Around the Hockey World — Wednesday, September 30
The day's hockey news in one place — and somewhere to talk about it.
For more granular team coverage, check out the team pages.
40 items · updated 1:42 AM
Top stories
- Steve Yzerman's Detroit Problem Started Above and Beside Him — Shap Shots (Sean Shapiro)
Excerpt
Their captain, Dylan Larkin, requested a trade, a request that may or may not still stand, and eventually had his captaincy stripped away. The Red Wings most iconic captain, and then general manager, Steve Yzerman, left his post on July 15 after seven seasons without a playoff appearance.
- Avalanche sign head coach Bednar to four-year contract extension — TSN
Excerpt
The Colorado Avalanche have signed head coach Jared Bednar to a four-year contract extension.
- Red Wings’ Simon Edvinsson returns to Sweden amid contract talks — Daily Faceoff (Frank Seravalli)
Excerpt
As contract talks have seemed to have stalled between player and team, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson has returned to his native Sweden and was seen practicing with his former team, Frolunda HC, on Wednesday.
- LeBrun: Pending UFA Kucherov has ‘no intention of hitting the open market’ — TSN
Excerpt
“Could you imagine if the defending Hart Trophy champion as NHL MVP was playing in a Canadian market and was entering the final year of his deal without an extension? What a gong show that would be,” LeBrun said Tuesday on Insider Trading. “But by the way, that’s why Kucherov loves playing in Tampa. People leave him alone there. He barely does any media and it’s why he wants to stay. He has no int
- W. Karlsson signs two-year, $13.5 million contract with Golden Knights — NHL.com
Excerpt
William Karlsson signed a two-year, $13.5 million contract with the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday. It begins next season and has an average annual value of $6.75 million. The 33-year-old forward was limited to 14 regular-season games due to injury last season and had seven points (four goals, three assists). He had nine points (three goals, six assists) in 15 Stanley Cup Playoff games for Veg
- MacKinnon drops mitts with Clarke for first fight in four years — Sportsnet
News
- Babcock: Oilers have ‘serious work to do’ after allowing six goals in opener — TSN
Excerpt
Edmonton Oilers head coach Mike Babcock believes Tuesday’s opening-night loss to the Vancouver Canucks showed his team has “serious work to do.” The Oilers suffered a 6-5 overtime defeat to the Canucks, grabbing a point after trailing 5-2, having allowed three goals in the span of just four minutes early in the third period.
- Red Wings’ Moritz Seider, Senators’ Tim Stutzle start hockey podcast — Daily Faceoff (Frank Seravalli)
Excerpt
On Wednesday, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider and Ottawa Senators center Tim Stutzle, two of the NHL’s brightest young stars, announced that they are starting a hockey podcast titled simply Seider & Stutzle .
- Hurricanes place Cayden Primeau on waivers — Daily Faceoff (Frank Seravalli)
Excerpt
The Carolina Hurricanes have placed goaltender Cayden Primeau on waivers for the purposes of assignment to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, the club announced Wednesday afternoon. Primeau, 27, posted a 21-11-7 record, four shutouts, and a .916 save percentage in 39 games with the Wolves during the 2025-26 regular season. The 6’3″ netminder subsequently went 9-9 with a .913 save percentage in 18 playoff
- Former NHLer Ryan Spooner announces retirement — Daily Faceoff (Frank Seravalli)
Excerpt
HK Dukla Trencin, a team in the Slovak Extraliga, announced on Wednesday that forward Ryan Spooner has retired from hockey. Spooner, 34, played just five games for HK Dukla Trencin this season, putting up a goal and three assists for four points.
- Eichel hits 700 points as Golden Knights beat Blackhawks in Craig’s first game behind the bench — TSN
Excerpt
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jack Eichel had a goal and two assists to reach 701 career points, and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 in their season opener Tuesday night. Victor Olofsson notched Vegas’ first goal of the season, rookie Trevor Connelly scored in his NHL debut and Noah Hanifin and Mark Stone added goals as Ryan Craig earned his first victory as the Golden Knights’ head c
- Ovechkin says he’ll be ready for Capitals in season opener on Friday — NHL.com
Excerpt
ARLINGTON, Va. -- Alex Ovechkin said he will be ready to play in the Washington Capitals’ season opener at the reigning Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes on Friday (7 p.m. ET; HHN, CARNHL, MNMT, SN, TVAS) after missing the preseason because of a lower-body injury.
- Sportsnet pulls the plug on Leafs Talk as radio relevance continues to erode — the Toronto Sun
Excerpt
Leafs Talk co-host JD Bunkis revealed on X that Sportsnet 590 has cancelled the radio show ahead of the 2026-27 NHL season.
