NHL Notebook: Oilers, McDavid plan extension talks, Matthews and Nylander break silence on Marner’s departure, and more

“I said at the end of June, I had every intention just to take my time with it and I still feel the same way – take my time, and go through everything. I have every intention to win in Edmonton, that’s my only focus, maybe next to winning the gold medal with Canada, but that is my intention, to win there. [I’m] taking my time, going through it with my family, my agent, everybody involved. We’re going through it slowly.”

With the salary cap increasing at a rapid pace, McDavid is going to set the market on his next deal, wherever that may be. Is it likely he returns to Edmonton? Probably. But the fact that he hasn’t inked a deal as early as he could is only adding fuel to the fire as a talking point across the entire NHL.

Matthews and Nylander speak on Marner’s departure

The biggest talking point heading into free agency this summer was the future of Mitch Marner. Would he re-sign in Toronto? Or would he test the market?

Well, neither of those things happened. Before free agency opened, the Maple Leafs traded Marner’s rights to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Nic Roy. Not a bad move for the Maple Leafs, who would have lost him for nothing had he hit the market, but it also benefits Marner as he gains an extra year on his deal.

However, Friedman shared the latest he heard from other players regarding the situation, as well as his beliefs on what could have happened that would have kept Marner in Toronto:

“All I can say is this: there are other players who feel that when Marner didn’t sign last summer, that the writing was on the wall. My position is this: if they beat Florida in the second round, which they should have done, I don’t see how Mitch Marner isn’t in Toronto. I could be totally wrong. I just don’t see a way [that] if they beat Florida, that Mitch Marner doesn’t find a way to re-sign in Toronto, and the Maple Leafs don’t find a way to re-sign Marner.”

The woes of the Maple Leafs come playoff time just never seem to stop. After defeating the Ottawa Senators in six games, they were challenged by the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Florida Panthers. Toronto took both games on home ice and were within one goal of taking a commanding 3-0 series lead, but dropped Game 3 in overtime. They went on to lose the series in seven games. But had they won, maybe we’re talking about Marner still wearing the blue and white.

It was a relatively quiet summer surrounding the two remaining stars in Toronto, Auston Matthews and William Nylander. But just recently, they met with the media to discuss losing one of the members of their “Core Four”.

Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews spoke ahead of Hockey Night in Brampton last week about Marner:

“We’ll obviously miss him. He’s a great friend; great teammate. That’s kind of the business side of it that’s tough. But obviously wish him nothiing but the best and, yeah, we’ll just keep it moving.”

Nylander, on the other hand, met with NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger in Milan, Italy, at a promotional event for the 2026 Winter Olympics, but quickly dismissed the thought that his former teammate had already made up his mind to leave Toronto halfway through last season:

“Not sure where that stuff comes from, but I don’t think he was ever thinking of leaving ahead of time. I actually asked him during the season, and he said he was concentrating on Toronto. I didn’t want to press him on that and let him be because it was obviously on his mind, but his play was focused on helping us.”

The Swedish winger went on to call Marner an incredible person and a great teammate, sharing that while he may not be pleased with the situation, he’s happy for his friend.

“It’s tough seeing him go but I’m so happy for him and his family,” he said. “He got to pick where he went so, in that aspect, I’m happy for him. We’re going to miss him a lot but that’s just the business of the sport. That’s the way it is. So we’ve got to regroup as a team and figure out a way to keep winning games.”

In just nine seasons in Toronto, Marner quickly moved up the franchise’s record books. His 741 points in a Maple Leafs uniform have him fifth all-time, only behind Mats Sundin, Darryl Sittler, Dave Keon and Borje Salming – although he will likely be passed by Matthews next season, who sits just 14 points behind him.

While the trio played many seasons together, Matthews and Nylander are focused on next season without Marner. With the money they saved on Marner, Toronto brought in Roy, Matias Maccelli, Dakota Joshua and re-signed John Tavares to a team-friendly contract.

Blackhawks extend Nazar

The Chicago Blackhawks got a piece of their business done early, as they announced a seven-year, $46.2 million contract that pays him $6.59 million annually.

Nazar was selected 13th overall by the Blackhawks in the 2022 NHL draft. The young centreman has just 56 games of NHL experience under his belt, scoring 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points.

Many could view this deal as a bit of an overpay, but the Blackhawks are buying some early years where the 21-year-old may not be worth the contract and trading them in for the later years when they project he will be worth more than his current AAV.

After the regular season ended, the Detroit, Michigan native joined Team USA at the World Championships. Nazar impressed during the tournament despite being the second youngest player on the team – goaltender Hampton Slukynsky was the youngest at 19 years old. He scored six goals and 12 points to share for a tie for the team lead in points with Logan Cooley. His efforts at the World Championships garnered attention, and he was rewarded with an invitation to Team USA’s Olympic camp, which took place earlier this week.

This deal won’t kick in until the 2026-2027 season, as he has one year remaining on his $950,000 entry-level contract. However, even after this deal, the Blackhawks are projected to have over $60 million of available cap space next offseason. The Blackhawks’ next piece of business will be to extend their face of the franchise, Connor Bedard.

Tyson Barrie hangs up the skates

After 822 NHL games, defenceman Tyson Barrie has decided to retire from professional hockey.

Barrie, 34, spent his 14-year NHL career with the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames.

The Victoria, BC native was drafted in the third round (64th overall) by the Avalanche in the 2009 NHL draft. Barrie’s best seasons came in Colorado, where he was regarded as one of the league’s top offensive blueliners. He eclipsed the 50-point mark in three of his seven seasons with the Avalanche, topping out at 59 points in his final year in Colorado before he was the centrepiece heading back to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Nazem Kadri.

Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs, it just wasn’t a fit for Barrie in Toronto. Heading into his final year of his four-year, $5.5 million AAV contract, Barrie headed straight to free agency, where he signed a one-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers worth $3.75 million.

With the Oilers, Barrie found his game again. He quarterbacked the power play with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, finishing with eight goals and 48 points in the shortened 56-game 2020-2021 season. He followed that up with a pair of 40-point seasons in Edmonton, but with the emergence of Evan Bouchard, Barrie’s use on the top power play became expendable. He was later shipped to the Predators as a key piece in the Mattias Ekholm trade.

His time in Nashville was tough, as Barrie struggled to stay in the lineup due to injuries and scratches, and was not re-signed in the 2024 offseason. He then joined the Calgary Flames on a PTO and was rewarded with a $1.25 million contract for the 2024-2025 season. The 5’11” defenceman only appeared in 13 games for the Flames and, without finding a new home this offseason, has decided to retire.

Barrie ended his career with 508 points, which puts him 71st in NHL history for points by a defenceman.