Forward Zach Hyman reflected on his decision to sign with the Edmonton Oilers in 2021 on Friday.
"It's easy when it's not really your decision," Hyman said of leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to TSN's Chris Johnston.
Hyman played for Toronto from 2015-21. He tallied 15 goals and 33 points in 43 games in his final campaign with the Maple Leafs. He signed a seven-year contract in Edmonton with a cap hit of $5.5 million that summer.
"It wasn't about money," Hyman said, according to NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger. "I'd have loved to be a Maple Leaf for life. I was from there, our families were from there. But when that door closed and Edmonton had shown interest all along, it was the place I wanted to come."
Hyman added: "Coming (to Edmonton) was the best decision of my life."
Oilers general manager Ken Holland, a Hockey Hall of Famer and the GM of three Stanley Cup-winning teams with the Detroit Red Wings, praised Hyman as one of the best free-agent moves of his career.
"When we signed him as a free agent ... we hoped we were getting, at best, a guy who would score 20-30 goals per year," Holland said.
"He has way, way, way exceeded our wildest expectations."
Hyman eclipsed the 50-goal mark for the first time this season. He paces the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 14 goals in 18 contests.
The 31-year-old's production has far exceeded what he accomplished in his final three seasons in Toronto:
Team
Seasons
GP
G
PTS
Goals per game
Maple Leafs
2018-21
165
57
111
.345
Oilers
2021-24
235
117
214
.498
The difference is even more stark in the postseason:
Team
Seasons
GP
G
PTS
Goals per game
Maple Leafs
2018-21
19
3
5
.158
Oilers
2021-24
46
28
45
.609
"Every year, I've tried to just develop and tried to grow my game," Hyman told ESPN's Emily Kaplan. "I remember when I signed, everybody was kinda like, 'You only get better when you're in your 20s. You can't get better as you get older.' And I've always thought that you can get better every year, no matter how you are. You can always improve, and that's always been my mindset."
Hyman makes his Stanley Cup Final debut Saturday at 8 p.m. ET against the Florida Panthers.
The Edmonton Oilers knocked off the Dallas Stars 2-1 in Sunday's Game 6 to win the Western Conference Final.
The Oilers advance to face the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final. It's Edmonton's first trip to the Cup Final since 2006.
Connor McDavid scored a highlight-reel goal to open the scoring before assisting on Zach Hyman's tally later in the first period. Stuart Skinner made 34 saves.
"It feels like a dream, honestly," McDavid told Sportsnet's Kyle Bukauskas. "It was a crazy one tonight. Not our best effort, but we hung in there. Found a way to get a win. (Skinner) was great, everybody played great."
Edmonton recorded 10 shots on goal, the fewest in a conference final-clinching win ever. The Boston Bruins held the previous record, with 17 against the Washington Capitals in 1990.
The Oilers' minus-25 shot differential in Game 6 is also the lowest by a team that won to advance to the Cup Final. The previous mark was minus-23 by the Nashville Predators in 2017 against the Anaheim Ducks.
The Panthers haven't won the Stanley Cup in their franchise history, while Edmonton looks to win its first since 1990 and snap Canada's 30-year drought.
"It feels good to maybe unite the country a little bit and have something to bring people together," McDavid said. "That's what sports is all about, is bringing people together. Hopefully, we're doing that for Canadians across the country."
Zach Hyman joked that one Canadian city won't want to see the Oilers win.
"I don't know if Toronto is cheering for us," Hyman said. "Hockey means so much to Canada and to Canadians, and it's been a long time since a Canadian team has won the Cup. It would mean a lot to Canadians, whether they're Oilers fans or not, I'm sure."
Edmonton kept its hands off the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, matching what the Florida Panthers did Saturday with the Prince of Wales Trophy.
Corey Perry becomes the first player to make the Final with five different franchises. He won in 2006 with the Anaheim Ducks and lost in the Final with the Dallas Stars (2020), Montreal Canadiens (2021), and Tampa Bay Lightning (2022).
The Stanley Cup Final begins Saturday in Florida at 8 p.m. ET.
New York Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad took the blame for the costly overtime turnover in Wednesday's Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final, but he's not going to dwell on the game-defining play.
