In today’s NHL rumour rundown, we start with plenty of different kinds of returns for the Toronto Maple Leafs, headlined by Mitch Marner and Anthony Stolarz. Next, we head to the Western Conference and look at a few teams looking to bring in Evander Kane from the Vancouver Canucks. Finally, we finish with the Philadelphia Flyers and their link to Elias Pettersson.
All Sorts of Maple Leafs Returns
On a night highlighted by Marner’s return to Toronto, the club saw some others return, too.
Anthony Stolarz has been out since November and has now made his 14th appearance this season. There has been some talk that with the promising play of Dennis Hildeby, there could be difficult conversations to be had upon this return.
Allowing five goals in the 30 shots he faced wasn’t exactly how Stolarz anticipated the return to go, but head coach Craig Berube had the goalies back, stating, “He probably wants the third one back. It was a tough rebound, but I don’t think there’s much he could have done on any of the other goals.”
Many fans are questioning the decision to put him in for his first game back in a game with so many storylines around it, but these are professionals. Marner’s return shouldn’t impact the decision on who starts. At that point, that would mean Marner and the Vegas Golden Knights were in the head of the Maple Leafs staff.
Some other, also surprising returns, weren’t necessarily returns. Both Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Carlo were questionable to play, but were both in the lineup.
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Ekman-Larsson, who has already missed time, left the game against the Detroit Red Wings after an awkward bend of the knee/ankle and suffered an apparent lower-body injury.
For Carlo, Chris Johnstone reported that Carlo may have tweaked something in the same game, which led to more concern for Leafs fans.
Both defensemen have been excellent at times, and are two pieces of what keeps the wheels turning on the Maple Leafs’ blue line.
Stars & Avalanche Leading Kane Sweepstakes
The Canucks are going to be sellers. They have already started by moving Quinn Hughes and Kiefer Sherwood, and talks around Kane are heating up, too. Kevin Weekes reports that the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche are both “likely destinations.”
Kane hasn’t been the best fit with the Canucks. After moving on from Dakota Johsua, there was a pretty clear role for Kane to fill.
All things considered, missing the full season last year, being on a new team, and the team struggling, Kane’s 23 points in 50 games are a fair result, but away from the puck, he needs to be better.
What Colorado and Dallas are looking for is the tough-to-play-against winger who shows up in the playoffs, battles hard in the corners, plays physically, and can produce at a good rate. Kane, at his best, can be all of those things and be an attractive addition to a contender.
When looking around the league, there are a few teams that could be singled out as being one of the few that need a true top-line center. The Flyers are certainly one of them.
How often do top-line centers become available? Hardly ever. Does Pettersson qualify as one still? That could be a debate, but it is fair to say he still has that potential to be one.
Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reports that there is a trade between the Canucks and Flyers surrounding Petterson is not going to happen. (from Elias Pettersson a Flyers target? Rasmus Ristolainen on the move? What I’m hearing, The Athletic, Jan. 23, 2026)
On paper, it could make a lot of sense. The team needs someone to keep up with the likes of Matvei Michkov, Travis Konecny, and Trevor Zegras, and Pettersson has shown he can do that. There is a connection between the player and coach, one team is buying while one sells, the list goes on about how it could make sense.
Kurz’s article clears all of that up, writing, “The Flyers are not interested. Full stop. That possibility was strongly denied to me by multiple team sources. Essentially, the Flyers don’t believe Pettersson is the type of core player who could eventually lead them to a championship.”
Could the Flyers target a player like Pettersson? Sure, but it is very clear that Pettersson and Rick Tocchet will not be reuniting in Philly.
