While the Philadelphia Flyers may need to make an upgrade on defense this summer and find a power play quarterback while doing it, there are certain traps they must avoid to ensure a clean operation.
One of those traps happens to be a former No. 2 overall pick who is a pending restricted free agent seeking a big payday on his next contract.
In recent weeks and months, it has been reported multiple times that top New Jersey Devils prospect Simon Nemec is looking for a deal comparable to that of Luke Hughes, who inked a seven-year, $63 million contract that comes with a $9 million annual cap hit.
The problem, though, is that Hughes had recorded 40 or more points in each of his first two NHL seasons, and might have done it again this year had he not missed 14 games due to injuries.
Nemec, 22, shows flashes at times, but just played his first full-ish NHL season and scored 11 goals and 26 points in 68 games - a slight improvement on a 19-point campaign in 2023-24.
On paper, the Flyers adding Nemec makes some sense, since they need a power play shot-caller and some young talent.
It would have made more sense, though, if they hadn't already traded Bobby Brink for David Jiricek at the NHL trade deadline two months ago and then follow that up with having Oliver Bonk make his playoff debut against the Carolina Hurricanes to end the season.
Simon Nemec does a lot of things well, and a lot of things very poorly. (Hockeystats.com)
Between Jamie Drysdale, Bonk, Jiricek, Spencer Gill, Carter Amico, and Rasmus Ristolainen, for as long as he remains in Philadelphia, the Flyers have no reason to make such a risky play for an RFA, be it through trade or through offer sheet.
The Flyers have taken their fair share of licks over the last two seasons over Matvei Michkov's playing time and usage, and Nemec has been a similar story in Newark with the Devils.
Couple that with constant rumors of trade requests, a gaudy contract demand, and a level of play that doesn't currently warrant that contract, and the Flyers could easily get themselves in trouble.
Nemec does a lot of things well, to be clear. He has a good feel for the ice and where his teammates are, improved significantly at using his legs to kill plays on the rush, and is quietly a wizard at exiting his own zone and entering the opposing end with his skating.
He does, however, struggle to play with urgency, win pucks, and break pucks out cleanly from his own end.
After a successful season that ended with a two-round playoff run, do the Flyers have the patience to take on another project in addition to Drysdale, who is now finally coming into his own after three years, and Jiricek?
This is a move that would have made plenty of sense before the Flyers pried Jiricek out of Minnesota, but it now carries too much risk and baggage that could very well outweigh even the median outcome of Nemec's development.
The Ottawa Senators can scratch one name off their Belleville Senators’ coaching candidate list.
On Friday morning, the New York Islanders announced that Jay McKee had agreed to a contract to become the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Hammers. McKee spent the last nine seasons coaching in the Ontario Hockey League with the Kitchener Rangers and the Hamilton/Brantford Bulldogs.
McKee’s powerhouse Brantford Bulldogs squad were upset in the OHL semifinals after taking a commanding 3-1 series lead against the Barrie Colts. With several of the organization’s best players expected to graduate, and having spent so much draft capital on talent pursuing a Memorial Cup opportunity, the organization appears poised to endure a downturn in its development cycle.
Recognizing that, it made sense for McKee to explore and pursue other opportunities.
Given his connections and ties to Michael Andlauer and Steve Staios, the prevailing belief was that it was only a matter of time before McKee would join the Ottawa Senators’ organization in some kind of coaching capacity.
Having fired David Bell midseason as the head coach in Belleville and replacing him with Andrew Campbell, who has held the interim head coach tag, there appeared to be a potential vacancy in the organization for McKee to slide into.
McKee, of course, was the head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs in Staios’ last year as the organization’s general manager and president. Together, the duo presided over the 2021-22 OHL championship team, while Michael Andlauer continued to own the Bulldogs until he sold the franchise in January of last year.
That combination of familiarity and success made McKee feel like a natural candidate for the job in Belleville, but that obviously will not happen now.
Organizations insist on strong communication and relationships between the parent team and their affiliate, but would the presence of McKee, who has strong ties to the Senators’ general manager and owner, have been viewed as an existential threat to head coach Travis Green’s job?
