Oilers take a 3-1 series lead, but may be without Zach Hyman
The Oilers win Game 4 at Rogers Place over the Dallas Stars by a score of 4-1. Edmonton has a chance to close out the series in Texas and head to the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row. But as Travis McEwan reports, the team could be doing it without Zach Hyman.
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New York Times
31 minutes ago
- New York Times
Blues offseason needs: How St. Louis measures up to NHL's conference finalists
ST. LOUIS — The Stanley Cup Final got underway with Game 1 between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. Assessing the play of the two teams to this point in the playoffs, it's clear the St. Louis Blues have work ahead of them to get back to that level. How much work? Well, not as much as it appeared before the Blues ended their two-year playoff drought in May and nearly upset the Winnipeg Jets in the first round. If not for two six-on-five goals against in the final two minutes of regulation, letting a 3-1 lead turn into a 4-3 double-overtime loss, the Blues would have gone to the Western Conference semifinals against the Dallas Stars — and who knows? Perhaps another surprise was in store. Advertisement But none of that happened, and regardless of how it all went down, general manager Doug Armstrong is back to reconfiguring the roster for the 2025-26 season. 'As a (general) manager, my job is to look at things from 30,000 feet — not one game, one shift, one two-minute segment,' Armstrong said last month. 'I have to look at the year in its totality.' In totality, a 96-point season in which the Blues finished 14th in the final NHL standings isn't too shabby. How do they go up from here, however? It may be unfair to compare the club to Florida and Edmonton, but if Armstrong and GM-in-waiting Alexander Steen want to get back to that level, that's where they have to set their sights. So with that, let's use Dom Luszczyszyn's Net Rating model to compare the state of the Blues' roster to the average roster of the NHL's four conference finalists: Florida, Edmonton, Dallas and Carolina. The Net Rating model has a long track record of demonstrating predictive value, and even though it's imperfect, there's some reliability in how it can put into perspective which individual players are contributing to the team's success from an offensive and defensive standpoint. We will project the Blues' lineup for the 2025-26 season — excluding unrestricted free agents Radek Faksa and Ryan Suter — and contrast it with one combining the ratings for the Panthers, Oilers, Stars and Hurricanes for an 'average conference finalist' team. Sure, it's a bit skewed when you consider Edmonton has two all-world players in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. But in order to compete, the Blues will need to add similar stars or get more out of their talent. Here's how they stack up: It's no surprise that the Blues' offensive net rating falls well short of the final four teams. In addition to McDavid and Draisaitl, Florida's lineup boasts Sam Reinhart, Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, and there are yet more point-producers on the Dallas and Carolina rosters. But a rating of 42.5 for the conference finalists compared to 3.2 for the Blues is fairly significant, and the difference is glaring at both forward (29.2 to 6.5) and defense (13.2 to minus-3.3). Advertisement Center Robert Thomas, the Blues' No. 1 forward, measures up well with a net rating of 10.3, but as the model illustrates, the team is missing another top forward. Pavel Buchnevich is next in line (7.6), and that's short of what all three top-line forwards are producing for the conference finalists. The other takeaway with regard to the offensive net rating is the lack of production from a No. 1 defenseman. For the Blues, that's Colton Parayko, and while he had a career year with 16 goals and 36 points, his 0.8 rating doesn't stack up to the average of the other four teams (7.1). Even Cam Fowler (1.6) and Philip Broberg (1.7), who are considered Nos. 2-3 defensemen by the Blues, come in below what the other four are receiving from their top pair and even top four. Defensively, however, the Blues perform better than the conference finalists (23.6 to 18.5), and that's both at forward (8.0 to 6.4) and defense (5.4 to 4.2). The forward with the best rating is Dylan Holloway (3.4), which is not far behind the top average forward of the conference finalists (3.7). The defenseman with the best rating is Parayko (4.7), which is higher than the average of the other four teams (3.2). In fact, Broberg (3.3) gives the club two defensemen with a higher rating than the other four. Finally, in the goaltending department, Blues fans may not be surprised to know that Jordan Binnington has a better net rating (10.2) than the average of the other four netminders (7.9). So, what specifically do the Blues need to add this offseason? At his postseason news conference, Armstrong acknowledged that the Blues have interest in acquiring 'a 200-foot offensive player.' That's someone who can provide points, of course, but also play the full length of the ice. In The Athletic's NHL free-agent big board, there are some big-game options such as the Toronto Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner and Florida's Sam Bennett, but it seems unlikely the Blues will be engaging in a bidding war for either of those two, and even if they did, would there be mutual interest? Advertisement If Armstrong is unable to add a high-end player, the Blues will need Thomas to stay healthy and produce like he did in the second half of the