NHL Pacific

The Edmonton Oilers have named former Chicago Blackhawks leader Stan Bowman as general manager and EVP of hockey operations.

Bowman will replace Ken Holland, who held the position from 2019 until the Oilers decided not to renew his contract following the team's loss in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.

Bowman previously served as general manager of the Blackhawks from 2009 to 2021. He was banned from the league in October 2021 following an investigation into team leadership's handling of sexual assault allegations against former video coach Brad Aldrich in 2010.

The NHL reinstated Bowman on July 1, allowing him to seek employment in the league beginning July 10.

The NHL said in its reinstatement announcement that Bowman, alongside former Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville and former SVP of hockey operations Al MacIsaac, had demonstrated "unacceptable" responses to the allegations made in Chicago.

The league went on to say that each man had "acknowledged that and used his time away from the game to engage in activities which, not only demonstrate sincere remorse for what happened, but also evidence greater awareness of the responsibilities that all NHL personnel have."

The NHL added that Bowman and his former coworkers had participated in programs "focused on the imperative of responding in effective and meaningful ways to address alleged acts of abuse."

The Oilers referenced the "important work he has done in his time away from the game" when announcing Bowman's hiring.

The Blackhawks won three Stanley Cups in six years from 2010 to 2015 at the beginning of Bowman's run as general manager.

One of his biggest decisions made under his tenure was the move to sign former Blackhawks stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to matching eight-year, $10.5 million AAV extensions in 2014, at the time setting a record for the highest annual values in the NHL. The pair went on to lead Chicago to one more championship after inking the new deals.

Bowman was also behind the decision to deal 25-year-old Artemi Panarin to the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2017 in exchange for Brandon Saad, a move that arguably jump-started the Blackhawks' decline from a playoff team to a perennial draft lottery contender.

He will now arrive in Edmonton at a pivotal moment for the future of the franchise.

Leon Draisaitl is heading into the final season of his contract and is currently on track to become an unrestricted free agent in 2025.

What the Oilers decide to do with Draisaitl's deal could impact what Connor McDavid, who is signed through 2025-26 with free agency on the horizon in 2026, decides to do with his next contract.

The Oilers ended this season three wins away from the championship. How Bowman decides to handle Draisaitl's contract this season will shape the team's likelihood of getting back to the Final next spring.

The San Jose Sharks have signed Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, to a standard entry-level contract.

We've been waiting for this ONE #TheFutureIsTeal

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) July 6, 2024

Celebrini is now set to join the Sharks roster for the 2024-25 season, ending his college hockey career after one Hobey Baker-winning campaign for Boston University.

Our Hobey winner has made it official.

Congrats to Macklin Celebrini on signing with @SanJoseSharks!

Wishing you all the best as you begin your pro career, Mack! pic.twitter.com/16X64n0iYD

— BU Men's Hockey (@TerrierHockey) July 6, 2024

Macklin's contract is set to carry a cap hit of $975,000 per year and an average annual value of $4.48 million with performance and signing bonuses, per CapFriendly:

https://twitter.com/CapFriendly/status/1809710827563266146

Celebrini last season became the the fourth freshman to be named the top player in men's college hockey after recording 32 goals and 32 assists in 38 games for the Terriers, while finishing first in the nation with 1.69 points per game.

He is now set to join Will Smith, the No. 4 pick of the 2023 draft, in the NHL next season.

Smith signed with the Sharks in May after ranking first in the nation with 71 points in 41 games for Boston College.

The former BC star forward said after signing his own contract that he believed it was "time to take that next step" (h/t the Associated Press.)

The Sharks will hope that Celebrini, who turned 18 in June, is also ready to make the jump to the NHL. He and Smith will be expected to provide an immediate offensive boost to a Sharks team that sorely needs one after finishing 31st in the NHL with 2.2 goals per game last season.

The Sharks have also added veteran offensive help this offseason, including forward Tyler Toffoli, who said Celebrini was one of the reasons he chose to sign with the Sharks in free agency (h/t Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News.)

