• The Canucks starting a new era
• Sunny Mehta will be challenged early in New Jersey
• Thoughts on every Round 1 playoff series

Last 32 Thoughts blog before the Final, so let’s get right into it.

While tracking front office searches in Toronto and Vancouver, I received a text from one of my reporter buddies: you better watch Connor Hellebuyck’s end-of-season availability from Winnipeg.

He was right, it’s a whopper. (Credit to the Jets for making it accessible on their website. Some of these become harder to find than Kevin Bieksa’s wallet when the dinner bill arrives.)

Hellebuyck, author of arguably the sport’s greatest single-game big-stage performance during the Olympic Final, made it very clear only one goal remains: winning the Stanley Cup.

“That’s my goal and that’s all I have left,” he said. “That’s what I want on my resume. I don’t play this game for the money. I don’t play it for the fame, I do it for my own personal fun. Part of that is winning a Cup…how can I get there?”

He referred to the season as “chaos,” adding the Jets have elite players and a very good team, “but we created a lot of our bad luck.” He’s clearly perturbed at the amount of screened/tipped goals allowed due to “loose” defensive play.

“It’s not so easy to say, ‘Hey, we are going to be great next year.’” 

That sentence resonated with me. Around trade deadline, word on Winnipeg was the organization considered this year not truly indicative of who they are. Maybe they weren’t as good as 2024-25’s wire-to-wire Presidents’ Trophy winners, but they weren’t as low as what we saw much of this season. 

For the most part, I agreed with that. But I didn’t like the way the Jets played post-deadline. They climbed within a couple of points of the playoffs twice, but faltered. They lost their last four games by a combined 24-7.

If you watch the scrum, it’s clear Hellebuyck, who turns 33 next month, arrived with purpose. He wanted to deliver a message.

“Can you get the pieces you need? Will the players come? These are always questions that you have in Winnipeg. I’ve made it my home, and I like it here, but majority of the league doesn’t feel the same way.”

If there’s any positive for the Jets, it potentially — and I stress the word potentially — comes here. 

Three years ago, Hellebuyck headed into the final season of his last contract similarly unsettled. The Jets were wiped out in the first round by Vegas, leading to Rick Bowness Rant I, “disgusted” by “their lack of pushback.” (Every three years. Whoever he coaches in 2029 is going to get it.)

That summer was rife with rumours. People bet mortgages Hellebuyck would end up in New Jersey. But, days before the next season began, he and Mark Scheifele signed long-term extensions. The Jets took their time, presented their vision and sold Hellebuyck on it. Impressive work.

As I write this Friday night, I’m thinking that’s the organization’s current path: this year sucked; our fiercely competitive backbone is disappointed and emotional; he’s blowing off steam; we’ve seen this before. We’re not going to panic, we’re not going to overreact, we’re going to give him time and approach it the same way we did before.

If it was me, that’s what I’d try. 

The challenge is Hellebuyck is three years older, and, with Olympic Gold, he’s tasted the sweet nectar of ultimate victory. That doesn’t sate your thirst, it increases it. Those two ingredients make the test more difficult this time. 

I believe Winnipeg is one of the NHL’s better front-offices. But, last season’s moves went poorly, and twice, Hellebuyck referred to player procurement limitations. He needs to be convinced they can get the help they need. 

“I love this city, and I love playing here. The fans have given me so much and I’ve given so much back to the fans. There’s a real connection there. I wish more people around the league would see that — and could see that. Am I going to tell you that, right now, I feel amazing about winning a Cup tomorrow. No. No team out of playoffs is going to say that. No player out of playoffs is going to say that.” 

“Put that same product on the ice? I don’t think it worked for a reason.”

Now that he’s said his piece, his focus switches to “getting ready to be the best goalie (I) can be for next season.” 

You know he will work hard. So will the Jets, to convince him they can (and will) eliminate his worries. 

1. Let’s call this search in Vancouver what it is: the start of a new era. As Jim Rutherford said himself, he’s not too much longer for the Canucks, so whoever emerges at the end of this quest is going to lead them through (and hopefully out) of a rebuild.

