In this week's episode of overrated and underrated, Dan and Sat discuss the topic of how valuable first round picks are, if teams should model themselves after the most recent Stanley Cup winner and if slip-on shoes are really worth it!
This podcast was produced by Eddie Gregory and Ben Basran.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
Vegas is shutting down the strip for the Stanley Cup.
The Golden Knights' championship parade will take place Saturday night on Las Vegas Boulevard, the team announced Wednesday.
The parade route will start at Flamingo Road at 7 p.m. PT and extend to Tropicana Boulevard, with both sides of Las Vegas Boulevard closed for the festivities. The event will conclude with a rally at Toshiba Plaza in front of T-Mobile Arena approximately two hours later.
Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson's champagne and cognac company, Sire Spirits, will be a co-sponsor of the parade. The Golden Knights entered into a multi-year partnership with the brand earlier Wednesday.
The Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup for the first time in their sixth season when they vanquished the Florida Panthers with a 9-3 rout in Game 5 on Tuesday night.
Sat and Dan praise Vegas for their dominant Stanley Cup victory and discuss just how deep and talented the Golden Knights are. The guys break down Vancouver's priorities for the off-season and Kevin Woodley joins the show to talk all things netminders including how Bobrovsky's play faltered late.
This podcast was produced by Eddie Gregory and Ben Basran.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
The Montreal Canadiens don't appear satisfied with their position in the first round of the upcoming draft.
The Canadiens are doing whatever they can to move up from fifth overall, reports The Athletic's Arpon Basu. Montreal is reportedly trying to trade places with the San Jose Sharks at No. 4 and has reached out to the Anaheim Ducks about the cost of moving up to No. 2.
The likelihood of a swap isn't high, but Montreal is definitely making an effort, Basu adds.
While the Chicago Blackhawks are virtual locks to select Connor Bedard with the No. 1 overall pick, the Ducks are almost as likely to take Adam Fantilli second. The reigning Hobey Baker Award winner is the consensus second-best player in this draft, and he'd be the projected first pick in most other years.
The Canadiens could end up with a promising player at No. 5, like Winnipeg Ice standout Zach Benson or KHL phenom Matvei Michkov. But moving up would give them a chance at an even more tantalizing prospect, like USNTDP star Will Smith or even the likes of Fantilli or Swedish center Leo Carlsson.
Montreal - led by general manager Kent Hughes and executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton - chose Slovak forward Juraj Slafkovsky first overall last year.
The 2023 draft is scheduled for June 28 and 29 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Jack Eichel waited eight years to get his first taste of the NHL playoffs - and he definitely made the most of it.
After hoisting the Stanley Cup on home ice on Wednesday night, the Vegas Golden Knights superstar admitted there were times in his career when he had a difficult time envisioning himself reaching hockey's summit.
"I think it's only human nature to have some doubt creep in when you don't make it to (the) playoffs for an extended period of time," Eichel said following the Game 5 victory, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "You're wondering if it will ever happen. So many people go through their whole career without having the opportunity to hoist the Stanley Cup. It's the hardest thing in the world (to win)."
The Buffalo Sabres selected Eichel second overall in 2015 and, during his tenure, the club never finished higher than sixth in its division. After landing with the Golden Knights via blockbuster trade in 2021, Vegas proceeded to miss the playoffs for the first and only time in its six-year history.
Eichel was the 2023 playoffs' leading scorer with 26 points in 22 games - including eight assists in the Stanley Cup Final. He placed second in Conn Smythe voting as a result of his efforts.
Vegas winger Jonathan Marchessault, this year's playoff MVP, believes Eichel was equally deserving of the title.
"Honestly, ever since he came here, we were just a different team," Marchessault said. "He's a game-changer for the group. And this trophy could have definitely went to him. I could never have that without him."
Marchessault added: "First playoff and first (Stanley Cup) win for him, right? That's a pretty good average."
The Pittsburgh Penguins hired Jason Spezza as assistant general manager, the team announced Wednesday.
