Articles for author: EdgeHockey Staff

October 9, 2025

What’s Keeping the Montreal Canadiens & Lane Hutson From a Contract Extension?

It’s the kind of contract negotiation that should be easy. You have a 21-year-old phenom, a dynamic, puck-moving defenseman fresh off a 66-point Calder Trophy-winning season. You have a franchise desperate to lock in its young core for the long haul. The two sides even agree, more or less, on the money. Yet, the extension for Lane Hutson and the Montreal Canadiens is anything but easy. Instead, according to sources close to the situation, the talks have been tense, emotional, and frankly, “a bit of a mess.” The roadblock isn’t about dollars and cents. It’s about philosophy. It’s a complex,

October 9, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Ottawa Senators

Analyzing the 2025-26 Ottawa Senators Opening Night Roster

As the league’s 5:00 PM deadline came and went this past Monday, the Ottawa Senators’ front office submitted its final 23-man roster. For fans and analysts, the annual roster-setting day is a culmination of training camp battles, preseason performances, and strategic asset management. This year in Ottawa, the final picture is one of impressive depth, calculated patience with a top prospect, and one hard-nosed surprise that signals a potential shift in team identity. While the core of the team was largely predictable, the moves on the periphery speak volumes about the organization’s current strength and future plans. Previously on the

October 9, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers Fortify Their Roster With Ekholm, Walman & Roslovic Signings

When Connor McDavid put pen to paper on his recent contract extension, it was more than just a captain’s commitment; it was a signal. It was a message to the league that the superstar was all-in on Edmonton, and it was a challenge to management to do everything in its power to build a champion around him. General Manager Stan Bowman and the Oilers’ front office clearly heard that message, responding with a series of calculated and aggressive moves designed to maximize this championship window. By extending defensemen Mattias Ekholm and Jake Walman and adding forward Jack Roslovic, the Oilers

October 9, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Winnipeg Jets

Kyle Connor Cashes In: Winnipeg Jets Bet Big on a Homegrown Star

In a move that reverberates through the prairies and signals a clear organizational direction, the Winnipeg Jets have locked up their superstar winger, Kyle Connor, for the foreseeable future. Announced on the eve of the 2025-26 season opener, the eight-year, $96 million contract extension is a monumental commitment, not just in dollars, but in philosophy. For a franchise that has often prided itself on a rigid and principled approach to negotiations, this deal represents a significant evolution, a necessary adaptation to the high-stakes game of retaining elite, homegrown talent in the modern NHL. Also on the EDGE – The Presidents’

October 8, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Montreal Canadiens

Beyond the Rebuild: Why the Montreal Canadiens Are Aiming Higher in 2025-26

The air in Montreal feels different this October. The familiar autumn chill is still there, but it’s laced with something that has been absent for a few seasons: genuine, weighty expectation. The era of celebrating moral victories and scrutinizing draft lottery odds is officially over. For the Montreal Canadiens, the 2025-26 season isn’t about making the playoffs; it’s about what they can do once they get there. After a gritty, character-building 2024-25 campaign that saw them defy the odds and sneak into the postseason, the message from the top down is clear. General Manager Kent Hughes and Head Coach Martin

October 8, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Winnipeg Jets

The Presidents’ Cup Curse or a Stepping Stone? The Winnipeg Jets Face a Season of Reckoning

The champagne-soaked euphoria of hoisting the Presidents’ Trophy feels like a lifetime ago. For the Winnipeg Jets, the 2024-25 season was a masterpiece of regular-season dominance—a franchise-record 56 wins, a staggering 116 points, and a league-best +86 goal differential. They were an offensive juggernaut, tied for third in goals scored, and a defensive fortress, surrendering the fewest goals in the NHL. Their power play, a perennial question mark, morphed into the league’s most lethal unit. It was, by almost every metric, a season for the ages. Previously on the EDGE – High Stakes & Burning Questions at the Winnipeg Jets

October 8, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Vancouver Canucks

Pettersson’s Redemption, Demko’s Durability, and the Vancouver Canucks’ Playoff Gamble

Another NHL season is upon us, and on the West Coast, the air is thick with a familiar cocktail of hope and anxiety. After a frustrating 2024-25 campaign that saw the Vancouver Canucks finish a middling fifth in the Pacific Division with a 38-30-14 record, the organization is banking on a significant turnaround. The journey begins this Thursday, Oct. 9, when the Calgary Flames visit Rogers Arena for a tilt that will see the Canucks don their iconic Black Skate jerseys. But this season is about more than just aesthetics; it’s a high-wire act, a massive bet on the team’s

October 7, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Carolina Hurricanes Columbus Blue Jackets New Jersey Devils New York Islanders New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals

Carolina Hurricanes Seth Jarvis New Jersey Devils Jacob Markstrom Dougie Hamilton

Metropolitan Mayhem: A Division of NHL Contenders, Pretenders, and Pain

The air is getting colder, the skates are being sharpened, and across the National Hockey League, hope springs eternal. But in the Metropolitan Division, that hope comes in vastly different shades. Once a Murderer’s Row of perennial contenders, the Metro enters the 2025-26 season as a study in contrasts—a top-heavy battleground where a clear line has been drawn in the sand. On one side stand the division’s titans, gearing up for what they believe is a legitimate run at the Stanley Cup. On the other, a motley crew of teams in various states of transition, retooling, or outright, gut-wrenching reconstruction.

October 7, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens Get a Bold Opening Night Lineup From Coach St. Louis

The air in Brossard had a different feel on Monday. After weeks of training camp battles, bubble players holding their breath, and management’s final cuts, the Montreal Canadiens held their first official practice of the 2025-26 season. With the 22-man roster now set in stone ahead of Wednesday’s season opener, we finally got our first glimpse into the mind of head coach Martin St. Louis. The resulting line combinations are a fascinating cocktail of stability, bold proclamations, and at least one high-stakes gamble that will dominate conversations leading up to puck drop. While the top of the lineup card looks

October 7, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators’ Final Cuts Aren’t About Who Left, But What’s Being Built

As the NHL’s roster deadline passed on Monday, the usual flurry of transactions and waiver-wire drama consumed the hockey world. On the surface, the Ottawa Senators’ moves looked standard: a training camp roster of 31 trimmed to a compliant 22 healthy bodies, with two key players stashed on Injured Reserve. But a deeper look at the decisions made by management and head coach Travis Green reveals a clear, calculated strategy. This wasn’t just about trimming the fat; it was a deliberate deployment of assets designed to fortify the entire organization, from the Canadian Tire Centre down to the CAA Arena