A quick mix of the things we gleaned from the week of hockey, serious and less so, and rolling four lines deep. Currently accepting all $128 million offers.
1. Flying red-eye away from Las Vegas with lighter pockets and heavier notebooks following this week’s Player Media Tour, we have never been more convinced so early in a season that some blockbuster movement could unfold over the next 10 months.
Four franchise talents are readying for next week’s training camp while their long-term futures with their respective club are clearly unclear.
Their first NHL team might not be their last — even though none of the four organizations are pushing them out.
We checked in midweek, and everything remains status quo (i.e., status whoa!) with Edmonton and the unsigned Connor McDavid, who is patiently considering all options — including not re-signing at all.
Sidney Crosby’s trade away from Pittsburgh is “always a possibility,” agent Pat Brisson told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. And the realistic tone struck Crosby himself, now three years removed from playoff action, suggests he is warmer to the idea than ever.
Minnesota stud Kirill Kaprizov has been eligible to re-sign for well over two-and-a-half months. And yet, despite owner Craig Leipold publicly opening the vault, the team MVP reportedly turned down a $128 million contract offer.
The richest deal in league history? For a player who has never seen Round 2 or won a scoring race? No thanks, Kaprizov said anyway.
Is that because Kaprizov believes, with the leverage of July 1 and outside offers, he can squeeze more out of Minny? Or because he’s ready to move on?
And then there is Quinn Hughes, either the world’s best or second-best defenceman, depending on the week and who you’re talking to.
That the dynamic blueliner is keeping his future with the Canucks open-ended may be simply shrewd negotiating. It may be a sign that the doubt is real.
McDavid, Crosby and Kaprizov all hold full no-move clauses and will only change sweaters if they wish. For the first two, at least, this is not about money.
Hughes lacks trade protection, yet Vancouver will do everything possible to keep him happy and in town beyond the two seasons remaining on his deal.
All four superstars are running the show here.
All four are at least cracking the door to a departure. Their teams need strong starts to dampen the noise.
And while we don’t anticipate immediate address changes, nor anything less than motivated efforts from the players in an Olympic year, rival managers would be foolish not to start devising a plot to land a game changer.
Just in case.
They don’t come around this good, this often.
2. I wonder: Did watching close friend and Maritimes training partner Brad Marchand hoist the Stanley Cup and have a blast while dressed in something other than black and gold help open Crosby’s mind to the possibility?
3. Like it or hate it: At least two of Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart and Michael McLeod will sign NHL contracts before Dec. 1.
All but Formenton, who is playing in Switzerland and whose RFA rights are retained by Ottawa, are unrestricted free agents.
With starting goaltenders so scarce, Hart will have the least trouble finding employment.
4. Only days remain before training camp.
Restricted free agent Luke Evangelista and the Nashville Predators — who must start retaining young talent — are still far apart on salary.
The idea of a long-term extension, we’re told, has been set aside as the parties try to reach common ground on a one-, two- or three-year deal.
Tensions are rising here, but deadlines can spur action.
Evangelista’s potential absence from camp would serve neither side. The Preds can ill afford to begin 2025-26 with more drama.
5. From the department of One Eye Over Your Shoulder: How job-safe does Buffalo’s Kevyn Adams feel now that Jarmo Kekäläinen and his 11 years of GM experience is the Sabres’ senior advisor?
Arguably more under the gun is Predators head coach Andrew Brunette, who is now sharing his bench with head coach–turned–assistant Luke Richardson.
This following a disastrous 30-44-8 season in Music City.
6. Vegas star Mitch Marner declined to speak to reporters at this week’s Player Media Tour, with one exception: NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger.
The schedule makers have done Marner a favour when it comes to facing Toronto press this season. Both Leafs-Knights games come on the second half of a Vegas back-to-back, so Marner won’t have a morning skate at Scotiabank Arena before his Jan. 23 homecoming.
A circle-your-calendar event that has now been upgraded to a national broadcast.
“So, yeah, we’ll see how it goes. I mean, when that moment comes, we’ll take it head-on and see what happens,” Marner told Zeisberger.
“The good thing is that I know I’ll be going in there with a lot of guys on my side and 22 guys that are willing to do whatever it takes to win a hockey game. And I know there will be a lot of loved ones in the fans as well in the arena.”
While certainly true that one “fan” posted Marner’s home address on social media following Toronto’s Game 7 loss to Florida, the Maple Leafs argue that Marner’s framing of his departure as mostly a safety issue is a fabrication. Spin.
