The New York Islanders and general manager Mathieu Darche will be on the hunt to add to their defense this summer, particularly on the right side.
While the Islanders do have Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield, along with pending free agent Tony DeAngelo (who very openly wants to extend his stay), it's still an area where the Islanders feel they could use improvement.
I believe #Isles GM Mathieu Darche did his due diligence on Simon Nemec last summer.
Whether the recent rumors are true or not, Nemec is exactly the kind of young defenseman NYI should be targeting.@TheElmonters ⤵️https://t.co/onYGiWju35
One option could be Michael Kesselring of the Buffalo Sabres.
Kesselring, 26, played just 34 regular-season games and one playoff game for the Sabres this past season. He is a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights after concluding the second season of a two-year deal worth $1.4 million annually.
The 6'5 defenseman has some skills the Islanders would value. Kesselring loves firing the puck and creating offense, recording 46 shots on goal during the regular season (1.35 per game.
In the 2024-25 season, when Kesselring played 82 games for the Utah Mammoth, he recorded seven goals and 22 assists for 29 points, all career highs.
That would've put Kesselring second amongst Islanders defensemen in goals this year, and third in points, trailing Matthew Schaefer in both, and DeAngelo in points.
As mentioned, Kesselring also comes in at a massive 6'5" and weighs 215 lbs. While he uses his body, scouts have noted he could use his size a bit more.
This season in Buffalo, he saw heavily reduced minutes and opportunities as he came in and out of the lineup for multiple reasons, ultimately becoming a healthy scratch down the stretch.
Buffalo has publicly backed him, but actions speak louder than words.
Kesselring will likely be available this coming summer. The asking price would figure to be around a second or third-round pick, even despite his playing situation.
Defenseman of that size are coveted in today's NHL.
The Islanders do not have any second- or third-round picks in this draft, so they might need to be creative to land Kesselring, perhaps by including a depth forward with a lower pick or picks in later drafts.
Marc Gatcomb, a pending restricted free agent, could be someone who would fit Buffalo's style of play on their fourth line.
Getting creative and making tough calls will be Darche's biggest test this summer.
The Boston Bruins need to acquire another top-six forward who can score goals, create scoring chances and lessen the offensive burden on David Pastrnak’s shoulders.
But improving the Bruins’ offense can be done by other means, too.
The Bruins’ blue line did not provide enough offense in the team’s first-round playoff series loss to the Buffalo Sabres. None of the eight defensemen who played for Boston in those six games scored a goal, and none of them tallied more than two points.
Mason Lohrei, who’s one of the more offensively gifted defensemen on the Bruins’ roster, failed to register a single point in three games and was a healthy scratch for the other three matchups.
So, who can the Bruins target in the offseason to bolster the offensive production of their blue line and improve their transition game?
One possibility is a Simon Nemec trade with the New Jersey Devils. There were conflicting reports out of Nemec’s home nation of Slovakia this week on whether he has asked for a trade. However, James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now reported Friday that Nemec has not requested a trade.
The bottom line is the Devils do have to make some kind of decision on Nemec’s future in the near term because he will be a restricted free agent in July.
Nemec was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. He’s 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds. He’s not overly physical, but he plays the kind of style that Boston desperately needs on the back end. Nemec is a great skater, he’s an excellent puck-mover, he shoots the puck a ton, and he has the ability to score 10-plus goals.
In addition to a lack of scoring depth, another big takeaway from the Bruins’ playoff loss to the Sabres was how slow they played. The lack of speed from a team and individual perspective was glaring. Nemec plays an uptempo kind of game.
The Sabres’ forecheck was a huge factor in Round 1 because Bruins defensemen didn’t have the skating ability or puck-moving skill to get the puck out of danger fast enough. Nemec would help address that issue with how quickly he makes decisions and his ability to skate out of trouble. The Bruins need more defensemen capable of transporting the puck through the neutral zone and putting opponents’ on their heels, and Nemec fits that bill.
Nemec tallied 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists) in 68 games for the Devils last season. His stats don’t jump off the page, but you have to consider the fact he hasn’t been given much of an opportunity and the Devils haven’t been a very good team since he made his NHL debut in the 2023-24 season.
Is it possible that Nemec will never live up to expectations as a former No. 2 overall pick? Sure. But there’s clearly some really exciting talent there, and on a better team with better coaches and better defense partners, there’s the potential for Nemec to be a legitimate top-four defenseman for many years. It’s a gamble worth taking. He’s already a good player, and given his age, there’s still a lot of room for him to improve.
Another reason why the Bruins should pursue a Nemec trade is the fact he’s a right-shot defenseman, and that’s an area the Bruins need to upgrade both in terms of depth and talent this offseason. The B’s were so thin on right-shot defensemen this season that they had to play Lohrei on his off side.
A potential Nemec trade isn’t the only way for the Bruins to upgrade their blue line in a meaningful way this offseason.
Two of the top unrestricted free agents who could hit the market July 1 are Darren Raddysh of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Rasmus Andersson of the Vegas Golden Knights. Raddysh is 30 years old and Andersson is 29. Both are expected to get a nice payday and a long-term deal.
Either player would probably make a more immediate impact for the B’s than Nemec, but buying low on a 22-year-old who was a No. 2 overall pick and has a lot of impressive talent would be the smarter move for the Bruins.
