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The Toronto Maple Leafs hired former Detroit Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde as an assistant coach on Friday. But between the time the Wings fired Lalonde midway through this season and the time Toronto hired him, he’s kept busy.

There’s a not-so-secret factor that keeps coaches in the spotlight when they aren’t behind the bench, and that’s the media.

Yes, the adversary for many hockey executives can also be a lifeline thrown to them in between coaching jobs.

Lalonde won two Stanley Cup championships as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021, and he wasn’t a total washout as Red Wings coach, either, putting up an 89-86-23 record in three seasons before he was fired in December. 

Instead of staying out of the spotlight, Lalonde appeared as an analyst on Sportsnet. He worked the NHL trade deadline and select games earlier in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Even while he coached the Red Wings, he was a playoff analyst on Sportsnet before, including in the 2023 playoffs when the Maple Leafs faced the Lightning. Being an analyst was a solid choice, as he provided great insight for TV viewers.

Lalonde is hardly the first coach to go the broadcasting route between coaching gigs. 

Longtime coach John Tortorella, who’s not afraid to challenge the media, has taken TV jobs with TSN and ESPN before. Rick Tocchet appeared on TNT before the Vancouver Canucks hired him in 2023. More recently, veteran coach Bruce Boudreau has worked the circuit, often on TSN but also multiple times on The Hockey News Big Show, among other shows. Retired coach Rick Bowness has appeared on Sportsnet and TNT as well.

Being on air is a tidy way to keep your name in the hockey community vernacular as a coaching candidate, and fans always have an easier time relating to you if they see what personality and acumen you bring to the table by watching your viewpoint on TV. 

That was true for Lalonde, who was affable and insightful in the limited time he was out of work in NHL circles.

Now, he’s also going to get a bump in recognition by working in Maple Leafs-crazed Toronto, the same way Lane Lambert – the guy Lalonde replaced with the Leafs – got a bump in recognition in just one year as an assistant with the Buds after being the head coach of the New York Islanders. 

Lambert’s increased profile with Toronto certainly didn’t hurt his cause, and he’s now the new coach of the Seattle Kraken. Things worked out about as well as Lambert could’ve hoped. And Lalonde would be lying if he told you he still didn’t aspire to getting another shot as a coach somewhere down the line. 

The coaching industry churns and burns coaches faster than ever, but what never changes is the fact that broadcasters are always looking for people in the coaching bubble to provide a glimpse at what mentalities go into being behind an NHL bench.

When it comes down to it, it’s one part of the circle of life for coaches. And Lalonde now has a new lease on his coaching career.

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Looking at the Oilers' Stanley Cup Final history as they try to end title drought originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Will the Edmonton Oilers end their Stanley Cup drought in 2025?

Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers are battling the defending champion Florida Panthers in a rare Stanley Cup Final rematch. And Edmonton is out for revenge.

The Oilers last year reached their first Cup Final in nearly two decades. They fell into a 3-0 hole against the Panthers before winning three straight elimination games. But Edmonton couldn’t complete what would have been a historic series comeback, losing Game 7 in Florida by a score of 2-1 as the Panthers captured their first Stanley Cup.

Kris Knoblauch’s club is now looking to replicate the rare feat that the Panthers pulled off in 2024: hoist Lord Stanley the year after losing in the Cup Final.

As Edmonton chases the 2025 championship, here’s a look at the franchise’s history in the Cup Final:

Has Connor McDavid won a Stanley Cup?

The three-time Hart Trophy winner and reigning Conn Smythe Trophy recipient has yet to claim a Stanley Cup. This is McDavid’s second Cup Final appearance, with 2024 being his first.

How many Stanley Cup Finals have the Edmonton Oilers played in?

The Oilers are playing in their ninth Stanley Cup Final.

How many Stanley Cups have the Edmonton Oilers won?

Edmonton entered the 2025 Cup Final boasting a 5-3 record in the NHL’s championship round. Their five Stanley Cups are tied for sixth all time with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

When did the Edmonton Oilers last win the Stanley Cup?

It’s been more than three decades since Edmonton’s last championship triumph. The Oilers’ 1990 Cup Final victory over the Boston Bruins stands as their most recent title.

How many Stanley Cups did Wayne Gretzky win?

NHL legend Wayne Gretzky won all four of his Stanley Cups with the Oilers, pulling off a pair of championship repeats. The Oilers first went back-to-back from 1984 to 1985, marking the franchise’s first Stanley Cup titles, before acheiving another repeat from 1987 to 1988.

