Jonathan Huberdeau is certain of one thing ahead of his second season in Calgary: Flames fans haven't seen the real him just yet.

"I didn't have fun last year," he said during a recent appearance on the "Frankly Speaking" podcast. "I think that's the first time in my career I kinda lost the passion, a little bit, to come to the rink and stuff like that. The way I was playing on the ice, it wasn't me. It kinda frustrated me.

"I wasn't myself in the room, too, with the guys, and I know I can be a funny guy and be good to be around the guys. I think this year, I'm more myself. I tried just to learn from last year ... and come back this year and be me, be a leader in this room."

Huberdeau's struggles in 2022-23 were well-documented. When the Flames acquired him as part of the blockbuster trade that sent Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers, Huberdeau was coming off a career-high 115-point campaign. He wasn't the same player during his first season north of the border, chipping in with just 55 points in 79 outings.

When Huberdeau is at his best, he said he feels lighter on the ice.

"Last year was heavy all the time and stuff like that," he said. "It doesn't mean you're not as in shape - I think it's just mentally it drains you, and then it gets to your body. I think it's just to be free mentally and just go out there, have fun."

The 30-year-old revealed in early May that he and then-Flames head coach Darryl Sutter "really didn't click" and that the typically hard-nosed bench boss' game plan "didn't fit" Huberdeau's style. The Flames parted ways with Sutter after missing the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs by two points and replaced him with Ryan Huska.

Huberdeau told the "Frankly Speaking" podcast that he believes his new head coach will give him "every chance to be successful" and that there's a "different" feel around camp this time around.

"You can feel everybody's excited. Obviously, last year, we had a lot of expectations on our team," he said. "This year, I don't think that we have many. I think it's a good thing - we're going to be the underdog."

Huberdeau is about to enter the first season of an eight-year, $84-million extension he signed with the Flames in August 2022.

Calgary's 2023-24 campaign begins Oct. 11 against the Winnipeg Jets.

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Western Hockey League suspended Wenatchee Wild head coach Kevin Constantine indefinitely following an independent investigation that determined he made "derogatory comments of a discriminatory nature," the league announced.

Constantine, who spent parts of seven seasons as an NHL head coach in the 1990s and early 2000s, can't apply for reinstatement to coach in the WHL until July 2025 at the earliest.

"The WHL holds our players and staff to a very high standard of conduct at all times," WHL commissioner Ron Robison said in a statement. "We have extensive programming which emphasizes the importance of always treating players and staff in a respectful manner, and there is a zero tolerance for any comments of a derogatory nature.

"Those in leadership capacities in the WHL, in particular our head coaches, are expected to set examples for our players and not conduct themselves in a manner that would impact adversely on the team environment or inflict damage on the reputation of the league."

Constantine was originally suspended in September after the WHL's independent reporting channel received a complaint regarding his conduct. He wasn't permitted to have contact with any member of the organization during the investigation.

The 64-year-old spent time as the bench boss of the San Jose Sharks (1993-95), Pittsburgh Penguins (1997-99), and New Jersey Devils (2002).

Constantine was previously the head coach of the WHL's Everett Silvertips (2003-07, 2013-17). The Wild named him their first-ever WHL head coach in July.

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told owners that very preliminary revenue projections suggest a salary cap rise to between $87 and $88 million for the 2024-25 campaign, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

The league's salary cap increased to $83.5 million for the upcoming 2023-24 season. It was the second straight year the cap jumped $1 million after being at a stagnant $81.5 million from 2019-2022.

A bump up to $87.5 million would be a $4-million rise in one offseason. It would be the biggest single-summer increase for the NHL's cap since it jumped up $4.5 million ahead of the 2019-20 season.

Bettman's preliminary projections are in line with the three-year estimation that sources gave Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and Rory Boylen in September 2022.

Bettman added that the outstanding escrow debt owed by players to owners due to the pandemic is down to approximately $50 million and will be paid off this season, per Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.

William Nylander, Steven Stamkos, and Connor Hellebuyck are among the top pending unrestricted free agents that could benefit from a rising salary cap next summer.

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Matt and Blake discuss the lineup dressing in Abbotsford for the Canucks' penultimate preseason game; the decisions left to sort before the final roster is set; the path forward for Nils Höglander; the importance of these games for Cole McWard; how many starts for Thatcher Demko; as well as the opening of AHL training camp and the number of players on the farm team who could be called up this season. Other topics include the Lions and Whitecaps in huge games over the next 48 hours; and the Blue Jays blowing Game 1 of their Wild Card series. Chris Faber joins to begin his weekly Wednesday guest spots and tackles topics such as: is Vasily Podkolzin a bust? Can Höglander shine on the 4th line? Is McWard for top-4 duty? Will Rick Tocchet's defence-by-committee stand the test of time? What's next for Jack Rathbone. Plus his Canucks prospect of the week. Frank Corrado stops by and skewers the idea of defence-by-committee. He looks back on the decision to let Ilya Mikheyev play on a partially-torn ACL, plus he talks about ex-teammate Teddy Blueger: how he'll help the penalty-kill, his energy and work ethic. Alexander Hollins joins to take a bow after eclipsing 1,000 yards receiving for the Lions. Hollins tells us how he got so wide open for a long touchdown last week, gives us the pre-scout on Winnipeg's defence, and answers the big question between him and fellow 1,000-yard receiver Keon Hatcher: who's the man? Presented by Applewood Auto Group.

Follow us on social (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok & YouTube). Powered by Go Goat Sports

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've already previewed the Atlantic Division, so let's look at the other teams in the Eastern Conference.

The Metropolitan Division boasts two of the top four Stanley Cup favorites and four clubs priced under +2000 to win it all, making it - in oddsmakers' eyes - the best division in hockey.

The Hurricanes are the favorites to hoist the Cup, and the Devils share the second shortest odds with three other teams.

Futures odds

All odds via theScore Bet.

The Canes narrowly edged the Devils for the division crown last season and made it to the Eastern Conference Final before getting swept by the Panthers. They didn't lose anyone notable in the offseason but managed to bolster their blueline by signing Dmitry Orlov.

The Devils have one of the youngest rosters in the league and added two top-line forwards to their opening-day roster from last year. They re-signed Timo Meier, who they acquired at the previous trade deadline, and traded for Tyler Toffoli in the offseason after his 73-point 2022-23 campaign with the Flames.

The Rangers and Penguins are expected to be the next two best teams in the Metropolitan.

New York went for it all last season by acquiring Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko before the deadline. However, it was ousted in the first round of the playoffs, and neither of those names are on the roster heading into this campaign. Blake Wheeler and Nick Bonino are the team's two biggest offseason additions, meaning the Rangers will likely need Vezina Trophy candidate Igor Shesterkin to be the league's best goalie for a second time to make some noise.

The Penguins made a splash by landing Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson in what could be the last best chance Pittsburgh has of winning another Cup with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin up the middle.

To Make The Playoffs

The betting market believes the top four teams in the Metropolitan have a great chance of making the playoffs. The Penguins -200 odds (66.7% implied probability) are the longest of the group.

The Islanders, who have made the postseason in four of the past five seasons, are sitting at even money to clinch a playoff spot. Their +2500 odds of winning the Eastern Conference puts them in the same neighborhood as the Senators and Red Wings, according to the betting market.

The aging Capitals, who missed the playoffs for the first time last campaign since the 2013-14 season, aren't expected to contend with the Hurricanes or Devils but are given a 30.8% chance of making the playoffs.

As for the Blue Jackets and Flyers, they're expected to be two of the worst teams in the league.

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Welcome to the first edition of theScore's 2023-24 Vezina Trophy Rankings, a look at the top netminders across the league set to be published each month throughout the season.

Boston Bruins star Linus Ullmark dominated last year's Vezina voting, but we project a much different race this time around.

Note: All stats from 2022-23 regular season
GSAA = Goals saved above average
GSAx = Goals saved above expected

5. Igor Shesterkin, Rangers

Shesterkin ran away with the Vezina in 2021-22 but took a step back a year later with a far less dominant season. Luckily for him and the Rangers, a down year still saw Shesterkin rank top-10 among all netminders in all the individual statistics listed above. We project a solid bounce-back campaign for Shesterkin, who's simply too talented to be forgotten in these rankings. In addition to Shesterkin's individual ability, he admitted recently that a poor attitude hindered his performance in the crease last season. A happy Shesterkin should make for plenty of happy Rangers fans, too.