Giving a bad long-term contract to Raddysh or Andersson would be far more damaging to the Bruins’ short- and long-term future than trading for Nemec and him not reaching his potential.
Maybe Nemec stays in New Jersey after all. But if he’s available this offseason, the Bruins should absolutely pick up the phone and call newly hired Devils general manager Sunny Mehta. Nemec could help the Bruins’ blue line in a significant way for many years.
At the juncture Pittsburgh Penguins' captain Sidney Crosby has reached in his storied NHL career, it's inevitable that he is going to be asked a whole lot about his future and how long he intends to keep playing the sport he loves.
After all, Father Time is undefeated, right?
Well, that's the case for most athletes. Sports are a young man's game, and it's only a matter of time before the end comes calling. Legs start to give out. Basic conditioning becomes harder and harder. Performance begins to dwindle. The pace of the game suddenly starts to feel faster than you remember, with things happening at a speed you can no longer keep up with.
Yet none of that is happening for Crosby, at least, not yet. And in an exclusive interview with The Athletic's Josh Yohe on Thursday at the IIHF World Championship in Switzerland, he made sure to clarify on his comments from locker cleanout day earlier this month about going "year-to-year" that this season - the final season of his current two-year contract - will not be his last playing in the NHL.
"It's pretty obvious why I would just go year-to-year with the contracts," Crosby told Yohe. "At the end of the day, I'm just going to do what's best for the team. It's got nothing to do with how long I want to play. It's not like that at all."
He added: "I definitely want to keep playing for as many years as possible."
Not only is that music straight to the ears of Penguins' fans and hockey fans everywhere, it's also a statement that Crosby believes he has a whole lot more left in the tank.
Simply put, he isn't built like other hockey players, like other athletes. When his legs start to give out, when the conditioning gets harder, when performance isn't up to par, and when the pace appears to be catching up, he always finds ways to reinvent himself and maintain the separation between he and the Hockey Reaper.
Right now, Crosby - who will turn 39 this summer - has 654 goals and 1,761 points in 1,420 career NHL games. He is currently sitting at seventh all-time in NHL points, and assuming he is healthy in 2026-27, he should surpass both Marcel Dionne (sixth) at 1,771 and Ron Franis (fifth) at 1,798. And with at least a 90-point season, he will also surpass Gordie Howe (fourth) at 1,850.
Wayne Gretzky is the only player in NHL history - and the guy at the top of the list - to have hit 2,000 points.
If 2026-27 is, indeed, not Crosby's final season playing in the NHL - which, he's adamant it won't be - that means with one more season above point-per-game, he'll be at 1,844 points. And it would be his 22nd consecutive season accomplishing the feat.
In order to reach 2,000 points, Crosby would need to average 79.6 points in the next three seasons to get there. Should he remain healthy and at point-per-game or higher? He will get there sometime during that third season, which would be his age 41 season.
And you know what? All of that sounds pretty attainable.
The fact of the matter is that the longer Crosby keeps playing, the closer he gets to that historic mark. The longer he keeps playing, he only keeps proving that he isn't slowing down in any kind of remarkable way. He is designed for longevity, and he has delivered on that design for 21 years already.
"Sidney Crosby is our Tom Brady and our LeBron James..
I was on the ice with him when he was 14 years old and I could see how good he was then..
If Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell continue to play with Crosby through at least next season, and, possibly, the last two years of their contracts, they're each good for at least 20-plus goals and 60-plus points, and that's probably on the low end of things when considering their goals-per-game and points-per-game production over the last two seasons mostly spent alongside Crosby.
And, if they don't continue to play with Crosby, that probably means someone like Egor Chinakhov - who had 18 goals and 36 points in 43 games with the Penguins last season - would flank him, and possibly, even a new face who is younger and NHL-established.
Either way, the point is that Crosby won't have any shortage of talent to play with for his final years in hockey, and that should only lend more to him being able to reach the 2,000 point milestone -- even when he starts to drop off. Because, let's face it: Crosby, like everyone, is eventually going to hit a bit of a wall. His defense has already declined quite a bit, but there will come a day when the offense is what it used to be, either.
Even still, it feels not just dirty but plain incorrect to suggest that he's all of a sudden going to see his production cut in half within the next three years. It feels like he is the type of player who is going to decline gradually rather than steeply. But in that hypothetical scenario where Crosby does fall off drastically in that second or third year?
Well, he would only need to average 59.75 points over the next four years to reach 2,000. Again, that seems attainable, even with a falloff.
So, while we sit back and enjoy what's left of Crosby's career, it's likely that we'll see him chasing a feat of all-time greatness that has only, once before, been realized. After all, he is one of the best to ever do it already -- so why put a cap on greatness?
On Thursday night, the Carolina Hurricanes suffered their first loss of these 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, falling 6-2 to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Rod Brind'Amour's team got "Caned."
When the Hurricanes dictate play, as has been more the norm, they can make every team in the league look helpless.
Islanders fans have seen it time and time again, whether in the regular season or the playoffs.
Back on Apr. 4, the Hurricanes outshot the Islanders 40-16 in what became Patrick Roy's final game behind their bench.