Toffoli could end up as one of the players set to skate on Celebrini's wing as new head coach Ryan Warsofsky looks to rebuild the roster this fall.

The Seattle Kraken on Wednesday hired Jessica Campbell as an assistant coach, making her the first woman to be named to a full-time NHL coaching position.

Campbell spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach for the Kraken's AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

🚨Historic hire!🚨

Jessica Campbell becomes the first full-time female Assistant Coach in #NHL history as she joins Dan Bylsma’s @SeattleKraken coaching staff.

👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/Mo1F76w0yD

— NHL Coaches’ Association (@NHLCoachesAssoc) July 3, 2024

She will now rejoin newly hired Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma, whom she worked with during both her seasons with the Firebirds.

Campbell, 32, spent her playing career at Cornell, in the CWHL and representing Team Canada on international ice. She helped her country to a gold medal at the 2014 4 Nations Cup.

Campbell also helped Canada win silver at the 2015 IIHF Women's World Championships and contributed to the Calgary Inferno's trip to the 2016 Clarkson Cup.

After her playing career, Campbell served as a coach in Germany's top pro league with the Nuremberg Ice Tigers.

Campbell became the first woman to be an assistant coach for a men's team at the IIHF Men's Ice Hockey World Championship in May 2022 when she worked behind Team Germany's bench. There she was focused on special teams and player development, per IIHF.com's Andrew Podnieks.

Two months later, she was named the first female assistant coach in AHL history ahead of Coachella Valley's debut season. She helped manage the Firebirds' power play (h/t TheAHL.com's Patrick Williams) as the team went to back-to-back Calder Cup finals in its first two seasons in the league.

Campbell has also played a role in player development, including hosting half-hour skill sessions before Firebirds practices, per Ryan S. Clark of ESPN.

After she worked with undrafted forward Tye Kartye on his skating during his rookie 2022-23 season, Kartye was named the AHL's most outstanding rookie and earned a spot on the Kraken roster for the 2023-24 season, per Williams and The Score's Jolene Latimer.

Bylsma has also credited Campbell for her work developing Kraken prospects Shane Wright and Ryker Evans.

Campbell additionally has NHL coaching experience after working with the New York Rangers' prospect development camp ahead of the 2022-23 season.

The Kraken's power play ranked 17th in the NHL with a 20.7 percent success rate in 2023-24, while the team's overall scoring rate of 2.61 goals per game ranked 29th. Seattle will hope Campbell can begin improving the power play while helping develop young offensive talents like Matty Beniers as the Kraken look to build toward playoff contention this fall.

The NHL may be making headlines for a record-setting star to free agency Monday, with teams bringing new players on board in hopes of chasing a Stanley Cup victory, but the defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers are working to convince one of their players to waive a no-trade clause.

Eliotte Friedman of the 32 Thoughts podcast reported that "there were rumors that they had asked Evander Kane to waive his no move clause but as of Saturday, that had not occurred," (h/t The Hockey News for the transcription).

According to CapFriendly, Kane's contract is a $5.125 million hit against the salary cap in 2024. It makes sense that the team would be interested in trading him and opening up at least some of that money so it can reload for another Stanley Cup run.

There is reason for the Oilers to want to hold onto him. Kane had his most points (44) since the 2020-21 season and added eight more during the playoffs. He played with steady consistency throughout the season and gave the team an average of 18:49 of ice team per game.

Still, the contract is too big to justify and the team has needs.

As it was a roster constructed of one-year deals and expiring contracts that the team acquired at the deadline, the Oilers will need to provide depth for its core.

The best way to accomplish that is to free up cap space and trade players who are either aging or whose value is in their monetary worth to the franchise.

That second one is the category that Kane falls in at this point.

Unfortunately for Edmonton, Kane holds all the cards and can refuse any trade based on the clause in his contract.

How the team gets him to waive that clause so that he can be dealt to an organization that can provide those depth players remains to be seen but the Oilers will not be able to maximize their roster as long as Kane and his $5 million are on the books.

There is relief for the team. In March, Kane's clause turns into a modified one, in which he has to present Edmonton with a list of 16 teams he does not want traded to. Everyone else would be fair game.

Whether that is too late in the game for the Oilers is the question.

The San Jose Sharks' rebuild got a major boost Friday night with the top pick of the 2024 NHL draft.

The Sharks selected Boston University standout Macklin Celebrini:

JUMBO JOE IN THE HOUSE 🔥

Joe Thornton made the pick that brings Macklin Celebrini to San Jose pic.twitter.com/imyvq5mgym

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 28, 2024

The moment Macklin Celebrini is selected first overall from outside The Sphere pic.twitter.com/wiSSos3lsr

— Hailey Salvian (@hailey_salvian) June 28, 2024

BU forward Macklin Celebrini becomes the 5th college hockey player to go No. 1 overall in the NHL Draft, joining Owen Power (2021), Erik Johnson (2006), Rick DiPietro (2000) and Joe Murphy (1986).

— Brad Elliott Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) June 28, 2024

Celebrini's selection was expected since the Sharks finished the 2023-24 season with an NHL-low 19 wins.

The Sharks will enter a new era with Celebrini, who has been billed as a two-way prospect comparable to Sidney Crosby since his Hobey Baker-winning college debut season.

A new generation begins. Welcome to the @SanJoseSharks Macklin Celebrini. @SAPCenter is poppin! #LetsGoSharks pic.twitter.com/PORSKAPjJD

— Ray Almeda (@rayalmeda) June 28, 2024

Macklin Celebrini was brilliant at BU. I watched at least a little bit of every game he played this season.

He was well deserving of the Hobey Baker award as a freshman. Also, shoutout Chicago Steel!

The #SJSharks are getting a STAR!

— Vinnie Parise (@VinnieParise) June 28, 2024

Macklin Celebrini 1st overall pick!! Deserved!! #NHLDraft

— Matt 🇨🇦 (@TammySZN_) June 28, 2024

https://twitter.com/DarylDancy/status/1806832189159711110

Lol at how Tankathon ranked the top prospects in this year's NHL Draft

Tier 1: Macklin Celebrini

Tier 2: the rest 😂 pic.twitter.com/qNsVPSf0NO

— Ethan Cadeaux (@Ethan_Cadeaux) June 28, 2024

Celebrini recorded 32 goals and 32 assists in just 38 games for the Terriers last season.

Prior to establishing himself as a Boston University star, Celebrini was named the 2022-23 USHL Forward of the Year after leading the league with 46 goals and 86 points in 50 games for the Chicago Steel.

In both the NCAA and USHL, Celebrini stood out not for just his scoring abilities, but his passing and defensive strengths as well.

Those qualities will help the Sharks forget about a dismal 2023-24 campaign that included a record-tying 11-game season-opening winless streak.

I hope Celebrini pans out, the Sharks deserve something going their way

— x - Evan Johnson (@thevoiceofevan) June 28, 2024

It’s a good thing the Sharks are terrible right now because Macklin Celebrini is going to be a problem for the Pacific in a few seasons

— Tarunist (@tarsquared) June 28, 2024

Celebrini will now join former Boston College standout Will Smith and 2021 first-rounder William Eklund to form the Sharks' new offensive core.

Love the future for the San Jose Sharks. Celebrini joins a couple studs like Will Smith and William Eklund, and they still have a pick coming up.

Buying into Mike Grier’s plan for San Jose.#SJSharks

— Matt Kane (@mattykane105) June 28, 2024

eklund / smith / celebrini gonna be a crazy line tbh

— x- shep is WATCHING HOCKEY (@eaglevsqrows) June 28, 2024

Smith and Celebrini bout to run this league

— Kerny 🇨🇦 (@Kerny1x) June 28, 2024

It’s got to be a great moment to have hockey legend Joe Thornton call your name

Celebrini and Smith are going to be a blast to watch #SJSharks

— Tommy Bennett (@TJBennettt37) June 28, 2024

The Sharks had more than $30 million in projected cap space available heading into the draft, per CapFriendly.

That will leave the franchise with more than enough room to begin building a new roster around Celebrini, Smith, Eklund and the Sharks' upcoming No. 11 pick as San Jose looks to climb back toward playoff contention.

