It’s been reported for quite some time now that the Florida Panthers and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky are at odds.
Bobrovsky seeks a high-paying contract, while the Panthers are looking for something a bit cheaper that will allow them to continue building their roster without losing key pieces. The 2025-26 season was a massive down year for the 37-year-old, and rumors circulated around the trade deadline that Bobrovsky could be available.
Nothing came to fruition, but we now know the Panthers were seriously considering it.
The Panthers weren’t willing to move on from Bobrovsky very easily, and Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky was never willing to move a first-round pick for Bobrovsky.
If this deal had gone through, the landscape of the NHL could have looked completely different.
The Hurricanes are currently in the Stanley Cup finals, duelling with the Vegas Golden Knights. The series is currently tied at two games apiece, but the Hurricanes have dealt with their fair share of goalie controversy.
To begin, Frederik Andersen has had several noted playoff mishaps and has built a bit of a reputation for his play faltering in big games and moments. While he was outstanding in the first three rounds, his play has once again declined as the pressure ramps up.
Bussi started Game 4 for the Hurricanes and guided them to a 4-3 win to tie the series.
If the Hurricanes had traded for Bobrovsky, would this controversy have still arisen? Would Bobrovsky have been the undisputed starter? Would he have found his game again behind a healthier team?
So many questions could be asked about this reported trade situation. Whether they win or lose, the Hurricanes are in the Stanley Cup final without top-notch goaltending, and Bobrovsky could have changed that.
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SAN DIEGO, CA – The Stanley Cup banners from 2012 and 2014 still hang in Crypto.com Arena, and, fairly, they always will. But at some point, a franchise has to reckon with whether those banners are a source of inspiration for nostalgic zoom-ins during the national anthem or a set of chains, and for the Los Angeles Kings, the answer in 2025-26 felt uncomfortably close to the latter.
One season ago, this team was 48-25-9, with 105 points, second in the Pacific, and a Simple Rating System score of +0.50, ranking them sixth in the league. The Simple Rating System measures average goal differential per game adjusted for strength of schedule, where 0.0 represents a league-average team. By that measure, the Kings last season were a legitimate contender still figuring out how to win in May.
This past season, they finished 35-27-20, 90 points, good for fourth in the Pacific, eighth in the West, dead last in penalty kill, and ranked 24th in that same metric at -0.32. A 15-point drop in the standings is not just a bad year; it’s a signaling one. A swing of nearly a full point in goal-differential rating, from top-ten to bottom third, is something more systemic. That is a team whose construction stopped working, and the numbers make no attempt to hide it.
Well, even with those numbers, they made the playoffs again; that’s good, right? Colorado swept them, exposing an identity and backend no longer fit in the modern NHL. The Kings stand at the exact same fork in the road they have been staring at for years, except now they have finally run out of excuses not to take it.
A Championship Built for a Different Era
To understand what is wrong with the Kings, you have to understand what was right about them. The 2012 and 2014 championship squads were built on a specific formula: elite goaltending from Jonathan Quick, deep and dominant center play anchored by Anze Kopitar, and a defensive core as physically suffocating as any in the league. That blue line did not just prevent goals; it legitimately controlled games. It wore opponents down, being the backbone of two Stanley Cups in three years, and made Los Angeles one of the most respected organizations in hockey.
The problem is that the formula stopped working league-wide, and the Kings never fully committed to replacing it.
Kopitar retired this past offseason, leaving Drew Doughty as the last remaining player from that 2014 championship roster. Kopitar finished his final season as the team's best plus/minus at +19, which is as fitting a statistical eulogy as any. With him goes one of the most critical supporting pillars of that former championship identity, and the front office has no choice now but to decide what comes next and commit to it.
The Dubois Detour
Before examining where the Kings are, it helps to understand what they spent to get here.
In the summer of 2023, the Kings made their most aggressive move of the post-championship era, trading Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, and a second-round pick to Winnipeg to acquire Pierre-Luc Dubois on an eight-year, $8.5 million AAV deal. The logic seemed obscure: find the post-Kopitar center before Kopitar was gone while developing Quinton Byfield, lock him in long-term, and build the next era of Kings hockey around two young centers with upside.
Dubois produced 16 goals and 24 points in 82 games, finished minus-9, and was moved to Washington the following summer in a one-for-one swap for Darcy Kuemper. That’s bad, akin to Milan Lucic in 2016, Andrej Sekera in 2015.
The return, improbably, looked like organizational competence for exactly one season. Kuemper posted a 31-11-7 record with a .921 save percentage and a career-best 2.02 GAA, earning a Vezina Trophy nomination alongside Connor Hellebuyck and Andrei Vasilevskiy. That performance was the primary reason the 2024-25 Kings tied a franchise record with 105 points. The Dubois detour, for a moment, looked survivable.
On June 19, 2024, the @LAKings acquired Darcy Kuemper from the Washington Capitals for Pierre-Luc Dubois. In his first season back with the #LAKings, Kuemper had a record of 31-11-7, with a .922 SV%, 2.02 GAA, and was named as a finalist for the Vezina Trophy.#GoKingsGopic.twitter.com/eB4dYafXMF
Then Kuemper got hurt in December, in a suspect collision with Mikko Rantanen in Dallas. He never recovered his form, finishing 2025-26 with a .891 save percentage and a 2.78 GAA, both below his backup's. The organizational buffer he had provided disappeared, and the structural weaknesses underneath came fully into view. The assets sent to Winnipeg never came back. Vilardi, Iafallo, and Kupari are all still playing. What the Kings extracted from that transaction was one excellent goaltending season, followed by an injury, followed by a 15-point collapse in the standings.
