Five Key Stories: 6/1/26 – 6/7/26
The beginning of June certainly brought some exciting games on the ice as Carolina and Vegas began the Stanley Cup Final. Meanwhile, it also brought some news of note off the ice, which is recapped in our key stories.
Trotz’s Replacement Found: After a nearly four-month search to find Nashville’s next top executive, the Predators have one in place. They lured away now-former Colorado GM Chris MacFarland and named him their President of Hockey Operations and General Manager, handing him a six-year contract in the process. MacFarland had spent the previous 11 years in Colorado, the last four as GM and also worked with Columbus for 15 seasons as well. He’ll now be tasked with trying to get the team out of the middle where they either just make or just miss the playoffs each season. Joining him to aid those efforts will be former Kings GM Rob Blake, who was quickly brought in as Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations. He spent eight years running the show in Los Angeles before being replaced by Ken Holland last offseason.
One Less Coaching Vacancy: While it ultimately took a little longer than most expected, the Canucks indeed went the route many thought they would with their head coach. As they embark on a rebuilding phase, new GM Ryan Johnson is sticking with someone he knows as he promoted Manny Malhotra to take over behind the bench. The two had worked together previously with AHL Abbotsford. It’s Malhotra’s first NHL head coaching opportunity but he has seven years of NHL experience as an assistant to go along with a 16-year career at the top level. Now, he’ll be tasked with maximizing the development of some of Vancouver’s younger players as they begin what seems likely to be a multi-year rebuilding process.
Larkin Wants Out: It has been a rough go for Detroit as of late as they have missed the playoffs in 10 straight years. That has led to some frustration from captain Dylan Larkin being vocalized in the past and now it appears it has reached a boiling point after multiple reports indicate that he has asked to be traded. The 29-year-old has spent his entire 11-year career with the Red Wings and is their captain while locking down the top center spot for a significant chunk of that time. He has five years left on his contract with an $8.7MM AAV to go along with full trade protection. If Larkin gives GM Steve Yzerman a fair-sized list of teams to work with and Yzerman is willing to move him, he’d instantly become one of the top players available on the trade front in a market that has many more buyers than sellers.
Done For Good? After missing more than two full seasons due to Chronic Immune Response Syndrome, Jonathan Toews returned to the NHL in 2025-26, signing a one-year deal with his hometown Winnipeg Jets. However, it appears the comeback will be one-and-done as the veteran is expected to retire. Toews had 29 points in 82 games this season but struggled when deployed in the top-six role he was expected to fill. He wasn’t rusty at the faceoff dot, however, winning over 62% of his draws. Toews likely would have drawn interest in a bottom-six role if he decided to keep playing but it appears his 16-year career is now over.
Oilers Seeking Defensive Shakeup: As the Oilers look to pick up the pieces after a first-round elimination, it appears they’re looking to shake things up. One of the casualties could come on the back end following a report that says the team is ready and willing to move veteran Darnell Nurse as soon as they are able. That last bit matters as Nurse has full trade protection for next season so if he wants to stay, he’s going to stay for at least one more year. Nurse has four years left on his deal at a $9.25MM AAV, a price tag that’s on the high side for someone who is likely best utilized as a second-pairing option. But if Nurse is open to move, he could be a candidate to move for another veteran blueliner in need of a change of scenery in the hopes that the move yields a player who better fits their system.
Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images.
Free Agent Focus: Montreal Canadiens
Free agency is now less than a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. Even with the UFA crop being thinned out in recent months, there will be some quality veterans set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Canadiens.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Zachary Bolduc – Montreal’s only move of significance on the opening day of free agency last summer came on the trade front when they acquired Bolduc for defenseman Logan Mailloux. He got off to a strong start but faltered after that, ultimately coming up short of his rookie-season production after recording 12 goals and 18 assists while being healthy scratched a handful of times as well. With that in mind, a bridge contract likely makes more sense for both sides. That price tag should wind up in the high-$2MM or low-$3MM range.
F Kirby Dach – The Canadiens acquired Dach four years ago in a three-way swap on draft night with the hopes that they had found the elusive second-line center they’ve needed. Today, they still have that need and there remain plenty of question marks with the 2019 third-overall selection. Over his time in Montreal, he has missed more games (174) than he has played (154) and the results have been inconsistent when he has played. Notably, he’s owed a $4MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights this summer. It’s hard to think that they’re ready to give him that but working something out before the June 29th tender deadline that’s a little cheaper could still be doable. Otherwise, it’s fair to wonder if his time with the team will be coming to an end. He is a wild card to keep an eye on.