The overwhelming majority of Leafs fans — while passionate and frustrated — don’t cross the line. And unfortunately for them, they’ve been painted as hostile or a hindrance to the athlete’s performance.
Regardless, it is best for both the player and his former club that the chapter be closed.
Here’s to fresh starts all around.
7. Team Canada bubble boy Nick Suzuki said Milano Cortina 2026 is “definitely on my mind a lot.”
On our mind: How much does Suzuki’s lack of participation for his county at the world championship hinder his chances of getting the Italy invite?
Despite his Montreal Canadiens either not qualifying for the playoffs or being eliminated in Round 1, Suzuki hasn’t repped the Canadians since the 2019 world juniors.
Suzuki told Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas during their 32 Thoughts podcast that he made a point to meet with Jon Cooper and his staff in Calgary “to show what kind of person I am” and get to know them, too.
“It’s good to build those relationships — especially in hockey,” Suzuki said. “It’s a small world.”
Did Suzuki tell Cooper “See you in February?”
“Yeah. Maybe a little bit,” the Habs captain replied, coyly. “Something like that.”
The message from Cooper, who has a weighty voice in roster decisions: “Hope you have a really good start.”
8. The previously mild-mannered Suzuki on the emphatic celebration that punctuated his Game 74 overtime goal against the Panthers and helped fuel Montreal’s emotional sprint to a wild-card berth:
“I kind of blacked out. That was the first time I’ve done that in the NHL. Then it just kept happening in big games.”
9. Capitals star and Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, Que., native Pierre-Luc Dubois chuckled when recounting the on-the-bench playoff scrap between teammate Tom Wilson and Montreal’s Josh Anderson at Bell Centre.
“My dad was at the game. He was going to the bathroom right before that happened,” Dubois told 32 Thoughts. “He’s in the bathroom. He hears people yelling. And he was trying to hurry up and sprint back.”
10. How close is top Maple Leafs defence prospect Ben Danford to becoming an NHLer?
Toronto’s amateur scouting director Mark Leach: “Ben is a very good player. He has a good skill set. He is getting stronger every day. He had a really good playoff run (with Oshawa).
“He is a young man who needs time and maturity to play in the pro game. It doesn’t happen overnight. You are asking a 19- or 20-year-old to play against men. It is hard. If it were easy, everybody would be doing it.
“He could take a year, or two, or three. We will just see how he does when he gets there.”
11. The trend of betting big early continues, with the Calgary Flames committing seven more years and $52.5 million to goalie Dustin Wolf after just 71 NHL games.
Considering where the salary cap could reach in 2033, we could be talking about Wolf’s $7.5 million cap hit as one of the best value deals in the league.
Wolf was not invited to Team USA’s Olympic orientation camp. Only Seattle’s Joey Daccord joined 4 Nations netminders Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman at the event.
Despite Hellebuyck’s Hart Trophy win, no goalie has been named to the national roster yet.
Loved this line from Oettinger about competition for the position: “You can’t be a third-liner and still contribute. You’re either in the net or you’re not.”
12. Brilliant idea by Kyle Dubas, signing Penguins legend Marc-Andre Fleury to a PTO and adding some meaning into a one of those otherwise meaningless pre-season games.
“I haven’t been working out, but it’s not like I have a beer gut,” Fleury told NHL.com’s Jean-Francois Chaumont Friday. “I’m still in good shape. I’m more worried about the timing and the speed of the game after taking all this time off.”
Yes, Fleury is still retired. This isn’t an actual tryout; it’s a sentimental sendoff.
And, no, he won’t be telling everyone that he’s retiring a Penguin.
“I don’t want to disrespect the Minnesota Wild. I played my last game with them. I signed my last contract with them. They did a lot for me,” Fleury explained.
“I wanted to go back where it all began. I see it as a wink to my past. I’ll wear the Penguins jersey one last time, and I’ll see some old teammates and friends again. It’s a way to come full circle.”
Fleury, 40, will participate in two practices and hop between the pipes for one period against the Blue Jackets.
“At my age, that’s more than enough,” he said.
Expect Crosby, Malkin and Kris Letang to all suit up for that exhibition tilt.
Also expect a few other GMs to take a cue from Dubas and execute similar sendoffs to franchise icons down the road.
A nice touch that pleases fans and doesn’t steal much ice time from current players.
