4 hours ago, KarateKen said:

Well, that didn't take long.  John Tortorella is not coming back next year for the Golden Knights.  No announcement yet on who the head coach will be. I knew it would be a quick decision on Torts and that sure was quick. 

Oh well!! Here today, gone tomorrow!! Perhaps, and that’s a super duper perhaps, he shouldn’t have stayed with Hart at the net. Just like the NFL, a head coach is with a team NOT FOR LONG.

GO KNIGHTS!!

On 6/16/2026 at 5:16 PM, sensei8 said:

Oh well!! Here today, gone tomorrow!! Perhaps, and that’s a super duper perhaps, he shouldn’t have stayed with Hart at the net. Just like the NFL, a head coach is with a team NOT FOR LONG.

GO KNIGHTS!!

Torts wanted to come back and coach the team, but the Knights turned him down and hired Ryan Craig to be their new head coach. Tortorella might get a job somewhere else, two teams, Edmonton and Toronto, are still looking for a head coach.  

 

Edit: Toronto has now hired Jim Hiller as head coach.

Edited June 18Jun 18 by KarateKen
updated information

It was only two weeks ago that the Carolina Hurricanes lifted the Stanley Cup after winning game six, but it sure did not take long for the offseason to get off and running.  To say the offseason has been busy would be an understatement, it has been crazy busy!!  Many trades and players moving around, too many to mention, but here are a couple of the bigger stories.

Forward Brady Tkachuck will be joining his brother Matthew in Firodia and play for the Panthers. The two already do a podcast together, and now they will be teammates for a Florida team that is looking to bounce back after a down season.  The Senators traded Brady to the Panthers for three draft picks, all first rounders.  Brady had two years left on his contract but requested to be traded, and Ottawa obliged, to the dismay of many fans who are angry that players seem to lack loyalty to certain teams and are looking to have more power in calling the shots.  Places like Florida and Vegas have become attractive for players due to many factors such as warm weather, not state income tax, and maybe above all, an aggressive commitment to winning.  

Vegas also had a major trade, sending young goal scoring star Pavel Dorofeyev to the New York Rangers in exchange for a 2026 first round pick (which they traded to Montreal) a 2026 3rd round pick, and a 2028 first round pick.  Dorofeyev signed a 7-year contract with the Rangers, so the 25-year-old will have a long stay in NY and make a lot of money - 11 million dollars a year. The trade makes sense on paper for both teams.  Vegas did not have the cap room to sign Pavel, and the Rangers were in need of a goal scorer as their offense was in the bottom third of the league last season.  We will see if this helps fix the Rangers goal scoring issues. 

Buffalo has traded Alex Tuck to Washington for a 2027 3rd round pick and forward David Kampf. Washington then singed Tuch to an 8-year contract for 10 million a year.  A lot of money and years to give the 30-year-old Alex Tuch, but maybe it will prove to be a good investment.  Capitals are waiting on word from Alex Ovechkin on whether or not he will return for another season, expectations are that Ovechkin will make his decision in early July.  

Then there is the draft, which is now complete for 2026.  The first player selected was Gavin McKenna, a LW from Penn State who Toronto hopes is the answer for a franchise that has not won the Cup since 1967 and has only one playoff series win over the last two decades.  I don't make predictions or comments on if a draft pick was a good or bad, as many people do.  It is strange to me that seconds after the announcement fans have tons of opinions on if the pick was a good choice or not.  Truth is we might not know for several years who good this draft class turned out to be.  We have no idea what players are going to over or under achieve, who will have injury problems, and so on.  The entire draft order is available on the NHL website if you are interested. Same for all the other trades that have happened.  Free agency starts this Wednesday, July 1, so the offseason still has a lot of moves yet to come. 

Let’s see what the next season brings. Thank you, Ken, for your exciting post!!

GO KNIGHTS!!

The 2026-27 NHL Schedule has been released, this year adding two regular season games to increase the total to 84. Season will begin on Tuesday, September 29 with five games. First will be Florida at Carolina, so the past two Stanley Cup winners start off the season. Other games that day are the Bruins at Rangers, Canadians at Maple Leafs, Oilers at Canucks, and Blackhawks at Golden Knights.

Already?!? Didn’t we just watch the Stanley Cup, like, I don’t know, yesterday!?!

GO KNIGHTS!!