The 2025-26 season was another tough year for the Chicago Blackhawks. They finished the campaign at the bottom of the Central Division standings with a 29-39-14 record and 72 points. They also lost eight out of their final 10 games.
While the Blackhawks had some rough moments this campaign, forward Ryan Greene was certainly one of their bright spots. The 22-year-old forward had a solid rookie campaign for Chicago, posting 12 goals, 17 assists, and 29 points in 81 games. With this, he cemented himself as a full-time NHL player.
Greene also ended the season on a strong note for the Blackhawks. He scored a goal in each of his final three games of the campaign and will now be looking to carry that momentum over to next season.
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When noting that Greene is a young forward with plenty of promise who is just kicking off his NHL career, there is no question that he has the potential to hit a new level. With next season being just his second full campaign in the NHL, it would not be shocking in the slightest if he put together a breakout year for the Blackhawks.
Greene has the tools to blossom into an impactful offensive contributor. It will be interesting to see what he can do in 2026-27, but there is a lot to like about his game.
Thompson just completed his first season as Bridgeport Islanders head coach, leading a team that finished in last place in the AHL in 2024-25 back to the playoffs for the first time since 2021-22.
The 48-year-old former third-round pick who played 25 NHL games over a four-year career with the Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers has been behind an NHL bench before.
Thompson has six years of NHL assistant coaching experience. He served one season as an assistant with the Edmonton Oilers (2014-15), two with the San Jose Sharks (2020-2022), and three with the Philadelphia Flyers (2022-2025) under John Tortorella.
As for the connection between Rocky Thompson and #Isles coaching staff:
While Thompson was never an assistant for Pete DeBoer, assistant coach Bob Boughner had Rocky as his assistant in San Jose for his final two seasons there (2020-2022).
Rocky's job in Bridgeport, changing the culture while also getting prospects back on track, earned him this opportunity on DeBoer's staff.
The Hockey News confirmed that Ray Bennett and Bob Boughner remain with the team, so this could be your Islanders coaching staff for the 2026-27 season.
For teams outside of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the offseason will finally get in full swing tonight with the NHL Draft Lottery. The San Jose Sharks enter the night with the ninth-best odds of moving up, but there is also a chance that they could fall back.
The Sharks have six possible outcomes at the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery. They could win big and earn the honor of picking first overall for the second time in three seasons, they could pick second, or even third, overall. The most likely outcome is that they stay in place and pick ninth overall, but they could also fall to either the 10th or 11th overall pick as well.
In the United States, the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery will be broadcast on ESPN beginning at 4 p.m. PT. For those in Canada, it'll be available on Sportsnet and TVA Sports.
SHARKS' RECENT LOTTERY HISTORY
The San Jose Sharks have only won the NHL Draft Lottery once in 2024, however that was only because they entered event with the highest odds on the night. That first-overall selection, Macklin Celebrini, ended up changing the franchise's trajectory right out of the gate.
Last year, the Sharks were again projected to earn the first-overall pick heading into the Draft Lottery which would've earned them the right to select star defenseman Matthew Schaefer. Luck wasn't in their favor on that occasion, as the New York Islanders jumped from the 10th overall pick to the first pick, dropping the Sharks to the second selection.
Important note, no team in the 30-year history of the NHL Draft Lottery has earned the first overall pick with the ninth-best odds entering the night, meaning history doesn't favor the Sharks tonight.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Sabres center and faceoff ace Sam Carrick resumed practicing on Tuesday, and is in position to return for Buffalo’s second-round playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens.
Coach Lindy Ruff anticipated Carrick will be back in the lineup soon, without providing a timetable by saying: “Once you’re cleared to practice, you’re within days of playing.”
The Sabres host Montreal in Game 1 on Wednesday night, followed by Game 2 on Friday.
Carrick wrenched his left arm during a fight with Islanders captain Anders Lee in the third period of Buffalo’s 4-3 win on March 31. He missed the final seven regular-season games and Buffalo’s six-game first-round series win over Boston.
