During his postseason press conference on Apr. 21, Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas provided a glimpse into what the summer could look like for the organization.

He mentioned some potential movement in the trade market as well as interest in the restricted free agent market, and he also specified a glaring area of need for the Penguins.

"I think the left side of our defense has been a problem," Dubas said. "There's just no other way [to put it]. Especially moving [Marcus Pettersson] out to Vancouver in that trade... I think the trade will serve us a great purpose in the future, but it hurts the left side of the defense corps now."

He added: "You can't just wish that all of [their current left defensemen] are going to improve and all move up into 1-2-3, left side of the defense. That's an area, I think, externally, that we have to improve. So, we’ll be on the lookout for that."

The unrestricted free agent market for left defensemen is not the greatest, and the Penguins desperately need to improve the position as urgently as possible, even from a minutes standpoint. With Matt Grzelcyk remaining unsigned and about to hit free agency, there are no current left-side blueliners on their roster who have shown they're capable of playing consistent top-four minutes.

So what can they look for in the trade market? Here are four defensemen Dubas would be well-served to make some calls about.

'We Have To Stick To A Very Concise Plan And Then Execute Our Butts Off': Dubas Clarifies Penguins' Summer PlansTo close out the 2024-25 season, Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas spoke with the Pittsburgh media on Monday.

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Pavel Mintyukov - Anaheim Ducks

Mintyukov, 21, is perhaps the most intriguing option on this list. He has one year remaining on his entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks, and on the surface, he seems like a player the Ducks would not want to part ways with.

However, the fact of the matter is that Mintyukov had a disappointing sophomore campaign (five goals, 19 points in 68 games; minus-4) to follow up his excellent rookie season (4-28-63; minus-20), and in a crowded defensive pool of young, talented players, others are simply outperforming him. With the emergence of youngsters Jackson LaCombe and Olen Zellweger, Mintyukov may not have the adequate space or opportunity to further grow and develop his game with the Ducks.

Mintyukov's game is raw, and the defensive side of his game could use some work. But there's no denying the high-upside potential of Anaheim's 10th overall pick in 2022.

If he's even remotely on the market, he's someone worth surrendering that conditional first-round pick from the New York Rangers for. 

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Bowen Byram - Buffalo Sabres

It was a season of ups and downs for Byram, who completed his first full season with the underachieving Buffalo Sabres in 2024-25. He finished the year with seven goals and 38 points in 82 games to go along with a plus-11.

The productive potential is certainly evident for the 23-year-old blueliner, who is set to become a restricted free agent (RFA). However, the defensive side of his game was shaky at times this season, and his play was inconsistent in a general sense throughout the season. 

But he still qualifies as a pretty steady option for a second-pairing defender - with the potential to develop his two-way game more - which is something the Penguins need. With Buffalo at an organizational crossroads, some changes may be on the horizon, and they may be willing to part with Byram's RFA rights if the return meets their asking price.

Realistically, this would probably involve either a prospect and a pick or a swap for a talented rostered player. Buffalo would probably prefer to hold onto him otherwise.

Signing Evolving Young Star Defenseman Must Be Priority For Sabres This SummerThe Buffalo Sabres have clear goals in this off-season, including being a better defensive team. But one of the biggest tasks for the Sabres has to be getting a key defenseman locked up under contract for as long as possible.

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K'Andre Miller - New York Rangers

When talking about other organizations at a crossroads, it's difficult to leave out the Rangers.

They are a bit cap-strapped. They fired their coach and are on the verge of hiring ex-Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan. They missed the postseason one year after winning the President's Trophy. They have an underperforming, aging roster to go along with underperforming youth and not much promise prospect-wise on the horizon.

Miller, 25, is another pending-RFA. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound defenseman - like many of his teammates - had a somewhat forgettable season in blue and red, registering a downward-trending seven goals and 27 points in 74 games and sporting some poor defensive metrics to go along with it.

The Rangers will have some big decisions to make about their roster during the offseason. Even if Miller had a down year, he is still a very capable two-way defenseman with size, and he is a top-four defenseman at his best.

Given the Rangers' cap and roster situation, this is exactly the type of RFA that Dubas should target - especially after the Penguins' GM said that they'll look into RFAs that other teams can't afford to re-sign.

Report: Former Penguins Coach Mike Sullivan Closing In On 'Rich' Contract With RangersAfter parting ways with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, it was clear that former head coach Mike Sullivan was going to be in high demand.

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Mason Lohrei - Boston Bruins

More than likely, the Boston Bruins are on a crash-course destination to tank next season. Their roster was blown up almost entirely over the past year, and they finished at the bottom of the East along with the Philadelphia Flyers. 

