Category: Sports News

The Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers enter the Stanley Cup Finals playing some of their best hockey of the season. The two teams also entered the playoffs as the third seed in their divisions and did not have home-ice advantage in any of the series they played. 

The Oilers enter the finals with a 12-4 record, and the Panthers enter with a 12-5 record. The Oilers lead the NHL in goals per game in the playoffs (4.06), and the Panthers lead the NHL with the least goals allowed per game (2.29). Coincidentally, the Panthers rank third in goals scored per game and the Oilers rank fourth in goals allowed per game. 

The teams begin to separate themselves when goaltending and special teams are brought into the equation. The Oilers are clicking at 30 percent on the man advantage, and the Panthers are firing at 23.2 percent. On the penalty kill, the Panthers boast a league-best 87.9 percent success rate, and the Oilers have the third-worst penalty kill, defending just 66.0 percent.

Although Edmonton’s goaltending has improved as the playoffs have gone along, Sergei Bobrovsky is posting a .912 save percentage, and Stuart Skinner is posting a .904 SP.

The Oilers have the two best players in the series, those being reigning Conn Smythe winner Connor McDavid and the NHL’s Maurice “Rocket” Richard winner Leon Draisaitl, and the dynamic duo lead the post-season in points. The Oilers' depth is producing like they never have before, but no team is deeper than the Panthers. They are led by two-time Selke Trophy winner Aleksander Barkov but are receiving scoring and defensive contributions from their top three lines. Their top nine forwards are all scoring at a 0.70-point per-game pace or better. 

Despite the plethora of factors that affect the game, a series is won or lost at 5-on-5. Through three rounds, the Oilers hold an expected goals rate of 54.42 percent at 5-on-5, outscoring their opponents 42-26 and hold the advantage in high-danger chances 187-142, according to Natural Stat Trick. Similarly, the Panthers have been just as dominant. They hold the advantage in expected goals with a rate of 54.96 percent at 5-on-5, outscoring their opponents 47-28 and are winning the high-danger chances battle 155-137. 

Last year’s matchup saw the Panthers storm out to a 3-0 series lead before the Oilers clawed back to force a Game 7. The Panthers ultimately prevailed, but the series was incredibly even at 5-on-5. The Panthers held a slight advantage in expected goals (51.26 percent), high-danger chances (48-46) and Corsi For (53.12 percent). The goal scoring was dead even, with each team scoring 14 goals at 5-on-5. But in all situations, the Oilers outscored the Panthers 23-18, although most of the scoring discrepancy could be attributed to Edmonton’s 8-1 victory in Game 4. 

The two teams are balanced, and made for post-season hockey. With stars on each team, a long seven-game series would surprise no one. 

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When the NHL season came to a close, many teams decided they needed to go in a new direction with their coaching staff and fired their bench boss. At one stage, the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Seattle Kraken and Vancouver Canucks needed a new coach. It was initially thought that the Montreal Canadiens’ farm team head coach, Pascal Vincent, could be targeted by one of those teams.

However, only two teams remain without a pilot at the moment: the Bruins and the Penguins. According to Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts podcast, appointments are likely to come this weekend or early next week, and Vincent’s name hasn’t been mentioned as a possible option for those two teams.

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In his post-mortem of the season, Montreal Canadiens' GM Kent Hughes said he wouldn’t stop a team from talking to Vincent if they were interested in hiring him as a head coach, even though the Laval Rocket was still playing in the playoffs.

However, Vincent himself stated that he was entirely focused on the AHL playoffs and essentially said that if a team wanted him, they wouldn’t mind waiting until the end of the playoffs to speak with him. While that made sense, considering the number of vacancies and the difficulty in finding the right coach, perhaps teams couldn’t afford to wait, fearing that other candidates would be gone by the time the Rocket was eliminated.

Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas mentioned several names as possibilities for Boston and Pittsburgh, such as Joe Sacco, Mike Love, Jay Leach, Marco Sturm, Jay Woodcroft, DJ Smith, and David Quinn.