Carrick’s return is considered ahead of schedule, and comes after he met with team doctors on Monday.
The Sabres acquired the 10th-year player in a trade with the New York Rangers on March 5. Carrick immediately took over as Buffalo’s fourth-line center, and has handled key faceoffs, especially in late-game situations in the Sabres defensive zone.
He won 82 of 143 faceoffs for Buffalo. The Sabres entered Tuesday ranked last among 16 playoff teams in winning 43.8% of their faceoffs.
Ruff previously ruled out rookie center Noah Ostlund (lower left leg) for Round 2.
FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn again goes into the offseason with a decision to make about whether to come back for another NHL season.
His coach wants him to keep playing, and so does longtime teammate Tyler Seguin. Benn, who will turn 37 on July 18, sounds as though he will take some time to ponder an 18th season — all in Dallas — and another shot at a Stanley Cup title.
“Right now I’m just hanging out, being a dad, and figure it out later,” Benn said.
During the Stars’ season-ending availability, after they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, Benn was asked if he knew exactly when or how he would make the decision.
“Probably just wake up one day (and know), to be honest,” he said.
After fielding the same questions about his future last summer, Benn played this season on a one-year, $1 million contract and earned an additional $2 million in bonuses. General manager Jim Nill said last offseason, after the expiration of an eight-year, $76 million deal, that Benn had earned the right to continue to be part of the Stars as long as he wants. There have been no indications since of any changes to that thought.
“For me, it’s a slam dunk. He needs to come back,” coach Glen Gulutzan said of the only Stars player he also coached during his first tenure behind the Dallas bench (2011-13).
Seguin, who is 34 and has one year left on his contract after being limited to 47 games the past two seasons because of hip and knee injuries, said he certainly hopes they get another season together. Seguin and Benn have been teammates since 2013-14, after Seguin was traded from Boston and the same season Benn became the Stars captain.
“I don’t think anyone knows what Jaime is going to do until Jamie does it,” Seguin said. “I’ll stay out of his way, let him come to his own decisions, but I’d obviously love to have him for one more shot.”
Only Modano better than Benn in many key categories
Hall of Fame center Mike Modano is the only player in franchise history with more than Benn’s 1,252 regular-season games, 414 goals and 992 points. Benn has played in 126 postseason games, but the only time he has been to the Stanley Cup Final was when the Stars lost in six games to Tampa Bay during the 2020 postseason played in a bubble in Canada because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Stars had made the Western Conference finals three seasons in a row before falling in six games to Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs this year.
“The goal is to win the Stanley Cup, and when you don’t do that, there’s an empty space, a little pit in your stomach where you have some fire to change things up for next year,” Benn said.
After missing this season’s first 19 games because of a punctured lung, Benn was out another three games in January with a broken nose. While 60 games were his fewest in a full 82-game regular season, he finished with 15 goals and 21 assists while playing just more than 13 minutes a game, a career low.
Robo will get a new contract
Leading scorer Jason Robertson can become a restricted free agent this offseason after the completion of the four-year, $31 million contract he got following a training camp holdout in 2022. The Stars and the forward who turns 27 on July 22 had said they would play out this season before negotiations on a new deal.
“I understand it’s a business on both sides, right? I’m optimistic, I hope,” Robertson said. “It’s not like what it was when I was 10 years old, getting to the NHL, anymore. It’s a business. I learned that four years ago.”
The Stars will retain negotiation rights for Robertson, and could match any offer he gets from another team, if they make a $9.3 million qualifying offer by June 29. He could become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Robertson was coming off a 41-goal season when he got his last contract. He has since played all 328 regular-season games, with 365 points in that span (155 goals and 210 assists). He and Wyatt Johnston each had 45 goals this season, and Robertson had a goal in each of the first five playoff games.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Rick Tocchet got the response he wanted from his Philadelphia Flyers. Rod Brind’Amour had reason to be frustrated with his Carolina Hurricanes taking too many penalties, disrupting their preferred 5-on-5 rhythm.