Lohrei, 24, is a pending-RFA and showed high-upside potential offensively this season, putting up five goals and 33 points in 77 games. He is a good puck carrier, skates relatively well for his size, and has some offensive instincts.

But it's hard to ignore the fact that Lohrei was also a minus-43 on the season. Yes, this is plus/minus - but a number that extreme is a bit worrisome. Even though Boston was a mess defensively as a whole, Lohrei certainly was one of the guilty parties, and the Penguins shouldn't surrender the farm for him.

More than likely, the Bruins bring Lohrei back. He played top-four minutes this season and figures to be part of their future. But, if the Bruins are looking for assets - which, they will be - he might be someone they're willing to engage in discussions about. At the right price, he'd be a worthwhile gamble.

Former Bruins Defender Had Career Year With New TeamDuring this past off-season, the Boston Bruins let defenseman Matt Grzelcyk leave in free agency. This was after his placement on the team's depth chart dropped, with him being scratched in 10 out of the Bruins' 13 playoff games. 

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Jack Eichel had a goal and an assist, Adin Hill made 29 saves and the Golden Knights defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in Game 6 of their first-round series Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

Hill improved to 4-0 all-time in Game 6 as the Knights' goaltender.

With the win, Vegas eliminated the Wild and will next face the winner of the Los Angeles Kings-Edmonton Oilers series. The Oilers led the series 3-2 ahead of Game 6 in Edmonton on Thursday night.

Captain Mark Stone and defenseman Shea Theodore also had a goal and an assist each to help the Knights advance into the second round for the fifth time in eight seasons.

"I think ever since I got here, that's the message, that we want to win," Theodore said. "Guys care about it every year; that's our goal in training camp. It's good to see us playing well at the right time."

Stone, who assisted on Eichel's goal with a stretch pass out of the zone that was inches out of reach of the stick of Minnesota star Kirill Kaprizov after he dived to try to prevent the breakaway, had four points in the last three games of the series.

Ryan Hartman scored both goals for Minnesota, which has lost nine consecutive series in the NHL playoffs.

Stay updated with the most interesting Golden Knights stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story. 

This is a breaking story and will be updated by 1 am eastern

The Winnipeg Jets will be without star forward Mark Scheifele for Game 6 in St. Louis on Friday.

His absence is directly related to an injury suffered on a check in Game 5 at Canada Life Centre on Wednesday night. 

The 32-year-old was crunched early in the first period on a punishable hit by Brayden Schenn, who jumped into an open-ice hit, catching Scheifele without the puck in Winnipeg's defensive zone. 

"Well, clearly they’re trying to do a job on our skilled guys, and trying to make them pay a price," Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo said on Thursday. "We're trying to do the same too. It's a physical series. This has been right up there with some of the most physical hockey I've played in the playoff series. And we knew that going in, and they're going to continue to try to do that."

Scheifele bounced back up rather quickly and played another seven shifts. However, he was later hit in the open ice by Blues' forward Radek Faksa, which also knocked him down heavily to the ice.

After the game, coaches Jim Montgomery and Scott Arniel went back and forth on what caused Scheifele to miss the second and third periods, ultimately walking away undecided. 

Although pleading with the NHL Department of Player Safety to look at Schenn's high hit, Arniel had no success, and the Blues' captain will remain in the lineup for the pivotal Game 6. 

"We've talked to the league, like I said," Arniel said Thursday. "We've been talking. There's a supervisor that's here every day. So they know how we feel. We've passed on our message and we hope that those things don't happen. I'm not saying that we're going out to (get) retribution. But we've got to win hockey games. So however that comes about, we've got to get it done."

Scheifele, on the other hand, will not travel with the Jets and remains out of the lineup. 

"Obviously extremely (disappointed)," Arniel added. "You're hoping that maybe for the best, you wake up today and things are better. But right now he won't be making trip and we'll see, we'll just go day-to-day, moving forward."

Winnipeg missing star players come the postseason is not a new storyline, by any measure.

Scheifele, for instance, has missed games against Calgary alongside Patrik Laine (in 2020), sat out due to suspension in 2021 against Montreal and injured his shoulder against Vegas in 2023. 

Cole Perfetti also missed the postseason in 2023 against the Golden Knights. Nikolaj Ehlers made it into just one game that year after a dirty check from Ryan Hartman near the end of the regular season, while Josh Morrissey got hurt on his first shift of Game 2 against Vegas. He sat out the rest of the series. And who could forget Morgan Barron's nasty slice to the cheek - fortunately, he didn't need to sit out.

Brenden Dillon and Vlad Namestnikov both missed time in the opening round against Colorado last season, giving way to Cole Perfetti, who made his playoff debut in Game 5. 