The League the Kings Didn't Follow
While Los Angeles was busy preserving its defensive culture, the rest of the NHL evolved past it. The modern premium is no longer on blueliners who lock down the defensive zone and move the puck safely. It is on defensemen who can do that and activate offensively, who have the skating ability and hockey sense to transition quickly and become legitimate threats in the attacking end.
Look at the two most successful franchises of the post-COVID era. Vegas built its blue line around players who combine physical play with genuine offensive instinct. Florida followed a similar blueprint with a defensive corps that can defend hard and still generate from the back end. Both teams have won Stanley Cups in the last three years, and both have been in the finals or rotated in for four straight years. Both play a brand of hockey that is big, mobile, and relentlessly transitional.
The Kings play hockey that is heavy, structured, and extremely careful–almost no risk involved from the backend. The blueline has been excellent at preventing goals and nearly useless at generating them, and in a league where the margin between the playoffs and the second round increasingly runs through transition offense and power play execution, careful does not cut it.
The Numbers That Tell the Story
The statistical profile of the 2025-26 Kings is a study in contradiction. They were one of the better defensive teams in the league in terms of raw goals against, finishing seventh at 238. That is a real accomplishment. But their offense ranked 29th in the NHL with 220 goals, their power play converted at 17.0 percent (28th), and their penalty kill operated at 74.6 percent (30th in the league).
A defensive-identity team finishing near last in penalty kill is not a philosophical outcome, but rather, a structural failure. It means the players running the penalty kill lack the skating and stick ability to sustain real pressure, which turns every infraction into an outsized crisis that a 17.0 percent power play couldn’t offset on the other end.
Adrian Kempe led full-season Kings scorers with 36 goals and 73 points, followed by Quinton Byfield at 49, Alex Laferriere at 44, and Brandt Clarke at 40. That 24-point gap between first and second describes a team with one load-bearing wall and not enough supporting structure. The most important asterisk in those numbers belongs to Artemi Panarin. Acquired from the Rangers in early February, he played only 26 games in a Kings uniform, posting 9 goals and 18 assists for 27 points. His 1.04 points-per-game pace with Los Angeles was the best on the roster, and he was the primary offensive engine in both wins against Colorado before the sweep closed out. The Kings have him signed through 2027-28 at $11 million AAV.
That matters because the forward group the Kings have assembled is as talented as any in their franchise’s salary cap era. Kempe, Panarin, Kevin Fiala, Laferrière, and the depth behind them represent a real top-six. But the problem has never been the wings; it has been everything behind them.
The Doughty Problem
The most uncomfortable conversation in Los Angeles right now involves Drew Doughty, and it has to be had.
Doughty is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, with two Stanley Cups, Norris Trophies, Olympic gold medals with Canada, and a career that ranks among the finest any defenseman has assembled in the salary cap era. None of that is in dispute, and none of it makes the current situation easier to navigate.
He is signed at approximately $11 million per year, a contract written for the version of Doughty who was annually in Norris Trophy conversations and driving possession at 5-on-5 through his skating and puck movement. That version of Doughty is no longer playing in the NHL. What remains is a player who can still defend, still reads the game at a high level, but has lost the foot speed and offensive activation that made the contract reasonable in the first place.
Drafted defenseman from the Kings organization and their relative 5on5 rates for the past three seasons. Stats via NS
The spin-o-rama at the blue line is gone. Pulling away from forecheckers and turning defense into offense in a single stride is gone. What you see now is a mouthful: an offensively capable defensive defenseman being paid like one of the best two-way defensemen in the league.
With one year remaining on that contract, Ken Holland faces a decision that is more business than sentiment, and the Kings' ability to address the offensive backend problem will remain constrained as long as that cap number is locked in.
The Clarke Signal
Brandt Clarke is 23 years old and finished this season with 40 points from the blue line. He was the only Kings defenseman generating consistent offense from the back end, and he did it while logging real minutes against real competition despite a plethora of sheltering for most of his young career. A top-10 overall pick, Clarke has moved past that deployment phase. He is showing exactly what the Kings hoped when they drafted him: a puck-moving, skating defenseman with the offensive instinct the rest of the blue line fundamentally lacks.
Despite some promising signs being elevated to the first powerplay unit, the Kings have spent two seasons asking Clarke to be patient in a system not built for him. The next step is building the system around him instead. That means accepting what Doughty is now rather than what he was, committing to Clarke as the number-one defenseman, and finding partners who complement his game rather than pull the group back toward the past.
Side by side comparison of the old era vs the new. Brandt Clarke carries more risk to his game, but the offensive numbers don't lie.
The same logic extends to Byfield. His 49-point season is acceptable for a player still developing into his role, but he should be the unquestioned first-line center and offensive engine going forward. The Kings have two legitimate building blocks in Clarke and Byfield. The question is whether the organizational culture is actually ready to hand them the keys, or whether it will keep hedging toward the veteran identity that has produced five consecutive first-round exits.