Despite the 4-3 score, the Islanders spent most of the night on their side of the red line and blue line, getting outshot 13-4 in the first period and 18-2 in the second period before pushing in the third as they tried to erase what was a 3-2 deficit before Sebastian Aho made it 4-2 at the 24-second mark of the third period.
But, Thursday night showed the other side of Carolina.
The Hurricanes could not stop the relentless forechecking of Montreal, with every mistake they made ending up in the back of their net.
Starting goaltender Frederik Andersen, who had not allowed more than two goals in a game in what was a perfect 8-0 start to the postseason for him and Carolina, allowed two goals on the first four shots he faced, allowing four goals in the opening 11:28.
After the first period, the Hurricanes were trailing 4-1 and outshot 14-13 before a solid second-period rebound, outscoring Montreal 1-0 in the middle frame and outshooting them 11-3.
But, then came the third period.
Juraj Slafkovsky scored twice, the last of the two into the empty net in a period in which both teams weren't shooting too much.
While shots were 6-2 in favor of Montreal, the Hurricanes were held without a shot for 18:38.
When the Hurricanes are humming, they are incredibly hard to beat, but they clearly weren't ready for the pace that Montreal has been playing with and paid the price.
And Islanders fans probably enjoyed every second of it.
The Chicago Blackhawks are entering the off-season with multiple pending free agents. Matt Grzelcyk is among them, as the 32-year-old defenseman is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Grzelcyk was a decent veteran blueliner for the Blackhawks this season, as he recorded 12 assists in 69 games and was a good mentor for their younger players. Yet, with the Blackhawks' blueline being crowded, it is possible that Chicago will move on from the 10-year veteran.
Due to this, let's look at three teams that could target Grzelcyk if he hits the free agent market this summer.
Pittsburgh Penguins
It would not be particularly surprising if the Penguins considered reuniting with Grzelcyk this off-season. The Charlestown, Massachusetts native had the best season of his NHL career with Pittsburgh in 2024-25, as he set career highs with 39 assists and 40 points. With this, the possibility of the Penguins targeting Grzelcyk this off-season should not be ruled out.
San Jose Sharks
The Sharks need to add to their defensive depth badly this off-season. They are entering the summer with several pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) defensemen. Due to this, they could be a team to keep an eye on when it comes to Grzelcyk. He could fit on their bottom pairing and could be a good mentor for the Sharks' young players if brought in.
The Philadelphia Flyers should be looking to improve their defensive group during the off-season. The free-agent market could have some interesting options to consider this year.
Because of this, let's look at three defensemen the Flyers could look to target if they hit the market on July 1.
Rasmus Andersson, Vegas Golden Knights
If the Flyers want to improve the right side of their blueline, Rasmus Andersson stands out as a clear potential target. He would give the Flyers a proven top-four defenseman who works in all situations and provides a bit of everything. In 81 games this campaign split between the Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights, the 29-year-old blueliner had 17 goals, 47 points, and 149 blocks. He currently has four assists in 13 playoff games for Vegas.
Mario Ferraro, San Jose Sharks
If the Flyers want to boost their blueline, Mario Ferraro stands out as a prime potential target. The 27-year-old blueliner is a steady shutdown left-shot defenseman who would give the Flyers' blueline more bite. He could fit nicely on either their second or third pairing due to his ability to play both sides. He would also be a clear option for their penalty kill if signed. In 82 games this season with the San Jose Sharks, he posted seven goals, 23 points, 137 hits, and 150 blocks.
Darren Raddysh, Tampa Bay Lightning
If the Flyers want a purely offensive defenseman, Darren Raddysh is the big fish of this year's free agency class. The 30-year-old just had a monster season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, as he recorded 22 goals, 48 assists, and 70 points in 73 games. He also had 10 goals and 26 points on the power play, so he would provide Philadelphia's power play with a major boost if signed.
After what seemed like a very long wait, the Eastern Conference Final finally got underway on Thursday night. After days of analysis, most pundits heavily favored the Carolina Hurricanes, who hadn’t lost a game in these playoffs yet, over the Montreal Canadiens, who had to fight tooth and nail to get out of the Atlantic Division in 14 games. Much had been said about the fact that Rod Brind’Amour’s men had 11 days of rest while Martin St-Louis had only just finished their series on Monday night, but it didn’t look like it once the puck dropped.
Frederik Anderson entered the game with a 1.12 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage after his team swept both the Ottawa Senators and the Philadelphia Flyers. The Danish goaltender had yet to allow more than two goals in a game since the start of the postseason, but that changed in a hurry.
While the Canadiens struggled out of the gate against the Buffalo Sabres, having to adapt to a much faster pace of play than what they had experienced in the first round against the Tampa Bay Lightning, it wasn’t the case this time around. Taking on Lindy Ruff’s men was the perfect preparation to take on the Canes, and even though Montreal surrendered the first goals after just 33 seconds of play, the Habs stormed right back into the game.
The Canadiens scored the fastest four playoff goals in franchise history in just over 10 minutes. More importantly, though, the first one came from Cole Caufield, at even strength, with assists from Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky, getting that top line off to a great start in that series. Montreal then got a pair of goals from depth scorer Phillip Danault and Alexandre Texier, before Ivan Demidov dazzled Andersen with some fancy stickhandling to make it 4-1.