As history shows, the Jets have rarely had a full lineup of regulars come playoff time since their rip to the Western Conference Final in 2018 vs. Vegas.

It appears as though that will also be the case this postseason. Already missing Ehlers until at least the second round (lower-body), Winnipeg was without Gabe Vilardi until Wednesday, who made his return to action after missing a month of time due to an upper-body injury.

“This is going to be a meat-and-potato kind of, work zone-to-zone, get out of our zone, get through that neutral zone and then make them spend some time in their end of the rink," Arniel said of Game 6. "You know, not having Nik, not having Scheif, kind of knocks out a couple of your top six players. So this is straightforward, grind it out kind of work for, fight for every inch and get those greasy goals, a lot like we scored last night."

Now, with Scheifele on the mend, the Jets will look to take care of business on the road for the first time this postseason, as they battle St. Louis in what could be the final test of the round. Or, the game could follow the script set over the first five games with the home team proving victorious. 

Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM central time on Friday. The game can be viewed live on Sportsnet.

The Toronto Maple Leafs got the job done against the Ottawa Senators in Game 6.

With the Maple Leafsat risk of blowing a 3-0 series lead, they beat the Senators 4-2 to make the second round for the first time since 2023 against the Tampa Bay Lightning and just the second time since 2004, the last time they faced the Senators in the playoffs.

At the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, Ont., Toronto took the lead against Ottawa on Thursday night off a power-play goal by Auston Matthews. William Nylander extended the lead to 2-0.

Senators captain Brady Tkachuk tipped a shot into the net to cut the lead to one entering the third period, and David Perron tied the game by banking a shot off the back of the head of Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz.

Just over a minute later, however, Max Pacioretty capitalized on some offensive zone time to take the lead back. It was his first playoff goal since 2021 with the Vegas Golden Knights. He has a goal and an assist in four games this post-season after recovering from injury issues. His last regular-season game was Feb. 8.

Despite the Senators piling on the pressure in the final minute with an empty net, Nylander scored at the other end to seal the deal.

The Maple Leafs next face the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers, in the second round. The Panthers, which finished third in the Atlantic Division in the regular season, eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games.

When the Leafs beat the Lightning in 2023, they faced the Panthers in the second round as well. Florida won in six games and eventually made it to the Stanley Cup final before falling to the Golden Knights.

As for the Senators, they finish their first playoff appearance since 2017, when they made it to the Eastern Conference final. Tkachuk led the Senators in scoring in this series with seven points (four goals, three assists) in six games, while Matthews led the Leafs with two goals and five helpers for seven points.

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Welcome to The Hockey News Playoff Frenzy Live, streaming nightly during the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs.

After the big game of the night, our experts go live to react to the match that was, break down the key moments and storylines, provide updates on the rest of the night's NHL slate and read your opinions.

On tonight's show, Katie Gaus and Michael Augello react to the Toronto Maple Leafs beating the Ottawa Senators 4-2 in Game 6 and winning the series.

The Maple Leafs lost twice before winning the series, and they now face the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Florida Panthers, in the second round.

Leafs vs. Sens Game 6 - Playoff FrenzyWelcome to Playoff Frenzy Live by The Hockey News, where we're recapping all of the action from Game 6 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators.

Share your thoughts in the comments and live chat, and the hosts may discuss your message during the stream.

Check out the show right now.

It was a valiant comeback effort by the Ottawa Senators, but in the end, losing the first three games of their first round playoff series was just too much to overcome. 

The Senators' 2024-25 season came to an end in Game 6 on Thursday night with a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. William Nylander led the way for Toronto with two goals and an assist. Max Pacioretty, who was moved up to the second line tonight, had two points, including the winning goal with 5:39 to play. Brady Tkachuk and David Perron scored for the Sens, who were dead even in shots with Toronto at 23 apiece.

The opening period was one of the most wide-open we've seen in the series. Both teams had some excellent chances, but the scoring dam refused to break until Brady Tkachuk’s interference penalty in the neutral zone with just over two minutes left in the period. The hit was slightly late, but it's the kind of hit that officials frequently overlook, especially in games as important as this one.

After going cold for two games, Toronto then finally capitalized with the extra man. From the left point, Auston Matthews directed a puck at the net with the approximate speed of a firm pass. It made its way through traffic, and just as a screened Linus Ullmark came off the post in search of a view of the puck, the puck slid past his skate, just inside the post.

It was reminiscent of an intermission contest where a fan successfully shoots a puck through a tiny slot in a board covering the net.

That gave the Leafs some momentum heading into the intermission, and they built on their lead in the first minute of the second period. Pacioretty knocked the puck away from Nick Jensen at the Ottawa blue line and it ended up on the stick of  Nylander. Thomas Chabot, who backed up way too far, allowed Nylander all the time he needed to pick his spot under Ullmark's blocker.