Laviolette and What It Means
The Laviolette hire is not a minor adjustment. His 846 career wins rank seventh all-time. His teams have reached the postseason in 11 of the 14 seasons he has finished behind a bench, and he is a Stanley Cup winner with Carolina in 2006. He took Philadelphia to the Final in 2010 and Nashville in 2017. He is comfortable with young rosters, comfortable with veteran leadership, and comfortable with an uptempo style that is, by design, incompatible with the defensive rigidity the Kings have been running for the better part of a decade.
The Kings did not hire Laviolette to maintain what they have. They hired him because what they had stopped working, and because his coaching profile signals a genuine willingness to play differently. The Panarin acquisition points in the same direction, as the star Russian forward had his best statistical seasons under Laviolette in New York. This is a front office that believes it is close and is making moves to prove it, and for the first time in a while, the forward group being handed to a new coach is actually equipped to play a different style.
Whether that belief is fully warranted is a legitimate debate. A team that dropped 15 points in the standings and was swept in four games is not a minor adjustment away from anything. They have a center issue and a defensive core issue that both need to be addressed. The organizational optimism reads partly as ambition and partly as a refusal to acknowledge how much ground was lost in a single season, and how much the Dubois misadventure cost in assets that would have made rebuilding the blue line easier.
The Choice
The Kings are not fixing everything in one offseason. But they are standing at a genuine inflection point, the kind that defines franchises for the next decade. The old identity, built on defensive suffocation and institutional caution, has run its course. Kopitar is gone, and the championship blue line is a dusty afterthought. What is left is Doughty in the final year of a contract that outlasted the player it was written for, and behind him, Byfield, Clarke, Panarin, and a wing group as talented as any in the Western Conference waiting on an organization to actually commit to them.
The losses of Vladislav Gavrikov and Jordan Spence exposed just how thin and homogeneous this blue line became. Five nearly identical defensemen who play the same way and produce the same absence of offense cannot be papered over with a coaching hire. The reconstruction has to be real, with mobility and offensive activation as the criteria rather than defensive familiarity.
Laviolette is the right hire with Clarke being the right bet. Panarin is signed and ready to work with Byfield. The work now is making sure the culture actually changes and not just the name on the office door.
The Montreal Canadiens’ first-round pick at the 2023 draft, David Reinbacher, has not been lucky with injuries so far in his young career, but he still believes that he can be the right-shot defenseman the Habs need, according to TVA Sports’ Anthony Martineau.
The journalist who covers the Canadiens’ daily activities reported that he made some calls recently about the young blueliner and that the ball will very much be in his court come training camp. Martineau explains that when the puck drops in Brossard in September, the Austrian blueliner will no longer be earmarked as a player who needs some more time with the Laval Rocket and that it will be up to him to grab a roster spot with the big club.
Martineau also reports that the organization really liked what it saw from the 21-year-old this season, both in the NHL and the AHL, and is very aware of how rare, good right-shot blueliners are in the league. From that, he believes the rearguard is unlikely to move this summer.
Reinbacher is perfectly healthy right now and spending some time in Switzerland, where he has already begun training for next season. The youngster will head back to Montreal toward the end of July in readiness for the next campaign.
While there’s no denying that good right-shot blueliners are few and far between in the league, what the Canadiens need is a good right-shot blueliner who can step right in a top-four role. The question then becomes, is Reinbacher the kind of player who could do that? When he was drafted, the team believed that he could, and, from what Martineau reports, it still does.
In 57 games with the Rocket this season, Reinbacher put up 24 points and played a big role in a fantastic pairing with Adam Engstrom. However, he was once again bothered by injuries, beginning with a broken metacarpal bone in his hand sustained in a preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in September and ending with his missing the do-or-die Game 5 against the Toronto Marlies, which the Rocket lost, crashing out of the playoffs. In his first two NHL games, the youngster grabbed an assist and took three shots on goal, averaging 13:09 on the ice.
Keeping Reinbacher would make sense for the Canadiens, not just because of how rare his profile is, but also because his value has declined since the 2023 draft, and Kent Hughes is not the kind of GM who likes to sell low; he prefers to maximize asset value. I don’t think Reinbacher should be seen as an untouchable, though. If the Canadiens need to include him in a deal to get a right-shot defenseman who could step right into a top-four role, I don’t think they would hesitate.
When the Senators selected Carter Yakemchuk seventh overall at the 2024 NHL Draft, most people thought he'd eventually need a pinch of seasoning in the AHL before cracking the NHL lineup. Then the young defenseman suddenly changed some minds after almost making Ottawa's roster that fall, and leading the entire team in preseason scoring with 7 points in 4 games.
When the Senators sent him home for his fourth and final year with the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen, people expected him to tear it up, as most top draft picks do. But that didn't happen at all. While working on the defensive side of his game, Yakemchuk's offensive stats plummeted.
The Senators said they weren't concerned, but it was hard for fans not to be. His offensive stats for a big man (30 goals, 71 points, and 120 PIM) are probably the biggest reason why he was drafted so high in 2024.
Last fall, for the second year in a row, he was Ottawa's final cut at training camp. and reported for duty in Belleville.
So how did his first professional season go? Well, there's always some bias when asking the player or the organization about it, but here are some of the views.
“I thought it was definitely a big learning year for myself, but I thought overall improved throughout the year, so I was pretty happy with it,” Yakemchuk told broadcaster David Foote in an interview posted last month on the B-Sens YouTube channel.
One of the biggest moments of his season came when he earned his first NHL recall and got the opportunity to make his NHL debut with Ottawa, putting up a goal and an assist in a huge win in Detroit.
