Should Maple Leafs Dress Ryan Reaves? Don't Bother — It's Not Like Anyone's Fighting In These Playoffs
In a series we all thought was going to be nasty, it's safe to say the Florida Panthers' second-round matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs has lived up to the hate-filled hype.
In Game 1, Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz was reportedly stretchered out of the arena and to a hospital after taking an "accidental elbow" to the head from Sam Bennett. Since then, we've seen Florida's Evan Rodrigues get hit from behind, Toronto's John Tavares get hit high and Florida's Aleksander Barkov get sent face-first into the boards.
And we're potentially only halfway through what looks like it could be a seven-game series.
But for all the head shots, cheap shots and verbal pot shots delivered in this second-round clash, what we still haven't seen is a single fight.
No question, we've seen droplets of blood spilled on the ice – as well some vomit on the bench. But despite all the trash talk coming from Florida's bad boy trio of Matthew Tkachuk, Brad Marchand and Bennett, no one has actually dropped the gloves — much less brawled.
That's probably why there has been no calls for Toronto to inject Ryan Reaves into Game 5.
Why would there be? It's not like anyone is fighting in these playoffs.
On Monday, the spur-of-the-moment tilt between Vegas' Nicolas Hague and Edmonton's Trent Frederic was the first 'official' fight after nearly three weeks of playoff hockey.
Before that, there were no fights in the Battle of Ontario, despite both teams combining for 57 penalties in six games. There were no fights in the Battle of Florida, in which the teams traded questionable hits and where Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad was suspended for delivering a head shot on Lightning winger Brandon Hagel.
So far, there hasn't been a fight in the second-round series between Carolina and Washington, despite all the bad blood that carried over from the regular season. None between Winnipeg and Dallas, or in the previous series between Winnipeg and St. Louis, despite Jets center Mark Scheifele getting injured on a high hit from Blues center Brayden Schenn.
The question is why? Why aren't seeing more fights.
It's not like fighting has gone away from hockey. Or the games have been any less violent. In fact, there were 297 fights in the regular season, which was down slightly from 311 in 2023-24.
Like we're seeing this year, there were only four fights in the playoffs last year. All but one of them occurred in the first round, where the physicality tends to be the highest. No fights happened after the second round. When we did see a fight, it was between Matthew Tkachuk and David Pastrnak, in what was likely his first-ever fight.
Therein lies the answer. It's not the usual suspects dropping the gloves these days, because the usual suspects are not in the lineup.
Reaves, who is Toronto's enforcer, hasn't played a single game in the playoffs. Florida's A.J. Greer, who fought six times in the regular season, has been a healthy scratch in four of the Panthers' nine playoff games.
You can't fight if your fighters on the bench or are in the press box. And with the fighters no longer policing the action, the games are getting chippier and more violent.
What they are not getting is more punchy. Nor should you expect it.
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Fox Sports
10 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Panthers visit the Oilers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final in Edmonton
Associated Press EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The second incarnation of the Florida Panthers against the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final opens in the opposite corner of North America from a year ago. Game 1 is Wednesday night in Edmonton, where fans in the hockey-crazed capital of Alberta get to see their team start a series at home for the first time during this playoff run. 'To be able to start the Stanley Cup Final on home ice, you can just feel a buzz in the city and these people deserve it,' NHL MVP finalist Leon Draisaitl said. 'They've waited a long time for this and, obviously to us, it's all about finishing it.' Starting at home last year, the Panthers went up two games to none and won the first game in Edmonton to take a 3-0 series lead. They lost the next three before winning Game 7 to capture the first title in franchise history. Florida is in the final for a third consecutive season and is four wins away from becoming the NHL's first back-to-back champions since cross-state rival Tampa Bay in 2020 and '21. 'It's why we're here: We're playing hockey in June for the third straight year and a chance to be a part of history,' standout winger Matthew Tkachuk said. 'We've had two kicks at it so far, and they've been very different summers, so we're hoping for the good one.' The Panthers have won 10 of 11 playoff series since Tkachuk joined in a trade from Calgary in 2022 and coach Paul Maurice took over that same offseason. As one of those 10 opponents who ended up on the wrong side of the handshake line against the burgeoning hockey powerhouse in South Florida, the Oilers don't want history to repeat itself. But veteran defenseman Mattias Ekholm, back from an extended injury absence, doesn't want to load up too much pressure on Game 1. 'You ask every single guy in our locker room, we want to come out flying, we want to play great and we want to win Game 1," Ekholm said. 'You go to their locker room, they're probably saying the same thing. One team's going to win it and one team's not.' ___ AP NHL playoffs: and recommended