Less than seven minutes later, both Chabot and Tkachuk made amends, teaming up for Ottawa's first goal of the game. Chabot's knee-high wrist shot from the left point was handled masterfully by Tkachuk, who tipped it over Anthony Stolarz's right shoulder to cut the lead in half.

The Senators came out strong in the third period. Tim Stutzle had an early chance, deflecting one off the goal post, and he created several great opportunities for himself throughout the period. However, he couldn't capitalize.

But Canadian Tire Centre erupted when veteran David Perron scored from down below the goal line, banking the puck in off of Stolarz's back to tie the game at 2.

The celebration was short-lived.

Less than two minutes later, with everyone thinking about yet another overtime, Toronto's Max Domi outworked Ottawa's defense behind the Senators' net and found Pacioretty alone in the high slot. Pacioretty then beat Ullmark to restore Toronto’s lead with less than six minutes to go.

Nylander then put the game away with an empty netter to seal the deal, ending Ottawa's season.

"I'm proud of the guys," Perron said. "(The loss) is tough to think about too much right now. You can always look at plays, but I'm proud of the guys and how much they grew this year. And even from game to game, it felt like we really had a chance to kind of push this to 7 and that's tough."

The fans shared Perron's emotions. During the player handshakes, the building was still fairly full, with fans applauding the effort. Not only did the Senators get back to the playoffs for the first time in eight years, the future appears to be extremely bright, o and off the ice.

Some of the fans began chanting Brady Tkachuk's name. Despite dealing with a nagging injury, big number 7 led the Sens with 7 points in 6 games, and after the game, the captain was highly emotional when asked about the loss.

"I mean, it's devastating, Tkachuk said, his voice barely a whisper. "I really believed... It's just a tough pill to swallow right now."

Tkachuk said he was proud of the team, even the guys who don't lace 'em up every night.

"I'm really proud of every single guy in this room. Everybody who wasn't playing – staff, trainers, everybody. Everybody in this organization. I mean, I think it takes will, it takes guts. 

"We didn't get the job done, but I think we're going to take these lessons and be that much better because of it. I know it's tough to realize right now, but everything happens for a reason, and I'll be better because of it."

As for Toronto, they win the first Battle of Ontario in 21 years, improving their playoff record against Ottawa to 5-0. The Leafs will have their hands full, facing the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, who just mowed down the Tampa Bay Lightning in round one.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News

Be sure to bookmark The Hockey News Ottawa for Senators coverage all year long.

On his 29th birthday, William Nylander was reportedly close to being held out of the Toronto Maple Leafs' lineup due to a game sheet issue.

Ahead of Game 6 against the Ottawa Senators, the Maple Leafs inserted Alex Nylander, William's brother, on the game sheet instead of the 29-year-old. According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, NHL officials caught this before the game began, allowing Nylander to play.

If an official hadn't caught the mistake before the game started, there would've been a chance that Nylander wouldn't have been able to play.

Per rule 5.1 in the NHL's rulebook: "Prior to the game, if an official (on-ice or off-ice) notices that a player is in uniform but has not been included on the submitted lineup, the Referee shall bring this to the attention of the offending team so that the necessary correction can be made to the Official Game Report with no penalty assessed."

Below is rule 5.2 of the rulebook, which is what could've happened to Nylander had the officials missed it.

"Only players on the submitted line-up before the game may participate in the game. The determining factor when considering whether or not a player is eligible is that the player’s name, and not necessarily the player’s number, must be correctly listed by the Manager or Coach of that team," the rulebook states.

"Whenever an ineligible player is identified to the Referee, the ineligible player will be removed from the game and the Club shall not be able to substitute another player from its roster. No additional penalties are to be assessed but a report of the incident must be submitted to the Commissioner."

'We've Only Done It Once Before': Gauging The Temperature Of The Maple Leafs Ahead Of Game 6 Against The SenatorsKanata, Ont. — The Toronto Maple Leafs have another chance to close out their series with the Ottawa Senators on Thursday when they visit Canadian Tire Centre for Game 6 of their first-round playoff series.

Nylander had an assist on Auston Matthews' power play goal in the first period of Game 6. His sixth assist of the series came on Toronto's first power play goal in an elimination game in 30 opportunities.

The forward also scored 43 seconds into the second period against Ottawa after intercepting the puck at the offensive blue line. It was Nylander's second goal of the series, after scoring in Game 1 on Apr. 20.

WILLIAM NYLANDER 🚨

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! pic.twitter.com/lSNomT9W51

— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) May 2, 2025

Nylander has eight points — two goals and six assists — through six games in the Battle of Ontario. He scored a career-high 45 goals in 82 games this season.

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