"It's making decisions. I see (Brandon Montour) kind of coming towards me," Zibanejad said, according to the New York Post's Mollie Walker. "I think (Blake Wheeler) is open because (Will Cuylle) is going to the net, trying to make the play, and they poke it and go the other way."
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) May 29, 2024
"Obviously, I should have probably just made a different play or decision, but I made the decision there then," Zibanejad continued. "I can't change it now. ... That's sports. Just come back and try to make another decision next time and hope it goes my way."
Blake Wheeler, playing his first game since being injured on Feb. 15, took a hooking penalty to prevent Aleksander Barkov from getting a clean shot on the breakaway after Zibanejad's turnover.
Sam Reinhart converted 13 seconds into the ensuing man advantage to win the game for Florida and even the series at 2-2.
Zibanejad and Chris Kreider were outchanced 11-2 when on the ice together at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick. Both remain without a point in the series.
"We've got to do a better job of advancing pucks up the ice and establishing O-zone presence," Kreider said, according to Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today.
Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette was disappointed in his team's performance after a strong opening period.
"We can't afford lapses like that," Laviolette said, according to Mercogliano. "I don't have an explanation. ... I definitely think that we need to be better."
The Rangers return to Madison Square Garden on Thursday for Game 5.
Forward Jonathan Marchessault expressed his disappointment with the lack of contract talks he's held with the Vegas Golden Knights.
"I did not have a call or anything yet," Marchessault said, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal's David Schoen. "They said they were interested to definitely re-sign me, and we'll see. Technically, they have time until June 30, so we'll see how it goes."
Marchessault, 33, paced the Golden Knights with 42 goals and 69 points this season. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy last spring after accruing 13 goals and 25 points in 22 playoff games en route to Vegas' first Stanley Cup triumph.
"The Golden Knights, they want to be good every year, so they're probably looking at all their options and probably checking what's out there, and we'll see where it brings us," Marchessault added.
Marchessault signed a six-year contract with a $5-million cap hit in 2018 with Vegas. He's set to be among the top unrestricted free agents on July 1.
A member of the Golden Knights since their inaugural campaign in 2017-18, Marchessault said he wanted to sign an extension before the season.
"(Vegas) said they're not ready to do that, and after there's not even a single talk that happened during the season," Marchessault said. "I don't know. Technically, as an organization, you sign the player for six years, so you have the full six years, and after you can deal with it. So we'll see."
Marchessault said earlier in May that he hopes to be with the Golden Knights for the rest of his life.
Evolving Hockey projects Marchessault to ink a three-year pact with a $6.1-million cap hit if he re-signs before July 1.
The Golden Knights have about $5.9 million in cap space entering the offseason with Robin Lehner's cap hit on long-term injured reserve, according to CapFriendly.
Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid lamented his team's play in the second period of Monday's Game 3 after the Dallas Stars scored three goals in less than four minutes in the frame.
"Real good start, obviously, and then, I'm not sure where those 10-15 minutes come from, but it's as bad as it's been throughout the playoffs," McDavid said following Edmonton's 5-3 loss to trail 2-1 in the Western Conference Final series.
The Oilers carried a 2-0 advantage into the middle frame of Game 3 after outshooting Dallas 10-3 in the opening period. However, the Stars flipped the script in the second, scoring three goals and firing 16 shots on net.
"I thought (Dallas) went up a couple levels, and we went down a few levels," McDavid added. "Obviously, you see the difference."
Despite the second frame proving costly, McDavid wouldn't go as far as to say the Oilers' performance in the period handed the Stars the win.
"Losing sucks," McDavid said. "Series are short. You only get a handful of games. I'm not gonna say we gave it away; it was 40 minutes, and we were able to wrestle it back. But just don't find a way again."
Edmonton held Dallas to three shots again in the third period, but the Stars converted two of their attempts. Jason Robertson scored with just over eight minutes left in regulation to complete his hat trick, and Miro Heiskanen iced the contest with an empty-netter.
"I tried my best in the quickness of the situation," Oilers netminder Stuart Skinnersaid of the decisive fourth goal. "Robertson was able to make a pretty good play, but something that I gotta save."
He missed the previous four contests due to an upper-body injury sustained in a May 13 meeting with the Colorado Avalanche.
The 27-year-old had two goals and six points in 11 postseason contests entering Monday. He tallied 30 goals and 65 points in 80 regular-season games to rank second on the Stars in goals and fourth in scoring.