“I think I’d go with that for sure,” Yakemchuk said. “It was awesome. I mean to have my family there, and (for them) to be able to watch that game was awesome. Because obviously, without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today. So just to share that moment with them, it was awesome.”
Yakemchuk only played four games before suffering a concussion on a bad hit from former Senator Noah Gregor. But when the Sens had more injuries, he returned to make his playoff debut and had two assists.
So, make it 4 points in 5 career NHL games so far. Maybe he's one of those players who are better at the higher levels than the lower ones?
Senators' head amateur scout Don Boyd guested on TSN 1200 radio this week and was asked what he thought about Yakemchuk's first pro season.
"Well, he's been able to show the offensive capabilities that he has, and we believed he had," Boyd said. "We've been fortunate enough to be able to have him play and get experience and marinate in Belleville, and that bodes well for a lot of (players)."
"We like what we see, we like the progression, the improvement, and the work ethic that he's shown us to get where we think, or I do anyway, that he's close to being a full-time player."
Hearing his qualifier of "Or I do, anyway" left the immediate impression that maybe not everyone on the Sens staff agrees that Yakemchuk's arrival time is close. But it's also very possible that Boyd just didn't want to speak for everyone or put words in their mouth.
Boyd has good reason for his optimism. Yakemchuk's ability to step up in limited, yet crucial NHL moments this season was a highly encouraging sign.
Whatever the future may hold for Yakemchuk, the Senators are trying to go by their "Best in Class" manual. They aren't focused on getting him to the NHL as quickly as possible or catering to the pressure of proving to people they made a good decision with the highest pick they've had in the last five drafts.
They're focused on nothing more than helping him reach his full potential once he gets here, whenever that may be.
The Philadelphia Flyers took a big step in the right direction this season. This is because they not only made the playoffs but also defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round.
Now, the Flyers will be looking to build on their momentum by having a strong 2026 NHL Entry Draft. The Flyers currently still have their first-round pick for this year and will be looking to land a good prospect with it.
Sokolovskii is one of the most fascinating prospects heading into the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. At 6-foot-8 and 238 pounds, he is a hulking shutdown defenseman who would be an interesting youngster for the Flyers to add to their system.
Sokolovskii spent this season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the London Knights and made an impact with his defense-first style of play. In 44 games with the OHL club on the year, he recorded two goals, six assists, eight points, 49 penalty minutes, and a plus-10 rating.
If the Flyers selected Sokolovskii with their first-round pick, he would give them a big left-shot defenseman with plenty of size in their system. This would not be a bad thing for the Flyers, as he has the tools to become a solid NHL blueliner later down the road. However, with NHL teams always valuing big defensemen, there is certainly a chance that he won't be available when the Flyers are on the clock.
The New York Islanders announced on Thursday morning that they had signed pending restricted free agent forward Daylan Kuefler to a two-year, two-way deal.
#Isles have signed forward Daylan Kuefler to a two-year, two-way (NHL/AHL) contract, per the team.
Kuefler, who the Islanders selected in the sixth round (No. 174) of the 2022 NHL Draft, had battled injuries, playing just 38 games for the Bridgeport Islanders over his first two seasons with the club, which doesn't include the 17 games he played for the ECHL's Worcester Railers.
But this past season, Kuefler, back healthy, played in 67 games for Bridgeport, recording 10 goals with 15 assists for 25 points in a bottom-six role.
The 24-year-old, who just completed the final season of his three-year entry-level deal worth $840,000 at the NHL level and $82,500 at the AHL level, gets a bit of a raise:
Daylan Kuefler's two-year, two-way deal with #Isles, per sources:
Year 1 NHL: $850K Year 1: AHL: $105K Guarantee: $120K
Year 2 NHL: $900K Year 2 AHL: $125K Guarantee: $170K
Kuefler was a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights, with a qualifying offer worth $813,750 at the NHL level.
The organization really likes the player and after battling some adversity, Kuefler could get a look on the fourth line at some point over the length of this new deal.
The Winnipeg Jets may not be competing for the Stanley Cup, but Manitoba hockey is still very much alive and well on the sport’s biggest stage.
In fact, it has been nearly impossible to ignore.
With the Stanley Cup Final officially trimmed down to a best-of-three series, Manitoba-born talent has been front and centre. From Winnipeg’s Seth Jarvis leading the way for Carolina to Brett Howden, Mark Stone and Keegan Kolesar playing key roles for Vegas, the province’s fingerprints are everywhere.
Photo by Stephen Sylvanie/USA Today
And that is before mentioning one of Winnipeg’s most familiar faces.
Former Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers has also played a major role in the championship series, giving local hockey fans yet another reason to pay close attention.
Across the two remaining rosters, Manitoba has emerged as one of the most represented hockey regions in the world. Among Canadian provinces, only Ontario has produced more players in this year’s Stanley Cup Final.
For a province of fewer than 1.5 million people, the numbers are staggering.
While traditional hockey hotbeds such as Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta regularly fill NHL rosters, Manitoba’s presence in this year’s Final stands out. Four Manitoba-raised players are involved in the championship series, while seven players across the two rosters have significant ties to the province’s hockey landscape.
