Entering the draft with a large collection of picks the Flyers had two clear objectives - draft some Center's to fill an organizational need, and from there simply draft the best players available when they stepped up to the podium. It was mission accomplished with the 7th overall pick when the team selected versatile forward Markus Hassinen, a projected centerman who can also play both wings. “Hassinen was one of the top projected centers in the draft, and we think him falling to us at pick 7 was a great start to the draft for us. The fact he is comfortable playing all three forward positions provides us and him many ways to get him into the lineup in the coming seasons.” Only a few picks later, the Flyers selected Center Kyle Desmond at #12. “Kyle had an injury shortened season this year, but we had been following his progress and really liked how he played before the injury. He projects as a big strong top 6 center in the future, and that's exactly the type of player we need in our system.” To finish the trio of 1st round picks the Flyers selected Swedish D man Jonathan Johansson. “Johansson is a little more raw, but he is a strong defensive d man, which again is a need in our system. We have several offensive minded d men, but they need that steady stay at home type to play with to allow them to thrive and that's what we have with this pick.” In the following rounds the BPA mentality was adopted and when the final pick of the draft was in the books the Flyers had selected a total of 7 Defensemen, and 6 Centers. 

 

Heading into free agency, the team kicked tires on some of the shiny, big ticket players available, but ultimately decided to do the smart thing and continue to build this team the right way, rather than adding those huge contract commitments to the roster. Instead they focused on trusting our internal players and our development system to fill the holes in the roster. Some of our young players will be given opportunities to earn bigger roles and prove that they are the future of this franchise. The team signed some long term, cost effective contracts with some of our most promising young players like goalie Collin Jaffray (8yrs - 1.5 Mil per year), center Petr Hubackova (7yrs - 2.95 Mil per year), Pekka Olin (7yrs - 2.75 Mil per year). The team did jump into FA to lock up one player, 22 yr old Center X'Zavier Rivers (6yrs - 3.5 Mil per year) to add to our young core and help solidify the center position for seasons to come. Add in the resigning of Austin Leveque (4yrs - 4.54 Mil per year) who is coming off a career year and just entering his prime, and the Flyers have the makings of what they hope can be a quick turnaround and get back to the post season after just a 1 year absence.

     The Canadiens find themselves in turmoil after the strange disappearance of their General Manager, only known by the pseudonym "Catastrophic Success".  He was last seen leaving the Bell Centre on May 5, after an embarrassing 5-0 loss to Quebec in Game 4.  Fans leaving the stadium claimed that he was visibly impaired, shirtless, and yelling and cursing in French.  Witnesses reported seeing him hijacking an e-scooter from a Door Dash driver and speeding off.   CCTV cameras spotted him entering the parking lot of an apartment complex and leaving only 3 minutes later.  He hasn't been seen or heard from since.  According to RCMP lead investigator, Steven Abootman, the Door Dash delivery was completed, given a 5 star review and 25% gratuity.  RCMP has had no further leads, and it is now considered a missing and endangered persons case.

 

     The Canadiens have hired Chris Bougalis, previously part time assistant/power play coach of a Bantam team in Minnesota.  The hire has been controversial amongst the fanbase, with some fans saying "I've never heard of this guy.  Nobody has ever heard of this guy.  What are we doing here?"  While other fans think this is a fine hire. “The league keeps recycling these same old clowns who got fired from somewhere else.  Marty St Louis was coaching bantam when we hired him and look how that turned out.  How hard is being a GM anyways?"    When asked about his qualifications for the job, Bougalis said    "I know nothing about the league anymore.  I couldn't tell you a single guy that's come into the league since 2026.  Portland Vipers? Milwaukee Lagers? Who are they?  I hear that the Leafs still haven't won a cup though.  I hope I get to be around in 2067 for the 100 year anniversary."  When asked about the organizational structure, Bougalis said "This is a mickey mouse operation.  We are the Montreal Canadiens and we have 2 scouts on the entire payroll?  There are Pee Wee teams that have more scouts than that.  Upgrading the scouting department will be a high priority."  

    

 

    Montreal is a deep roster who most pundits think are still a couple pieces short of being a true contender, especially in the competitive Atlantic Division.  With superstar centre Viktor Nilsson on the wrong side of 30, and  the pressure will be on to bring the independent nation of Quebec its first ever Stanley Cup.   They have re-signed 4 key pieces from this year's playoff team.  26 year old Defenseman Pierre-Carl Beauchamp was signed a 4YR x $8.45M extension, 23 year old center Guillaume Lacasse signed a 4YR x $4.08M extension bridge deal, 26 year old defenseman Romeo Hornung was signed a 3YR x $6.9M extension, and winger Daniel Cervenka signed a 3YR x $4.9M deal.  "When you're in Montreal you kind of have to keep guys named Pierre-Carl and Guillaume, right?", Bougalis said.

 

     

    There are still a few key decisions to be made before the July 1 deadline, including what to do with veteran goaltender and fan favorite, Michael Machesney.  With the emergence of rookie goaltender, Adam Erik, who posted a 2.22 GAA and .916 save percentage in his rookie season, who fans are already comparing to Canadiens legend and current Prime Minister Carey Price, Montreal may be willing to let Machesney test free agency in the summer.  "We agree on term but we're really far apart on salary.  I love the city. My family loves it here.  My son plays for the Jr Canadiens, my Dad is the mayor, and my wife and I have our entire extended family here, but at the end of the day, I have a family to feed.", said Machesney.   
 

