Wild’s Gustavsson To Undergo Offseason Hip Surgery
The Minnesota Wild will be facing some immediate uncertainty in the crease this summer. General manager Bill Guerin announced on Monday that goaltender Filip Gustavsson is set to undergo offseason hip surgery as soon as possible.
Guerin added that the team does not yet know if Gustavsson will be cleared in time for training camp, noting that a definitive timeline won’t be established until after the procedure is completed.
The timing of the surgery adds a layer of complexity to the Wild’s goaltending blueprint. Gustavsson, 27, is set to enter the first season of a five-year, $34 million contract extension that runs through the 2030-31 season. Over his 50 regular season appearances this year, the 6-foot-3 netminder served as Minnesota’s primary option, locking down a 28-15-4 record alongside a 2.69 goals-against average, a .903 save percentage, and four shutouts.
However, despite carrying the workload during the regular season, Gustavsson was largely relegated to the bench during the postseason. He made just a single appearance during the Wild’s second-round exit against the Colorado Avalanche, allowing four goals on 22 shots in a 5-2 Game 2 loss. Instead, Minnesota leaned heavily on highly-touted rookie Jesper Wallstedt down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Through 192 career games across four seasons with the Wild organization, Gustavsson has compiled an admirable 101-61-23 record to go with a .911 save percentage and 15 shutouts. If his recovery stretches into the fall, Wallstedt would almost certainly inherit the undisputed starting duties to open the 2026-27 campaign, with Minnesota potentially needing to search the bargain market for short-term depth.
Playoff Notes: Luukkonen, Veleno, Stone
The Buffalo Sabres have a major decision to make in the crease ahead of tonight’s winner-take-all Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens.
Following a chaotic Game 6 that saw the Sabres erupt for an 8-3 victory to force a deciding match, all eyes are on the net. Starter Alex Lyon suffered a brutal outing on Saturday, getting pulled midway through the first period after surrendering three goals on just four shots. This came on the heels of a shaky Game 5 performance where Lyon allowed five goals on 23 shots.
The early hook proved to be a turning point. Head coach Lindy Ruff turned to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who completely stabilized the crease. Luukkonen turned aside all 18 shots he faced in relief, working as a brick wall while Buffalo’s offense rallied from a 3-1 deficit. While Ruff has yet to officially name his starter for tonight, Luukkonen’s flawless relief appearance makes him the logical candidate to receive the nod with the season on the line.
Additional Playoff Notes
• On the other side of the ice, Montreal forward Joe Veleno appears to be tracking toward a return. Veleno was a participant at morning skate and looks available to re-enter the lineup for tonight’s crucial matchup, providing the Canadiens with some valuable bottom-six depth and versatility.
• Out west, the Vegas Golden Knights have some mixed injury news. Forward William Karlsson was spotted on the ice practicing, a highly encouraging sign for his availability moving forward. However, it wasn’t all good news, as both Mark Stone and defenseman Jeremy Lauzon were absent from the practice. Their ongoing absences remain a significant storyline to watch as the postseason progresses.
Chicago Blackhawks Shopping Mikheyev Negotiating Rights
The Chicago Blackhawks are preparing for a potential split with veteran winger Ilya Mikheyev. Speaking on the May 18th edition of the 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Chicago has made the pending unrestricted free agent’s negotiating rights available for trade after the two sides failed to make meaningful progress on a contract extension.
Mikheyev, 31, is coming off a highly productive two-year stint in Chicago after being acquired from Vancouver. He followed up a 20-goal debut campaign with the Blackhawks by posting 18 goals and a career-high 36 points in 77 games during the 2025-26 season. Beyond his offensive contribution, Mikheyev served as a heavily relied upon, speedy defensive forward and a core penalty-kill specialist for head coach Jeff Blashill, helping lift Chicago’s short-handed unit to a surprising second-place finish in the league.
With the Blackhawks still navigating their rebuilding process, and focusing heavily on a looming extension for superstar Connor Bedard, general manager Kyle Davidson is looking to secure a late-round draft asset rather than losing the Russian winger for nothing on July 1.
Offseason Options for Mikheyev
As Mikheyev approaches what will likely be the last major payday of his career, several pathways lie ahead:
• A Pre-Free Agency Trade and Sign: A playoff contender looking to skip the open-market bidding war could surrender a 2026 sixth- or seventh-round draft pick to secure exclusive early negotiating rights, locking Mikheyev into a multi-year deal before July.