There is absolutely no question that McKee would have been perceived as an eventual successor, but few coaches in the NHL have more job security than Green after the Senators’ 2025-26 season.
His team climbed a mountain to defy the odds and overcome the worst statistical goaltending in the league during the first half of the season. Thanks to what was one of the best five-on-five teams in the league analytically, and the play of a resurgent Linus Ullmark, the Senators clinched a second consecutive postseason berth.
Green deserves all the credit for the structure and system the Senators played to keep the team competitive during their goaltenders’ struggles, key injuries to the blue line, and several distractions throughout the season.
Although a loyalty to Nolan Baumgartner may have impacted Green’s reluctance to take away the penalty kill duties from him, that decision was ultimately made and paid dividends down the stretch.
It was a season that merited Jack Adams Trophy consideration.
With a recently hired Pete DeBoer in New York, there is no clear path for McKee to get an NHL head-coaching opportunity there, but he can continue to hone his craft and develop as a viable candidate for the future.
It feels fair to assume the Senators likely reached out to McKee to gauge interest in the Belleville position, but now they will have to pivot to an alternative. I reached out to the Senators organization for comments on the interim tag status of Andrew Campbell and their search for a prospective head coach, but at the time this article was posted, the organization had not responded.
This week on The Hockey Show, one of the main topics of discussion was that very question.
Between the controversial signing of Carter Hart and not permitting former coach Bruce Cassidy to talk with other teams, they’re not exactly making PR-friendly moves.
Not that it’s mattered in terms of wins, as the Golden Knights are on their way to the Stanley Cup Final following their shocking four-game sweep of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche.
Who they’ll face has yet to be determined, but as of Friday afternoon it looked like the Carolina Hurricanes were on their way to eliminating the Montreal Canadiens.
Three straight dominant defensive victories will do that.
Joining THS co-hosts Roy Bellamy and David Dwork this week to discuss all that and more was Sara Civian of The Civ Report and the Too Many Men podcast.
Also this week, THS producer Rose Arias sat the boys down to go over episodes four and five of Off Campus, the new hockey romance show on Amazon Prime.
The latest wins and fails of the week included a haymaker-filled tilt at the Memorial Cup, a spear to the cup that wasn’t called correctly, Montreal’s fans turning against them and a Miami Heat player being spotted at a Golden Knights game in Vegas.
You can check out the full show and interview in the videos below:
The Carolina Hurricanes have finally broken through their Eastern Conference Final roadblock. Now comes the chance to play for the Stanley Cup for the first time in two decades.
Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven and Eric Robinson scored in a dominating first period that helped push the Hurricanes past the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 on Friday night, closing a five-game series that sent the Eastern Conference’s top seed on to face Vegas for the Cup.
Jackson Blake and Shayne Gostisbehere added second-period goals that pushed the Hurricanes to a 5-0 lead entering the final period, while Seth Jarvis scoring into an empty net with 3:41 left. Frederik Andersen carried a shutout until midway through the third in net.
Carolina swept through the first two rounds of the playoffs, then regrouped from a Game 1 loss to the Canadiens after an extended between-rounds break to win four straight. That included a run of 10 straight goals going back to Andrei Svechnikov’s overtime winner in Game 3 before Montreal finally got on the board with Cole Caufield’s power-play score at 10:50 of the third.
That made the Hurricanes the first team to reach the Stanley Cup Final with only one loss since 1983, according to SportRadar, and the only team to do so since the league went to best-of-seven series in all four postseason rounds in 1987.
It was a long-awaited moment for the franchise, which is on an eight-year run of postseason appearances under Rod Brind’Amour. The Hurricanes have been a perennial contender in the East, yet they entered this series having gone 1-12 in the Eastern Conference Final under Brind’Amour — falling in sweeps to Boston in 2019 and Florida in 2023 before losing in five games to the Panthers in last year’s rematch.
But they were tested, and wounded, from those past postseason failures. Throw in their depth and talent, and the Hurricanes were finally ready to punch through for their third shot at the Cup since the former Hartford Whalers relocated to North Carolina before the 1997-98 season.
