RALEIGH, N.C. — Tomas Hertl joined the Vegas Golden Knights in a trade in March 2024 when they were defending champions, fortifying a group that had just won the Stanley Cup and expected to contend perennially with an elite forward in his prime.
He had just one point in the playoffs that spring, a first-round exit, then just five last year in a second-round loss. It was “here we go again” when Hertl languished in the final 20 games of the regular season without a goal, a stretch that reached 29 before he ended it against Anaheim on May 10.
That two-month drought now feels like ancient history, especially after Hertl was the hero in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, scoring the go-ahead goal with under four minutes left to beat Carolina and take the lead in the series. It’s his second winning goal in three games, and the scoring touch is back at just the right time for the Golden Knights.
“I haven’t coached him for long, and a lot of those games weren’t that good,” coach John Tortorella said. “I think he’s grown. He never stopped working. I thought there were some major struggles in his game, but he never stopped working at his game. It’s just great timing, just to try to balance our lineup. He has given us some very important minutes.”
Hertl will be counted on for more of those big minutes in Game 2 at the Hurricanes and beyond in the final. As one of the Vegas players who has not hoisted the Cup, he certainly was feeling the pressure when the puck wasn’t going in the net earlier this postseason and his ice time got reduced as a result.
“Obviously, it’s not easy because everybody’s looking at me,” Hertl said. “I watched YouTube videos of how I score, talk with family and stuff.”
A call from former San Jose teammate Joe Pavelski, who has scored 74 goals in 291 NHL playoff games, set him straight. They talked for a half-hour on May 9, Hertl scored the next night and then had a goal streak with two in a row.
“He’s still texting me, which I really appreciate it and obviously all the teammates always around me,” Hertl said.
Hertl’s goal in the Cup final opener was the fourth of the night scored by a player who hasn’t won the Cup. Carolina’s Nikolaj Ehlers scored the first two, and teammate Shayne Gostisbehere tied it in the third period with what would have sent the game to overtime if not for Hertl finishing a beautiful backhanded feed from Colton Sissons.
“I just tried to get open, and I don’t even say a word and he just make an incredible play,” Hertl said. ”I won’t say it was an easy shot, but I don’t think the goalie have time to move, so it was kind of open.”
The almost pained look of relief on Hertl’s face from the second round this time was pure, unfiltered joy for the 32-year-old from Czechia.
Hertl’s happiness was only matched and perhaps eclipsed by those of his teammates, who watched him go through the worst slump of his professional career. Now in his second final after losing with the Sharks in 2016, the way Hertl is playing makes Vegas look every bit like the winner it expects to be.
“Everyone goes through tough stretches,” original Golden Knights player Shea Theodore said. “His just kind of came at that bad time. He’s scored some really big goals for us here, and it’s great having him feel a little bit more and get that confidence.”
After two productive seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL, star forward Matvei Michkov has been nominated to receive permanent recognition from his hometown of Perm back home in Russia.
As first shared on X by our good friend Uggg, Michkov, 21, has been nominated for the 2026 Stroganov Prize by the Perm community, awarded annually to the person who brings honor and glory to the Perm Krai region through their endeavors and achievements.
Michkov has been nominated by the Perm community for, of course, high achievement in sports. Here's what they had to say on Michkov's candidate page:
"Matvey Michkov – the only Perm hockey graduate who was selected in the first round of the NHL draft," the page read.
"The 2024/2025 season was Matvey Michkov’s triumphant debut in the NHL. Twice recognized as the best rookie of the month in the NHL and became the most productive Philadelphia rookie in the 21st century. In the 2025/2026 season, Matvey reached 73 (31+42) points in 100 games in the NHL – the best figure for Flyers rookies since 1995."
Two years into his NHL career, Michkov now sits at 114 points in 161 games for the Flyers, recording 20 goals and 51 points this past season despite its perception as a hugely disappointing campaign for the youngster.
That success, though, has made the 21-year-old a local icon, and it's a matter of when and not if he earns permanent recognition, be it through the Stroganov Prize or something else.
"Matvey Michkov today is the brightest representative of the younger generation of Russian sports on the world stage. He is a model for thousands of young athletes of the Kama region and a worthy successor to the traditions of famous Perm athletes," the Perm community concluded.
It speaks volumes about Michkov to be looked upon in this way, and it only further proves he belongs with the Flyers as a big piece of what the organization is building.
Young standouts like Michkov, Porter Martone, Denver Barkey, Jack Berglund, and Jett Luchanko have all led by example on and off the ice in different ways, and that makes the Flyers' future look that much brighter going forward.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Colton Sissons smiled widely and raved about how much fun it was to play in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
He and the Vegas Golden Knights traded chances, goals, saves and counterpunches with the Carolina Hurricanes, getting the championship series off to a terrific start. Vegas won a high-scoring, entertaining 5-4 affair that usually would drive an old-school coach like John Tortorella crazy.
“I think he enjoyed it,” Sissons said. “Obviously the result.”
It was a game so good even Torts enjoyed it.
