The Florida Panthers had a chance to put a stranglehold on their opening round series with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday in Sunrise.
Instead, the Lightning came up with a big road victory in Game 3, their first win of the series, by a score of 5-1 at Amerant Bank Arena.
While the day ultimately belonged to Tampa, it didn’t take long for the Panthers to open the scoring and send their fans into a frenzy.
Sam Bennett drove toward the net after pulling the puck off the boards, but his stick was lifted just as he went to release a shot.
The puck instead slid to Matthew Tkachuk on the opposite side of the crease and all he had to do was just taaaap it in to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead at the 2:43 mark.
Later in the period, with 2:45 to go, Jake Guentzel took a pass from Nikita Kucherov and dangled through the slot before firing a shot that hit Brayden Point on its way past Sergei Bobrovsky to tie the game at one.
Moments after Florida killed off a Tampa power play late in the second period, the Bolts would take their first lead of the game.
With Brad Marchand hustling to the bench after his stick broke mid-shift, Nick Paul found space in the right circle and fired a shot that seemed to handcuff Bobrovsky. It went off his left pad and trickled into the net, giving the Lightning a 2-1 lead with 6:43 to go in the middle frame.
Guenzel scored his first of the game and second of the series just 21 seconds into the third period on a funky play that had Bobrovsky looking the wrong direction and playing without a stick.
Tampa had three goals despite being outshot 26-17 at that point of the game.
A rush goal late in the period by Luke Glendening and an empty-net goal by Anthony Cirelli shortly after would seal the win for the Lightning.
On to Game 4.
QUICK THOUGHTS
We’re still waiting for our first home win of this series.
Tkachuk is up to two goals and four points so far during the playoffs.
Sam Bennett had the primary assist on Tkachuk's goal. Bennett has points (two goals and two assists) in all three playoff games so far.
Florida’s penalty kill went 5-for-5 on Saturday and has killed off 12 of Tampa Bay’s 13 power plays this series.
ST. PAUL - Wild head coach John Hynes confirmed before Saturday's Game 4 clash with the Vegas Golden Knights that forward Marcus Johansson will not play. He is out with a lower-body injury.
Johansson, 34, has one assist in three games this playoffs so far. He got hit a few times in the third period and did not return to the third period for the last 13 minutes.
Hynes said that Vinnie Hinostroza would enter the lineup to replace Johansson. He won't play on the second line though.
We will see in warmups what the lines shake out to be, but it will probably be Gustav Nyquist on the second line to take Johansson's spot. Hinostroza would then take Nyquist's spot on the third line.
The Winnipeg Jets entered the playoffs with the best regular-season record (56-22-4), winning the Presidents’ Trophy and looking utterly dominant in front of Hart Trophy Candidate, Connor Hellebuyck. Despite that, many fans and analysts still do not believe the Jets can win the Stanley Cup.
Longtime NHL head coach Bruce Boudreau is not one of those people. Joining the Big Show with The Hockey News’ Michael Traikos and Ryan Kennedy, Boudreau spoke fondly about the Jets.
“Oh, they’re a legit contender, there’s no doubt in my mind,” said Boudreau about the Jets.
The Jets are up 2-1 in the series over the St. Louis Blues with a pair of gutsy wins at home before suffering a beatdown on the road. Their road loss was played without veteran defenseman Dylan DeMelo, a stabilizer on the back end. They’ve also been without their third and fifth leading scorers, Nikolaj Ehlers and Gabriel Vilardi.
With those absentees, the Jets still hold the series lead and home-ice advantage in the first round. Their ability to level up their game in difficult circumstances is why Boudreau believes they can win it all.
“I think they’re a really good team, and I’ll tell you where I thought these guys aren’t kidding around this year,” said the 15-year veteran coach. “With about 10 games to go in the season, they went into Vegas and beat Vegas 4-0. Then they played Chicago, they won in overtime, they played a couple of lesser lights, and they either lost or just got by. Then all of the sudden they played Dallas when if Dallas would have won, they would have been within two points of them for the Central Division crown, and they beat them 5-1… they played St. Louis when St. Louis was on their 12-game winning streak and they beat them again very handily. That’s when I said, this team is a team that could win it now. They can step up their game whenever they want.”
The 70-year-old Boudreau won the Jack Adams Award in the 2007-08 season after taking over the Washington Capitals head coaching job 21 games into the season. Boudreau had achieved a lot throughout his coaching career, including a Presidents’ Trophy with the Capitals, the fastest coach to reach 200 wins, and the quickest a coach was hired after being fired.
