Articles for author: EdgeHockey Staff

October 25, 2025

Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights (Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images)

Jack Eichel’s $108 Million Start and the Rise of a 200-Foot Center for the Golden Knights

It’s tempting, in late October, to dismiss hot starts as just that—a heater, a statistical anomaly, a mirage that will evaporate by the time the American Thanksgiving benchmark rolls around. We’ve seen it before. But what’s happening in Vegas feels different. Seven games into the 2025-2026 campaign, the Vegas Golden Knights are 5-0-2. Alongside the Colorado Avalanche, they’re one of only two squads yet to suffer a regulation loss. This isn’t a team squeaking out wins; they’re making statements, like handing the Carolina Hurricanes their first “L” of the season. The primary catalyst for this dominance isn’t complicated. It’s Jack

October 25, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Edmonton Oilers Montreal Canadiens

When the Whistle Becomes the Story: Inside the Oilers & Canadiens Officiating Controversy

There are regulation losses, and then there are nights that leave a franchise questioning the very integrity of the game’s management. What transpired in Montreal, culminating in a 6-5 victory for the Edmonton Oilers, was unequivocally the latter. The Montreal Canadiens were not just winning; they were dominating. Holding a 5-3 lead early in the third period—built on a blistering four-goal surge in just over four minutes—Martin St. Louis’s squad was demonstrating its most “complete game” at 5-on-5, according to the head coach. They had taken a high-powered Oilers team and, for long stretches, neutralized them. Then, the script wasn’t

October 22, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

NHL News

Setting the Board: An Early Analysis of Central Scouting’s 2026 NHL Draft Watch List

The NHL regular season is barely finding its legs, but in the scouting world, the cycle is relentless. As teams jockey for position in the 2025-26 campaign, the league’s talent evaluators have already fixed their gaze firmly on the future. On Monday, NHL Central Scouting (CS) released its Preliminary Players To Watch List for the 2026 NHL Draft. For those who follow the pipeline, this is the official starting gun. This isn’t a definitive ranking; it’s a fluid watchlist designed to categorize the talent pool as the draft-eligible season begins. Players are assigned a letter grade: ‘A’ indicates a potential

October 22, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Colorado Avalanche

Colorado Avalanche’s Nordiques Throwback Is a Study in Heritage & Heartbreak

In professional sports, history is a valuable commodity. It can be celebrated, packaged, and sold. But it can also be complicated, contested, and painful. The Colorado Avalanche organization waded directly into that complexity this week, unveiling a new “Heritage Series” alternate uniform that, for the first time, resurrects the full regalia of the Quebec Nordiques. Announced Tuesday to commemorate the franchise’s 30th anniversary in Denver, the move is a direct acknowledgment of the team’s lineage. The Avalanche, born from the controversial 1995 relocation from Quebec City, are formally embracing their past. For seven games during the 2025-26 season, the likes

October 22, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Buffalo Sabres

Clock Is Ticking for the Sabres: Why Alex Tuch’s Contract Situation is Already at a Breaking Point

It’s barely Halloween, and the Buffalo Sabres are already at a crossroads that feels more appropriate for late February. The team is stumbling out of the gate with a 2-4-0 record, displaying the same “flat and disorganized” play that has become tragically familiar. But this slow start isn’t just about two points lost in October. It’s pouring gasoline on an already smoldering fire: the contract situation of hometown star, Alex Tuch. What should be a straightforward negotiation with a core leader has devolved into a paused “back burner” discussion, a significant financial gap, and a rumor mill that is linking

October 22, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Montreal Canadiens

A Good Problem to Have: The Canadiens Have a Competition Brewing in the Crease

Early-season storylines in the NHL are often a mix of statistical noise and genuine trends. In Montreal, just weeks into the 2025-26 campaign, a significant development is unfolding in the one area that looked most settled: the blue paint. The Canadiens don’t have a goaltending crisis; they have a goaltending competition. And for a team looking to build on last season’s playoff appearance, this burgeoning battle between incumbent Samuel Montembeault and challenger Jakub Dobeš is the best-case scenario management could have hoped for. Previously on the EDGE – Canadiens Front Office Rewarded for Swift Rebuild – Gorton & Hughes Get

October 21, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver Canucks Under Siege: Injuries & Cap Gymnastics Force Roster Shuffle

The old hockey adage says that a team’s true character is revealed not in victory, but in adversity. For the Vancouver Canucks, that test has arrived far earlier than anticipated. A recent road trip has left the team’s forward corps battered and bruised, forcing General Manager Patrik Allvin into a complex series of roster moves that are as much about navigating the salary cap as they are about icing a competitive lineup. As Allvin himself acknowledged, the organization’s depth is facing a significant, early-season stress test. Previously on the EDGE – The Unkindest Cut: Inside the Vancouver Canucks’ Final Roster

October 21, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Toronto Maple Leafs

Enough’s Enough: Stolarz’s Fiery Critique Puts Maple Leafs’ Culture on Trial

It started with the sharp crack of graphite and ended with a blunt assessment that shattered the post-game platitudes typically offered in a losing locker room. Following a 4-3 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken, Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz didn’t just smash his stick into shards before meeting the media; he dismantled the notion that this was just another early-season loss. His raw, unfiltered critique wasn’t merely a moment of frustration. It was a public demand for accountability that has forced a conversation about the very identity of this Maple Leafs team. In a few pointed minutes, Stolarz

October 19, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Edmonton Oilers

A Glut of Good Problems: Navigating the Oilers’ Impending Roster Crunch

For the first time in recent memory, the Edmonton Oilers are grappling with a problem born of success rather than necessity: they have too many NHL-caliber players. As a host of injured regulars near their return, the front office faces a complex puzzle of waivers, salary cap implications, and asset management. Also on the EDGE – Winning Ugly: Deconstructing the Edmonton Oilers’ Unfamiliar Slow Start With the team currently carrying 26 players, at least three will need to be moved to become compliant with the 23-man roster limit once Zach Hyman, Jake Walman, and Mattias Janmark are activated. The impending

October 19, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Vegas Golden Knights

A Second Chance in Sin City: The Complicated Return of Carter Hart

The news dropped with the force of a slapshot to the chest: Carter Hart is back. On a professional tryout (PTO) with the Vegas Golden Knights, the 27-year-old goaltender has officially re-entered the NHL ecosystem. Hart is the first of the five members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team to sign a contract following their acquittal in a high-profile sexual assault case, making his return a watershed moment for the league, the players involved, and a hockey world still grappling with the fallout. For the Golden Knights, an organization built on audacious moves, this may be their biggest gamble