The Oilers’ first championship in 1984 over the New York Islanders came a year after Gretzky and Co. were swept by New York in the Cup Final, and it prevented the Isles from a Stanley Cup five-peat.

Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup Final appearances

Here’s a full look at the Oilers’ eight previous Stanley Cup Final results:

• 2024: Lost to Florida Panthers in seven games
• 2006: Lost to Carolina Hurricanes in seven games
• 1990:Defeated Boston Bruins in five games
• 1988: Defeated Boston Bruins in four games
• 1987: Defeated Philadelphia Flyers in seven games
• 1985:Defeated Philadelphia Flyers in five games
• 1984: Defeated New York Islanders in five games
• 1983: Lost to New York Islanders in four games

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced they have re-signed defenseman Max Crozier to a three-year contract. 

The contract is a two-way deal for the 2025-26 season and transitions to a one-way contract for the remaining two seasons. 

Crozier served as an assistant captain and recorded 34 points in 52 games with the Syracuse Crunch this season and went pointless while averaging 16:41 of ice time in five games with the Lightning.

The 25-year-old had a strong season and will take on even more responsibility moving forward. He has two assists in 18 career NHL games and 58 points in 110 career NHL games. 

We've signed defenseman Max Crozier to a three-year contract worth an AAV of $775k!

It will be a two-way contract for the 2025-26 season before converting to a one-way contract for the remaining two years.

📝: https://t.co/LVe6zjDsJgpic.twitter.com/csd6wFc1EH

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) June 6, 2025

Originally a fourth round selection of the Lightning in 2019, Crozier won the USHL's Clark Cup in 2018-19 with the Sioux Falls Stampede and was a two-time Hockey East Third Team All-Star. 

The North Vancouver, B.C., native had 17 goals and 71 points in 119 career games with the NCAA's Providence College, he also served as captain in 2022-23 before joining the Crunch. 

Check out The Hockey News' Tampa Bay Lightning team site for more updates. 

Tampa Bay hired Colorado Eagles associate head coach Dan Hinote as an assistant coach earlier today. 

Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' AHL Page for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more.  

Marchand has now scored more Stanley Cup Final goals than any active player originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Brad Marchand continues to make a huge impact on the success of the Florida Panthers in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

After scoring a power-play goal in the Panthers’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night, the veteran left wing scored on a shorthanded breakaway in Game 2 on Saturday night.

It was Marchand’s ninth career goal in the Stanley Cup Final, moving him ahead of Ondrej Palat, Evgeni Malkin and Corey Perry for the most among active players. The all-time leader in Cup Final goals scored is Montreal Canadiens legend Maurice Richard, who scored 34 times in 58 games.

UPDATE (Saturday, June 7 at 12:45 p.m. ET): Marchand scored his 10th career Stanley Cup Final goal in double overtime to give the Panthers a 5-4 win.

–End of Update–

Marchand also scored a shorthanded goal in the Stanley Cup Final on this date (June 6) 14 years ago as a member of the Boston Bruins.

Marchand scored the first seven goals of his Cup Final career with the Bruins, including a pair of goals in their Game 7 win over the Vancouver Canucks in 2011.

The Bruins traded Marchand to the Panthers on March 7.

The 37-year-old forward has scored in three different Cup Final series (2011, 2019, 2025).

The new Crowned Event in now live in NHL 25 Hockey Ultimate Team. 

The event celebrates NHL award winners for the 2024-25 season.

The five master set players are 96 overall Wayne Gretzky, Patrick Roy, Cale Makar, Jack Eichel, and Nicklas Lidstrom, they come with no cost AP. 

95 overall Sean Monahan, Aleksander Barkov, and Nikita Kucherov were added to celebrate their awards, Kucherov appeared at 96 overall in the original banner.  

12 base cards were added including 94 overall John Carlson and Anze Kopitar. 

There is a 90 overall Nick Bonino available for completing Objectives and an 88 overall Zach Whitecloud for completing Wildcard levels. 

The Hockey News' Stanley Cup Final simulation predicted the Florida Panthers to win in five games here.

For more NHL 25 news make sure you bookmark The Hockey News Gaming Site or follow our Google News Feed.         

Photo Credit: EA SPORTS NHL 

Brad Marchand scores in 2OT, Panthers steal Game 2 vs. Oilers in Stanley Cup originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Brad Marchand scored on a breakaway in double overtime and the defending champion Florida Panthers punched back against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2 of their Stanley Cup Final rematch, winning 5-4 on Friday night to even the series.