The Canadiens organization won’t be sad if, in the end, Vincent remains in post with the Laval Rocket. In his first year at the helm, the Canadiens’ AHL affiliate had a 48-19-5 record and won the regular-season championship. They are now in the Eastern Conference Final of the Calder Cup playoffs, and even though they are down 2-0 in the series, Vincent and his coaching staff have done a masterful job all year long. Given how many significant young prospects are in the Canadiens’ pipeline, there’s no doubt that keeping Vincent would be a blessing.

Photo credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

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If the New York Rangers keep the 12th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and this specific prospect is available, the team should select Kashawn Aitcheson. 

The Rangers could use more defensemen in their pipeline and Aitcheson has the body type and skill set to be a quality NHL defenseman in the future. 

Standing at about 6-foot-1, 198 pounds, Aitcheson uses his size and frame to his advantage as he plays a physically demanding game, a perfect quality in a blueliner. 

In addition to his steady defensive presence, the 18-year-old prospect boasts an impressive offensive arsenal for a defenseman, making him the ultimate package.

“Aitcheson is one of my favorite prospects in the draft,” Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff wrote. “He has the potential to be an intimidating force in the NHL – someone who just gives opponents nothing to work with. His physicality is the best attribute of his game because he’s willing to get involved with just about anyone. Aitcheson already has 20 goals, which is no small feat for an OHL defenseman.”

In 64 games with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League this past season, Aitcheson recorded 26 goals, 33 assists, and 59 points. 

The majority of mock drafts have Aitcheson going in the vicinity of the Rangers’ pick and he’s expected to be one of the first defensemen off the board.

Keep your eyes out for Aitcheson because he’s one of the more intriguing prospects that could fall to the Blueshirts.

The 2025 NHL Entry Draft takes place on June 27, and the Vancouver Canucks currently have one pick in each round. Barring any trades, the Canucks will be selecting 15th in the first round, with many suggestions for players to pick already being pitched. In preparation for this year’s draft, we’re taking a look at the past five NHL Entry Drafts that the Canucks have taken part in, as well as where each of their picks have ended up. Last week, we took a look at the Canucks 2020 Draft picks. This week, let’s look back at the 2021 NHL Draft. 

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Vancouver made six selections in the 2021 NHL Draft, with most coming during the later round of the selection process. The Canucks only made one pick within the first four rounds, as they dealt their first, third, and fourth-round selections. They moved their 2021 first-round pick (ninth overall) to the Arizona Coyotes alongside Jay Beagle, Loui Eriksson, Antoine Roussel, a 2022 second-round pick, and a 2023 seventh-round pick in exchange for Conor Garland and Oliver Ekman-Larsson ($990,000 retained). They flipped their 2021 third-round pick for Jason Dickinson, and swapped their fourth-round pick for a fifth and defender Madison Bowey. Their remaining selections were used to pick Danila Klimovich, Aku Koskenvuo, Jonathan Myrenberg, Hugo Gabrielson, Connor Lockhart, and Lucas Forsell. 

Danila Klimovich, F 

Klimovich was the Canucks’ first selection in the 2021 Draft, going 41st overall in the second round. He signed his entry-level contract only a couple of days after being drafted. Because he has yet to play in his first NHL game, this contract has not expired yet. The forward began his quest for North American pro-hockey the season after he was drafted, scoring eight goals and 10 assists in 62 games played with the Abbotsford Canucks in 2021–22. Since then, he has shown significant progression by working on rounding out his game as a whole and staying consistent with point totals. In 2024–25, he scored a team-high 25 goals and added 13 assists in 65 games. 

Aku Koskenvuo, G 

Vancouver didn’t make their next pick in this draft until the fifth round, selecting Finnish goaltender Aku Koskenvuo 137th overall. Koskenvuo, who joined Finland at the World Juniors twice after being drafted by the Canucks, played 27 games with HIFK U20 in 2021–22. He joined Harvard University the season after, spending two full seasons with the school and posting a collective 39 games played. Koskenvuo had a particularly notable season this year, starting 20 games and putting up a 2.81 GAA. At the conclusion of Harvard’s 2024–25 season, the Canucks signed Koskenvuo to a two-year entry-level contract. 

