Three NHL storylines are already setting the tone for next season, and all of them come back to the same idea: teams are trying to get ahead of their own mess before it grows.
In Edmonton, Frederik Andersen’s one-year contract looks a lot more interesting than simple depth on paper. The deal initially read like insurance, but his relationship with new head coach Mike Babcock has people around the Oilers wondering if he’s actually the early favorite to open 2026-27 as the No. 1 goalie.
Kurt Leavins of The Edmonton Journal said it’s hard to picture Andersen not being pencilled in as the starter from the start, and Babcock spoke with him before the signing. That would put Andersen ahead of Devon Levi and Tristan Jarry.
The logic is straightforward: Andersen may not be asked to carry a full workload, but a split of roughly 35 games would let Levi and Jarry handle the rest while also helping Edmonton manage its brutal travel schedule and the usual injury risk. If Babcock wants to keep everyone fresh and still stay competitive, the fit makes sense.
Toronto’s path back is less about one fix and more about a pile of things finally going right together. After a brutal 78-point season and another missed postseason, Jonas Siegel of The Athletic laid out five specific pieces that have to click at once.
Auston Matthews needs to look like Auston Matthews again. The goaltending has to be steady, even if it isn’t flawless.
The younger players have to provide real value. Jim Hiller has to sharpen the team’s defence and game control.
And the veterans have to stay healthy long enough for any of it to matter.
Then there’s Ottawa, where Brady Tkachuk’s return in a Florida Panthers jersey is already shaping up to be a hostile night. Senators fans are expected to boo him, and plenty of the reaction has turned toward the way his trade request unfolded.
Tkachuk asked for a trade in June and landed in Florida to play with his brother Matthew, but the way he handled the “am I committed to Ottawa?” questions in the media didn’t sit well with fans.
The online response has been harsh, with criticism aimed at his loyalty, his style of play and even his character. His first game back in Ottawa could be one of the loudest and most tense moments on next season’s schedule.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs Quietly Added A Defenseman Fans Will Instantly Debate
The Maple Leafs and Marlies have been busy on the margins, making a string of small signings as they look to shore up organizational depth. One of the more interesting additions is a defenseman who arrives with a reputation for moving the puck and bringing some leadership from his college days at UMass Lowell, plus a strong offensive season in the ECHL that turned heads across the lower levels.
What makes the move worth watching is how Toronto plans to use him. The Leafs can always use more depth on the blue line, but the next step is less clear, with the club weighing whether he fits best with the Marlies or another stop in the system. For a player whose game is built around offense, the real debate starts now: where does he fit, and how quickly does he get a chance to show it? [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs May Have Backed Themselves Into A Dangerous Corner
The Maple Leafs have built themselves into a tight corner on the roster front, with limited cap space and only a handful of contract openings left to work with. After adding five new players on Friday, Toronto is now operating with very little room to maneuver, which means any further upgrade is likely to require a corresponding move elsewhere just to keep the books and roster in order.
That leaves the front office weighing a familiar kind of tradeoff: chase another veteran fit for the top six, or clear space by moving out depth pieces and perhaps a Marlies prospect. Names such as Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko and Anthony Mantha fit the sort of forward help Toronto could still chase, but the harder part may be finding the room to do it while deciding which players, from Marshall Rifai to Michael Pezzetta, are expendable enough to make the math work. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Suddenly Risk Losing Blue Line Depth For Nothing
Torontos blue line is already crowded before the real decisions begin, with eight NHL defensemen under contract and only a couple of openings to sort out in camp. That leaves the Maple Leafs with a familiar late-summer problem: too many bodies for too few spots, and a need to figure out which depth pieces can actually be kept without creating another headache elsewhere.
Darren Stecher, Emil Andrae and Philippe Myers are the names in the mix for those final jobs, and the pressure is on Toronto to avoid losing useful depth for nothing. The front office could still look at trades or another move to ease the squeeze, but for now the situation is unresolved, and the longer it drags on, the more it looks like the Leafs will have to choose between keeping everyone in the picture and risking a loss on waivers. [Read more 🡒]