And yet, the Hurricanes still are unbeaten in the NHL playoffs, thanks to a comeback from their first deficit of the postseason and a gritty-effort overtime winner from Taylor Hall.
Carolina’s 3-2 win gave the Eastern Conference’s top seed a 2-0 lead in the second-round series, coming after an uphill climb with the Flyers getting to their game much more effectively than in the series opener to build some confidence as the series shifts to Philadelphia.
“We don’t quit. I think we’ve shown that all year,” said Carolina winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who had a goal and assisted on the tying score in the third period. “If we keep playing the right way and keep putting a lot of pressure on their players, every single shift, we will get back to playing some pretty good hockey and creating a lot of turnovers, a lot of good chances.
“You want adversity. We had that in the Ottawa series as well, because it’s going to happen again. And now we know what we need to do for the next time it happens.”
Carolina swept that first-round series against the Senators and never trailed. That series started with a home shutout and then a 3-2 double-overtime win in Game 2. The Hurricanes started this series in similar fashion, first with a Game 1 shutout and then another 3-2 win in extra time on Hall’s score at 18:54 of OT.
The Flyers host the next two games in the best-of-seven series.
The Hurricanes had at least one clear area to clean up: penalties. Carolina committed eight — two for delay of game for putting pucks over the glass, one for too many men on the ice — and had a steady line of players heading to the penalty box.
The penalty kill was good enough to hold Philadelphia to a 1-for-7 showing, pushing Carolina to 30 for 32 (.938) this postseason. Brind’Amour, however, said the rash of penalties “kills your team, kills your momentum, kills everything.”
“We’re taking too many,” the coach said. “The ones that are self-inflicted for me — the over the glass, little tic-tac ones — you’ve got to avoid these. Too many men. We’ve had too many of those here. We’ve gotten away with it, because we’ve been able to kill it. But it’s not how you draw it up.”
As for Tocchet, the latest loss offered a welcome sign of pushback after Game 1, which left the Flyers coach talking about the need for his players to react quicker against Carolina’s aggression and speed, as well as to carry the puck more into the tough areas of the ice.
“Mentally and physically I just thought we had more energy, and I think we believed that we can compete with this team,” Tocchet said.
Philadelphia did that early, with Jamie Drysdale and Sean Couturier scoring in a 39-second span of the first period for the Flyers. And they outshot Carolina 15-8 in overtime to carry that competitiveness to the end despite playing again without injured regular-season goals leader Owen Tippett.
Yet this one ended with Hall hopping to his feet after being knocked to the ice by Denver Barkey as Hall charged toward the crease, then grabbing a loose puck kept alive by Jackson Blake to slip it past Dan Vladar’s left skate for the winner.
That pushed Carolina to a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series for the 10th time in the Hurricanes’ eight-year playoff run under Brind’Amour. Carolina has won eight of the previous nine, the outlier being a seven-game loss to the New York Rangers in the 2022 second round.
Then again, the Flyers became the first NHL team to make the playoffs after being 10 points out with 22 or fewer games remaining, securing Philadelphia’s first postseason appearance since 2020. Then the Flyers beat Pittsburgh in six games in the first round.
“Just the belief in the room, I think that really helps,” Tocchet said. “The belief in the room of just staying with it. And we’ve been dead before, and we’ve climbed out of the grave. We keep hearing we’re dead and dead, but the guys won’t give up. So that’s why I’m proud of them.”
LAS VEGAS — Ivan Barbashev and the Golden Knights played on after a disputed no-call, and his goal off a terrific pass from Pavel Dorofeyev with 4:58 left put Vegas ahead for good in its 3-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks in the opener of their second-round playoff series.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven Western Conference series is in Las Vegas.
Barbashev took advantage after officials did not call icing, which didn’t sit well with Ducks coach Joel Quenneville. It was Barbashev’s pass from behind the red line to teammate Jack Eichel, who was battling Anaheim’s Jackson LaCombe for the puck, that linesman Bevan Mills waved off for icing.
Officials declined to comment to a pool reporter.
