The Detroit Red Wings may have had a real shot at Steven Stamkos last offseason, but the move never got across the finish line. According to a report from the Detroit Free Press’ Carlos Monarrez, the Red Wings pushed hard to bring Stamkos in, only for owner Chris Ilitch to block the deal because he was unwilling to pay the money needed to sign him. That detail lands with extra weight considering how long Detroit has been searching for help down the middle.
The timing makes the whole thing sting even more. Since Stamkos became a free agent, the Red Wings’ biggest weakness has been their second-line centre spot.
Stamkos wasn’t at his peak there anymore, but the idea was simple enough: with the right fit, he could have shifted that equation. Even beyond the position question, his leadership, scoring touch, and all-around game would have given Detroit a much-needed boost.
Monarrez also reported that the Red Wings had another deal fall apart this offseason, this time for Anthony Mantha. Mantha eventually signed a two-year contract with the New Jersey Devils worth $4.75 million annually, and that agreement was announced just 10 minutes before Steve Yzerman was fired. Monarrez said, “On the same day Yzerman’s removal was announced, assistant GM Shawn Horcoff had a deal in place with Anthony Mantha, but it fell through while Ilitch deliberated.”
For Montreal, the picture looks very different. The Canadiens have spent the summer locking in key players on deals that sit well below what many of their peers are commanding.
Ivan Demidov’s eight-year contract stood out right away, especially after Leo Carlsson, Macklin Celebrini, and Connor Bedard all signed for huge numbers. Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Cole Caufield are all under long-term deals at less than $8 million per year, while Lane Hutson, Noah Dobson, Mike Matheson, and Kaiden Guhle are all tied up on team-friendly contracts for at least five more seasons.
That approach, Slafkovsky said, isn’t accidental. After saying the money they make is already enough, he added, “We’d rather just focus on collecting those [Stanley Cup] rings, because that’s a much bigger number, and I don’t think any amount of money can top that.”
The Panthers are dealing with a very different kind of issue. Brad Marchand has undergone surgery, and there’s no recovery timeline attached yet. For a team trying to rebound after missing the playoffs last season, health is becoming a serious concern.
Florida’s injury problems were hard to ignore last year. Captain Aleksander Barkov missed the entire season, Sam Reinhart and Anton Lundell each missed 18 games, Matthew Tkachuk played only 31 games, and plenty of others also lost time.
NHL Injury Viz had the Panthers at 540 man-games lost, far ahead of the rest of the league. The Vegas Golden Knights were next at 379.
There’s also the age factor. Elite Prospects lists the Panthers as the second-oldest team in the league, and with most of the core already around 30, that group isn’t getting any younger. Florida has a roster full of players on long-term deals, which should help as the salary cap rises, but if those players keep ending up unavailable, that advantage can disappear fast.
In Other News...
Patrik Laines Next Move Is Raising A Tough Canadiens Question
Patrik Laines future is still hanging in the balance, and for Canadiens fans, that alone keeps the conversation alive. Even with interest said to be out there from teams such as the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs, the former Montreal winger remains without an NHL contract as the market has yet to turn into anything concrete.
Now the next step is starting to look broader than North America. A move back to Europe is being discussed as a real possibility, which would echo Jeff Skinners recent one-year deal with EHC Biel-Bienne in Switzerland, and it adds a layer of uncertainty for anyone wondering whether Laines path still leads back to the NHL. No final decision has been made, but the longer this drags on, the tougher the question becomes for a Canadiens side that knows exactly what kind of player he can be when he is in the league. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Fans Are Split On How Much Connor McDavid Is Worth
The idea of Connor McDavid in Montreal is the kind of summer conversation that can take over a fan base in a hurry, even when it starts as nothing more than a mock trade proposal. Top Tier Hockey floated a hypothetical deal, and it was enough to spark a fresh round of debate among Canadiens supporters about whether chasing the sports most electric talent would be worth the cost. With McDavid carrying two years left on his contract and a $12.5 million annual cap hit, the fantasy quickly turns from dream scenario to roster math.
What makes the discussion especially interesting is how divided the reaction has been, not just in Montreal but among Oilers fans too. For Canadiens followers, the question is less about whether McDavid would transform the franchise and more about how much of the present and future theyd be willing to part with for a shot at him. It is the kind of conversation that reveals just how high the ceiling would be, and how steep the price might have to be if the unthinkable ever became real. [Read more 🡒]
Suzuki And Caufield Are Giving Montreal A Real Shot At History
Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield have spent the better part of the last few seasons giving Montreal a legitimate top-line identity, and the numbers have started to match the eye test. Since both settled in as full-time Canadiens in 2021-22, they have been paired often and produced at a level the franchise has not seen in a long time, with Caufield breaking through for his first 50-goal season last year and Suzuki piling up 72 assists while nudging close to some long-standing team marks.
The bigger picture is what makes their partnership so intriguing for Canadiens fans: if both keep trending the way they have, Montreal could be looking at a run at history in 2026-27. The clubs single-season goals and assists records have been in place for years, but this duo has put itself in position to challenge them, which says plenty about how far the Canadiens core has come and how much more dangerous it could become if the pair keeps driving the offense together. [Read more 🡒]