from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

Shanahan used to urge patience, as did his former GM Dubas, but the time for patience has passed. This Leafs team has proved to be more frustrating for Leafs Nation than the Maple Leafs teams that missed the playoffs 10 of 11 years after the lost season to lockout of 2005.

Back then, the Leafs were just pathetic. That we much understood. You are not pathetic when you have Matthews, Marner and Nylander up front, which is not that far off from the Red Wings once having Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov and Shanahan up front.

That Detroit team played in three Cup finals, with three different goalies, won their three championships winning 12 of 13 Stanley Cup final games.

That team, in performance, with Nicklas Lidstrom on defence, with the legendary Scotty Bowman coaching, had an all-time feel about them and still does.

The Maple Leafs are known now as the team that almost won in Round 1. That came so close.

Not in Round 2. Not in any round beyond that. Not losing in the final or any final....

There aren’t any teams like the Leafs out there. They have been the third-best team in hockey in an Shanahan era that began with gifts named Matthews, Marner and Nylander. Gifts that were covered in riches before they had earned them. And now what?

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In a paywall article, Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey Now discusses four possible trade options, Holl, Maatta, Husso and Fabbri.

He also states this...

Throughout Yzerman’s career, he has managed to pull off trades that the hockey world did not see coming. Would he trade defenseman Jake Walman whose trade value has probably never been better. Could Yzerman find a taker on Andrew Copp’s $5.6 million-per-season cap hit for the next three seasons? Both of those players have modified no-trade clauses.

With Yzerman, it’s not about whether he likes the player or not. It’s always about improving his team. His managerial career as been tales of the unexpected:

Probability of deal happening: 15 percent

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via the Ottawa Senators,

The long-awaited search for the next head coach of the Ottawa Senators has officially come to an end. President of Hockey Operations and GM, Steve Staios announced that Travis Green has been named the next head coach in franchise history, a title he will hold through the end of the 2027-28 NHL season.

This marks Green’s second stint as a full-time NHL head coach after leading the Vancouver Canucks from the 2017-18 season until midway through the 2021-22 NHL season. After working his way up through the AHL ranks with the Utica Comets between 2013-2017, Green became the Canucks bench boss for leading to a 133-147-34 record in 314 games.

NEW YORK (May 7, 2024) – Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov, Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon and Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid are the three finalists for the 2023-24 Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded “to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team,” the National Hockey League announced today.

Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association submitted ballots for the Hart Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists.

Following are the finalists, in alphabetical order:

4 1/2 minutes of your time.

ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced today the team has signed a two-year contract with Drew Bannister to make him the 27^th head coach in franchise history.

Bannister, 50, was originally named Blues interim head coach on Dec. 12, 2023. In 54 regular-season games, he led the Blues to a 30-19-5 record (65 points) which stood as the 12th-best points percentage overall during that span. The Blues also posted an 18-9-2 record at Enterprise Center which ranked as the 10th best home mark.

from Lyle Richardson of Spector's Hockey,

Check out the latest on Leafs winger Mitch Marner, Kings center Pierre-Luc Dubois and Capitals goaltender Darcy Kuemper in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.

SHOULD THE LEAFS TRADE MITCH MARNER?

SPORTSNET: Luke Fox believes a Mitch Marner trade makes sense for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 27-year-old winger is slated to become an unrestricted free agent next July. They cannot let him walk out the door for nothing.

Fox admits it would be difficult to move someone with an expensive salary cap hit ($10.9 million annually) like Marner. However, it’s not impossible, pointing to Jack Eichel and Erik Karlsson as recent examples.

The catch is how much Marner truly loves playing in Toronto. “That, we don’t know,” writes Fox.

At face value, Leafs general manager Brad Treliving can’t win a Marner trade. He’d risk the same criticism then-Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli faced in 2016 when he shipped Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for top-four defenseman Adam Larsson.

continued

NEW YORK (May 4, 2024) – The National Hockey League announced today the start time for the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery, set for 6:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 7, at NHL Network’s Secaucus, N.J., studio, ahead of the Second Round Game 2 between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers. As previously announced, the event will be broadcast live on ESPN, Sportsnet and TVA Sports.

from Fluto Shinzawa and Michael Russo of The Athletic,

The Boston Bruins barely had time to take a breath after their seven-game tilt against the Toronto Maple Leafs concluded in overtime Saturday night. They traveled to South Florida on Sunday afternoon. Their only on-ice preparation for the Florida Panthers was during Monday’s morning skate at Amerant Bank Arena.