At that stage, the Canes looked to be wondering what had happened, and it was quite simple: they had met their first opponent from the top five of the standings. The Habs play at a much faster pace than the Senators or the Flyers, and it showed. Carolina needed a period to adjust.
Shooting Range
The second frame was lopsided as the Hurricanes took 11 shots on Dobes while the Canadiens could only muster three, not that it’s all that surprising. Carolina likes to shoot often and pretty much from everywhere, while the Habs are very much a quality-over-quantity kind of side.
The only goal of the period came after a bad change by the Canadiens, which led to an odd-man rush that proved costly when Eric Robinson scored. It was bad timing for Caufield to hit the post at one end and for the Canes to regain possession as the Habs had already started changing.
Still, the Canadiens were lucky to go back to their dressing room with a two-goal lead as Dobes did spill a puck that just trickled out, just by the post.
Bouncing Right Back
Montreal didn’t wait until the next game to bounce back from that underwhelming period; they came out determined to seal the deal and played a very good, disciplined, and smart game in that final frame. 15 minutes into the third frame, they hadn’t even allowed a shot on goal, including on a penalty kill. Carolina only managed two shots in the last 20 minutes.
Not only did they defend well in that frame, but seven minutes in, Slafkovsky scored the Canadiens’ fifth goal of the game, which “sucked all the air out of the building,” as a wise man once said. The power forward got assists from both of his teammates on that one, but it was his superb individual effort that allowed him to score. He got through the Hurricanes’ defence like a hot knife through butter with an astute toe-drag and a picture-perfect shot to beat Andersen. That performance made you wonder whether it was the same Slafkovsky who played against Buffalo.
The big Slovak added an empty-netter, the final nail in the Hurricanes' coffin, as the Canadiens took Game 1 by a score of 6-2. By scoring five goals on Andersen in the first game, Montreal scored as many goals against him as both Ottawa and Philadelphia scored in their four-game series.
A successful first game for the Canadiens’ top line, who combined for eight points on the night, all at even-strength. The coach will no doubt have appreciated the fact that they were also able to successfully protect an early lead, even if it wasn’t a walk in the park, especially in the second frame, but Dobes was ready.
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - FEBRUARY 25: Head coach Sheldon Keefe speaks after the game against the Buffalo Sabres at Prudential Center on February 25, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Here are your links for today:
Devils Links
“Keefe’s first two seasons as the Devils’ head coach were a disappointment, but retaining him for the 2026-27 season makes sense. Here’s why that’s the case.” [Devils on the Rush ($)]
“Mehta has stated he believes the Devils can compete right away. He’s not going to waste another season of this core on a coach he’s not sold on so he can ‘play it safe’ and have a little more rope in a job he just took. Mehta kept Keefe because he believes it is in the best interest of the team, and that’s a perfectly justifiable decision.” [Infernal Access]
“My gut instinct is to say that the Devils’ goaltending woes up until 2024-25 were simply by virtue of employing subpar goalies, but it is pretty undeniable that their goalies in the aggregate have performed worse with Rogalski as their coach.” [Devils’ Advocates]
“The PWHL, according to sources, has added another women’s hockey legend to their roster of staff hiring Meghan Duggan as a general manager for one of their remaining two vacancies. Duggan has spent the past five seasons working as the Director of Player Development for the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.” [The Hockey News]
Hockey Links
An impressive performance from the Habs in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final:
Mock draft season! A look ahead predicting all 63 picks of the first two rounds: [The Athletic ($)]
“Troy Terry will have surgery to repair chronic hip impingement and his status for the start of next season for the Anaheim Ducks is unknown.” [NHL.com]
Montreal Victoire are PWHL champs:
POUR LA VICTOIRE ‼️
THE MONTRÉAL VICTOIRE ARE THE 2026 PWHL WALTER CUP CHAMPIONS!
LA VICTOIRE DE MONTRÉAL SONT LES CHAMPIONNES DE LA COUPE WALTER 2026 DE LA LPHF! pic.twitter.com/qVPKbm5jmk
After what seemed like a very long wait, the Eastern Conference Final finally got underway on Thursday night. After days of analysis, most pundits heavily favored the Carolina Hurricanes, who hadn’t lost a game in these playoffs yet, over the Montreal Canadiens, who had to fight tooth and nail to get out of the Atlantic Division in 14 games. Much had been said about the fact that Rod Brind’Amour’s men had 11 days of rest while Martin St-Louis had only just finished their series on Monday night, but it didn’t look like it once the puck dropped.
Frederik Anderson entered the game with a 1.12 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage after his team swept both the Ottawa Senators and the Philadelphia Flyers. The Danish goaltender had yet to allow more than two goals in a game since the start of the postseason, but that changed in a hurry.
While the Canadiens struggled out of the gate against the Buffalo Sabres, having to adapt to a much faster pace of play than what they had experienced in the first round against the Tampa Bay Lightning, it wasn’t the case this time around. Taking on Lindy Ruff’s men was the perfect preparation to take on the Canes, and even though Montreal surrendered the first goals after just 33 seconds of play, the Habs stormed right back into the game.
The Canadiens scored the fastest four playoff goals in franchise history in just over 10 minutes. More importantly, though, the first one came from Cole Caufield, at even strength, with assists from Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky, getting that top line off to a great start in that series. Montreal then got a pair of goals from depth scorer Phillip Danault and Alexandre Texier, before Ivan Demidov dazzled Andersen with some fancy stickhandling to make it 4-1.
