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In desperate need of power play help and a top-four caliber veteran defenseman, the Philadelphia Flyers will be seeking intermediate-term reinforcements in free agency this offseason.

They can knock out two birds with one stone by signing longtime rival and Washington Capitals legend John Carlson, though he's widely expected to have many suitors around the NHL, including Stanley Cup contenders.

Fortunately for the Flyers, though, the latest from NHL insider Elliotte Friedman tells us Philadelphia should have a legitimate chance at the 36-year-old Stanley Cup champ.

According to Friedman, via the May 22nd episode of his "32 Thoughts" podcast, "there's some thought [Carlson] might want to go back East."

This would make the chances of a reunion with the Anaheim Ducks slim, and virtually rule out a contract anywhere else in the Western Conference given his familiarity with Anaheim compared to those teams.

By extension, the Flyers should be among the favorites to sign Carlson in free agency this summer, especially due to suggestions a return to the Capitals isn't in the cards.

Carlson, 36, scored 14 points in 16 games for the Ducks after being traded, and added another six assists in 12 playoff games.

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The 2025-26 season was actually one of Carlson's most productive overall, as the Natick, Mass., native finished with 60 points, including 14 on the power play, in just 71 regular season games.

Just those 14 points alone would have placed Carlson third in scoring amongst Flyers defensemen, behind only Cam York, Travis Sanheim, and Jamie Drysdale, and tied with Rasmus Ristolainen.

Carlson's 14 power play points also would have tied Travis Konecny for second-most among all Flyers, behind only Trevor Zegras's 23.

So, it goes almost without saying that Carlson's 60-point ability and power play prowess are two things the Flyers need and are in the market for.

As long as the Flyers can move Ristolainen at peak value and don't want to rush David Jiricek and Oliver Bonk along, Carlson is certainly the best fit for them, and they have a legitimate chance of getting him now.

On a one- or two-year deal, Carlson is certainly worth an overpay from the Flyers in the region of $9- or $10 million, especially with all the cap space they'll have heading into the offseason.

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The Vegas Golden Knights have made it to the Stanley Cup for the third time in nine years.

Standing in the way of their second win in franchise history will be the Carolina Hurricanes, who enter the Final with a remarkable 12-1 playoff record.

Beating the Hurricanes four times will be a challenge. Here are five things the Golden Knights need to do well to make it happen.

Tighten the screws at 5-on-5

The Carolina Hurricanes lead all teams with 3.51 expected goals per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play during the playoffs, well clear of the Vegas Golden Knights and their output (2.67). That's why the Golden Knights are underdogs at +125 at BET99 to win the Stanley Cup.

The Hurricanes have generated high-danger chances in bulk against each opponent, and that is something the Golden Knights need to crack down on.

While Carter Hart has performed very well in the playoffs, he ranked 66th among 67 eligible goaltenders in 5-on-5 high-danger SV% during the regular season. Vegas can’t test fate.

Score on the power play

The Hurricanes spent almost 90 minutes shorthanded through the first three rounds. They lost those minutes by a 4-1 score line.

Put another way, it has taken 30 minutes for opponents — with the man advantage — to beat the Hurricanes by a goal. That’s the equivalent of 15 power plays, which could account for the majority of a series.

Vegas needs to find a way to be opportunistic on the man advantage, especially given how stingy Carolina is at 5-on-5.

Get out in front

It's difficult to beat the Hurricanes at the best of times. It's almost impossible when falling behind the eight-ball.

Carolina owns a spotless 7-0 record when leading after 20 minutes during the playoffs. The same can be said after 40.

They were otherworldly good when leading after two periods in regular season play, posting a 37-2-2 record.

Their structure and relentless forechecking pressure allow them to get downhill and neutralize possessions before they really get going.

Vegas can’t afford to fall behind and be forced to chase the game.

Keep Marner away from Miller

Mitch Marner leads the Golden Knights with 21 points through 18 games, and he has generated more 5-on-5 scoring chances than anybody on their roster.

John Tortorella would do well to keep him away from K’Andre Miller as much as possible.

Miller has won his minutes by a 16-3 score line while helping the Hurricanes control nearly 65% of the expected goal share.

His positioning, stick work, and defensive instincts have allowed him to completely neutralize top players for the opposing team. The Knights can’t allow that to happen to Marner.

Create off the draw

One area the Golden Knights have a clear edge is in the faceoff circle. They rank fourth during the playoffs in win percentage (53.3%) while the Hurricanes slot 12th with a 47.4% win rate.

Their faceoff prowess should allow them to start with possession more frequently in the offensive zone and on special teams.

That affords extra opportunities to create quick-strike offense before the Hurricanes are fully set and taking up shooting lanes.

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Following a disappointing finish to their playoff run, the Montreal Canadiens will quickly shift to offseason business. That means making a move at the goaltending position where they have three goalies and no need for that many. It leaves Samuel Montembeault as the odd goalie out and could lead to trade discussions over the next few weeks. 

Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers have their own goaltending issues to address. 

Is there a fit between the two teams? Perhaps. 

Frank Seravalli of Hockey 24/7 released his first trade board for the 2026 NHL off-season, and Montembeault is on the list at No. 11. The Oilers have Connor Ingram hitting unrestricted free agency, and not much of an appetite to overpay for him despite a desire to bring him back and a fairly strong season. 

The question will be cost.

With Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler being ahead of Montembeault on the Canadiens' depth chart, if the Habs look to move Montembeault this off-season (along with his $3.15 million cap hit) what are they willing to do in order to get that contract off the books? The Canadiens aren't in a cap crunch situation, so they aren't desperate. However, they will have moves they want to make to come from a playoff team that made a good run to a contender that makes that run consistently.

Bruce Cassidy Spills Beans On Vegas' Message To Him About Coaching OilersVegas remains locked in a standoff with their former bench boss, allegedly blocking a potential move to a division rival while holding the frustrated coach to his contract.

Moving an expensive for a third-string goalie is one way to add to their already strong roster. 

For the Oilers, acquiring Montembeault would be about striking while his trade value is low. If they believe the 29-year-old struggles this regular season were an anomaly, -- an .872 save percentage, and a 3.43 goals-against average in 25 games -- they may see him as a better bet as part of a tandem and an upgrade over Ingram and Tristan Jarry. Better yet, if they can find a way to move Jarry, Montembeault and Ingram could be an improvement at a reduced cost. 

The risk, however, is real. Montembeault lost his spot on the Canadiens depth chart for a reason. This past season was not his best. Can he get back to the numbers he posted between 2022 and 2025?

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In a recent article for ESPN, Rachel Kryshak took a look at multiple young players who could use a fresh start elsewhere. A Chicago Blackhawks defenseman was among the players discussed, as Kevin Korchinski made the cut. 

"Another pending RFA who has been passed on the depth chart, Korchinski is an obvious trade candidate for Chicago to use to acquire a skilled forward," Kryshak wrote. "Chicago has more depth on the right side, but Korchinski needs offensive reps to meaningfully impact the game, and that feels out of reach with this franchise."

If the Blackhawks were to trade Korchinski, it would undoubtedly be a notable move. The left-shot defenseman was selected by the Blackhawks with the seventh-overall pick of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and is considered one of their most promising prospects. However, he has also had trouble taking that next step and cementing himself as an NHL regular. 

If the Blackhawks were to make Korchinski available for trade, it is likely that several teams would love to acquire him. The potential for him to become a top-four offensive defenseman and power-play specialist is there. Furthermore, with Korchinski being only 21 years old, he still has plenty of time to improve. 

Yet, with Korchinski being so young and the Blackhawks' left side not being the strongest, it would be understandable if they gave him another chance next season before potentially dealing him. 

In 13 games last season with Chicago, Korchinski recorded two assists and a minus-4 rating. He also had two goals and 26 points in 53 AHL games with the Rockford IceHogs. 

Retired NHL star Claude Lemieux died of a broken heart, according to people who knew him.

During his two-decade career, he led the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche to a total of four Stanley Cups and was the ninth best playoff scorer of all time — but he was never inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame after he hung up his skates in 2009.

Lemieux, a “tough guy” on the ice who was known to be deeply sensitive to rejection, never got over being passed over for the top honor, according to his pals.

“He always lived this as an injustice, a heavy burden to bear,” Rejean Tremblay, a longtime Montreal hockey columnist and insider who knew Lemieux for 30 years, told The Post.

“The sense of rejection ran deeper than one might have imagined. He took it very hard.”

Lemieux could be traumatized by rejection, like the time he was sent down to the minor leagues in 1985 after his first NHL season. He was so devastated, he once told Tremblay,  that he smashed his car’s windshield and drove with it broken the 100 miles from Montreal to Sherbrooke, where he refused to stay in the apartment the team rented for him. 

The hockey legend hanged himself in the warehouse of his family’s furniture business in Palm Beach County, FL. His body was found shortly after 3:30 a.m. Thursday.

The iconic hockey team where he broke in as an 18-year-old rookie from Gatineau, Quebec, brought him back this past Monday to carry the torch at the Bell Centre – a team tradition – before Game 3 of the NHL conference finals against the Carolina Hurricanes. He was all smiles, as an adoring crowd of 21,000 people cheered him on.

“It’s possible that surge of love, that wave of love on Monday evening, triggered an emotion that was too intense,” Tremblay said, citing NHL friends close to Lemieux.

“It might have reawakened old pains, old suffering.”

Lemieux, who died at 60, also went some 10 years without speaking to his children, according to sources — another emotional load that weighed heavy on his heart in the years after his retirement.

“It hurt him tremendously,” said Tremblay.

He had been depressed leading up to his suicide, according to his family, but they had no idea he was planning to take his own life.

“They didn’t expect that at all, they never saw it coming” Colombe Lacroix, a close family friend who was at the scene with the family Thursday, told The Post. “He’s been going through a difficult time, he was depressed.”

“It’s so devastating, everyone is upside down,” she said in tears. “Brendan is completely destroyed,” she said of Lemieux’s 30-year-old hockey player son who found his dad’s body.

She said Claude Lemieux saw his own parents for the last time when he was in Montreal this week, and also made a point of bringing his two oldest sons from his first marriage, Michael and Christopher, on the trip.

Lacroix, the widow of former Colorado Avalanche general manager and hockey legend Pierre Lacroix, became close with Lemieux and his wife Deborah when Lemieux played for the team between 1995 and 1999. The two couples lived in the same Denver area neighborhood of Columbine, made infamous by the 1999 high school massacre.

She had just moved to Florida, and lived 40 minutes away from the Lemieuxs.

“I held Claude in my arms, and I said thank you for being there for me,” she recounted of the last time she saw her good friend.

“He left our world too soon and I hope he’s in a better place and that he’s happy.”