“Clearly, I disagreed with the call,” said Quenneville, who said he did not receive an explanation from the officials. “Their guy stopped skating, which really made me annoyed.”
Golden Knights coach John Tortorella said he couldn’t see the play from his spot behind the bench. Barbashev kept skating once no call was made as Ducks players appeared to slow up.
“I tried to put the puck deep and I thought I saw Jack on the far side going deep and I thought for a second he (beat LaCombe) and that’s why they waved it off,” Barbashev said. “Jack put pressure on him, they turned it over and Pav made a great play.”
Vegas’ Brett Howden extended his goal streak to a career-best four games, his fifth during that span. Mitch Marner, who assisted on Howden’s goal early in the second period, added a 162-foot empty-net goal with 6 seconds left, and Carter Hart stopped 33 shots for the Golden Knights.
Mikael Granlund scored for Anaheim, and Lukas Dostal made 19 saves.
The Golden Knights prevailed despite being outshot 34-22.
“They were the better team tonight,” Tortorella said. “I thought as the game went on, we started finding our game, but we couldn’t find it completely. ... It’s a find-a-way league. We found a way to win, and I’m certainly not going to apologize for the win.”
Vegas’ penalty kill continued to shine, extending its stretch to 14 straight without giving up a goal by keeping the Ducks off the scoreboard on four chances. Anaheim converted 8 of 16 power plays in the first round against Edmonton. The Golden Knights are 19 of 20 on penalty kills.
Golden Knights center William Karlsson, out since sustaining a lower-body injury Nov. 8 against the Ducks, returned to the lineup. The crowd roared when Karlsson was shown on the video board after taking the ice less than three minutes into the game.
The Ducks dominated the early action, outshooting Vegas 11-6 in the first period and then controlling the puck to open the second. But the Golden Knights scored first with their first shot on goal in the second when Marner made a pinpoint pass from the right circle to Howden, who scored easily from the left side of the net.
It didn’t appear the lead would last long when Ducks top-line center Leo Carlsson made a dazzling spin move to set up LaCombe with an an open net. LaCombe, however, inexplicably passed up the shot for a pass, and the Golden Knights avoided what appeared would be a sure Ducks goal.
Just as time was starting to run out on the Ducks in the third, they didn’t waste their next opportunity. LaCombe made up for his previous gaffe by walking in on Hart before delivering a pass to Granlund, who was open in the right circle and scored at 13:57.
The tie didn’t last long, with Dorofeyev passing to Barbashev to put the Golden Knights ahead 2-1 just 65 seconds later.
The 2025-2026 season ended for the Kings the same way as the last 3 years: they were eliminated in the first round. The Kings have changed throughout those 4 seasons, and heading into the offseason, they have lineup gaps to fill. Looking back at the last 4 seasons will show whether they need minor or major changes.
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Results of Each Season
Looking back at the last 4 seasons for the Kings, they all seem to end the same way: getting eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The Kings have not won a playoff series since their Stanley Cup win in 2014. The results of the last 4 seasons are as follows:
2025-26: Eliminated in 4 games by the Colorado Avalanche.
2024-25: Eliminated in 6 games by the Edmonton Oilers.
2023-24: Eliminated in 5 games by the Edmonton Oilers.
2022-23: Eliminated in 6 games by the Edmonton Oilers.
The common theme is the one-sided rivalry between the Kings and the Oilers, and while the Kings came close at times, the Oilers have gotten the better of them each time they have met recently in the playoffs. When comparing the endings of each King's season, they all end the same way, just in different formats.
Comparing Regular Season Success
The regular seasons throughout each season have been different for each Kings team, with different successes and defeats. In the 2025-2026 season, the Kings finished 4th in the Pacific Division and 20th in the overall NHL standings. This was the worst season for the Kings, as they finished in the lowest spot in the standings they have occupied in 4 years. Another negative from this previous season was the offensive production, which was among the worst in the NHL.
2025-26: 2.68 Goals for Per Game.
2024-25 3.04 Goals For Per Game.
2023-24 3.10 Goals For Per Game.
