🔥 NHL Players on the Hot Seat for 2025–26 | Kotkaniemi, Skinner & More Under Pressure - video Dailymotion

Peter Klein

Which NHL players are feeling the most pressure heading into the 2025–26 season? From Jesperi Kotkaniemi in Carolina to Stuart Skinner in Edmonton, we break down the players who need to step up — or risk being moved out.  Former Sportsnet 960 host Peter Klein from Couch Potato Diary, dives into:  🏒 Kotkaniemi’s struggles with the Hurricanes 🏒 The Rangers & Islanders facing major changes 🏒 Mike Matheson’s role in Montreal’s crowded blue line 🏒 Kirby Dach’s make-or-break year with the Canadiens 🏒 Stuart Skinner’s last chance in Edmonton  📌 Plus, live chat reactions and your comments on which NHL players are really on the hot seat.  🟢 Subscribe for more NHL coverage, fantasy breakdowns, and season previews: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK4MO2vLadfMT7WAxZNbcLMPMSk-sDC8e  🎙️ Catch the full podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.  #NHL #NHL2025 #HockeyTalk #EdmontonOilers #MontrealCanadiens #NewYorkRangers #CarolinaHurricanes #FantasyHockey  🎧 Listen on: Apple https://apple.co/49NGm2L | Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3QgazeHcSKSteZbBIubcuM?si=icY7NEBvT7yZadv_JFlT6Q  💬 Follow for live breakdowns: X.com/primetimepk | Twitch.tv/primetimepk  | Kick.com/primetimepk  🔗 Support the Show:   - Tip Jar: https://streamelements.com/couchpotatodiary/tip (fuels more content!)   - Partners: C of Dead http://cofdead403.ca/ | Swift Energy https://www.swiftenergy.gg/?ref=mriusnqm PROMO CODE: PKPrimetime for 25% Off!

Transcript

00:00As we get ready for another season in the National Hockey League, there are some players who are

00:05feeling the heat right now. So let's take a look at the NHL players that are on the hot seat for

00:10the 2025-2026 NHL season. Another season in the NHL is just about here. So today, let's look at

00:24the players that need to kind of snap it off a little bit or else they could be on the move out

00:30of some pretty cushy situations. At least that's how we're going to start this. Our number, I guess

00:37I didn't really order these, hey. I'll bounce around and we'll come up with the order together.

00:42Our number five player on the hot seat is Jesperi Kotkaniemi for the Carolina Hurricanes. The only

00:47reason that his seat maybe isn't as hot is I don't know who could still be wanting to take on

00:52four years at over four million dollars for Kotkaniemi. The Montreal Canadiens took a chance

00:59on the kid and drafted him high. I don't think they did him any developmental favors with how they

01:04utilized him early and it just feels like he's never been able to get on track. Now he's with

01:10Carolina. He is halfway through the gigantic offer sheet that the Hurricanes threw his way and at four

01:17million dollars a year, he is a fourth line center for a team that has Stanley Cup aspirations. So I

01:24just feel like if Carolina is looking to make a big splash, now they already have a lot of salary cap

01:31space anyway, but if they're looking to make one more big splash, a la the Rantanen move from a season

01:36ago, Kotkaniemi is probably definitely involved in it or he's on his way to like a Chicago or a San Jose

01:44or Calgary in some kind of a salary dump type of a move to get him off of the books so we can free

01:51up something, free up a roster spot and be able to make a big push at a big time player. So Kotkaniemi

01:57needs to find whatever potential people thought he had, he needs to get there this upcoming season.

02:03So he is number five on the players on the hot seat. Number four, this one is basically a 40-way

02:10tie. It is everyone on the Islanders and the Rangers. There are some obvious exceptions, right?

02:16But Barzell's not going anywhere. Fox, Shosturkin not going, Sorokin not going anywhere. But aside

02:22from that, if this is another down year in New York, whether it be Long Island or Broadway, then

02:29it feels like massive changes are coming. The Islanders already went that direction with the

02:36trade of Noah Dobson. They have a couple of guys who are on expiring contracts and a couple others

02:40that aren't. The expiring contracts, if it's another bad season in New York for the Islanders, I think

02:46it's obvious those ones are going. And then you look at what you could get back for Pollock,

02:51the guys on defense that have similar names, Horvat as well. There are a lot of pieces on this team

02:59that would benefit playoff teams. Now, if you are saying that, well, why don't you just make this a

03:05playoff team? They've tried. They gave it a good run. It doesn't feel like it's clicking now. And if

03:09it's another down year, it feels like this will be a restart with already future face of the franchise,

03:16Matthew Schaefer, as the number one overall pick coming out of the draft. And with the Rangers,

03:21this has been a bit of a surprising era where they thought they were going to rebuild. They get

03:27Lafreniere and Kako. And then all of a sudden, hey, we're good. And we're making runs at championships

03:32and stuff like that. And so now though, Panarin's in the last year of his contract. Zabinijad kind of

03:39feels like he's on the other end of it. Who the hell knows what you're getting out of JT Miller?

