Category: Sports News

When Kris Knoblauch guided the Edmonton Oilers from 31st place into a playoff spot last season, his success was largely met with a shrug. The Oilers had been underperforming before the coaching change, after all. Any fresh voice could trigger a similar turnaround, it seemed.

Then, Knoblauch got the Oilers out of a 3-2 series deficit against the Vancouver Canucks — and 2024 coach of the year Rick Tocchet — in Round 2. He got them out of a 2-1 deficit against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final. And then, he guided the Oilers from a 3-0 hole all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final — coming within a goal of delivering Canada’s first championship since 1993. 

When Edmonton loped through the regular season, dealing with injuries and lineup holes, Knoblauch looked like he might be a one-hit wonder. The Oilers did log their fourth-straight 100-point season — unheard-of since the high-flying 80s with Wayne Gretzky. But they slipped to third in the Pacific Division standings, and team scoring dropped by 35 goals.

Now, we’re into Week 5 of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. Knoblauch is the winningest active regular-season coach, with a .656 points percentage, and also sits first in the playoffs among active coaches, at .639. 

The way they dismantled the Los Angeles Kings and the Vegas Golden Knights, the Oilers may have positioned themselves as the team to beat.

First off, the offense is back. With 11 games played, Edmonton leads the playoffs with 43 goals, an average of 3.91 goals a game.

That doesn’t feel especially surprising. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl know how to raise their games in the post-season and they’re leading the way again — McDavid has 17 points and Draisaitl is at 16. This year, Edmonton is also getting more secondary scoring from across the lineup, whether that’s five goals from ageless Corey Perry or a clutch overtime winner from waiver pickup Kasperi Kapanen, sealing the series against Vegas in just his second playoff game of the year.

Roster depth is important in a long playoff run, but it’s not easy for coaches to know when to make changes and how to deploy players as they come into a series. Two years in a row, Knoblauch has accomplished the near-impossible by spelling off Stuart Skinner until he could find his ‘A’ game again in net. As well as Kapanen, Knoblauch has also gotten some quality minutes from Troy Stecher on the blueline in the last two games, swapping him in for Ty Emberson.

Knoblauch is a straight shooter when informing players of lineup changes.

“You have to be honest with them,” he said, per NHL.com. “Maybe you get away with it once tricking them or whatever, but the next time, it’s all downhill after that. They want the truth. They don’t necessarily want to hear it, but they don’t necessarily want the alternative. I think it’s important you just tell them the truth (as to) where things are and what you’re thinking about.”

This year’s Oilers also haven’t been as reliant on their power play. That’s a good thing, because it doesn’t get to work as often. They’re down from three opportunities a game in 2024 to just 2.18 so far this year, resulting in six man-advantage goals on 24 tries. 

And while Evan Bouchard’s high-risk, high-reward style is known for delivering dramatic lows and highs for fans, a pair of shutouts to eliminate a Vegas team that was fifth in scoring in the regular season speaks volumes about this group’s commitment to team defense.

After coming so close to winning the Cup last year, Leon Draisaitl told Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet that winning the Selke Trophy would be “almost more important than any other trophy at this point in time” — even the Hart. 

At this point, Connor McDavid has no time for any reporter who still has doubts about his team’s ability to defend.

“I mean, how many times are we going to answer this question?” he bristled after Edmonton’s Game 5 win. “We can defend. We can … Whatever it takes, we can win games.”

Last playoffs, the Oilers sat in the middle of the pack with an expected goals share of 49.34 percent at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick. In 2025, that number has spiked to an impressive 58.08 percent — higher than any other team that’s still alive. 

Going into Round 2, McDavid was confident that his group could avenge its 2023 playoff loss to the Golden Knights. Edmonton took care of business handily.

The Oilers’ complete game — and the players’ confidence in their system — forms the kind of foundation that brings championships. Knoblauch has built that in less than two years by preparing for all possibilities, then executing with grace when the waters get rocky.

