A captain’s exit, a goalie with something to prove, and a coaching move that may be doing more than it says on the surface - that’s where the NHL chatter landed on September 22, 2026.
In Ottawa, Senators owner Michael Andlauer finally addressed the Brady Tkachuk trade, and he didn’t hide how personal it felt. Andlauer pointed to family as the force behind Tkachuk ending up in Florida, using the line “blood is thicker than water” and saying dad Keith and brother Matthew got “in his kitchen.”
Tkachuk has said the move wasn’t about his brother, so the two sides of the story don’t line up. What did come through clearly was Andlauer’s disappointment.
Even with that frustration, Andlauer made sure to give Tkachuk credit. He called him an awesome captain and leader, and said he did a ton for the community.
Ottawa also came away with a strong return from Florida, collecting multiple first-rounders and more, then turning one of those picks into a deal with San Jose for Eklund, Halttunen, and Svoboda. Those are the kinds of pieces that can matter down the road.
Still, the bigger reality is that the franchise now has to keep moving after losing its captain.
Stuart Skinner is another name getting a fresh start, and maybe a better one than people are willing to admit. Plenty of folks were quick to write him off after Edmonton, but that overlooks the good stretches he put together there and the playoff runs he helped fuel. What really hurt him was the defence in front of him, which never seemed to make life easy.
Winnipeg looks like a different world. With DeMelo, Morrissey, and Pionk in front of him, along with the underrated Ferraro signing, Skinner finally has the kind of support that can change the tone of everything.
The system matters too. If the Jets defend cleaner and keep things more predictable, Skinner may not need to be spectacular every night.
He just needs to be steady. That’s the sort of season that can sneak up on people.
And then there’s Edmonton, where Bryan Hayes thinks the Mike Babcock hire is about more than hockey optics. On TSN, Hayes suggested the move was designed to pull attention away from larger concerns, including Connor McDavid’s contract situation.
In his view, it’s working. Players have been praising Babcock so much that the talk around McDavid’s future has been pushed aside, and Kris Knoblauch’s Cup Final runs have faded from the conversation too.
Hayes called the whole thing “a little bit over the top and a bit performative.” Even so, he said the strategy has done what it was meant to do.
Once the season begins and the puck drops, he expects the focus to swing back to McDavid and Draisaitl on the ice. For now, though, Babcock’s arrival has grabbed the spotlight, even if only for the moment.
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Ike Howards Early Oilers Role Is Raising An Uncomfortable Question
Ike Howards early run with the Oilers has already become a useful little test case for how Edmonton wants to deploy its young talent. In a recent game, he skated on a line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman and showed some encouraging signs, contributing with a few notable passes and defensive plays that suggested he can handle real responsibility at the NHL level.
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Messier Just Raised A Serious Oilers Concern About The Babcock Hire
Mark Messier's reaction to the Oilers' decision to hire Mike Babcock added a sharp edge to what had already been a closely watched coaching move. Edmonton leaned heavily on player recommendations in the search, and the team has defended that process, but Messier questioned whether involving the dressing room so directly in the decision muddied the lines that are supposed to separate management, coaches and players.
The bigger concern, at least from Messier's point of view, is what happens if the fit starts to wobble. If players help drive the hire, it can create a tricky dynamic later when accountability becomes an issue, and that's the part that makes this more than just another coaching debate. For an Oilers team trying to stabilize itself behind the bench, the process is now under as much scrutiny as the hire itself. [Read more 🡒]