It didn’t matter.

The Bruins, cruising from their first-round momentum, took advantage of Florida’s loose play to claim a 5-1 win.

“I think our confidence has gone to another level after pushing through in the first round,” said coach Jim Montgomery when asked how the team reset for the Panthers following the emotional first round. “That confidence makes you believe that you can. It’s a great place to be mentally.

“But we made a lot of mistakes. If not for Jeremy Swayman, that would have been a lot closer game. Maybe they come out on top. We didn’t have enough scoring chances. The score was not indicative of the way the game went.”

Swayman, making his sixth straight start since the team ditched its regular-season and early-postseason goalie rotation, stopped 38 shots. He now has a .955 save percentage and 1.42 goals-against average in the playoffs, both tops in the NHL among goalies who have played more than three games.

The Bruins discussed going with Linus Ullmark because of the emotional surge of Game 7 and the rapid turnaround.

“We contemplated going with Ullmark, because we have so much confidence in him too,” Montgomery said. “But when a guy is playing that well, it’s like, ‘Don’t outsmart yourself.'”

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Game highlights are below.

* Defensemen Mason Lohrei and Brandon Carlo sparked a Bruins offense in a Game 1 win to begin the Second Round, with the latter doing so after he and his wife welcomed their son into the world earlier Monday morning.

* Jeremy Swayman continued to hold the opposition’s offense at bay as the Bruins netminder surrendered two or fewer goals for the seventh consecutive timeto start the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* The 2024 NHL Draft Lottery, which will determine the order of selection for the first 16 picks of the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft, is set for tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, Sportsnet and TVA Sports.

* More Second Round action headlines a two-game Tuesday in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which also includes the series opener between Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche and Jason Robertson and the Stars for Game 1 in Dallas.

The Boston Bruins are in Sunrise. Fla. tonight to face the Florida Panthers.

Watch on ESPN, CBC, Sportsnet and TVAS.

ESPN broadcast team tonight: Play-by-Play: Bob Wischusen, Analyst: Ryan Callahan, Reporter: Leah Hextall.

Not much rest for the Bruins after game 7 meanwhile the Panthers last played on April 29th.

I am going with the home team tonight.

via the NHL PR department,

Ten things you need to know about the opening round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs:

1. Nearly every game in the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs was decided by a one-goal margin or two-plus including at least one empty-netter (89%; 39 of 44 GP), by far the highest such percentage in an opening round since it became a best-of-seven in 1987.

original post was at 10:15am on 5/5/24

The first round will be complete after the Dallas/Vegas game, but round 2 starts today too.

So make your pick or wait until after the Dallas/Vegas game, you will have up to 6pm on Monday to make changes or picks.

Your first round picks. If you missed the first round, by all means join us for round 2.

Playoff style.

WINNIPEG, May 6, 2024 – Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness today announced his retirement from coaching after 38 seasons in the NHL. The Moncton, NB. native led the Jets to a 98-57-9 record during his two seasons as the head coach en route to a pair of Stanley Cup Playoffs appearances.

In 2023-24, Winnipeg set club records for road wins (25), winning streak (eight games, twice: Dec. 30/23-Jan. 11/24 and Apr. 1-18/24), and point streak (14 games: 12-0-2 from Dec. 13/23-Jan.11/24). The Jets also set a franchise record by going 35 consecutive games allowing three goals or fewer (Nov. 4/23-Jan. 20/24). During that stretch, they also set a club record with a 14-game run without allowing more than two goals (Dec. 20/23-Jan. 20/24). Their 52 wins matched the franchise record set in 2017-18. Bowness was named a finalist for the 2023-24 Jack Adams Award which is awarded to “the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success”.

Bowness served as a coach for eight different franchises and was behind the bench for 17 playoff appearances, including trips to the finals as an associate coach with the Vancouver Canucks in 2011, as an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2015, and as Dallas Stars head coach in 2020. He is one of only three head coaches (along with Scotty Bowman and Pat Quinn) to serve behind the bench in five different decades. His 2,726 games as an NHL coach are the most by anyone in league history.

from Ed Graney of the Las Vegas Review-Journal,

A team in Dallas that deserved to win. It was the better team most of the series. It earned the right to advance.