At that stage, the Canes looked to be wondering what had happened, and it was quite simple: they had met their first opponent from the top five of the standings. The Habs play at a much faster pace than the Senators or the Flyers, and it showed. Carolina needed a period to adjust.
Shooting Range
The second frame was lopsided as the Hurricanes took 11 shots on Dobes while the Canadiens could only muster three, not that it’s all that surprising. Carolina likes to shoot often and pretty much from everywhere, while the Habs are very much a quality-over-quantity kind of side.
The only goal of the period came after a bad change by the Canadiens, which led to an odd-man rush that proved costly when Eric Robinson scored. It was bad timing for Caufield to hit the post at one end and for the Canes to regain possession as the Habs had already started changing.
Still, the Canadiens were lucky to go back to their dressing room with a two-goal lead as Dobes did spill a puck that just trickled out, just by the post.
Bouncing Right Back
Montreal didn’t wait until the next game to bounce back from that underwhelming period; they came out determined to seal the deal and played a very good, disciplined, and smart game in that final frame. 15 minutes into the third frame, they hadn’t even allowed a shot on goal, including on a penalty kill. Carolina only managed two shots in the last 20 minutes.
Not only did they defend well in that frame, but seven minutes in, Slafkovsky scored the Canadiens’ fifth goal of the game, which “sucked all the air out of the building,” as a wise man once said. The power forward got assists from both of his teammates on that one, but it was his superb individual effort that allowed him to score. He got through the Hurricanes’ defence like a hot knife through butter with an astute toe-drag and a picture-perfect shot to beat Andersen. That performance made you wonder whether it was the same Slafkovsky who played against Buffalo.
— x - Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) May 22, 2026
The big Slovak added an empty-netter, the final nail in the Hurricanes' coffin, as the Canadiens took Game 1 by a score of 6-2. By scoring five goals on Andersen in the first game, Montreal scored as many goals against him as both Ottawa and Philadelphia scored in their four-game series.
A successful first game for the Canadiens’ top line, who combined for eight points on the night, all at even-strength. The coach will no doubt have appreciated the fact that they were also able to successfully protect an early lead, even if it wasn’t a walk in the park, especially in the second frame, but Dobes was ready.
Jakub Dobes
Joins Ron Hextall (1987) & Jordan Binnington (2019) as the only rookie goalies in NHL history win 7 of their first 9 road decisions in one postseason#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/8n6fl8m0GW
PITTSBURGH, PA - FEBRUARY 2: Parker Wotherspoon #28 of the Pittsburgh Penguins in action during the game against the Ottawa Senators at PPG PAINTS Arena on February 2, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Vitals
Player: Parker Wotherspoon Born: Aug. 24, 1997 (28 years old) Height: 6-foot-1 Weight: 190 pounds Hometown: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada Shoots: Left Draft: Fourth round pick of the New York Islanders (112th overall) in 2015 2024-25 Statistics: 80 games played; 3 goals; 27 assists; 30 points; one assist in six playoff games Contract Status: Signed through 2026-27 ($1.0m cap hit)
Story of the Season
General manager Kyle Dubas stated the obvious at the end of the 2024-25 season when he declared that one of the areas of improvement that he needed to address was on the left side of his defense.
“You can’t just wish that all of them [Ryan Graves, Ryan Shea and Vladislav Kolyachonok] are going to improve and all move up into 1-2-3, the left side of the defense,” Dubas said. “So, that’s an area I think, externally, that we have to (improve). So, we’ll be on the lookout for that as we go through here.”
That lookout ended up bringing in Parker Wotherspoon to the organization from free agency on a two-year contract. Understandably enough that news didn’t exactly inspire a ton of fanfare or excitement as a high-profile add. Wotherspoon appeared in 96 NHL games from 2023-25 with Boston, getting his career on track after spending most of 2017-23 with Bridgeport of the AHL with the Islanders’ organization. The analytical profile suggested that Wotherspoon did well with his minutes, but there also didn’t look like a lot of meat on the bone for a player with one career goal and 16 points in 108 NHL games as a ready-made solution to help fix what ailed the Pens.
Partially out of necessity, the Penguins placed Wotherspoon with Erik Karlsson early in training camp and that stuck all year long as duo grew together to form an impressive and successful pair over the course of the season. Karlsson had by far his best campaign as a Penguin, with some credit due to having a partner in Pittsburgh who could capably, consistently and solidly provide a defensive anchor to compliment the high-skill Swede’s offensive game. Wotherspoon was a perfect fit and great match to play off of Karlsson.
Wotherspoon surely was one of the best values in the league, joining the Pens on a contract worth not much over the NHL’s minimum wage at a $1.0 million annual salary. Pittsburgh got an incredibly solid top-pair performer out of the mix who added physicality, a great stick and managed to keep up with the best players on their team all season long.