“Even when situations get tough, he stays pretty calm,” Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said, who has seen some things in his 14 seasons as an Oiler. “Obviously, sometimes he can do the other side of it … but his presence and his calmness helps when things aren’t going well. That’s one of the big things for him.”

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As the conference final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is about to commence, teams out of the race look ahead to the offseason, the NHL Draft, and free agency.

Ducks Name Joel Quenneville Head Coach

Enhanced Depth Will Give Ducks Options

For the Anaheim Ducks, their first order of business has been handled: the hiring of their next head coach ahead of the 2025-26 season, Joel Quenneville.

Quenneville’s hiring demonstrated the Ducks intend to graduate from their rebuild phase and enter their playoff contention phase, as general manager Pat Verbeek was given the green light from ownership, Henry and Susan Samueli, to spend whatever is necessary to ensure the icing of a competitive team come autumn.

Quenneville’s salary is reported to be a two to three-year contract with a higher value than the team had historically paid a head coach.

The Samuelis are said to be spending roughly $5 billion in renovations to Honda Center and development of the surrounding area, intended to become a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment district, OCVibe.

With $38.63 million to play with, the Ducks enter the summer with the third-most projected cap space in the NHL behind the San Jose Sharks ($43.93 million) and the Columbus Blue Jackets ($41.27 million).

“I expect us to be very active and aggressive,” Verbeek said following the dismissal of Greg Cronin on April 19. “I think I see this team at a point to where my expectation of this team is to make the playoffs next year. I expect our group to take a step, and so I'm going to be active and aggressive in making our team better.”

In the 2024 offseason, Verbeek was reported to offer more substantial contracts, both in terms of length and value, to free agents Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault than the ones they ultimately signed. Both players rejected the Ducks in favor of the Nashville Predators.

“We're going to have a bunch of different strategies going into that,” Verbeek continued. “There'll be a bunch of different plans. I’m going to be aggressive like I was last summer, but there'll be different plans put in place based on what happens in the different scenarios.”

The Ducks will need to spend over $8 million simply to reach the $65 million cap floor for the 2025-26 season, a non-issue when considering they only have 33 players under contract in the organization and high-profile RFAs Mason McTavish and Lukas Dostal in need of new contracts.

Verbeek feels the team will need to add more goal-scoring to take their next steps toward contention. Some of that will come with natural progression from the youngest and most talented players on the roster, and some of that will come with additions made in the upcoming offseason, additions Henry Samueli has no problems breaking out the checkbook for.

“Bringing in someone of Joel’s stature, that’s going to cost more money, but we’re willing to make that investment into the team,” Samueli said at Quenneville’s introductory press conference. “We’ve told the same thing to Pat. Going out looking for players, you will have the budget you need to make this a serious playoff team. You don’t have to pinch pennies anymore. Do what it takes to make us a contender.”

The 2025 free agent class won’t be the deepest, with names like Brock Boeser, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Aaron Ekblad near the top of most publicly available free agents lists. However, there remains an ultimate prize on the market, a prize that is potentially one of the highest-profile UFAs in NHL history: Mitch Marner.

While the odds may be low when it comes to Marner landing in Anaheim this summer, they can offer him (or any free agent) as much money as any opposing team in the market, will now have the second-winningest coach in NHL history behind their bench, and one of the most talented young cores in the league. Spending every cent of the nearly $39 million in cap space isn’t even out of the question.

“Potentially, if necessary,” Samueli said when asked about Verbeek approaching the cap ceiling. “He’s going to spend wisely. We’re not going to write stupid checks, but I told him, ‘Do what it takes to make this a really steady, perennial playoff contender and Stanley Cup contender down the road. And if that means signing big-name free agents, go for it.’ We told him, going forward, you will not be constrained by the budget.”

The Ducks have been on the outside, looking in at the playoffs during this time of year for seven consecutive seasons. That marks the third-longest such streak in the NHL, behind the Buffalo Sabres (13 seasons) and Detroit Red Wings (eight seasons). Ownership seems to have had enough of the rebuild and has now given the green light to spend serious green cash this offseason in order to put those days behind them.