Game 1 had a little bit of everything, from Nikolaj Ehlers scoring 25 seconds in for the Hurricanes and lifting an already riled-up crowd to its feet to each goaltender making big saves to keep the puck out of the net. The only thing missing was the lockdown defense that got these teams to this point, but that only made for a more exciting opener.
“Both teams played good defense for certain minutes, other times not,” Tortorella said. “You just never know what’s going to happen.”
The goals
What happened was a lot of scoring from two of the best defensive teams in the playoffs. It was the first Cup final game in history with a goal in the first 30 seconds of each of the first two periods.
Ehlers scored his first off the rush and second on a breakaway. The two-goal lead lasted all of 80 seconds before Shea Theodore scored, and Ivan Barbashev and William Karlsson put Vegas ahead, rallying from another deficit.
“It was great from our group to kind of battle back,” Theodore said.
Jordan Staal scoring his first goal at this stage of the playoffs since 2009 and breaking older brother Eric’s record for the longest gap between Cup final goals brought the crowd back to life. So did Shayne Gostisbehere tying it with under nine minutes left in regulation.
With time ticking closer to overtime, the Golden Knights made one more highlight-reel play in a night full of them. Sissons’ backhand pass set up Tomas Hertl — who also had a rough go the first couple of rounds — for the go-ahead goal with 3:34 left in regulation.
The saves
Long before Sissons and Hertl teamed up on the winner, each guy was denied on a Grade-A scoring chance by Carolina’s Frederik Andersen. At the other end of the rink, Carter Hart made some 10-bell saves of his own.
Logan Stankoven got in all alone on a breakaway in the first with a chance to break the game open.
“That could’ve been a dagger,” Sissons said.
Instead, Hart made that save and kept Vegas in the game throughout. His best came with under four minutes left and the score tied, flashing his glove to rob Seth Jarvis, Carolina’s top-line right wing whose snakebit struggle of a run continued.
“He gives us so much confidence,” Sissons said. “When we needed him most, he was there.”
The drama
The start of the Cup final quickly got the NHL past a lackluster third round, when Vegas swept Colorado in the West and Carolina bounced back from a rough start against Montreal, winning four in a row to blow through the East final roadblock that had been an issue for so long.
Fans were buzzing from pregame warmups, and the two teams put on a show worth the hefty price of admission.
“I thought it was a great game from both sides,” Theodore said. “That’s a loud building to play in front of.”
After a ton of excitement between two hockey powerhouses, viewers can only hope for six more games just like this one.
It was an apparent taunt toward Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart, who, along with four others, was part of the high-profile Hockey Canada sexual assault trial in London, Ontario. All were found not guilty by a judge.
Hart, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were charged with one count of sexual assault. McLeod faced a second charge of being party to the offense.
All five were in London, Ontario in June 2018 for a Hockey Canada gala celebrating their gold medal in the world junior championships. Police charged them in February 2024 with sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room after meeting her in a bar. Hart was the only player who testified at the 2025 trial.
After a mistrial and the dismissal of a second jury, Justice Maria Carroccia said she would render a verdict in the case.
"I cannot rely upon the evidence of (the accuser) and then considering the evidence in this trial as a whole, I conclude that the Crown cannot meet its onus on any of the counts before me," Carroccia said before pronouncing all five not guilty on July 24, 2025.
NHL response and Hart's return to the league
The NHL said it found the allegations "disturbing" and players were ineligible to return while it reviewed the judge's ruling.
In September, the NHL cleared a path for a return, noting each player "expressed regret and remorse for his actions."
The league said players could sign on Oct. 15 and play on Dec. 1. Hart signed with the Golden Knights on Oct. 16.
Carter Hart's time with the Golden Knights
After signing with the Golden Knights, Hart told reporters he had learned a lot during his time away from the game and that he would only take hockey questions afterward.
He played his first game Dec. 2, a shootout win, and was hurt on Jan. 8. He missed nearly two months, but he returned on April 2, which – along with a coaching change to John Tortorella – helped Vegas makes the playoffs.
Hart helped the Golden Knights win three rounds, including a sweep of the No. 1 overall Colorado Avalanche. Vegas is in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since winning the 2023 title.
Carter Hart at the Stanley Cup Final
The Athletic asked Hart at Stanley Cup Final media day to follow up on his October comment about what he learned.
"I’ve learned a lot," Hart said. "I’ve grown a lot since then. And I’ve been able to meet a lot of good people in the community, and I think the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation has done a really good job of making it easy for me to integrate into the community and meet a lot of cool people and just really fortunate to be here in Vegas.
"And it’s a great culture of people, and like I said, I met a lot of cool people, and I’m just very fortunate to be here in Las Vegas and with this group."
General manager Kelly McCrimmon addressed Hart's signing during a news conference the same day.
"We went through a lengthy process of due diligence with Carter," McCrimmon said, per the Athletic. "Carter is a really good person. He’s ingrained himself in our community. He’s a player that I’ve known a long time, long prior to him becoming an NHL player. Playing very well. Obviously a big part of how our team is at this point that we’re at today, and he’s fit in seamlessly with his teammates."
As the calendar flips from May to June, and the NHL Stanley Cup final has begun, the majority of significant transactions between now and the start of the 2026-27 season will likely take place over the course of the next four to six weeks.
