Andrew Cristall - Hershey Bears

Andrew Cristall and Ilya Protas became the dynamic duo as both rookies led the Hershey Bears in points, becoming the first duo to do so in a full season in Bears history. Protas is expected to make the Washington Capitals out of camp as a dynamic two-way center. Cristall, meanwhile, still has room to improve before carving out a role on the wing.

The Montreal Canadiens have announced that they have signed forwards Jared Davidson and Hunter McKown to one-year, two-way contracts for the 2026-27 season. 

Davidson spent the majority of last season in the AHL with the Laval Rocket. In 53 games with the AHL club during the 2025-26 season, he posted 16 goals, nine assists, 25 points, and 59 penalty minutes. This was after he had 24 goals and 45 points in 69 games with Laval during the 2024-25 campaign. 

It is worth noting that Bedard signed for $3 million less than Anaheim Ducks forward Leo Carlsson, who signed a 5-year, $18 million offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers before Anaheim matched it. Bedard could have commanded that, or more, but he gave Chicago a break. 

On the flip side, this is the start of a competitive clock for the Chicago Blackhawks. When Connor Bedard’s new 5-year deal is up, he will be a 25-year-old unrestricted free agent. You’d think he is going to walk if the Blackhawks are still consistently a lottery team by that point. 

The most intriguing restricted free agent of the 2026 NHL off-season has signed a contract, as the Chicago Blackhawks and Connor Bedard have agreed to a five-year deal. 

Bedard’s deal will see the Blackhawks pay him an average annual value of $15 million, making him the third-highest-paid player in the NHL behind Anaheim Ducks’ Leo Carlsson ($18 million AAV) and Minnesota Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov ($17 million AAV).

The Montreal Canadiens won’t have to attend an arbitration hearing this offseason; the club has announced that it has reached a one-year deal with forward Kirby Dach. After receiving a two-way contract $4 M qualifying offer, the forward had understandably filed for arbitration. The qualifying offer was expiring on July 15th, and it’s no surprise that a deal was announced on the very next day.

The one-year pact carries a $3.6M cap hit, which means Dach received $200,000 more than the bare minimum the arbitrator could have awarded him. The two-way qualifying offer was a great move by GM Kent Hughes to avoid being forced to pay Dach $4M per season.

The Minnesota Wild continued adding to their prospect pipeline this week, signing goaltender Filip Ruzicka to a three-year, entry-level contract.

At 6-foot-8, Ruzicka immediately becomes one of the tallest goaltending prospects in the NHL and gives the Wild another intriguing project to develop over the coming years.

As Travis Green gets set for his third season as Senators head coach, it's easy to forget he enjoyed a long and successful NHL playing career of his own.

The hockey world was reminded of that on Saturday night when Green was inducted into British Columbia's Hockey Hall of Fame. Green entered the Hall with former NHLers Andrew Ladd, Josh Gorges and Darryl Reaugh (builder category), along with former NHL referee Malcolm Ashford (official) and the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 Vernon Vipers of the BCHL (team).

The Colorado Avalanche have officially handed Fabian Lysell the opportunity he was waiting for.

Colorado announced Monday that it has signed the 23-year-old forward to a one-year contract for the 2026-27 season, giving the former first-round pick a prove-it deal just weeks after acquiring him from the Boston Bruins in exchange for Ivan Ivan. Financial details have yet to been disclosed.

After spending each of the last four seasons in the AHL and playing for multiple teams, former Boston Bruins prospect Luke Toporowski is heading overseas. 

The Augsburg Panthers of Germany's DEL have announced that they have signed Toporowski for the 2026-27 season. 

At heart, the NHL’s off-season is about renewal and optimism. Regardless of how their previous season turned out, each NHL team enters the summer hoping that better days are soon ahead.

Each of the 32 fan bases monitors their team’s every move and projects where their team will be in the upcoming season.