New York Times
30 minutes ago
- New York Times
Stanley Cup Final predictions, NHL playoff format, officiating, 2026 Olympics and more
By Sean Gentille, Shayna Goldman, Jesse Granger, James Mirtle, Mark Lazerus and The Athletic NHL Staff No, it's not 2024. It might feel that way, however, as the Florida Panthers continue their quest to win a second straight championship on Wednesday night when they open a rematch of the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers. Advertisement A familiar matchup calls for something different, which is why we knew we had to go deeper, make this more interesting, more fun than just picking the winner and who will get the Conn Smythe Trophy — don't worry, we do that, too. Beyond that, we had The Athletic's NHL staff give their opinions on playoff officiating, the idea of changing the postseason format, the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics and next year's Stanley Cup champion. Here are the results of the survey, with analysis and critique from senior writers Sean Gentille, James Mirtle and Mark Lazerus, analytics know-it-all Shayna Goldman and goaltending expert Jesse Granger. Let's get into it. Figures are rounded and some staff comments have been edited for length and clarity. Lazerus: A coin flip sounds just about right, though I still lean Florida based on the Sergei Bobrovsky vs. Stuart 'Box of Chocolates' Skinner. Also, if Darnell Nurse or Evan Bouchard try to break anyone's foot in the final, something tells me Florida will actually respond. This will be a very different series for Edmonton than the Western Conference final. Florida is mean, nasty, physical, tested and remarkably rested for a team entering its third straight Stanley Cup Final — everything Dallas wasn't. Gentille: I told myself at the start of all this that whichever team won the first-round matchup between Florida and Tampa Bay would make the final, and that I couldn't trust Skinner to hold up over the course of a full postseason. That all still checks out — but most of all, I'm done picking against the Panthers until they lose another series. They have to show that they can't do it. Granger: Tampa Bay looked like perhaps the most complete team in the league entering the playoffs, and the Panthers steamrolled them. Carolina was playing so well, I believed in the Hurricanes more than ever before heading into the Eastern Conference final, and Florida demolished them. Edmonton is a great team, but this Florida squad has made a habit of making great teams look bad. Advertisement Mirtle: All right, I'll admit it, I'm going Oilers in seven. Something about the way Edmonton has decimated three good teams in a row just says team of destiny to me this year. Or more like a player of destiny, given how focused and determined Connor McDavid looks. Goldman: I have picked against the Oilers every round and have been wrong, but … I still am picking against them here. I think the series goes seven again, and maybe in less dramatic fashion than last year. The Zach Hyman injury is what holds me back, despite McDavid hitting that next level in Round 3 that I think we were all waiting to see. Lazerus: Sam Bennett leads the postseason with 10 goals and influences the game as much as any player on the Panthers. Perhaps no individual player is a better fit for his team than Bennett and the Panthers. If he pops a game-winning goal or two in this series, we're all going to look pretty silly when he wins the Conn Smythe. (And some GM is going to look even sillier when he gives him a seven-year, $77 million contract.) Gentille: I went with Aleksander Barkov. That took some degree of projection, but he's the leading scorer on the team I think is going to win the series, and he's a name-brand guy who's already had a couple of major moments in the playoffs thus far, most recently in the third period of Florida's clincher against the Hurricanes. Granger: Bobrovsky leads all goalies with 40 playoff wins over the last three seasons. The next-closest is Jake Oettinger with 29. He also leads all goalies with 36.71 goals saved above expected over that span, more than 10 clear of the next goalie. If Florida wins, he should get his Conn Smythe to sit next to his two Vezina trophies. Mirtle: Leon Draisaitl feels low to me, given how close he's been to McDavid for a lot of this run. And McDavid won last year, so maybe that sways a few voters to change it up a little if they're close. Goldman: Echoing Sean on this one with Barkov, but for a slightly different reason: if Florida wins again, it's likely because Barkov's line has slowed down McDavid or Draisaitl. That's what could separate him from someone like Bennett in voting. A bad call in the playoffs always gets big attention, and this year, the hockey world is buzzing every time the rule book seems to be ignored in a game. Our panel did not go easy on their grading. 'As bad as usual. Inconsistent rule book with the added bonus of prison rules in high-leverage games. By 'letting them play,' the officials create an advantage to the team that breaks the most rules when the games matter most. No other sport treats the rule book as optional.' 