2025/2026 Season Other NHL Teams Thread

[getbak]

[Flames1217]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Man Jack Hughes has a hard time staying healthy.

Devils were a team that was rumored to be looking at a center upgrade. Will they go after Kadri?

At the end of the day, feels like they just need to get healthy and get some better depth throughout thier line up.

Coleman has been there before but it really feels like he would re-add a missing element to thier middle six.

When everyone is healthy thier depth at centre is great, but Hughes is having trouble staying healthy.

[sureLoss]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1989479877536629139

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

https://twitter.com/user/status/1989479877536629139

Well, that's clearly going to be a problem throughout his career. Because NHL players routinely have to lean on glasses dozens of times every game. He'll probably be LTIRetired by the end of the year.

[Reggie Dunlop]

[browna]

Shanahan wanted the job here. Edwards really respected him for his work with the PA in the lockout negotiations.

Also from my sources back then, his wife didn’t want to move here.

So the Flames turned to Burke and basically let him dictate his terms (back to Toronto every two weeks) to get the reputation of this team back in the proper position within the league circles.

[DoubleK]

Jack Hughes is incapable of staying healthy.

[memphusk]

He cut his hand. #### happens. He didn't grind it up in a snowblower like Sakic.

[DoubleK]

He's played more than 65 games exactly once.

[MissTeeks]

Hughes out 8 weeks.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1989753518790463574

[saillias]

When are the Sabres going to clean house? Coach and GM.

Most teams in the league seem to understand that a coach is easier to replace than a top player, except this team, which seems to make a yearly "Marc Savard traded because of feud with Greg Gilbert" level error. It's actually impressive to defy odds for this long and collect all these good players and never make the playoffs, and then operate like a farm team for the rest of the league. Their roster isn't even that bad and it hasn't been for some time. What a waste of talent.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I imagine that a good coach probably wants to avoid the Sabres at this point.


I don't understand Lind Ruff being the coach right now. I could understand why they brought him back (he is their Darryl Sutter really), but I thought the plan was to give him firsthand knowledge of the players and what was wrong or missing, and that he was going to get booted upstairs. I was surprised to see him as the head coach still.


The Pegulas should be overpaying for a top-end coach at this point. Offer Deboer twice as much money as he made in his last stop. Darryl Sutter would be the type of coach that Buffalo needs to turn their culture around, IMO but I am not sure he will ever really want to coach again. I am not big on Gallant or Boudreau as some others are. Maybe Laviolette can turn it around? I don't have much faith in him looking at his last two stops, however, but he was good before then. Vigneault is retired too, and I doubt that Buffalo would be a situation that entices him enough. Torts is someone I view as a terrible option.


I really think it is a culture issue in Buffalo, and they just need the right kind of coach to come in and change it. I actually like Ruff, but I think he is just too old now, or hasn't adapted to the new NHL. I didn't realize he has the 2nd most wins with any single organization in NHL history - no wonder he is beloved in Buffalo.


Here is a good article from May 1st talking about coaches. Surely Buffalo can find a decent coach from this list. I think they should be looking for a new GM first, however.

https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/nh...het-adam-foote

[MissTeeks]

Injuries stacking up for the Habs.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1990094876998869005

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by MissTeeks

Injuries stacking up for the Habs.

That would probably be to their benefit, actually. With the hot start, there will be pressure to add now and support the team. But they're not ready - they are just October Contenders at this point, IMO.

If injuries help bring them back down the standings where they belong, the pressure to add will subside, allowing them to continue to be patient, and support the development of the rebuild.

[Vinny01]

Interesting to look at the state of the 7 Canadian teams. There are 3 teams who are in absolute go for it mode right now with the Oilers, Leafs and Jets.

Winnipeg is off to the best start and getting Connor on an 8 year deal locking up their best player will keep the Jets relevant for a while.

The Oilers have been close and are off to a bad start for the third straight year. The fact they went to the finals in the past 2 years has me less excited for the slow start this year as I assume they will figure it out. McDavid only signing for 2 years and guys like Howard and Frederic doing poorly gives me hopecDavid won’t sign another deal in Edmonton. Their window is open but appears to be closing.

The Leafs bad start is very enjoyable. Losing Marner was a huge blow and their blue line is extremely old with no name goaltending. Matthews, Nylander and Knies would be an amazing top line but they need to spread the wealth. Both the Oilers and Leafs have exhausted their assets and are among the oldest teams in the league. The Leafs have yet to get past the second round so their window may never be realized.

The Sens and Habs appear to be teams who are exiting their rebuilds and trying to push forward. The Sens went from game 7 OT of thr ECF in 2017 into full rebuild a year later. Unfortunately before things bottomed out they sent away a ton of assets to land Matt Duchene in a trade including a 1st round pick that ended up being 4th overall. They would luck out sending away Erik Karlsson and a pick they received in return ended up being 3rd overall. A couple of failed moves to accelerate the rebuild in Debrincat and Chychurn they seemed to turn a corner last year. Flipping Josh Norris for Dylan Cozens was a solid move and the Sens have their core signed for a couple more years and appear ready to push.

The Habs have enjoyed an accelerated rebuild that started in 2022. They had some pieces in place to start with Suzuki and Caufield which helps immensely but those were mid 1st rounders who really panned out. The Pacioretty trade was likely Bergevin’s best. The Habs pick 3 times in the top 5 and hit a home run with one of their second round picks. They might be a couple years away from contending but appear on the right track.

The Canucks are in a bit of purgatory. They never really successfully came out of their retool/rebuild from their glory days with the Sedins. They had 2 pretty successful playoff runs in the 2020 bubble and 2024 in both cases they made it to game 7 of the second round. The pillars they drafted in their down years are in flux. Pettersson on pace for 16 goals and 70pts is not cutting it for an $11.5M player. Hughes is their best player but a lot of speculation he will move on after next season if there is not a clear path to winning in Van. Rutherford refuses to rebuild and in both cases where he made a rebuilding trade that included a 1st round pick he flipped those for Hronek and M.Pettersson. The Canucks can kick start things with a Hughes trade but they appear to be a little behind the path the Flames are on.

I think we can all agree the Flames are in the early stages of a rebuild. They have stripped the team of many vets and have drafted multiple times in the first round of the last 2 drafts and one of the picks was in the top 10. They appear poised to sell off more and pick high. How long they will be stuck in this cycle remains to be seen. I am sure they prefer a Montreal route to the Ottawa one and having Wolf and Coronato in pace helps a little with that. Conroy is going to have to nail not only the selling trades but the deals he will try and make where he is adding to the Flames. The Sens have had a mixed bag with Debrincat/Chychurn/Cozens. The Habs are looking alright with Dobson but it is too early. It definitely feels like as the Flames are rising the Oilers and Leafs will almost certainly be on their decent back to the bottom and hopefully with nothing to show for it

[gvitaly]

EDIT: sorry wrong thread.

[Erick Estrada]

Is it me or does it seem like injuries are up this season?

[stemit14]

It is interesting how middling this season has been so far for most teams. The difference in points from 5th in the league and 26th in the league is 4 points. I know the better measure is points percentage and that it’s still pretty early in the season but that still seems like a small spread.

[soulchoice]

Emil Heineman, who we got as part of the Sam Bennett trade; We then traded him away as part of the Toffoli deal with Montreal, is quietly on pace for 56 points with the Islanders this year.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Predators have almost a week off - they played on Sunday (and lost), and then don't play again until Saturday (at home vs the Avs - so probably a loss). I wonder if this rest and extra practice will get them more on track.