Winnipeg’s Seth Jarvis, Oakbank’s Brett Howden, Winnipeg-born Mark Stone and Brandon’s Keegan Kolesar make up the core Manitoba contingent. Jordan Martinook was also born in Brandon before moving to Saskatchewan at a young age. While former Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers spent the first decade of his NHL career in Winnipeg and Vegas forward Cole Smith developed in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League with the Steinbach Pistons.
For Jets fans, Ehlers remains the most familiar storyline.
Drafted ninth overall by Winnipeg in 2014, the Danish winger spent 10 seasons in Manitoba, becoming one of the most productive players in Jets 2.0 history. During that span, he recorded 225 goals and 520 points across 674 regular season games.
His departure from Winnipeg was never about a lack of talent.
Ehlers consistently produced when healthy and remained one of the NHL’s most dangerous players off the rush. His combination of speed, creativity and transition ability made him a fan favourite throughout his decade with the organization.
Now, in his first season away from the team that drafted him, Ehlers has taken his game to the sport’s biggest stage. His offensive ability has added another dangerous dimension to Carolina’s attack, while also leaving some Jets fans wondering what could have been. But 'Fly' is not the only Carolina player with strong Manitoba ties making an impact this spring.
Winnipeg’s Seth Jarvis continues to prove he is one of the NHL’s brightest young stars.
Selected 13th overall in 2020, Jarvis has quickly developed into one of Carolina’s most important forwards. His combination of skill, energy and competitiveness has made him a fixture of the Hurricanes’ core.
A product of the Assiniboine Park Rangers' minor hockey program before starring with the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL, Jarvis represents the very best of the newest generation of Manitoba talent thriving at the NHL level.
On the other side, Oakbank’s Brett Howden has delivered the best postseason of his career.
Long valued for his versatility, skating and defensive reliability, Howden has added another layer to his game this spring: finishing.
The former first-round pick recently made Golden Knights history, setting the franchise record for goals in a single postseason (14) and passing Jonathan Marchessault’s previous mark.
It has been a remarkable playoff breakout for a player who has transformed himself from a highly touted offensive prospect into a trusted, complete NHL forward. And much like that of Jarvis, he is not the only player on Vegas that Manitobans would remember.
Winnipeg’s Mark Stone, who starred with the Brandon Wheat Kings, continues to be one of the NHL’s premier playoff performers.
The Golden Knights captain remains among hockey’s smartest two-way forwards. Already a Stanley Cup champion, Stone’s ability to elevate his game when the stakes are highest has once again been on display.
Alongside him is Brandon’s Keegan Kolesar, whose physicality, forechecking and willingness to embrace difficult minutes have made him another important piece of Vegas’ identity.
Kolesar’s value has never been measured solely through offensive production. Instead, his ability to play a heavy postseason style has helped him become the type of player championship teams rely on.
From stars to role players, Manitoba’s impact stretches throughout both lineups.
The storylines are plentiful: A former Jet chasing his first championship. A young Winnipeg star continuing his rise. A Golden Knights captain. A record-setting playoff scorer. An MJHL alumnus continuing his unlikely climb.
The Stanley Cup Final may not include the Winnipeg Jets, but Manitoba hockey remains impossible to miss. No matter who lifts the Cup, the province will have left its mark.
After being one of the top teams in the NHL this season, the Buffalo Sabres have the 27th overall pick of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. While the Sabres have a late first-round pick this year, the potential for them to land an impactful prospect is certainly there.
The Athletic's Scott Wheeler recently released his latest 2026 NHL mock draft and predicted that the Sabres would select forward Gleb Pugachyov with their first-round pick this year.
The first thing that immediately stands out about Pugachyov is his size. The 6-foot-3, 198-pound right winger would give the Sabres another power forward in their system, which is never a bad thing. This is especially so when noting that they have a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) power forward in Alex Tuch heading into the summer.
If the Sabres selected Pugachyov with their first-round pick, he would certainly be an interesting addition to Buffalo's prospect pool. The big winger showed promise this season in Russia's MHL with Chaika Nizhny Novgorod, as he posted 10 goals and 24 points in 33 games. He also notably played in 13 KHL games with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod this season, where he had two goals and an assist.
With Pugachyov being a promising young forward with size, it would make all the sense in the world for the Sabres to select him if available when Buffalo is on the clock. The potential for him to emerge as an impactful winger in the NHL is there.
Best Golden Knights vs Hurricanes props for Game 5
Player
Pick
Jalen Chatfield
Over 1.5 blocks
-160
Taylor Hall
Over 0.5 points
-125
Shea Theodore
Over 1.5 shots
+100
Game 5 Prop #1: Jalen Chatfield Over 1.5 blocks (-160)
Jalen Chatfield spends more time against top players and sees a higher percentage of defensive zone starts when Rod Brind ‘Amour has the ability to play the matchup game at home.
That leads to more time defending, more pucks heading towards his net, and more blocked shots.
Chatfield has allowed a defense-high 58.1 attempts per 60 in home playoff games compared to 48.3 per 60 on the road. Uncoincidentally, Chatfield has blocked 5.52 shots per 60 at home and 3.39 on the road.
Play Chatfield to get multiple blocks up to -170.
Game 5 Prop #2: Taylor Hall Over 0.5 points (-125)
Carolina has controlled better than 68% of the expected goals during Hall’s 5-on-5 minutes. No other player is above 58%. He’s full value for it, leading the way in shot attempts, scoring chances, and sitting tied for first in Grade A opportunities.
Back him to get a point up to -140.