Achievements for the Pens compared to Wotherspoon’s fellow defensemen on the team included:
Leader in blocked shots (112), penalty minutes (55), PK time per game (2:22 average), total ES ice time (1421:10)
Being second in +/- (+17), hits (162), takeaways (26), total ice time (1613:44)
Ended up third in total ice time per game (20:10), even strength points (28)
Dubas and the Penguins wanted an external add to improve the left side of their defense in 2025-26. Wotherspoon being that add ended up as a stroke of genius. Based on Dubas’s recent comments about the 2025-26 season, he had almost the same outlook about the defense as he did 12 months prior about wanting to find further improvements and help reduce chances against. What the Pens will be desperately searching for are more players like Wotherspoon – if only it were so easy to pluck another ready-made option low on the radar into a key spot and have it work out so well!
Wotherspoon’s season mirrored that of the Penguins at large: surprisingly good in October to get into a fast start, hit some choppy waters by December but then stabilized in January and eventually started to excel by February and March. Wotherspoon had a good time to have his best statistical month in March when the team was dealing with the absences of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and needed offense from whatever source could supply it.
Regular season 5v5 advanced stats
Data via Natural Stat Trick. Ranking is out of 11 defensemen on the team who qualified by playing a minimum of 150 minutes.
Solid stuff here, Wotherspoon integrated seamlessly playing with Karlsson and often scoring line forwards and came out pretty clean. A lot of those other players are pushing to create offense and he did the heavy lifting there, Wotherspoon did his part as the defensive stopper and help limit the bleeding in the other direction.
It’s one thing to put up a nice looking WAR in a third pair, sheltered role like Wotherspoon had with the Bruins in the prior years to 2025-26. It’s another to ramp up the competition and still succeed like Wotherspoon did this year with the Penguins. Wotherspoon’s recent sample ought to put him in discussion of the best defensive defensemen in the game right now, or at least one of the most under-rated. While it would be too big of a leap to consider him THE singular best in that area, his name does belongs in the conversation about the best players that don’t get talked about much given the strong results he’s putting out there defensively. The Pens had decent enough data from the past to put Wotherspoon in a key role and see if he could perform well and he rewarded that faith in a major way.
Despite putting up 27 assists and 30 points, there still were moments left to be desired in the offensive zone. Often times Wotherspoon’s stick was where the play went to die for in-zone offense. He doesn’t have a very good shot for the NHL level and his offensive game in general can be fairly mundane and basic, playing with such gifted offensive players can make that stand out even further.
However, Wotherspoon more than made up for those limitations by being excellent with the puck in the defensive zone and between the bluelines. He is a good player at exiting the zone with a pass and helping the transition game. He racks up a lot of assists by starting sequences, 15 of his 27 assists were secondary. Plays have to start somewhere, and Wotherspoon is exceptional at being that starting point. That may sound simple but is often a differentiator between an effective defensive player and one that languishes is that consistency element.
The other standout from this chart demonstrates Wotherspoon’s ability to prevent entries to the opposition with possession and his physicality. If they don’t dump the puck, he is capable to deny entry with his stick or standing up a player physically with his body. If opponents do surrender possession by chipping the puck in deep instead of carrying it, then Wotherspoon can shift to go back to retrieve it and start play the other way. (This element was also boosted by Karlsson’s strengths, who as we’ll see in his season recap excels at using his skating to retrieve pucks as well). Based on that active stick and outright eagerness to engage physically, there’s no doubt Wotherspoon makes the game incredibly difficult for the opposition and was surely the most consistent and competent defensive defender on the team this season.
Also should stop for a sticktap to Wotherspoon’s work on the PK as well. No Penguin defender got called on more in this realm and Pittsburgh ended up in sixth in the NHL in PK percentage. Wotherspoon was a cornerstone player for that group and deserves a ton of credit for his part of that end result.
The NHL Edge data feeds into the story the microstat data tells of Wotherspoon being fairly basic and nondescript in the offensive zone. He doesn’t have an overpowering shot by NHL standards and he doesn’t stray far from his left point position to create more. Fairly vanilla in that regard, which isn’t meant to be a complete pejorative, it just is what it is where he’s not going to activate or look to get too far out of the structure where a player like him is meant to be. Wotherspoon’s game isn’t centered on pushing the envelope to create chances in the o-zone, it’s about defending and then working in transitional play to get the puck headed the right direction so that his more skilled teammates can do their thing.
Despite not being an excessively fast or gifted skater, Wotherspoon certainly has enough burst and athleticism in his legs to get around the ice effectively. His speed isn’t high-end by any means, though he isn’t slow either and becomes a punishing player around the boards, corners and net with physicality once the play zeroes in on those areas.
— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) April 5, 2026
Wotherspoon takes out Will Smith and skates right into the locker room. Celebrini goes after him and gets a double minor for his actions. Wotherspoon gets a minor. 4 on 4. #TheFutureIsTeal#LetsGoPenspic.twitter.com/vhgkJyC22S
— TEAL TOWN USA – A San Jose Sharks Podcast (@TEALTOWNUSA) December 13, 2025
Should the Penguins engage in contract extension talks this summer? Wotherspoon would be worth seriously considering it. Both player and team might want to take more time to firm up his true value and level moving beyond 2026-27, but I think it’s fine to be of the belief that enough has been displayed to know this is a player a team (with practically no defensive depth) should be interested in extending the length of time they keep Wotherspoon around. Otherwise, there’s not much to question for a low-maintenance option that fit right into the team.
