SETTING UP CAMP near the top of your favourite insider’s trade board as an “obvious” change-of-address candidate, Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson is the latest valuable asset GM Craig Conroy could be shipping out of Calgary. While Andersson isn’t ruling out an extension, Conroy has yet to offer the minutes-muncher a deal he can’t refuse. And if the Flames stumble out of the gate, the Andersson trade buzz will only grow more deafening. Move Andersson, and Nazem Kadri rumours won’t be far behind. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though. An exciting young goalie, Dustin Wolf, and a chip-on-the-shoulder attitude could spur the Flames to rally for Rasmus.

THE OUTSPOKEN OWNER of the Senators remains optimistic the NHL could retract the first-round draft pick penalty levied against the organization’s former caretaker for messing up the Evgenii Dadonov trade. But the more realistic solution may be for Michael Andlauer’s Senators to lower the value of that pick by taking another step and going deeper in the playoffs. “They went from a bunch of puppies, not knowing where they’re going, to now, all of a sudden, they’re well trained and they’re focused at the task at hand,” Andlauer told Sportsnet’s Alex Adams of his maturing team. As is the case on the ice for Brady Tkachuk, Jake Sanderson, Tim Stutzle, and the rest, off the ice the Senators must make progress too — on turning the LeBreton Flats project into a new home. “I wouldn’t be spending millions of dollars, which I already have, in prepping for this, if I wasn’t confident,” Andlauer said.

NO, THE OFFER SHEETS didn’t come flooding in after Doug Armstrong skewered the Edmonton Oilers with the aggressive signing tactic last summer, but the seasoned executive is still one of the most influential in his line of work. This year, Armstrong will call the men named to Canada’s Olympic hockey team (get your snub lists ready, content creators!). The glory and anguish that follow will be tied to his legacy. Moreover, as previously announced, Armstrong is entering his final season as GM of the St. Louis Blues before he passes the torch to Alexander Steen. Goalie Jordan Binnington has a chance to make the boss look good twice.

THE NO-BRAINER No. 1–overall draft choice of 2023, Connor Bedard is still seeking his first 30-goal and 70-point seasons. He’s a minus-80 player through his first 150 pro games. Is that because pundits were too hasty to label the prodigy a generational talent? Because his Chicago Blackhawks are bumbling this prolonged rebuild? A little of Column A and Column B? Not only is Bedard, who made the questionable call to not dress for Canada at the world championships, a definite maybe to make the Olympic cut, he is also entering a critical platform year and is set to turn restricted free agent. How the player and his team treat their upcoming negotiation should tell us what they think of each other. Bedard says he is comfortable dropping the puck without an extension in place.

COMMISSIONER GARY BETTMAN’S fingerprints will be all over 2025-26 as revenue, paycheques, and interest levels all elevate. As they recover from a rabid case of Olympic fever, NHL fans will have to wrap their brains around the new playoff salary cap regulations and contract term limits. While commoners play catchup to the changes Bettman has helped institute, the 73-year-old commish will be busy entertaining host-city bids for the ’28 World Cup, weighing all his expansion pitches (34 teams is gonna be a reality soon enough), scheduling the next 84(!)-game season, and dealing with a list of other things that doesn’t include retirement — yet.

IMAGINE BEING HANDED the keys to Team Canada, speeding through a successful test lap, then revving up for the race that matters. “Our job is to take the Ferrari and make it better,” coach Jon Cooper said at the national squad’s minicamp in Calgary this August. The longest-tenured NHL bench boss must balance his day job with the Lightning (how healthy is Andrei Vasilevskiy, by the way?) with the pressure of keeping Canada’s NHL-involved Olympic streak alive. Listen: Before the pep talks begin, Cooper has a weighty voice in Canada’s roster composition, line combinations, and player ice time. Less discussed is the fact that Cooper quietly re-signed with Tampa and is determined to lead the Bolts back to being the best team in Florida.

COULD THIS REALLY be the year Sidney Crosby leaves Pittsburgh? Has a string of international events — the 4 Nations Face-Off, 2025 IIHF World Championships, 2026 Winter Games — sated the serial winner’s appetite for meaningful competition? Or does he want another crack at the Cup, something he’s doubtful to get if he remains with a franchise seven years removed from its most recent series victory? “That’s the thing that sucks about losing. When you lose, that’s what comes with losing — that speculation. When you win, there’s no speculation,” Crosby said. “That’s the crappy part.” Crappy for Crosby. Intriguing for the rest of us, who can imagine him in Denver or Montreal or South Florida. “There’s a lot of noise as far as, ‘Does he want to leave? Where can he go?’ Everyone’s got the team they want me to go to. It’s a lot of that,” said Crosby, the only man who controls where he goes — or if he stays put.