'They're officiating the score and situation, not the rules. A penalty is a penalty; it doesn't matter when it happened in a game or if a team is ahead or behind. This isn't new. It's always this way. And it's no secret the whistles will be in Saskatchewan and Cuba instead of Edmonton and Sunrise for the Cup Final. The 'let them play' motto is nonsense. Let them play under the rules.' 'The lack of consistency from game to game and series to series makes it very difficult for players to understand where the line is.' 'I don't know if following the rule book to the letter would actually create a game most people want to watch. Players do take advantage of that wiggle room in the playoffs, and when 'letting them play' goes against a team you're invested in, there are understandably intense emotions and reactions in such high-stakes games. But I think consistency is more the key measure to grading officials, and I haven't had major issues with the refs in these playoffs by that standard. It has been interesting to see some embellishment calls — that was not something I would have anticipated, and it feels like a particularly difficult call to be consistent on. The officials will never be perfect, of course, and there is usually a call or two in each game worthy of scrutiny. But that's part of the game and the fine margins of playoff hockey.' 'Don't we complain about officiating every year? And it's still bad? At this point, apathy has long set in over officiating.' 'It's far from perfect, but the officials have also become the whipping boys for every fan base that's sour about how the postseason went. 'We want consistency!' No, you want the calls to go your way, just like everyone else. At least own it.' Advertisement Lazerus: Hey! I wrote about this! Gentille: It's been worse. Also, after decades as a fan and then someone who covers the league, I've lost the capacity to get all that mad over officiating, barring something egregiously awful at a terrible time. Which means we're about to get something egregiously awful at a terrible time. Goldman: The problem is that the bar is so low with NHL officiating — we all expect a lot of mistakes, and this year is no different. There's been controversy in pretty much every series Florida has been a part of because of how they walk the line, and that conversation is bound to continue in the final. I think the big difference from years past is that there haven't been as many controversies surrounding things such as goalie interference because most of the challenges have been questionable in the first place. A first-round matchup of two heavyweights in this year's playoffs, the Avalanche and Stars, reignited the debate on whether the NHL should change its playoff format. So we polled our writers. Eight staff members simply wrote '1 vs. 8.' 'Bring back the 1 vs. 8 format. Never found an issue with it when it was changed to division-based to supposedly inject existing rivalries with rocket fuel. I like the occasional variance that playoff matchups brought with 1 vs. 8.' 'They should seed each side 1-8, and they never should have stopped doing that.' 'Everyone in the league and 95 percent of fans — I know this because I asked on social media — want the 1 vs. 8 format. It shouldn't be this hard.' 'I've been in favor of the divisional rivalries. But this format has led to too much repetition among conference finalists. NHL should adopt the NBA format, including the play-in for seeds 7-10. There's nothing wrong with stealing a good idea. It won't dilute the playoffs. And it rewards the top six teams with time off at the start of the playoffs.' 'I don't need a play-in or anything like that — there aren't enough good teams to justify that — but it should be seeded 1-8.' 'I never minded 1 vs. 8 when that was the format and don't have a huge opposition to it, but I think there's a little too much blame being placed on the format/seeding for certain teams' outcomes. Sure, Tampa and Toronto would have been better off not drawing the Panthers in the first or second round, but they were going to have to play them eventually to make a serious run. Going 1 vs. 8 in the West would have kept us from matching up two favorites in Dallas and Colorado in Round 1, but two of the Western Conference series would have remained the same, and a 1 vs. 8 format would have still pitted the Stars against the Oilers (the eventual conference final) in that first round as a 3 vs. 6 matchup. The eventual East final (Carolina vs. Florida) would have also been a first-round 4 vs. 5 matchup. In hindsight, the short series would indicate maybe that would have been better in this case. But with enough good teams, someone is always in what feels like 'too hard' of a first-round draw. Getting tough, dramatic series in the first round is a good thing, not something to be wished away, even though the short conference finals were disappointing. And while certain teams surely can get tougher early matchups than seems 'fair' based on the regular-season standings, the bottom line is if you can't win that matchup, you can't win the Stanley Cup.' 'The 82-game regular season should matter and the fans want a return to 1 vs. 8. The current playoff format has not worked. It's time to reward the work that players put into the regular season and to respond to the fans for a change.' 