NHL Atlantic

The Florida Panthers didn't make it look easy, but they're Stanley Cup champions.

The Panthers held on for a 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Monday's Game 7 to capture their first championship in franchise history.

Florida will hold its parade Sunday in Fort Lauderdale. No other information regarding the time or route has been released. Fans should check local listings for the TV schedule.

That said, it does appear the Panthers players are ready to make it a parade to remember.

The Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2023 but lost in five games to the Las Vegas Golden Knights.

After working their way back to the Final, it appeared the Panthers would make lightwork of the Oilers on their way to a championship. They dominated the first three games of the series and needed to win only one of the last four games to hoist the Cup.

It wound up taking them all four.

Edmonton battled back valiantly to force a Game 7, but Conor McDavid did not have one last miracle in him. Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe lit the lamp for the Panthers and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky held McDavid at bay for a 2-1 victory.

Now, they can finally exhale and celebrate in the street.

The Boston Bruins traded goaltender Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators on Monday for a package headlined by a first-round pick in the 2024 draft.

In exchange for Ullmark, the Bruins received forward Mark Kastelic, goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, and the No. 25 overall pick (per NHL.com). The Senators will retain 25 percent of Korpisalo's salary as part of the deal.

According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, an extension for Ullmark was not part of the trade.

Although Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman established themselves as one of the NHL's top goalie duos over the past three seasons, it was getting harder to justify keeping both due to their respective contract situations.

Ullmark has one season left on a four-year deal worth $20 million that he signed with Boston in 2021 (per Spotrac). As for Swayman, he's currently set to enter restricted free agency once again.

Although the two split time during the regular season, the writing appeared to be on the wall after Ullmark started just one playoff game compared to Swayman's 12 starts. It's also easy to see why the Bruins preferred to keep the 25-year-old Swayman over Ullmark, who'll be 31 years old at the beginning of the regular season.

Still, he hasn't shown too many signs of slowing down after winning the Vezina Trophy in 2023. During his 2023-24 campaign, Ullmark finished with a record of 22-10-7 in 39 starts while allowing an average of 2.57 goals against.

He should immediately help a Senators team that is coming off a 37-41-4 season. Ottawa allowed an average of 3.43 goals per game, the fifth-worst mark among all teams (via NHL.com).

For the Bruins, Kastelic recorded five goals and five assists in 63 games during his 2023-24 campaign while Korpisalo finished with a 21-26-4 record in his 49 starts.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and their fans are all too familiar with the Boston Bruins' Jake DeBrusk.

The left winger has been a Leafs killer for years, tallying six goals and five assists in his 17 career games against Toronto. Four of those assists came in the last three games against Boston's Eastern Conference rival.

As the Maple Leafs look to the offseason and potential free agent additions, though, the team may very well take the "better the devil you know than the devil you don't" approach.

The Toronto Star's Nick Kyperos reported the Leafs are interested in possibly acquiring DeBrusk this offseason.

Of course, that depends on whether Boston signs DeBrusk before the start of free agency on July 1.

Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery made it clear in an appearance on the NHL Wraparound Podcast that he wants DeBrusk back. He was complimentary of DeBrusk and the openness with which he has approached their conversations.

"One thing you notice, that I really noticed is that every time I talked to him one-on-one, he was very honest about where he thought his play was. We talked a lot about consistency when Jake was on top of his game. Jake was a game breaker for us. He's someone that could change the momentum of a game in one or two shifts because of his tenacity, speed, and skill," (h/t The Hockey News for the transcription).

If DeBrusk is not re-signed, he hits the market and will likely find plenty of suitors, few with the understanding of what he is capable of more than the Leafs.

More importantly, the Leafs are in need of depth at key positions, including left wing. Tyler Bertuzzi showed flashes in his first season with the team but behind him are Kyle Clifford, Nicholas Robertson, and Matthew Knies, none of which are the player that DeBrusk is.

The Bruin put up 40 points with a +/- of four in 16:49 of ice time per game.

His consistency has long been a question but when he has the puck, he has the potential to put it in the net. He is creative offensively and can provide scoring support behind Auston Matthews, William Nylander and the rest of the Leafs core.