Anaheim Ducks Prospect Spotlight: Sennecke's Season Comes to an End in OHL Championship

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Three Ducks Players Who Could Benefit Most from Quenneville Hire

The Toronto Maple Leafs core players Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly will try to win a Game 7 for the first time when they host the Florida Panthers in their second-round deciding matchup on Sunday.

After going 0-for-5 in previous efforts, what might be different this time is their head coach. Craig Berube has won the most difficult Game 7 there is to win... a Stanley Cup Final when leading the St. Louis Blues on the road against the Boston Bruins back in 2019.

After staving off elimination with a 2-0 victory against the Panthers in Game 6, Berube's message to his team was simple as they host the Panthers in front of their home crowd at Scotiabank Arena.

'Don't get caught up in it, do what you did in Game 6," Berube said. "We know what to expect from Florida, and that's a great team over there. Simplify your game. Everybody's nervous a little bit. You just got to get the nerves out the first couple shifts. Get going. Play direct. Be direct and rely on your teammates, and that's what you're playing for your teammates."

'I Understand Why He Played': Maple Leafs Send Condolences To Jets' Mark Scheifele After Father's Passing Ahead Of Game 6 Vs. StarsMark Scheifele exited the penalty box and was immediately consoled by his Winnipeg Jets teammates.

Berube saw how nervous his club was in Game 5 when they fell 6-1. It was his first real taste of the Leafs from previous years that have struggled to rise to the occasion. The good news for Toronto is there was time to recover and perhaps they may have learned from it.

 "The nerves are there, but, I mean, that's what you want. That's what you train for during the offseason. That's what you tell yourself you're training for at least...to have the opportunity to play in the playoffs and play in important games that mean the most. And so we're here now, so you want to make the most of it," Rielly said. 

'He's Good To Go:' Matthew Knies To Resume Regular Role For Maple Leafs In Crucial Game 7 After Game 6 Injury ScareMatthew Knies is set to play in Game 7 despite an apparent injury suffered two days earlier.

Leafs record in Game 7s since 2018:

* April 25, 2018 at Boston Bruins: L 4-7

* April 23, 2019 at Boston Bruins: L 1-5

* May 31, 2021 vs. Montreal Canadiens: L 1-3

* May 14, 2022 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: L 1-2

* May 4, 2024 at Boston Bruins: L 1-3

The stakes are big. The winner will play against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final. Berube will give a pre-game speech like he always does. Does he plan anything special words for it or go does he improvise?

'He Knows What It Takes': How Craig Berube Has Shifted The Mindset One Year After Being Hired As Maple Leafs CoachExactly one year ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs hired Craig Berube as their head coach, hoping his past playoff success would alter their future postseason outcomes.

"You're always thinking about things and what's going to be the most important statement you can make to your team today. And that's not only today. It's a lot of games," Berube said. "t doesn't change a whole lot for me. It's just about getting your mind right and, you know, what to expect and understanding what each individual has to do with their every shift. I think that's the most important thing."

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Few things in hockey conjure up excitement and emotion like the words, Game Seven. After six crazy nights of battling, covered in cuts, welts and bruises, two teams Lay It On The Line in a one-game showdown to decide who will continue the dream and who will crash into the ditch alongside the road to the Stanley Cup.

The Senators would have loved to have forced a Game 7 in the first round, but they bowed out in six to the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this month.

The Leafs moved on to face the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in round two, and on Sunday night, those two clubs square off in a Game 7 in Toronto. It’s the third Game 7 of these playoffs, and the winner will join the Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, and Carolina Panthers in the Conference Finals, the NHL’s version of the Final Four, where the Leafs haven’t been in 23 years.

Bookmark The Hockey News Ottawa and never miss the latest Senators news, interviews, columns, features and more. 

