Articles for author: EdgeHockey Staff

October 7, 2025

Leafs Play the Waiver Wire: Berube’s Familiar Faces and a Crowded Crease

In a move that signals a clear focus on shoring up the margins of their roster, the Toronto Maple Leafs dove into the waiver pool on Monday, emerging with two new faces: winger Sammy Blais and goaltender Cayden Primeau. While waiver claims rarely dominate the headlines, these low-cost, high-upside additions offer a fascinating glimpse into the team’s thinking as the final roster takes shape. For a team with Stanley Cup aspirations, success is often found in the details, and these moves address immediate needs while creating some intriguing internal competition. Also on the EDGE – Forging a New Identity: Inside

October 7, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Edmonton Oilers

The $25 Million Ultimatum: McDavid Puts the Oilers on the Clock

On the eve of another NHL season, with the sting of back-to-back Stanley Cup Final losses still raw, Connor McDavid didn’t just sign a contract extension. He delivered a message. He drew a line in the sand. His new two-year, $25 million deal isn’t about securing his future; it’s about defining the Edmonton Oilers’ present. Make no mistake, this isn’t a standard hometown discount. This is a challenge, a high-stakes gamble that puts the entire organization on notice. The clock is officially ticking in Edmonton, and it’s set for two years. A Contract Unlike Any Other Let’s get the brass

October 6, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Calgary Flames

Matvei Gridin’s Preseason Puts the Calgary Flames in a Bind

Every NHL preseason, narratives emerge from the fog of exhibition hockey. Most are fleeting—a veteran finding his legs, a journeyman trying to hang on. But every so often, a prospect doesn’t just knock on the door; he tries to kick it down. For the Calgary Flames, prospect Matvei Gridin’s preseason performance has created the best kind of problem for management: a genuine, difficult decision. The 2024 first-round pick has been so dynamic, so undeniably effective, that he has forced his way from “one to watch” to “what do we do with him?” Letting the Puck Do the Talking When it

October 6, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Vancouver Canucks

The Unkindest Cut: Inside the Vancouver Canucks’ Final Roster Decisions

The air in the locker room changes when the clipboards come out. For weeks, it’s a place of competition, hope, and camaraderie. Then, in an instant, it becomes a place of business. Handshakes are exchanged, futures are decided, and the dreams of some are put on hold while others are realized. The Vancouver Canucks finalized their 23-man roster for the 2025-26 season opener, and as always, the final decisions brought a mix of the expected, the surprising, and the genuinely exciting. The calculus of building a winning team is never simple, involving a complex interplay of performance, potential, and the

October 6, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Edmonton Oilers

Knoblauch Gets His Deal: Oilers Lock Down the Man Who Steered the Ship from the Brink

The Edmonton Oilers have sent a clear message to the rest of the league: they believe in their guy. On Oct. 3, the organization put months of speculation to rest, inking head coach Kris Knoblauch to a three-year contract extension. The move solidifies his position behind the bench through the 2028-29 season, providing a crucial dose of stability for a franchise that has been knocking on the door of championship glory for two straight seasons. For a team with the world’s best player entering the final year of his contract, this wasn’t just a good move; it was the only

October 6, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Toronto Maple Leafs

Easton Cowan Has Earned His Place on the Maple Leafs’ Roster

The annual autumn ritual of roster-trimming in the NHL is a brutal exercise in mathematics and meritocracy. For every veteran holding their breath, there’s a prospect trying to force management’s hand. This year in Toronto, the math got a lot simpler thanks to one player who refused to be ignored. Easton Cowan, the Maple Leafs’ 2023 first-round pick, didn’t just knock on the door during this pre-season; he took a battering ram to it. And now, with the unequivocal endorsement of head coach Craig Berube, it appears he may have blasted his way onto the opening night roster. The Berube

October 4, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

NHL News

The Perennial Debate: Deconstructing the NHL’s Top 50 Players for 2025-26

It’s that time of year again. The leaves haven’t fully turned, but the hockey world is already locked in its favourite annual rite of passage: the great player ranking debate. Every fall, insiders, analysts, and fans alike pour over lists, dissecting the pecking order of the NHL’s elite. This year is no different, with major outlets like TSN and Sportsnet dropping their comprehensive top 50 rankings for the upcoming 2025-26 season. While these lists inevitably spark heated arguments in bars and on message boards across the continent, a fascinating picture emerges when you lay them side-by-side. We see a remarkable

October 4, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Winnipeg Jets

Winnipeg Jets 2025-26 Roster Battles Intensify as Opening Night Looms

The air is getting crisp, the leaves are turning, and the familiar sounds of skates carving ice and pucks hitting boards are growing more intense. For hockey fans, it means one thing: the NHL season is just around the corner. For the Winnipeg Jets’ front office and coaching staff, it means decision time. The annual, often brutal, process of trimming the training camp roster is nearing its conclusion, and with a flurry of recent moves, the picture for opening night is becoming much clearer, though no less intriguing. The Waived and the Departed: Tough Choices Solidify the Core Every training

October 4, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

Edmonton Oilers

More Than Just an Insurance Policy: Breaking Down the Oilers’ Savvy Acquisition of Connor Ingram

On the first day of October, a time when NHL rosters are solidifying and the focus is squarely on the opening night puck drop, Edmonton Oilers GM Stan Bowman executed a move that flew slightly under the radar but speaks volumes about his team-building philosophy. The Oilers acquired 28-year-old goaltender Connor Ingram from the Utah Mammoth for the ever-ambiguous “future considerations.” On the surface, it’s a simple depth transaction. But when you peel back the layers, this deal reveals itself as a shrewd piece of salary cap wizardry, a low-risk bet on a high-upside player, and a fascinating human-interest story

October 4, 2025

EdgeHockey Staff

NHL News

Connor McDavid Leon Draisaitl Edmonton Oilers

Brace for Impact: NHL Storylines, Superstars & Stanley Cup Predictions for 2025-26 Season

Every October, the NHL slate is wiped clean, and 32 fanbases are infused with a potent cocktail of hope and anxiety. This year is no different. The air is thick with questions that will define the next eight months of grueling hockey. Can the battered and bruised two-time defending champions in Florida find a way to chase a historic three-peat? Is this the final, desperate charge for Connor McDavid in an Oilers sweater? Who will rise from the pack, and which franchise-altering narratives will dominate the headlines? Also on the EDGE – The Razor’s Edge: Inside Connor McDavid’s Calculated Contract