The Nashville Predators were one of, if not the busiest team in the NHL this summer. Most pundits believe that the Predators won the summer, which means precious little if the team doesn’t gel and deliver on the ice. It’s hard to argue with the assessment that Nashville won out the summer as the team added multiple Stanley Cup champions and locked up their franchise goaltender. However, with all the big-money deals, the Predators have assumed a great deal of risk, and it isn’t unheard of for teams to load up in the summer, only to have it not work out on the ice.

Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.

One of the remaining veteran free agent goaltenders is Antti Raanta, but don’t expect his name to be added to the list of players accepting PTOs. The veteran told Ilta-Sanomat’s Sami Hoffren that he has decided that his playing days in North America have come to an end.

Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane will have sports hernia surgery in the next 10 days or so, according to Mark Spector of Sportsnet. Kane has been dealing with the issue since last season and played through the pain as much as he could but eventually missed significant time in the Stanley Cup Final when he dressed in just two of the Oilers’ final seven games.

After signing a one-day contract in April to retire as a Flyer, Wayne Simmonds is sticking in the organization. The long-time NHL winger has joined Philadelphia’s front office as a community relations ambassador and hockey operations consultant, the team announced Friday. It’s the first front-office gig for the 36-year-old....

Blackhawks top defense prospect Artyom Levshunov could miss up to six weeks with a foot injury sustained earlier this month, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Friday’s “32 Thoughts” podcast. That would sideline him for the entire training camp and potentially cost him some time at the beginning of the regular season.

The Islanders are bringing back a familiar face, according to general manager Lou Lamoriello, who told reporters Friday that they’ll have veteran enforcer Matt Martin in training camp on a PTO (via Ethan Sears of the New York Post). It’s an unsurprising move for both sides at first glance....

Free-agent winger Phil Kessel still fully intends on playing in 2024-25 — though whether it’s in the NHL remains to be seen, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on Friday’s “32 Thoughts” podcast (audio link). As Friedman notes, Kessel was one of the players that Major...

In a summer when many teams either looked to add to their rosters to aid in their expected playoff push or sold as part of their rebuilding process, the Canadiens have largely stood pat, opting to continue their current trajectory from the rebuild that began in the season following their improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021. In doing so, they’ll be banking on continued development from their young core while hoping for better luck on the health front after dealing with considerable injury trouble in recent years.

One of the remaining restricted free agents around the NHL is Utah defenseman Victor Soderstrom. He has made it known that he wasn’t a fan of how things went last season when he only got into three games with the Coyotes after playing in 30 in 2022-23. While the...

Devils defenseman Luke Hughes is expected to miss training camp, preseason and the start of the regular season after injuring his left shoulder while training. According to an announcement from the team, he’ll miss between six and eight weeks. That puts his season debut for New Jersey sometime during late October or early November.

Stalock, who spent last season in the Ducks organization, was a finalist for the Masterton Trophy in 2023 after working his way back into a regular NHL role with the Blackhawks. The 37-year-old’s career nearly came to an end in 2020 after developing myocarditis after contracting COVID-19, causing him to spend all of the 2020-21 campaign on long-term injured reserve. He returned the following season in a depth/minor-league role for the Oilers and Sharks before serving as Chicago’s full-time backup in 2022-23.

The Islanders will have free-agent goaltender Keith Kinkaid in training camp on a professional tryout contract, relays Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. Kinkaid, 35, is on the UFA market for the fifth time in the past six years. He spent last season on a two-way deal with the Devils, where he spent six of his 10 NHL seasons, but didn’t play in the organization. He was instead loaned out to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, the minor league’s lone non-affiliated franchise last season, where he had a 3.54 GAA, .880 save percentage and an 8-14-2 record in 24 appearances.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are expected to turn their attention to extending defenseman Marcus Pettersson once they have finalized a new contract for captain Sidney Crosby, according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Pettersson is entering the final year of a five-year, $20.13M contract that he originally signed in January 2020. The deal has been an absolute bargain for the Penguins as the 29-year-old has blossomed into Pittsburgh’s most reliable defender.

The Florida Panthers have entered the market for PTOs as they try to rebuild their forward depth from a season ago. David Dwork of The Hockey News is reporting that the Panthers have agreed to a professional tryout agreement with forward Matt Luff and he will be with the team next week.

Defenseman Jani Hakanpää’s eventful trip through unrestricted free agency ended after an offseason full of speculation. The Toronto Maple Leafs made public that the team has signed Hakanpää to a one-year contract worth $1.47M. Back at the beginning of the offseason on July 1, TSN’s...

With just one week to go until most teams open their training camps, veteran James van Riemsdyk is expected to settle for a professional tryout before attempting to land a guaranteed contract for 2024-25, Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN reports. JVR may not have cracked our list of...

The Avalanche and center Pierre-Édouard Bellemare agree on a professional tryout, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The French veteran will try to land a guaranteed deal during training camp for his second stint in Colorado. Bellemare told French media last month that he intended to continue his NHL career...

Kailer Yamamoto has found a home, at least for training camp. The unrestricted free-agent winger has inked a professional tryout with Utah, the team announced Wednesday. Yamamoto, 26 later this month, was drafted 22nd overall by the Oilers in 2017. The 5-foot-8, 152-pound forward played spot duty in Edmonton in his first two post-draft seasons, mainly sticking in juniors with the Western Hockey League’s Spokane Chiefs and in the minors with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.

The Maple Leafs have signed unrestricted free agent winger Max Pacioretty to a professional tryout, the team announced Wednesday. It’s far from unexpected. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported the Leafs were in discussions to sign Pacioretty in August, and Darren Dreger of TSN said Tuesday that coming to an agreement with Pacioretty was one of Toronto’s top priorities after resolving a stalemate with restricted free agent forward Nicholas Robertson.