With Game 7 on the brain, we thought we’d take a stroll down memory lane and see how the Senators have fared in playoff series that went the distance. We initially envisioned an uplifting Sens montage with inspiring music like, I don't know, maybe Triumph's 1979 hit, Lay it on the Line.

And then it dawned on us. The Senators have never won a Game 7. 

The Sens have played in 28 Stanley Cup Playoff series in their history. Six have gone to Game 7, and the Sens lost them all.

Here’s the unfortunate (and slightly traumatic) rundown:

Will RFA Fabian Zetterlund Get Paid On His San Jose Numbers Or The Ones In Ottawa?Fabian Zetterlund has only been an Ottawa Senator for a couple of months, and he’s already asking the club for a raise. That wouldn’t fly in a normal workplace, but that’s how it goes in the NHL when you bring in a pending restricted free agent at the trade deadline.

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2017 – Eastern Final vs. Pittsburgh

The Sens pushed the Pittsburgh Penguins to double overtime in Game 7. Damn you, Chris Kunitz. The Pens went on to lift the Cup, while Ottawa went into therapy.

2012 – First Round vs. NY Rangers

As the eighth seed, Ottawa held a 3-2 series lead. And then they lost Games 6 and 7 by one goal each.

2004 – First Round vs. Toronto

The last and most bitter chapter (until recently) of the Battle of Ontario. Patrick Lalime let in two questionable goals, courtesy of Joe Nieuwendyk, and the Leafs jumped to a 3-0 first-period lead. Final score: 4-1 Leafs. Bonus heartbreak: the following season was wiped out by a lockout, giving Sens fans extra time to stew.

2003 – Eastern Final vs. New Jersey

Game 7, tied in the third, at home. And then, disaster: a defensive mixup paved the way for Jeff Friesen to score the winner. The Devils went on to hoist the Cup. 

2002 – Second Round vs. Toronto

Another 3-2 series lead for Ottawa. They were up 2-0 in Game 6 until Ricard Persson received a major penalty for a hit on Tie Domi. The Leafs rallied, forced Game 7, and won it 3-0. 

1997 – First Round vs. Buffalo

Ottawa’s playoff debut. They led 2-1 in the third period of Game 7. Then Derek Plante tied it up and scored the OT winner—on a shot that somehow went through Ron Tugnutt's glove and maybe his soul, too.

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No, this didn’t turn out to be the feel-good nostalgia trip we were hoping for. But looking ahead, Sens fans are never opposed to a bit of misfortune for their biggest rival, so maybe Sunday’s Game 7 will bring them something a little more satisfying.

Steve Warne
The Hockey News

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The Montreal Canadiens' rebuild took a major step this year. After a couple of seasons at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, they made the playoffs.

How did the Canadiens even get to this point, though, and why were they forced to go into a full-fledged rebuild in the first place?

For years and years, the Montreal Canadiens were a team without any direction.

When Marc Bergevin took over the Canadiens in 2012, he inherited a multitude of promising young players, including Carey Price, P.K. Subban and Max Pacioretty. 

However, Bergevin and the organization's failure to draft high-level talent, develop prospects, and build a strong supporting cast of players prevented them from surrounding these three players with a championship-level roster.

Sure, the Canadiens were a perennial playoff team, but they lacked the offensive depth to emerge as a Stanley Cup contender. 

When Price began to struggle with injuries and the core was in dire need of a rebuild, Bergevin opted to make moves simply to stay afloat as opposed to truly picking a direction to go in.

In 2021 though, the Canadiens, on the back of Price, made a miraculous run to the Stanley Cup Final, where they ultimately lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. 

Bergevin doubled down after the team’s impressive playoff run signing veteran players the likes of David Savard and Mike Hoffman despite the clear fact that this team was not in a place to compete for a Stanley Cup, withstanding what transpired in the 2021 NHL Playoffs. 

That sentiment was deemed to be true. The Canadiens went through one of their worst starts in franchise history, with the losses of Price and captain Shea Weber due to their respective injuries, too much to overcome. 