While Boudreau did have some playoff struggles in his coaching career, that shouldn’t diminish the great former coach's ability to recognize how impressive the Jets have looked since Game 1 of the regular season.
They roll four lines, six defensemen and can both match the opponent's play style or inflict their own. Highlighted by the additions of Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev, the Jets can impose themselves physically and wear down their opponent by the time the third period begins.
“As a proud Canadian, I hope it’s Winnipeg against Florida and that Winnipeg brings it, but I think Florida is going to win, they’re the deepest team.”
The Jets’ route through the playoffs is vicious. Defeating the Blues has been proven to be a difficult task, and a potential second-round matchup against the Dallas Stars or the Colorado Avalanche doesn’t make things any easier, but the Jets have built themselves to succeed in the playoffs, both stylistically and roster-wise.
Ottawa Senators host Toronto Maple Leafs, who look to complete a series sweep with a 3-0 series lead heading into Game 4 on Saturday
Sunday night is the ultimate opportunity for NHL fans, with a loaded slate of thrilling matchups of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The game that sticks out is the Battle of Ontario between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators, which promises to be a physical war of attrition.
The Buds look to close out the series and complete their first series sweep since 2001 when they disposed of the same Ottawa Senators in the first round.
For bettors, this matchup provides a chance to capitalize on some of our recent strong trends, like our 25-12 record on our last 37 picks, including a 5-0 night during Game 1 of the Battle of Ontario.
All betting lines are from FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs Ottawa Senators Best Bets:
Senators ML (-115)
Over 5.5 goals (-118)
Tim Stutzle Under 0.5 points (+122)
Brady Tkachuk Over 0.5 points (-158)
William Nylander Over 0.5 points (-162)
The Sens are staring down the barrel of five straight playoff losses with their last victory in the postseason being in 2017 when they lost in the Conference Finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Toronto's last sweep in the playoffs was 2001 when they beat the Senators in the first round, which could point to history repeating itself on Saturday.Ottawa has been within reach of every game with two straight overtimes not going their way.
They're receiving little help on offence as captain Brady Tkachuk and veteran winger Claude Giroux have been forced to do the heavy lifting. Senators' regular season point leader Tim Stutzle hasn't been seen with just one point through three games. The assist he recorded was a touch along to a defenceman who fired off a shot that was tipped in front of the net, basically meaning he hasn't production virtually any offence at all.
The under for Stutzle has been really effective this series and we will continue to go to the well as the pick is still listed at plus money. However, I expect his linemate in Tkachuk to cause some damage. One of the biggest headlines of the series heading in was seeing how Tkachuk was going to adapt to the playoff environment after thriving at the Four Nations Face-Off yet he hasn't had a multi-point game so far.
We were expecting more of a performance similar to Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov, who has seven points through three playoff games. It should finally boil over Saturday as Brady will be giving it his all to prevent his team from being eliminated.
Despite the over not hitting for us in game three, I think we go back to it as the numbers are hard to go against with six or more goals in 18 of their last 25 matchups at Canadian Tire Centre. The Buds should give a lot of push back and I expect it to come from Leafs leading goal scorer, Williiam Nylander.
People have forgotten cause of the team's success that Nylander has just one goal in this series in the opener. The Swedish winger entered the series with nine goals and six assists for 15 points in his last 16 games against the Senators. He also recorded 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points over his last 26 games.
Edmonton fans cheer on the Oilers during Game 3 of the first-round playoff series against the Kings on Friday night at Rogers Place. (Andy Devlin / NHLI via Getty Images)
The streets of Edmonton were awash in blue and orange, the colors of the city’s hockey team, on Friday.
From the Southgate Centre, on the city’s southern edge, to the downtown financial district, it seemed as if everyone, from students and shopkeepers to cabbies and the cable guy, were wearing Oilers sweaters. And with reason: Their team, a Stanley Cup finalist a season ago, was fighting for its playoff life against a Kings team it had dispatched with ease each of the last three postseasons.
The Kings won the first two games in the best-of-seven series, so Edmonton desperately needed a victory at home. It got that in uncommon fashion, scoring four unanswered goals in the final seven minutes of a 7-4 win.
But the Oilers didn’t do it alone. The atmosphere, said winger Evander Kane, who scored the goal that started the final rally, played a big part.
“It was nice to get in front of our own fans,” he said. “You come back to Edmonton, there’s some buzz in the city. There’s some buzz in the morning. We kind of got reenergized a little bit.”