Jonathan Myrenberg, D

Myrenberg, a defender, was selected only three spots after Koskenvuo in the 2021 Draft, going 140th overall to the Canucks. He spent the season after his draft year with Linköping HC J20 in the J20 Nationell league as well as the SHL. Later, in October of 2022, he and fellow Canucks prospect Michael DiPietro were traded to the Boston Bruins for forward Jack Studnicka, who spent 52 games with Vancouver before also being traded. Myrenberg is still with Linköping HC and will play with them in the 2025–26 season. 

Hugo Gabrielson, D 

Vancouver’s first pick of the sixth round was Gabrielson, who they took 169th overall. After being drafted, he spent three seasons with Västerviks IK of HockeyAllsvenskan, tallying five goals and 19 assists in 122 games played with the club. This season was his first with Nybro Vikings IF, with whom he scored five goals and 21 assists in 44 games played. Gabrielson has not been signed by the Canucks yet and is soon approaching four years since being drafted. 

Connor Lockhart, F 

Lockhart was Vancouver’s second pick of the sixth round, going 178th overall. He spent his first post-draft season with the Erie Otters, putting up 23 goals and 25 assists in 64 games played. His hockey career then took him to the Peterborough Petes and the Oshawa Generals of the OHL. In the 2023–24 season, he was suspended for “violat[ing] the League’s Code of Conduct.” He signed a contract with the Bloomington Bison of the ECHL and played 68 games for them in 2024–25. 

Lucas Forsell, F 

Vancouver’s last pick in the 2021 Draft was Forsell, who went 201st overall in the seventh round. He has spent nearly his entire professional hockey career with Färjestad BK of the SHL. In 2022–23 he was loaned to BIK Karlskoga of HockeyAllsvenskan, putting up two goals and four assists in 17 games played. This season, he and Färjestad BK qualified for the 2025 Champions Hockey League Final, but ultimately lost 2–1 to the ZSC Lions. The six-foot forward recently announced that the Canucks would not be signing him, making him a free agent.   

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By Josh Casper, Features writer

In 1938, Edward VIII, the former Prince of Wales, publicly congratulated the NHL’s Boston Bruins on winning the Prince of Wales Trophy, which he had donated nearly a decade-and-a-half earlier, for the only time on record.

Two years earlier, the entire British Empire listened with bated breath as King Edward VIII told his subjects that he could not be their king without the support of the woman he loved. He was thus abdicating the throne, and he would become the Duke of Windsor the following year. ‘The Abdication,’ like ‘The Cup,’ is self-explanatory. Royalty, like sports, is, if nothing else, theater. The Royal Family attempted to erase Edward, now a failed king remembered as the charismatic Prince of Wales, from history so the new reticent king might step out of his brother’s vast shadow.

Similar mythology surrounds the Prince of Wales Trophy, such as why the Montreal Canadiens had their name engraved twice. The silver chalice hovers above an uncut crystal at the base – to symbolize ice – and is buttressed by four legs shaped like gold hockey sticks, surrounded by four golden hockey pucks. Francophone hockey fans often mistake the Prince of Wales feathers atop the trophy, which is emblazoned with the Royal Arms of Canada, for a fleur de lis. Prince Edward gifted the $2,500 trophy (equal to about $45,000 today) to the NHL in 1925.

As the Prince of Wales, Edward was renowned worldwide, especially in North America, where he became a symbol of a generation as the jazz-loving bachelor who also endured the travails of war. In 1919, Edward crisscrossed Canada from St. John’s, Nfld., to Vancouver on a special Canadian Pacific Railway train.

“I want Canada to look upon me as Canadian, if not actually by birth, yet certainly in mind and spirit,” said the Prince of Wales in St. John’s.

Edward developed a particular affection for the Canadian West and its pioneering ranchers. Before coming back east to America, the prince bought a cattle ranch in Alberta’s High River Valley that he visited five times during the next decade. He said the Canadian West was one of the few places that treated him like a person rather than a prince.