The last time the Hurricanes reached this point? Brind’Amour was the captain on a team that hoisted the Cup in a seven-game series against Edmonton in 2006.
After regrouping from a 6-2 loss in Game 1, the Hurricanes took control of the series from the young and skilled Canadiens — who had arrived at this round ahead of schedule after Game 7 road wins against Tampa Bay and Buffalo through the first two rounds. They won consecutive 3-2 overtime wins, then took Game 4 in a 4-0 road romp Wednesday.
Beyond the score, Carolina was getting to its smothering game in pressuring the Canadiens in their own end or shutting off most high-danger chances they could muster going the other way.
By midway through the second period, festive and rowdy Hurricanes fans were offering mocking “Olé! Olé! Olé! Olé!” chants with Carolina up 4-0. By the final two minutes, they were chanting “We want the Cup! We want the Cup!” as the Hurricanes closed this one out.
In a recent article for Bleacher Report, Lyle Richardson looked at five NHL players who have the potential to be bought out this off-season. Among the players who Richardson discussed was Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves.
"The Penguins have $37.9 million in salary-cap space for next season. Buying out Graves would only save them $1.2 million annually for the next two seasons, dropping to $944,444 in the third year. However, they could do it if they cannot find a club willing to take him off their hands," Richardson wrote.
When noting that Graves has had trouble finding his fit since joining the Penguins, it would not be particularly surprising if the Metropolitan Division club bought him out this off-season. This is especially so when noting that the 6-foot-5 defenseman even spent time in the AHL this season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
If the Penguins do not view Graves as a bounce-back candidate heading into the off-season, they could end up buying out the 2013 fourth-round pick. Trading him would be very difficult, as he has a $4.5 million cap hit until the end of the 2028-29 season. That is an expensive cap hit and a good amount of term for a player who struggled to stay in the NHL this season.
Nevertheless, it is going to be interesting to see what happens with Graves this off-season. With the Penguins having plenty of cap space, the possibility of them giving him another chance next season should not be ruled out. However, it would also be understandable if they moved on from the veteran blueliner.
In 22 games this season with Pittsburgh, Graves scored one goal and had a minus-3 rating. In 15 AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he posted three goals and 10 points.
There is likely not another defenseman in this draft as NHL-ready as Alberts Smits is, and it’s why he would be such a perfect fit for the Florida Panthers.
While the Panthers’ defense core has few to no weaknesses, they can afford to add another young, two-way defender. It’s unlikely that Smits would feature in the Panthers’ lineup during the 2026-27 season, but he could play in the AHL with the Charlotte Checkers, and nothing is impossible.
Their current defense core heading into next season features Gustav Forsling (29), Aaron Ekblad (30), Seth Jones (31), Niko Mikkola (30), Dmitry Kulikov (35), and Uvis Balinskis (29). They desperately need youth, and Smits can provide that.
But outside of being near NHL-ready, Smits has a high ceiling. Standing 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, Smits sports a frame that is ready for the NHL, and he has no fear in using it. Smits is strong when protecting the front of the net, uses it to avoid forecheckers, and separates players from the puck around the boards.
Smits also has the skating and speed to make his large frame effective. Smits routinely uses his skating to avoid forecheckers and start transition offense. Whether that’s by carrying the puck up by himself, or moving it to teammates before continuing up the ice, if there were a thing to nitpick on, it would be his decision-making once he enters the offensive zone.
A bit too often, Smits defers to playing the puck into the corner and making a safe play, rather than trying to create offense. When his team is cycling the puck, the Latvian defender can jump into the play and is often the main puck possessor.
Finally, Smits has had no issues quarterbacking a power play unit. He’s done so at the World Juniors Championships, did a bit at the Olympics, and has recently done so at the World Championships. At the world juniors, Smits posted one goal and five points in four games; at the Olympics, he posted two assists in four games; and at the World Championships, he posted four assists in eight games.
Smits has also shown plenty of versatility. He started the season in Liiga, Finland’s top professional league, where he scored six goals and totaled 13 points for Jukurit. He was then loaned to EHC München in the DEL, where he scored two goals and six points in 11 playoff games.