The Kings still lead the first-round series 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Sunday in Edmonton. Both teams then will return to Los Angeles for Game 5 on Tuesday. A fifth game was looking unlikely until a bizarre sequence that began with 6:42 to play erased a 4-3 Kings lead and changed the complexion of the series.
It started with Kane scoring on a scramble in front of the Kings’ net to tie the score, although the goal took time to sort out since it appeared Kane, playing for just the second time this season, kicked the puck under Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper.
After a lengthy video review determined Kane used his stick to score, the Kings called a timeout and rather than playing it safe, they challenged the goal, claiming Kane interfered with Kuemper. When they lost that challenge, Edmonton was awarded a two-minute power play and needed only 10 seconds of it with Evan Bouchard scoring what proved to be the winner on a tip-in from the crease.
The Oilers, blanked on the power play in the first two games, had two goals, both by Bouchard, with the man advantage Friday. The Kings also had two power-play goals and are now seven for 12 with the man advantage in the series while the teams have combined for 30 goals in three games.
So much for the conservative nature of playoff hockey. And this series might have turned on Jim Hiller’s challenge, which was the furthest thing from playing it safe.
“We take a timeout. We understand the situation. We don’t want to give them a power play but clearly we felt that that challenge was in our favor. The league disagreed,” the Kings' coach said. “The next step would have been for us to kill a penalty and that didn’t happen either. It’s a tough stretch for us, there’s no question. That’s hockey. That’s playoff hockey, especially.”
Connor McDavid and Connor Brown each scored into an empty net in the final 1:40 to account for the final score. It was the second time in three games that Edmonton scored four times in the final period to erase a deficit, although the Kings came back to win the first time.
“I'm pretty happy that we're playing the game well enough that we're leading them in the third period,” Hiller said. “So I'll take that. That's the way I look at that.”
Another way to look at that is the Kings have collapsed twice, failing to close out games they led handily. Friday they erased a two-goal deficit and twice broke ties to take the lead, only to give it all back.
Oilers fans line up in front of Rogers Place before Game 3 of the playoff series against the Kings on Friday night. (Andy Devlin / NHLI via Getty Images)
“Yeah, it sucks,” defenseman Mikey Anderson said. “But we're still in a good place. You get to come back in two nights and get another stab at it, which is the best part.”
Be careful what you wish for because the next stab at it also will be on the Oilers’ ice, in one of the loudest buildings in the NHL.
Hockey in Edmonton is special, more a religion than a game. And any night the Oilers play in the postseason is church night.
Rogers Place was again a raucous cacophony of noise Friday while outside thousands of people who couldn’t get a seat in the temple — some carrying signs that read “We Believe” — began lining up more than three hours before game time for a spot in the “Moss Pit,” an open-air fan zone named after Joey Moss, a longtime club employee.
Their prayers were answered with a comeback that fed off the size and fervor of the crowd, which inspired the home team while intimidating the visitors.
“The crowd was emotional,” Hiller said. “The crowd was great. The energy, we expected. I would have wished that we did a better job of just weathering that.”
Anderson agreed.
“We knew they were going to come out hard. It's their home rink,” he said.
Oilers fans taunt Kings defenseman Drew Doughty in the first period of Game 3 on Friday night at Rogers Place. (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Oilers finished strong as well, climbing back into a series that appeared all but over until the final seven minutes Friday.
Afterward Edmonton’s ICE District, a town square centered around the hockey arena, continued buzzing until well after midnight. A pickup truck with a faux oil derrick flanked by two large Oilers flags drove laps around the area while fans in the de rigueur orange and blue team sweaters milled about, too excited to leave but too exhausted to do much more than blow on horns and block the sidewalks.
“What a game,” one young man repeated aloud to no one in particular.
The Oilers will play again Sunday, the traditional Christian Sabbath, and the faithful once again will file into Rogers Place to offer hosannas at decibel levels loud enough to make your ears bleed. If their prayers are answered, the series will return to L.A. even at two games apiece.
If not, Friday’s game might prove to be a false miracle, unworthy of either praise or condemnation.
“It feels good right now to get that win,” said Leon Draisaitl, who had two assists, including the pass that set up Bouchard’s winner. “But it’s not going to do much if we don’t follow it up, right? We’ve got to follow it and take this back to L.A. 2-2.”
As time passed after Simon Benoit's overtime-winner for the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 3 against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, his phone continued filling up with messages cheering him on.