Marchand’s second goal of the night 8:04 into the second OT allowed Florida to escape with a split after Corey Perry scored to tie it with 17.8 seconds left in the third period and Stuart Skinner pulled for an extra attacker. Each of the first two games this final have gone to overtime, for the first time since 2014 and just the sixth in NHL history.

Much like last year and the playoff run to this point, Sergei Bobrovsky was dialed in when he was needed the most, making some unreal saves while stopping 42 of the 46 shots he faced. His teammates provided the necessary goal support.

Along with Marchand, Sam Bennett scored his postseason-leading 13th goal and NHL record 12th on the road. Seth Jones scored into a wide-open net after some spectacular tic-tac-toe passing, and fellow defenseman Dmitry Kulikov tied it with a shot through traffic that Stuart Skinner almost certainly did not see.

Kulikov’s goal came after Florida controlled play for several minutes in the second, hemming Edmonton in its zone shift after shift and piling up a 34-13 advantage in shot attempts during the period. Marchand’s OT goal was his 10th career goal in the final to lead all active players.

Game 3 is Monday night as the teams traverse the continent and play shifts to Sunrise.

The Panthers wrested home-ice advantage away from the Oilers by splitting the first two, rebounding from a Game 1 overtime loss and asserting they won’t go quietly against Draisaitl and Connor McDavid looking like they’ll do everything in their power to hoist the Cup for the first time.

Of course, those stars had their moments. They assisted on Evan Bouchard’s goal when coach Kris Knoblauch put them on the ice together, and McDavid stickhandled through multiple defenders in highlight-reel fashion to set up Draisaitl scoring on the power play.

There were a lot of those — 10 in total — after officials whistled 14 penalties, including three in the first four minutes. Each team had a few calls it was not happy with, though most of that evened out over the course of the game.

Many Philadelphia Flyers fans want to sign a player like Florida Panthers standout Sam Bennett in free agency, but what if they draft one who is much younger instead?

Various reports have indicated that Bennett, the leading goal-scorer in the NHL playoffs, could receive up to $10 million a year on the open market.

The problem is that the Flyers are still rebuilding, and even with the amount of cap space they'll soon have, that kind of signing wouldn't make much sense. Bennett will turn 29 years old before the end of the month and would, in turn, become the Flyers' highest-paid player at that price point.

He's never scored 30 goals in a regular season campaign, and has a career-high of 51 points.

The 2025 NHL Draft, on the other hand, could present the Flyers with some more interesting, cheaper, and younger options to get a Sam Bennett of their own.

On Friday, at the NHL Scouting Combine, top NHL draft prospect Brady Martin revealed that he's met with the Flyers for dinner, which, of course, indicates a fairly high level of interest from Philadelphia.

He'd be the stereotypical Flyer, and one who evoked comparisons to Bennett on his own accord.

"I'm a hybrid between Sam Bennett and Tom Wilson," Martin was quoted as saying by Anthony Martineau of TVA Sports.

Martin, 18, has already been mocked to the Flyers by some draft experts, including Craig Button, who notably predicted Jett Luchanko to the Flyers in 2024.

NHL Draft 2025: Flyers Won't Guarantee a Top Center This YearIf you want the Philadelphia Flyers to draft the No. 1 center of their future with the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, you've already been warned not to get your hopes up.

The Elmira, Ontario, native just finished his second full season with the Soo Greyhounds, scoring 33 goals, 39 assists, and 72 points in 57 games. Martin added two goals and two assists in five playoff games, and racked up three goals, eight assists, and 11 points for Canada at the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championship en route to a Gold medal and an All-Star team appearance.

It was this tournament that catapulted Martin atop the draft boards of many NHL teams, and the Flyers appear to be one of them.

The 6-foot center is expected to be available when the Flyers are on the clock at Pick 6; Martin is currently ranked as high as sixth and as low as 28th based on rankings pooled by EliteProspects.

He may not be the most talented on the board, but he checks all the boxes when it comes to intangibles, intensity and physicality. New Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet was a fan of one of his former Vancouver Canucks players, J.T. Miller, for this reason.

The Flyers, too, have an affinity for that kind of stuff, and it could make all the difference at the NHL draft later this month.

The Stanley Cup Final is off and running, and The Hockey Show is here for all the fun!

For the third straight season, the Florida Panthers have reached the championship series, and for the second year of its existence, THS is along for the ride.