D Arber Xhekaj – Xhekaj showed some potential four seasons ago in his rookie year but things have largely plateaued since then if not gone in the opposite direction. His playing time dropped to just 11:25 per night during the regular season and only 8:06 in the playoffs when he was in the lineup. With just four points in 65 outings as basically an even-strength-only player, he should be in line for only a nominal raise on his $1.3MM qualifying offer. However, with arbitration rights and 246 career NHL games (regular season and playoffs under his belt), he might be able to make a reasonable case to push past $2MM in a hearing if it gets to that point.
F Joe Veleno – Veleno came over last summer via unrestricted free agency after his contract was bought out by Seattle and played a limited role when he was in the lineup. He’s owed a $945K qualifying offer which is certainly reasonable for a fourth liner but it would come with arbitration eligibility. With 367 regular season games over his career, he’d have a fairly strong case in a hearing for a hefty raise, one that the Canadiens won’t want to give him. Either he signs a deal before June 29th or he’ll be non-tendered.
Other RFAs: F Jake Chiasson, F Jared Davidson, F Sean Farrell, D Gannon Laroque, F Joshua Roy, F Luke Tuch, D William Trudeau
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Samuel Blais – Blais was up in the NHL for around half the season after bouncing around on waivers, going to Toronto first and then back to Montreal. He was reasonably productive in limited minutes, notching eight points in 21 games along with 78 hits. He’ll likely be hoping to land somewhere with a shot to stick at the back of the roster. Failing that, his AHL production (38 points in 35 games) should be good enough to secure another one-way contract at a minimum.
F Patrik Laine – It’s safe to say that Laine’s addition didn’t work out how Montreal hoped when they added him in the 2024 offseason. After an injury-limited first season with the team (where he still managed 15 power play goals in 52 games), a core muscle injury limited him to just five games this season and plenty of questions. Laine suggested that he was ready to return but GM Kent Hughes indicated Laine had settled into a mindset that he wouldn’t. Either way, the injuries make him eligible to receive performance incentives on a one-year contract. That might be the best option for both sides. If Laine is healthy and productive, he could provide plenty of short-term value in the hopes of landing a richer deal next summer. There’s enough upside that several teams should be willing to make an offer like that with a lower base salary and a few million in incentives.
Other UFAs: F Alex Belzile, D Nathan Clurman, D Marc Del Gaizo, G Kaapo Kahkonen, G Hunter Shepard
Projected Cap Space
At the moment, the Canadiens project to have a little under $11MM of cap space to work with, enough to re-sign Bolduc and Dach if they want to but not do much else. If they’re able to move the final year and $6.5MM of Brendan Gallagher’s contract and deal Samuel Montembeault ($3.15MM), they could be able to become more aggressive on the trade and free agent front in the coming weeks.
Photos courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports (Dach) and Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images (Laine). Contract information courtesy of PuckPedia.
Blackhawks Hoping To Add Veteran Defenseman
Down the stretch last season, the Blackhawks found themselves without a key veteran when Connor Murphy was moved to Edmonton before the trade deadline. That left them with just one veteran blueliner, Matt Grzelcyk, while the rest of the back end was 24 or younger.
Speaking with reporters at the NHL Draft Combine including Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, GM Kyle Davidson acknowledged that they wanted to see how things would go without the veteran safety valve in Murphy. They didn’t get any sort of late-season boost and evidently, Davidson is hoping to not see that recent history repeat itself next season as he acknowledged that he wants to explore options to add a veteran this summer.
As things stand, Grzelcyk is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. As a result, if he leaves, the oldest blueliner on Chicago’s roster would be Louis Crevier, who just turned 25 last month and completed his first full NHL season in 2025-26.
The Blackhawks have been rebuilding for a while now with just one playoff appearance in the past nine years, that being the expanded 2020 postseason. That has allowed them to amass an impressive crop of youngsters, including on the back end. Sam Rinzel and Artyom Levshunov are well on their way to becoming impact players. Alex Vlasic already is one. Crevier and Wyatt Kaiser both took steps forward this season while Kevin Korchinski showed some flashes in the past. That’s the makings of what could be a solid back end in the future.
But even rebuilding teams need veterans to help lead them through some rough times, something Davidson has recognized in recent years with some of the overpayments he made up front to get some into the system. Now, this certainly feels like one of those times where he may need to try the same thing, but this time on the back end.
Fortunately for Chicago, the side they need might be the easier one to get. Assuming Rinzel, Levshunov, and Crevier are the top three (in some order) on the right side, they should be set there. Vlasic and Kaiser are currently the top options on the left, with a now waiver-eligible Korchinski also in the mix. Someone who could hold down a second-pairing spot on the left side and log around 20 minutes per night would be a big addition, especially with the team hoping to take a step or two forward in the standings next season.
