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The NHL News cycle is suddenly heating up with training camps around the corner, and Montreal may have pulled off one of September’s most intriguing additions.
Chris Kreider is officially a Montreal Canadien after his surprising departure from Anaheim, giving a team that reached the Eastern Conference Final last season another proven goal scorer without sacrificing a prospect or draft pick. Meanwhile, another potentially much bigger transaction is beginning to simmer: Elliotte Friedman has linked the Nashville Predators to Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin.
Vegas also removed one major question ahead of camp by extending captain Mark Stone, while San Jose’s youth movement produced another eye-opening moment when No. 2 overall pick Ivar Stenberg scored twice in just 25 seconds at the Rookie Faceoff.
My biggest takeaway from today’s NHL news isn’t one individual transaction. It’s that the league appears to be moving from the quiet portion of September into the period when unresolved contracts and roster problems can quickly become trades.
Latest NHL News: Chris Kreider Gives Canadiens Another Weapon
One of the strangest NHL stories of September has ended with Chris Kreider wearing a Montreal Canadiens jersey.
Kreider signed a one-year contract with Montreal after Anaheim terminated the final season of the seven-year contract he originally signed with the New York Rangers. Kreider produced 22 goals and 50 points in 75 regular-season games for Anaheim last season before adding seven points in 12 playoff games.
That isn’t insignificant production for a 35-year-old.
According to reporting summarized Sunday, Kreider’s Montreal contract carries a $2.15 million base salary, with performance bonuses capable of increasing its value to as much as $5.4 million.
From my perspective, Montreal is essentially buying upside here.
Kreider doesn’t need to become a 40- or 50-goal scorer again. If he can provide around 20 goals, net-front power-play work, playoff experience and some physicality, this could become one of the more efficient veteran signings of the offseason.
And there is virtually no acquisition cost.
No first-round pick. No premium prospect. No roster player going the other direction.
That matters for a Canadiens organization that should still be thinking beyond only the 2026-27 season.
NHLTradeRumor.com Kreider Cap Impact
The NHL’s official upper salary-cap limit for 2026-27 is $104 million.
Canadiens–Chris Kreider Salary Cap Snapshot
That 2.1 percent base-salary-to-cap ratio is what stands out to me. Montreal isn’t asking Kreider to carry the franchise. They’re adding another piece to a roster that already proved it can go deep into May.
Alexander Nikishin Trade Rumors Are Getting Much More Interesting
This might actually be the most important NHL rumor of the day.
Elliotte Friedman said on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast that Nashville has been “kicking around” Carolina defenseman Alexander Nikishin. The Predators recently moved Luke Evangelista to New Jersey for draft capital, potentially giving Nashville additional ammunition for another transaction.
Nikishin is an especially fascinating trade candidate because this isn’t an aging veteran being pushed out of a rebuilding team.
He’s 24 years old.
He scored 11 goals and 33 points across 82 games during his rookie season, and he is currently a restricted free agent. Friedman also suggested Vancouver defenseman Zeev Buium’s new contract — carrying a $9.38 million average annual value — could influence Nikishin’s negotiations.
That’s where this becomes complicated for Carolina.
NHLTradeRumor.com Nikishin Trade Value Index
NHLTradeRumor.com Alexander Nikishin Trade Value Index
My read is that Nashville would have to pay a serious price.
Young NHL defensemen with Nikishin’s physical tools, offensive production and potential team control almost never hit the trade market. Carolina doesn’t need to give him away.
Training camp could become the pressure point. The longer the contract situation remains unresolved, the louder those trade calls should get.
And Nashville isn’t the only team being connected to him. St. Louis has also surfaced in speculation, while Pierre LeBrun has raised Nikishin as a potential component should Carolina ever pursue Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.
That makes Nikishin one of the NHL names I would watch most closely over the next week.
Mark Stone Isn’t Going Anywhere
Vegas also handled some important business.
Golden Knights captain Mark Stone signed a two-year, $18 million extension, carrying a $9 million annual value and keeping him under contract through 2028-29. Stone produced 28 goals, 45 assists and 73 points in only 60 games last season.
There is obviously injury risk at age 34.
But Vegas has never operated like a franchise scared of risk. Its roster construction has consistently prioritized maximizing the current championship window.
Stone remains an elite two-way player when healthy, and the extension removes a potentially distracting storyline before training camp.
Ivar Stenberg Is Giving Sharks Fans Another Reason to Get Excited
San Jose might quietly be assembling one of hockey’s most fascinating collections of young offensive talent.
Ivar Stenberg, selected No. 2 overall in the 2026 NHL Draft, scored twice within 25 seconds during San Jose’s 8-1 Rookie Faceoff victory over Los Angeles. He played alongside Michael Misa and Igor Chernyshov.
It’s a rookie tournament, so nobody should overreact to one September performance.
But the skill is obvious.
And the possibility of eventually placing Stenberg alongside Macklin Celebrini — who produced 115 points last season — gives San Jose enormous offensive upside.
The Sharks suddenly aren’t just collecting prospects. They’re approaching the stage where those prospects begin competing with each other for NHL roles.
That changes expectations.
What Today’s NHL News Is Telling Us
We’re reaching the point on the hockey calendar when unfinished business becomes harder to ignore.
Kreider has found his team.
Stone has secured his next contract.
Young players like Stenberg are beginning to force themselves into the conversation.
Nikishin, however, remains unresolved.
That is the situation I’d monitor most carefully.
Once NHL training camps open, general managers lose some of the luxury of waiting. Players need defined roles, coaches want settled rosters, and unresolved contract negotiations become increasingly visible.
Don’t be surprised if today’s Nikishin chatter is the beginning rather than the end of this story.
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