The Anaheim Ducks find themselves in unfamiliar waters after what could be seen as their first successful season in nearly a decade. They enter the offseason with a projected $38.7 million in cap space, two core RFAs (Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier) to sign to big extensions, two secondary RFAs (Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger) on whom tough decisions will have to be made, and one to three areas on the roster potentially in need of upgrades.
Anaheim could now be seen as a desirable destination for players on the move. Even after RFAs are inked to new deals, the Ducks will still have considerable cap space to add quality players to their roster who could help them now and moving into a bright future.
After feasibly identifying three areas in need of an upgrade on the Ducks’ depth chart (right shot defense, second-line center, top-nine winger), now seems like a good time to identify paths in which general manager Pat Verbeek could go about adding to his group and numerous organizations’ situations they could target around the league.
I’ve decided to break this up by division, so we’ll take a look at some teams in the Central Division, which features three bona fide cup contenders, a couple of teams on the rise, and a couple potentially looking to reset a bit.
Disclaimer: This exercise is purely speculative. Some players mentioned have been previously reported to be in trade discussions, while others haven’t. This is intended to provide ideas on the type of players the Ducks could target this offseason.
(Alphabetical Order)
Colorado Avalanche
The Avs recently saw their spectacular season come to an unspectacular end, as the Presidents’ Trophy-winning club was swept in the Western Conference Final by the Vegas Golden Knights after dispatching the Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota Wild in nine total games through the first two rounds.
They only have a projected $2.29 million in cap space heading into the offseason, with just four NHL defensemen under contract. They’re likely going to have to subtract from their forward group to add to their blueline.
As one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL, it may benefit the Ducks to look for two-way, 200-foot forwards to fill gaps in their young core’s game. Artturi Lehkonen (30), Ross Colton (29), and Nicolas Roy (29) all have one year remaining on their current contracts and could fit that bill.
Lehkonen has an AAV of $4.5 million (12-team NTC), Colton has a $4 million AAV, and Roy’s is $3 million.
Another potential target Colorado could look to offload is Valeri Nichushkin (31), who is coming off his least productive season since 2020-21. He has four years remaining on his contract at a $6.125 million AAV.
The Avs will be forced to move some money out this summer if they intend to keep their contending window as open as possible. They’ll have a new general manager at the helm, as Chris McFarland is on his way to the Nashville Predators organization.
Dallas Stars
The Stars continue as one of the Western Conference’s elite clubs year after year, but haven’t been able to get over the hump and hoist the Stanley Cup. They enter the 2026 offseason with $10.1 million in projected cap space, but they’ll likely have to clear more space to fit in RFA winger Jason Robertson’s potential extension, which could result in a top-heavy depth chart.
Robertson (26) has been at the center of trade discussion and speculation for the last two summers now, remains without a contract, and is one year from UFA eligibility. If he's made available via trade, the Ducks have the pieces to acquire the Arcadia, CA native, despite his potential addition not necessarily filling a need for the Ducks.
If an extension is inked between the Stars and Robertson, other pieces in Dallas could entice Anaheim. Mavrik Bourque (24) broke out a bit in his second full season in the NHL and could fit nicely with the Ducks as a middle-six center. He’s an RFA this summer, and due to the Stars’ cap sheet, this is a perfect offer sheet scenario if a trade cannot be agreed upon.
Elsewhere in Dallas, Tyler Seguin (34) is in his mid-30s, expensive ($9.85 million AAV), has one year remaining on his deal, and is often injured, but when he’s on the ice, he’s remained productive. Verbeek values experience, and Seguin may require a valuable asset or two attached if the Stars intend to move on.
Lastly, an Ilya Lyubushkin (32) reunion could make sense, as he had chemistry with a rookie Pavel Mintyukov in 2023-24 before the former was traded. He has one year remaining on his contract with a $3.35 million AAV.
Similarly to Colorado, the Stars have difficult waters to navigate, as they push forward and accumulate as many “kicks at the can” as possible with their window wide open and their core in their primes.
St. Louis Blues
The Blues have been one of the most active and discussed teams in the NHL from the days leading up to the 2026 trade deadline to the present. They had the second-worst record in the NHL at the deadline, but finished strong and only missed the playoffs by four points.
Reports suggest the Blues will remain active as they look to stay competitive while making some changes to their core. Three of the biggest names who continue to appear on trade boards and in discussions are Robert Thomas (26), Jordan Kyrou (28), and Colton Parayko (33).
All three players would be immediate fits and impact contributors on the Ducks’ roster. Thomas is consistently one of the NHL’s top play creators and offers a premium two-way skillset, even killing penalties. Kyrou’s production took a bit of a dip in 2025-26, but he had three straight 30-plus-goal seasons prior, and he remains a forward who can make plays at high speeds and tilts the ice considerably. Thomas and Kyrou have matching contracts, with five years remaining at an $8.125 million AAV (full NTC).
Parayko could be the coveted ideal right-shot defense partner for the Ducks’ emerging star defenseman, Jackson LaCombe (25). He’s in the latter stages of his career, but the Canadian Olympian and Stanley Cup winner in 2019 is an immediate stylistic fit and is on an increasingly reasonable contract, with four years remaining at a $6.5 million AAV (full NTC).