The Vancouver Canucks' Quinn Hughes has won the 2023-24 James Norris Memorial Trophy as the top defenseman in the NHL.

Quinn Hughes is your 2024 Norris Trophy winner 🏆 pic.twitter.com/QB56qmGM1D

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 27, 2024

The honor, as voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, was announced Thursday at the NHL Awards show in Las Vegas.

The Nashville Predators' Roman Josi and Colorado Avalanche's Cale Makar finished as runners up.

Skating in all 82 games for the Canucks, Hughes led all NHL defenseman with 75 assists and 92 points on his way to breaking his own franchise points record for defensemen.

The 24-year-old also joined Paul Coffey and Bobby Orr as the third NHL defenseman to record 200 assists over a three-season span.

The Canucks largely controlled scoring attempts when Hughes was on the ice at even strength, allowing him to drive Vancouver's defense through offense.

He spent 45 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, ranking in the 95th percentile of all NHL skaters including forwards, per NHL Edge.

Although his time on the penalty kill decreased this season, he remained a staple on the Canucks' power play on his way to leading the league with 33 power-play assists.

His deft puckhandling and offensive contributions helped Vancouver to finish the regular season on top of their division for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

Hughes is the first Canucks player to win the trophy in 53 years of franchise history.

The Orlando native joins Chris Chelios, Brian Leetch and Adam Fox as the fourth American player to win the trophy.

After losing to the Florida Panthers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final in seven games, the Edmonton Oilers will have a change to their front office.

Per ESPN's Ryan S. Clark, the Oilers confirmed that they will not renew the contract of general manager Ken Holland, ending his tenure in the role after five seasons.

Holland had been in the final month of his contract. Oilers CEO of hockey operations Jeff Jackson said that the decision not to renew his deal was mutual.

"Over the past five seasons as general manager, Ken has not only built the Edmonton Oilers into one of the NHL's best teams, but he has also established a deeply rooted foundation of success and a culture of winning that will continue well into the future," Jackson said in a statement. "Thanks in large part for Ken's outstanding work, Edmonton has become a destination city for players around the National Hockey League."

Holland joined the Oilers in 2019 after spending 34 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings in numerous front-office roles, including general manager since 1997. He helped guide Detroit to three Stanley Cup victories during his tenure, earning an induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020.

The Oilers reached the playoffs in all five seasons under Holland and made it to the Stanley Cup Final this year for the first time since 2006. Despite facing a 3-0 series deficit, Edmonton fought back to force a decisive Game 7 but fell short in a 2-1 loss.

The Oilers still have a window to contend for a championship thanks to the star duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Holland's replacement will be tasked with filling out the roster around them in hopes of reaching another Stanley Cup Final next season.

The Anaheim Ducks are returning to their classic duck-billed goalie mask logo for the 2024-25 season.

The Ducks unveiled new jerseys that pay homage to the team's origins as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in a Wednesday post on Instagram.

A tribute to our legacy, with eyes on the future.

You're entering Orange Country. pic.twitter.com/oXF8lTV7Os

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) June 26, 2024

The Ducks pay tribute to their past in their new unis 🔥🦆 pic.twitter.com/Dst0SIei8C

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 26, 2024

The uniforms featured a similar logo when the team first joined the NHL as a Disney-owned franchise in 1993, following the release of The Mighty Ducks the year prior.

The Mighty Ducks wore the duck-billed mask logo with a jade and eggplant color scheme from their inaugural season until Disney sold the team to owner Henry Samueli in 2006.

The franchise marked the ownership swap by changing the team name, adjusting the colors to feature orange accents, and donning a new logo featuring a "D" shaped like a duck's foot.

After the newly-christened Anaheim Ducks went on to win the 2007 Stanley Cup, the team kept the web-footed "D" as part of their logo.

The symbol became the team's primary logo in 2014 and remained through the 2023-24 season, per NHLUniforms.com.

The new uniforms maintain orange as a primary color, but return to the duck-billed mask as the team's main logo and bring the jade-and-eggplant scheme back as accents.

