The offseason is in full swing and as expected, it was a busy week across the NHL. On top of a long-time Blackhawk confirming reports last month about his retirement, there were several signings, hirings, and trades over the past seven days. We recap the most notable ones in our key stories.
Key Injury In Anaheim: The Ducks will be without one of their top forwards when the season gets underway in late September. The team announced that winger Troy Terry underwent successful hip surgery to repair an impingement; the recovery timeline is five to six months. That means the best-case scenario is that he’d miss around the first six weeks of the season while at the back end of the timeline, he’d only be coming back a little before the holiday break. Terry had 57 points in 61 games for the Ducks this season and has tallied at least 54 points in five straight seasons now, meaning Anaheim will be without some firepower early on in 2026-27.
Kraken Get Wingers: After a disappointing year, the Kraken got a head start on their summer shopping. They dealt the 25th pick in this coming week’s draft along with a 2027 second-rounder to Florida in exchange for pending RFA winger Mackie Samoskevich. The 23-year-old was a first-round pick back in 2021 but hasn’t been able to establish himself as a full-time top-six forward just yet on a deep Florida roster. Now, he’ll have a better chance of getting that opportunity in Seattle, a team that appears set to lose multiple wingers in free agency. They then followed that up by re-signing winger Bobby McMann to a six-year deal worth $5.75MM. Acquired at the trade deadline from Toronto, he had a career year with 29 goals in 78 games while establishing himself as a top-six forward. As for the Panthers, they took that pick and, well, used it rather quickly.
Tkachuk Brothers Reunited: Florida quickly moved the 25th pick although with the ninth selection, a 2029 first-rounder (top-10 protected), and a 2027 second-round pick to Ottawa in exchange for winger Brady Tkachuk. Tkachuk had spent his entire eight-year NHL career with the Sens to this point and had been their captain. However, speculation had started to surface that he might welcome a change of scenery but while he denied it, he later went to management and indicated that he wouldn’t re-sign two years from now. Rather than let the situation fester, GM Steve Staios moved him out and will now try to flip some of those picks for the win-now help he couldn’t get in this swap although for now, it’s a big blow to their roster. As for Florida, Tkachuk will now get to play with his brother Matthew Tkachuk on one of the deeper forward groups in the league. The Panthers still need to sign a goalie tandem but this move will put them at or near the top in speculative Stanley Cup favorites next season. With this move and the Samoskevich one, the Panthers have dealt all of their first-round picks from 2021 through 2029 now.
More Coaching Changes In Vegas: The Golden Knights have changed head coaches for the second time in three months. After taking the team to the Stanley Cup Final, John Tortorella’s contract wasn’t renewed; instead, AHL Henderson bench boss Ryan Craig was promoted to the top job in Vegas. This was likely the planned move all along with GM Kelly McCrimmon thinking Tortorella might be able to get more out of the group in a late-season coaching change when Bruce Cassidy was let go. Considering how they fared in the playoffs, it’s safe to say the plan worked. But Craig has waited for his turn, spending time as an assistant in the NHL and head coach in their system, making him the logical long-term fit for their head coaching role.
Busy Week In Toronto: The Maple Leafs are the early leader in the busiest team category. First, they dealt goaltender Joseph Woll and defenseman Simon Benoit to Philadelphia for pending restricted free agent goalie Samuel Ersson, pending RFA defenseman Emil Andrae, and a third-round pick. Assuming that Ersson goes non-tendered, the deal allows them to clear their goalie surplus, add a young defenseman that they think still has some upside, plus a draft pick. In doing so, they opened up some cap space. The Flyers, meanwhile, get an upgrade at the backup goalie position while Benoit gives them some extra grit at the back end of their blueline.
That cap space was quickly spent. They acquired blueliner Darren Raddysh in a sign-and-trade with Tampa Bay, sending a fifth-round pick to the Lightning to get them to sign the defender to an eight-year, $68MM contract. The 30-year-old had a breakout showing this past season, recording 22 goals and 48 assists in 73 games, making him one of the top-scoring defenders in the NHL. He has only been a full-time NHLer for three seasons now, with his output in the other two years being in the 30s. New GM John Chayka clearly feels that Raddysh can be a top-end producer with this commitment and the blueliner should get a chance to put up some big numbers in Toronto.
In between those moves, the Maple Leafs made their head coaching hire, bringing back a familiar face. The team appointed Jim Hiller as their new bench boss. He spent four years as an assistant in Toronto and is coming off his first head coaching role, spending parts of three years at the helm in Los Angeles where his teams played to a 93-58-24 record. While Hiller’s Kings this season were known for trying to play a stingy defensive system, it’s fair to assume that the team will be asking him to open things up a bit more to allow some of their top offensive talents to make the type of impact they have in the past.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images.