Game 5 Prop #3: Shea Theodore Over 1.5 shots (+100)
Shea Theodore is one of the only Golden Knights players spending time in the offensive zone with any sort of consistency.
Vegas has generated 85 shot attempts with Theodore on the ice at 5-on-5 in this series. No other Golden Knight has been on for even 70.
He’s also quarterbacking the top power play so the usage is ideal for shot-generation. Theodore has made the most of his ice, attempting 23 shots through four games — and at least five each time out.
At plus money for two shots, there’s value in backing the star defenseman. Play to -125.
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Golden Knights center Jack Eichel still hasn't scored a goal in the Stanley Cup Final.
That doesn't mean he isn't doing everything else against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Fact is, he has just two goals in the entire postseason, and the team is still playing for its second title since 2023.
Eichel makes everyone around him better, which is probably why he has 18 assists and ranks second in the NHL with 20 points.
"I'll go back to the last two Stanley Cup Finals, I put Jack Eichel in the category of Sasha Barkov from Florida," NHL Network analyst Brian Boyle said during an interview on the Golden Knights Insider radio show on Wednesday. "They'll do what's necessary without the puck as well. There's certain unselfishness to their game that you need. These guys are in that category."
And they're in that category because of the supporting cast around them.
Eichel remains effective because he has guys like Mitch Marner, Mark Stone, Tomas Hertl - to name a few - around him. He can count on them to take what he offers and turn opportunities into big plays.
"If you build a hockey player in a lab, you build a Jack Eichel," Boyle added.
Does that mean the Knights wouldn't benefit from one of Eichel's classic heaters? Of course they would, especially with either two or three games left in the season. Especially on the power play, where his wrist shot from the left circle has been deadly for opponents at times.
Is the due theory in effect when the teams take the ice for Game 5 on Thursday?
It's possible, especially after he sailed a perfect opportunity late in Game 4 with goaltender Carter Hart pulled.
Should it be eating at Eichel, and weighing on his mind? Some would say he should rinse it and shrug it off.
But maybe a competitive guy like him who has knows what it takes to win a championship and win on the road in the playoffs needs that sort of sting to find the back of the net for the first time in this series.
Fact it, when you have one of the best 200-foot hockey players in the world on your roster, you must have full faith that his offense will come full circle when it matters most.
"There's a couple guys ... Hertl's the same," Boyle said. "He's gotten pucks in the slot where he needs to shoot the puck, that's what he's there for. He's not as adept at playmaking; he's in that spot in the bumper on the power play for a reason. Now, I'm looking at a guy like (Brett) Howden, who's hot ... as a pistol, scoring goals. Could there be a switch (on the power play)? Could you put him in the bumper, because he's willing to shoot, and he's feeling it?
"He thinks it's going in every time he shoots the puck."
That's for coach John Tortorella to decide, knowing the chemistry of his players and whether or not they can work and mesh together.
With Howden in, there's a chance the Hurricanes don't pay attention to him, and he buries the puck. Or, it gives Eichel more space and suddenly makes that left circle more enticing.
Bottom line when it comes to Eichel, with three games left, max, he most certainly will continue to contribute, and for Vegas' sake, hopefully that means burying the puck if Vegas wants to hoist the Cup once again.
PHOTO CAPTION
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) stops a shot by Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) during the 3rd period in game four of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena.
The Toronto Maple Leafs do not have their own first-round picks for the 2027 and 2028 NHL Drafts after the club traded them both away on the same day in March of 2025 in two separate deals with the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers.
In one deal, the Leafs sent their 2026 first-round pick to the Bruins, along with Fraser Minten, in exchange for defenseman Brandon Carlo. The other deal saw the Leafs pick up Scott Laughton from the Flyers in exchange for a 2027 first-round pick and Nikita Grebenkin. Both of those picks had trade protection: the Boston deal was top-5 protected, while the 2027 draft pick was top-10 protected.
However, a very fortunate bounce of the lottery balls in May saw the Leafs win the No. 1 overall selection for 2026, punting what the Leafs owed to the Bruins. But what about that 2027 pick?
Well, what we did know was that the Leafs were only going to be able to keep one of their first-round draft picks over the course of that three-year span. Once the Leafs landed the 2026 top selection, it negated the original protection conditions for the 2027 and 2028 picks.
But who gets what? There was a difference of opinion between the Flyers and Bruins as to who should have which pick, and in what year.
When I attended the lottery, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said they were still going over the terms of both trades to make a official ruling. But according to The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz, the Flyers will get the 2027 pick and the Bruins will get the 2028 pick. However, the wrinkle here is that if Toronto’s pick falls in the top 10 next year, Toronto will actually get to choose which team gets which pick, due to the top-10 protection language in the Flyers trade.
Per a league source, the NHL has informed the Flyers that while they own the Maple Leafs' 2027 first round pick (Laughton trade), the Leafs still have the option to transfer it to Boston if it's in the top 10. In that event, the Flyers would receive Toronto's 2028 first rounder.
It’s really bizarre. If the Leafs' own pick falls in the top 10, they could be strategic and give it to the Flyers instead of helping their divisional rival, the Bruins, assuming, of course, that it matters to Toronto. Still, it is highly unusual that the Leafs would get to choose.
Can you image if the Leafs win the lottery, they’d have to commiserate on that while also deciding which of Philly or Boston gets it? It would be weird, if not entertaining.
