The 2025-26 NHL season is officially underway and as expected, it was a busy week around the league. Here’s a rundown of the week’s key stories.

Cooley Says No: More and more often, teams are now trying to lock up their top young players to max-term deals as soon as possible, a reasonable approach with the salary cap expected to jump quicker. The Mammoth tried that approach with center Logan Cooley , however, the center reportedly turned down an eight-year, $77MM extension offer. The 21-year-old had a strong sophomore year last season, tallying 25 goals and 40 assists in 75 games, showing that he’s well on his way to being the number one center of the present and future. The offer would have made him Utah’s highest-paid forward by a significant margin but it looks like he’s eit

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