After dropping Game 1 in double overtime, Dallas evened the series Saturday with a 3-1 win.
The Seattle Kraken hired Dan Bylsma as the second head coach in franchise history, the team announced Tuesday.
Bylsma, 53, coached the Kraken's AHL affiliate in Coachella Valley for two seasons. He won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.
"Dan is a winner with a proven track record of developing both young and veteran talent, and his leadership will help our team as we move forward," Kraken general manager Ron Francis said. "He has had success at every level."
The Coachella Valley Firebirds went 94-32-18 under Bylsma, finishing second in the AHL in both campaigns. The Firebirds lost in the Calder Cup Finals in 2023 and are currently in the conference finals again.
"I have a familiarity with a lot of the players and staff here and think we have a chance to build something special together," Bylsma said.
Bylsma coached the Penguins to the Stanley Cup in 2009 as a midseason replacement. He won the Jack Adams Award in 2011 and remained Pittsburgh's bench boss until he was fired in 2014.
The Penguins made the playoffs every season under Bylsma. Pittsburgh reached at least the conference finals twice during his tenure and lost in the first round in back-to-back years in 2011 and 2012.
Bylsma later served as the Buffalo Sabres' bench boss from 2015-17 and last coached in the NHL as an assistant with the Detroit Red Wings from 2018-21. The Sabres finished 23rd in 2015-16 and 26th the following campaign.
Internationally, Bylsma coached the United States at the 2014 Olympics. He was also an assistant at the 2015, 2018, and 2019 World Championship.
The Kraken fired Dave Hakstol in April after missing the playoffs. Hakstol went 107-112-27 in three seasons, leading Seattle to the second round in 2023.
The 104th Memorial Cup championship commences Friday in Saginaw, Michigan, as the league winners from the OHL, QMJHL, and WHL converge to face the hosting Spirit for one of the toughest trophies to win in hockey.
It's a stacked field as the three league champs - the London Knights, Drummondville Voltigeurs, and Moose Jaw Warriors - all swept their final opponents en route to the Memorial Cup. It's the first time that's ever happened.
The hosting Saginaw Spirit are no slouches, either. The Spirit gave London its toughest test of the playoffs, taking the Knights to six games in the OHL's Western Conference Championship Series.
Here are some of the top prospects to watch at this year's event.
Cowan looks to finish magical season on a high
Chris Tanouye / Getty Images Sport / Getty
It's remarkable what Easton Cowan has done since being a surprise first-round pick less than a year ago.
The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect recently became the sixth OHL player ever to win regular-season MVP and playoff MVP in the same year. A campaign of that caliber was unimaginable last June when the Leafs took him with the 28th overall pick.
The criticism of the Cowan selection was less about the player and more about the slot. At the time, the Strathroy, Ontario, native was viewed as a feisty, hard-working winger with a bottom-six NHL projection. That makes for an intriguing prospect, but it isn't quite the upside you want in the opening round.
Every step since that day, Cowan has proven that his upside is significantly higher than just a bottom-six energy winger. He's played all three forward positions regularly, been the most dangerous penalty killer we've seen in the OHL in a decade, and been the primary driver on arguably the best team in the entire Canadian Hockey League.
After scoring 96 points in 54 regular-season games, highlighted by a record point streak, Cowan's next task was coming through in the playoffs. He did exactly that with 26 points in 10 contests against the Spirit and Oshawa Generals in the OHL's conference finals and league final.
Now, Cowan looks to match one of his heroes in Mitch Marner by adding a Memorial Cup to his mantle before pushing to make the Maple Leafs in the fall.
Other London Knights of note:D Jackson Edward (BOS), F Max McCue (CBJ), F Kaleb Lawrence (LAK), D Isaiah George (NYI), F Denver Barkey (PHI), D Oliver Bonk (PHI), F Kasper Halttunen (SJS), F Landon Sim (STL), F Jacob Julien (WPG), F Sam O'Reilly (2024), D Sam Dickinson (2024)
The Firkus circus and Co.
Jonathan Kozub / Getty Images Sport / Getty
The CHL's top scorer will be on display at the Memorial Cup, as Jagger Firkus leads a potent Moose Jaw Warriors team.