I don’t think it’s entirely fair to Patrik Allvin — like Adam Foote — a victim of some circumstances beyond his control, but the bottom line is the organization decided that, when Rutherford leaves, he was not elevating to the top spot. They are looking for someone who will be able to stand on their own. It sounds like they are using the same approach as Nashville, New Jersey and Toronto: identify the person you want, then build around them, especially if you need a Tom Hagen-style consigliere. It’s early, but you won’t be surprised to hear word is seeping out the Canucks consider experience in a rebuild valuable. What were the successes, what to avoid, how long did it take, etc. They are going to be very interested in those opinions.  

2. As I understand it, after AHL Abbotsford won the 2025 Calder Cup, the Canucks re-worked assistant GM Ryan Johnson’s contract at their own initiative. As part of that, they asked for recognition he was locked-in, because he’s a true-up-and-comer and they knew others would come chasing. Rutherford denied Nashville ever asked for permission to talk to him (I’d heard it too, weird story) but added no one will be allowed access now.

It’s not a guarantee, but is generally accepted that if a team puts these protections in place, that person is to be rewarded (see Kyle Dubas, Colorado and Toronto). Johnson is a serious contender, but will have to go through the process and win the role. There are going to be a lot of names — there always are — but Rutherford worked in Pittsburgh with Sam Ventura, who is now Buffalo’s Vice-President of Hockey Strategy and Research. The Sabres just ended a lot of pain. 

3. If Vancouver is going to block Johnson from talking to anyone, will the same rule be in place for Abbotsford bench boss Manny Malhotra until the coaching situation is cleared up? I’d bet yes, but we’ll see.

4. We mentioned on Friday’s podcast Rutherford was holding one-on-one meetings with several players over the last little while. One of the things I’d heard he wanted to make certain was if the current core — especially the young players — were comfortable and got along well. The team unravelled over the last two years due to dressing-room friction, and he wanted to make sure nothing lingered as they re-start. If a top-of-the-draft high-end prospect arrives in October, they don’t want them affected by old issues. 

5. Let’s go to Toronto. I was chatting with someone Friday who wondered why I wasn’t talking more about The Athletic article last week (which was very well-done) about the inner workings of the Maple Leafs’ front office. Toronto GM changes are now a gold mine for reporters. When Dubas left, there were stories for weeks. And, in the aftermath of Brad Treliving’s dismissal, the open antagonism between who supported him and who didn’t is pouring out like a flood. So, for me, there’s a little of everyone here is taking their pound of flesh.

At one of the pre-deadline meetings, a person told me a comment was made by someone (and I don’t believe it was Keith Pelley) that the way hockey operations handled things would not be tolerated in the business world. It was supposed to be whispered, but it was heard. You can imagine how that was received, particularly by people who thought the interventions were handled terribly. It’s like a bad breakup: there’s one side, there’s the other side, and the truth is usually in the middle. There is no doubt this season has left scars on the organization, the front office, the coaching staff and the players. That story definitely had some people wondering what really is going on in Toronto, but that’s what the interview process is for — candidates ask those questions and decide if this is for them. We will see how it all plays out. 

6. Sunny Mehta taking the Jersey job removes a serious candidate from Toronto’s list. Most of the interviews this week were done by zoom. Among those I believe have spoken to the Maple Leafs, in alphabetical order: Ryan Bowness (Islanders), John Chayka, Mike Gillis, Ryan Hardy, Ryan Martin (Rangers), Brandon Pridham, Chris Pronger. That’s seven, including the current co-GMs, and I suspect the number is around 10. So this is not a complete picture. Others I’ve wondered about: Gregory Campbell (Panthers), Evan Gold (Bruins), Brad Pascall (Flames). A lot of rumours about Ross Mahoney (Capitals) and would like to see him get his shot, but no evidence he’s involved. 

7. I’m not sure how this will all work, but the Maple Leafs’ interest in having Mats Sundin more involved is very real and progressing. 

8. It sounds like Tom Fitzgerald goes into Nashville next week for an in-person interview. Others I’m aware of, alphabetically: Jeff Kealty (internal candidate), Ryan Martin, Brett Peterson (Panthers), Bill Scott (Oilers), Darren Yorke (Hurricanes). I thought Dallas’s Scott White, who received one of those early “feel-out” conversations, would be interviewed in-person, but last I’d heard, it hadn’t happened. They spoke to one agent, Matt Keator, and I think also to Tim Taylor, which I was pleasantly surprised to hear. (He, brother Chris and their families did a great feature with us years ago on CBC.) He’s expected to be a key part of Alexander Steen’s St. Louis inner circle. 