At the trade deadline, a deal was agreed upon between the Sabres and Blues to send Parayko to Buffalo, but the defenseman was unwilling to waive his NTC. Reports have since come out that he was willing to waive for Anaheim or the Los Angeles Kings and that his preference may be for the Alberta native to remain in the Western Conference.
The Blues have built a quality prospect and young player pool despite not picking near the top of the draft. They can add significantly to that pipeline by moving on from some excellent players at every position who are firmly in their primes.
The Toronto Maple Leafs coaching search is getting more interesting. Sources say Patrick Roy and Peter Laviolette are a part of this weeks stage of the interview process.
Roy, who the Islanders hired on Jan. 20, 2024, was relieved of his duties back on Apr. 6, with just four games to go in the regular season. The Islanders have given Toronto permission to talk to Roy, who is still under contract, per David Pagnotta.
He led the Islanders to a 97-78-22 record over the better parts of three seasons, with one playoff berth. They fell to the now Stanley Cup finalist Carolina Hurricanes in five games during the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender previously coached the Colorado Avalanche from 2014-2016 before walking away from the position ahead of the 2016-17 season.
We'll see if Roy's motivating tactics are enough to sway recently appointeed general manager John Chayka into a gig, or at least, a second interview.
If Monday morning made it clear that Patrik Laine and Brendan Gallagher would move on, it didn’t provide as much clarity about forward Kirby Dach. When the Montreal Canadiens’ GM Kent Hughes was asked about the Albertan forward, he was really not committing in his comments:
We know he’s a talented player, but also very unlucky with injuries so far. But we have to sit down and have a chat with Kirby, probably during his exit meeting today. Then, Jeff, Marty, and I, Sedge (John Sedgwick – the Canadiens’ “capologist”) have to discuss his case, but it’s too early to talk about those things.
The fact that he included Sedgwick in that answer is revealing. It feels like the Canadiens will have to think long and hard before making a qualifying offer to Dach. The 25-year-old is coming off a four-year contract with a $ 3,362,500 cap hit, meaning his qualifying offer has to be $4 million. That’s a lot of money for a player who has skated in 154 games out of a possible 328 over the last four years. That’s only 47% of the games the Habs have played.
His four-year deal was an audition of sorts, a chance to prove that he could play the role the organization acquired him to play, which was that of a second center. In 154 games, he has put up 77 points and has never had a better face-off percentage than 41.4 %. He finished the playoffs playing on the wing of the fourth line, and it’s safe to say that he will never be what the team bet on him being when they sacrificed Alexander Romanov to get him.
When Dach spoke to the media, however, he said he hadn’t had any talks about his contract yet and was looking forward to having that discussion. When asked about his season, he replied:
I felt confident in my game, felt good, felt like whatever the coaching staff asked me to do, I was willing to do it, and I was able to do it.
To be blunt, we weren’t in the meetings Dach had with the coaching staff, but his play doesn’t pass the eye test. When he made that mistake against the Tampa Bay Lightning, which cost the Canadiens Game 2 of their first-round series, he was vilified online by fans, and there were calls to scratch him, but Martin St-Louis refused to do it. Dach rewarded him with his best game of the playoffs, putting up two points and playing a key role in the Game 3 win. After the game, the bench boss said he wouldn’t give up on a player who hadn’t given up on himself.
Unfortunately, Dach didn’t keep that level of performance throughout the playoffs, and he soon faded away, being pretty much invisible by the end of the Canadiens’ run. When the Habs were sent packing by the Carolina Hurricanes, Dach hadn’t had a point in nine games.
Of course, you can’t expect a player who gets fourth-line minutes to light up the scoreboard, but you can expect him to bring energy and a spark by making life hard on the opponent. That’s not what Dach did. He’s 6-foot-4 and 221 pounds, and if he were to play with speed and use his big body, he could make a difference, but more often than not, he doesn’t. When Dach was asked if the long playoff run helped with his next contract, he replied:
Yeah, I think it was nice to kind of go on that run and be healthy, play the style that I needed to play.
When he was asked to summarize his time in Montreal, he explained:
It’s been a long couple of years, obviously, with the injuries and the surgeries. It adds up, and mentally it wears on you. Physically, it’s another thing. But for me, I just tried to have the same attitude: come to the rink every day and make sure I was doing everything I needed to do to be in the lineup.
Of course, it’s hard not to sympathize with a player who has gone through so many injuries, but at the end of the day, hockey is a business, and it’s about winning games and ultimately winning the Stanley Cup. By the end of the playoffs, it was hard to see what Dach was doing to deserve to be in the lineup over, say, someone like Brendan Gallagher, who would have given everything he had to get one last game with the Sainte-Flanelle. Not that the veteran would have changed the outcome of the series, but he at least would have brought some passion, some energy, a spark to lead his team into battle.
At this stage, it’s hard to know what the Canadiens will elect to do with Dach. No one likes losing an asset for nothing, but it feels like, from what he has shown so far, he wouldn’t be worth the four million cap hit. If the Habs do not give him a qualifying offer, he will become an unrestricted free agent and be free to sign with any team or sign a new deal with the Canadiens for less money.