'The divisional alignment is pitched as rivalry-forming, but I don't think NHL players need an extra pretense to compete with each other over the course of a seven-game playoff series. In practice, it creates high-quality matchups earlier in the playoffs instead of saving them for the conference finals. Is this better for TV revenue? Is this better for selling outsiders on the wonder of playoff hockey? Or just a meaningless way of devaluing regular season performance in the name of a divisional rival storyline that few people seem to care about?' Advertisement Lazerus: Conferences mean so little these days. Let's just go 1-16 already. Gentille: I also want to see a test drive of a seeds 7-10, NBA-style play-in tournament. It rewards better teams, creates stakes down the stretch, adds revenue and works well as a TV event. Granger: I disagree with you both and want my old 1 vs. 8 back in both conferences. And while we're at it, move Detroit back to the West. Mirtle: Add the play-in, go 1 vs. 8, and suddenly there's a nice advantage to having a good regular season again. Goldman: Mostly on the same page as Mirtle; 1-8 is absolutely the way to go, but the play-in, I think, needs to be very limited: seeds eight and nine have a three-game wild card series. Any other playoff expansion waters it down way too much. Looking ahead, the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics are scheduled for next year and after this year's 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, there is a lot of intrigue. Rosters will begin to roll out on June 15, with each country expected to name its initial six players, and the rest of the roster expected in December. Lazerus: I still don't trust Canada's goaltending, but Connor Hellebuyck in the second round and Jake Oettinger in the third round didn't exactly fill Americans with confidence, either. Gentille: Hellebuyck and Oettinger could've gotten their teams swept and I still wouldn't have picked against the U.S. here. Granger: After that 4 Nations Face-Off, I'm just pumped to watch the Tkachuk brothers as teammates again, and hope the Olympic-style rules don't dampen the fun. Mirtle: I'm outnumbered here! Until Canada loses a best-on-best, they're winning them all on paper. Especially while Sidney Crosby is around. Goldman: Maybe losing 4 Nations will light a fire under Team USA … but I can't see Crosby losing in what is likely his last Olympics. To close things out, we went back to where we started — Lord Stanley — and asked who will win the Stanley Cup next season? Lazerus: This was harder than I expected. While I'm sure Florida and Edmonton will be in the mix again, it's tough to pick yet another deep run for each of them. Picking Dallas or Carolina, as usual, feels like Charlie Brown trying to kick a football. And after that, every team has a lot of question marks. It could be a wide-open field next year. Or it could be between the same few teams again. Advertisement Gentille: Someday, we'll all be right about the Stars. Granger: The Panthers have some major pending UFAs this summer. Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, Nate Schmidt and deadline rental Brad Marchand are all on expiring deals. Plus, Bobrovsky will be 37 before the season begins. Having said all of that, my money is still on Florida. Mirtle: Let us at least see free agency first … feels like mass upheaval is coming this offseason with so many teams with tons of cap room. Points to whoever was picking the Wild, as they're finally out of buyout jail. Goldman: I'll buy the Stars if someone else is behind the bench … until then, I'm super curious to see what a team like Tampa Bay does to keep its window open for another year. Here's how our first-, second- and third-round predictions held up, with the actual result of the series, the percent of voters who picked the right team and the percent who picked the right team and number of games: (Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Patrick Smith, Harry How / Getty Images)
New York Times
30 minutes ago
- New York Times
Oilers or Panthers (again)? An updated rooting guide for 30 other NHL fan bases
I can't speak for every hockey fan, but one of the reasons I enjoy this time of year in part is that there's a pleasant sense of familiarity. The postseason story is winding its way to a conclusion, hitting most of the usual beats along the way. We've hit on all of the mandatory controversies. My favorite team is, of course, already out. And most importantly: We can crack open the file folder labelled 'recurring bits,' which makes life easier for everyone. Well, for me. I guess I'm mainly concerned about me here. Advertisement But here's the thing about that comfortable familiarity – you can have too much of a good thing. This year's playoffs are getting a little too familiar, and it's messing things up. There's already been one casualty. For the first time in a while, I didn't bother with the 'lessons from the final four' post this year because three of the four finalists were the same as last year. And now it's happened again, with the hockey gods serving up a rare Stanley Cup Final rematch. Look, we all love a good sequel, and there are plenty of juicy narratives to sink into over the next few weeks. But a rematch threatens to ruin one of my favorite gimmicks, the annual final rooting guide for the 30 other fan bases. We already did Florida vs. Edmonton this time