Hearing dates for all Restricted Free Agents who elected salary arbitration are officially out, shattering the quiet hum of summer hiatus for teams across the NHL. What feels like a slow July is about to pick up some serious steam with deadlines looming and rosters needing to finalize.
The Roster Dance Continues, Maple Leafs Edition
Look, we all know the Marlies are stocked up, especially with defensemen , they always need a ton, right? They've got enough to get going. And the big club? The Maple Leafs are full, maybe even overfull, but we thought that last year too, and injuries just kept kicking roster decisions down the road. So yeah, there might be a trade, maybe another UFA signing, or they could add some AHLers. Right now, it’s all "might.""Maybes" And Schedule Drops: What We’re Watching For
Beyond Toronto, the "maybes" are flying around the league. Will the Red Wings actually trade Larkin? Even if they don’t, maybe they’ll have the lowest total cap hit this season. Is Jason Robertson signing before his arbitration hearing? Will Hellebuyck finally get traded to Buffalo? This week, we get a huge piece of that puzzle when the NHL schedule is revealed. Opening day matchups drop on Tuesday , please be Ottawa, please be Ottawa! , with the full schedule coming out on Wednesday. After this summer "hiatus" wraps up, we’re roaring right into the T25, with a call for official voters and the whole event running right up to the rookie tournament in Gatineau. Around that time, and through training camp, the focus shifts entirely to NHL players, and the plan is to drop something a little deeper than those hasty July 1 articles on all the new acquisitions. Oh, and Timofei Obvintsev's signing isn't official yet, but that’s likely happening today. We'll get a press release, then wait five minutes for someone else to report the AAV. That’s the kind of excitement we get right now, but hey, at least we got those arbitration dates!This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.