The 26-year-old has played an integral role in Toronto's last two overtime goals. In Game 2, the defenseman intercepted a puck in the Maple Leafs' end before jumping up in the rush and finding Max Domi, whose goal gave Toronto a 2-0 series lead.
48 hours later, Benoit found himself in an identical position: on the ice during a decisive moment in overtime.
Auston Matthews won the faceoff back to Benoit, who fired a shot through an assemblage of players in front of Ottawa's net. Benoit's shot found its way to the net, beating Linus Ullmark and putting Toronto up 3-0 in the series.
"I don't score much goals, so I would say yeah," said Benoit after Game 3, when asked if it's the biggest goal of his life. The second-biggest goal of his life? "Probably peewee or something," he added with a smile.
"It's fun. In the playoffs, it's not always the same guys. It's fun when other guys get a good goal because it's so hard to score in the playoffs, so getting that goal was pretty exciting."
What's it been like for Benoit — and his phone — throughout the days following his overtime-winning goal?
"A couple [messages], that's for sure," he laughed on Saturday morning.
"A lot of people support me, which I really appreciate, and it means a lot to me. It’s fun to see that old teammates, old coach, old friends, they still keep track of what you’re doing out there, so it’s fun."
When asked if he had a favorite message from the loads that he received, Benoit said, "They’re all good. It’s all good. All love."
The defenseman has had an interesting year, to say the least. It began with him and his girlfriend welcoming a baby daughter during training camp. A new list of responsibilities arrived, including a new sleep schedule.
Benoit's play at the beginning of this season wasn't as strong as the previous year, which helped him earn a three-year extension. However, Toronto's trust in Benoit never wavered.
"I think for me it was a long process this season. I struggled a bit at the beginning of the season. My game wasn't quite there yet, and management was good enough to just let me take my sleep back and work my way through it," said Benoit.
"And after Christmas, I think I managed all the things that were happening at home and it's the best thing that could happen for me. My baby's just fantastic, and I have a wonderful girlfriend who's at home, so it's fun."
While the biggest storyline entering Game 4 against Ottawa is Toronto having the chance to sweep the Battle of Ontario, the micro story of Benoit has been refreshing. In the playoffs, different players come up big for their team in dire moments.
For Benoit, his back-to-back overtime contributions came with some attention of the good kind.
"I’m not used to it, that’s for sure," he smiled. "But no, it’s fun. We have the greatest fans out there, so you just have to embrace it."
Game 4 goes down Saturday night inside the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. Let's see if the Maple Leafs pounce on the chance to sweep the Senators in four games, and if there'll be another unsung hero for Toronto.
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The Vegas Golden Knights are in search of any positive outcome tonight in Game 4, looking to regain their footing and take back the momentum the Minnesota Wild have built.
In Games 2 and 3, the Golden Knights have performed considerably lower than the expectations they've set for themselves. They've allowed far too many quality chances in front of their goal, and Adin Hill has not done a good enough job of bailing them out.
In the series, Hill has posted a .825 SV% and a 3.77 GAA, simply not good enough.
A win today maintains home ice advantage for the Golden Knights, something they desperately need. The Wild's atmosphere is lively.
"The series isn’t over. It’s 2-1. Would you like to be up 2-1 or 3-0? Of course. Who wouldn’t? But it’s never a bad thing to go through a little adversity and work a little bit harder to get what you want. What we want is Game 4," said the Golden Knights captain.
If the Golden Knights can be more attentive on the defensive side of the puck, get contributions from their best players, and get better performances from their No.1 goaltender, they should be heading back to Vegas with the series tied.
If they don't, Kaprizov and Boldy will continue to run rampant and take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
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The Florida Panthers will have a full roster for Game 3 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Panthers Captain Sasha Barkov was on the ice for pregame warmups and will be in the lineup after being deemed a game-time decision by Head Coach Paul Maurice.
Barkov left Game 2 in Tampa midway through the third period after taking an illegal hit from Lightning forward Brandon Hagel, who was given a five-minute major for interference.
Hagel has since been suspended for Game 3 by the NHL Department of Player Safety as a result of the hit, and it was unknown whether Barkov would be able to play.
Well, now we know that Barkov is good to go.
He'll skate on the Panthers top line, flanked by Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart.
Florida will also welcome defenseman Aaron Ekbald back into the lineup after the top pairing defenseman finished serving a 20-game suspension for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.