last year. What's a grizzled sportswriter to do? The answer is obvious: Come up with some new ideas for once you hack Double down. So today, we're doing Oilers vs. Panthers, the sequel. But this time there's a twist – I'm going to try really hard to switch up the picks, or at least the reasoning, for as many of the 30 teams as possible. Hey, when has a strategy of running it back ever failed in the past? Let's do this. I said I'd try to switch it up on as many teams as possible. But there are certain lines we just don't cross, and some obvious truths I'm just not interested in messing with. We'll keep this section as short as possible, but it has to exist. Colorado Avalanche When you won your very first Cup in your very first season, Panthers fans threw rats at you. I see no reason to ever forgive that. Pick: Oilers Dallas Stars Here's what I wrote last year, word for word: You just lost a tough Western Conference final in six games, and the disappointment of falling just short in a winnable series is still fresh, so you can go ahead and spite-cheer for the Panthers. Oh, hey, neat, that's the exact same thing we could have said a year ago! Isn't that neat, Stars fans? Huh, they don't seem to think it's very neat. Advertisement Throw a hat on the ice because this year is the hat trick. Full credit to the Stars, at least they changed up the number of games this year (by, uh, losing faster). But otherwise, it's familiar territory for Dallas fans, and you're allowed to hate that. Pick: Panthers Tampa Bay Lightning There are rare circumstances where I might encourage a fan base to cheer on a rival. This is not remotely one of those cases. The Panthers have gone from being the Lightning's scrawny younger brother to a realistic threat, and are now getting dangerously close to equaling or even surpassing them. This nonsense better end here. Pick: Oilers It's about the journey, not the destination, assuming we ignore the fact that this entire post is about the destination. Anaheim Ducks I think I speak for all the other fan bases when I say it would be very funny to see Corey Perry lose in the Stanley Cup Final for the 14th year in a row. But as the only team that has any obligation to actually like the guy, you could be forgiven for feeling like enough was enough, and it's time for him to finally step on the punchline and get that second ring. Pick: Oilers Carolina Hurricanes The Panthers knocked you out of the conference final in five games, which was bad. Then their coach, who never played pro hockey, lectured your 20-year NHL veteran about how handshake lines are supposed to work, which was honestly so much worse. Pick: Oilers Chicago Blackhawks Hawks fans, where are we at on rooting for Seth Jones? He wasn't always beloved in Chicago, and the way he basically forced his way out could leave a bad taste. On the other hand, the Panthers ate most of his contract and gave you a first-round pick and a potential goalie of the future, so maybe we just let bygones be bygones? (Remembers we're talking about hockey fans.) Of course not. Pick: Oilers Advertisement Columbus Blue Jackets It can't be fun for Columbus fans to watch Bill Zito establish himself as arguably the best GM in the league, given he spent seven years in the Blue Jackets front office. Then again, he left right in the middle of Jarmo Kekäläinen's decade-long stint, so it's not like there was an opening to promote him and the Blue Jackets just didn't take it. Rooting for a former employee who did a good job and then left for a better opportunity is good karma, so… Pick: Panthers Minnesota Wild Connor McDavid finally winning his first championship will make him a better leader when the Wild trade for him this summer. Pick: Oilers Nashville Predators I mean, if you're going to spend a ton of money to build your team around the Lightning's all-time franchise player, a longtime Hurricane, and a guy that Florida flushed away in an expansion draft, you might as well go all in on hating the Panthers. Pick: Oilers New York Islanders The Oilers, led by the league's best player, try to win the Stanley Cup in a rematch against last year's champions. Yeah, apparently we're just doing blatant reboots from the mid-80s now. Know your role. I guess. Pick: Panthers New York Rangers We knew the Panthers knocked the Rangers out of the playoffs last year, but we didn't realize they'd dispatched them to the shadow realm. Besides, history shows us that when the Oilers win a Cup, the Rangers get to steal their captain a year later, so… Pick: Oilers Philadelphia Flyers Slowly but surely, we're seeing a cold war develop in the NHL between the big markets that love hockey and actually pay attention to the guys who make millions of dollars to play it, and the smaller ones that win by attracting stars who'd rather wear flip-flops to practice and live in anonymity. You guys know which side you're on. Pick: Oilers Advertisement Toronto Maple Leafs Look, the whole 'maybe we can sign Connor McDavid next summer' thing is a pipe dream, for the Leafs and all the other big market teams thinking about it right now. He's going to re-sign with the Oilers, probably on July 1, because that's what hockey players almost always do. But if he won a Cup in Edmonton, he might feel like he'd done all he could there, and want to seek an even bigger challenge somewhere else. Hm… Pick: Oilers Vancouver Canucks I know that