"They won a god-damn lottery."

A little more than four years after Brian Burke offered that boorish response to the suggestion that Toronto should tumble into position to nab a potential generational prospect, he sat scowling in a stool behind Brendan Shanahan's right shoulder, watching the new man in charge of the Maple Leafs earn the opportunity to select Auston Matthews at the 2016 NHL Draft.

Matthews is not just the first indisputable top-six center the Leafs will have deployed since Mats Sundin, but after a season receiving polish in the Swiss pro ranks, the Scottsdale, Ariz., native, who will turn 19 before making his NHL debut, could be the most NHL-ready prospect the league has seen since Alex Ovechkin.

1. Toronto Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews, C, Zurich (Swiss)

With Matthews idle, Patrik Laine was able to stir up a little momentum with his incredible postseason highlight tape over in Finland, but with the Maple Leafs' prospect nucleus primarily at wing, and their current No. 1 center potentially destined for a shift, Shanahan's group really has zero reason for pause here.

2. Winnipeg Jets: Patrik Laine, LW, Tappara (Finland)

Saturday's big winner in terms of jump, the Jets will do just that at the chance to aid the league's worst power play with a decorated marksman. Laine does not just score; he does it in ways only a handful can do with regularity.

3. Columbus Blue Jackets: Jesse Puljujarvi, RW, Karpat (Finland)

At 6-foot-3 and 200-plus pounds with blazing speed and offensive skills, Puljujarvi is a dream addition for the Jackets, who covet heavy top-six talent. There will be worse gigs than centering Puljujarvi and Brandon Saad on a first line down the road.

4. Edmonton Oilers: Olli Juolevi, D, London (OHL)

It behooves the Oilers to either trade out or down, but if Edmonton does select at No. 4, it will have a chance to pluck the top defender off the board. Scouts see Juolevi as a smooth-skating, efficient puck-mover who should be able to effortlessly send those talented forwards away in transition.

5. Vancouver Canucks: Pierre-Luc Dubois, LW, Cape Breton (QMJHL)

Vancouver fell haplessly from the top three, but may still have choice among North American skaters barring a deal involving Edmonton. Benning has already expressed a fondness for Dubois, who's more versatile and perhaps more complete than Matthew Tkachuk.

6. Calgary Flames: Matthew Tkachuk, LW, London (OHL)

The center-ice position is already adorn with lottery talent, so the Flames should spring for Tkachuk - a strong, sandpapered winger with a nose for the net and who could complement Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau quite well.

7. Arizona Coyotes: Jakob Chychrun, D, Sarnia (OHL)

Patchwork defense doesn't work out west. The Coyotes need to insert a high-ceiling defensive prospect into the system - something they haven't done over the last four drafts. Chychrun has the toolbox to perhaps one day fill out a top pair with Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

8. Buffalo Sabres: Alexander Nylander, LW, Mississauga (OHL)

The Nylanders might remain connected by highway if Alex is around at No. 8. With Ryan O'Reilly and Jack Eichel locked into the center-ice slots for the foreseeable future, Alex satiates a need on the flank.

9. Montreal Canadiens: Logan Brown, C, Windsor (OHL)

Montreal can really go any direction here, but mustn't need to be coerced into taking the second center down off the draft board. Brown models his game around Joe Thornton, and in his draft season, distributed like him, too.

10. Colorado Avalanche: Mikhail Sergachev, D, Windsor (OHL)

The swiftly rising Sergachev, who was named the OHL's top defenseman in his rookie season in North America, seems like an obvious jump point for the Avalanche, who have a persisting need for back line help.

11. New Jersey Devils: Tyson Jost, C. Penticton (BCHL)

Jost finished with 104 points in 48 BCHL starts and broke Connor McDavid's scoring record at the U-18 Championship. Could be a fit there for a team that scored the fewest goals league-wide.

12. Ottawa Senators: Clayton Keller, C, USA U-18 (USHL)

After selecting Colin White in the first round last year, the Senators should tap into the U.S. development program again, taking the volume-scoring Keller. He was immensely productive in all levels of competition this season, and possesses the creative element the Senators require up front.

13. Carolina Hurricanes: Michael McLeod, C, Mississauga (OHL)

Scouts may not see superstar potential, but the quick, multi-use pivot should be a quality pro for a long time. And a safe bet for the Hurricanes.