I could have seen a world where Boston would have laid claim to a top-10 pick, given that they were bumped out of their 2026 selection, forcing the Flyers to wait an additional year. But a ruling is a ruling. And for the Leafs sake, they have to hope the most hilarious thing doesn’t happen here.
Of course, this is not to be confused with the 2027 first-round selection Toronto acquired from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Nic Roy. That deal, too, is top-10 protected.
NASHVILLE, TN - JUNE 11: Patric Hornqvist #72 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates after scoring a goal against Pekka Rinne #35 of the Nashville Predators during the third period in Game Six of the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the Bridgestone Arena on June 11, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Nine years ago today, the Pittsburgh Penguins won the franchise’s fifth Stanley Cup title in team history, beating the Nashville Predators 2-0 in Game 6 of the 2017 Cup Final.
The Penguins won Game 1 and Game 2 at home before Nashville held serve, winning Game 3 and Game 4 to tie the series and send things back to Pittsburgh tied 2-2.
A blowout win in Game 5 put the Predators on the brink of elimination for Game 6 back in Nashville and the Penguins came out on top during a tightly-contested game.
It was a scoreless affair through two periods after a whistle stopped play before Colton Sissons tapped in a puck that would’ve given Nashville a 1-0 lead.
The third period started ticking down as the game remained scoreless until former Predators player Patric Hornqvist scored with just over 90 seconds remaining in the game and suddenly, the Cup appeared to be poised to be handed to the Penguins.
An empty net goal from Carl Hagelin put the game, series, and season on ice — and for the first time in nearly 20 years, the Stanley Cup was staying with the previous year’s winner and the Penguins had gone back-to-back as champions.
The landscape of the NHL is changing now more than ever. The salary cap ceiling is increasing year after year, and star players are more willing to “upset the apple cart,” leveraging their contractual positions to influence their way to more preferred destinations.
Every year, general managers ask players with no-trade clauses to waive them as the team intends to shift directions in terms of roster construction for the franchise’s future. In recent years, however, players have taken some of that power back, refusing to waive, communicating a willingness to waive for only a select few teams, expressing desires to sign extensions only with certain teams when their contracts are close to expiring, etc.
Beginning with Jack Eichel’s request to be traded to a team willing to allow him to undergo his desired surgery in 2021, to Matthew Tkachuk’s unwillingness to re-sign in Calgary as an RFA, to Quinn Hughes’ reluctance to commit long-term to the Vancouver Canucks, star players are navigating their way to teams and situations they feel are better for their careers.
The latest such request came on Thursday, when Detroit Red Wings captain and top center Dylan Larkin requested a trade. What makes Larkin’s request unique is the term remaining on his current contract (five years) and his no-trade clause attached to said contract.
Larkin has control over where he ends up, and Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reported he submitted an initial list of three teams to which he’d be willing to accept a trade. The teams on Larkin’s list were (in alphabetical order) the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, and Vegas Golden Knights.
The saga between Larkin and the Red Wings will play out in due time, but what stands out about the teams in Larkin’s initial list is their commitment to winning and winning now. Florida and Vegas represent the last three teams to hoist the Stanley Cup, with Vegas two games from extending that number to four. Minnesota has been one of the NHL’s most aggressive teams in the last year, extending star forward Kirill Kaprizov to a record contract and acquiring Quinn Hughes mid-season.
The NHL seems to be in the early stages of a player empowerment movement. While secondary or tertiary benefits different organizations have to offer, like market, weather, state income tax situations, etc., can tip scales one way or another, the driving force behind desired destinations is one aspect above all else: winning.
Players want to win. They want to win as immediately as possible, and they want to win as much as possible. Organizations like the Wild, Panthers, Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, and Tampa Bay Lightning have demonstrated a willingness to prioritize present success over future success and to win at all costs, rendering them destinations that players seem to be orchestrating moves to.
Of course, teams must make the right moves to build their rosters and become desirable organizations. However, in today’s landscape, that’s only part (a big part) of the equation.
Traditionally reserved for unrestricted free agency, now more than ever, teams have to sell themselves to players. They have to sell players on a vision they feel will soon lead to hoisting Stanley Cups, and they have to do it, not by pitching them in a boardroom, but by their actions.
So now the question for teams like the Anaheim Ducks moving forward will be: how do we get to the point where we can sell this organization as a destination to which star players orchestrate moves to win championships?
Superfluously, the Ducks can sell players on things like weather, lifestyle, and a favorable media environment, but now they may be entering the discussion of places where players can win.
In 2025-26, after an excruciatingly long rebuild, the Ducks qualified for the playoffs for the first time in eight years and advanced to the second round for the first time in nine. In May 2025, Ducks’ general manager Pat Verbeek hired the second-winningest coach in NHL history, Joel Quenneville. At the trade deadline, he parted with a first and third-round pick to acquire the expiring contract of veteran defenseman John Carlson, with the goal of offering his roster the best chance at success in the playoffs.
Anaheim lost in the second round, but defeated the back-to-back Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers in the first round. Though Carlson may not re-sign in Anaheim, and they traded a first-round pick for the first time since 2017, the Ducks sent a message to the NHL and to star players potentially on the move that they are willing to make bold moves in order to win.
