A little later than usual for the Daily, but it might have worked out for the better! The Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers both announced contract extensions for a pair of key players on Tuesday morning.
In Blackhawks news, the second line was responsible for all the offense in the team’s 3-2 loss in the season opener to the Florida Panthers. Connor Bedard was also noticeable despite failing to record a point, but he didn’t get much help from his linemates. More in the links for a full recap from Tuesday night in Sunrise.
Also around the league, the Alexander Holtz-out comes to an end with Vegas, and Pittsburgh Penguins’ netminder Arturs Silvos pitched a shutout in his team debut.
All that & more in the Daily!
Chicago Blackhawks Recap, News & Tidbits
Chicago Hockey Now: The young & inexperienced Blackhawks put up a respectable fight against the two-time champs on Tuesday, considering they were facing a formidable Florida group in a hostile environment. Frank Nazar, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Teuvo Teravainen were the offensive standouts, while Spencer Knight stopped 34 shots in his homecoming in Sunrise. Here’s a full write-up on all the notable stats and takeaways from the Blackhawks’ unsurprising, yet also somewhat inspiring, 3-2 loss to the Panthers. Weird statement, I know.
More CHN: Nazar and Bertuzzi each registered two points in their season debuts. I mentioned both players in a recent Blackhawks’ season projection & predictions article.
More CHN: ICYMI, the 2025-26 college hockey season kicked off last weekend. Here are four Blackhawks’ prospects playing for top NCAA teams this year.
The Blackhawks aren’t the only team in the organization to be filled with young players. Their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, currently has the youngest roster in the league, with an average age of 23.38 years. Oliver Moore, Nick Lardis, Aiden Thompson, Kevin Korchinski, and Nolan Allan are among the notables beginning the season in the AHL, and they are all 23 years old or younger.
The Rockford Icehogs are currently set to have the youngest roster in the AHL at an average age of 23.38 years.
And that’s without counting Ryan Greene or Ethan Del Mastro. pic.twitter.com/GdnXdQwzEJ
— Maxwell (@Maccus_de_Long) October 7, 2025
Speaking of the IceHogs, they are now only three days away from their season opener against the Milwaukee Admirals at the BMO Center in Rockford.
NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now
The Athletic: There were rumblings on Tuesday night about the Winnipeg Jets and star forward Kyle Connor reaching a long-term extension. The news finally broke on Wednesday morning, and Connor is now the highest-paid player in Jets franchise history. It’s an eight-year, $112 million deal ($12 million AAV) for the two-time 40-goal scorer.
More Athletic: Who’s taking home the Stanley Cup at the end of the 2025-26 season? Will Connor McDavid take back the Hart Trophy after two years without it? The Athletic’s NHL staff recently went through a ton of predictions with the new year now underway.
NHLdotcom: Another day, another extension dished out by the Edmonton Oilers. Defenseman Mattias Ekholm is the latest player to receive a new deal from GM Stan Bowman. The 35-year-old blue-liner signed a three-year, $12 million ($4 million) contract on Tuesday morning to remain in Edmonton through the 2028-29 campaign.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Dan Muse era in Pittsburgh begins with an impressive 3-0 road win at Madison Square Garden against Mike Sullivan and the New York Rangers. Muse out-coached Sullivan, and Arturs Silovs out-dueled Igor Shersterkin between the pipes. Dan Kingerski from PHN provided all the takeaways from a fun night for the Penguins in the Big Apple.
Forever Blueshirts: On the flip side, the New York Rangers showed no sense of urgency in the season-opener on home ice against the Penguins. The Rangers have a long way to go after getting shut out in the first game of the 2025-26 season.
New Jersey Hockey Now: How do the Kirill Kaprizov & Connor McDavid deals impact the New Jersey Devils? While it’s still a few years away, star players Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes will eventually need new contracts. As always, an excellent write-up from James Nichols of NJHN.
Vegas Hockey Now: The last restricted free agent has finally agreed to a new contract. The Vegas Golden Knights announced on Tuesday night that forward Alexander Holtz signed a two-year extension, carrying a $837,500 cap hit.
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