Firkus scored an absurd 61 goals and 126 points in 63 regular-season games before leading the WHL playoffs with 32 points. The Seattle Kraken second-rounder was surprisingly left off Canada's roster for the world juniors, and he's taken out any frustration on opposing WHL netminders.
He hasn't done it alone, though. Three of his teammates - Brayden Yager, Denton Mateychuk, and deadline add Matt Savoie - featured on that Canadian squad and have been similarly terrific the past few months.
Mateychuk earned WHL playoff MVP honors with 11 goals and 30 points in just 20 games from the backend. The Columbus Blue Jackets first-round selection registered nearly twice as many points as the second-highest scoring blue-liner in the postseason.
Yager has only one goal in his last seven games entering the Memorial Cup but still completed the WHL playoffs with 11 tallies and 27 points. The Pittsburgh Penguins' 14th overall pick will go head-to-head against the top defenders in the tournament as Moose Jaw's first-line center.
Then there's Savoie, the highest-drafted player at the Memorial Cup this year. Taken ninth overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2022, Savoie annihilated the WHL with a league-best scoring rate by tallying 30 goals and 71 points in just 34 games in the regular season. He didn't hit the same heights in the playoffs, but he has a legitimate case to be the best player at this year's Memorial Cup.
Other Moose Jaw Warriors of note: D Vojtech Port (ANA), F Martin Rysavy (CBJ), D Kalem Parker (MIN)
Smells like teen Spirit
Chris Tanouye / Getty Images Sport / Getty
The hosting Saginaw Spirit have loaded up over the past year in preparation for this tournament, but two players drafted by the Spirit will draw particular attention over the coming days.
Michael Misa introduced himself to the hockey world at the 2022 OHL Cup when he broke Connor McDavid's scoring record at the tournament with 20 points in only seven games. That performance was a catalyst for making him an exceptional status player, granting him early entry to the OHL as a 15-year-old.
Misa is eligible for the 2025 NHL Draft but isn't the projected first overall pick. Rather, that's USNTDP standout James Hagens. With a statement performance at the Memorial Cup, the 6-foot-1 forward can remind scouts he's still very much in the conversation at the top of next year's class.
Saginaw took Misa with the first overall pick of the 2022 OHL Draft. With their second first-rounder that year, the Spirit selected defenseman Zayne Parekh, the other young gun on the host team who'll have plenty of eyes on him at the Memorial Cup.
Parekh obliterated the OHL this season, tallying 33 goals and 96 points in 66 contests (an obligatory reminder that he's a defenseman). He's not the biggest, and he's not exactly a high-end defender, but his outrageous offensive production has Parekh projected to go inside the top 10 in June's entry draft.
A quality showing against elite teams could vault Parekh to the fringes of the top five. Conversely, a poor performance might see Parekh's stock slip into the early teens. It's a big tournament for the right-shot blue-liner.
Other Saginaw Spirit of note:D Rodwin Dionicio (ANA), G Nolan Lalonde (CBJ), F Hunter Haight (MIN), F Owen Beck (MTL), F Joey Willis (NSH), D Jorian Donovan (OTT), F Ethan Hay (TBL), F Josh Bloom (VAN), F Matyas Sapovaliv (VGK)
Can the QMJHL five-peat?
Dennis Pajot / Getty Images Sport / Getty
The QMJHL is on a crazy run at the Memorial Cup. Four straight tournaments have been won by teams from the league dating back to 2018.
The Windsor Spitfires are the last non-QMJHL team to win the title in 2017. The WHL hasn't claimed the event since 2014.
It'll be a tall task for the Voltigeurs to complete the five-peat, however. Drummondville has only five NHL-affiliated players on its roster, and arguably the best of the group, Arizona Coyotes prospect Maveric Lamoureux, is unavailable due to injury.
Buffalo Sabres fifth-rounder Vsevolod Komarov has stepped up in a huge way in Lamoureux's absence. A Memorial Cup winner last year with the Quebec Remparts, Komarov exploded offensively after arriving in Drummondville midseason.
The 6-foot-3 defender tallied 11 goals and 50 points and was a plus-44 in 38 games with the Voltigeurs after a trade in December. Komarov carried that momentum into the postseason en route to winning QMJHL playoff MVP.
