Russell’s Roundup: Rumors Fly, Isles Housekeeping

Tonight is Game 5 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers. I cannot wait for the game to get going. The first four games have been nothing short of utterly gripping television in every way. Three of the first four went to overtime, while the exception came from Florida blowing out Edmonton. The Oilers promptly took a giant pound of flesh in exchange.

The undertones to it all have been a crazy week of rumors, news, and the first trades of the summer. The NHL Draft is 13 days away, with free agency just 17 days from now. This week, those New York Rangers swindled another team in California into doing their bidding, ridding themselves of Chris Kreider for a prospect that’s lost all his luster and a marginal pick upgrade. Folks, make no mistake about it, silly season’s upon us. It only ramps up from here.

New York Islanders:

Yesterday, I cracked open the mailbag. Thanks to a swarm of great questions, it’s only part one. Later this morning, I’ll have the latest. As for yesterday and what you may have missed, I went over the latest on James Hagens and the Islanders’ bid to trade up, Chris Lamoriello’s future, beards, and more.

The Islanders kicked off the week with two assistant coaching hires. One for the power play, one for the penalty kill. Both have strong résumés and will help the staff. Here’s the full story.

With all the turmoil and potential changes, it was time to revisit a story from April. Then, I sorted the Islanders roster into clear tiers of who would stay and who could go, just 13 days from the NHL Draft. It’s much clearer what the plan is, especially after the hiring of Mathieu Darche. Here’s the new roster tiers.

NHL.com: The Islanders updated some info on the upcoming Draft Party in UBS Arena. “Past and present layers will be making appearances throughout the event, including Butch Goring, John Tonelli, Shawn Bates, Eric Cairns, Steve Webb, Benoit Hogue, Ryan Pulock, Casey Cizikas, JG Pageau, and Scott Mayfield.” Here’s the full release.

NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now:

Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman released the newest edition of his 32 Thoughts: The Podcast on Friday morning. As always, it’s chock-full of juicy nuggets. He has the latest on Jason Robertson, Elias Pettersson, Jonathan Toews, and a lot more.

Forever Blueshirts: After a calendar year of trying, the Rangers finally ridded themselves of franchise legend Chris Kreider. His era comes to an unceremonious end. He heads to Anaheim, joining Jacob Trouba, Ryan Strome, and Frank Vatrano on the island of misfit Rangers. It’s just the beginning in Manhattan. 

Florida Hockey Now: Back to the Stanley Cup Final. Rewind to Thursday night. The Oilers made history. They made an incredible comeback in their 5-4 OT win. Florida blew a 3-0 lead, then sent the game to OT with 19.5 seconds remaining before Leon Draisaitl won it. George Richards on what happened to the Florida Panthers

More FHN: When the sun came up on the next day, Alan Greenberg recapped it all. That game had everything.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: In probably the least expected ownership rumors, the Pittsburgh Penguins are potentially up for sale just four years after FSG acquired the franchise. Huh? Dan Kingerski got to work, and he’s untangled a lot of the mess and has it making some sense.

NHL.com: In the second trade of the summer, the Boston Bruins acquired a former first-round pick from the Chicago Blackhawks for a pittance. It’s a buy-low bid from the under-construction Bruins.