The NHL is back — here’s a quick catchup on the 7 Canadian teams
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NHL training camps began last week, pre-season games are already underway, and the regular-season opener (Devils vs. Sabres in the Czech Republic) is just 10 days from today.
To help get you caught up, here’s a look at what each Canadian club did this summer:
Calgary Flames
After missing the playoffs for the second straight year (this time by a dismal 17 points), the Flames leaned into their rebuild by trading No. 1 goalie Jacob Markstrom to New Jersey for a first-round draft pick and 6-foot-6 defenceman Kevin Bahl. Calgary hopes 23-year-old Dustin Wolf — the American Hockey League’s MVP in 2022-23 — is ready to take over the starting netminder job after sharing the crease with Markstrom down the stretch.
The Flames also signed a one-year deal with forward Anthony Mantha, who projects as a second- or third-liner after scoring 23 goals with Washington and Vegas in 2023-24. With the ninth overall pick in June’s draft, Calgary selected Zayne Parekh, a defenceman who scored 33 goals in the OHL last season.
Edmonton Oilers
Falling one win short of the Stanley Cup was painful, but the Oilers seem poised for another run after re-signing most of their free agents while adding forwards Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson to bolster their scoring depth. That should make up for the loss of 20-goal forward Warren Foegele, who left for Los Angeles.
New GM Stan Bowman got to work after replacing Ken Holland in July. The former Chicago executive traded defenceman Cody Ceci and a draft pick to San Jose for young blue-liner Ty Emberson and let youngsters Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg walk rather than match their surprising double offer sheets from St. Louis. Bowman then crossed a big item off his to-do list by re-signing Leon Draisaitl. Connor McDavid’s top sidekick inked an eight-year, $112M US extension earlier this month that could make him the NHL’s highest-paid player when it kicks in next season.
On Monday, the Oilers announced forward Evander Kane is expected to miss the first five or six months of the season after having surgery for the abdominal issues that hampered him in the playoffs.
Montreal Canadiens
The Habs remain in rebuilding mode after finishing 28th overall last season — worst among the Canadian-based clubs — so it made sense that they mostly sat out free agency. But GM Kent Hughes still splurged on a trade for pricey forward Patrik Laine, acquiring the six-time 20-goal scorer from Columbus.
Laine, 26, will make $8.7 million US per year over the next two seasons, but he’s been on the decline since potting 36, 44 and 30 goals in his first three NHL campaigns with Winnipeg. Last season, the hard-shooting Finn scored just six times before breaking his clavicle in December and seeking help for mental-health issues in January.
In June, Montreal used the fifth overall draft pick on Russian forward Ivan Demidov. He’s expected to join the Canadiens next season after completing the final year of his contract in the Russia-based KHL.
Ottawa Senators
Canada’s second-worst team (26th overall last season) made a big move in net by acquiring 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark from Boston for goalie Joonas Korpisalo, forward Mark Kastelic and a first-round pick. Ullmark, 31, regressed to something more like his typical form last year, but he should be an upgrade over Korpisalo at least.
Before that deal, Ottawa hired Travis Green as its new head coach. Green made the playoffs just once in his four full seasons at the helm in Vancouver before serving as New Jersey’s interim head coach at the end of last season.
The Sens’ most significant free-agent pickup was veteran forward David Perron, and they also traded defenceman Jakob Chychrun to Washington for defenceman Nick Jensen and a draft choice. With the seventh pick in the draft, Ottawa took defenceman Carter Yakemchuk, who scored a highlight-reel overtime goal to beat Toronto in pre-season play on Sunday. But he’s expected to be sent back to juniors for more seasoning.
Toronto Maple Leafs
After another first-round loss to Boston dropped hockey’s most tortured franchise to 1-9 in playoff series in the salary-cap era, the only major change is behind the bench, where 2019 Stanley Cup winner Craig Berube replaces Sheldon Keefe. Core forwards Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner and John Tavares remain together for now as the latter two approach unrestricted free agency this summer. Tavares was asked to hand over the captaincy to Matthews at a pretty awkward public event last month.
GM Brad Treliving did make some moves on the margins, beefing up the defence with Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jani Hakanpaa while letting go of veteran blue-liners T.J. Brodie and Mark Giordano, forward Tyler Bertuzzi and goalie Ilya Samsonov. The latter’s departure opens the door for Joseph Woll to take over as the No. 1 netminder. Also, Treliving’s decision to give veteran sniper Max Pacioretty a tryout looks pretty wise after he netted two goals in Sunday’s pre-season game against Ottawa.
Vancouver Canucks
Coming off a surprising Pacific Division title on the heels of three straight missed playoffs, Vancouver signed former Boston winger Jake DeBrusk to a seven-year, $38.5-million US contract to play alongside star centre Elias Pettersson. GM Patrik Allvin also added some lesser-known free agents while losing forward Elias Lindholm and defenceman Nikita Zadorov, who both signed with Boston.
The biggest question mark in training camp is the health of Vezina Trophy runner-up Thatcher Demko, who might not be ready for the start of the regular season after he was injured in the first game of the playoffs. Backup Arturs Silovs might have to step up in the meantime.
Winnipeg Jets
This team was another pleasant surprise last season, racking up 110 points (15 more than the previous year) to finish a Canadian-best fourth overall. Unfortunately, Winnipeg drew a tough playoff opponent in high-flying Colorado and lost in the first round for the second straight year.
The Jets are usually pretty quiet in free agency, and this year was no exception. Despite losing a pair of good forwards in Tyler Toffoli and Sean Monahan, Winnipeg’s most notable additions were backup goalies Eric Comrie and Kaapo Kahkonen, who will battle for the No. 2 spot behind Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck. Behind the bench, Scott Arniel takes over for the retired Rick Bowness.
