Saturday marks the beginning of pre-season, with the Edmonton Oilers playing their first game on Sunday.
As has been the case for the past few days, there’s been a ton of news on Friday as players head to training camp. Two young players re-signed, while another young player will be out for a month. Moreover, it looks like a Canadian team will be building a new stadium.
Let’s dig into the latest NHL Notebook!

Ottawa will get a new arena

On Friday morning, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen reported that the Ottawa Senators will be building a new stadium as they’ve signed a lease with the National Capital Commission.
From Daily Faceoff…
Acquiring land was the first step. The Senators and NCC were in ongoing discussions about the size of the land that will be 10 minutes from Parliament Hill. The total area has increased to allow for more on-site parking near the arena.
Along with the rink, plans are to build a social-like district around the building to make it more accommodating for fans. Similar to what is seen at the New York Islanders’ home arena, UBS Center, and the proposed plans for the future home of the Calgary Flames, team officials want people to do more than just come to a game.
The Sens’ desire to move back to downtown Ottawa has been an ongoing saga for close to a decade. In 2016, RendezVous LeBreton Group, an organization backed by the team, was awarded development rights in the area to build a new arena. However, due to ongoing behind-the-scenes struggles between late owner Eugene Melnyk and Trinity Development, the NCC terminated the agreement in December 2018.
However, things changed two years ago when the Senators-led Capital Sports Development Inc. won a bid to build an arena in the same area that they had tried to finalize years before.
I may be an Edmonton Oiler fan, but I’ve lived all but four years of my life in the Nation’s capital, and let me tell you this now: this is much needed. The Canadian Tire Centre is located in a suburb called Kanata, off the main highway that runs through Ottawa, located over 25 kilometres away from Parliament Hill (Ottawa’s downtown region). On a regular game day, you’re looking at heavy traffic and terrible parking.
Think you can take public transit there? Well, that’s not really an option. While there is an Ottawa Senators special bus that runs to the game, it’s packed and you’re usually looking at quite a few connections. Moreover, the city’s light rail transit was opened in 2019 and doesn’t come close to Kanata.
Of course, downtown is central, and there is another Kanata-like suburb on the east end of Ottawa. If a person wants to attend a Senators game from that end of the city, it’ll take them close to an hour to reach the Canadian Tire Centre.
LeBreton Flats, on the other hand, is located 2.7 kilometres away from Parliament Hill, about a 10-minute drive. Moreover, the location is served by Ottawa’s light rail transit and is relatively close to nightlife, unlike the Canadian Tire Centre.
This has been a long time coming, as LeBreton Flats has been the ideal location for a new Senators’ stadium since 2016 when the Senators’ backed RendezVous LeBreton Group was awarded the rights to the area.

Devils re-sign Dawson Mercer

The New Jersey Devils have locked up a player who’ll be an important member of their team moving forward. On Friday morning, it was reported that Dawson Mercer agreed to a three-year deal worth $12 million, or $4 million per season.
Mercer was selected 18th overall in the 2020 draft by the Devils, and made his debut in 2021-22, scoring 17 goals and 42 points in 82 games. The following season was a career-best, as Mercer scored 27 goals and 56 points in 82 games as the Devils made it to the second round of the postseason. Mercer’s play dropped off in 2023-24, as he scored 20 goals and 33 points in 82 games.
Still, the right-shot centre has quite a bit of potential as the Devils look to return to the postseason in 2024-25.

Utah HC re-sign Dylan Guenther

Another young player signed on Friday, as Dylan Guenther and the Utah Hockey Club agreed to an eight-year deal worth $57.14 million, or $7.143 million annually.
Guenther was selected ninth overall in the 2021 draft by the Arizona Coyotes. The right-winger made his debut in 2022-23, scoring six goals and 15 points in 33 games. Last season, he scored 18 goals and 35 points in 45 games, along with 10 goals and 28 points in 29 American Hockey League games.
The Edmonton, Alberta native played for his hometown team, the Edmonton Oil Kings, for four seasons, winning the Western Hockey League’s Ed Chynoweth Cup. The following season, he won his second WHL playoffs with the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Artyom Levshunov and Laurent Brossoit out for a month

Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson noted that both Artyom Levshunov and former Edmonton Oilers Laurent Brossoit will be out for about a month.
Levshunov is a right-shot defenceman who was selected second overall in the 2024 draft. Last season with Michigan State University, he scored nine goals and 35 points. Shortly after the Blackhawks drafted him, he signed his three-year entry-level contract. It’s believed he’ll start his season in the American Hockey League.
On the first day of free agency, former Edmonton Oiler Laurent Brossoit signed a two-year, $6.6 million deal with the Blackhawks with an annual salary cap hit of $3.3 million. Brossoit has become a great backup netminder, as he posted a .927 save percentage and a 2 goals-against average in 23 games last season with the Winnipeg Jets.
For his career, Brossoit has a .911 save percentage and a 2.64 goals-against average in 140 games, winning the Stanley Cup in 2023 with the Vegas Golden Knights.
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