2022-23 3.34 Goals For Per Game.
The Kings' offensive game has slowly gotten worse throughout each season. The offence has been the key factor in the Kings' decline over the 4 seasons, as player progression, age, and different schemes have affected the offensive output. One of the major takeaways from the Kings this season was their ability to defend.
2025-26: 2.90 Goals Against Average.
2024-25: 2.48 Goals Against Average.
2023-24: 2.56 Goals Against Average.
2022-23: 3.10 Goals Against Average.
So while the Kings took a step back overall compared to the last 2 seasons, they are in a better spot when it comes to getting scored on, which has been a staple of the Kings' play, as they have been a much better defensive team over the last couple of seasons.
Overall, this season is the worst in terms of offensive production but average on defence. For the Kings, their final regular-season placement makes it clear how poorly they have performed this season.
2025-26: 20th in NHL.
2024-25: 6th in NHL.
2023-24: 12th in NHL.
2022-23: 10th in NHL.
The final standings for the Kings showcase that their best team was in the 2024-25 season and their worst was this season, while they went up and down throughout the 4 seasons. It is a concern that, heading into the offseason, they are coming off their worst season and are losing key pieces to their lineup.
Player Progression throughout Each Season
While many players were traded to and from the Kings, the core is the group that can show us how they perform next season and help us project their progress, and whether they can positively impact the Kings.
Starting with the players who continue to be successful for the Kings, Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala stand out.
Adrian Kempe has been a consistent player for the Kings and is regarded as one of the team's best. Throughout the good and bad seasons, Kempe still shows his ability to put the team on his back and help the Kings succeed.
While Fiala has not been as consistent as Kempe and has had his share of injuries, he is still a player the Kings can depend on when they need to, and that is the type of player the Kings need more of, especially when it comes to their young players or new players coming in.
Darcy Kuemper is also a big factor for the Kings and while he only has played in the last 2 seasons for the Kings those 2 seasons tell a very different story.
2024-25: 50 Games Played, 31 Wins, 11 Losses, 7 Overtime Losses, 2.02 Goals Against Average, .922 Save Percentage
2025-26: 50 Games Played, 19 Wins, 14 Losses, 15 Overtime Losses, 2.78 Goals Against Average, .891 Save Percentage.
The last 2 seasons for Kuemper have been extremely different: in 2024-2025, he was a Vezina Trophy nominee and one of the best goalies in the NHL, and a season later, he struggled and eventually lost the starting position to Anton Forsberg.
Overall, this past season was a step back for the Kings, even after making a big splash in the trade market by acquiring Artemi Panarin and signing him to a 2-year deal. When comparing each season, even though the ending result is the same, the feeling toward the Kings organization is very different.
The Kings no longer have Anze Kopitar and now have to look for a centre in the offseason. The Kings' signing Artemi Panarin and having Adrian Kempe, Kevin Fiala, and Drew Doughty alongside the younger guys on the team, like Quinton Byfield, Brandt Clarke, and Alex Laferriere, means the Kings do not necessarily need to get younger.
But they need to focus on improving their offence, as that has been the aspect of their game holding them back. Overall, this season was not a good one for the Kings, especially after coming off one of their best seasons in recent memory the year before.
Unfortunately, when comparing this season to the previous 3 seasons for the Kings, it ranks last, and while there were some positives, the Kings have work to do to find success not only in the regular season but also in the playoffs.
Picking No. 1 overall is the Toronto Maple Leafs, while the San Jose Sharks took a jump to pick at No. 2.
Penn State forward Gavin McKenna is likely to be the first prospect off the board, but there’s no true consensus this year. Swedish forward Ivar Stenberg, Canadian defenseman Carson Carels and American defenseman Chase Reid are fellow top prospects.
The draft will be held from Friday, June 26 to Saturday, June 27 in Buffalo, home of the Sabres.
Here are the draft lottery results following the two big draws for the first two selections:
The Maple Leafs entered the lottery with an 8.5% chance at winning the first pick, the fifth highest of the 16. Fellow Canadian side Vancouver had the top odds with a 25.5% chance, but didn’t get within the first two picks.