14. Boston Bruins: Charles McAvoy, D, Boston University (NCAA)

The BU product was regarded as one of the best freshman defenders in Division I. With Jakub Zboril, Brandon Carlo, and perhaps another first-round talent like McAvoy, the Bruins may be able to transition from the Zdeno Chara era after all.

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Marcus Johansson may not have escaped injury after all.

The Washington Capitals forward will not skate Tuesday due to an upper-body injury and will be re-evaluated Wednesday, the team has announced.

The update comes the morning after Johansson was helped off the ice after a late hit from Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 3.

Johansson returned in the second period and was able to record six shots and dole out nine hits in 18 minutes of ice time.

The nature of head injuries, however, means symptoms can show up later.

Letang will have a hearing Tuesday for the hit.

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The Calgary Flames fired Bob Hartley on Tuesday, adding his name to the list of NHL head coaches to be relieved of their duties in recent weeks.

Also looking for work are Mike Yeo, Bruce Boudreau, and Dave Cameron after having been deposed by Minnesota, Anaheim, and Ottawa, respectively.

While the four teams mentioned above look to fill their vacancies, others around the league could or should be considering making a change behind the bench.

Here are three head coaches next in line to be fired:

Michel Therrien - Montreal Canadiens

Declared safe at the end of a disastrous regular season by Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin, Therrien shouldn't get too comfortable about his long-term future in Montreal.

The loss of Carey Price to injury for much of 2015-16 is a handy fallback for a team that completely went off the rails following a perfect 9-0-0 start, but that's only part of the story in Montreal last season.

Not only did the Canadiens power play continue to struggle, but questions abounded in regards to Therrien's deployment of defenseman P.K. Subban and forward Alex Galchenyuk, both of whom are key pieces of the puzzle for the bleu, blanc, et rouge.

If the Canadiens struggle out of the gate next season with a healthy Price, replacing the coach should be the first step towards righting the ship.

Patrick Roy - Colorado Avalanche

Like Hartley, Roy is a recent Jack Adams Trophy winner (2014), having dined out on high save and shooting percentages recorded by the Avalanche during his first season as head coach.

Instead of taking further steps forward, and with luck no longer on their side, Colorado's growth has stagnated, a troubling trend from such a young and potentially dynamic group.

Last season, the Avalanche recorded a Corsi rating of 44.2 at even strength, dead last in the NHL. What that means is they regularly allowed more shot attempts against than they recorded, which is not a recipe for success. They ranked 29th in that category in 2014-15, and 25th during Roy's coach of the year season, so their inability to out-attempt the opposition is a clear, self-destructive pattern.

If Roy can't figure it out soon, Joe Sakic will have no choice but to axe the legendary former goalie.

Ken Hitchcock - St. Louis Blues

Yes, the St. Louis Blues are still alive and well in the Stanley Cup Playoffs under the guidance of veteran coach Hitchcock.

As good as the team has been since he took over the job in 2011 (regular-season record of 224-103-36), the Blues' playoff woes are well documented.

This is the first year he's been able to take the team past the first round, and beating the Dallas Stars to advance to the Conference Finals is certainly no guarantee.

Boudreau was let go by the Ducks for failing to win when it matters most, and if the Blues fail to make good on a prime opportunity to advance deep into the postseason, a change behind the bench is probably in order.

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The Calgary Flames relieved Bob Hartley of head coaching duties, the club announced Tuesday.

The firing comes less than a year after Hartley won the Jack Adams Award for the NHL's top coach, having guided the team to a 45-30-7 record (97 points), a playoff berth, and a first-round win over Vancouver in 2014-15.

This past season, however, the Flames finished 26th in the NHL standings.

Calgary is now one of four teams looking for a new head coach, along with Ottawa, Anaheim, and Minnesota.

Hartley had served as Calgary's bench boss since 2013, posting a record of 134-135-25 over four seasons.

Associate coach Jacques Cloutier will also not be returning to the club.

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Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang will have a hearing Tuesday for interference on Washington Capitals forward Marcus Johnasson in Game 3, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced on Tuesday.

Related: Watch: Capitals' Johansson helped off ice after late hit by Letang

The hit in question came in the the first period after Letang caught Johansson with a high-hit after the Capitals forward passed off the puck.

Letang appeared to make contact with Johansson's head and the hit has the Capitals calling for similar discipline given to Brooks Orpik who received a three-game suspension for his high-hit on Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta in Game 2.