03:42You've already traded a couple of franchise icons out the door, specifically Kreider. I feel like if this

03:50year goes sideways with the Rangers, it is full teardown mode. I am stunned that Drury is still

03:56the man at the helm for this with the Rangers. But if this year goes bad, there's no way Panarin's

04:01coming back. And at that point, I think it's all systems go with a bunch of trades heading out

04:07of the Rangers. So maybe cheating a little bit on this list. But number four is basically everyone

04:14on the Islanders and on the Rangers. Coming in at number three, it is Mike Matheson with the Montreal

04:22Canadiens. This is a franchise that has drafted very effectively on the blue line. And those prospects

04:30are starting to come through, right? Like Ghoulie is already just a rock on that blue line. Hudson

04:36wins the rookie of the year last year, getting that Calder trophy and feels like has just scratched

04:42the surface of what he could be. They traded for Noah Dobson. They have a lot of pieces in this

04:48organization that feel like defensemen of the future. Matheson's on the final year of his contract.

04:53He really needs to show that he can be a leader in that locker room and a steadying force for a

05:01young defenseman. And I get Mike, he has been a lot of what Montreal would want him to be. You look at

05:08some of the underlying numbers and they're not great. He hasn't had positive Corsi high danger

05:12chances for any numbers in his three years with the Montreal Canadiens. So you start to get a little

05:19bit worried for him about where does he fit long-term with a franchise that's looking to take

05:26a step forward and has a lot of really good defensemen that it feels like maybe he's just

05:30getting in the way. And so if they are looking for a big ticket center that costs around $8.7 million

05:37a season, I know he still has a year left on his contract, but that could be very, very quickly if

05:43they're looking to make a big time splash and it doesn't feel like it would take a lot for them to

05:47to kind of backfill behind him if they wanted to make a franchise-altering move for a generational

05:54talent at the center position. At number two, it's also Montreal and it's Kirby Dock. They are looking

06:00to take another step forward this year. And if they do that, Dock is falling further and further

06:03behind. He is such a tantalizing player, right? You see the upside when he is healthy and you see what

06:09he can do and it just never really clicks because he doesn't stay healthy. But now, like before,

06:16it was, okay, young player, having some trouble staying healthy, but we need to kind of just let

06:22him develop. We're not winning games this year, it's fine. But now you're winning games. Now you're

06:26going to playoff games. And this team is expected to take another step this season. He's their number

06:32two center at the moment. You need your number two center when you look at the rest of the Eastern

06:36Conference and see what you are going up against with Florida, with Toronto, with Tampa Bay, with

06:41Carolina, right? You see what you are stacking up against. Even Ottawa, right? They're three deep right

06:46now at centers that you feel pretty good about. So Dock needs to find that gear. He needs to stay

06:52healthy or else this team is going to pass him by. And again, talking about a certain center out in

06:57Pittsburgh that everyone is attaching Montreal to, rumors-wise, that is a really, really big,

07:03really big possibility. And something that Dock, I think, needs to try to play his, not that Kirby

07:10Dock is going to be the reason why you don't get Sidney Crosby, but he needs to make sure he's not

07:15part of the package heading back to Pittsburgh and into a bit of obscurity right now and try to stay

07:21on a team that is certainly on the rise. So he is the number two player on the hot seat in the NHL for

07:27the upcoming season. Before we get to number one, I just want to remind you guys that you can catch

07:32Couch Potato Diary wherever you go in podcast form. Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

07:38you get your podcasts. So the number one player who is sitting on the hottest seat for the 2025 NHL

07:45season is Stuart Skinner, goalie for the Edmonton Oilers. Obviously, it feels weird to say there's a

07:53lot of pressure on a team that has gone to back-to-back Stanley Cups, but those have been entirely

07:58winnable. And they have two of the best players in the world on their team right now. One of them

08:03is without a contract for next season. So the pressure is very, very high in Edmonton. This

08:10has to be the last chance that Stuart Skinner gets. If he gets pulled again in the playoffs,

08:18you have to look for an upgrade. That should be, obviously, number one on the priority list right

08:24now is getting Conor McDavid signed to the longest contract you could possibly sign him to.