The Ducks' rebrand extends past their uniforms. The team recently applied to trademark the phrase "Orange Country," which will be used to brand merchandise during the upcoming season, per The Hockey News' Derek Lee.

The team is also preparing for the 2026 first-phase opening of OCVibe, the $4 billion mixed-use development that is expected to be built around the Honda Center in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics, per James Zoltak of VenuesNow.com.

The Duck also aren't the only California team rebranding for the 2024-25 season. The Los Angeles Kings have also shared that players will be debuting new uniforms this fall.

The Los Angeles Kings are set to pay homage to an exciting era in their franchise history during the 2024-25 season.

The Kings revealed on Wednesday that the team will have legacy uniforms inspired by the Wayne Gretzky era of the early 1990s during the upcoming campaign:

Woven into the fabric of Los Angeles.

📲 https://t.co/0vaApVA21I#GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/X5nuorj4Oz

— x - LA Kings (@LAKings) June 26, 2024

The Kings unveiled their plans for a new look last week, stating that the updated logo "is a reimagined version of the iconic logo the Kings featured from 1988-1998 and now features an updated version of the original 'Kings Crown' from their inaugural season in Los Angeles." The classic logo originally debuted in 1988, the same year that Los Angeles acquired Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers.

"This has been an extensive and collaborative process, and we are thrilled to roll this out to our fans and the city of Los Angeles," Kings President and Hockey Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille said. "This evolution is rooted in our 57-year history and embraces the elements of our eras. It also involved interface and feedback with players both past and present, and it sets the stage for extensions and new iterations in the future."

The acquisition of Gretzky helped increase the popularity of hockey in Los Angeles and propelled the Kings to success they hadn't previously experienced. The team won its first and only division title in the 1990-91 season and made its first appearance in the Stanley Cup Final in the 1992-93 campaign.

The Kings finished third in the Pacific Division this past season with a 44-27-11 record but lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the playoffs. The team will be seeking a deeper postseason run next year, and the players will look good in their new uniforms while chasing that goal.

The Edmonton Oilers do not plan to lose Leon Draisaitl for nothing at the end of his current contract next summer, Chris Johnston reported for The Athletic.

"Edmonton is not inclined to let the 28-year-old center simply play out the final year of his contract and walk directly into free agency next July, according to multiple league sources familiar with the front office's view of the situation," Johnston wrote.

Draisaitl is signed one for one more season at $8.5 million before he is slated to hit unrestricted free agency.

The Oilers will have to make a decision about their second-line center before they can lock in their first. Connor McDavid, who is currently signed through 2026, is not eligible to sign an extension until next offseason.

According to Johnston, "there is at least some concern" in the Oilers' front office that keeping Draisaitl in Edmonton on an expiring contract could lead to the potential of both stars leaving the franchise in consecutive seasons.

In the seven regular seasons and 528 games played since singing his current deal with the Oilers, Draisaitl has ranked second only to McDavid with 713 points, and second to Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews with 297 goals.

Although he was most recently held scoreless in the Oilers' seven-game Cup Final loss to the Florida Panthers, that consistent production has earned Draisaitl what will be a significant raise from his current $8.5 million average annual value.

Like McDavid and Matthews, he could be set to earn more than $12 million per year on his next deal, which will begin with his age-30 season.

The Oilers could be somewhat limited in what they can offer Draisaitl due to consideration for McDavid's next deal, which is likely to set a new NHL record.

The team will also face some limitations if they are considering a trade for the star second-line center, however. Draisaitl holds a ten-team no-trade clause as well as a no-move clause for next season, per CapFriendly, so the Oilers would have to get his approval on any potential deal.

Unlike most team's secondary stars, Draisaitl has established himself as a phenom in his own right by playing most of his even-strength minutes without McDavid.

The Oilers could receive a historic return for trading one of the best scorers in the league, even on an expiring contract. The Edmonton front office will have to weigh whether that potential haul is worth more than one more season of Draisaitl if they are unable to sign the center to a long-term extension this summer.