The Leafs have other holes that need addressed, including goalie and on the defensive side of the puck.

Adding the quality depth alongside and behind the stars that DeBrusk brings is the sort of move that will, in theory, help the much-maligned organization finally get over the playoff hump and into a Stanley Cup final.

The 1942 Detroit Red Wings stand as the only team in NHL history to lose a Stanley Cup Final despite holding a 3-0 series lead.

Eighty-two years later, the Panthers now desperately hope to avoid that ignominious fate after losing Game 6 to the host Edmonton Oilers 5-1 on Friday evening.

If they don't stop bleeding goals, then Florida is joining Detroit, which was outscored 19-7 by the Toronto Maple Leafs from Games 4-7 to lose the championship round.

The Panthers have allowed 18 goals in the past three games, losses of 8-1, 5-3 and 5-1 scores.

Meanwhile, the Panthers' offense has been toothless, as best evidenced Friday by a two-shot first period.

Florida was lucky enough to escape the first 20 minutes losing just 1-0 thanks to a Warren Foegele goal, but it only took 46 more seconds for that to change when Adam Henrique potted one for the Oilers early in the second.

And then Zach Hyman extended the lead to 3-0 with 1:40 left in the period.

It was a disastrous result for the Panthers, who only allowed four shots on goal all period but saw two go in.

Florida finally got on the board 1:28 into the third off an Aleksander Barkov goal.

But that was it. Two empty-netters from Ryan McLeod and Darnell Nurse poured salt on a gaping wound.

Florida is fortunate enough to play at home in Game 7, but it's fair to wonder where this team's at right now. As sensational as this team has been most of the season, Florida has done a complete 180 in a matter of a week-plus.

Things can certainly change in a course of a few days, but right now, it's fair to be pessimistic about this team. And right now, that's the case for many fans and analysts alike.

Game 7 will go down on Monday at 8 p.m. ET in Sunrise, Florida.

Mitch Marner has one year left on his deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs and has yet to come to an agreement on a contract extension with the club, sparking rumors that he may be traded this offseason.

Not so fast, says TSN insider Chris Johnston.

In the latest edition of The Chris Johnston Show podcast, he denounced the idea that the Leafs are 100-percent committed to dealing the star right winger (31:30).

"The Leafs are not leaning on Mitch Marner right now. They have not decided 100 percent they have to trade him and or that they're going to make life uncomfortable and they're getting the list of names. None of that's what's going on," he said (h/t The Hockey Writers for the transcription).

According to TSN's Darren Dreger, Leafs general manager Brad Treliving would rather sign Marner than trade him.

In 69 games played in the 2023-24 season, Marner scored 26 goals and delivered 59 assists for 85 points. He has scored 194 times and tallied 445 assists for 639 points. He dishes the puck expertly and has been essential to a Leafs offense that scored the second-most goals per game this season with 3.63.

He is a legitimate star in the league and a leader in the Toronto locker room.

His contributions are many and Treviling understands that, telling Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that, "Mitch controls a lot of this whole thing. If there's a way to make our team better, we're going to do it. But we're certainly not going to make a trade just so we can pound our chest and say, 'Look, we're different.'"

It is difficult to imagine a scenario where the Leafs trade Marner and get better. He is too important to what the team does well. Trading him and hoping to get enough pieces back to improve the defense or fill the enormous hole he would leave is foolish.

The team's pursuit of its first Stanley Cup since 1967 involved Marner and his ability to fuel the offense with his superb passing and setup play. Without him, the Leafs are a team with one of the best pure scorers in the game in Auston Matthews, but lacking a fellow star to get him the puck.

Keeping him, working out a contract extension that is fair to both the team and player and building around the one-two punch they provide is the best path to the championship that has eluded the organization for nearly six decades.

Sergei Bobrovsky took standing on his head literally in Saturday night's Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Bobrovsky cartwheeled in the second period to make one of the 32 saves that backstopped the Panthers to a 2-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers.