• Targeting Contenders via Open Market: In a relatively thin free-agent class, Mikheyev’s combination of top-tier 5-on-5 defense, penalty-killing utility, and secondary scoring support makes him a highly coveted middle-six target for Stanley Cup hopefuls.
• Maximizing A Payday with Cap-Flush Teams: Teams with abundant cap space looking to transition from rebuilding to competing could offer him a premium short-term AAV to inject veteran defensive structure and speed into their young lineups.
Carson Carels Commits To North Dakota
Top 2026 NHL Draft prospect Carson Carels has committed to play NCAA hockey at North Dakota, according to an official announcement from the program. The decision indicates that he will leave the WHL after just two seasons there, meaning the league is set to lose one of its very best defensemen.
Carels, 17, is widely considered to be among the top prospects in the upcoming 2026 NHL Draft, and is in the conversation as the draft’s top blueliner. While most rankings have OHL defenseman Chase Reid slightly ahead, some analysts are in favor of Carels, such as Craig Button of TSN.
In terms of Carels’ style, Corey Pronman of The Athletic called him a “powerful, fluid skater” who both “plays with a lot of physicality” and “should generate offense” at the NHL level. He was projected as a “great top-four defenseman who will play significant NHL minutes.”
As previously mentioned, Carels was one of the WHL’s top all-around defensemen last season. Serving as an alternate captain for the Prince George Cougars, Carels scored 20 goals and 73 points in 58 regular-season games, and added 10 points in 10 playoff games. He ended the season tied for fourth place among all WHL blueliners in scoring.
Carels is set to join a North Dakota defense that already boasts NHL-drafted prospects in E.J. Emery (2024 first-round pick, New York Rangers) and Sam Laurila (2025 fifth-round pick, New York Islanders). Interestingly, Carels could end up being a future teammate of Emery, a blueliner he could end up partnered with as soon as next season. Carels is well within range to be picked by the Rangers No. 5 overall at the draft next month, and that’s where Pronman projected him to land in his most recent mock draft.
With today’s commitment, North Dakota could end up having two of the upcoming draft’s top-10 picks on its defense next year. 2025-26 was Keaton Verhoeff‘s freshman season at North Dakota, and he is widely considered to be among the draft’s top defensive prospects. He could go as high as, or even higher than Carels next month. As our Gabriel Foley noted, Carels’ decision gives North Dakota the chance to potentially ice a pairing of two top-ten draft picks from the same draft class as soon as next season.
Morning Notes: Carle, Berube, Kuhlman
The Toronto Maple Leafs have had an “initial conversation” with University of Denver head coach David Carle to “gauge his interest” in potentially filling Toronto’s vacant head coaching position, reports Elliotte Friedman in Monday’s edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast. Friedman cautioned that the talks between Carle and the Maple Leafs are purely preliminary, and that neither Carle, nor anyone else, should be considered the favorite in the process at this time.
According to previous reports, the Maple Leafs may be targeting a “fresh face” as their next head coach – a departure from their previous coaching search, which resulted in the hire of a Stanley Cup-winning veteran in Craig Berube. Carle, 36, is widely considered to be among the top coaching candidates who has never held a coaching role in the NHL, or even at the professional level. Carle has been the Denver Pioneers’ head coach since 2018-19, and is a three-time NCAA national champion in that role. He’s also won a gold medal as head coach at two World Junior championships – at both tournaments he got to coach. It’s been widely reported that Carle will be selective about where and when he eventually decides to turn pro (and if he even does) and has already withdrawn himself from consideration from one NHL search in the past.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- The Edmonton Oilers have received permission to speak with Berube, the former Maple Leafs coach, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Berube was fired by the Maple Leafs less than a week ago after his second season behind the bench there. The 60-year-old, as previously mentioned, led the St. Louis Blues to their franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup championship in 2019. Berube’s first season in Toronto was reasonably successful, as the club went 52-26-4, and won a playoff series for just the second time in the Auston Matthews-led “Core Four” era. But Toronto fell in the second round to the eventual champions, the Florida Panthers, and endured a disastrous 32-36-14 campaign in 2025-26. The Oilers are under significant pressure to win a Stanley Cup as soon as next season, and it appears the club may target the most experienced coaches available, and specifically those with a Stanley Cup win on their resume.