Cap space certainly shouldn’t be an issue in Davidson’s efforts to add a veteran defender. They presently have around $40MM in room, per PuckPedia, and while Connor Bedard’s next contract will be pricey, they’ll have more than enough space to get into (and try to win) the bidding for a blueliner.
Offseason Checklist: Dallas Stars
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 Dallas.
Coming into the season, the Stars were viewed as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender with one of the more well-rounded groups, albeit with a new head coach in Glen Gulutzan, back for a second stint with the team. However, while they finished third overall in the standings, their reward was a first-round battle with Minnesota (the seventh-best team) thanks to the gauntlet that is the Central Division. After coming up short in that round, GM Jim Nill is in for a busy summer. Here’s what should be on his checklist.
Guard Against A Bourque Offer Sheet
While there is a prominent pending restricted free agent to re-sign (which we’ll get to shortly), there is another one whose timing is perhaps more urgent. That would be forward Mavrik Bourque. This had the potential to be a problem last year but Dallas got ahead of it, signing him early. But it came at a cost. In exchange for taking a below-market $950K contract, Bourque only received a one-year deal. That means he’s a pending RFA this summer and this time, he has salary arbitration eligibility.
Bourque’s sophomore season saw him improve from 25 points to 41, thanks to 20 goals and 21 assists while his playing time jumped up by nearly three minutes per contest. He went from being more of a depth player to a relied-on second liner along the way and top-six players tend to be rewarded handsomely should things get to a hearing.
That’s where things get difficult. Dallas doesn’t want to take Bourque to arbitration and run the risk of a higher award than they can afford with their current salary cap structure. On the other hand, if they wait to sign him and focus on Jason Robertson, he becomes a threat for an offer sheet given that Dallas only has $10MM in cap room, per PuckPedia.
Using this summer’s offer sheet thresholds, a team could plausibly try to sign Bourque to a short-term deal worth $4.77MM per season and only be required to surrender a second-round pick in return. That’s plausibly higher than he could receive in arbitration and much higher than the Stars could conceivably match with Robertson’s contract looming as well.
Accordingly, that sets an artificial deadline for Dallas to try to get something done. Basically, June 30th becomes the last date for ‘safe talks’. After that, an offer sheet could be in play, or salary arbitration if either side decides to file. That gives them about three weeks to figure something out and protect themselves from a potentially undesirable situation later on.
Re-Sign Robertson
Let’s move on to the big one now, that being Robertson’s contract. Back in 2022, Dallas didn’t have a ton of cap flexibility (it’s somewhat of an ongoing theme for them) and opted for a rare four-year bridge deal, one that gave Robertson a huge raise off his entry-level deal but kept his salary below market value for a little while longer. But it was structured in such a way to land him a pricier deal at its expiration with a $9.3MM qualifying offer that carries arbitration rights.
The 26-year-old provided fantastic value on the contract. Robertson hit the 80-point mark in all four seasons with the first and last years being his best. In the former, he finished sixth in NHL scoring with 109 points thanks to 46 goals and 63 assists. Then, after putting up two straight 80-point campaigns, he bounced back offensively this season, tallying 45 goals along with 51 helpers before adding eight points in their opening-round exit to Colorado. Over the last four years, only eight players have recorded more points. Only one of those, Nikita Kucherov, has an AAV below $11MM (and that might change before much longer). With only one RFA year left, this next contract will almost exclusively feature the full-priced UFA-eligible seasons, making an $11MM AAV look like an absolute minimum. AFP Analytics projects he could come close to the $12MM mark on a seven-year pact. As a reminder, they don’t have that much cap space to work with.
There’s also an arbitration risk here. Because he’s only a year away from being eligible to test the open market, he’s only eligible for a one-year award regardless of who files. Accordingly, if contract talks (which are almost certainly ongoing now) don’t go well, Robertson could opt to just go through the hearing, get what he gets, and then have even more leverage a year from now as a high-end pending UFA. That puts a bit of a pressure point on talks now, even though they don’t have enough cap space to re-sign Robertson at this point. But it’s a file they have to close with a long-term agreement, keeping a star winger in the fold for the long haul.
Clear Cap Space
Now that we’ve looked at who needs to be signed, let’s get the obvious out of the way. If Robertson is going to cost more than their current cap room, and Bourque needs to be signed, then something has to give. Someone (or more than just one) will need to move. Arttu Hyry also needs a new deal while it wouldn’t be shocking if they want to bring Jamie Benn back on what would probably have to be another bonus-laden agreement.