- DeSmith signs two-year, $5 million contract with Stars — NHL.com
Excerpt
Casey DeSmith signed a two-year, $5 million contract with the Dallas Stars on Wednesday. It begins next season and has an average annual value of $2.5 million. The 34-year-old goalie is entering the final season of a three-year, $3.05 million contract he signed with the Stars on July 1, 2024, and could have become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2027.
- Red Wings RFA Edvinsson skating in Sweden after spending camp with team — TSN
Excerpt
Detroit Red Wings defenceman Simon Edvinsson has returned to Sweden as he continues to wait for a new contract as a restricted free agent. Edvinsson, who spent training camp with the Red Wings, skated with Frolunda of the SHL on Wednesday, as relayed by Swedish reporter Andreas III Johnsson.
- Penguins’ Sidney Crosby sets NHL record for longest tenure as captain — Daily Faceoff (Frank Seravalli)
Excerpt
The future Hockey Hall of Famer is entering his 20th season as the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins , and is now the longest-tenured captain in NHL history. The record will become official once the puck drops between the Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers for the regular-season opener on Wednesday.
12 more
- NHL leans into Heated Rivalry with 'Hot for Hockey' books starring real players — the Toronto Sun
Excerpt
League is releasing series of stories with the first featuring Vegas Golden Knights' Jack Eichel and Carolina Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho.
- NHL Rumor Roundup: Updates on Connor Hellebuyck, Alexander Nikishin, And More — The Hockey News
Excerpt
The San Jose Sharks were reportedly interested in Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, the Carolina Hurricanes are still trying to move defenseman Alexander Nikishin, while the Edmonton Oilers have been linked to Montreal Canadiens forward Kirby Dach and Seattle Kraken center Shane Wright.
- Arizona State men’s hockey team puts coach Greg Powers on leave — Daily Faceoff (Frank Seravalli)
Excerpt
On Wednesday, Arizona State University announced that it has placed NCAA Men’s Hockey head coach Greg Powers on leave. In a statement, ASU athletic director Graham Rossini explained that the school felt it was the right decision.
- JJ Peterka made a great first impression in Bruins debut — Daily Faceoff (Frank Seravalli)
Excerpt
The opening day of the 2026-27 NHL season is in the books, and we’ve already seen some terrific goals. Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander had a couple dandies, and Patrick Kane scored on a breakaway in his first game back with the Chicago Blackhawks . The highlight of the night, however, has to go the new Boston Bruins forward JJ Peterka, who undressed New York Rangers defenseman Braden
- Breaking down the goalie masks across the NHL in the 2026-27 season — ESPN
Excerpt
Here's a look at the notable goalie mask designs across the NHL for the upcoming season.
- NHL On Tap: Laviolette to debut as Kings coach at Avalanche — NHL.com
Excerpt
Peter Laviolette will debut as coach of the Los Angeles Kings against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena in Denver (10 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT). The Kings are Laviolette’s seventh NHL team; he ranks seventh among coaches in wins (846) and ninth in games (1,594), most recently guiding the New York Rangers for two seasons (2023-25). Drew Doughty will debut as Kings captain; the defenseman suc
- Waddell says Leafs met CBJ’s needs in Marchenko blockbuster: ‘Always difficult to make that kind of big trade’ — TSN
Excerpt
The Columbus Blue Jackets completed a franchise-altering deal on Monday, sending star forward Kirill Marchenko and two players to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forwards Matthew Knies and Steven Lorentz , defenceman Emil Andrae and a second-round pick.
- Auston Matthews Praises Kirill Marchenko's Maple Leafs Debut: 'He Might Be The Best Unknown Player In The League' — The Hockey News
Excerpt
Kirill Marchenko might have flown under the radar during his four years playing for a Columbus Blue Jackets team that failed to qualify for the playoffs. But now that he's in Toronto, the spotlight is bigger — and the expectations are higher.
- NHL Rumor Mill – September 30, 2026 — Lyle Richardson of Spector's Hockey
Excerpt
In today’s NHL Rumor Mill, we have updates on Dylan Larkin and Connor Hellebuyck , and the latest on the Maple Leafs, Canadiens, and Flyers. TSN: Chris Johnston reports there’s been “no tangible progress” made towards the Detroit Red Wings trading Dylan Larkin .
- Canes lift banner, Panthers win 'playoff-style' opener in OT — ESPN
Excerpt
On a night when the NHL's last three title winners were on display, Gustav Forsling fired a shot past Brandon Bussi with 4.3 seconds left in OT, lifting the Florida Panthers past the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes 1-0 in Tuesday's season opener.