The Vegas Golden Knights erased a 2-0 deficit to win Game 1 over the Carolina Hurricanes and steal home-ice advantage.
The two teams meet again at the Lenovo Center on Thursday, June 4, and my top Golden Knights vs. Hurricanes predictions and NHL picks are calling for improved play from Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen in Game 2.
Golden Knights vs Hurricanes Game 2 prediction
Golden Knights vs Hurricanes best bet: Over 21.5 saves (-105)
He finished with just 18 saves after being nothing short of spectacular throughout the postseason with a high-end .920 save percentage, 1.65 GAA, and .560 goals saved above expected per 60 minutes.
Carolina was also vulnerable for stretches of the series opener, and in particular, the Vegas Golden Knights dominated the second period with a 73.3% overall shot share.
Vegas isn’t going to go prolonged stretches without generating offense, and Andersen isn’t going to post a.783 SV% with -1.73 goals saved above expected again in Game 2, so there is an easy path to this Over.
I’d play this prop confidently to -115.
Golden Knights vs Hurricanes Game 2 same-game parlay
The Golden Knights and Hurricanes generated 6.35 expected goals in Game 1, and both goaltenders struggled in the opener. In addition to Andersen finishing with -1.73 GSAx, Vegas starter Carter Hart also checked in with a -1.72 mark.
With a heightened focus on attention to defensive detail being a chalkboard talking point for both teams, I’m anticipating a lower-scoring Game 2 with better goaltending for both teams.
Turning to Hurricanes winger Seth Jarvis, he finished Game 1 with four scoring chances and has an unsustainably low 8.0 shooting percentage and just two goals across his past eight games despite generating 3.15 expected goals and 11 individual high-danger scoring chances.
This same-game parlay has my attention down to +750.
Golden Knights vs Hurricanes SGP
Hurricanes moneyline
Under 5.5
Seth Jarvis anytime goal
Golden Knights vs Hurricanes odds for Game 2
Moneyline: Golden Knights +130 | Hurricanes -150
Puck Line: Golden Knights +1.5 (-190) | Hurricanes (+160)
Over/Under: Over 5.5 (-130) | Under 5.5 (+110)
Golden Knights vs Hurricanes trend
The total has gone Under the number in 13 of the past 16 games the Carolina Hurricanes have played. Find more NHL betting trends for Golden Knights vs. Hurricanes.
How to watch Golden Knights vs Hurricanes Game 2
Location
Lenovo Center, Raleigh, NC
Date
Thursday, June 4, 2026
Puck drop
8:00 p.m. ET
TV
ABC, SN
Golden Knights vs Hurricanes latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
However, according to a couple of sources, the Maple Leafs have continued on with their search, and have interviewed Peter Laviolette and Patrick Roy.
On Sportsnet's 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman reported that Laviolette is one of several coaches that the Maple Leafs have spoken too.
"Toronto, I've heard they've done like 15 Zoom interviews, and I think Peter Laviolette was one of them," Friedman said on Wednesday's podcast.
TSN's Darren Dreger also made a report on Wednesday about Laviolette being a part of this week's "stage of the interview process." Along with the veteran head coach, Laviolette, Dreger also mentioned Roy as being a part of the process as a separate candidate at this stage, too.
Laviolette, 61, hasn't coached in the NHL this past season after wrapping up a two-year stint with the New York Rangers. He was fired after the 2024-25 campaign after a 39-36-7 record and a fifth-place finish in the Metropolitan Division, missing the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The season before that, which was also Laviolette's first with the Rangers, they won the Presidents' Trophy and advanced to the Eastern Conference final, losing to the Cup champions Florida Panthers in six games.
Laviolette has visited the Stanley Cup final three times in his 23-year NHL coaching career. He finished as the runner-up in 2009-10 and 2016-17 with the Philadelphia Flyers and Nashville Predators, respectively. But he did win the Stanley Cup 20 years ago with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.
In addition to that playoff success and 1,594 regular-season games coached in the NHL, he's also won a couple of Presidents' Trophies.
In his first year with Colorado and in the NHL, Roy won the Jack Adams Trophy as the coach of the year. He led the Avs to win the Central Division in that 2013-14 campaign with a 52-22-8 record, but was eliminated in the first round by the Minnesota Wild in seven games.
In the next two seasons, the Avalanche finished seventh and sixth in their division, leading Roy and Colorado to part ways following 2015-16.
After seven years away from the NHL, contributing to the QMJHL's Quebec Remparts as a GM and head coach, he was hired by the Islanders mid-season in 2023-24.
He finished off his first year in Long Island with a five-game exit in the first round of the playoffs. To this point, there was a clear decline in the Islanders, and they missed the post-season the following year.
Even after winning the draft lottery and selecting star defenseman Matthew Schaefer, there weren't many expectations for the Islanders and Roy, but he was exceeding them throughout the year.
For a chunk of last season, Roy and the Islanders were hanging around a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. In fact, the day before Roy was officially relieved of his duties by the Isles, the team was third in the Metro.
Nonetheless, Roy was replaced by Peter DeBoer, and New York went on to miss the playoffs.