season, as well as count on even more from Jordan Kyrou and Holloway. There has to be some level of 'elite growth' with the current group, which may come from newcomer Jimmy Snuggerud, who showed a lot of promise after joining the club late last season. The specific need for the Blues is at center, where they have Thomas as their No. 1, Brayden Schenn (1.7 net rating) as No. 2 and Oskar Sundqvist (minus-5.0) as No. 3. If the Blues can find a top-six center in free agency or via trade, they could push Schenn down to the third line. If they can find a top-nine center, they could replace Sundqvist on the third line. Some might say that prospect Dalibor Dvorsky could ease into Sundqvist's spot, but the Blues don't seem committed to that idea yet. Other center options in free agency, if unsigned by their current club, include John Tavares, Mikael Granlund and Pius Suter. In the trade market, the Minnesota Wild's Marco Rossi, the Boston Bruins' Pavel Zacha and Toronto's David Kämpf could be available. Zack Bolduc is expected to be one of the wingers on the third line, which is deserved considering the step he took last season. Mathieu Joseph and Alexandre Texier each have one more season left on their contracts, but it would behoove the Blues if the team could find upgrades for those two. Meanwhile, the Blues' fourth line has a bit of an offensive deficiency compared to its counterparts in the conference finals. Two returning players from that line, Alexey Toropchenko and Nathan Walker, had net ratings lower than the average of the other individuals on the fourth line. But despite the lack of production, the Blues won't be too disappointed if that group, including Faksa, stays together. It didn't go unnoticed that Armstrong said the Blues' top-four defense was shored up 'for now' at his postseason news conference. That foursome features Parayko (who has four more seasons left on his contract), Justin Faulk (two years left) and Fowler and Broberg, who are both entering the final year of their deals. Broberg will be a restricted free agent, if unsigned, so the Blues will still hold his rights. Advertisement The model shows that the Blues are lacking legitimate offense from a No. 1 defenseman compared to the conference finalists. The fact is, however, that Parayko isn't going anywhere. So while the takeaway from his low offensive rating is that he needs to produce at a higher level, he's contributing in that area and doing more than enough defensively. Fowler proved to be quite a find, especially offensively, but he'll turn 34 years old in December, and asking for more growth from him seems unlikely. Therefore, the player who could offer that potential is Broberg, who got off to a hot start last season but cooled off after his injuries. If his net rating could climb closer to that of the conference finalists, that could offset some of the shortcomings with Parayko. But while the Blues appear to be set with their top four for the 2025-26 season, there's nothing wrong with looking at options, particularly if there's a team willing to take on the remainder of Faulk's contract ($6.5 million AAV). His net defensive rating (1.5) isn't glaring, but his offensive rating (0.1) is well off the mark of what the average top-four defensemen with the conference finalists are producing. In free agency, Florida's Aaron Ekblad is the player teams will covet if he's available, but he'll come at a steep price. But even if the Blues are aiming lower, they're not going to add a top-four defenseman via free agency if they can't move Faulk. So if anything happens, perhaps a trade makes more sense, and if so, Buffalo's Bowen Byram, Calgary's Rasmus Andersson and Chicago's Connor Murphy are targets. But then it begs the question of whether the Blues are improving by shuffling the deck. Tyler Tucker, while improving his offensive numbers on the third pair this season, still falls short (-5.0 net rating) of what the other four teams are getting from their depth defensemen. But the Blues don't view Tucker as an issue, nor should they, because of the valued offensive traits he displayed last season along with the physicality he brings. If anything, the Blues would entertain the idea of trading Nick Leddy, whose net ratings are better than Tucker's, if they could find a suitor for the final year of his deal. But they'd need a veteran presence in that pairing, especially if they're not re-signing Suter, and if not Leddy, then who? Lots of questions to answer in the coming weeks. (Top photo of Philip Broberg and Connor McDavid: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)
New York Post
31 minutes ago
- New York Post
The Knicks may have been quick to fire Tom Thibodeau — but you don't want to be too patient with a coach either
A 'new voice' was supposed to be the missing ingredient that was going to push the Islanders over the top when they fired Barry Trotz, who had led the long-dormant franchise to the brink of the Stanley Cup Final in both 2020 and 2021. It was not. The Yankees sought a 'fresh voice' who could improve 'connectivity and the communication level with the players' when moving on from Joe Girardi after the Yankees fell one win shy of reaching the World Series in 2017. Advertisement A deeper postseason run was not immediate…and the jury is still out on Aaron Boone's tenure.
Fox News
37 minutes ago
- Fox News
Edmonton Oilers Take First Game Against Florida Panthers in Stanley Cup Final
The Edmonton Oilers take the first game against the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final. #EdmontonOilers #Oilers #FloridaPanthers #NHL #StanleyCup Learn more about your ad choices. Visit FOX News Radio