Spezza reunites with new Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas. Spezza stepped down from his role in the Toronto Maple Leafs' front office shortly after Dubas was fired in May.
"After a decorated playing career, Jason fully immersed himself on the management side of the game learning all facets of hockey operations this past season while with Toronto," Dubas said in a statement.
"He showed tremendous work ethic, curiosity, and ability to build relationships throughout all departments at the team facility. His move from the roster to the front office staff also helped make the hockey operations department, coaching staff, and playing roster a more cohesive and collaborative unit. We are thrilled to have Jason join the Pittsburgh Penguins today as he will add a great perspective to our club, and we are excited to watch him reach his potential in management."
Spezza retired from a 19-year playing career in 2022 and immediately became a special assistant to Dubas in Toronto. He will assist Penguins management in all hockey operations departments in his new role.
The Penguins haven't named a full-time general manager since they cleaned house after missing the playoffs. Dubas is serving in the role on an interim basis.
Pittsburgh has roughly $20.2 million in cap space this offseason and a roster size of 15, per CapFriendly. The club's most critical decision is what to do with goaltender Tristan Jarry, who is an unrestricted free agent July 1.
As the game clock ticked down to 10 seconds and a 9-3 demolition of the Florida Panthers neared its conclusion Tuesday night inside T-Mobile Arena, William Karlsson and Keegan Kolesar began jumping in their skates.
The Golden Knights forwards, circling the top of Vegas' zone with the kind of anxious energy reserved only for soon-to-be champions, caught serious air. Seemingly 3 feet high, their limbs flailed in every direction, pure elation.
A few seconds later, despite the final buzzer not yet sounding on Game 5, the Vegas bench spilled onto the ice to join Karlsson and Kolesar in a moment that won't ever be replicated. The Golden Knights, the NHL's boldest franchise, are first-time Stanley Cup champions after defeating the shorthanded Panthers in five games by a cumulative score of 26-12.
The glitziest and most glamorous trophy in North American pro sports now belongs to those who call the continent's flashiest city home. What a world.
"Listen to this right now. It's unbelievable," captain Mark Stone, wowed by the 19,058-person crowd, told Sportsnet as the celebration raged on around him.
Ethan Miller / Getty Images
Stone, as is tradition, was the first player to hoist the Cup. Reilly Smith, Jonathan Marchessault, Karlsson, Brayden McNabb, Shea Theodore, and William Carrier followed, which was fitting. The six of them have been around since the beginning. The original Golden Knights - the so-called Golden Misfits - rule the franchise record books in virtually every category and were integral to claiming the 16 wins required to be the last team standing in June.
Marchessault, the undrafted sniper, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for bagging 13 goals, three of them game-winners, and recording 12 assists. Nobody on Vegas was locked in quite like Marchessault, whom the Golden Knights selected alongside Karlsson, McNabb, and Carrier in the 2017 expansion draft. (Theodore and Smith both arrived via trade on the same day.)
Bill Foley, the club's cowboy owner, predicted a playoff debut in Year 3 and a Cup win in Year 6. His managers, coaches, and players destroyed the first milestone in Year 1 by not only securing a playoff berth but also winning three series. And now, with an almost entirely revamped roster, they've nailed the ambitious second milestone. Over a half-decade, the plucky Cinderella crew of 2017-18 evolved into the stacked, bullying championship outfit of 2022-23.
Dave Sandford / Getty Images
Vegas' playoff run was ultra convincing, too. The Western Conference's No. 1 seed went games without a hitch, almost always in full control. Automatic, surgical, dominating, overwhelming - feel free to choose your own adjective.
Also taking down the Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, and Dallas Stars, the Golden Knights posted a 9-0 record when leading after the first period. They outscored the opposition 34-11 in the second, often rendering the final frame moot. Overall, in 1,084 minutes of five-on-five action across 22 games, the Golden Knights finished an absurd plus-33 (66 goals for, 33 goals against).