Luckily for the Capitals Johnasson didn't appear to suffer any serious injuries as he returned to play the rest of the game.

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On Monday Connor McDavid, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Artemi Panarin were nominated for this season's Calder Trophy, re-sparking an age old question, should the age limit of the award be changed?

This year's nominees see just one teenager up for the award in the Edmonton Oilers phenom McDavd. Chicago Blackhawks forward Panarin is 24-years-old and will turn 25 next October and has been at the helm of the debate with some questioning whether at his age, should he still be considered a rookie.

Related: Blackhawks' Panarin credits Anisimov with his line's success

The current criteria for the award states, a player must be 26-years-old or younger on Sept. 15 of their rookie year and cannot have played more than 25 games in any preceding NHL seasons or six or more games in any previous major professional leagues.

The rule was changed following the Calder-win by Calgary Flames forward Sergei Makarov who captured the title after coming over from Russia tallied 24 goals and 86 points as a 31-year-old in 1990.

Still a sour note hangs over the rule as Panarin - should he win - will do so with roughly five years on most NHL rookies.

Panarin entered this season having played the last nine years in the KHL turning heads in his final campaign in the league posting 26 goals and 62 points in 54 games while also going a point per game in 20 playoff contests.

The NHL - for reasons not entirely known - doesn't consider the KHL as a major professional league, as on-lookers might question why a player such as Panarin can be nominated in such a case.

His past hockey experience aside, the question still remains whether the age of nominees should be younger. Since Makarov's win during the 1989-90 season the next oldest rookie of the year winners have been Ed Belfour and Evgeni Nabokov who both won as 25-year-olds.

In fact the last Calder Trophy winner to be over the age of 20 was Steve Mason who captured the award in 2009 at 20. Meanwhile the average age of winners since Makarov's victory is 19.7 years.

A new rule might be warranted and given the history of previous winners, only in rare occasions would a seemingly "older rookie" be impacted. Perhaps a player should only eligible for a certain amount of years after their draft year?

Getting back to this year's nominees, it should also be noted that while Panarin enters as a 24-year-old, Gostisbehere is a 23-year-old himself.

Panarin paced all rookies this season in goals and points with 30 and 77 respectively, finishing 21 points ahead of the next high-scoring first-year player. He is undoubtedly deserving of the title, but it remains to be seen if moral disagreement in the award's criteria will hurt his chances.

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In what was billed as the latest chapter in the supposed rivalry between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, it's 21-year-old goaltender Matt Murray who's stealing the show.

In a Game 3 win over the Washington Capitals on Monday, Murray made a career-high 47 saves, the most in a regulation playoff game by a Pittsburgh Penguins goalie.

Without that performance, Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist said, “There’s no way we win this game.”

To put it simply, Murray is playing too well to abdicate his new-found status as the Penguins' No. 1 goalie, despite the fact Marc-Andre Fleury was healthy enough to serve as backup in Game 3.

A third-round pick by the Penguins back in 2012, Murray was named the fifth-ranked goalie prospect by InGoal Magazine last summer. He didn't make his NHL debut until this past December, a 2-1 loss to Carolina wherein he stopped 24 of 26 shots. In 13 regular season games for the Penguins, including that initial loss, he posted a record of 9-2-1 with a sparkling save percentage of .930.

Pressed into postseason action as a result of a concussion suffered by Fleury in late March, Murray has stopped 186 of 197 shots through six playoff games, recording five wins and a .944 save percentage.

Fleury, of course, has been the man in net since being selected first overall by the Penguins at the 2003 NHL Draft. He's won a Stanley Cup and appeared in another Final, and was playing some of the best hockey of his career this season before falling to the head injury.

But as good as Fleury can be, he hasn't played in over a month, and, fair or not, he has a reputation for allowing soft goals in high pressure situations.

With his team up 2-1 in the series, head coach Mike Sullivan simply can't change things up at this point, lest he give the Capitals even an inch and allow them to take the mile.

What a luxury it is to have Fleury on the bench to call on in a pinch if and/or when Murray should falter.

To date, however, he's showing no such signs, and there's certainly no reason to rock the boat when Murray is playing at such a high level.

Murray, then, should certainly get the start in Game 4, and remain in the crease up until the point he allows the Capitals - or future opponents during this run - to get the better of him.

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