Summary Sunday: January 25, 2026

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Frank Seravalli on Oilers Now: Teams are beating their door down now. There has been real and significant interest in [Elias] Pettersson over the last 10 days. They’re hemming and hawing.

More from Seravalli on Oilers Now: Is Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas in play, yes, Brayden Schenn, yes. They’ve gotta shake it up.

I have no doubt the dialogue between Don Sweeney and Doug Armstrong has extended well beyond Team Canada business. With long stretches of downtime between games at the Olympics, the two executives will have ample opportunity to dig deeper into broader discussions.

Chris Johnston on the Chris Johnston Show regarding your beloved Bruins: They still know that they’ve got a way to go. They’ll look to add players that make sense…I don’t think they’ll be too precious about moving off players they’d don’t necessarily see as part of the longer-term solution.

More from Johnston regarding the Bruins on Game Notes: It seems like they’re open to being both buyers and sellers, I think that they still want to improve their team but they’re just not gonna do anything stupid, they’re not gonna be trading away a 1st or 2nd round pick for a rental.

And even more from Johnston: I definitely get the sense the trade activity is bubbling as we move towards February 4th, it’s only two weeks away until that roster freeze for the Olympics.

Honestly, we hear this constantly and we hear it every year.

Dave Pagnotta on Oilers Nation Everyday: Dougie Armstrong has been active on the phone lines; Brayden Schenn is available, Justin Faulk, Pius Suter, Oskar Sundqvist, we know about Jordan Kyrou, Colton Parayko‘s name pops up every now and again, even Robert Thomas.

Seravalli on Real Kyper and Bourne regarding Dougie Hamilton: There’s a handful of teams that are interested if the Devils are willing to retain. Knock $2 or 2.5m off, But, they’re not really willing to give you anything of substance.

James Mirtle from The Athletic on Hamilton: My understanding is the Leafs would want a high level of retention to get this deal done — potentially up to 50 percent — and that very well could be what kills a trade.

Pierre LeBrun from The Athletic on Hamilton: Toronto is believed to be on Dougie Hamilton’s approved list of teams as part of his no-trade.

A $9 million cap hit without salary retention simply isn’t workable in‑season, making this the type of move that aligns far more with offseason maneuvering. If another club manages to convince New Jersey to engage now, all the power to them.

There’s been some chatter on social media from Bruins fans about a potential reunion, but that scenario doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. Hamilton made it clear he didn’t want to stay in Boston, declined to sign an extension, and ultimately pushed his way out. It’s hard to imagine the Bruins appearing on any list of preferred trade destinations. Time to let that idea go.

Elliotte Friedman on Oilers Now: I think Blake Coleman prefers to stay but, what Calgary’s gonna do now is if they get deals that make sense, they’re going to go to these guys and say, we’re gonna do them.

Johnston on Early Trading: he problem the Leafs have had all year long, and it remains a hurdle, is that they can’t get into the big game stuff, they just don’t have the 1st round picks and other assets; it may take some bargain hunting.

Bruins fans will have no trouble getting behind this development. With Boston holding Toronto’s 2026 first‑round pick—protected only if it lands in the top five—any setback that slows the Leafs’ path forward effectively doubles as a quiet win for the Bruins.

Friedman on 32 Thoughts: The Shane Wright stuff, that he’s available and out there; that’s real.

I am sure the Bruins will do their homework.

More from Friedman on 32 Thoughts: I was talking to some people. They heard us talking about Alexis Lafreniere and could you see them doing something like Shane Wright for Lafreniere. I don’t know how both teams would feel. That’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard.

It could just be me, but I feel both players are a change of scenery candidates.

Again, more from Johnston from the Chris Johnston Show: At this point there’s no realm I see the Sabres as sellers and if anything, they’re gonna be small B buyers and maybe something even a little bigger than that.

Buffalo’s path seems straightforward at this point. Barring a dramatic collapse ahead of the deadline, the Sabres have no business positioning themselves as sellers—unless, of course, Alex Tuch signals he has no intention of signing long‑term. At this stage, it feels like stating the obvious.

Pagnotta on The Sheet: The teams that I’ve talked to that are fishing for that type of player, a la Rasmus Andersson, have pivoted at least internally to a mindset of Justin Faulk.

Boston’s interest in the Andersson discussions has already been well‑established. The real question now is whether they were among the clubs feeding Pagnotta’s latest round of speculation, because Justin Faulk runs counter to the roster profile and long‑term direction the Bruins themselves have repeatedly emphasized.

This and That

The Development League will not be a league in the traditional sense, but rather a collection of Tier I youth programs across the country collaborating to optimize player development. The DL is focused on advancement for high performance development in both the 15U and 17U youth age categories. It is anticipated to include 32 programs nationally that will include DL teams committed to following American Development Model (ADM) guidelines for each age group. Read the full article.

Canada and the United States have been overdue for a move like this (still waiting on Canada). It’s not flawless, but it’s undeniably a meaningful step forward—and one that several European nations adopted years ago.