With the start of training camp this week and preseason games the following week, the NHL news cycle is starting to finally pick up once again. As teams and players prepare for what should be a very exciting 2024–25 season, let’s take a look at some of the latest news across the NHL.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed future Hall of Fame forward Sidney Crosby to a two-year contract, with an average annual value of $8.7 million. As the face of the Penguins organization, Crosby logically wants to finish his career as a Penguin and cement his legacy as one of Pittsburgh’s greatest athletes of all time.
Many players have signed professional tryout contracts. A PTO is essentially an invitation to training camp where, at the conclusion of camp, the team decides based on the player’s performance in training camp and preseason games whether to sign the player to a standard contract or release them. The PTO market has been very active this fall, with a lot of well-known veteran players being given the opportunity to impress teams. Notable PTO signings include defensemen Calen Addison (Ottawa Senators) and Tyson Barrie (Calgary Flames) and forwards Sammy Blais (Vancouver Canucks), Tyler Johnson (Boston Bruins), Nikolay Kulemin (Ottawa Senators), Kevin Labanc (New Jersey Devils), Matt Martin (New York Islanders), Max Pacioretty (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Jakub Vrana (Washington Capitals).
In other news, the Columbus Blue Jackets have signed 15-year veteran forward James van Riemsdyk to a one-year, $900,000 contract. The Blue Jackets are in need of forward depth, and this signing brings them closer to icing a complete lineup.
Defenseman Luke Hughes, a rising young star for the New Jersey Devils, is sidelined for six to eight weeks due to a shoulder injury. The injury occurred during one of his offseason training sessions. Hughes will likely miss at least the first eight regular season games.
The Boston Bruins and goaltender Jeremy Swayman remain in contract negotiations. Swayman wants to sign a long-term contract with Boston but feels that the Bruins have been undervaluing him in contract talks. It has been reported that Swayman is looking for a contract with an annual salary of around $10 million, a price tag the Bruins are not willing to entertain. It will be interesting to see if the two parties can come to an agreement before the start of the season to avoid the distraction of ongoing negotiations amid a very busy NHL schedule.