- 147-game NHL veteran Karson Kuhlman has signed a one-year contract extension with Rögle BK of the SHL, per a team release. The 30-year-old signed with Rögle last summer and had a solid debut season there, scoring 13 goals and 25 points in 52 games played, and seven points in 17 playoff games. Kuhlman has played in Europe since 2024-25, when he spent the year with Lukko in the Finnish Liiga. From 2018-19 through 2022-23, Kuhlman played in nearly 150 NHL games for the Boston Bruins, Seattle Kraken, and Winnipeg Jets. The NCAA national champion nearly won a Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2019, and also got the chance to represent the United States at the 2022 IIHF Men’s World Championships.
Five Key Stories: 5/11/26 – 5/17/26
With just five teams still alive in the playoffs, most of the NHL is in offseason mode. There was plenty of news away from the ice, including a unanimous Calder Trophy winner plus a pair of coach firings, which are featured in our key stories.
Canucks Set Front Office: With now-former GM Patrik Allvin gone and Jim Rutherford set to move into an advisory role for next season, the Canucks have now set their new-look front office. Well, new in the sense that they’ve promoted people into roles they haven’t had before. Ryan Johnson, who briefly played for Vancouver late in his career, has been promoted from his Assistant GM role to GM to replace Allvin. It will be his first opportunity running an NHL franchise. Meanwhile, with Rutherford’s role change opening the Team President role, the organization decided to split the role, naming long-time Canucks mainstays Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin as Co-Presidents. Their promotion is a little less gradual as they were only working as development coaches but will now turn their focus to the business side of operations.
Six For McAvoy: The Bruins will be without their top defenseman for the first couple of weeks of next season. This isn’t due to injury, but rather a suspension as he received a six-game ban for a slash on Buffalo’s Zach Benson late in the first round. The ruling indicated that McAvoy used his stick as a weapon, even winding up for the strike, which undoubtedly played a big role in the ruling. As the suspension is for longer than five games, McAvoy has the right to appeal the penalty if he so chooses. Barring that happening, he’s set to forfeit a little over $300K in salary as a result of this suspension.
Six For Coyle: The number six was notable for Blue Jackets center Charlie Coyle, albeit for a much happier reason. One of the few centers of note who was set to test the open market, that will no longer be the case as he signed a six-year deal to stay with Columbus, one that will carry a $6MM AAV. The 34-year-old bounced back quite nicely this season with 58 points, the second-highest total of his 14-year NHL career. While there is certainly some risk in giving someone his age a six-year contract, the dearth of impact middlemen available on the open market gave Coyle’s camp plenty of leverage. Had the Blue Jackets not offered a deal like this, someone else likely would have in July.
Expensive Silence: The Golden Knights won their second-round series against Anaheim in six games earlier this week but didn’t open up the dressing room to the media while John Tortorella didn’t speak either. After apparently warning them several times for their failure to adhere to playoff media regulations, the league issued a steep punishment. Tortorella has been hit with a $100K fine while the team has been stripped of its highest draft pick in next month’s draft, their second-rounder. The Golden Knights have the right to appeal and will undoubtedly do so in an effort to at least reduce the forfeited selection. But this sent a strong message across the league that the NHL expects its postseason media obligations to be met at all times with strong penalties for frequent non-compliers.
More Head Coach Openings: A pair of teams have decided to part ways with their head coaches. First, new Toronto GM John Chayka didn’t waste much time making a change, firing Craig Berube after just two seasons with the team. Toronto made the second round last year but struggled mightily this season, missing the playoffs altogether. Overall, he departs with an 84-62-18 record in the regular season. Meanwhile, Edmonton has relieved Kris Knoblauch of his duties, just weeks before his three-year extension was set to begin (he’ll still be paid the money owing on that deal). Knoblauch took over early in the 2024-25 season and ultimately led the Oilers to two straight Stanley Cup Finals, coming up short against Florida each time. This year, they were ousted by Anaheim in the first round. He leaves with a 135-77-21 regular season record (plus a 31-22 mark in the playoffs) and it wouldn’t be shocking to see him get another opportunity to run a bench down the road.
Snapshots: Gauthier, Lee, Genborg
Ducks winger Cutter Gauthier sustained two fractured vertebrae late in the regular season and played through it in the playoffs, reports Zach Cavanagh of The Sporting Tribune (Twitter link). The 22-year-old had a great sophomore year, tallying 41 goals and 28 assists in 76 games to lead Anaheim in scoring. Even while playing through the injury in the postseason, Gauthier led the Ducks in scoring there as well, picking up four goals and eight helpers in 12 appearances, a strong end to his year before he reaches restricted free agency this summer.
