Shocking and devastating news for the hockey community on Thursday, as one of the great playoff leaders and clutch performers of all-time, Claude Lemieux, has died at the young age of 60. NEWS: Claude Lemieux, a four-time Stanley Cup champion and one of the fiercest playoff performers in NHL history, has died at 60. Lemieux played 21 years in the NHL, winning the 1995 Conn Smythe Trophy and the four Cups with three separate teams. https://t.co/u4bkMXaPnd pic.twitter.com/euk324WOIW — The Athlet...
about 3 hours ago
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The Anaheim Ducks took a major step forward on the ice this season, and it sounds like general manager Pat Verbeek is going to take some major steps forward off the ice this offseason. Trade talks are buzzing around the Ducks these days, and it's all reportedly centered around Mason McTavish. It was a wild season for McTavish, as the 23-year-old pesky forward saw his role diminish at times this season with the Ducks, and then when he was given the opportunity to play meaningful minutes, ...
about 9 hours ago
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The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to be the team to watch this offseason. John Chayka and Mats Sundin have a ton of cap space, they have the number-one overall pick at next month's draft in Buffalo, they have a committed captain in Auston Matthews, and they also have their top goaltending prospect playing amazing for the Toronto Marlies in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman recently mentioned Artur Akhtyamov's name on an episode of 32 Thoughts, and opened up about the ...
about 9 hours ago
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Leafs Nation, you're going to want to hear this. After shocking the NHL and winning the draft lottery a few weeks ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs are set up to select Gavin McKenna with the first overall pick, and while some folks were wondering about his interest in heading to a wild hockey market, it turns out he's all for it. McKenna was a guest on TSN's panel at the Memorial Cup, and was asked about if he's thought about become a Maple Leaf. Obviously, it's the biggest hockey market in ...
about 9 hours ago
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The Montreal Canadiens ' rebuild arrived ahead of schedule.
They've made it to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes, seven wins away from the Stanley Cup, and are doing it with a roster younger than almost anyone in the league expected to be here this fast. They're currently down 3-1 in the series after winning the first game, however.
The question Kent Hughes now faces is whether to stay patient and trust the system or accelerate the timeline by moving one of his ...
about 11 hours ago
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The St. Louis Blues enter the 2026 NHL Draft with three first-round picks, twelve total selections, and a prospect pool that The Athletic 's Scott Wheeler ranked tenth in the league as recently as March. They also have a problem. As Wheeler wrote, the Blues' pool is missing a truly elite prospect. With picks at 11th and 15th overall, plus Colorado's first-rounder slotting in somewhere around 30th when the Avalanche's season ends, the Blues have the assets to be aggressive. The question everyon...
about 11 hours ago
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The Toronto Maple Leafs ' extended head coaching search continues. A lot of names have cropped up so far, some more practical than others. We're hearing on Wednesday that one of the more realistic candidates is one step closer. According to Nick Alberga of The Leafs Nation, the Anaheim Ducks have granted the Leafs permission to speak with their assistant coach Jay Woodcroft. Hearing the Ducks have given the Leafs permission to speak to Jay Woodcroft. Initial interview pending. No s...
about 23 hours ago
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14-year NHL veteran Vladimir Tarasenko had a redemption season with the Minnesota Wild in 2025-26. After looking like he might be done as a top-notch scorer, with an 11-goal year in Detroit last season, the Wild took a chance and acquired Tarasenko from the Red Wings last June. It paid off handsomely. A six-time 30-goal scorer in his younger days, the Russian forward registered 23 goals this season. In addition, he played a mentor role for his young linemate, Russian rookie Danila ...
about 23 hours ago
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It was quite the turn of events after an almost record-setting regular season, but the Colorado Avalanche were swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final. There's going to be significant roster changes coming for the Avs, as general manager Chris MacFarland will be busy this offseason. Looking ahead to next year, here's there Avalanche players who aren't expected back with the club next season: Brent Burns The Avs were trying hard to win Burns the illusive Stanley Cup, a...
about 23 hours ago
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Keep an eye on the Toronto Maple Leafs and San Jose Sharks this offseason as trade winds are swirling. There's been multiple reports surfacing that the two teams have discussed a potential summer trade that involves defenceman Morgan Rielly. The longest-tenured Maple Leaf does hold a no-movement clause, however is rumored to be open to deals on the west coast. Frank Seravalli: Re Morgan Rielly: This is a very movable player; consider a team like the Sharks for instance, two NHL defenseme...
about 24 hours ago
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When the Toronto Maple Leafs claimed Troy Stecher on waivers from the Edmonton Oilers back in November, it was sort of a "break glass in case of emergency" situation, as Toronto needed to add some defensive depth with the team being riddled with injuries to their blueline. But Stecher immediately grew into a crucial, valued member of the Leafs' defense corps. His high level of compete and tenacity earned him significant ice time in the top-four, while averaging over 20 minutes of ice ti...
The fallout from the Colorado Avalanche's disastrous four-game ouster at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights is only just beginning in Denver. What went wrong for the Presidents' Trophy-winning Avalanche that led to getting swept in the Western Conference Final by Vegas? Injuries? Goaltending? Poor performances on the ice from key players? Maybe any of the above. But according to longtime Denver sports insider Tony Renck in the Denver Post , it is head coach Jared Bednar w...
