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NHL Notebook: Former Oiler Tyler Ennis among three players to announce retirement this week
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Photo credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
Sep 18, 2024, 17:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 13, 2025, 13:05 EDT
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The 2024-25 season has officially begun, as players reported to training camp on Wednesday.
As you can imagine, there’s been a ton of news from around the league in the past two days. Two teams named new captains, while a young star player will miss most of training camp. An additional player signed an extension on Tuesday, and three players retired on Tuesday.
Let’s dig into all of that in the latest NHL Notebook!

Two teams name new captains

On Wednesday morning, the Chicago Blackhawks named Nick Foligno the 35th captain in team history. The team was without a captain in 2023-24, as Jonathan Toews departed the team and remains a free agent. Toews was the team’s captain from 2008-09 until 2022-23.
As for Foligno, he scored 17 goals and 37 points in 74 games last season for the Blackhawks and has been in the league since 2007-08 after being selected late in the first round by the Ottawa Senators in 2006.
Moreover, the Tampa Bay Lightning named Victor Hedman the 11th captain in franchise history after Steven Stamkos signed as a free agent with the Nashville Predators. Stamkos was the team’s captain from mid-way through the 2013-14 season until the end of the 2023-24 season, with Hedman serving as his alternate since the 2018-19 season.
Hedman scored 13 goals and 76 points in 78 games last season and was a part of the Lightning when they won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021.

Jason Robertson had foot surgery

It looks like Jason Robertson will miss most of the Dallas Stars training camp, as he had off-season surgery to remove a cyst on his foot.
Robertson led the Stars last season with 80 points while also scoring 29 goals. This was the second straight season where he led the team, as he potted a career-high 46 goals and 109 points in 82 games in 2022-23.
Still only 25 years old, the 2017 second-round draft pick has quickly become one of the best young stars in the league with incredible potential.

Thomas Harley signed an extension

Speaking of the Dallas Stars, they re-signed restricted free agent Thomas Harley to a two-year, $8 million extension worth $4 million annually.
Harley was selected 18th overall in the 2019 draft by the Stars. After two seasons where he played just 40 games with a goal and six points, the left-shot defenceman broke out in 2023-24, scoring 15 goals and 47 points in 79 games.
His 15 goals were tied for eighth among defencemen, while his 47 points were tied for 22nd. Not too shabby for a defenceman’s first full season.

Three players retired on Tuesday

On Tuesday, a handful of players retired, including two former Edmonton Oilers.
Firstly, Tyler Ennis retired after spending 13 seasons in the National Hockey League, two of which were with the Oilers in 2019-20 and 2020-21. Overall, he scored five goals and 13 points in 39 games with the team.
And then there’s Chris Wideman, who was selected in the 2009 draft but didn’t make his National Hockey League debut until 2015-16. He eventually joined the Oilers for five games in 2018-19 before getting traded to the Dallas Stars. After a couple of seasons in Europe, the defender returned to the NHL in 2021-22 with the Montréal Canadiens, scoring four career-high goals and 27 points in 64 games. His last season was in 2022-23, where he had six points in 46 games.
Lastly, Alexander Edler is expected to sign a one-day contract with the Vancouver Canucks on October 11, the same day he’ll be honoured by the Canucks in their home game. Edler spent 15 seasons with the Canucks, before signing with the Los Angeles Kings for two seasons.
If you enjoy my content, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.
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