On that front, Eric Stephens of The Athletic notes that talks on a new contract have yet to start. Ducks GM Pat Verbeek has quickly earned a reputation for being a tough negotiator, with several prominent contracts dragging out into training camp in recent years, including this season with Mason McTavish. He also has Leo Carlsson as a prominent pending RFA. Gauthier is someone who Anaheim would likely want to sign to a long-term deal, with AFP Analytics suggesting that a seven-year pact could check in at around $8.5MM per season. We’ll see if this will be something that gets worked out quicker than their recent summer talks.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Predators prospect Ryker Lee won’t suit up for Team USA at the Worlds after all, relays FloHockey’s Chris Peters (Twitter link). Named to the original squad, he only played in pre-tournament action and was never formally added to the roster. That leaves an open spot for them to fill over the coming days, speculatively being someone who just has been or will soon be eliminated from the playoffs. Lee, the 26th overall pick last June, had 15 goals and 15 assists in 35 games in his freshman year at Michigan State.
- Red Wings prospect Eddie Genborg has been released from his ATO with AHL Grand Rapids, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 19-year-old spent this season with SHL Timra, picking up 25 points in 43 games and then joined the Griffins in March after signing his entry-level deal. A 2025 second-round pick, Genborg played in 13 games during the regular season for them, picking up a goal and two assists while suiting up a couple of weeks ago for one playoff contest. However, he sustained an injury and hadn’t played since. Now, his season has come to an end and he will likely return to Grand Rapids for the 2026-27 campaign.
Offseason Checklist: St. Louis Blues
The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs plus those who have already been eliminated. Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at St. Louis.
After a year that nearly saw St. Louis eliminate the Presidents’ Trophy winners in the opening round, the hope was that the Blues would be able to build off that. Instead, they took steps back across the board, resulting in some veterans being moved at the trade deadline and others being dangled in trade talks. Incoming GM Alex Steen will have a busy offseason ahead of him as a result. Here are some items on his summer checklist.
Choose A Direction
Considering that the Blues moved Justin Faulk and Brayden Schenn at the trade deadline while having a deal in place for Colton Parayko get nixed by the blueliner’s no-trade clause, this might seem a little obvious already. But St. Louis finished the season strong, winning 10 of their last 14 games to find themselves surprisingly in the playoff race until close to the end of the season. And with Steen taking over from Doug Armstrong, does he have a different opinion on the direction that needs to be taken? Aside from simply maintaining the status quo, he has three different routes to choose from.
The least likely is reversing course but with how they finished the year, it can’t be ruled out entirely. St. Louis picked up first-round picks for both Schenn and Faulk, giving them three in next month’s draft. One or more of those could plausibly be trade chips if they want to add. They also have nearly $16MM in cap room for next season, per PuckPedia, with only a few roster spots to fill. It’s rather unlikely and given the current state of the division, probably unwise, but they have the ability to flip the switch if they want to.
More likely, the decision will be to rebuild or retool. A few months ago, it looked like the former was the plan. By putting the bulk of their veterans in play (including Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou), they seemed to be signaling a willingness to do a longer-scale rebuild, one that would likely see them out of playoff contention for several more years. If that’s the case, basically anyone 26 and up (or thereabouts) would likely be in play at the right price. And with a lot of teams looking to buy, Steen could generate some strong returns for their services. They should have a good idea of each player’s trade value going back to talks from before the deadline.
Meanwhile, the retool option would likely see them pull players like Thomas and Kyrou off the block and look to move some of the older players like Parayko (who could still be moved to a team he’s willing to go to) or goaltender Jordan Binnington. That would still allow them to add to their prospect pool while allowing them to build around their current offense instead of overhauling it. This is the safer route and with a first-time GM, this might the path that the Blues are likeliest to take. With that in mind, the focus of this piece won’t be on possible win-now additions or roster upgrades.
Work On Neighbours Extension
The Blues already took care of one significant transaction this offseason when they re-signed pending RFA Dylan Holloway to a new five-year deal. With an RFA list that isn’t particularly large this summer, they can turn their focus toward trying to get an extension done with one of their other young core forwards.