9. The Predators have made it clear that previous GM or AGM experience is critical, so I don’t think Ryan Getzlaf qualifies, but it would surprise no one if he ends up part of their new management structure. He now lives in Nashville.

10. One thing Kyle and I discussed on a recent pod, but wanted to spend a little more time with here is the current hiring cycle. I’ve now heard from several places there is real concern about the well-roundedness of candidates, especially newer/younger ones. The increased number of assistant GMs and how some teams “silo” them means those candidates may be extremely intelligent and diligent when it comes to their responsibilities, but devoid of material knowledge in other important areas.

Some are responsible for building out analytic departments, but aren’t involved in contract negotiations or managing people or scouting or vice-versa. All of those things (and others) are critical to your success as a manager. If I was younger and hoping to run my own team some day, I’d be doing what I could to show I wanted — and, more importantly, deserved — greater responsibility.

If I ran a team, for example, I’d be demanding my quants go on scouting trips and my scouts spent time with my quants. There’s a lot more to this, obviously, but there are candidates who will lose out this year and in future years because they are not seen as “deep enough” in the full skillsets necessary to run a team. There are a lot of things better now than, say, 25 years ago, but when there were fewer assistants, they had more hands-on expertise in more areas.

11. There’s also a ton of discourse about how much analytic knowledge is playing a role in these searches. Look, this is where the world is going. These are $2B teams, and the people who can afford to own them speak a certain way in their regular businesses. They aren’t afraid to spend money, but you have to justify why they should. If you’re more of a “hockey guy,” (for lack of a better term), you need to understand this if you want to run one of their teams. If you don’t, you’re going to be passed over. Learn their language. Understand how to explain your position, with logic and factual evidence to support it. Swagger still matters, but so does being able to communicate in the 21st century. Hope you enjoyed my Ted Talk. 

12. We’re going to learn much about Mehta very quickly. There’s an immediate hot-button topic: Nico Hischier’s extension. Devils fans were very concerned about his end-of-season interviews, but, like Auston Matthews, I don’t know how you can expect anyone to look happy when they miss the playoffs. When his new contract kicks in, he’ll be a 28-year-old top centre. That’s big dough. Everyone’s watching that one. 

13. The other thing that will be interesting for Mehta is managing the dressing room after a tumultuous 2025-26. The Quinn Hughes pursuit meant several with trade protection were warned they might be asked to waive. That’s a challenge in the offseason, but imagine multiple players approached during the year. Everyone’s comparing notes, asking each other what they might do. Not easy. Then, at least two voided deals at the deadline. It was a lot, and will need to be settled so next year can be fresh. 

14. If Alexander Ovechkin made his decision right after the deadline, when Washington traded John Carlson and Nic Dowd, the emotions probably took him to retirement. But, two of the reasons I think he’s considering returning are Cole Hutson (10 points in 14 games) and Ilya Protas (four points in four games). These 19-year-olds made an impact and look like they can be key contributors. I still think it comes down to whether or not he feels like he can handle an 84-game season and the summer training necessary for it, but he also wants to be on a team that can accomplish something. Hutson and the younger Protas showed Ovechkin (and others) they belong.

15. I believe Adam Fox’s first choice is to win in Manhattan. So the Rangers’ plan will be a key factor. He still has a lot to give, and their numbers with him on- and off-the-ice prove that. 

16. Not every player admits to what ails them, but I’m curious to see if we get clarity on Dylan Larkin. Heard he was pretty banged-up. There’s enormous disappointment for how the Red Wings’ season ended, and I get it. But would be very hard to convince me trading him makes any sense. Thought Todd McLellan showed great restraint right after the 8-1 loss to Florida ended their season. If he sounded off like Rick Bowness, no one would have blamed him. 

17. NHL Awards ballots were due Friday. I don’t vote the Vezina (that’s GMs) nor the Jack Adams (that’s the broadcasters association). We’re asked not to share our full ballots to ruin the suspense, but all are revealed after the announcements. As far as these things go, Calder was a pretty easy pick, as was Selke. Things were much tougher for the Hart and especially Norris.