08:30That's option one. Two, maybe find a better defenseman. But I think right below Conor McDavid,

08:37honestly, is figuring out this goalie spot. Skinner, from all accounts, seems like a great dude,

08:43right? Awesome hang. And has come up with big moments at times. But I don't think he has been

08:48consistently good enough to get this Oilers team to where Conor McDavid and everyone else

08:54thinks that they should be able to get to. And if he is a problem, again, this season,

08:59Edmonton has to make a move at that spot to continue to be a competitive NHL franchise going

09:06for the Stanley Cup. So Stuart Skinner is the player that I feel is feeling the most heat for

09:12this upcoming season. Just going back through them, Kotkaniemi was number five. At four, it was

09:19everyone, basically, on the Islanders and Rangers. Three, Mike Matheson. Two, his Canadians teammate,

09:26Kirby Dock. And number one, Stuart Skinner. What do you guys think? Let me know in the chat for those

09:33watching live and in the comments for those watching after the fact. Who else? I mean, hey,

09:38am I wrong on any of these? Are some of these guys just like, no, man, they're fine. Or is there

09:43someone else who is maybe feeling a little bit of the heat for the upcoming NHL season? Let me know

09:51in the chat or in the comments. Tall John in the comments, getting a goalie won't matter if Conor does

09:57not sign. That is key number one. Yes, no, of course, you could just bring back Martin Brodeur in his

10:02prime. And if Conor McDavid doesn't sign, it's not going to matter for them. But I do think also,

10:09if the McDavid thing drags on into the, like, at the end of the season, right? Which, holy hell,

10:16if it does, the conversations we will be having. But I do feel like if they lose in the playoffs again,

10:26and goaltending is the issue, I do think that it will hinder their chances of keeping Conor McDavid

10:33around, right? So yes, signing Conor McDavid is obviously key number one. But getting the

10:40goaltending figured out does feel like it would help key number one very, very much, you know? So

10:46that is, that's kind of my reasoning for that one. Thoughts from Conor D. Thoughts on the idea that

10:54either Dobson or Hudson will have a relatively disappointing year, because one of them will

10:59have their opportunity reduced. Sort of a Burns-Carlson situation. I do think that, yeah. I think

11:05we kind of did this, and I'm going to be doing it a little bit later on this week here,

11:10going through each statistical category and picking guys who will fall out, guys who could jump in.

11:14I initially had put Dobson in as someone who could get a bit of a bump playing on a better offensive

11:20team with Montreal, but it was brought up to me, hey, he's probably power play too, right? Like,

11:25you're not taking Hudson off there. They got a bunch of guys, like, he's not making that first

11:30power play unit. So yeah, I think statistically, it's going to seem weird that Dobson may have less

11:36points this year than he did last season, because he's on a significantly better offensive team.

11:42But it's just the opportunities won't be there. I think Hudson, it will probably be the shining star

11:47of that, and Dobson will be number two. But I think there's absolutely a world, Conor,

11:51where that becomes a situation out in Montreal, where one of those guys statistically has a bit

11:58of a down year there, for sure. Conor D also saying that Stevie Y feeling the heat. I didn't

12:04do front office people, maybe I should have. We are going to do coaches on the hot seat here

12:08in just a second. Tall John, back on the ticket conversation. I've made the trip up the QE2

12:15for multiple cup runs in 24 and 25, and it's phenomenal. But goalie has been the sticking

12:19point prior to the success. I honestly thought they might make an offer to Marc-Andre Fleury

12:23for a tryout. That's the other thing, is that it's not like this has just been the last couple

12:27of years. This has been an ongoing issue basically since Dwayne Rolison, right? And so there is a

12:33reason why all those jackasses from the trial coming back, initially, when everyone heard that

12:39Carter Hart had basically a deal in place, everyone's first thought was, oh, well, of course,

12:43Edmonton, right? But even beyond that, like the John Gibson thing, I don't know how they weren't

12:51able to get that done. They came in second in going for Jacob Markstrom, and then obviously Calgary

12:57wasn't going to trade him to Edmonton. But they have been aware that this has been a problem for

13:02a while, and they just haven't addressed it nearly effectively enough. So that is, it's a big problem

13:09in Edmonton, 100%. It is a big problem.

🔥 NHL Players on the Hot Seat for 2025–26 | Kotkaniemi, Skinner & More Under Pressure

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