The problem is that there aren’t a lot of obvious candidates. Tyler Seguin is entering the final year of his deal at $9.85MM but he’s coming off ACL surgery which doesn’t help his value, nor does his full no-move clause. Even if he was open to being dealt, the list might not be too long, and the fact he hasn’t played since December will make the acquiring team more hesitant. The potential saving grace is that once his $5.75MM signing bonus paid, he’s only owed $1MM in salary. At that point, if the acquiring team is just eating the contract, any lingering concerns about his availability to start the season would go out the window. Dallas would likely have to incentivize a team to take him but if it keeps Robertson and Bourque in the fold (and allow them to re-sign Benn at the same time), they’d probably do it.
The problem is that this might be the end of the list. Their other top-paid players aren’t ones they’d want to move. Matt Duchene has a full no-move clause and probably isn’t going to want to move. Esa Lindell has a full no-trade clause and, frankly, is too valuable on the back end to consider moving. Basically, anyone else making more than $4MM isn’t a viable trade candidate. Considering they need more than that in cap space, that makes things tricky.
Moving Ilya Lyubushkin at $3.25MM for the limited role he fills would save some money although they’d need a replacement body so the net savings might be closer to $2MM. Radek Faksa’s $2MM AAV could be too expensive of a luxury but, again, with a replacement body needed, the actual savings might barely be half of that. Those two moves would help a bit but probably aren’t enough to accomplish everything that they need to.
Nill knows what needs to be done in terms of cutting down their cap charge. Despite few viable options, he needs to find a way to get it done.
Look For A Defensive Upgrade
Considering their financial circumstances, this one probably falls under the wishful thinking category. But defensive improvements have been on the wish list for a while now and while they took a swing at the deadline this past season when they added Tyler Myers from Vancouver, that didn’t quite go as planned. His playing dropped by more than three minutes a night following the swap while he was scratched at one point in the postseason.
A full training camp could help, sure, but if he’s not a fit, his contract is favorable enough to move. With the Canucks paying half of it, his cost to the Stars (or an acquiring team) is only $1.5MM. That’s an affordable price for a lot of teams for a potential upgrade on the third pairing if Nill decides he wants to try a different type of blueliner.
If Seguin ultimately moves to open up cap space, then Lyubushkin could be moved in a player-player swap to change up the defense corps as well.
In an ideal world, they’d find a way to upgrade in their top four but that’s rather unrealistic given the circumstances. But if there’s a way to make an affordable upgrade on the third pairing or shuffle up the personnel to fit Gulutzan’s system better, that would still be a useful approach to take. But until they deal with the two forwards, they won’t be able to do much on this end.
Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.
Snapshots: Bussi, Carrier, Radkov
After last night’s remarkable comeback to force overtime in Game 3, Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour avoided committing to either of Frederik Andersen or Brandon Bussi for Tuesday’s crucial Game 4 in Vegas, noted by Cory Lavalette of North State Journal. A decision will be made after tomorrow’s practice.
Down 4-0 going into the third period, Brind’Amour put in Bussi, the first Stanley Cup Playoff experience for the 27-year-old who hadn’t seen any game action in nearly two months. If nothing else, it was in the interest of getting some rest for the veteran Andersen and looking ahead to the next contest. Instead, the Canes stormed back with Bussi making several big saves. It was a theme consistent with what has been a year to remember for Bussi, claimed off waivers from Florida in the fall as an unknown name who made his NHL debut in October on the way to 31 wins in the regular season.
Ultimately coming up short in overtime was a damper on the case for Bussi, but to be fair, it was a fluky goal which gave the Golden Knights the double-overtime win. Otherwise, the 6’4″ netminder turned away 18 shots up to that point. Down 2-1 in the series, by no means are the Hurricanes on the precipice of defeat just yet, but Brind’Amour faces a crossroads between a fresh but unproven up-and-comer or the 36-year-old who offers a .910 save percentage with 13 wins in the postseason, where the grind of the playoffs has taken a toll.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Sticking with the Hurricanes, Brind’Amour offered no update on William Carrier, but he is “hopeful” the forward will be good to go on Tuesday, relayed by Chip Alexander of Raleigh News & Observer. The former Golden Knight played just 6:51 last night due to an apparent upper-body injury. Losing someone so early into what became a five-period game is never ideal, but the fourth liner is averaging just over 10 minutes of ice time throughout the postseason. In his 16 playoff games thus far, Carrier has four assists. If he’s unable to play on Tuesday, Brind’Amour has two well rested but polar opposite forwards to choose from; Jesperi Kotkaniemi or Nicolas Deslauriers. Kotkaniemi hasn’t played at all in the playoffs, recording just nine points in 42 games on the season. Deslauriers made just one appearance during the run, Game 4 of the first round against Ottawa. It would be a nice story for the 35-year-old to get into a Finals game, with just six playoff games under his belt so far. Yet as an enforcer, he’d hardly make a difference in Brind’Amour’s ability to roll lines, facing a 3-1 deficit if they can’t nab a win.
