There are a handful of lingering NHL decisions still hanging in the air, and the league’s summer slowdown hasn’t exactly erased the intrigue. Five unsigned restricted free agents and five teams are staring down meaningful choices, with the usual mix of trade chatter and temporary calm.
Sportsnet also filled the gap with a look back at the five best fights from last season, while another report out of Detroit says the Red Wings passed on a chance to land Steven Stamkos. And on the Penguins side, there’s a fresh look at the five best moves made in the Kyle Dubas era.
One thing that isn’t generating much noise: the college free agents who hit the market on Saturday. Former Penguins prospect Cruz Lucius is the headliner of that group, though the class doesn’t appear especially deep.
Had Lucius reported to the Penguins after his season at Arizona State, the expectation was that he would have been sent to Wheeling. That was PHN’s projection.
Three weeks until hockey.
The Penguins also got a closer look at the Dubas record, and the story is pretty clear: the rough stuff came early, but the last 18 months have gone much better. The top five moves included work through free agency, the draft, and trades, with Dubas’ recent run standing out far more than the rocky opening stretch.
On the Steelers side, training camp is nearing its end, and a few players have started to grab fan attention. But hype doesn’t always hold up, and coach Mike McCarthy cooled things off a bit by putting a damper on some of the buzz around camp standouts.
Around the NHL, the biggest decisions aren’t limited to the unsigned RFAs. There are teams trying to decide whether to stand pat or spend assets on the trade market, and those choices could shape the coming weeks and months.
As for the fight reel, Sportsnet’s best scraps list included the goalie fight between Sergei Bobrovsky and Alex Nedeljkovic. Fighting may be the thing everyone claims not to care about, but the list is a reminder that plenty of fans are still watching.
The Detroit-Stamkos report added another wrinkle to a move that never happened. According to the report, the Red Wings were prepared to offer him a substantial contract, but owner Chris Illitch did not approve it, and Stamkos ended up in Nashville. The reaction was simple: that would have been a strong fit in Detroit.
There’s also a contract clock ticking in the background. TSN noted that with one month left before the new CBA shortens maximum new deals from eight years to seven, there are still a few free agents worthy of the longer term. The question now is whether the NHL has already seen the last eight-year contract.
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Penguins May Have Found A Future Playmaker Fans Should Watch
Markus Ruck is starting to look like one of those draft picks fans circle on the calendar, even with his path still several steps from the NHL. The Penguins grabbed the playmaking center in the second round, 39th overall, shortly after his twin brother Liam went in the first round, and he quickly backed up the attention with a standout season for the Medicine Hat Tigers.
Ruck finished with 108 points in 68 games in 2025-26, leading the WHL in scoring while driving offense as a distributor through the middle of the ice. He is slated to return to Medicine Hat for the 2026-27 season before moving on to the University of North Dakota in 2027-28, a timeline that gives Pittsburgh a little more patience but also a better sense that it may have found a future playmaker worth tracking closely. [Read more 🡒]
Sidney Crosbys Next Penguins Contract Carries One Huge Question
Sidney Crosbys future remains one of the biggest long-range storylines hanging over the Penguins, even with more than two seasons still to play before his current deal runs out. The captain is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2027, and the timing alone makes his next contract a major point of interest for a franchise still built around his presence and leadership.
For now, the only certainty is that the conversation has not formally begun, even if the expectation is that it will come before summers end. Crosby has already given the clearest hint about where this is headed, saying he is open to a one- or two-year extension while brushing aside retirement speculation, which at least keeps the focus on how long hell stay rather than whether hes done. [Read more 🡒]