A REGRETTABLE PRESS conference, a testy dressing room, and another playoff push that ended one round short leaves Pete DeBoer, a.k.a. “Mr. Game 7,” looking to join his sixth NHL bench. A winner of 662 regular-season games and another 97 in the playoffs, but still seeking his Cup day, DeBoer is the most accomplished coach on the open market. His name will surface when your favourite team is still underachieving come November. (General managers feel safe betting on experience.) In the meantime, DeBoer will dart around the league scouting for Team Canada and prep for his role as assistant to Cooper on the Olympic bench.

WHO CARES IF it was nothing more than an exhibition game? The Montreal Canadiens faithful rammed Bell Centre more than three weeks before NHL games counted for a Rookie Showcase event and a glimpse of the city’s Next Big Thing, Ivan Demidov. An early favourite to claim the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie, the teenage Russian phenom embodies the anticipation of a hockey-mad town that is hungry to build upon last spring’s wild-card run. A bounce-back from Patrik Laine, a flood of Lane Hutson highlights, a fresh start for Noah Dobson — all those promising storylines could be dwarfed by Demidov if he’s truly as good as they say he is.

ALL THE CHARISMATIC-player-turned-bombastic-executive Bill Guerin did over the past eight months is invite President Trump to a politically flared USA-Canada hockey showdown; flirt with trading a small, young centreman; finally squirm out from under the burden of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter’s towering twin buyouts; and put pen to paper on the richest player contract in league history. (Kirill Kaprizov: expert negotiator or greedy athlete? Discuss.) For an encore, quote machine Billy G will be tasked with constructing a contender around Kaprizov, getting a cap-tight roster to see Round 2 for the first time in a decade, and cast-directing a sequel to the Miracle on Ice. “We have to win,” the Team USA GM said. “We have to win another one of these. It’s been since (the World Cup in) 1996. We just have to find a way.”

CONSIDERING THE CONSTERNATION in the city that drafted him, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that the Canucks captain still has two full seasons to play before becoming an unrestricted free agent. That’s because the dynamic defenceman himself has struck a noncommittal tone and dreams of a three-brother reunion, most likely in New Jersey. But it’s also because Vancouver has been a hotbed of hockey turmoil. Gone is coach Rick Tocchet, a Hughes favourite, as well as the competitive and combustible J.T. Miller, a difference-maker. The decisions made by new bench boss Adam Foote and management will be made with the twin aims of returning to the dance and keeping their perennial Norris candidate happy. The second goal depends on the first.

WITH A FEW STROKES of a pen, Kirill Kaprizov both busted and built boundaries. The Minesota Wild superstar’s NHL-record-breaking, frontloaded, trade-protected $136-million contract extension sets a new high-water mark for hockey salaries that should benefit forwards like Jack Eichel, Kyle Connor, and Martin Necas at the negotiating table. The union should send flowers. The irony here is that what’s great for the individual might harm the group. The Wild — a good team long stuck trying to be great — will have no trouble selling tickets to come see Dolla Bill Kirill, but finding enough coin in the cushions to pay a Cup-worthy support cast will be challenging. “Elite players get elite money,” Guerin said. “We have to work around that.” Seventeen million a year is the new bar, NHLers. Come chase it.

“LOOKING BACK NOW, maybe in my wildest dreams I thought I was going to play 20 years in the NHL,” the captain of the Los Angeles Kings stated at training camp, when he announced that the 2025-26 season will be his last. Anze Kopitar will go down as the greatest Slovenian hockey player of all time and one of the greatest L.A. Kings. A two-time Selke champ, three-time Lady Byng winner, and two-time Stanley Cup champion, the 38-year-old has led the Kings in scoring 15 times. Universally respected and admired by his peers, expect Kopitar to harvest his flowers all winter long. Next the sweater retirement, the Hall of Fame speech, and, possibly, the statue.