- Montreal Canadiens prospect Arseni Radkov was traded to the Val-d’Or Foreurs of the QMJHL, per the team. Draft pick compensation is headed to the Saint John Sea Dogs, of whom Radkov played 17 games. Chosen by the Habs in the third round of the 2025 draft (82nd overall), Radkov had committed to the University of Massachusetts, however the news indicates he’ll run it back in the QMJHL after an up-and-down debut North American season. Starting with Blainville-Boisbriand, Radkov was traded to Saint John after posting a .894 save percentage. His statistics didn’t improve after the trade, as the Sea Dogs were dispatched in the first round of the postseason by the top seeded Moncton Wildcats, boasing top Utah prospect Caleb Desnoyers. The 6’4″ 18-year-old will look to turn the page with a fresh start in Val-d’Or, chosen by the Canadiens with a pick acquired from New Jersey in exchange for fellow goaltender Jake Allen.
Mammoth Sign Vadim Moroz To Two-Year, Entry-Level Contract
The Utah Mammoth have signed 2023 third-round pick Vadim Moroz to a two-year, entry-level contract. Moroz recently wrapped up his fourth season with the KHL’s HC Dinamo. He was a breakout scorer for Minsk, even setting a franchise-record for scoring by a U23 player with 44 points in the 2024-25 season. Moroz’s contract will carry a $1.01375M cap hit per PuckPedia.
Moroz’s scoring dwindled to 29 points in 54 games of the 2025-26 season but his on-ice impact stayed much the same. The 23-year-old winger has earned his keep with responsible and engaged hockey all over the ice, often staying true to his spot and quick to make a play on loose pucks. He boasts the fine skating and puck-control needed to drive play all the way down the ice, while also carrying plenty of oomph in a 6-foot-2 frame.
The Belarusian will face an uphill battle moving from the KHL’s highest scoring offense into a rugged role with the Mammoth – but his success could prove an X-factor down the road. He was a versatile play-driver with scoring upside in Russia and could bring the same impact from a middle-six role if his talents carry over. First, Moroz will likely have to brave the test of the AHL – a challenge he should be well set for after scoring 109 points in 222 career KHL games.
Peter Laviolette An Emerging Option In Kings Coaching Search
The Los Angeles Kings are sparring with the Toronto Maple Leafs on the coaching market and yet another candidate has popped up on both teams’ radar. Former New York Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette is believed to be one of three candidates in Los Angeles’ coaching search per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast. Friedman names the other candidates as Jay Woodcroft and interim head coach D.J. Smith. It was revealed on Wednesday that Laviolette also interviewed with the Maple Leafs.
Laviolette took the 2025-26 season off from coaching after being dismissed from a two-year tenure with the New York Rangers after the 2024-25 season. He had split results behind the Rangers bench, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals after a 55-win season in 2024 but then failing to reach 40 wins or the postseason in 2025. He was much more of a postseason mainstay earlier on in his career – appearing in the playoffs in 13 of the 21 NHL seasons he’s helmed.
Better than a strong record of playoff appearances, Laviolette proved an ability to take multiple teams deep into summer hockey. Having already won an AHL Calder Cup championship, his career began with back-to-back first-round exits with the New York Islanders in 2002 and 2003. He flipped to a middling Carolina Hurricanes club partway through the 2003-04 season and quickly found a way to bring the best out of the club’s stars. On the other side of the 2004-05 lockout, Carolina blazed to an incredible 2006 Stanley Cup championship, built on the back of a more-than 40-point improvement from Rod Brind’Amour and tremendous performances from rookie Cam Ward and sophomore Eric Staal.
The Hurricanes’ stars continued to shine through the next two seasons but Carolian couldn’t repeat their run to the playoffs in 2007 or 2008. They dismissed Laviolette partway through the 2008-09 season. One year later, he was back on an NHL bench, and back to driving towards the Stanley Cup Finals – this time with a veteran-heavy Philadelphia Flyers lineup. Laviolette’s Flyers lost the 2009 Stanley Cup championship but managed to return to the second-round in 2011 and 2012. After another mid-season replacement in 2013-14, Laviolette flipped to the Nashville Predators – who he again drove to an unsuccessful Stanley Cup Finals in 2017 after a pair of postseason bids ended early. With no hardware to match five postseason runs in five seasons, Nashville replaced Laviolette in 2020 – paving the way for subsequent two-year stints with the Washington Capitals and Rangers.