I suspect the top four names on the MVP ballots will be similar for most, but in a different order. I believe Macklin Celebrini had to be very high. San Jose didn’t make the playoffs, so I didn’t put him at one — because I don’t think you can win it without making the postseason unless there is no other obvious candidate (and there sure are). He led the Sharks in scoring by 56. The Bay Area News Group’s Curtis Pashelka pointed out he scored or assisted on 45.8 per cent of San Jose’s goals, passing Wayne Gretzky’s 45.5 record for a teenager. That’s insane. Celebrini singlehandedly changed the direction of the franchise.

The problem is Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon or Connor McDavid had to be fourth and it made me physically ill to put one of them there. The easy thing to do was drop Celebrini, but that’s chicken. I’ll take my (online) beating when it comes.

18. Edmonton didn’t win a game this season where McDavid had zero points: 0-14, outscored 46-17. Come on. Kucherov had the sixth season in 25 years above 1.71 points per game and was 42 points ahead of Tampa’s number-two scorer. MacKinnon led the NHL in even-strength goals (42) and points (97) on the league’s best team. I had David Pastrnak fifth.

19. As you might imagine, the Evan Bouchard debate dominated Norris consideration. If the voting was decided by bandwidth wasted on a topic, Bouchard would be the runaway winner.  

One argument I immediately threw into the garbage: he led all defencemen in scoring and that’s happened a lot lately. That’s never been my deciding factor and it never will be. What really stuck out was — after last week’s on-air debate — how many people, particularly players (some active, some recent) reached out with an opinion. There was a lot of the usual, that he played hard minutes and spent as much time on the penalty kill as Cale Makar, but some other thoughtful comments.

One that I heard a few times was that when McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are split, both want to play with Bouchard, because he gets them the puck. Both demand it, and it is his job to deliver. One ex-Oiler said Bouchard sometimes gets into trouble because, instead of making the safe play and putting it off the glass, he’s trying to get it to one of them. I enjoyed all of the feedback. He’s on my ballot, and you’ll eventually see where. 

20. I’m not sure I’ve ever had two defencemen who missed the playoffs among my five. But I did: Moritz Seider and Zach Werenski. And, as someone who believes Miro Heiskanen is hugely disrespected by the voters (I’ve had him first at least twice), it hurt to have him so low. 

21. Believe it was before Ottawa’s critical 4-1 victory over Buffalo on April 2, but Senators captain Brady Tkachuk said James Reimer gave a stirring speech to his teammates. “He just said that he has every ounce of faith and belief in every single guy in this room,” Tkachuk said. “Doesn’t matter what happens with this game, I have every ounce of faith and belief in this group, that we’re going to win tonight. We’re going get the job done. And I know everybody in that room was just looking at him. I could really see the excitement and the energy grow within a guy and see that they’re going to give absolutely 100 per cent of what they have.”

22. Tkachuk came to our interview, which will air prior to Game 1, in a Senators’ sweatshirt with the sleeves cut off. Ottawa should be selling these. 

23. A couple of thoughts on each playoff series.

Metropolitan: Carolina’s reward for winning the Eastern Conference is a tough series with Ottawa. One exec predicted this will be “anywhere from five to seven one-goal games.” Handling the Hurricanes’ outstanding forecheck is critical for any opponent, and the Senators are no different. Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson must have great series. Both teams talk confidently about their goaltending, but no one’s a guarantee.

Ottawa had a rocky regular season, but Tkachuk said he never doubted they’d figure it out and, to a man, the Senators feel they won’t be overwhelmed by the atmosphere like they were one year ago.

I’m not going to lie — I’m really excited to see Sidney Crosby back in the playoffs. The Penguins are one of the league’s great stories and they are fun to watch. One scout said Anthony Mantha may be the most-watched player by other teams in Round 1. Only Los Angeles scored less than the Flyers among playoff teams, so Porter Martone and Matvei Mickhov are the X-factors. Martone made a great early impression, but this is a different animal. It is where legends are made and Michkov has the skillset to be that guy. 

24. Atlantic: Boston’s biggest task might be not getting blown out of the building the first 10 minutes of Game 1. It is going to be mayhem. Jeremy Swayman was Vezina-level all season, and he will need to stay that way. The “river hockey” stuff got major local play as an insult to the Sabres, but this is the true test. Does it work in April, May and June?