Ideal 2026-27
Really, an ideal 2026-27 for Parker Wotherspoon would be a carbon copy of how 2025-26 actually unfolded. Give me 80 games of a physical, reliable, sturdy first pair defender that can handle the puck well in the DZ/NZ, covers up effectively for teammates when needed and plays important PK minutes. And all for a million bucks!
Bottom line
Wotherspoon would be a steal at twice the price, as the old saying goes. He had a tremendous season and was way better than anyone could have expected. Which helped the Penguins do much the same.
PensburghGrade: A Wotherspoon was a huge presence at even strength, strong on the PK, and he produced 30 points. He was a rising tide that elevated his unit and by virtue, the team at large. It’s not a pretty picture to think about what the blueline would have looked like without his contributions, which says a lot about his value and performance.
Montreal Canadiens (48-24-10, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (53-22-7, in the Metropolitan Division)
Raleigh, North Carolina; Saturday, 7 p.m. EDT
LINE: Hurricanes -211, Canadiens +175; over/under is 6
STANLEY CUP SEMIFINALS: Canadiens lead series 1-0
BOTTOM LINE: The Montreal Canadiens visit the Carolina Hurricanes in the third round of the NHL Playoffs with a 1-0 lead in the series. The teams meet Thursday for the fifth time this season. The Canadiens won 6-2 in the last meeting. Juraj Slafkovsky led the Canadiens with two goals.
Carolina is 33-11-2 at home and 53-22-7 overall. The Hurricanes are 30-6-3 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent.
Montreal has a 48-24-10 record overall and a 31-10-9 record on the road. The Canadiens have a +28 scoring differential, with 279 total goals scored and 251 conceded.
TOP PERFORMERS: Seth Jarvis has 32 goals and 34 assists for the Hurricanes. Logan Stankoven has seven goals and two assists over the past 10 games.
Cole Caufield has 51 goals and 37 assists for the Canadiens. Lane Hutson has nine assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Hurricanes: 9-1-0, averaging 2.8 goals, 5.4 assists, 6.2 penalties and 14.3 penalty minutes while giving up 1.6 goals per game.
Canadiens: 6-3-1, averaging 3.5 goals, 5.9 assists, 5.3 penalties and 17.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game.
INJURIES: Hurricanes: None listed.
Canadiens: Patrik Laine: out (abdomen).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The moment Cale Makar stepped onto the ice for optional practice Thursday, every eye inside Family Sports Center shifted in his direction.
After missing Colorado’s Game 1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final, Makar joined teammates for the skate, offering at least a glimpse of hope for an Avalanche team suddenly searching for answers without its most important defenseman.
Whether that translates into a return for Game 2 remains unclear.
“No, I don’t have an update,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Thursday. “We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
Captain Gabe Landeskog speaks following a loss in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final.
Colorado trails the series 1-0 heading into Friday night at Ball Arena, and Makar’s status continues to loom over everything surrounding the Avalanche.
The star defenseman is dealing with an upper-body injury believed to have originated during Colorado’s second-round series victory over the Minnesota Wild. While the Avalanche have remained guarded about specifics, his absence in Game 1 was impossible to ignore.
Without Makar controlling transitions, breaking pressure, and quarterbacking the attack from the blue line, Colorado struggled to consistently dictate pace against Vegas. The burden quickly shifted onto the rest of the defensive corps, including Sam Malinski, who logged more than 20 minutes in Wednesday’s defeat.
“You obviously can’t replace Cale,” Malinski said. “But we all know we have to step up and play a little more. So, I don’t think we really need to change the style of play. I don’t need to change the way I play.”
The Weight of One Missing Player
That’s the balancing act now facing the Avalanche — trying to survive long enough for their franchise defenseman to return while resisting the urge to become a different team without him.
Because when Makar is out, everything feels a little tighter.
Breakouts take longer. Odd-man rushes become harder to generate. The confidence that usually flows through Colorado’s game starts to fade in small moments that add up over sixty minutes.
If Makar remains unavailable Friday, Colorado is expected to once again lean on either Nick Blankenburg or Jack Ahcan to fill the final spot on the blue line.
Still, there’s no disguising what Makar means to this team.
Few players in hockey influence every layer of the game the way the former Norris Trophy winner does. His skating stretches defensive coverage, his puck movement fuels Colorado’s speed through the neutral zone, and his ability to erase mistakes often allows the Avalanche to play aggressively without fear.
When he is missing, the margin for error shrinks instantly.
And after dropping Game 1 at home, Colorado cannot afford many more mistakes.
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 21: Phillip Danault #24 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates after scoring a goal on Frederik Andersen #31 of the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period in Game One of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center on May 21, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Carolina Hurricanes dropped their first 2026 postseason game in grand fashion by a score of 6-2 to the Montreal Canadiens. With the loss, they fall behind 1-0 after game one of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Canes had a record 11 day break between games and many wondered if that pause would cause some rust as they tried to work themselves back into game shape. The obvious answer was yes, although the Canes would not necessarily admit it.
While it seemed they had good energy, perhaps they were slow mentally.
After Seth Jarvis scored just 33 seconds into the game, the Habs would answer four straight times to make the score 4-1 before the end of the first period. Each goal was due to some breakdown or deficiency on the home team’s part. The Canes seemed to be skating in mud and were too often a step behind the speedy Montreal team in that period.