Los Angeles may now try to revive Laviolette’s playoff instincts after his longest time away from the league since the 2004-05 lockout. The Kings have reached, and lost, the first round in each of the last five postseasons. That success has come through tenures with three different coaches – Todd McLellan, Jim Hiller, and D.J. Smith. The Kings have proven an ability to win ground in a weak Pacific Division but clearly lack the jump to get over the first hurdle. Next season, they will also lack a pillar of their lineup, after Anze Kopitar announced his retirement. Quinton Byfield will face the challenge of filling the lineup hole, while a tenured voice like Laviolette’s could be perfect to make up the locker room’s veteran presence.
Los Angeles reached the postseason by just four points. Next season could bring an even tighter margin, as the San Jose Sharks continue to improve. That competition could make Laviolette’s Stanley Cup-experience the difference-maker against Woodcroft and Smith. Friedman added that Laviolette’s desire to coach stuck through the 2025-26 season.
Connor McDavid Wins Ted Lindsay Award
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid has won the 2025-26 Ted Lindsay Award, an honor given annually to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by his fellow members of the NHL Players’ Association.
This is the fifth time McDavid has won the award. McDavid is also a three-time Hart Trophy winner, the award given to the league’s most valuable player as voted on by the media.
McDavid, 29, had another strong season in 2025-26. It says so much about the kind of player McDavid is that after he scored 138 points in the regular season, his family still believed winning the award would come as a “surprise” to him.
It is true that McDavid’s offensive production was not quite at his career-high – he scored 64 goals and 153 points in a legendary 2022-23 campaign – but it was still good enough to win the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top scorer for a sixth time in his career.
McDavid’s closest competitor for the scoring title, Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov, finished the season eight points behind McDavid.
Today’s news also confirms a bit of history for McDavid – his fifth Ted Lindsay Award ties him with fellow Oilers great Wayne Gretzky for the most wins of the trophy in NHL history. (When Gretzky was playing, the trophy was named the Lester B. Pearson Award.) Since he won’t turn 30 until early in 2027, it’s entirely likely McDavid’s peers will vote him for this trophy another time, or more, meaning today’s news sets him up to break Gretzky’s record at some point down the line.
Of course, that is not the only Gretzky record McDavid is chasing. If he ends up staying with the Oilers beyond the expiration of his two-year contract extension, he is almost certain to reach 1,670 points, which would make McDavid the Oilers’ all-time leading scorer.
In any case, while the individual accolades are certainly a great honor, there is one trophy McDavid is singularly focused on chasing: the Stanley Cup. A championship has thus far eluded McDavid, even though he has already won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
But before he can win a Stanley Cup, more individual accolades are likely on the way. He’s a finalist for the Hart Trophy as league MVP, and that is an award that has very frequently gone to the winner of the Ted Lindsay, though not always.
McDavid has already built a formidable case as one of hockey’s all-time greatest talents. He’s a singular offensive creator who remains unmatched at the top of the NHL in terms of pure playing ability. Today’s win is hardly a surprise, and it could mean he is in line to win a fourth Hart Trophy as well.
Photos courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Maple Leafs Considering Joe Pavelski For Head Coaching Role
A totally unexpected name has entered into contention for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ vacant head coaching role: former San Jose Sharks forward Joe Pavelski. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Pavelski is “on the Maple Leafs’ radar as the team begins the next phase of its interview process.”
Pavelski’s presence as a candidate for Toronto’s vacancy stands in stark contrast to the other coaches Toronto is reportedly considering.
The other names that have surfaced, such as Peter Laviolette, Patrick Roy, and Dallas Eakins are all coaches with significant experience as an NHL head coach.
All three have been head coaches at multiple stops around the NHL. Pavelski, 41, is just two seasons removed from the end of his playing career.
Although Pavelski is indeed a significantly less experienced candidate than the others Toronto is reportedly considering, it’s not difficult to see why Toronto is looking at going in this direction. The team doesn’t need to go far to see how a team can benefit by placing its faith in a hugely respected, recently retired former player lacking in any formal professional coaching experience.
The Montreal Canadiens took a leap of faith early in their rebuild when they hired Hall of Fame winger Martin St. Louis to be their head coach, replacing Dominique Ducharme, the coach that won the team a Clarence S. Campbell Bowl less than a year earlier. St. Louis had been considered for an AHL coaching role in the past, and even served as a consultant for the Columbus Blue Jackets, but had not been a head coach outside of coaching his children in minor hockey.
The Canadiens made a bet that St. Louis’ unique perspective as a Hall of Fame player who had to battle his way into the NHL as an undersized waiver-wire depth forward, combined with his work ethic, character, and highly-regarded leadership skills would eventually make St. Louis a uniquely valuable head coach – even if he had to develop into that kind of role without much prior experience.