It means the Knights get ready for exit interviews and clean-out day and vacation plans. It also means this: The team next season could have a decidedly different look given several free agents on the roster.

Among them is one of the most popular players in franchise history in forward Jonathan Marchessault. You can’t overstate the importance of Marchessault to the Knights these past seven years, an Original Misfit who became a fan favorite almost overnight.

But the Knights have hardly been afraid of moving on from such beloved names (see Fleury, Marc-Andre), and it’s uncertain if they would again.

From a player who scored 42 goals this season and won the Conn Smythe Trophy during last season’s playoffs.

He’s 33 and has completed a six-year, $30 million deal. He’s also among five players remaining from an original expansion roster in 2017-18.

This was Marchessault earlier this season: “Obviously, it’s on my mind. I have a wife and four kids. I love it here, love the organization. I think I’ve been very good for it, too. It’s just about seeing eye to eye on things. I know it’s a business. I know we’re not married to each other. But you know what you’re going to get from me every year. I have a lot of hockey in front of me.”

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The Maven continued on X,

Lou knows. Letting him go was huge Shanny mistake.
Hiring the whiz kid was no Cup bargain.

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

An area the Wings need to improve next season, Compher said, is being a more consistent team. It's a trait many Wings players talked about, as well as general manager Steve Yzerman and coach Derek Lalonde. The highs and lows, from month to month, were staggering and likely cost the Wings ultimately some valuable points.

"Every team that battles that question, of how do we become more consistent," Compher said. "We learned the hard way that every point matters. It's so cliche, but every point matters. It's a hard way to learn that lesson, but when it's in the middle of February this could be the point that pushes us ahead."

Compher, 29, signed a five-year contract on July 1 with the Wings, worth $25.5 million ($5.1 million annual average value). The move was made to fill the second-line spot, and add the versatility and experience that Compher can provide to a lineup.

Compher had 48 points (19 goals, 29 assists) in 77 games with a minus-five plus-minus rating. Compher had 17 goals and 52 points his final season in Colorado (in 82 games). Though the offensive numbers dipped, Lalonde was thrilled with what Compher brought to the roster.

"Winning those shifts, the growth in his game, he's a very valuable player for us," Lalonde said "He's someone that can play in every situation. He can take faceoffs on both sides (of the ice). He has a lot of pride in penalty kill. He gets mad at me if after an extended shift I don't put him out first on the penalty kill.

"There's some games he’s getting 22, 23 (minutes). I don’t know if that's healthy or productive for him over time, but I just can’t help it. I'm trying to get through a matchup or end of a period and he's on all the special teams.

"He's a really good player for us."

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from Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now,

* Wyatt Johnston and Radek Faksa scored each of the Stars’ two goals in what was another tightly-contested Game 7 as Dallas became the eighth and final team to advance to the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* Mika Zibanejad led the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers to a Game 1 victory against the Hurricanes in the Second Round as New York remained perfect to begin the postseason.

* The 2024 Second Round continues Monday as the Atlantic Division’s top two teams, the Panthers and Bruins, begin their rematch of last year’s thrilling seven-game opening-round series. For the full Second Round schedule, click here.

The Stars will face the Colorado Avalanche.

A side note, Pet DeBoer is now 8-0 in game 7's.

Here is the game winning goal and below are the handshakes and highlights.

NEW YORK (May 4, 2024) – The National Hockey League today announced the schedule for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round. All times listed are ET and subject to change.

Grand Rapids defeated the Rockford Ice Hogs 4-2 to win the best of five series 3-1.

GRG goals are below.

Carolina Hurricanes/New York Rangers should be a great series.

Dallas/Vegas features two desperate teams in game 7.

NEW YORK (May 4, 2024) -- The Western Conference's top seed Dallas Stars and defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights will decide their First Round series in Game 7 at Dallas Sunday (7:30 p.m., ET, TBS, truTV, MAX, Sportsnet, TVA Sports), capping a 'winner-take-all weekend.' This marks the fourth straight year and fifth time in six postseasons that the First Round will feature multiple Game 7s.

NEW YORK (May 5, 2024) – Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews and Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal are the three finalists for the 2023-24 Frank J. Selke Trophy, awarded “to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game,” the National Hockey League announced today.

Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association submitted ballots for the Selke Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists.

Following are the finalists for the Selke Trophy, in alphabetical order: