Welcome to my 2025 NHL Draft board! This final top 100 ranking, presented and packaged within our sortable user interface, follows my way-too-early top 28, my preseason top 32, my preliminary top 64, my February top 64, my March top 64 and my May top 64. My year-end ranking is made up of 66 forwards (36 … Read more
The calendar has flipped to June, which means we’re into NHL free agency talk in a big way for the next four weeks. And in a shallow year for UFAs, Mitch Marner is going to be the big fish that most of the league pursues on July 1. By my count, as many as 15 … Read more
The Sabres have named former Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen as a senior advisor to GM Kevyn Adams, per a team release. Kekäläinen “will be involved in all areas of the hockey department,” the club said. This is Kekäläinen’s first NHL job since Columbus relieved him of his duties as GM in February 2024. He’s been … Read more
While the Toronto Maple Leafs moved on from Brendan Shanahan on Thursday, the team intends to keep general manager Brad Treliving, writes Chris Johnston of The Athletic. Treliving will report directly to MLSE president and CEO Keith Pelley, per Johnston. Treliving will immediately face tough decisions, as top forwards Mitch Marner and John Tavares are … Read more
After his name sat low on trade burners throughout the 2024-25 campaign, the Sabres are now more seriously gauging what might be available on the trade market for pending restricted free agent defenseman Bowen Byram, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on yesterday’s 32 Thoughts podcast. Byram, acquired from the Avalanche in exchange for Casey Mittelstadt at the 2024 … Read more
With the draft lottery done, we have a template of the selection order ready for the 2025 NHL Draft. Unless Radim Mrtka breaks things up in the top 5-7, we expect a run on forwards early in the draft, especially with so many good centers available. The order in which these forwards go is the … Read more
Welcome to the last Weekend Rankings of the 2024-25 season. Longtime readers know what that means: You’re getting a top 16 instead of a top five, with every playoff team ranked. We’ll also check in on what the Gold Plan standings would look like in the bottom five, and we’ll even make a few oddly … Read more
Slafkovsky’s Performance Under Scrutiny After Return Montreal – Juraj Slafkovsky’s recent performance has sparked debate, with some observers suggesting a return to habits that previously hindered his progress. The SlovakNHL report highlights concerns about the young player’s trajectory. Details surrounding the specific aspects of slafkovsky’s game that are causing concern remain limited in the initial … Read more
After a long time spent apart, the Rankings Boys are back. How did we celebrate the occasion? With a playoff team draft, of course. With the 16-team field likely set (barring an epic collapse) and a pile of work ahead of us next week to prepare, we decided to do our playoff preview ranking a … Read more
The theme of this post is kindness. As in, let’s be kind to the fans of the league’s worst teams. It’s easy to forget these days, as some fans watch their teams fight for a playoff spot and others are already thinking about the Stanley Cup, that not all of us are having fun right … Read more