Vancouver has never picked No. 1 overall in the draft, so the drought will continue after a season in which it won just 25 games, the fewest in the league.
Toronto would’ve also had to shift its first-rounder to the Boston Bruins had it not been in the top five due to a previous trade agreement involving Brandon Carlo. But it’ll be safe now with McKenna likely going first.
San Jose, which picked Macklin Celebrini No. 1 overall in 2024, had a 5% chance at picking first but will gladly collect second as it hopes to take another step forward to a playoff berth.
Former NHL star T.J. Oshie was in the Oval Office on Tuesday, May 5 for an event with Donald Trump, who was signing a proclamation about the Presidential Fitness Test, and the president wanted to get Oshie's prediction for this year's Stanley Cup winner.
"Who's going to win in hockey?" Trump asked Oshie, who played 16 NHL seasons and won a Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals.
"It's a tough one," Oshie responded with a smile. "Colorado is the favorite. I like Minnesota though."
Other high-profile athletic attendees for the signing in the White House included golf legend Gary Player, Florida men's basketball coach Todd Golden, golfer Bryson DeChambeau and former MLB All-Star Noah Syndergaard.
The Colorado Avalanche won the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best regular-season team and hold a 1-0 lead over the Minnesota Wild, Oshie's pick, in the second round of the playoffs with Game 2 set for Tuesday night.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be under the microscope this season in the wake of their recent hiring of former Arizona Coyotes general manager John Chayka.
Leafs CEO Keith Pelley on Monday, May 4, introduced Chayka as the team's new GM and Hall of Famer Mats Sundin as senior executive adviser of hockey operations. But at the news conference, Pelley faced questions about Chayka's past − after he abruptly resigned from his post in Phoenix just before the 2020 playoffs and later received a one-year suspension from the NHL for "conduct detrimental to the league and game."
In an exchange that later went viral on social media, Pelley responded to a Toronto Sun writer's pointed questioning of the Chayka hiring by responding simply, "We conducted due diligence, and it was a deep due diligence."
Steve Simmons goes at Keith Pelley for hiring John Chayka. This was something. pic.twitter.com/zSw8768sCQ
— World Hockey Report (@worldhockeyrpt) May 4, 2026
Pelley continued: "It was a thorough process. I've read all the reports, I've talked to numerous people; I won't reveal who I've talked to that were close to the process. I'm very happy with where we landed."
The 36-year-old Chayka became the NHL's youngest-ever GM when he was hired 10 years ago by the Coyotes.
Chayka will have the tall task of turning around a Maple Leafs team that went from first in the Atlantic division two seasons ago to last place this past season − when the Leafs missed the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.
The hiring of franchise icon Sundin could help stem any immediate backlash in Toronto. An 18-year NHL veteran, Sundin served as Maple Leafs captain for 10 of his 13 seasons with the team. However, he has never held a front office position in the NHL.
Toronto's Stanley Cup title drought dates back to 1967.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have a lot of pending unrestricted free agents going into the summer, and Evgeni Malkin is by far their biggest.
Malkin has spent all 20 seasons of his NHL career with the Penguins and wants to make it 21. He has made it clear in numerous interviews that he wants to play next season and hopes to return to the only team that he has ever known. Several of his teammates, including captain Sidney Crosby, also want him back for next season.
“I mean, it’s tough. We’ll see what happens. We’ve played together for so long. I think it’s clear that I’d love to be playing with him for longer, so we’ll see what happens. I think it’s pretty obvious that I’d love to keep playing with him," Crosby said last week.
The big question is whether Penguins general manager/president Kyle Dubas wants him back. The two sides have spoken a bit about the situation this year, and according to The Athletic's Josh Yohe, Malkin's camp will reach out to Dubas this week to schedule a time to discuss Malkin's future.
Geno Malkin’s camp will be reaching out to Kyle Dubas this week to discuss when they’ll be sitting down to talk about Malkin’s future.