The Flyers got off to a slow start to the season, losing their first 5 contests. With new faces in the lineup it took some time juggling the lines to find what will work this season. Since then, they have played to a 4-1 record, to sit at 4-4-2 and get back into the mix in the Eastern Conference. But just when things started clicking, the team suffered a significant injury setback as promising rookie center Petr Hubackova sustained an achilles injury that will keep him out for most of, if not the entire season. Recently promoted to the top line, Hubackova had recorded 5 assists in 9 games this season. Let the line juggling begin again to try and keep the momentum rolling that we had found. The early season waiver pick up of Eerik Pohto could prove to be a much more smart and valuable choice than orignially thought, as he has come in and put up 5 points in his first 3 games, and will get the first chance to center the top line now. The hope is he can keep up his early hot streak and be the solution we are looking for to hold down the first line.

The Sabres wanted to focus on a more defensive style this season and knew coming into the season if they were to play that style they would be sacrificing some goals. Maybe Mikhaltsev would not score 50 again and the team would not have 3 players challenging for a point per game. To open the new 2043-44 season that is exactly how it has played out. The Sabres are playing a much more defensive style of game and also not scoring goals. Mikhaltsev leads the team through 8 games with only 3 goals and several key players who were expected to have breakout seasons are off to slow starts. 

Last year, Elmeri Polvi had a great rookie season and was expected to take the next step, so far, 2 goals and 4 points. Jiri Balcar the highly touted rookie coming over from the KHL was expected to challenge for the Calder Trophy this season, he scored the first goal of the season for the Sabres (in game 2) but has since only added 1 assist. Defenseman Cohen Wylie did win the Calder Trophy last season after putting up 56 points and 16 goals, has just 1 assist this season.

The only real offensive surprise so far is Jeremy Audy, 2nd on the team in scoring despite being a 3rd line player.

All in all however, the Sabres are sitting 4-3 while the 5 teams ahead of them in the tough Atlantic Division are a combined 27-5-4. Sabres have to be OK with their start with hopes the offense will come around. For the last few seasons the team has missed the playoffs but has scored plenty, leaving then goalie Henri Alanne to fight off the scoring chances and lead to subpar numbers. This year with a new full time goalie in Simon Westlund, the Sabres vowed to give him more support and he has produced with a .923 save percentage. The Sabres have seen defensive teams like the Calgary Flames have success with playing a defensive system so the Sabres want to try to imitate that style of play with the hopes of getting back into the Shafer Cup Playoffs this season.

It’s that time of year again, as the PSHL season is about to begin, and the Portland Vipers locked in their opening night roster. After a better-than-expected 42/43 season, the Vipers are back, missing a few big names but adding a few new ones. The biggest news this offseason was star LW Christopher Maus leaving the team as a free agent and signing with the Blue Jackets. His two seasons in Portland ended with 152 points, and his contribution won’t be easy to replace. Joining him in free agency were two-thirds of the 2nd line, Russians Maksim Ivantsov and Nikita Varganov, plus goaltender Henrik Valtanen, who retired after 2 years in Portland. 

 

With a few key players on the way out, the Vipers front office got to work scouring free agency and the trade market. One of the headliners was the re-signing of 26yo RFA Jaydan Staunton to a 4-year $4.02m AAV contract. The Two-way center and PK specialist has been a favorite in Portland since his arrival in the expansion draft. The other big name and fresh face is winger William Christensen, who joins the Vipers via trade with Philadelphia. The expected first-liner scored 23 goals and had 24 assists in Philly last year, but will have big shoes to fill in the gap left by Christopher Maus. Another new name is Russian winger Yevgeny Pestrovo, who signed asd a free agent after returning to the KHL for the past two seasons. A former Leaf and Wild, Pestrovo will be competing for a spot on the 2nd line and will also see time on the power play. While naturally a center, Pestrovo has spent time practising on the wing, which is where he is expected to slot in. Finally, former Sharks goalie Aleksey Makiyevsky joins on a 3-year deal to backup starting goalie Nathan Morley.  

 

After a busy preseason, a few young guys are expected to debut this season, while others will start the year in the AHL. Pekka Eklund, the 21st overall pick in the 2042 draft, has made the roster as the 3rd line Center. While defenceman Aaron Warren, could play a depth role as a 7th/8th D-man. Travis Verheyden, a promising prospect, will begin the season in the AHL after a red-hot year in the OHL. Joining him are goalie Heath Henry and C James Dunne, who both are notably high picks in previous drafts. 

 

Portland opens the season at home vs Edmonton with this roster:

 

1L: William Christensen - Julian Wegmüller - Marko Pojedinec

2L: Ayaz Huseynov - Jaydan Staunton - Yevgeny Pestrovo

3L: Cayden Eylander - Pekka Eklund - Sebastian Højberg

4L: Jake Meola - Sakari Poskiparta - Olivier Mirao

Press Box: Björn Egger - Luke Matoush

 

1D: Shane Tonogai - Guido Stucchi

2D: Ryan Meyer - Andrey Pavlov

3D: Jan Olah - Sergey Gayduchik

Press Box: Julian Stucki - Aaron Warren

 

Goalies: Nathan Morley - Aleksey Makiyevsky