Here is how the Panthers lined up during pregame warmups:
Home-ice advantage is a powerful force in the National Hockey League, and no home rink holds more magic than the Bell Centre. So, even though the Montreal Canadiens are locked into a tough 1-vs-8 matchup against the Washington Capitals, it should be no surprise that their first playoff game on home ice since the 2021 Stanley Cup Final was a well-earned 6-3 win.
The Habs will have the opportunity to tie their best-of-seven series 2-2 in Game 4 on Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET).
On the ice, Montreal held a 40-21 edge in shots, won 53.7 percent of the face-offs, out-hit the Capitals 45-26, went 2-for-5 on the power play, perfect on the penalty kill and controlled 66.15 percent of expected goals at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick.
The Canadiens didn’t even get rattled when Sam Montembeault, who was arguably their MVP through the first two games of the series, departed abruptly just after the midpoint of the game, with the score tied 2-2.
Cole Caufield put Montreal back in the lead with nine seconds left in the middle frame, and after Alex Ovechkin drew the Capitals level early in the third, the Canadiens scored three more times to salt away the win. Christian Dvorak’s second of the series stood up as the game-winner, and Juraj Slafkovsky’s first-ever playoff goal came on the same play that forced Logan Thompson to leave the Washington crease after he was run into by his teammate, Dylan Strome.
The Capitals have had a storybook season of their own, and Ovechkin has his own unique superpowers. But the seed of doubt has now been planted in this series.
Early in Ovechkin’s career, the Capitals had a reputation for failing to rise to the occasion. While that narrative disappeared when they broke through with their Stanley Cup win in 2018, the Canadiens have a knack for winning, even when they have no business doing so.
The Canadiens’ 23 Cups in the NHL era since 1917 dwarf every other franchise. The Toronto Maple Leafs are second with 13, and the Detroit Red Wings are the only other team in double digits (11).
And while their dynasties from 1956-1960 and 1976-1979 loom the largest in their history, today’s Habs share more DNA with the group that won Canada’s last Stanley Cup, in 1993, and the one that went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.
That team earned a strong 102 points in 84 games, in the era before overtime, but still finished third in the top-heavy Adams division behind the Boston Bruins and Quebec Nordiques.
The Canadiens started the playoffs on the road in Quebec City and needed two overtime wins to take the Battle of Quebec in six games. Regaining home ice for the division final, they won three more games in sudden death to sweep the Buffalo Sabres.
Then, against the New York Islanders, they added two more overtime wins — including one in double OT — to claim the Prince of Wales Trophy. Finally, they took down Wayne Gretzky’s Los Angeles Kings in five games to claim the Cup on home ice at the Montreal Forum, winning three more overtime games along the way.
It takes a certain swagger to win 10 of your 16 playoff victories in extra time, and that record still stands today. No other team has ever had more than seven.
But the 2020-21 Canadiens had six — and also manufactured a run to the Stanley Cup Final seemingly out of nowhere.
It feels like way more than four years have passed since the shortened 56-game campaign, when the Canadiens replaced Claude Julien with Dominique Ducharme one-third of the way through, then rode a fourth-place finish in the Scotia North Division past the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets and Vegas Golden Knights before falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Today’s Canadiens are a young group. But Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Joel Armia, Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson were all part of that run in 2021. They would have learned plenty along the way.
The Canadiens also have a history of unproven netminders stepping up at playoff time — whether that was Ken Dryden in 1971, fresh out of college, or 21-year-old rookie Patrick Roy in 1986.
Will that turn out to be Montembeault, a native son like Roy? Or will upstart Jakub Dobes seize the reins and stir up 50-year-old memories of Dryden’s early heroics?
The ghosts may have rattled their chains louder at the old Montreal Forum, but they’re still watching over the Habs at the Bell Centre. With their support and with the Canadiens’ true-blue fans in full voice, don’t be surprised if the team delivers another magical memory on Sunday.
From the end of the 2023–24 regular season to now, nine Vancouver Canucks have departed the team’s lineup whether by trade, free agency, or otherwise. With the 2024–25 regular season now wrapped up, let’s take a look at how some of these ex-Canucks from last season performed with their new clubs.
The most recent Canucks departure compared to the rest of this list, Soucy was moved the day before the 2025 Trade Deadline. Notably, he scored goals in both his last game with the Canucks on March 5 and his first game with the Rangers on March 8. In his first 16 games with the Rangers, Soucy notably gave the puck away 13 times. He faced the same issue of being able to hold onto the puck in Vancouver as well, as he had 65 giveaways in the 59 games he played with the Canucks this season as well. Soucy will enter the final year of his three-year contract in 2025–26 — whether he remains with the Rangers for the rest of it or not is yet to be determined.