This report is the main reason why I'm writing this article, because it shouldn't be this hard. It should be a fairly easy decision to bring Malkin back after the season he just had, even if he's going to turn 40 this summer.
- Despite being injured at times, Malkin finished the year with 19 goals and 61 points in 56 games. It was his first point-per-game season since the 2022-23 season, when he finished with 27 goals and 83 points in 82 games. Malkin was also one of the Penguins' best forwards in the playoffs, racking up two goals and three points in six games.
He still had his legs in many of the Penguins' games and was versatile. He played center and wing during the season, though he played more of the latter in the second half of the regular season. He was also on the ice for over 50% of the expected goals, scoring chances, and high-danger chances at 5v5. He drove play when he was on the ice.
Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (71) skates up ice with the puck against the Philadelphia Flyers during the third period in game five of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
- Malkin also won't be blocking anybody this season. Sure, Avery Hayes, Rutger McGroarty, and even Ville Koivunen will be pushing for roster spots again in training camp, but I see them as bottom-six players right now. Malkin is a top-six staple and was a great fit on the second line with Tommy Novak and Egor Chinakhov. He had great chemistry with both players, especially Chinakhov. The two read off one another so well.
- As expected, the free-agent class for this year is very thin, and there's nobody in that class who can come close to replacing Malkin's production. The best free-agent forward available is Alex Tuch, and he's going to get a lot of term and money if he doesn't return to Buffalo. It won't be from Pittsburgh.
Outside of Tuch, there's not much there, and a lot of the middling free agents are likely to be overpaid. The only thing I expect from the Penguins in free agency again this year is that they'll look for bargain contracts. They've done it in each of the past two offseasons.
- The contract should take about five minutes to complete. Malkin has said that he wants to return for one more season, and I'd bet he would take a little bit of a discount, even though the Penguins have a ton of salary cap space. A one-year deal worth around $5-5.5 million with a full no-move clause should do the trick. Heck, if the Penguins want to bring him back at his salary from last season ($6.1 million), that would work too.
At the end of the day, this comes down to what Dubas wants since he's in charge of the team. He's been on quite the heater with his roster decisions over the last 18 months and has the chance to continue it if he brings Malkin back for one more year. It makes too much sense.
While he didn’t get that much coverage in the first round, Montreal Canadiens’ blueliner Lane Hutson was key in the Habs’ win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 22-year-old blueliner averaged over 27 minutes of ice time over the seven games, picked up six points, two goals and an assist and became the fastest Canadiens defenseman to reach the 10-point mark in the playoffs. He took 14 shots on net and had a 14.3% shooting percentage, and added 13 blocks and six hits.
On Monday, Buffalo Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin spoke about the Habs’ defenseman in these terms:
It’s awesome to see [what Lane Hutson’s doing]. He can play hockey on both ends. He’s a small guy, but he finds a way to have good numbers. Offensively, he can create from nothing, which is pretty cool to see. I’ve seen lately that he has a good shot, too.
It’s hard to argue with his assessment. Whichever way you look at it, the Canadiens blueline completely changed when Hutson arrived. His speed, mobility, and elusiveness have enabled him to succeed in the NHL despite his small stature. Whether it’s in the regular season or in the playoffs, he plays consistently at the highest level, and he’s always on the opponent’s radar.
As for Dahlin, he’s been a big part of his team’s success as well, putting up four points in six games, taking 21 shots on goal, landing 10 hits and blocking six shots. The 6-foot-3-and-204-pound defenseman is a finalist for the Bill Masterton Trophy this season. He went through plenty of adversity as his fiancée was struck with heart failure last Summer and had to be hospitalized in France, where the couple was on holiday. She stayed in the hospital for months, needed a heart transplant, and it was later revealed that she had lost the couple’s unborn child. She finally joined Dahlin in Buffalo in March, when she was deemed healthy enough to make the trip.
In the regular season, Dahlin had three points in four games against the Canadiens and made the headlines when he expressed his frustration with Habs fans taking over the Sabres’ building, making it feel like they were playing on the road:
I really, really appreciate the fans that came out, but I don’t want to see that many red in the future.