Both Laviolette and Roy have had some solid campaigns in the NHL. And with these reports, it seems the Maple Leafs have at least made a preliminary interaction and spent some time speaking to these candidates recently.
See more of The Hockey News on Google — Save us as Preferred Source
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
MONTREAL, CANADA - OCTOBER 14: Patrik Laine #92 of the Montréal Canadiens handles the puck during the first period against the Seattle Kraken at the Bell Centre on October 14, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montréal Canadiens defeated the Seattle Kraken 5-4 in overtime. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It seems likely that the Pittsburgh Penguins approach to the unrestricted free agent market is going to be very similar to what it was in the summer of 2025, especially given the lack of truly high-end players that will be available in that market.
That is also a very, very good thing if it plays out that way.
The top goal-scorer on the free agent market already played for the Penguins this past season (Anthony Mantha) and there does not seem to be anybody that wants him back after his playoff performance.
But for as forgettable as that playoff showing was, Mantha was still an objectively good free agent signing given what he did over the course of the regular season and how little he actually cost them.
The Penguins took a one-year flier on him in the hopes that he could come back healthy, took advantage of the opportunity to give him an incentive-laden contract, and then watched him put together a career year. The initial goal was almost certainly to trade him at the deadline (which would have made him this season’s version of Anthony Beauvillier), but he ended up scoring more goals than anybody could have anticipated, while the Penguins ended up winning more games than anybody could have anticipated.
All of that kept him in Pittsburgh for the duration of the season.
Now that Mantha seems destined to move on, there’s going to be an opening on the roster.
Ideally there would be an internal replacement to fill that spot (looking at you, Rutger McGroarty or Ville Koivunen).
There is also the possibility that other players leave the organization along with Mantha via trade (looking at you, Rickard Rakell and/or Bryan Rust and/or Tommy Novak) which could open up additional spots.
Somebody would have to also fill them.
One name on the free agent that could follow the mold of Mantha as a potential reclamation project is Patrik Laine.
Frankly, Laine might be the only type of unrestricted free agent I have any interest in.
Alex Tuch is destined to sign with the Rangers on a contract that immediately ages like milk. I can already see him in that uniform. I can hear his name echoing throughout Madison Square Garden. It’s fate. It’s where this offseason deserves to go. It is all of their destinies.
Mason Marchment and Bobby McMann in a rising cap environment? Gross! Let Seattle and Calgary deal with that.
When it comes to making major investments this offseason you have to be thinking along the lines of trades and restricted free agents. Players still in their prime, just entering their prime or players that can provide some sort positive long-term value beyond the 2026-27 season.
After all, even though the Penguins were a playoff team a year ago they are still a team that is going through some sort of a rebuild (even if it isn’t the traditional type of rebuild people expected).
If you are going to dip into this UFA market with this Penguins team, you have to be thinking about low-risk, potentially high-reward gambles.
That is Laine.
Laine’s career has been derailed over the past few years by injuries, allowing him to appear in just 186 out of a possible 410 games over the past five seasons.
That includes just 75 games over the past three seasons and only five games this past season.
While he was limited to only five games with the Montreal Canadiens in 2025-26, he recently said he was healthy enough to play in the second half of the season only to have the Canadiens keep him on IR anyway.
All of that missed time has created the possibility for him to sign the type an incentive-filled contract that is usually only reserved for entry-level players and players over the age 35. That opens the door for a relatively cheap base-salary, with any bonus overages rolling into next year’s cap (which shouldn’t bother the Penguins given how much cap space they have and the lack of major long-term investments on the roster).
The only problem with this line of thinking is there’s probably 20 other teams in the NHL with that same mindset, which could create a more robust market for a guy that only played in five games a year ago.
But… I’m still sticking with this.
Especially since a healthy Laine can still be a potentially impactful player.
Is he one-dimensional? Probably.
But that one dimension that he provides is an important one, and he’s still really good at it when he is able to stay on the ice.
He can still shoot the puck, and he can still score goals.
Some numbers:
Between the 2022-23 and 2024-25 seasons there were 530 forwards in the NHL that played at least 500 minutes (all-situations) of hockey.
Laine’s 1.39 goals per 60 minutes placed him 27th on the list, sandwiched immediately between Cole Caufield and Brady Tkachuk, and ahead of Kyle Connor, Nikita Kucherov, Mark Scheifele, Sebastian Aho, Sidney Crosby, Matthew Tkachuk, Wyatt Johnston, Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin and Nikolaj Ehlers.
That does not mean he’s better than all of those players (or even any of them), it just means he scored goals at a higher rate than them. And there is value in that.
In terms of actual goals, he scored 48 in 125 games during that time.
That’s a 31-goal pace over 82 games.
He also averaged 9.89 shots on goal per 60 minutes (47th out of that group of 530 forwards) and 0.84 individual expected goals per 60 minutes (232nd out of the 530).
Just for comparisons sake, the Penguins signed Mantha to his incentive-based contract coming off that same three-year stretch, and also coming off an injury-shortened year.