As a member of De Stars, DeSmith has done well as a reliable backup to Jake Oettinger. He nabbed two shutouts during the regular season and even had an assist in the team’s 4–2 win against the Buffalo Sabres on December 31. Interestingly, in the 10 losses he started in both in regulation and in overtime, the lowest amount of shots he faced was 24. In his last three losses of the regular season, he stopped 34, 32, and 39 shots against, giving up five, six, and four goals respectively. One of these losses was Vancouver’s 6–5 overtime comeback win on April 8. DeSmith has two more years left on his contract and will be 35 when it expires.
Many fans were upset when two of the team’s biggest free agents from 2023–24 walked for nothing. Elias Lindholm, who was brought into the Canucks organization at the end of January 2024, ultimately signed a seven-year, $7.75M AAV deal with the Bruins during the 2024 free agency period. The start of his first season with Boston got off to a rocky start, as he had seven goals and 13 assists in the first half of 2024–25. While he experienced a couple of slow stretches after this point, Lindholm managed to slightly pick up his pace offensively speaking, adding another 10 goals and 17 assists to his season total. He finished the final 10 games of the season with four goals and six assists.
While Vancouver seemed to have found their replacement for Cole in Derek Forbort, the current Utah defender had the kind of season that would make a team regret letting him go. A shot-blocking machine, Cole led the NHL in blocked shots this season with 211. The Canuck with the closest amount to this was Tyler Myers with 125. One caveat on Cole’s season was that, like Soucy, he was prone to giveaways. He surrendered the puck to the opposition 118 times this season, which ties him with David Pastrnak and Thomas Harley at 11th in the league. On March 5, he signed a one-year contract extension with Utah that will pay him $2.8M.
Vancouver let Mikheyev go via trade after a disappointing 2023–24 season that saw him go goalless for 34 games. It was fitting, of course, that he scored a goal in his first visit back to Rogers Arena after being traded. Mikheyev registered his first point with the Blackhawks in his 10th game with the team. He had 10 rush attempts on the season with Chicago, which would have tied him with Brock Boeser for third on the Canucks. His four-year, $4.75M AAV contract expires after the 2025–26 season.
J.T. Miller
New York Rangers
13G, 22A in 32GP
Miller’s time with the Canucks officially ended on January 31 when he was traded to the Rangers in exchange for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a 2025 1st Round Pick. As many Vancouver fans heard, Miller’s first game back with New York resulted in the forward scoring two goals. After competing for Team USA at the 4 Nations Faceoff, Miller returned to the Rangers and put up five goals and five assists in six games. In his final six games of 2024–25, he registered three goals and six assists. While some have pointed out that the defensive woes in Miller’s game seem to have surfaced in New York, offensively speaking, it looks as though the ex-Canuck has continued to perform at the level many know he is capable of. Miller’s current deal expires in 2030, during which he’ll be 37.
Nikita Zadorov
Boston Bruins
4G, 18A in 81GP
For Canucks fans, Zadorov’s departure may have been one of the most upsetting of players who left Vancouver during the 2024 free agency period. The hulking defenseman endeared himself to Canucks fans with his on-ice toughness and off-ice humour. While not known for his offensive prowess, Zadorov still had 22 points with the Bruins this season, finishing third on his team in points by a defenseman behind Charlie McAvoy and Mason Lohrei. Unsurprisingly, Zadorov led the NHL in penalty minutes with 145. After this season, Zadorov has five years left on his contract with Boston.
Lafferty had a career year with the Canucks last season, setting new personal records in goals (13) and points (24). He tied his season assist record with 11 in 79 games played. The speedy forward was due to hit free agency in July 2024, but was dealt to the Blackhawks by the Canucks as part of the Mikheyev trade. He went on to sign a two-year contract with Buffalo, where he missed a month of play in the fall due to a lower body injury. He also sustained a groin injury in March that kept him out of the lineup for four games. Lafferty faced a bit of offensive regression with the Sabres, as he didn’t score his first point of the season until November 7. After the 2025–26 season, Lafferty will be a free agent.