Smits would be a perfect fit for the Panthers, but there remains a high likelihood that he will be selected before then. Scouts and draft analysts are pretty split on how to rank the defensemen in this draft class, as some have Smits in the top five and others outside the top 10.
One thing is certain: Smits would fit the Panthers' play style and culture to a tee.
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One of the Philadelphia Flyers' top objectives this off-season should be to add to their blueline. They could use an offensive defenseman, in particular.
Due to this, in a recent article for Bleacher Report, Adam Gretz urged the Flyers to make a bold move and sign veteran defenseman John Carlson if he ends up not re-signing with the Anaheim Ducks this summer.
"If the Flyers want to build on that step and take another one this upcoming season, they will have to fix some major weaknesses. The most glaring of those weaknesses is the power play," Gretz wrote. "Carlson might be older and closer to the end of his career than the prime of it, but he showed this past season with both the Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks that he can still work the man-advantage and provide offense."
The idea of the Flyers signing Carlson is certainly an intriguing one. He played for one of the Flyers' biggest rivals, the Capitals, for 17 seasons before being dealt to the Ducks at the deadline. With this alone, it would be interesting to see him to join the Flyers.
However, with the Flyers needing more offense from the point and help on the right side of their blueline, bringing in Carlson on a short-term deal could be worth considering. He would have the potential to fit nicely in their top four if successfully signed.
In 71 games this season split between the Capitals and the Ducks, Carlson had 14 goals, 46 assists, 60 points, and a plus-9 rating. With numbers like these, the 36-year-old defenseman would have the potential to be a nice short-term fit for the Flyers. Let's see if they end up targeting him from here.
The Ottawa Senators’ first step to bolster their goaltending position this offseason occurred with an off-ice addition.
On Friday, the organization officially announced the hiring of Maciej Szwoch to a newly created title: the coordinator of goaltending and scouting development.
According to the Senators’ official press release, Szwoch “will work with all the goaltenders on the Senators’ roster. He will be working with goaltenders in the NHL and AHL, as well as younger prospects. He will also be involved with drafting and scouting.”
Szwoch has previous NHL experience, having worked for seven years as a European goaltending consultant for the Detroit Red Wings from 2015 through 2022. Throughout his career, he has predominantly worked as a goaltending coach in the SHL for MODO and Färjestad BK.
Szwoch spent the second half of the season around the Senators, having joined the organization unofficially as a consultant. His presence was a product of Linus Ullmark’s leave of absence to address his mental health. To help their number one goaltender, one of the first things the organization did was bring in his close friend, former goaltending coach, and mentor, Szwoch.
The turnaround in Ullmark’s performance was immediate.
Through the first three months of the season, the Ottawa Senators had the worst team save percentage (87.19 Sv%) in the league, according to Natural Stat Trick. In terms of goals saved above expected (GSAx), both Linus Ullmark and backup goaltender Leevi Merilainen had two of the three worst GSAx metrics in the league at the turn of the calendar year.
In his first 28 appearances before his leave of absence, Ullmark had a -9.10 GSAx.
Despite strong underlying metrics that portrayed the Senators as one of the best defensive teams in the NHL, their goaltending had almost inescapably sunk their chance of reaching the postseason.
Following his return, Ullmark posted a 12.62 GSAx and was named the NHL’s second star of the week in April.
That marked improvement in performance helped the Senators clinch a second consecutive postseason spot, and Ullmark’s strong play carried over into the postseason.
Although the Senators were swept in four games, Ullmark posted a .932 save percentage, and his 10.05 GSAx ranked fourth among postseason totals.
This stark contrast between the formative stages of the season and Szwoch's presence in the second half added a layer of intrigue. In their end-of-season availabilities, both Travis Green and Steve Staios were mum on any changes or additions to their respective staffs.
Szwoch’s relationship with Ullmark and the drastic improvement in performance, however, raised questions about whether that relationship would continue. It is only reasonable to assume that it would not have been comfortable for goaltending coach Justin Peters to have an additional figure around who has a strong connection to the team’s number one goaltender.
