Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Cam York fell awkwardly on his right leg in Monday night's game. And while reports on Tuesday suggested that it wasn't looking good for Point, the latest medical results indicate that he has avoided the worst-case scenario, and he should return this season. Brayden Point avoided a torn ACL, MCL and his season is NOT ove...
13 days ago
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The San Jose Sharks have had a quick rise from when Macklin Celebrini was drafted until now. The team went from dead last and only 20 wins last season to 23 wins in 45 games and sitting in a playoff spot. Plenty of young talent on top of Celebrini are making their mark, but this is a group that is going to be very good soon. The Sharks are in an interesting spot as the trade deadline approaches. The team sits in the first wildcard spot and have had moments in the top-3 as they are four games a...
13 days ago
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By going 8-0-2 in their last 10 games, the Toronto Maple Leafs have finally moved back into a playoff spot. This is a playoff team which had a rough start and needed some health. While the health hasn't exactly come back, a lot of players are contributing to the success. As it has been since the summer, the Maple Leafs need additions, even more so now that there is some open cap space and certain players that have shown they are disposable. Toronto hasn't been silent though. There have been at...
13 days ago
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The New York Rangers are having another bad season and the team has the worst points percentage in the Eastern Conference. They are also the only team under .500 in the East and have lost eight of their last 10 games. It makes too much sense for the Rangers to sell and they have the means to change things up and bring in helpful pieces. The big trade candidate is Artemi Panarin, who had reportedly rejected a big contract extension and isn't going to take a team-friendly deal to stick around. T...
13 days ago
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Joonas Korpisalo just gave the Boston Bruins a reminder of what the best case looks like, stopping all 27 shots in a recent 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins for his first shutout of the season. The timing is interesting because Boston has been gauging the market on Korpisalo , and the chatter around the league is that moving him is much harder than simply wanting to. He is 31, has been up and down as Jeremy Swayman’s backup, and the contract baggage is real with two years left ...
13 days ago
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The idea of the Vancouver Canucks trading Elias Pettersson once felt untouchable, especially following his eight-year contract extension, which he is just in the second year of. That’s no longer the case. According to The Province’s Patrick Johnston , it would be “not impossible” for the Canucks to move their top center as the organization leans deeper into a true reset. Calls have come in, interest exists, and while nothing appears imminent, the fact Pettersson’s name is even circulating spea...
13 days ago
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In a surprise move, the first head coach to bite the dust this season in the National Hockey League is Dean Evason of the Columbus Blue Jackets . 🚨 Team Update 🚨 We’ve relieved head coach Dean Evason and assistant coach Steve McCarthy of their duties and hired veteran NHL coach Rick Bowness as the club’s head coach. CBJ x @OHHeartofitAll pic.twitter.com/cXWr59Pd5w — Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) January 12, 2026 The team has named veteran coach Rick Bowness as Evason's replacem...
14 days ago
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The Edmonton Oilers have seen enough of top prospect Quinn Hutson this season to know they want to keep him around for a few years. With that, they have signed the previously undrafted 24-year-old to a two-year extension. Quinn Hutson signs for 2 more years with the Oilers ✍️ pic.twitter.com/7gjbzdcpWR — Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) January 12, 2026 The deal will pay Hutson $875,000 annually (the same as his current contract), and will expire in 2028 when he'll be a restri...
14 days ago
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While the Eastern Conference wildcard race is tight with all of the teams at or above .500, the Western Conference wildcard race is tight, but much weaker. There are some teams climbing above .500 and playing well, but it seems just as tough to make the playoffs. The St. Louis Blues are one of the teams in the running, but have been falling out of the race. They are now four games under .500 and six points back of a playoff spot with two extra games played. There continues to be plenty of play...
14 days ago
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Team Canada was not an easy team to make for the 2026 Olympics. There were many deserving players left off the team, but some may get the chance to go if injuries or something else happens at the wrong time. Right now, Bo Horvat and Tom Wilson are injured, while Devon Toews will choose being at the birth of his child over playing in the Olympics. Pierre LeBrun said, "15 players have been told that they're on the reserve list. The forwards...some pretty obvious names: Sam Bennett, Connor Bedard...
14 days ago
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The Ottawa Senators goaltending has been in shambles all season long, and although Linus Ullmark wasn't having a good season as the starter, he has been taken off the board and is away from the team for the foreseeable future, leaving the duties in the Senators crease to Leevi Merilainen and Mads Sogaard. Because that has gone so poorly, the team decided to bring in James Reimer. The Senators gave Reimer a game in the AHL where he didn't play well at all, but are so desperate that the team has...
14 days ago
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Jake DeBrusk's disappointing season has landed him on the rumor mill of late. He was a healthy scratch for the Vancouver Canucks in late December. And while things have turned around a bit for him since then, the same can't be said for the team, however. DeBrusk has three goals and five points in the last five games, but the Canucks' losing streak was extended to six games over the weekend with a dreadful 5-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs , and they are now dead last in the NHL. ...
14 days ago
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The Dougie Hamilton drama with the New Jersey Devils is now at a boiling point. He was a healthy scratch on Sunday and we heard that his agent admitted the player might be willing to waive his no-trade for some of the teams not on his 10-team trade list. The latest intel emerging on this Monday morning is that there are three teams now considered "serious suitors" with three other teams in the mix as well, per James Murphy in rg.org. The Sharks, Maple Leafs, and Mammoth have all emerged ...
14 days ago
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