When Podkolzin was picked 10th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, some Canucks fans were confused. His KHL contract made it so he wouldn’t be able to join Vancouver until two years after he was drafted. The forward joined the Canucks in the 2021–22 season, putting up 14 goals and 12 assists in 79 games played. After a couple of disappointing seasons that ultimately resulted in him being sent down to the Abbotsford Canucks, Podkolzin was traded to the Oilers for a fourth-round pick. Since joining Edmonton, Podkolzin has earned himself a roster spot by putting his hard work on display. As well, he has provided Edmonton with more of a physical presence in their bottom six, as he quietly led his team with 210 hits during the regular season. Podkolzin, who is still an RFA, will need to sign a new deal with the Oilers after the 2025–26 season.
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If I were the Montreal Canadiens I would not go with the best player available. It’s a generic term that sounds good in the NFL but has no real practical application in hockey. You have a draft board for a reason. You have team needs for a reason. Not today’s needs, organizational needs and that’s for 3-5 years down the road.
According to Puck Pedia, the Canadiens have two picks at 16 and 17. I’ll go with that but we know that can change. The #17 picks are from Calgary and that has conditions. They are explained here.
I think the odds of getting a potential second line player is better than a second-pairing defenseman. This isn’t a very deep draft. There will be a fair amount of players that play in the NHL for a period of time. But sticking for 200 games or more is a smaller field than usual in my estimation. That could change after the U18s but right now, that’s how I feel.
I think they should target a forward with some size. If nothing else, just don’t take a smaller forward here. Size and speed is something they need to get. There will be time to get defenseman in this draft and certainly another goalie is always something to think about in every draft.
The Canadiens have a lot of picks. 12 in total. I normally say get two every draft. In this draft, I still think you might be able to get three. That would be my goal. Anything more than that is gravy.
The Kings are sitting atop the league in power-play percentage (58.3 percent), and they are also first in the NHL in power-play goals with seven.
Toronto sits just behind the Kings in power-play percentage at 55.6 percent over three games. They are also third in total power-play goals with five, narrowly behind the St. Louis Blues, who scored three in their 7-2 win in Game 3, bringing their total to six.
Other than having similar success and statistics with the extra man, Toronto and L.A. have one more thing in common with their top power-play units – they are made up of five forwards and no defenseman.
The majority of teams in the NHL use four forwards, with their most offensive defenseman quarterbacking the power play. That’s not the case for the Leafs and Kings.
For the most part, Los Angeles uses Adrian Kempe at the point with Anze Kopitar occasionally coming short to receive the puck. The Kings do have the choice to put a D-man on the top unit with Drew Doughty and Brandt Clarke on the roster, but coach Jim Hiller has decided to put them on the second unit.
Toronto has Mitch Marner at the blueline dictating the play with his elite playmaking and ability to walk the line. In seasons past, Morgan Rielly would be the quarterback, but coach Craig Berube has found success with the five-man unit.
Former NHL coach Bruce Boudreau spoke about the Maple Leafs’ five-forward power-play unit in the latest episode of The Hockey News’ Big Show.
“The Leaf five, I find amazing. All five of them are so good,” Boudreau said. He further complimented Toronto’s top unit and highlighted how important Marner is to the formation.
“Marner, I think, is the best distributor this side of Connor McDavid of the puck, and he can defend when needed.”
While the five-man forward unit is a relatively new concept and not many teams use it, the NHL is a copycat league. Maybe next season, teams that don’t have an offensive defenseman will put this idea into consideration.
Near the end of January of this year, general manager Kyle Davidson mentioned six prospects playing outside of the NHL/AHL that caught his eye and stood out. This list of talented young players in the Chicago Blackhawks' organization included Nick Lardis, Sacha Boisvert, Oliver Moore, Sam Rinzel, Roman Kantserov, and Ryan Greene.
Three of these players made the jump right to the NHL at the end of the season in order for the Blackhawks to see what they can do. Davidson had said, That's where we are building this thing and they are showing up. Their play and development are showing us we're on the right track."
Moore and Rinzel played nine games to end the season with the Blackhawks while Greene joined later and played two. Lardis is in his fourth and final year in the OHL, Kantserov is still in the KHL, and Boisvert is switching schools and is remaining in the NCAA for at least another season.
I think Rinzel has the best shot at not playing an AHL game in his career as he fits right in on the top pairing in the NHL. Moore might spend a little time at the start of the season in the minors like Frank Nazar did and then force the hand of the Blackhawks, but Greene will benefit from a full season in the AHL. Lardis can score as he put up 71 goals in 65 games, but the room might not be available on Chicago just yet.