With this newly appointed role, however, Peters can continue in his current role while ensuring the dynamic between Szwoch and Ullmark remains.
And, if anything else, today’s announcement essentially affirms that Ullmark will be around for the foreseeable future as well.
Szwoch's new role will also allow him to expand on a project he took on last summer.
In an episode of the ‘InGoal Radio Podcast’ featuring Szwoch, he explained that he spent the 2025 offseason conducting a study analyzing 322 goalies who were affiliated with NHL organizations between 2015 and 2025. His study evaluated draft success by comparing the cost invested in a player with the actual return measured by appearances or trade value. His data-driven study also depicted geographic and organizational trends in how NHL teams select and develop goaltenders.
The Senators have done a decent job of scouting and developing goaltenders who have gone on to play professionally in North America. Unfortunately, several of them have gone on to find success for other organizations. The hope is that by adding Szwoch’s data and expertise, it will only continue to help them make more informed decisions in the future.
From potential coaching staff changes to roster moves, the Colorado Avalanche are going to have to make some tough choices this summer as they reflect on getting swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Finals. Thankfully for them, the salary cap will be increasing by $8.5 million for 2026-27. The cap will be $104 million, while the floor will be $76.9 million.
With that nice chunk of change added, the Avalanche now has $2.979 million to work with. Not the number many expected, considering the cap increase. The main issue is that few contracts are coming off the books, which raises questions about what they plan to do this summer if they want to shake up the roster.
Now, this isn’t a “predicting the Colorado Avalanche's 2026 Offseason Moves” piece or what I think they should do; I am working on that, but I’m still working out some signings and trades to look over. This is more of a thought I want to put in people’s heads about what people on social media and insiders think will happen to this roster.
The Avalanche are set to have five unrestricted free agents come July 1st: Joel Kiviranta, Brent Burns, Brett Kulak, Jack Ahcan, and Nick Blankenburg. They have two restricted free agents in Jack Drury and Zakhar Bardakov.
Every single player who was brought up about why the Avalanche lost to the Knights is under contract. Nazem Kadri still has three seasons left at his new $5.6 million cap hit that the Flames retained. Martin Necas' new eight-year $92 million contract kicks in. Sam Malinski’s new four-year $19 million contract also kicks in.
Outside of players' contracts running out, the only other cap relief they are receiving is Josh Manson’s cap hit going from $4.5 million to $3.95 million with his new two-year $7.9 million contract extension. The money looks better each season, following as the cap will go up, but if you look past this summer, you see why.
This season, Artturi Lehkonen, Ross Colton, Nicolas Roy, and Cale Makar are in the last year of their contract. Now, Makar is the least worrisome, and many insiders have speculated that the team's focus is on getting an extension done this summer. Still, if you want to retool this team and pick and choose where management thinks they can get better, trades will need to come with their cap situation.
The 2026 NHL Entry Draft is scheduled for June 26 and 27, with the Avalanche focusing mainly on Day 2, as they have no draft picks until the fourth round. So the Avalanche will have some time to scout some later-round players before they decide where to make some space for the roster this free agency.
There’s a nostalgic feeling to how the Vancouver Canucks’ new management team is starting to shake out. With Ryan Johnson as the Canucks’ new General Manager, Daniel and Henrik Sedin now co-Presidents of Hockey Operations, Alex Edler reportedly helping out with Vancouver’s development camp, and Manny Malhotra being eyed as the franchise’s next head coach, it appears the Canucks are taking a sentimental route when it comes to forming the leadership behind their next era.
With culture and environment being a priority heading into Vancouver’s first stage of their rebuild, it looks as though the Canucks will be drawing heavily from the experiences faced by those late 2000s to early 2010s teams that took Vancouver to the Stanley Cup Final.
These four players are very unlikely to re-join the Canucks organization at this stage in their careers. However, if they did, they would fit seamlessly with the team’s nostalgic trajectory.
Kevin Bieksa
You knew this one was coming.