This week, hosts Roy Bellamy and David Dwork welcomed NHL insider David Pagnotta from The Fourth Period to chat about the Final and other big league news.

That includes the Dallas Stars firing of Peter DeBoer, news that broke just before the show was recorded. 

The boys also get into Edmonton’s exciting come from behind overtime victory in Game 1.

During the game, Oilers Head Coach Kris Knoblauch made the move to put his superstars, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, on the same forward line.

Not only did that spark Edmonton’s comeback, but it also led to the Panthers changing their defensive structure.

This week’s wins and fails of the week included the Memorial Cup, a mean penalty taunt, a foul by a monument and a Calder Cup finalist.

Check out the full show below to enjoy all fun and hockey talk:

LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA

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Panthers enter Game 2 in Edmonton looking to earn series split before returning to South Florida

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Panthers rally around Tomas Nosek after overtime penalty led to Game 1 loss

Three takeaways: Panthers let lead slip away in OT thriller, series has potential of being another great Final

The Toronto Maple Leafs officially announced on Friday the addition of Derek Lalonde to their coaching staff as an assistant. This move filled a  vacancy on head coach Craig Berube’s staff after associate coach Lane Lambert departed to become the Seattle Kraken’s new bench boss.

Lane Lambert Leaves Maple Leafs to Become Seattle Kraken’s New Head CoachLane Lambert is heading west.

The hiring marks Lalonde’s return to an NHL bench after he was fired last December, midway through his third season running the Detroit Red Wings’ bench. During his two-and-a-half seasons with Detroit, Lalonde compiled a record of 89-86-23.

Before his time in Detroit, Lalonde served as an assistant on Jon Cooper’s staff with the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. While it's not immediately clear what attracted the Leafs to Lalonde, given his lack of a prior relationship with Berube or Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving, he has spent some of his recent years working in Toronto as an analyst during Hockey Night in Canada’s playoff coverage. This includes Toronto’s 2023 playoff run and their first-round series against the Ottawa Senators this spring.

Interestingly, Lalonde shared some key insights from his time in Tampa during the Leafs' pivotal 2023 playoff series against the Lightning. A former goalie himself, Lalonde revealed during an intermission broadcast that Tampa had adjusted their defensive strategy around goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. This change came after a study they commissioned showed Vasilevskiy had one of the lowest success percentages in tracking pucks from the point. The Leafs leveraged this information to their advantage, ultimately winning their first playoff series in 19 years by defeating Tampa in six games. While his decision to reveal this information sparked some ethical debate, what was undeniably clear was his keen understanding of coaching and strategy.

Vasilevskiy finished the series with a save percentage of .875.

Lalonde's coaching journey includes significant success in the AHL and ECHL. He served as head coach of the American Hockey League's Iowa Wild from 2016-18, compiling a 69-58-17-8 record. Before that, he spent two seasons with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye (2014-16), leading the team to an impressive 97-35-7-5 record. During his first season in 2014-15, Lalonde guided the Walleye to a 50-15-5-2 mark, winning the Brabham Cup as the ECHL's regular-season champion and earning the John Brophy Award as the ECHL's Coach of the Year.

His head coaching career began with the United States Hockey League's Green Bay Gamblers from 2011-14, where he amassed a 114-56-8-6 record as head coach and general manager. In 2011-12, he was named the USHL's Coach of the Year after the Gamblers posted a 47-9-2-2 record and captured the organization's fourth Clark Cup title.

Lalonde's coaching philosophy

At the cornerstone of Lalonde's defensive strategy was "low-event" hockey, a philosophy designed to minimize high-danger scoring chances while reducing the number of goals against. That was actually one of the few bright spots in Lalonde's tenure. The only issue came on the offensive side of the game. In Detroit he was often criticized for his dump-and-chase style of play in the offensive zone. But his low-event brand of hockey on the defensive side of things should play well under Berube's philosophy and make for the right type of defensive-minded coach to replace Lambert.

Toward the end of his tenure in Detroit, Lalonde' team had the worst penalty kill in the NHL. Before his time in Detroit, Lalonde had established a culture of winning and had a reputation for forming good bonds with players that should carry him well in Toronto.

'I'll Be Ready For Camp': Why Maple Leafs Prospect Easton Cowan Believes He's Prepared For The NHL After Memorial Cup WinToronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan has his eyes peeled for the NHL next season.

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Maple Leafs Invite Knights Goaltender Austin Elliott To Training Camp After Memorial Cup TitleLondon Knights goaltender Austin Elliott has a ticket to an NHL training camp this fall.

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