Vegas excelled in all three zones under Bruce Cassidy, who was hired as the franchise's third head coach one year ago Wednesday. Defensive structure insulated the goalies extremely well, speed helped Vegas attack through the neutral zone, and scoring chances were turned into goals through precision passing and shooting, whether it be off the rush, cycle, forecheck, or rebound.
"I'm in the club, and they can't kick you out," Cassidy, who lost in the 2019 Cup Final while coaching the Boston Bruins, told TNT. (Yes, he was grinning.)
Christian Petersen / Getty Images
President George McPhee and general manager Kelly McCrimmon laid the foundation for a Cup winner with a killer performance at the expansion draft. Then, with Foley's blessing, the front-office duo shuffled coaches and upgraded the roster through aggressive, sometimes cutthroat moves. Amazingly, 19 of the 24 players to appear in the playoffs were acquired via trade, free agency, or waivers. Nic Hague was the lone homegrown draft pick.
At several points along the way, critics warned McPhee and McCrimmon that the wheeling and dealing would catch up to them; that swapping out fan favorites Marc-Andre Fleury and Max Pacioretty, as well as a handful of first-rounders, would come back to haunt them; that the dangerous dances with the salary cap and team chemistry would eventually bite them in the ass.
Going "all-in" doesn't always work in Sin City. It ultimately did for them.
Among those traded for: former Buffalo Sabre Jack Eichel, who in his first postseason racked up a league-high 26 points, plus countless compliments for strong defensive play. Former Ottawa Senator Stone, Vegas' best all-around player, contributed 24 points, including three huge goals in the clincher. Both recently underwent major surgery - Eichel on his neck, Stone on his back, twice - and came out the other side arguably better than ever.
"It's the best feeling in the world," a nearly speechless Eichel said of winning.
Dave Sandford / Getty Images
Goalie Adin Hill, a 27-year-old journeyman fighting for playing time to start the season, was a rock, maintaining a .932 save percentage in 16 games. Marchessault deservedly won MVP, but Vegas doesn't climb the top of the mountain without Eichel, Stone, and Hill all playing at MVP levels. Those drivers were surrounded by enviable depth, from Alex Pietrangelo, Theodore, and Zach Whitecloud to Karlsson, Chandler Stephenson, and Ivan Barbashev.
The Golden Knights' short yet storied history now reads: lost in the Cup Final in Year 1; lost in the opening round in Year 2; lost in the conference final in Year 3; lost in the conference final in Year 4; missed the playoffs entirely in Year 5; and won the Cup in Year 6.
Most franchises would kill for results like that over a 30-year timeline. Yet, only a few would even consider adopting Vegas' aggressive mindset. Did Foley, McPhee, and McCrimmon benefit from relaxed expansion draft rules? Absolutely. What ultimately led them to glory, however, was the laser focus on winning, at all costs. They had a vision. They were given the resources. They were impatient. They weren't afraid to make mistakes or hurt feelings.
Now there's a Cup parade coming to the Strip.
"I might not go to bed for a few days here," Marchessault quipped.
Viva Las Vegas.
John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).
Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad broke his foot, dislocated his shoulder twice, and a tore his oblique throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, head coach Paul Maurice told TNT following Tuesday's Game 5 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Ekblad only missed one game throughout Florida's run to the final - Game 4 against the Boston Bruins in Round 1. Maurice said Ekblad broke his foot in the club's opening series but didn't clarify when the other injuries occurred.
The 27-year-old notched eight points across 20 postseason games and averaged nearly 24 minutes per contest.
Ekblad wasn't the only Panthers defenseman who battled significant injuries, as Maurice revealed Radko Gudas suffered a high-ankle sprain that normally would have required six weeks of rehab. The gritty blue-liner ultimately missed a single period as Florida fell three wins short of capturing the Stanley Cup.
Maurice didn't offer recovery timelines for his injured players but said some are in jeopardy of missing the start of the 2023-24 campaign, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