Everything reached a boiling point when Canadiens owner Geoff Molson decided to fire Bergevin in November of 2021 after nearly a decade spent with the organization. 

It was time for the Habs to have a progressive thinker running the show in Montreal, which was why Molson went out and hired Jeff Gorton to be the team’s President of Hockey Operations. 

Gorton is a man who thinks outside the box. One of his first moves was to appoint Kent Hughes as general manager, someone who was an agent at the time with no NHL management experience. 

It might have seemed like an odd move, but it’s that outside-of-the-box kind of thinking the Canadiens organization was in desperate need of. 

The duo of Gorton and Hughes was seen as unique. They quickly made clear that the Habs would go into a rebuild, a phrase unheard of to the city of Montreal since the fanbase was accustomed to the team competing by whatever means necessary.

They took swift action, firing head coach Dominique Ducharme just a few weeks into the new regime. 

Their replacement for Ducharme was none other than legendary forward Martin St. Louis. 

St. Louis’s NHL resume was well documented to everybody, but his only coaching experience came in Connecticut’s Mid Fairfield Youth Hockey Association, where he coached his three sons.

He went from coaching youth hockey to taking over a rebuilding Canadiens team that needed a new face behind the bench to lead them. 

Under St. Louis, the Habs saw an instant improvement to close out the 2021-22 campaign, especially from the two young pillars of the franchise, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.

Suzuki and Caufield always had the potential to be special and it was St. Louis who was able to unlock that full potential.

“You could see that Cole was going to be a goal-scorer and Suzuki was going to be a solid two-way player,” former Canadiens forward Phillip Danault said. “The desire from them, the compete level they had already from that age was outstanding. They pay attention to details as well, so for me it was really impressive to see them grow.”

It seemed as if Gorton and Hughes’ outside-of-the-box thinking was turning into results.  

The Canadiens still finished with the worst record in the NHL and landed the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. 

Their decision was simple or at least almost everybody thought so, pick Shane Wright, the explosive center from Canada who was predicted to be the surefire No. 1 pick for years. 

Once again, though, Gorton and Hughes defied all logic and shocked the world by picking a lengthy, tall left-winger by the name of Juraj Slafkovsky, who really only emerged as a top prospect in the months leading up to the draft. 

In the second round of that same draft, the Canadiens decided to take a flyer on Lane Hutson, a speedy and explosive defenseman who dropped out of the first round due to concerns about his 5-foot-9 frame but had an extraordinary amount of potential. 

Over the next two seasons, the Canadiens took a patient approach. It involved making very few major trades and signings while allowing their young core of players to develop. 

The Habs missed the playoffs over those next two seasons, but between the improvements of the team's young players and subtle roster additions, the rebuild was right on track.  

Even with all of the losses that surrounded the franchise over those couple of years, the culture remained surprisingly strong and upbeat. 

It was a culture built under the tutelage of Gorton, Hughes, and St. Louis as well as a united group of players. 

“You could tell there was a lot of good talent in the organization,” 2022 trade acquisition Mike Matheson said. “We had a good idea that it wasn’t going to happen by chance, that we were going to get out of the space that we were in. We knew we had to keep working and really push the envelope to make it happen. We really just put it all out there…

“I think we had a really tight-knit group where I feel like everybody on the team really loved hockey and loved playing hockey and working hard. That, as a basis point, is really important for a team to cover ground and make things happen. And so I feel like that's kind of where it began.”

Entering the 2024-25 season, there weren’t necessarily expectations, but there was certainly excitement. Suzuki and Caufield were emerging into stars of their own, while Slafkovsky continued to show promise among other young players on the roster. 

Hutson was also set to play in his first NHL season after two years at Boston University, where he established himself as one of the most exhilarating prospects. 

Even with all the excitement, the Canadiens started the season flat and there were no signs of improvement as a group. 

To start the month of December the Canadiens were 31st in the overall league standings with little hope let alone even a thought about making playoffs.