FROM BOOS TO CHEERS for Mitch Marner. The extraordinary playmaker, and co-holder of the Highest-Paid Winger title until Kaprizov’s extension kicks in, embarks on what he terms a “peaceful” new chapter. Always greedy for the best player available (next up: Carter Hart) and free of state tax, the Vegas Golden Knights refuse to rest on the laurels of 2023. Though it cost him centre Nicolas Roy, GM Kelly McCrimmon got his man. Marner is the best talent to switch sweaters over the summer. Can he conjure magic alongside pending UFA Jack Eichel and improve on his career-best 102-point performance in 2024-25? Better question: Can Marner rewrite his playoff narrative, even with the Knights potentially losing Alex Pietrangelo? And don’t forget to tune into the action on Jan. 23; Marner’s Toronto homecoming promises to be must-see TV.

BAD BACK, BAD LUCK, bad playoff results. It is against the disturbing memory of another gutting Game 7 loss and the departure of nifty nine-year setup man Marner that the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs sets course to prove the doubters wrong and lead a deeper, more balanced contender through a thorny Atlantic Division. Health will be paramount if Auston Matthews is to return to his 50-goal (60-goal?) form. As is sparking chemistry with new linemates and taking another step as captain of the most scrutinized club on the circuit. Matthews will also be depended upon to reverse USA’s best-on-best fortunes at his first Winter Games. Another year, another chance to prove he’s a big-game player.

WERE THIS LIST a power ranking as opposed to an alphabetical roundup, No. 97 would be No. 1 with a bullet. Which is where the world’s best hockey player ranks in most fantasy drafts, not to mention Sportsnet’s list of the top 50 players in the NHL. Had he wished, Connor McDavid could have re-signed a max contract with the two-time runner-up Oilers on Canada Day and Edmonton would’ve erupted in fireworks. Instead, he took his time before settling on Monday’s two-year extension, without taking a penny more than his previous salary ($12.5 million AAV). McDavid literally put his money where his mouth is and proved his commitment to winning a Cup for Oil Country, a mission that awaits after the 4 Nations golden goal-scorer’s first Olympics. McDavid’s head-shaking discount — $4.5 million less than his highest-paid peer— underscores one individual’s desire to triumph in a team game and puts Edmonton on the clock. Your move, Stan Bowman.

THE CONSENSUS NO. 1 draft pick in 2026 is so exquisite, teams that falter early will be tempted to sell their wares and dive down the standings to juice their lottery odds. Billed as a true difference-maker and future face of some lucky franchise, Gavin McKenna piled up a silly 244 points through his first 133 WHL contests with Medicine Hat and has been a standout for Canada at every international tournament he’s touched. NHL GMs would be foolish not to consider such an enticing consolation prize for a failed campaign. Crashin’ for Gavin!

THE NEXT GOAL Alex Ovechkin scores will break the record for most all time. And the one after that. And the one after that. Every time No. 8 winds up from the dot, we have a chance to watch history: 897 and counting. Thing is, hockey’s most prolific goal scorer is also entering the final season of his contract. He’s 40, and most of us assume his final shifts will be for Moscow. Does he even want to play his age-41 season in North America? Another contract? The chase for 1,000? “We’ll see,” says the Capitals captain, refusing to telegraph his shot. This could well be the final tour of the Great Eight, and it will be powered, as always, by footlong subs, litres of Coke, and bowls of sugary, signature breakfast cereal.

YOU DON’T GO OUT and hire Coach Q — four years after his NHL ban in the wake of Kyle Beach’s assault revelations — if you’re still in rebuild mode. It came as no surprise, then, to hear Joel Quenneville circle playoffs as the goal at the outset of his first Anaheim Ducks training camp. The Pacific Division is far from deep, so Quenneville’s young Ducks have a legitimate shot at turning the corner and ending their post-season drought after seven years. Now’s the time. The catch: Will Quenneville’s old-school ways get through to a core crowded with a generation of talented skaters — Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Mason McTavish, Beckett Sennecke — who were in elementary school when Q’s Blackhawks reigned supreme?