That would be winger Jake Neighbours. The 2020 first-round pick quickly established himself as a top-six winger and surpassed the 20-goal mark in his first two full NHL seasons. There’s a good chance he’d have gotten there this year had he not missed 13 games due to injury. Between his steady secondary production is his physicality. Neighbours has posted between 138 and 172 hits over the last three seasons, making him a rare top-six power forward. Those players aren’t particularly easy to come by and it’s safe to say that he’s a building block that they’ll want to build around.
He’ll be owed a qualifying offer of $4MM next summer with salary arbitration rights. To get him to sign early, it’s fair to say that it would cost considerably more than that to get him signed a year early, especially with the big increases set to come to the Upper Limit of the salary cap. We can use the deal they just handed out to try to benchmark what an extension might look like.
Holloway signed for $7.75MM three years away from UFA eligibility. Neighbours’ next deal will only be two years away. Holloway has the better track record offensively so it’s fair to say that his new price tag should be the upper limit in a negotiation. Considering that there is typically a premium for power forwards though, the gap between Holloway’s new price tag and a potential Neighbours extension might not be as large as it might seem. Speculatively, a long-term deal (around six years) would carry a price tag of between $6.5MM and $6.75MM, even with the fact he’s coming off a lower year offensively. If they’re not willing to go that high, the winger is probably better off waiting. And if they are, locking up another piece of the long-term puzzle early would be a wise move.
Set The Starter
One of the storylines from the start of last season was if Joel Hofer would take over the starting role from Binnington. The two wound up with very similar start totals with Hofer having 43 and Binnington 39. But after the Olympic break, it was Hofer who received the bulk of the workload as St. Louis looked to make the improbable late-season push to a playoff spot.
Both goaltenders have one year left on their contracts. Technically, they could keep this tandem intact for one more season but that wouldn’t be the prudent approach. If the plan is for Hofer to be the starter moving forward, then the time is right to move Binnington.
In-season goalie moves aren’t too frequent so this offseason will probably be their best time to try to move him for value. And while the 32-year-old isn’t coming off a good season, there will be teams who look at his track record and think that with a change of scenery, they can get him back to form. Chances are that they’d have to take a goalie back as part of the swap but if not, a second netminder can be signed in free agency.
Then, the time might be right to look at trying to extend Hofer. There are some reasonable comparables in Karel Vejmelka and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen ($4.75MM each) and Joey Daccord ($5MM) to build the foundation of a contract off of. In a higher cap environment, Daccord’s equivalent cap percentage would be $5.45MM next season and $5.98MM in 2027-28 when the contract would begin. Basically, Hofer is probably heading for Binnington money if he signs an early extension this summer.
The Blues could wait and see how next season goes. But if they do and Hofer thrives as a full-time starter, the price tag will only go up from there. They don’t have to try to sign him now but at a minimum, given the direction they’re heading, it’s time to set Hofer as the starter and give Binnington a chance elsewhere, netting some value in return in the process.
Round Out The Coaching Staff
Shortly after the season ended, the Blues made a pair of changes behind the bench but didn’t change head coach Jim Montgomery. Instead, they parted with a pair of assistants, veteran Claude Julien and first-time NHL assistant Mike Weber. Armstrong noted at the time that the intent was to build a staff that best suits the team moving forward, making choosing a direction that much more important.
One decision that will need to be made is the fate of Steve Ott. He started the season as the associate coach in St. Louis but midseason, he became the interim head coach with AHL Springfield, whose playoffs are still going after they pulled off a big upset over Providence. Does he return to the bench for the Blues or do they keep him in the minors and allow him to continue to apprentice as a head coach? If they opt for the latter, they effectively have a third vacancy to try to fill.
If the Blues opt for more of a longer-scale rebuild, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team turn toward younger assistants with an eye on someone with a background in player development. But if it’s more of a retool, adding a veteran assistant behind the bench could be the path they choose with the hopes that the coach would still be there when the team is looking to get back into the playoff picture.
It’s a small item in the grand scheme of things but Steen will have a chance to make an early impact behind the bench with potentially resetting 75% of the coaching staff. Those hires could ultimately help signal just how long they think their roster revamping will take.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro-Imagn Images.
Hurricanes To Wait Until After Playoffs To Talk New Deal For Frederik Andersen
The Hurricanes find themselves on a long break between rounds. As a result of starting the second round early, sweeping Philadelphia, and seeing Montreal and Buffalo go to seven games, they now find themselves with the longest break between series in modern NHL history, according to The Athletic’s James Mirtle (Twitter link).