However, the team continued to believe in themselves and it started with St. Louis, which inspired all of his players.

“I think his belief in us is the biggest thing that drove us,” Matheson said of St. Louis. “He never stopped believing in us. Even when there were moments when guys in the locker room thought it was too tall of a mountain to climb, he kept injecting that belief back into us. Obviously, his knowledge of the game is incredible, but I feel like that piece is really important.”

The Habs somehow climbed their way from the bottom pits of the standings back into the playoff picture after flipping the script in December and carrying that strong play into January and February. 

However, with the playoff race in the Eastern Conference extremely tight, there were still doubts that the Canadiens could make the playoffs.

Leading up to the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline, Gorton and Hughes were planning on trading a couple of their veteran players in the hopes of acquiring more draft picks and young assets. 

That’s when Suzuki, the Canadiens’ youngest captain in franchise history, stepped in. Suzuki urged management not to take a selling approach at the deadline. 

“Go win games,” the management group told Suzuki after his request. 

Not only did the Canadiens start winning games leading up to the trade deadline, but Suzuki elevated his play and the Habs did not trade any of their veteran players. 

This story embodies who Suzuki is as a leader. 

“He’s the guy that grabs the group and says ‘follow me, I’ll lead,’” Emil Heineman said about Suzuki. “He comes up so clutch and shows us what he can bring. He’s a big deal for our team and a big reason why we had success this year.”

In the final weeks of the season, every game was a must-win for the Habs in their pursuit of a playoff spot. 

Something magical began to happen. No matter how many goals the Canadiens were down by on any given night, they always seemed to find a way to come back in the most magical fashion that could only be written in a fairy tale.

The Canadians were truly battle-tested. All of the pain and struggles they had to endure over the past couple of years prepared them for this very moment where they needed to dig deep and believe.

“I think we just never really gave up, and always felt like, if we found our game, we could compete with anybody in the league,” Matheson said. 

It took until the very last game of the regular season for the Canadiens to clinch the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, but they overcame all odds and marched their way into the post-season with more confidence than ever. 

The Canadiens may have lost in five games in the first round of the playoffs against the  Washington Capitals, but the Canadiens showed heart and resilience and proved that they belonged. 

By making the playoffs, the Canadiens took a monumental step in their rebuild. 

“I think we had another great learning experience in the playoffs, of seeing what playoff hockey is like and what it takes to compete and win in the playoffs,” Matheson said.

The Canadiens not only impressed the people of Montreal, but also caught the attention of many around the NHL. 

“I think they have so many young guys and at some point you have to get on the other side of the edge, and they did this year,” Danault said. “Next year is going to be even harder, there’s going to be more pressure, but they showed some character and they came a long way to make the playoffs. They were impressive to see and exciting for the fans to see the young guys perform.”

For the Canadiens’ young core, it was a year of triumph. Suzuki recorded a career-high of 89 points, Caufield became a 30-goal scorer for the first time in his career, and Hutson set a new franchise record for points by a rookie defenseman with 66 points, as he’s the favorite to win the Calder Trophy. 

Slafkovsky had another promising season to build on, and 19-year-old Russian phenom Ivan Demidov came in for the Habs at the end of the season, showing glimpses of a superstar in the making. 

Now that the Canadiens have taken this step of making the playoffs, expectations for this core are officially higher. 

The bar has been set and they’ll need to exceed the bar again without losing their identity that got them there in the process. 

“I think we just need to continue building,” Matheson emphasized. “I think if we kind of get all stressed out over wins and losses and think we're going to be a total failure if we don't win a bunch of games, I think we'll get caught in the pressure instead of just focusing on on the process of what it takes to be a winning team and what sorts of ingredients it takes to have that happen.”

Losing their identity shouldn’t be a problem because of the strong foundation that has already been set. 

Most importantly, this group of players truly embrace wearing the Habs sweater and everything that comes with being a Montreal Canadian. 

It’s what this fan base has been waiting for all of these years, and now they have just that.

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