Mantha’s numbers and rankings among that same group of forwards:
Goals/60: 1.04 (115th)
Shots on goal/60: 6.78 (258th)
Individual expected goals/60: 0.78 (290th)
The mindset with Laine could be identical to what it was with Mantha. It is a short-term, prove-it contract full of performance bonuses with the possibility of moving him at the deadline if the playoffs are not in the cards, or having a potential 30-goal scorer on your roster if the playoffs are in the cards. If you’re the Penguins and trying to sell Laine on what you can offer over other teams offering similar deals, you can literally point to the success of Mantha and what playing in Pittsburgh could do for him and his value NEXT offseason.
If it is not a move like this, I would sit out every element of the UFA signing period. But a move like this would at least be interesting. There is also some reason to believe it could work.
On this date in 2023, rumors surfaced that the Columbus Blue Jackets were going to hire long-time NHL coach Mike Babcock.
Columbus fans and hockey fans in general had a few reactions. CBJ fans were split 50/50, it seemed. Some fans wanted the hard-nosed coach that could bring out the best in the players. While others were shocked that the CBJ front office would bring in said hard-nosed coach and put him around a very young team.
Babcock has been away from the NHL for 4 years or so, and in the sports world, that’s an eternity. In 2021, he accepted the coaching job at the University of Saskatchewan, but in August of 2022, he resigned. The next day, he announced he would retire. But like most coaches in any sport, it’s hard to stay away.
Speculation around the Memorial Cup is Mike Babcock will return to the NHL as @BlueJacketsNHL new coach and the delay in announcing coincides with his existing contract with the Maple Leafs expiring the end of this month. https://t.co/OUlxBRS8bq
The question that most fans have is: has he changed? There were reports from a couple of players over the years of mental abuse or feuding with players like Mike Commodore. He has come out publicly and said that back when he was coaching, he had no idea about mental health and how to deal with it. Babcock has been an outspoken advocate for the Bell Let’s Talk awareness campaign and other groups.
A few weeks after the rumors started, Mike Commodore came out with a blistering video about Babcock. He publicly bashed both Babcock and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Commodore went on a calm, NSWF rant about how "disappointed" he was to see "Babs the Bully" back in the NHL. Commie asked, "Am I surprised? No, I'm not!" Commodore went on to say that he never believed Babcock was retiring. He said he also feels Babcock went into the CBJ front office and told them "whatever they wanted to hear," "blah blah blah," so he could get the job, claiming he changed; meanwhile Commie thinks otherwise. " Babs the bully ain't changing."
Commodore went on to say he hopes this experiment fails miserably. "With all due respect to my buddies that are in the Blue Jackets Organization, I hope this Babcock experiment is a complete disaster, on every single level."
As we know, it was a complete failure and possibly set the team back a few years; they later hired Pascal Vincent to replace him, and that hire also failed.
It's been a long three years for Columbus, but with a new GM, Head Coach(stable), and some front office changes, it seems like they're on the right track, but time will tell.
Next Up For Columbus: The NHL Draft is on June 26 and 27 in Buffalo, where the CBJ will own pick #14.
Stay updated with the most interesting Blue Jackets stories, analysis, breaking news, and more!
Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News and never miss a story.
Let us know what you think below.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
A Montreal Canadiens legend is among the candidates for the Toronto Maple Leafs' head coaching job.
According to TSN's Darren Dreger, former Canadiens star Patrick Roy is among the names interviewing for the Maple Leafs' bench boss gig this week. Dreger also shared that Peter Laviolette will be interviewing for Toronto's job as well.
With Roy being a Canadiens legend, it would certainly be strange to see him end up being the Maple Leafs' head coach. However, with Roy being one of the top head coaches without a job right now, it makes sense that he is speaking with the Maple Leafs.
Roy was let go by the New York Islanders with just four games left in the 2025-26 season. This is after he led the Islanders to a 42-31-5 record and 89 points. Roy was replaced by Peter DeBoer.
Roy has a 130-92-24 record as an NHL head coach. He also won the Jack Adams Award for the 2013-14 season, where he led the Colorado Avalanche to a 52-22-8 record and 112 points.
In 551 games with the Canadiens, Roy had a 289-175-66 record, a .904 save percentage, a 2.78 goals-against average, and 29 shutouts. He also won two of his four Stanley Cup championships with the Canadiens.
NHL players get praise from all sorts of sources, but none means more to them than that of their peers. That is especially true when it comes from peers who have been incredibly successful in their own careers.
That is what Chicago Blackhawks forward Oliver Moore received from Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk.
On the latest episode of his podcast "Wing Man", which he hosts with his brother and Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk, Matthew gave Moore his flowers after playing with him at the IIHF World Championships.
The two represented Team USA together in Switzerland. They lost to Canada in the Quarterfinals, but the young squad took major strides as the tournament went along.
Tkachuk, when praising Moore, said that he is going to be a great player in the NHL for a long time. Tkachuk credited Moore's skills, but also his speed, which is so obviously his best asset.
Moore was a first-round pick, 19th overall, in the 2023 NHL Draft. Since then, he has gone to the University of Minnesota, played some games in the AHL, and begun his NHL career.