But while that leaves ample time for the team to work on some looming contracts for pending unrestricted free agent goaltender Frederik Andersen, that isn’t going to be the case. Speaking with NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, GM Eric Tulsky indicated that their plan is to wait until after the playoffs before beginning those discussions. By contrast, Carolina re-upped Mark Jankowski, who was a pending UFA himself, to a new two-year deal earlier this week.
It has been an up-and-down year for the 36-year-old. Thanks to a long-term injury to Pyotr Kochetkov, Andersen made 35 starts during the regular season, his highest total since 2021-22, the year he finished fourth in Vezina Trophy voting. But his overall numbers weren’t particularly impressive as he posted a 3.05 GAA with a .874 SV% on a team that finished first in the Eastern Conference. Kochetkov (in limited action) and Brandon Bussi both put up considerably better numbers than he did.
But with Bussi faltering a bit down the stretch and Kochetkov only getting into some brief AHL action on a conditioning stint before the regular season ended, Andersen got the nod to start the playoffs. It’s fair to say that decision has worked out tremendously for both Andersen and the Hurricanes. He has won all eight of Carolina’s postseason games thus far, allowing just 10 goals on 201 shots in the process.
If he can even come close to continuing that type of play in the next round (or two, should they advance to the Stanley Cup Final), that would certainly be a huge boost to his stock heading to free agency. But on the flip side, if the long layoff results in him reverting to his regular-season form, it could be one of the other two netminders getting a shot at some point in their next series.
Accordingly, it makes sense for Tulsky and the Hurricanes to wait to see how the rest of the postseason goes before starting talks on a new contract. After all, Bussi begins a new three-year contract next season while Kochetkov is signed through 2026-27 as well. Technically, they have their goalie tandem in place already, at a combined cost of just $3.9MM.
But Carolina has been one of the few teams that has been unafraid to carry three netminders on a regular basis which could create an opening for Andersen to return, albeit at a price tag likely below his current $2.75MM plus bonuses ($250K of which has been met with another $250K likely). Tulsky indicated that they “would love to have him back.” We’ll have to wait a little while yet to see if that will ultimately happen.
Evening Notes: Avalanche, Trocheck, World Championship Round-up
Yesterday, Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar called Cale Makar, Josh Manson, Brent Burns, and Artturi Lehkonen day-to-day, per Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette. However, after today’s skate, Bednar has a positive update this afternoon on their current injury list, saying, “I think everyone is going to be available, but we will see.”
During this afternoon’s skate, Manson was on the ice in a regular jersey, which is a great sign. Additionally, Sam Malinski, who had been skating in a non-contact jersey, returned to full participation today, though he has not been listed day-to-day. Makar, Burns, and Lehkonen were still not on the ice. Taking necessary precautions with a banged-up D-core, defenseman Alex Gagne was at practice with the Avalanche today.
The Avalanche still have two days off before they begin their Western Conference Finals matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night. The Avalanche bested Vegas in their regular-season meetings this year, going 2-0-1. However, when they last met in Round 2 of the 2021 postseason, Vegas eliminated Colorado in six games. With a Cup Final appearance on the line, the extra rest could prove pivotal for a banged-up Avs squad.
Additional evening notes:
- New York Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck’s name has been circulating amongst trade rumors for some time now. The Rangers are trying to get rid of his contract, per Darren Dreger of TSN, which has three more years remaining at a $5.63MM AAV. The original asking price for the 32-year-old center was a first-round pick, a top-level prospect, and an additional asset, and according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, that has not changed. It is no secret that teams around the NHL are always interested in a first or second-line center as they seldom become available, so this will be an intriguing story to follow throughout the summer. Trocheck had 16 goals and 53 points in 67 games last season.
- Day three of the IIHF Men’s World Championship concluded this afternoon in Switzerland. Through two games played, Group A is led by Austria, Finland, and Switzerland, all tied with six points, with Austria holding the tiebreaker on goal differential. Group B sees a similar logjam at the top, as Canada and Slovakia are also deadlocked at six points apiece, with Canada owning the tiebreaker. Team USA was able to bounce back this afternoon with a 5-1 victory against Great Britain after suffering a tournament-opening loss to the Swiss on Friday. Former NHL forward Jesse Puljujärvi leads the tournament in scoring through two games with three goals and five points. The action starts back up for day four tomorrow with Finland vs USA and Canada vs Denmark, both starting at 9:20 AM CST.