NHL Notebook: Jonathan Toews making NHL comeback, Marchessault open to a trade, and more

The Blackhawks selected Toews with the third-overall pick in the 2006 NHL draft, and he spent all 15 years of his career in Chicago. During his time in the windy city, Toews scored 372 goals and 883 points in 1,067 games, captaining the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cups (2010, 2013, 2015).

Toews sat out the entire COVID-19 shortened season in 2020-2021 due to long-term effects from the virus. Toews re-joined the Blackhawks for two seasons before stepping away after the 2022-2023 season to focus on his health.

During his absence, Toews went on a healing journey in India. In 2024, Toews shared his feelings via an Instagram post:

“It’s too long of a story to share all the details here, but it’s been almost five years of searching for a way to heal the inflammatory and immune system issues that took me out of hockey. The wisdom of Ayurveda has taught me that everything I experience, I am responsible for. Not only did it teach me better diet choices specific to my body type, it has deepened my intuitive relationship with myself and the world around me.”

After being away from the game for three seasons, the now 37-year-old is looking to return to NHL action.

Could the Canucks sign him for their second line centre need? It seems unlikely, but he is a name that fits their needs. However, taking a shot on a guy who hasn’t played in three seasons and trusting him in such an important role is a little too risky. Wherever he lands, he may be suited best for a bottom-six centre role.

Jonathan Marchessault open to being traded

Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli shared on Daily Faceoff Live that just after one season with the Nashville Predators, Jonathan Marchessault might be open to a change:

“I think he’s pretty open [to a move]. It’s within reason. He isn’t going to accept a deal to pretty much anywhere, depending on how he shapes his list. In a perfect world, he would love to go to the Montreal Canadiens and go home.”

In his first year with the Predators, Marchessault scored 21 goals and 35 assists for 56 points in 78 games. This season’s total was exactly half of what he had the year prior, when he set a career high with 42 goals with the Vegas Golden Knights.

But it wasn’t just Marchessault. The Predators team as a whole was the biggest disappointment across the entire league last season. After making the three biggest splashes in free agency, signing Steven Stamkos, Brady Skjei and Marchessault, many pegged the Predators as Stanley Cup contenders.

However, they finished with the third-worst record in the league (30-44-8). At 34, it’s not surprising that Marchessault would want to move on to a team where he has a better chance of winning.

Could the Canucks be interested in Marchessault? Or better yet, would Marchessault have an interest in coming to Vancouver? He has a full 15-team no-trade clause. His scoring prowess could be a trade option if the Predators do make him available.

New York Rangers testing the market on K’Andre Miller

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman mentioned he had a few people message him and tell him that there are more defencemen that are out there than he previously mentioned. K’Andre Miller was one of them:

“It’s not a guarantee [the New York Rangers trade him], but they are testing the market on Miller – they want to know what it is. We’ll see where this goes, but his name is definitely out there.”

Miller is a 25-year-old left-shot defenceman who is coming off a two-year $3.87 million AAV contract after an impressive 2022-2023 season. The 6’5″ blueliner scored a career-high nine goals and 43 points, earning himself that bridge deal. Now, two years later, Miller is searching for his big payday.

However, after a decline in defensive play and point totals in 2024-2025, the Rangers are trying to find a new home for Miller.

Typically, when a young defenceman becomes available, the Canucks should jump all over it. However, with the current state of the Canucks’ left side defence with Quinn Hughes, Marcus Pettersson and Elias Pettersson, it doesn’t appear this would be a trade they pursue.

Seattle Kraken name Lane Lambert as new head coach

After relieving Dan Bylsma just over one month ago, the Seattle Kraken have found their new bench boss, Lane Lambert.

There were three other names in consideration for this job: Marco Sturm (Ontario Reign head coach), Mitch Love (Washington Capitals assistant) and David Quinn (Pittsburgh Penguins assistant). However, as on Wednesday, Friedman reported that it was a two-headed race with Lambert and Quinn to be the next head coach.

Lambert spent the previous season as the assistant coach for Craig Berube with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He also has head coaching experience with the New York Islanders. However, that was short-lived as he was replaced after a season and a half by Patrick Roy. During his time on the Island, Lambert finished with a 61-46-20 record, reaching the playoffs in his only finished season.

It’s clear that the Kraken wanted to steer toward a head coach who had NHL head coaching experience. The Canucks will see Lambert at least three times a year now that he’s the heac coach of the Seattle Kraken.

Season 2 of Amazon Prime’s Faceoff: Inside the NHL cast revealed

On Thursday, Amazon shared the cast of NHL players that will be featured for the new season of Faceoff: Inside the NHL, scheduled to be released this fall.

Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins), Marc-Andre Fleury (Minnesota Wild), Matthew Tkachuk (Florida Panthers), Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators) and Seth Jarvis (Carolina Hurricanes) are the three standalone players for their teams.

Anze Kopitar and Quinton Byfield (Los Angeles Kings), Sean Monahan and Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets), and Mikko Rantanen, Wyatt Johnston and Thomas Harley (Dallas Stars) will all be featured with teammates.

William Nylander (Toronto Maple Leafs) won’t have a teammate with him, but instead will have President of Hockey Operations Brendan Shanahan also featured in the series.

With the players Amazon has chosen, they will capture some of the biggest storylines around the league this past season. The farewell tour of Fleury, the 4 Nations Face-off with the Tkachuk brothers, Rantanen being traded twice this season, and the emotional journey of the Blue Jackets in the first year after the passing of Johnny Gaudreau.

Matthew Tkachuk and Nylander will be the only two returnees from season one of this docu-series. Quinn Hughes was a feature in episode four, during his Norris trophy-winning campaign. However, no Canucks will partake in this season, although the entire community wishes there were cameras around the Canucks with all their drama this season.