Selling players on location, lifestyle, and even promising young cores like the Ducks have with Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Senencke, Jackson Lacombe, etc., is easy. The more difficult part of the equation is selling a commitment to winning. The Ducks may still have a gap to fill between themselves and the Panthers, Knights, and Avalanche of the league, and make their way onto “teams I’ll accept a trade to” lists, but it would appear Anaheim is well on their way to entering such conversations.
Player: Harrison Brunicke Born: May 8, 2006 (20 years old) Height: 6’3” Weight: 201 pounds Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa Shoots: Right Draft: Second-round, 2024, No. 44 overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins 2025-26 Statistics: 9 games played, 1 goal, 0 assists, 1 point Contract Status: By only playing in nine games this season Brunicke still has all three years of his entry-level contract remaining.
Story of the Season
Brunicke entered training camp as one of the top prospects in the Penguins system, and impressed the coaching staff and front office enough to get an immediate look with the NHL team at the start of the season. He ended up getting a nine-game look that was dragged out over a couple of months due to healthy scratches and some early load management. He then represented Canada at the World Junior Championships, returned to the Western Hockey League to play for Kamloops and then spent the end of the regular season and playoffs in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the American Hockey League level.
It was not the ideal situation for a young player’s development, but he still managed to play more total hockey games than he did in each of the previous two seasons and showed considerable improvement along the way.
Brunicke only played two NHL games in November, but you can clearly see there were more struggles in those two games than in his first seven games. He managed just one shot on goal in the latter group, was a minus-4 overall and saw his ice-time drop by exactly two minutes per game.
Regular season 5v5 advanced stats
Data via Natural Stat Trick. Ranking is out of 13 defensemen on the team who qualified by playing a minimum of 100 minutes.
In a lot of ways this is probably what you should expect from a 19-year-old defenseman trying to make the jump right from juniors to the NHL. He played well at times early on, but also had some growing pains and some rocky moments. He was not a total liability, but he was also clearly not quite ready for NHL action on a full-time basis. There is nothing wrong with that for a 19-year-old defenseman. Or any 19-year-old player.
The most pressing question at the moment is whether or not bouncing around through multiple teams and levels had any sort of a negative impact on his development. Based on the way he played in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the playoffs, the answer to that seems to be no. The AHL was probably where he belonged all along, but he was not eligible to actually play there until the end of the season. As soon as he arrived, he was arguably their best overall defenseman.
The other big question to ponder is simply what sort of upside he has and how quickly he can start making a full-season impact on the NHL. Can he do it next season? Can he eventually a No. 1 or No. 2 defenseman on a contending team? It would certainly be exciting to see, while also being a significant development for the Penguins.
Ideal 2026-27
An ideal 2026-27 for Brunicke would be him making the NHL roster out of training camp, sticking for the entire season, and showing that he is a full-time NHL player. I do not need him to play like a No. 1 or no. 2 as a 20-year-old. But I do want to see him show flashes of that sort of ability, be a contributor, and not look out of place. That would be a meaningful step forward and great progress.
Bottom line
Brunicke is not only one of the Penguins top prospects, he is their top defensive prospect and an extraordinarily important player for their long-term development of the franchise and the ongoing rebuild. Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang are the top-two right-shot defensemen in the organization as of this moment, but they are 36 and 39 years old respectively, while Karlsson is entering the final year of his contract and it is unclear what his future with the team actually is. They need Brunicke to develop. They need him to be really good. They need him to do so over the next one or two years.
PensBurghGrade: B+
He got a taste of NHL action, held his own, and then put together an outstanding season in the Western Hockey League and the American Hockey League. Strong season for one of the top prospects in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization and farm system.
The Chicago Blackhawks have a lot of intrigue surrounding their 4th overall pick. However, that is not the only selection that they will make at the 2026 NHL Draft.
It is important to find gems in the middle and late rounds as well if you want to keep the pipeline strong, as they move into the next phase of the rebuild.
Players from all over the world are going to be selected over the course of seven rounds. Within the first four, the Blackhawks may not need to look far beyond their own backyard to find some good ones.
The Chicago Steel, who will be neighbors with the Blackhawks very soon, have a couple of prospects that are worth considering.
Jayden Kurtz
Jayden Kurtz is a tall and slim defenseman standing at 6'3" and 194 pounds. He finished his high school season in 2025-26 before joining the Chicago Steel for a handful of games.
In 16 USHL matches with Chicago, he had 1 goal and 2 assists for 3 points from the blue line. He is someone who will go in the middle to late rounds of the 2026 NHL Draft following this small sample size of solid play in lesser leagues.
Now, he will move to the NCAA with Wisconsin, which is likely to have a National Championship caliber squad. If he has a great year with the Badgers, which he very well could, his stock will only continue to rise.
His lack of experience following high school hockey is the reason he is projected to be drafted where he is, which is good for whatever team selects him, as long as he continues to develop once he is drafted.
Cole Tuminaro
Cole Tuminaro would fit the recent draft profile for the Chicago Blackhawks. He is a big defenseman standing at 6'4" and 225 pounds. He is going to be available late in the draft, which is exactly where you consider a big defensive defenseman like him.
In 54 games played with the Chicago Steel in 2025-26, he scored five goals and 11 assists for 16 points. He also had 148 penalty minutes, which speaks to his size and toughness in-game.
Next season, Tuminaro is going to play at Cornell, which regularly competes within the ECAC. If the Blackhawks draft him in the 5th round or later, they could be looking at it in a year from now and wonder how they got so fortunate because he's been dominating the college hockey level.
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