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Buffalo is about six and a half hours away from Montreal by car, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Canadiens fans make the trip, especially since the Sabres captain expressed his frustration earlier this season. However, with the team having been excluded from the playoffs for 14 years, local fans are all in on this postseason, and the building has been one of the loudest in the first round.
The Minnesota Wild face the Colorado Avalanche in Game 2 of their second-round NHL playoff series. The Avalanche won a wild 9-6 game in the series opener on Sunday. Fourteen different players scored the 15 total goals in the game. Colorado had four goals in the final period to win.
How to watch Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche
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Nineteen years.
That’s how long it’s been since the Buffalo Sabres won a playoff round. As fans may recall, their last win was way back in 2007 when they took down the Islanders and Rangers only to come up short against the Senators in the Conference Finals.
Now, nearly two decades later, Alex Tuch, Tage Thompson, Alex Lyon, Peyton Krebs and Bowen Byram gritted out a six-game Quarterfinal Round victory over the pesky Boston Bruins to advance to the Semifinals against Juraj Slafkovský’s Montreal Canadiens.
If you’d like to cheer on the Swords at the arena formerly known as “the Morgue,” you can snag tickets for all four hypothetical Eastern Conference Semifinal home games at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center on these dates:
Based on our findings, last-minute tickets for games in Buffalo start at $312 including fees on SeatGeek at the time of publication.
Seats start at $440 including fees for Canadiens fans hoping to catch the series at their home Bell Centre in Montreal.
Prior to this series, the two clubs met four times over the 2025-26 season and each won two games apiece.
However, Buffalo and Montreal’s history (and rivalry) stretches back much further than this season. The once-dominant franchises crossed paths in the playoffs seven times from 1972-1998.
“Canadiens fans will be looking to get revenge for the last postseason meeting between these two clubs,” Sabre Noise wrote. “But history doesn’t quite seem on the Canadiens’ side this time…Buffalo is just too good and too inspired to let the Habs walk over them.”
This should be one for the ages- don’t miss this series live.
For more information, our team has everything you need to know and more about the Buffalo Sabres vs. Montreal Canadiens 2026 NHL Eastern Conference Semifinals round below.
Buffalo Sabres playoff home game tickets
A complete calendar including all announced Sabres Eastern Conference home game dates and the best prices on tickets can be found here:
Buffalo Sabres home game dates
Ticket prices start at
Game 1 Wednesday, May 6
$312(including fees)
Game 2 Friday, May 8
$437(including fees)
Game 5 Thursday, May 14
$470(including fees)
Game 7 Monday, May 18
$560(including fees)
Montreal Canadiens playoff home game tickets
All Canadiens playoff home game dates and the cheapest tickets available can be found below.
Montreal Canadiens home game dates
Ticket prices start at
Game 3 Sunday, May 10
$468(including fees)
Game 4 Tuesday, May 12
$440(including fees)
Game 6 Saturday, May 16
$582(including fees)
How to watch the Sabres and Canadiens on TV
Fans hoping to catch Ruf’s rowdy roster on the tube can watch all first-round playoff games on ABC, ESPN and TNT.
Just make sure to review your local listings before tuning in.
If you don’t have cable, your best bet may be DIRECTV.
2026 NHL playoff schedule
Want to keep tabs on how the postseason is shaking out?
Not sure what to do once the final buzzer sounds on the 2025-26 NHL season?
The KeyBank Center has you covered.
The vintage and unhinged arena has booked a number of exciting acts to entertain audiences all summer (and fall) long.
Here are just five of our favorites you won’t want to miss live.
• Journey (June 10)
• Bryan Adams (Aug. 14)
• Zac Brown Band (Nov. 5)
• Sombr (Nov. 14)
• Andrea Bocelli (Dec. 11)
Want to see who else is Buffalo-bound? Check out this list of all the upcoming events at the KeyBank Center (which includes the NHL Draft) to find the show for you.
This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change.