Captain Jordan Staal indicated that his team was not prepared.
“We were just not aware of them obviously. Different (guys), different style, different pace. Just awareness, really. The breakaways that we gave up right off the bat. Obviously, we need to find ways to defend better.”
If the team was not “aware” of how Montreal played, one wonders why they did not watch more film during their ample time off. Montreal, even with their short time between series, seemed to be well aware of how Carolina played.
The second period was more like Carolina hockey as they held the Habs to just three shots on goal. Eric Robinson scored on a breakaway to make it 4-2, but the Canes would not get any closer.
In the third period, the Hurricanes were only credited with two shots on goal themselves. Obviously, that was not going to get the job done. The Habs scored twice more, once on an empty net, to close out the scoring.
Jaccob Slavin blamed the loss on himself and not on the rust.
“No, I don’t think it had anything to do with the break but personally I think I handed them the game, so I need to be better.”
“I don’t think we were very sharp. Our top guys had a rough night and that will not work this time of year……… We clearly were not ready for that pace. I’m not going to use the layoff as an excuse, but we were not ready to play playoff hockey.
When asked why he replied.
“Yeah, we weren’t ready. I mean we were not mentally ready.”
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Montreal Canadiens never flinched in winning two Game 7s on the road to reach the Eastern Conference Final. Opening on the road again was no different, even against a well-rested top seed that had yet to lose in the postseason.
The Canadiens pounced for four first-period goals on slow-starting Carolina — coming off the longest postseason break in more than a century — and beat the Hurricanes 6-2 on Thursday night.
“We knew we could come in here and try to get off to a good start to the series,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said after a three-assist night. “We’re happy with the result, but they’re definitely going to be better than what they were tonight.”
Cole Caufield and Phillip Danault scored in the opening four minutes, Alexandre Texier followed four minutes later, and Ivan Demidov finished a breakaway for a shocking 4-1 lead midway through the opening period. That came against a team that hadn’t allowed more than two goals in an 8-0 playoff start.
Juraj Slafkovksy scored twice in the third period for Montreal, the second on a late empty-netter, while Jakub Dobes had 24 saves.
Game 2 is Saturday night.
The Hurricanes were the first team to sweep their first two playoff rounds since the NHL went to best-of-seven series in all four rounds in 1987. But that led to a lengthy break of 11 days, the longest rest for any team before starting the next playoff run since at least 1920, while waiting on the Canadiens to battle their way past Tampa Bay and Buffalo.
That led to the rest-versus-rust discussion about the Hurricanes, along with how well the Canadiens would pivot from those to-the-limit wins.
And outside of Seth Jarvis beating Dobes just 33 seconds in, the Canadiens answered that question resoundingly in those opening minutes to extend Carolina’s misery in this round.
“I didn’t think we were very sharp, to put it bluntly,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Our top guys had tough nights. That’s not going to work at this time of the year.”
Much of Carolina’s success comes from pressuring opponents in the offensive zone and minimizing chances going the other way. But Montreal effectively moved the puck out of danger against Carolina’s aggressive pressure early, setting up clean breakouts, open-ice space and multiple breakaway chances at Frederik Andersen.
“The execution was there right off the bat,” Canadiens center Jake Evans said.
Danault’s goal was a full-speed breakaway right up the middle off a feed from Alexandre Carrier, while Demidov went forehand-backhand-forehand to beat Andersen for the 4-1 lead with 8:28 left in the first.
Andersen was leading the postseason in goals-against average (1.12) and save percentage (.950), but finished with just 16 saves.
Eric Robinson also scored for Carolina, which is in the Eastern final for the third time in four years and fourth time in the current eight-season playoff run under Rod Brind’Amour. But the Hurricanes are now 1-13 in those games, including sweeps against Boston in 2019 and Florida in 2023.
Carolina’s loss meant the two Stanley Cup favorites both lost the opener of the conference finals. Colorado lost at home to Vegas on Wednesday night.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had a chance to eliminate Springfield in Game 4 of the Atlantic Division Final on Thursday night, but it wasn't meant to be.
It looked like WBS took the lead in the first period with a goal by Harrison Brunicke but it was disallowed due to goalie interference. The officials felt that Gabe Klassen made contact with Springfield goaltender Georgii Romanov and took the goal away.
However, Inside AHL Hockey's Tony Androckitis noticed via replay that it was Romanov who swept Klassen's leg at the top of the crease.
Take a look:
Complete & utter nonsense from AHL officiating yet again in these 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs.
Thunderbirds goalie Georgii Romanov sweeps the leg of Gabe Klassen atop the crease & they call off the goal due to goaltender interference.
WBS lost all the momentum after that disallowed goal and couldn't get back to its game. Springfield eventually opened the scoring in the second period, thanks to Dillon DUbe. He scored a power play goal with less than four minutes left in the middle frame.
Springfield scores on the power play, and for the first time this series the Thunderbirds have a lead.
The Thunderbirds took that one-goal lead into the third period before making it 2-0 with 13:12 left.
The Penguins couldn't get anything going for the rest of the game and ultimately lost by that same score. The series is now even at two games all, meaning there will be a winner-take-all Game 5 back in WBS on Saturday.
Whoever wins Saturday's game will advance to the Eastern Conference Final. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. ET.