“Canada is a great country,” said Edward to comedian Will Rogers. The prince described Canadians as vigorous and confident.

Americans were more acquainted with the Prince of Wales than with hockey. But that was slowly changing. Ice hockey at the 1924 Chamonix Winter Olympics garnered almost as much attention as (Chariots of Fire runner) Harold Abrahams at the Paris Summer Games. Team Canada and the United States facing off for gold only stoked expectations. Suddenly, hockey was heating up.

The Prince of Wales, a devoted sportsman, took particular interest and planned to attend. Then, days before the final, the avid steeplechaser was thrown from his horse while trying to clear a five-foot jump.

Edward’s equerry noticed a protruding bone: “I am afraid your collarbone is broken, sir.”

Unable to move his mangled shoulder, the prince drolly replied: “Yes, I believe it is.”

The gold-medal game was shaping up to be a similarly gruesome affair. By the first intermission, the players’ blood-soaked sweaters tinged the ice with a crimson hue, mainly from Harry ‘Moose’ Watson, who was bloodied and knocked out cold for two minutes but returned to score the go-ahead goal. Led by captain Dunc Munro, Canada shut down the Americans and claimed the gold with a 6-1 victory. The U.S. took silver and Great Britain got the bronze.

Though he missed the banquet while recovering from surgery, the Prince of Wales was determined to meet Team Canada. The day before they were set to depart, Edward invited them to York House. Manager William ‘Billy’ Hewitt and Munro led the team into the prince’s study. As they sat by the fireplace, Prince Edward turned to Munro and said, “You will know that dislocating a collarbone is not serious. It easily comes out and is easily put back.”

They laughed. Hockey was a rough sport. No helmets. So was point-to-point racing. Not wanting a dead Prince of Wales, the British Racing Association made helmets mandatory in 1924.

The prince had never been to a hockey game, but Hewitt was impressed by his hockey IQ. Edward even recognized Harold McMunn, who was added to the Allan Cup-winning Toronto Granites team that represented Canada.

Like the prince, Munro later admitted that his biggest obstacle came after dark. “Just think of the temptation,” said Munro of the casinos filled with young French ingenues. “But we resisted it.”

Hewitt had them in bed by 10 o’clock, something the prince never mastered. Edward’s nocturnal speakeasy adventures became such press fodder during his 1924 New York holiday that King George V never allowed him to return.

“It seemed a great hardship then,” Munro quipped. “We did not always feel too friendly to Mr. Hewitt, but we are glad of (him) now.”

In 1924, when the NHL added two clubs, the Montreal Maroons and the first U.S. club, the Boston Bruins, Munro signed a three-year, $22,500 contract with the Maroons (over $400,000 today). He played in the first NHL game on U.S. soil, a 2-1 Bruins win at 5,000-seat Boston Arena (now Northeastern’s Matthews Arena) over the Maroons.

To familiarize American audiences with pro hockey, newspaper scribes described the new Prince of Wales Trophy as the NHL pennant, given to the NHL champion, whether or not they beat a western team for the Stanley Cup.

“It is not the intention of the prince that his Cup shall displace the Stanley Cup. There is a championship trophy in Canada, the Stanley Cup, but that is the supreme prize of all.”

Had the 1924-25 season gone smoothly, the Hamilton Tigers might’ve won the first Prince of Wales Trophy, but incensed that they would not receive a $200 bonus, Hamilton quit on the eve of the 1924 playoffs. The third-place Canadiens, next up, got to defend their 1923 Stanley Cup and beat second-place Toronto for the NHL title before losing the Stanley Cup final to Victoria of the Western Canada League.

After the Hamilton players declared they would never again play for Hamilton, Tex Rickard, building a new Madison Square Garden, pounced to help bring hockey to his new arena. The New York Americans were born. Instead of awarding the Prince of Wales Trophy to Montreal, the NHL brass saw an opportunity.