While the likelihood of Bieksa leaving his position as a Sportsnet analyst feels highly unlikely at this stage, the Canucks bringing the grizzled defenceman back would make a lot of fans happy. Bieksa evidently still has strong feelings towards the organization that he retired with after signing a one-day contract with them, and paired with the way he speaks of culture in the dressing room, he’d be a great addition to the new-but-familiar look of the Canucks organization.
Alex Burrows
He’s in the Ring of Honour for a reason.
A hard-worker who fought his way up to the NHL, right into a spot on the Sedins’ line, Burrows would be a great coaching hire for the Canucks — regardless of whether he’s an assistant, head coach, or even in Abbotsford. The ex-Canuck currently operates as a player development consultant for the Montréal Canadiens, even getting a shout-out from head coach Martin St. Louis at the beginning of his team’s Eastern Conference Final series.
While Burrows would be a great candidate on paper for the Canucks, there’s a reason why he left his role as assistant coach for the Canadiens — wanting to spend more time with his family. Coming back to Vancouver would only make that more difficult.
Jeff Tambellini
Tambellini was reported to have been part of the Canucks’ GM search at the end of April, though evidently, the former Canuck was not the organization’s final selection.
The Tampa Bay Lightning’s Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations has spent nearly six seasons in an NHL front-office, as he also put in three years as the Seattle Kraken’s Director of Player Development.
With the Sedins’ promotion causing a noticeable vacancy in the player development space, a former Canuck like Tambellini would be an interesting hire for Vancouver.
Roberto Luongo
The Florida Panthers’ Special Assistant To The General Manager would be an interesting name to add to Vancouver’s organization, especially given that he has now won two Stanley Cups with his current team in his advisor role. A former player whose place in the Canucks’ Ring of Honour has sparked debate, specifically about jersey retirement in this context, Luongo’s name was thrown around during Vancouver’s GM search — though there were no specific reports connecting him to the role.
There’s no secret that a Luongo hire would be fun, but that would require the ex-Canucks goaltender to either move his family back to Vancouver, or return on his own.
Feb 12, 2020; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Former NHL player Kevin Bieksa speaks during the Sedin's retirement ceremony for twin brothers Daniel Sedin (22) and Henrik Sedin (33) of Sweden as their Vancouver Canucks jerseys are retired to the rafters of Rogers Arena prior to a game between the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
Realistically, these four hires are extremely unlikely — but they’re still fun to think about.
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The Carolina Hurricanes can advance to the Stanley Cup Final with a victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference finals. The Hurricanes lead the series 3-1. Carolina is favored in Game 5 with a -244 moneyline compared to the Canadiens' +199.
How to watch Montreal Canadiens vs. Carolina Hurricanes
If the St. Louis Blues are looking to maximize skill at pick No. 11, look no further than forward Wyatt Cullen.
Cullen is a dynamic offensive forward who is one of the most interesting players in the 2026 NHL draft class.
Cullen is the son of former NHL player Matt Cullen, and while that alone is interesting, the most intriguing element of his game is his recent growth spurt. In the past year or two, Cullen has grown several inches, and although wherever you read might post a different height, the upcoming NHL combine will soon confirm his height.
At the moment, Cullen is listed between six feet and 6-foot-2.
But outside of the shocking growth spurt, Cullen is an outstanding playmaker.
Playing with the USNDTP this season, Cullen posted 16 goals and 45 points in 40 games, and in USHL action with NTDP, Cullen posted six goals and 16 points in 15 games. At the U-18s with Team USA, Cullen posted three goals and a team-leading nine points in five games. His nine points ranked third in the tournament, as two players tied with 12 points.
Cullen’s game revolves around his skating. He is fast and agile, using his edge work to create space and protect the puck. He is a dynamic playmaker, always looking to make passes into high-danger areas.
Cullen’s skating is matched by his deceptive hands, which make him a threat in transition. Blending the ability to create offense in transition and on the cycle can make Cullen a very effective NHL player. While both elements need polishing, it’s not uncommon for a player as young as Cullen.
In fact, Cullen is one of the youngest players in the draft and narrowly made the cutoff, as he was born on Sept. 8, 2008, missing it by seven days.