Other Drummondville Voltigeurs of note: D Mikael Diotte (NJD), F Alexis Gendron (PHI), F Ethan Gauthier (TBL)
The Nashville Predators traded defenseman Ryan McDonagh and a 2024 fourth-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2025 second-rounder and a 2024 seventh-round pick, the teams announced Tuesday.
The veteran blue-liner played five seasons with the Lightning from 2017-22. He won two Stanley Cups with Tampa Bay.
"A lot of emotions, but, in the end, you are obviously really excited for what lies ahead. ... You look forward to starting the process again with Tampa," McDonagh said, according to Bally Sports Florida's Gabby Shirley.
Predators general manager Barry Trotz said McDonagh requested the team explore trading him back to Tampa Bay, according to NHL.com's Adam Kimelman.
McDonagh, who turns 35 in June, tallied 32 points in 74 games last season with Nashville. He played 21:47 per night and has averaged over 20 minutes every season since his rookie campaign in 2010-11.
McDonagh ranked second on the Predators with 139 blocked shots. His 4.6 goals above replacement was third among Nashville defenders, behind Roman Josi and Alexandre Carrier, according to Evolving-Hockey.
The Minnesota native is under contract for two more seasons at a cap hit of $6.75 million and has a full no-trade clause. McDonagh signed the contract in 2018 when he was with Tampa Bay.
"This trade adds to our already deep corps of draft picks over the next two drafts and allows us to continue to make tweaks and improvements to our team during the offseason," Trotz said in a statement. "We want to make decisions that help us build on the success we had in the 2023-24 season by giving us as many weapons as we can get, whether it's younger players on our roster, more impactful draft choices, or salary-cap flexibility."
Nashville owns 12 draft picks in the first three rounds over the next two drafts after the trade.
The Lightning sent McDonagh to the Predators in July 2022 for defenseman Philippe Myers and forward Grant Mismash.
Tampa Bay has six NHL defensemen under contract for next season with the reacquisition of McDonagh. The Lightning have $5 million of cap space after the trade, according to CapFriendly. Pending unrestricted free agent Steven Stamkos remains without a contract for next season.
Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said the team still has "some cap space" and talks with Stamkos are "ongoing," according to team reporter Chris Krenn.
Nashville now has $26 million in projected cap space, according to CapFriendly, with no significant free agents to re-sign.
The Nashville Predators traded defenseman Ryan McDonagh and a 2024 fourth-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2025 second-rounder and a 2024 seventh-round pick, the teams announced Tuesday.
The veteran blue-liner played five seasons with the Lightning from 2017-22. He won two Stanley Cups with Tampa Bay.
"A lot of emotions, but, in the end, you are obviously really excited for what lies ahead. ... You look forward to starting the process again with Tampa," McDonagh said, according to Bally Sports Florida's Gabby Shirley.
McDonagh, who turns 35 in June, tallied 32 points in 74 games last season with Nashville. He played 21:47 per night and has averaged over 20 minutes every season since his rookie campaign in 2010-11.
McDonagh ranked second on the Predators with 139 blocked shots. His 4.6 goals above replacement was third among Nashville defenders, behind Roman Josi and Alexandre Carrier, according to Evolving-Hockey.
The Minnesota native is under contract for two more seasons at a cap hit of $6.75 million and has a full no-trade clause. McDonagh signed the contract in 2018 when he was with Tampa Bay.
"This trade adds to our already deep corps of draft picks over the next two drafts and allows us to continue to make tweaks and improvements to our team during the offseason," Predators general manager Barry Trotz said in a statement. "We want to make decisions that help us build on the success we had in the 2023-24 season by giving us as many weapons as we can get, whether it's younger players on our roster, more impactful draft choices, or salary-cap flexibility."
Nashville owns 12 draft picks in the first three rounds over the next two drafts after the trade.
The Lightning sent McDonagh to the Predators in July 2022 for defenseman Philippe Myers and forward Grant Mismash.
Tampa Bay has six NHL defensemen under contract for next season with the reacquisition of McDonagh. The Lightning have $5 million of cap space after the trade, according to CapFriendly. Pending unrestricted free agent Steven Stamkos remains without a contract for next season.
Nashville now has $26 million in projected cap space, according to CapFriendly, with no significant free agents to re-sign.