The most important player on the New Jersey Devils ' roster has one year left on his contract, and the organization's new general manager is now in the early stages of figuring out what comes next.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reported that Hischier's agent, Allain Roy, stopped into New Jersey for a first meeting with new GM Sunny Mehta approximately two weeks ago, en route to Switzerland to meet with his client before the IIHF World Championships.
LeBrun's take on those initial conversat...
The Brady Tkachuk trade conversation got reignited recently when former Florida Panthers head coach Doug MacLean made a confident prediction on the Real Kyper & Bourne show.
"Think about this," MacLean said. "Everybody's trying to get in the top ten. Florida has the ninth pick in the draft. Where is Brady Tkachuk gonna want to go?"
He continued: "Florida will never have another top-ten pick for two or three years. This is the time when you've got to move on Florida. You pick up a couple of...
It was a brutal way to go out. Kris Knoblauch led the Edmonton Oilers to two Stanley Cup Finals, but after bowing out in the first round this season, he found he was no longer in the team's plans through a leaked rumor. That gut punch has apparently soured Knoblauch on coaching an NHL team anytime soon, as we get a report from The Leafs Nation's Nick Alberga that not only is Knoblauch not considering a run at the Toronto job opening, he's not considering getting back behind a bench at al...
The Ottawa Senators are desperately in need of some help for Linus Ullmark. The Sens No. 1 goalie needs help in more of a "tag-team" type of arrangement , instead of being counted on night after night. To that end, there have been rumors of Ottawa's interest in the Minnesota Wild's sensational rookie netminder Jesper Wallstedt. But according to Bruce Garrioch in the Ottawa Citizen , the asking price for the Wild's freshman phenom between the pipes has skyrocketed to a point that a ...
Word started to leak out a few days ago that the Toronto Maple Leafs are interested in seeing if they can convince highly sought-after young coach David Carle to leave the University of Denver and take on their head coaching job. Insider Elliotte Friedman has doubled down on that report, telling Donnie & Dhali that the Leafs are definitely interested in the three-time NCAA champion. "I think they're working through that... I think everybody's trying to gauge what the possibility is, real...
It was one of the big questions facing the Pittsburgh Penguins and GM Kyle Dubas this off-season: would they be re-signing pending UFA Evgeni Malkin? After 20 years in Pittsburgh, part of three Stanley Cup winners, would it be possible that they'd actually part ways? The answer came today, and it was a resounding no—Malkin would not be taking his talents elsewhere, signing up for one more year with the Penguins at $5.5 million. He's returning for his age-40 season. BREAKING: The P...
The Minnesota Wild are trying to make another splash, and this time it's down the middle of the ice. General manager Bill Guerin has made it loud and clear to other executives around the league that his team will be in the market for a top-line center this summer. They've been linked to some big names already, including Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and New York Rangers' Vincent Trocheck. Guerin isn't shy when it comes to big offers, as t...
The Colorado Avalanche have their backs against the wall, down 3-0 to the Vegas Golden Knights. While general manager Chris MacFarland has done a great job constructed a competitive roster the past few seasons, once again heading into the offseason there's going to be some major decisions to be made. The Avs made splashes the past couple of seasons landing Martin Necas and reuniting with Nazem Kadri, however, there's not a ton of cap space to work with this offseason, and Daily Faceoff's Matt ...
Regardless of how the rest of the Stanley Cup Playoffs plays out, the Montreal Canadiens have some tough roster decisions coming this summer. General manager Kent Hughes has limited cap space, Lane Hutson's contract extension's kicking in, and there's several players on the roster who could become cap casualties. For starters, goaltender Sam Montembeault mid as well pack his bags. With how well Jakub Dobes is playing and how much potential Jacob Fowler has, Montembeault has quickly become the ...
The Nashville Predators have been taking their sweet time making a decision on a new general manager. Now, rumors have started spreading as to what may be leading to the delay. First, a report emerged on the weekend from a Toronto Star writer, suggesting that there was a rumor spreading that the Preds were planning to poach current Colorado Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland and give him a shiny new title of VP of Hockey Operations. If true, won't go over well in Toronto, lots of buzzing out ...
The Edmonton Oilers are in for some massive roster changes. Defenceman Darnell Nurse has been linked as a prime offseason trade candidate, and it has a lot to due with his contract. Nurse is signed through the 2030 season at $9.25 million AAV, and it's expected that the Oilers will approach Nurse in the coming weeks for a list of teams he'd approve a trade to. Nurse holds a full no-movement clause until the 2027-28 season. Daily Faceoff's Matt Larkin cites Nurse as a cap casualty and expects t...
Alex Tuch and the Buffalo Sabres' season came to an end last week, but not until he and the team made some inroads towards greater things for the future. The team snapped its 14-year playoff drought, and the Sabres established themselves as a top team in the league again. As for Tuch, he could be the top name in unrestricted free agency this summer. The pending UFA has watched as all of the other top forwards have dropped off the board, signing extensions with their current teams. ...
The Toronto Maple Leafs may be starting next season without forward Max Domi. The Leafs announced on Monday, Domi underwent surgery on an ailment that was bothering him all of last season, and there's been some complications following the procedure. As it stands right now, Domi will be re-evaluated at the start of training camp in September. pic.twitter.com/obMsro9HFA — Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) May 25, 2026 Domi, 31, has two seasons left on his contract with the Leafs, paying him $3.7...