Montreal’s bet on St. Louis paid off handsomely. While it did not result in winning in the immediate term, the impact St. Louis had on player development was almost instant. Star prospect Cole Caufield had endured a nightmarish rookie campaign under Ducharme, but after St. Louis arrived, he took off.
Over the last two years, St. Louis’ player development acumen began to finally translate into the standings. He took the Canadiens to a surprising playoff berth last season, and this year, the team finished with 106 points in the standings. Montreal reeled off two consecutive upsets in the postseason, defeating a veteran Tampa Bay Lightning squad and a dominant Buffalo Sabres team in two dramatic seven-game series. While the Canadiens ultimately ran out of gas against the Carolina Hurricanes, St. Louis’ run to the Eastern Conference Final proved just how effective of an NHL coach he had developed into.
The Maple Leafs have watched Montreal – their arch-rival – enjoy a massive amount of success in large part because they took a leap of faith on a widely respected veteran player without coaching experience, betting that the intangible traits that made him a special player would also make him a special coach. It seems Toronto is considering making a similar bet of their own.
It’s worth noting that while the Maple Leafs are certainly eyeing the success Montreal has had with St. Louis, their situation is not an exact one-to-one comparable. When Montreal hired St. Louis, they did so on an interim basis in a season where they would finish in last place.
They were firmly in the early stages of their rebuild, and even if St. Louis’ tenure ended up not working out, the team’s recently-hired front office would have at least been able to rely on St. Louis, someone they trusted and had pre-existing connections to, to provide them with detailed information on players in order to help inform the team’s future plans.
In other words, St. Louis was under no pressure to immediately deliver wins. And that helped him, because he was not able to deliver those immediate wins, his instant impact came in the form of player development, and the winning took some time to arrive.
The Maple Leafs are not, at this point, at a similar stage. The team is under significant pressure to return to the postseason in 2026-27, as the club’s ability to retain franchise center Auston Matthews may depend on it. There will not be time for Pavelski to slowly come into his own as a winning coach the way St. Louis did – the franchise simply can’t afford to give him that kind of runway. So it’ll be a unique challenge if Pavelski ends up with the job, without question.
While it is far from certain that Pavelski would actually receive the job in Toronto, he does stand out as an ideal candidate in the St. Louis mold, even in the face of those aforementioned challenges. One of the greatest forwards in the history of the San Jose Sharks, Pavelski captained the team and led them on numerous deep playoff runs, including a run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016.
Pavelski’s work ethic, character, and leadership allowed him to have a 1,332-game NHL career with 1,068 points, one of the best careers ever for a player drafted in the seventh round. He even had some of the best years of his career in his late thirties on the Dallas Stars, serving as a veteran mentor to some of the team’s emerging young stars such as Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston.
According to Friedman, Pavelski has spent much of his early retirement like St. Louis – coaching his son in minor hockey. He spent the 2025-26 season as head coach of the Madison Capitols 15U AAA. One should not downplay the challenge of going from there to coaching the Maple Leafs – an NHL team in a supremely hockey-mad market – would be a real challenge.
But if there is any player who possesses the kind of work ethic, character, and leadership ability to handle the task, it would be Pavelski.
Photos courtesy of Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports
Milan Lucic Announces Retirement
Former Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic announced his retirement from professional hockey today, per the NHL Players’ Association. The announcement officially concludes a professional career that includes 1,177 NHL games.
Lucic, 38, is a large power forward who is best known for his work as a member of the Boston Bruins, the team he played for from 2007 to 2015, with an additional four-game stint with the team coming in 2023.
A 2006 second-round pick out of the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, Lucic was a fast-developing prospect, going from 19 points in 62 games in his 2005-06 draft campaign to 30 goals and 68 points in 70 games during his first season as a drafted Bruins prospect.
A WHL champion with Vancouver, Lucic made a quick adjustment to the pro game in 2007-08. He made the Bruins’ NHL roster as a 19-year-old rookie, scoring eight goals and 19 points in 77 games, while also registering 179 hits and 89 penalty minutes.
His aggressive, physical style was already earning plaudits from around the league, as despite his relatively pedestrian rookie year production, he ended the campaign with two fifth-place votes for the Calder Trophy.
Lucic’s NHL breakout came during his sophomore campaign. He avoided the dreaded second-year slump that impacts many young forwards, instead boosting his production to 17 goals and 42 points in 72 games. He did so while playing an even more effective physical style, racking up 259 hits and 136 penalty minutes. Even from his first few seasons in the NHL, it would become abundantly clear that Lucic represented the exact kind of identity the Bruins have wanted out of their players – someone who pairs real offensive touch with relentless aggression and a mastery of the physical side of the game.