4. Connor Hellebuyck, Jets

Hellebuyck is easily good enough to rank higher than fourth and is very likely to climb this list as the season progresses. However, we left him off the podium for now, largely due to circumstances out of his control. Trade rumors swirled around the star netminder throughout the offseason, and if the Jets aren't in a position to make the playoffs in a few months, they're sure to ramp up again. You never know how a contract year will affect a player's performance, and we'll have to wait and see how the 30-year-old manages the increased pressure of the upcoming campaign.

Reputation-wise, Hellebuyck's status among the league's elite goalies is second to none. He's a bona fide star coming off a dominant season in which he was a Vezina finalist for the third time in six years.

3. Juuse Saros, Predators

Saros was good enough to earn a pair of first-place Vezina votes last season despite the Predators missing the playoffs. Nashville ranked 27th in shots against per 60 and 28th in expected goals against per 60 while sitting on the wrong side of shot and goal shares at five-on-five. Saros was still able to post the Herculean statistics listed above, which could've made him a dark-horse Hart Trophy candidate if the Preds squeaked into the postseason.

It's a lot to ask Saros to take on that big of a job this season, but the 28-year-old hasn't faltered yet in his eight-year career, in which he owns a lifetime .919 save percentage. Playoffs are always a key factor in Vezina votes, but Saros' individual brilliance shouldn't be ignored if Nashville struggles in the standings.

2. Jake Oettinger, Stars

Oettinger is the top up-and-comer in the NHL's goalie landscape, and he slotted ahead of some more established veterans on our list based on the team surrounding him. The Stars have built a legitimate Cup contender, and there isn't much competition in the Central Division to slow Dallas from eclipsing 100 points or prevent Oettinger from having another strong season.

The 24-year-old finished fifth in Vezina voting last season despite tailing off throughout the second half of his campaign. Oettinger owned a .923 clip in his first 31 appearances, then dropped to .915 for his next 31. The dip can easily be chalked up to fatigue as he faced a more significant workload than ever before. That said, Oettinger's numbers have progressively gotten better in each of his three NHL seasons, and Year 4 could be the one he establishes himself as the league's best.

1. Ilya Sorokin, Islanders

If it weren't for Ullmark's historic efforts a season ago, Sorokin would've waltzed to the first Vezina of his career. The Islanders star instead earned runner-up for goalie of the year and a second-team All-Star selection. From a pure talent perspective, it's difficult to argue any netminder is better than Sorokin right now. Since arriving in the NHL three seasons ago, he ranks first in shutouts (16) and GSAx (76.28), second in save percentage (.924) and GSAA (70.8), and third in goals against average (2.34).

The Islanders project to be a bubble team in the standings in 2023-24, but with Sorokin in the crease, Lane Lambert's group has a chance to win every night.

Just missed the cut: Ullmark, Alexandar Georgiev (Avalanche), Filip Gustavsson (Wild)

(Stats source: Evolving-Hockey)

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Dillon Dube believes his rookie teammate Matt Coronato is ready to make an immediate impact with the Calgary Flames thanks to his lethal shot.

"His shot is up there with the top guys in the league - the way he releases it and how quick it is," Dube said, according to Sportsnet's Eric Francis. "(On Monday) he beat one of the best goalies in the league. It's an NHL shot for sure."

Coronato entered Tuesday tied for the NHL lead with four goals in five preseason games. He's second in points with seven.

The 20-year-old scored a hat trick in Calgary's preseason opener against the Vancouver Canucks. His latest tally came against Connor Hellebuyck on Monday, beating the former Vezina Trophy winner clean with a power-play snipe.

It's not just Coronato's shot, though. Dube, who had Coronato living in his basement at the end of last season, believes the rookie is doing all the little things that will lead to sustainable goal-scoring.

"He's playing the right way - he's a worker, he plays hard on the puck, forcing turnovers and making those little plays and that's what translates into his offence," Dube said.

Head coach Ryan Huska agrees with Dube's evaluation.

"If you watch him away from pucks when he doesn't have it, how hard he works to try to get it back - that's why he's had success," Huska said. "He's been like a dog on a bone and he is hunting things hard."

Huska's praise doesn't appear to just be coach speak, either: Coronato is in line for a top-six role to begin the campaign. Lately, he's skating alongside captain Mikael Backlund and offseason acquisition Yegor Sharangovich.

The Flames selected Coronato 13th overall at the 2021 NHL Draft after he potted 48 goals in 51 games with the USHL's Chicago Steel. He spent the last two campaigns at Harvard, scoring 38 times in 68 NCAA games.

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.