The final part of Cullen’s game is that a scout believes he might be best deployed as a center. According to the Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis, he spoke to a scout who said, “(I was) talking to scouts that actually thought he was a center based off of how proficient he is in his own zone, how much time he spends there stealing the puck off guys to then just find out he’s actually a winger surprised a few people. That’s how good a game he has.”
The Blues are in desperate need of a highly skilled and possibly game-breaking forward. Cullen comes with less certainty than wingers like Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg, but with three first-round selections, the Blues can take a gamble on Cullen’s upside.
Cullen is set to join the University of Minnesota in the NCAA for the 2027-28 season.
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It's been over two weeks since the Toronto Maple Leafs decided to part ways with head coach Craig Berube. It marks the third instance in which the coach of the Maple Leafs has been fired in the Auston Matthews era.
As Toronto's GM John Chayka and senior executive advisor Mats Sundin search for a new bench boss for the Leafs, it's a good time to reflect on the recent history of coaches with the franchise.
Beginning with Berube, here are the last three coaches of the Maple Leafs, how they fared in their stint with the team, and an overall recap of their tenure in Toronto.
Craig Berube (Hired May 2024, Fired May 2026)
Berube was the coach who took the Maple Leafs the furthest of the team's last three coaches. He was in Toronto for two full seasons, leading the Leafs to Game 7 of the second-round series against the Florida Panthers in his first year.
There was a real possibility for the Maple Leafs to build on that progress, as it was the furthest the team had gone in the Stanley Cup playoffs since Toronto advanced to the conference final in 2001-02.
Though 2024-25 was promising, everything changed in 2025-26. Superstar Mitch Marner was no longer on the team, and the GM at the time, Brad Treliving, tried to make up for his absence by bringing in forwards Nicolas Roy, Dakota Joshua, and Matias Maccelli.
Disaster struck early for Berube and the Leafs. They lost five of their first eight outings of the campaign, and went through a five-game losing streak in early November. Toronto had a hill to climb early in the year and was truly never able to grab hold of the season from that point.
Whatever went right for Berube in his first year did not translate to last year. He didn't get the same goaltending to bail out the defense, blueliners couldn't break out of their own zone cleanly, and they were getting outshot on a nightly basis.
In the end, Berube's heavy, direct and simple approach to the game didn't rub off the right way on the Maple Leafs, specifically in his second season.
Sheldon Keefe (Hired November 2019, Fired May 2024)
Sheldon Keefe's Maple Leafs struggled to win a series or be successful in the post-season. But in hindsight, he was the coach who best suited the team's style of play. After all, despite just one series win in five years with the Maple Leafs, he never missed the playoffs.
Under Keefe, Matthews won a Hart Trophy, a Ted Lindsay Award, and three Rocket Richard Trophies. Marner had three 90-plus-point seasons, was a Selke Trophy finalist, and was one of the best playmakers in hockey. William Nylander molded himself into the superstar that he's known as today, recording a career-high 98 points in 2023-24 and earning his eight-year, $92-million contract.
Again, what's most important in playoff success, but it's fair to say that the big names on the team were performing at their best when Keefe was around.
The furthest Keefe was able to take the Maple Leafs was to the second round of the post-season in 2022-23, losing to the Panthers in a five-game series.
He was also at the hands of some inexcusable first-round exits. That includes the 2019-20 qualifying round against the Columbus Blue Jackets, blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Montreal Canadiens the following year, and being unable to get past the Boston Bruins in his final year with the Leafs.
Ultimately, the partnership between Keefe and Toronto ended after the 2023-24 campaign, and that decision was made by Treliving. Keefe is now the head coach of the New Jersey Devils, preparing for his third season with them.
Mike Babcock (Hired May 2015, Fired November 2019)
Mike Babcock is certainly a polarizing figure in the hockey community. Several stories about his coaching philosophies and the way he interacted with his players over the years.
Aside from the trio of Matthews, Marner and Nylander, players such as Zach Hyman, Kasperi Kapanen, Connor Brown and Rielly were all at critical moments in their careers. And for the most part, all of them are still effective roster players in the NHL.