The Prince of Wales Trophy was to be awarded to future NHL champions, so NHL president Frank Calder decided that the winner of the first game at MSG between the New York Americans and Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 15, 1925, would receive the trophy until the next NHL championship.

The Canadiens, reeling without terminally ill goaltender Georges Vezina, beat the Americans 3-1 to earn the first Prince of Wales Trophy. The defending NHL champions, the Canadiens later engraved their name twice: once for their 1924 NHL title and again for winning the Prince of Wales Trophy game.

In March, before an afternoon game between the Maroons and Canadiens, thousands of fans queued in front of silversmith Mappin & Webb’s display window on Rue Ste-Catherine to see the Prince of Wales Trophy, which stayed in Montreal. Munro and his Maroons, who were at Madison Square Garden as spectators, kept the trophy in Montreal, winning the 1926 NHL title and the last inter-league Stanley Cup.

Much more was decided that December 1925 day than who possessed the Prince of Wales Trophy. The NHL was transformed forever. If they weren’t already, the beckoning bright lights of Broadway and dollar signs of Wall Street would forever be part of pro hockey.

From 1927 to 1938, the Prince of Wales Trophy was given to the winner of the American Division. From 1938 to 1967, it was presented to the NHL’s regular-season champion. Since expansion in 1967, the trophy has been awarded to a division or conference champion for the regular season or playoffs. Most recently, since 1993-94, it’s served as the title trophy for the Eastern Conference playoff champ.

This article appeared in our 2025 Playoff Special issue. Our cover story focuses on Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl, who looks primed for another deep playoff run. We also include features on other Cup contenders, including the Dallas Stars, Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers and more. In addition, we give our power ranking of the top playoff teams heading into the 2025 post-season.

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The Buffalo Sabres will host the annual NHL Draft Combine this week, with the 2025 NHL Decentralized Draft in Los Angeles late this month. Buffalo will select ninth overall if they do not trade the pick, but between now and the night of the first round. Draft prognosticators have begun to decipher what teams will select and how the draft will unfold, and according to the Athletic’s most recent mock draft, the Sabres are projected to select OHL defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson with their pick. 

The 18-year-old blueliner had a breakout offensive year with the Barrie Colts, jumping from eight goals last season to 26 goals, finishing behind only 2024 first rounders Zayne Parekh and Sam Dickinson among OHL defenseman. Aitcheson led the Colts with 59 points and scored 12 points in the OHL playoffs.  

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Corey Pronman indicated that Aitcheson was the second ranked blueliner on The Athletic’s draft list next to presumptive top overall selection Matthew Schaefer, and that the 6’2”. 196 lb. defenseman “brings a combination of tenacity, skill and athleticism to the blue line and will help us at both ends of the ice on top of making our team harder to play against”. 

While the possibility of taking a blueliner is good, the Sabres might be hesitant to take a offensive lefty such as Aitcheson with both Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power locked up on long-term deals and aged 25 or younger. Buffalo’s blueline organizational depth is thin on the right side, with 21-year-old Vsevolod Komarov in Rochester, and 2023 second-rounder Maxim Strbak and 2024 second-rounder Adam Kleber in the NCAA.

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For the second straight season the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers will meet in the Stanley Cup Finals. There are three former Wild players who will be competing for the Stanley Cup. 

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Dmitry Kulikov, who won the Stanley Cup last season for the Panthers, will be joined by Nico Sturm as the two former Wild players on the Panthers. 

John Klingberg is the only Oiler on the roster who will compete for the Stanley Cup. Travis Dermott was claimed off waivers by the Wild earlier in the season but was eventually put back on waivers and claimed by the Oilers. He is not listed on the roster though. 

Sturm, 30, spent his first four NHL seasons with the Wild before he was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche in 2021-22. He won a cup that season. Kulikov spent just one season with the Wild in 2021-22. 

Klingberg, 32, was acquired by the Wild at the trade deadline in 2022-23. He played 17 regular season games for the Wild and four playoff games. 

Photo: May 25, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers defenseman John Klingberg (36) celebrates after he scores a power play goal against the Dallas Stars during the third period in game three of the Western Conference Final of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images.