- Top No. 1 NHL Draft picks of all-time, according to NHL.com’s Dan Rosen — NHL.com
Excerpt
Welcome to the National Hockey List. Each week, NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen will provide a list dealing with important topics around the NHL. Today he lists, in order, his top 10 No. 1 draft picks of all-time.
- Tonight's games — Wednesday, September 30 — NHL
Columns
- Ranking all 32 NHL centre-ice logos for 2026-27 season — Sportsnet
Excerpt
Every off-season, ice crews work hard to get the surface ready for the grind of a full season, with hours of work that end with the blank white canvas turned into something that captivates every fan as they enter the arena.
- The Hockey News Future Watch Show: Previewing The 2026-27 NCAA Hockey Season — The Hockey News
Excerpt
Ryan Kennedy, Eric Cruikshank and Frank Zawrazky preview the college hockey season, discussing which NCAA freshmen classes will be most exciting to watch, which teams look poised to contend for an NCAA title, and more.
- Who comes out ahead in Marchenko-Knies trade? Grading the Leafs, Blue Jackets — ESPN
Excerpt
The two clubs swapped high-powered wings on the eve of opening night. Here's how each team did.
- Are the Canucks really as bad as people think? — Daily Faceoff (Frank Seravalli)
Excerpt
We have finally seen one night’s worth of games in the 2026-27 NHL season, which means it’s time to overreact to small samples. Is Gavin McKenna a bust? Will goaltending sink the Edmonton Oilers ‘ season? And maybe, just maybe, are the Vancouver Canucks not completely terrible?
8 more
- Replay: Algorithmically Incorrect Hockey Episode 27 — Shap Shots (Sean Shapiro)
Excerpt
Thank you to everyone who tuned in live today, as Substack suggests here, you can watch in the app in the future if you’d like.
- NHL Power Rankings: Each Team's Biggest Difference-Maker — The Hockey News
Excerpt
The 2026-27 NHL season officially kicked off Tuesday with five games on opening night, and if these early contests were any indication of what is to come, this is going to be another fun, unpredictable year of hockey.
- The 10 worst value contracts in the NHL for 2026-27 — Daily Faceoff (Frank Seravalli)
Excerpt
After looking at some of the best-value contracts last week, let’s look at the worst of the worst this week. To do so, I’ll use the contract rating system from my salary-cap rankings series from the summer to decide the value of each player’s contract and how much value teams are losing. For an explainer on how the contract rating system works, you can learn more here . However, since there are m
- The Hockey News Morning Skate: Raddysh Struggles For Maple Leafs, Bouchard Makes History In Oilers Loss — The Hockey News
Excerpt
In this edition of The Hockey News Morning Skate, Eric Cruikshank and Michael Traikos give a quick recap of all the biggest news from opening night of the NHL season, including Darren Raddysh's debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jacob Markstrom's shutout against the Carolina Hurricanes, and more.
- 2027 PWHL Draft: Top 15 NCAA prospects to watch — Daily Faceoff (Frank Seravalli)
Excerpt
The puck has been dropped on the 2026-27 NCAA Women’s Hockey season, and there’s a lot to be excited about this year and beyond. There are a number of talented players looking to end their college careers on a high, ensuring their status as future PWHLers. While the class might not be as deep as that of the 2026 group, there are still several big names that are going to be stars for years to come
- Six notable NHL UFAs as 2026-27 season begins — Daily Faceoff (Frank Seravalli)
Excerpt
The 2026-27 NHL season kicked off on Tuesday night – and it was missing a few notable unrestricted free agents. With the NHL salary cap continuing to increase, we saw an influx of big-money deals that made for one of the more wild offseasons in recent memory. Yet a few veterans are still on the outside looking in, hoping to get chances to play full-time hockey this season.
- Predictions for every NHL team's finish in 2026-27: Why the Panthers will win the Cup — ESPN
Excerpt
Some fans will wait to watch all the games this season. Readers of this story won't need to!
- NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – September 30, 2026 — Lyle Richardson of Spector's Hockey
Excerpt
Recaps of the season-opening games, the Senators name a new captain, Wild defenseman Brock Boeser sidelined indefinitely, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines. NHL.COM : The Vancouver Canucks blew a three-goal lead but still upset the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 in overtime. Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard had a hat trick and two assists, becoming the first defenseman in NHL history to open t
Comments
Sign in with Google or email to comment. Prefer a handle to your real name? Sign in with email — you choose your display name.