If the Blackhawks can bring Kantserov over in a couple of years, that would be ideal. Allow him to play the minutes against top KHL talent to see him grow before entering right into the NHL. As for Boisvert, he is tracking well and will make a stop in the AHL before becoming a full-time NHLer.
There is great reason to be excited and next season will bring more talent to watch for in the Blackhawks' organization.
Brock Boeser has been quoted saying "it's unlikely at this point" that he will be returning to the Vancouver Canucks next season, and the free-agent market for the 28-year-old will be large and competitive.
Boeser recorded 25 goals and 50 points this season in 75 games, following a 2023-24 season where he set a career-high of 40 goals and 73 points. The former 2015 first-round pick is one of the more efficient scorers in the NHL, owning a 17.2 shooting percentage this season – the 41st highest percentage in the league among players with 70 or more games played
The Maple Leafs could be entering an offseason where major change is needed if they fall short of their playoff goals. Mitch Marner and John Tavares are pending UFAs, and the team needs to re-sign pending RFA Matthew Knies. If they decide to let Marner walk in free agency or he elects to seek a new opportunity, rumours have already swirled about the possibility of the Maple Leafs using Boeser and the Jets' Nikolaj Ehlers as replacements.
Boeser is quite different in terms of play style compared to Marner. Marner is a pure playmaker, looking to pass as his first option, while Boeser is known as a shooter. The styles might be different, but the skill the Maple Leafs currently have should allow everyone to gel quite quickly.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild are an obvious choice for the Burnsville, Minn. native. They’ll have over $20 million in cap space this off-season and will be looking to add another scoring winger to complement the likes of Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marco Rossi.
With prospects such as Liam Ohgren, Danila Yurov, Zeev Buium, David Jiricek and Jesper Wallstedt all expected to be key contributors sometime soon, Boeser would fit nicely in the Wild's lineup.
When Boeser is at his best, he’s one of the league's most efficient scorers. Pairing him with a playmaker who generates chances at an extremely high rate, as Kaprizov does, it’s not far-fetched to envision Boeser possibly recording multiple 40-goal seasons.
Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings have been attempting to put the final touches on their rebuild for quite some time. In the Atlantic Division, they’ve been compared to the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres. Missing the playoffs this season and watching the Senators and Canadiens make it has upset some of the players.
"It was hard that we didn't do anything, and I felt the group kinda — we didn't gain any momentum from the trade deadline, and guys were kinda down about it," said captain Dylan Larkin during the team's exit interviews. "So it'd be nice to add something and bring a little bit of a spark on the ice and maybe a morale boost as well."
Although adding Boeser to the fold wouldn’t solve every problem they have or instantly make them into a playoff team, it would be a good start. They’ll also need to sure up their goaltending and continue to integrate more of their top-end prospects to compete with the other wild-card teams.
Carolina Hurricanes
GM Eric Tulsky showed the NHL world that he’s not afraid to make a big move after he traded for and then traded away Mikko Rantanen. Moving Rantanen and Martin Necas has opened up a lot of cap space for the Hurricanes, and it’s expected that they’ll be pursuing many of the top free agents this summer.
The Hurricanes will likely prioritize a second-line center before looking for additional help on the wing, but if they do, Boeser could be a great fit.
Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks are in a different position than the other four teams mentioned. They are at the peak of their rebuild, beginning to incorporate many of the players they hope to be key contributors in the future.
Making the playoffs seems quite unlikely for Chicago, but they'll be hoping to be in the race by the time the post-season rolls around in 2026. Pairing Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar and possibly a top-two pick with a proven scorer such as Boeser would help them accomplish that, similar to what Tyler Toffoli did for Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, William Eklund and the San Jose Sharks.
The Florida Panthers have assigned forward Jesse Puljujarvi to the Charlotte Checkers, it was announced Friday.
Puljujarvi, who joined the Panthers organization midway through the season, has seen time in both the NHL and AHL this year. In 31 NHL games with the Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins, he scored four goals and added six assists for 10 points. Across 26 AHL games with Charlotte and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he put up six goals and 16 points.
Drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft, Puljujarvi has played in a total of 387 career NHL regular season games with the Panthers, Penguins, Oilers and the Carolina Hurricanes. In that span, he has collected 58 goals and 70 assists for 128 points.
With Puljujarvi being assigned to the AHL, he will have an opportunity to play a big role for the Checkers as they look to make a run to the Calder Cup. Still a capable depth player on an NHL roster, Puljujarvi has not been able to secure a full-time role over the last couple of seasons but could see another team take a swing at him during the offseason.