In 60 total NHL games played, Moore has 5 goals and 14 assists for 19 points. He has shown the ability to impact games at even strength, on the power play, and on the penalty kill. Again, his speed is a factor in every facet of the game.
It still remains to be seen what kind of point totals Moore will max out at, but he is an everyday NHL forward no matter what. The Blackhawks would love if he became a star producer, but they know they have a speedy solid middle-six forward at minimum.
Matthew Tkachuk has been a wildly impressive player since becoming the sixth overall pick by the Calgary Flames in the 2016 NHL Draft.
In his 673-game NHL career, he has 253 goals, 417 assists, and 670 points. All of this comes while being one of the game's best "pests". His resume also includes two Stanley Cups and an Olympic Gold Medal.
Tkachuk knows what it takes to be triumphant as an individual and as a team at the highest level. Him seeing great things in Oliver Moore is a sign of good things to come for the young Blackhawks forward.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting on the article below on THN.com or by creating your own post in our community forum.
NEWARK, NJ - JULY 03: First-round draft pick Anton Silayev #52 of the New Jersey Devils skates during New Jersey Devils Development Camp at the Prudential Center on July 3, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Graessle Getty Images) | Getty Images
Here are your links for today:
Devils Links
Anton Silayev has signed his entry-level contract:
BIG deal? Yeah, we'd say so.
We've signed Anton Silayev to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Devils have signed Silayev, 2024 10th overall pick. Draft position, size, and skating are huge pluses in terms of his projectability. Some big question marks around his KHL time, especially this past season when his ice time plummeted. Puck skills and hockey I.Q. might be issues. pic.twitter.com/dwOrODN9pF
On Silayev: “He may not have a high offensive ceiling, but I am still optimistic about his chances of becoming a useful NHL player. He has a unique combination of size, speed, and agility that is very rare. If harnessed properly, he could turn into an excellent defender.” [Infernal Access ($)]
On the goaltending: “I doubt Allen is going anywhere, but what about Markström? For as much as fans may want a change in net, it may prove easier said than done.” [Devils on the Rush]
Hockey Links
Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final goes to the Golden Knights:
The James Norris Memorial Trophy is presented annually to the defenseman who demonstrates the greatest all-around ability in his position. 👏 #NHLAwardspic.twitter.com/4bdUVRLi4w
“Bruce Cassidy just wants to coach. In fact, he told The Athletic, just for the chance to interview for the current NHL coaching vacancies, he’d forfeit the reported $5 million the Vegas Golden Knights are on the hook to pay him not to coach next season. But the language in his contract with Vegas states the Golden Knights must grant him permission to interview elsewhere even after relieving him of his coaching duties in late March. If he chose to terminate the remainder of his contract, the only thing it would accomplish would be not getting paid. He still wouldn’t be allowed to interview because of a noncompete.” [The Athletic ($)]
“The NHL All-Star Weekend will have an international hockey flavor after the success of the 4 Nations Face-Off and the Winter Olympics. The 2027 midseason classic, scheduled for Feb. 5-6 at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, will feature teams representing Canada, Finland, Sweden, the United States and a ‘World’ team comprising international players from countries outside of those four.” [ESPN]
More from NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on a number of topics ahead of Game 1: [The Athletic ($)]
“The NHL is about to enter an exclusive renegotiation period with its two U.S. media rights holders, ESPN and TNT Sports, and will be doing so from a period of historic viewership strength.” [Front Office Sports]
“A report of a potential succession plan for longtime NHL commissioner Gary Bettman surfaced Tuesday in the hours leading up to his press conference to open the 2025-26 Stanley Cup Final between the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights. While Bettman, 74, was quick to downplay how far along the process was, he also didn’t shy away from the fact his career will wind down eventually.” [Daily Faceoff]
Feel free to discuss these and any other hockey-related stories in the comments below.
Vegas Golden Knights (39-26-17, in the Pacific Division) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (53-22-7, in the Metropolitan Division)
Raleigh, North Carolina; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT
LINE: Hurricanes -162, Golden Knights +135; over/under is 6
STANLEY CUP FINAL: Golden Knights lead series 1-0
BOTTOM LINE: The Vegas Golden Knights visit the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Final with a 1-0 lead in the series. The teams meet Tuesday for the fourth time this season. The Golden Knights won 5-4 in the previous matchup.
Carolina is 35-12-2 at home and 53-22-7 overall. The Hurricanes have a 28-9-2 record when scoring a power-play goal.
Vegas is 39-26-17 overall and 26-16-8 on the road. The Golden Knights have a 49-7-11 record when scoring three or more goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: Seth Jarvis has 32 goals and 34 assists for the Hurricanes. Nikolaj Ehlers has six goals and four assists over the past 10 games.
Mitchell Marner has 24 goals and 56 assists for the Golden Knights. Jack Eichel has one goal and nine assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Hurricanes: 8-2-0, averaging 3.5 goals, 6.2 assists, 5.1 penalties and 13.4 penalty minutes while giving up two goals per game.
Golden Knights: 8-2-0, averaging 3.7 goals, 6.4 assists, 3.2 penalties and 7.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.2 goals per game.
INJURIES: Hurricanes: None listed.
Golden Knights: None listed.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