2008-09 would also be the year when Lucic showed just how valuable his style could be in the postseason. Although Lucic would be suspended for a game during the team’s first-round series sweep over their arch-rival Montreal Canadiens for a cross-check to the head of Maxim Lapierre, he would finish the playoffs with nine points in 10 games in a run that ended in game seven of the second round.
Although Lucic’s next season, 2009-10, was a bit of a struggle in the regular season (he battled multiple injuries) he remained a valuable playoff contributor, scoring nine points in 13 contests.
The following campaign, 2010-11, would prove to be arguably Lucic’s best in the NHL. He finished the regular season with 30 goals and 62 points in 79 games, showing just how consistently effective he could be when healthy. In the playoffs, he scored 12 points in 25 games as the Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks in a dramatic seven-game series to win their first Stanley Cup since 1972.
By that point, Lucic had established himself as one of the game’s premier emerging power forward talents. That began a stretch where he would consistently score around a 50-60 point pace, a level of consistent production that would persist even beyond the conclusion of Lucic’s Bruins tenure. He also remained hugely valuable in the playoffs, including in 2012-13 when he scored 19 points in 22 games during the Bruins’ run to the Stanley Cup Final, where they would be eliminated in a dramatic game six at the hands of the Chicago Blackhawks.
As he entered his late 20s, Lucic neared unrestricted free agency, and the Bruins traded him to the Los Angeles Kings. Lucic spent one year, his age-27 season, in Los Angeles, scoring 20 goals and 55 points. After his year in Los Angeles, Lucic became one of the league’s most in-demand free agents. In the end, the Edmonton Oilers, led by GM Peter Chiarelli, who had managed Boston to its Stanley Cup in 2011, won the bidding war for Lucic and secured his services on a seven-year, $6MM AAV contract.
At first, that deal looked like it might just work for the Oilers, who enjoyed a 23-goal, 50-point debut campaign from Lucic. Lucic registered 202 hits, and there was hope his power forward style, fearsome physicality, and veteran leadership would help in teenage phenom Connor McDavid‘s development into an NHL star. McDavid missed half of his rookie campaign with an injury, but broke out for 100 points during Lucic’s first season with the Oilers.
Unfortunately, while the Oilers enjoyed solid immediate returns on their investment in Lucic, the contract would quickly turn into one of the league’s foremost financial anchors. Lucic’s production declined to 34 points in 2017-18, and in 2018-19, it lowered to just 20 points. Lucic’s foot speed declined considerably, and his offensive value cratered along with it. At one point, Lucic failed to register a goal in over 40 games.
In the summer of 2019, the Oilers traded Lucic to the Calgary Flames in a deal that swapped underperforming big-ticket UFA wingers between arch rivals. The Oilers received James Neal, the Flames’ own $5.75MM AAV free agency investment, in exchange for Lucic and a conditional third-round pick.
While the fresh start did not result in Lucic rediscovering the offensive touch he had in past years in his career, he did find a way to hold onto a consistent lineup spot with the Flames, providing some value as a highly physical veteran fourth-liner, even if his contributions did not ultimately match his compensation.
Lucic played out his seven-year contract with the Flames, and when it expired in the summer of 2023, Lucic elected to sign a one-year, $1MM contract to return to the Bruins.
While there was definite excitement for the return of a fan favorite player, Lucic’s second stint in Boston ended after just four games played. Lucic missed most of the 2023-24 season after entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Lucic entered the program after he was arrested for an alleged domestic incident. Charges against Lucic were eventually dropped.
Lucic would exit the program after missing the rest of the 2023-45 season. He would go on to sign a PTO with the St. Louis Blues for 2025-26.
The PTO did not result in Lucic receiving any NHL time, though he did play in five games for their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. Remarkably, those were the first AHL games of Lucic’s professional career. Lucic would eventually leave the AHL and signed overseas for the first time in his career, joining Scotland’s Fife Flyers of the EIHL, the top division of pro hockey in the United Kingdom. Lucic scored 12 points in 26 games for the Flyers.
Beyond his club career, Lucic did play some international hockey as well – in one tournament in his late thirties. Lucic was a veteran presence on team Canada at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championships, serving as an alternate captain.
Lucic helped guide Canada through the team’s group stage games in Riga, Latvia, helping the team rebound after a shocking shootout loss to Norway. When the tournament shifted to knockout games in Tampere, Finland, the Canadians upset the hosts in the quarterfinals, survived a challenge from an upstart Latvia team in the semifinals, and handily defeated Germany in the finals to win a gold medal.
While that would be the only time Lucic represented Canada in his career, he made the most of it by winning what is the country’s most recent gold medal in senior-level men’s IIHF play.
Photos courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images