Tampa fought everyone all season, but I wonder if it’s the right strategy now. Their last meeting against Montreal, a thrilling 2-1 Canadiens win, saw Josh Anderson hunting Lightning all night. Is it better not to antagonize him? Montreal did not give up much that evening in a stingy defensive performance, but this is where no Noah Dobson means everyone will need to be more diligent. This will be a tremendous series. We are expecting a Victor Hedman update. I hope this tremendous human is involved. But, it’s clear the Lightning are learning how to win with one of the most dominant defencemen of the past decade taking a lesser role. 

25. Central: I do not like this matchup for the Kings. Generally, there are no upsets in the playoffs because everything is so close, but this is an enormous challenge for Los Angeles. They aren’t built for “fast,” and the Avalanche are fast. The Kings do defend very well at five-on-five, but I just hate this matchup for them.

I think the Wild have to get out in front of Dallas in what is, on-paper, the best first-round matchup. The Stars are banged-up, and Minnesota must take advantage. (Although this Quinn Hughes illness is a little mysterious, too.) There’s so much to love about this series, but the guy I’m watching is Jake Oettinger. He didn’t have a great year, but none of that matters now. You can always re-write your own narrative in the spring. Minnesota’s all-in. They threw the biggest money at Kirill Kaprizov and made the biggest trade for Hughes. Time to deliver.

26. Pacific: Put the pillows away, its playoff time. The Golden Knights look refreshed. When they were at their best, they weren’t the fastest, but they were the smartest. The played a disciplined game, diminished your strengths, attacked your weaknesses and didn’t take penalties. For most of their year, goaltending was a problem and it undid all that. So that’s the biggest question. Utah is fast. They attack, they come at you. Can they dictate that tempo at this time of year? Are they like 2025 Montreal and Ottawa, talented but not yet ready? Can they force Knights’ netminders to make hard saves?

Anaheim can take a deep breath. They faltered late, but held on and got in. This is house money. They can breathe and be loose, their window is just opening. Radko Gudas and Jacob Trouba. You have to be aware of them at all times. Edmonton had a a tumultuous season, but they are used to that. They’re battle-tested, they understand, they won’t be rattled. I think they come out Game 1 looking as good as they have all year. Draisaitl’s skating looks strong, so I’m not concerned about him. But I’d feel better if I knew Jason Dickinson is in a good place, because I think he’s a perfect fit. Connor Ingram is such a critical key. And, at some point, Tristan Jarry’s going to have the opportunity to change his narrative, too. 

27. Drake Batherson tied a unique NHL record, with his seventh consecutive season featuring an increased point total (nine-10-34-44-62-66-68-71). That evens Vic Stasiuk, who played 745 games for Boston, Chicago and Detroit from 1949-63. He had a stretch of zero-seven-19-37-40-56-60-68. Lurking is Nick Suzuki, at six (41-61-66-77-89-101). Getting to eight would be super-impressive for him. 

28. Florida’s Wilmer Skoog made his NHL debut last Saturday. The Panthers actually wanted to do it earlier this season, but he got hurt in his last AHL game and had to wait. Head coach Paul Maurice had an interesting comment about a player’s first game: “Show us what you are good at, don’t be worried about systems or mistakes. We will figure that out.” I like that philosophy. 

29. Andre Gasseau, Boston’s seventh-round pick in 2021, is going to free agency in August. Astute pick by the Bruins, but will test the market.

30. If you’re looking for reading material, Thomas Harley, who finished the year much stronger than he started, offered two possibilities: River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey and Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage. Both are true stories about dangerous explorations that didn’t go according to plan — especially the latter. There’s a comparison to winning a championship and the pitfalls along the journey. I knew nothing about these books, but they are highly-recommended and I am adding them to my list. Is Harley becoming a history expert? “I hope not,” he answered. 

31. Very happy to see Steve Larmer honoured with a spot in the Blackhawks’ Hall of Fame. I recognize there were hard feelings, but that estrangement lasted waaaaaaay too long. And he should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame, too. 

32. Entering 2025-26, in 82-game cap-era seasons, 72 teams were at least four points out of the playoffs after games on Nov. 1. Only 10 got in. That’s it. Now, it’s 10 of 75. This year’s challengers — Calgary, St. Louis and San Jose — all missed. Start on time, kids.