PATRICK ROY’S NEW BOSS, Mathieu Darche, is not the man who hired him, so it will be intriguing to see how the dynamic between the two strong-minded hockey men plays out this winter. The New York Islanders are one of a few Metropolitan clubs neither great enough to consider playoffs a guarantee nor bad enough to tank. Roy made efforts over the off-season to repair his headline-rippling relationship with Anthony Duclair, who must return to form, and to reimagine the skillsy Mathew Barzal as a centreman, again. No. 1 draft pick Matthew Schaefer is an encouraging addition, but right-shot Noah Dobson could be a costly subtraction. Roy’s Isles could go either way here, and the Hall of Famer’s employment depends on the path they choose.

THE FIRST-EVER NHL head coach from Germany, and just the sixth from Europe, Marco Sturm takes over a Boston Bruins squad that unravelled mightily — and somewhat shockingly — last winter. What a challenge. What an opportunity. A former Bruin himself, Sturm is well acquainted with the organization’s standards. While a rebound from 2024-25’s ugly showing is expected (the Bruins were outscored by 50 goals and watched their eight-year playoff streak go up in smoke) thanks to the health of Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm, Sturm must manage GM Don Sweeney’s expectations while incorporating a handful of new faces and unproven youngsters.

FINALLY MOVING ON from the Penguins after a decade and two rings with the organization, highly respected head coach Mike Sullivan has been hired to mop up a mess in Manhattan. A disaster in 2024-25, the New York Rangers dropped 29 points in the standings, shed some long-serving leaders, and whiffed on a wild card. Enter saviour Sully, who must keep this proud Original Six franchise from sinking into the Hudson. For Sullivan, this season is about resetting the culture, unlocking Alexis Lafreniere (welcome to PP1), rejuvenating Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox, and milking the most out of contract-year Artemi Panarin. Oh, and using his vacation days to coach the American men in Milan.

HE’S A NUISANCE. He’s a troll. He’s a three-time finalist and two-time Cup champion, and he can’t keep that dang mouthguard in place. “I would like to apologize to absolutely f—–’ nobody,” Tkachuk crowed at the Florida Panthers second parade. Even though his adductor muscle was like a perfectly slow-cooked pork rib — falling off the bone — Tkachuk squeezed in four victorious playoff rounds last spring before seeking surgery. The mastermind of the infamous three-fights-in-nine-seconds brouhaha at 4 Nations should be back in the nick of time for Team USA’s gold medal bid and the Cats’ playoff push. Matthew will be loud. Same goes for younger brother, national teammate and division rival Brady.

TWO FULL SEASONS removed from his most recent National Hockey League shift and a decade removed from the most recent of his three Stanley Cups in Chicago, Jonathan Toews is coming back — and coming home. Donning a Jets sweater and hopping over the boards for hometown Winnipeg, the future Hall of Famer says it feels like getting drafted all over again. “It really got to a point where I couldn’t see myself wearing any other jersey,” said Toews, who embarks on the most intriguing feel-good comeback since, well, Gabriel Landeskog just last season. A healthy body (finally, wonderfully) and a clear mind have the 37-year-old grateful. Now begins the real hard work of not only defending his hometown’s Presidents’ Trophy but helping push a great roster through a nasty division and all the way to a Whiteout Final.

SOLIDARITY WITHIN THE UNION — and between the players and the league — has increased dramatically since PA chief Marty Walsh took over from his predecessor. (We’ll give a tip of the cap to Walsh’s righthand man, assistant executive director Ron Hainsey, too.) If the first low-stress bargaining agreement in generations and a hotly anticipated Olympic return weren’t enough, Walsh has helped pay medical bills for alumni and is about to oversee some giant leaps in minimum and maximum wages for his constituents. (And how about that relaxed dress code, kids?!) More streaming opportunities and the return of the World Cup of Hockey beckon as Walsh strives to up the profile and profitability of the sport.

THE TWO-TIME Stanley Cup champion and zero-time General Manager of the Year has been dealt a tired roster and a crummy hand as he and the Florida Panthers take aim at a goal that hasn’t been accomplished since 1983: the threepeat. Down a full season of the Cats’ conscience, Aleksander Barkov, and a half-season of their heart, Matthew Tkachuk, Zito still has the cap space and the depth to pull off the improbable. But with his cupboards thinning and a postseason cap coming into place, the crafty exec and shrewd scout may need to get more creative than ever. “We’re going to have to figure out a way for all of us to be better, myself included. And it’s going to be a fight,” Zito says. (P.S.: The quiet backbone of Florida’s titles, Sergei Bobrovsky, is 37 and needs a new contract.)