Despite Babcock being assigned a more growth role in the franchise, he still led the young Maple Leafs to the playoffs twice before Keefe was promoted from the Toronto Marlies to replace him in November 2019.
Today, Babcock doesn't coach in the NHL. His last opportunity to coach in the league was when the Blue Jackets hired him in July 2023. However, he was fired in September, before the 2023-24 regular season even began, because of crossing personal boundaries with his players.
And not long after Berube's firing, TSN's Darren Dreger reached out to Babcock to gauge what his interest was in returning to the NHL as a head coach. He replied, "Dregs, I’m retired. Loving it."
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A promising draft pick once viewed as a potential late-first-round steal for the Colorado Avalanche is now officially set to remain in Russia for the foreseeable future after Mikhail Gulyayev committed to a new deal with Avangard Omsk.
Gulyayev, selected 31st overall by the Avalanche in the 2023 NHL Draft via the pick acquired in the Alex Newhook trade, has signed a two-year, two-way extension in the KHL, according to league transaction records. The agreement keeps the 21-year-old defenseman in Omsk through the 2027-28 campaign, effectively pushing any possible NHL arrival with Colorado to the 2028-29 season at the earliest.
Because of how his rights are structured, the Avalanche can afford patience. The organization retains exclusive control over Gulyayev indefinitely, meaning there is no looming deadline forcing an entry-level contract decision in the near term.
A Timeline Shift That Reshapes Colorado’s Plans
When Gulyayev was drafted, there was genuine excitement about his long-term upside. He had been ranked highly across scouting lists entering the 2023 draft—23rd by Bob McKenzie of TSN and 21st overall by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic—making his availability at 31st appear like a savvy move by Colorado’s front office.
At the time, his path looked relatively straightforward: continue developing in Russia, eventually transition to North America, and compete for a role on the Avalanche blue line. Instead, his trajectory has slowed and stretched further out, now delayed by at least two more seasons following this extension.
After splitting his draft year between the KHL, the VHL, and Russia’s MHL junior league, Gulyayev has spent the last three seasons as a consistent presence with Avangard Omsk’s senior team. However, his role and production have not progressed at the pace many evaluators expected.
Development Questions And An Uncertain Ceiling
Despite still being regarded as one of Colorado’s stronger prospects—ranked No. 3 in Scott Wheeler’s most recent organizational list—there is growing skepticism about how quickly his game is translating at the professional level in Russia.
As his ice time has fluctuated, so too has his offensive output. He finished the 2024-25 season with 15 points, but that total dropped to just three in 2025-26, a step back that has not gone unnoticed by scouts tracking his development.
Wheeler noted concerns in March, writing that Gulyayev “has struggled to take that next step beyond just being a depth guy” in the KHL. That assessment has only gained weight as his usage has remained limited.
He also suggested a change of environment could help accelerate his growth, stating that Gulyayev “needs to get over to North America” to maximize his development and improve his chances of becoming an impactful NHL player. That transition, however, is now on hold for the foreseeable future.
There was never a strong indication that Gulyayev was rushing toward the NHL. He attended Colorado’s development camp last summer but chose to remain in Russia ahead of the season, unlike fellow prospect Ilya Nabokov, who signed his entry-level contract and made the trip to North America.
When asked last year by Sergey Demidov of RG.org about a possible timeline for joining the Avalanche organization, Gulyayev remained noncommittal, saying “right now I can’t say anything concrete.”
With this new extension finalized, that uncertainty has effectively been extended as well. For Colorado, the hope remains that consistent minutes in Omsk eventually help stabilize his game and unlock the upside that once made him such an intriguing first-round gamble.
Brendan Lemieux, who followed his father into the NHL, wrote on Instagram. "I love you dad. My son's favorite person is going to watch from above for a while. We will see you." He added a heart emoji.
Claudia Lemieux Bishop, Claude's daughter, posted with a broken heart emoji, "No words to express the level of devastation we feel. I love you forever daddy. Forever your only girl."
Brendan and Claude were taken in the second round of the NHL draft. Though he didn't match Claude's scoring numbers, Brendan was a gritty player, like his father.