Bobrovsky's effort allowed the Panthers to win despite being outshot 33-18 by Connor McDavid and the Oilers.

Bobrovsky's 32-save shutout also marked the first blank sheet ever posted by a Panthers goaltender in the Stanley Cup Final.

He is now the first goaltender since 1945 to earn shutouts in Game 1 of both the Final and the previous round, per the Associated Press' Josh Dubow.

The records don't stop there. The 35-year-old is the oldest goaltender to ever begin a Stanley Cup Final with a shutout. The feat additionally marks just the seventh time in the last 76 years a goaltender has completed a shutout in Game 1 of the Final, per NHL Media.

It's also the key reason the Panthers have their first Stanley Cup Final series lead in franchise history.

The historic shutout was especially impressive given how much the Oilers dominated play Saturday, particularly when outshooting the Panthers 25-12 through the first two periods.

The Panthers may not have been able to control the Oilers' shot totals, but they dominated in a physical game led by Sam Bennett:

Carter Verhaeghe opened scoring in the first period.

Evan Rodrigues notched an insurance goal halfway through the second, as the Oilers' second defense pairing of Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci were unable to limit Bennett on a dump-and-chase.

McDavid and Leon Draisaitl combined for a total of 10 shots on goal, but were unable to beat Bobrovsky before Eetu Luostarinen finished off the game with an empty-net dagger.

The Oilers will look to score their first goal of the Final when the puck drops for Game 2 in Sunrise on Monday at 8 p.m. ET.

Matthew Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers put together a dominant third period Thursday night at Madison Square Garden to place themselves within one win of the Stanley Cup Final.

Sam Bennett scored the difference-maker into the New York Rangers' empty net to seal both a 3-2 Panthers victory and a 3-2 Eastern Conference Finals lead.

The Rangers were first on the board Thursday night as Chris Kreider opened scoring with a shorthanded goal in the second period.

The Panthers responded with three straight tallies, starting out with a highlight-reel setup from Bennett on the tying goal:

The third line struck next as Anton Lundell scored past a screen from Vladimir Tarasenko, a go-ahead goal that showcased the Panthers' depth:

The Panthers outshot the Rangers 16-10 as the home team struggled to control play in the third period.

A late goal by Mika Zibanejad wasn't enough to erase the deficit, and Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky finished the outing having allowed two or fewer goals for the fourth time in the five-game series.

The Panthers are now one victory away from the Stanley Cup Final, and their dominant third period left some fans convinced they would get that final win.

This would mark the second consecutive season Florida has capped with a trip to the Final. In 2024, the team lost their title bid in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Rangers will meanwhile need a road victory in order to keep their playoff hopes alive when the puck drops for Game 6 at 8 p.m. ET at Amerant Bank Arena in Florida.

It appears Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk is not on the trade block this offseason.

Senators president of hockey operations and general manager Steve Staios pushed back on rumors that the Senators could be interested in moving the 24-year-old, stating that the team is actively trying to build around him.

"Complete B.S.,'' Staios said on Monday, via The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. "We are building this team around Brady. His leadership and unique skill set are rare. There is absolutely no validity to it.''

The rumors surfaced when Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic said that he believes the forward is "probably available" during an appearance on The Opening Drive on ESPN St. Louis.

Tkachuk just finished his sixth season for the Senators and scored 37 goals and 37 assists in 81 games. His 74 points led Ottawa, who went 37-41-4 and finished seventh in the Atlantic Division. This was the seventh consecutive season in which the Senators missed out on the postseason.

Some of the struggles for Ottawa can be attributed to issues in the net. Joonas Korpisalo, Anton Forsberg and Mads Søgard had a combined save percentage of .888 and a goals against average of 3.30.

This is something that a trade could address, as goaltenders like Linus Ullmark, Jussi Saros and Jacob Markstrom could all be available in the offseason. While Tkachuk's trade value is likely bigger, the Senators could have pursued a hefty package for him that allowed the team to build depth around players like Tim Stüzle and Jake Sanderson.

Instead, it looks like Ottawa will keep Tkachuk in the fold and look to deal others in an attempt to solidify any holes on the team.