Vancouver fans are solidly in the 'We don't cheer for Canadian rivals' mindset, but are you really going to root for Brad Marchand? I mean, you will after he signs with you for way too much money on July 1, but I mean right now. Ah well, might as well get a little practice in. Pick: Panthers Vegas Golden Knights Should Knights fans get over the fact that they got screwed by a crucial missed call in overtime of a playoff game? Yes, of course, eventually. How long should it take? I have no idea, I just passed three decades and I'm still going strong, so I'll let you know once I figure it out. Until then, you guys and Lil Wayne know what to do. Pick: Panthers Winnipeg Jets Jets fans, are you buying Paul Maurice's whole maudlin 'I hope you're next' routine from last year? Based on this year's survey, apparently you are. And if so, you kind of have to have his back, right? Pick: Panthers Let's clean up an unprecedented situation from last year's post. Calgary Flames Last year, for the first time in the history of this column, we gave the Flames a total pass. After all, their choice was between their most bitter rivals, or the team led by the so-called franchised player who'd forced his way out of Calgary and was somehow getting his tires pumped by the hockey world as some sort of leader for it. Advertisement It's tempting to go with the same special dispensation this time around, but I'm not sure it's necessary. Matthew Tkachuk already has his ring, so that ship has sailed. And since he's playing hurt, he hasn't been the big story on this Florida run. Would Calgary fans enjoy seeing him (and Sam Bennett) win again? No, but it's better than the Oilers bringing the Cup back to Alberta, and actively rooting for your rivals to face-plant on the biggest stage is one of the great joys of sports fandom. I don't want to take that away from Flames fans for the second straight year. Pick: Panthers These are the swing states, where it was close enough last year that I think we can flip teams this time around. And the beauty of it is that if you don't agree, just go back to last year's post. I'm right either way. Buffalo Sabres Last year, the Sabres were a tough call, but ultimately, the Kyle Okposo factor tipped them toward the Panthers. He's not around this year, but Jeff Skinner is in Edmonton, finally getting to (sort of) live his playoff dream after six years in Buffalo. I get that you didn't love his contract, but cheering on an OGWAC can build some karma with the hockey gods that you guys clearly need. Pick: Oilers Detroit Red Wings Last year, I figured you could root for the Oilers so that Ken Holland could get one more Cup. But since they turfed him, you're free to root against them. Yes, that means cheering for a division rival, which is always dicey. But do you want to deal with a little bit of cognitive dissonance, or would you rather watch Jake Walman skate around with a Cup while everyone makes fun of Steve Yzerman? Pick: Panthers Los Angeles Kings Last year, maybe you could root for the Oilers, if only to give yourselves some hope that you weren't that far away from contending, even though they'd beaten you three years in a row. But four? At some point, spite has to overwhelm logic, and I think we're there. Besides, do you really want to spend the next few years hearing about your head coach's dumb challenge deciding a Cup winner? Pick: Panthers Advertisement New Jersey Devils I couldn't double down on using Edmonton's Adam Henrique for the Ducks, but that doesn't mean I can't hold him up as a reason for Devils fans. He once scored a series-winning overtime goal against the Rangers, you should want him to get his ring. Pick: Oilers Ottawa Senators This one's a bit tough. On the one hand, the Panthers made the Maple Leafs sad. On the other, I'm legitimately worried that 'Tkachuk brother forces his way out of small Canadian market to win multiple championships for Sun Belt franchise and never even pretends to have any regrets' isn't the greatest narrative for a Senators fan. Ultimately, I think the tie-breaker here is that the Sens are a playoff team now, so it's time to get some reps in on hating the dirty, filthy Panthers before you run into them next year. Pick: Oilers Pittsburgh Penguins Important breaking news: Last year, I suggested that Penguins fans should root for the Panthers because Patric Hornqvist was part of their front office, which wasn't a great reason but these can't all be bangers. But the bigger news was that Hornqvist's official executive photo still had him wearing his uniform, which was very funny for reasons I can't quite figure out. Anyways, I just checked and… he's now awkwardly wearing a suit and tie, in what appears to be a hastily thrown-together photo shoot, given that he's standing against a different background from everyone else. Is nothing sacred? Penguin fans, look how they massacred our boy. Pick: Oilers San Jose Sharks Last year, we said Sharks fans had to root against the Oilers because they'd just ended Joe Pavelski's last shot at a Stanley Cup. Fair's fair — this year we have to apply the same logic to the Panthers taking out Brent Burns. Just squint and pretend you don't see Evander Kane out there. Pick: Oilers Advertisement Seattle Kraken Honest question: How do Seattle fans feel about the ongoing discourse about zero-tax markets having some sort of huge advantage over everyone else? More specifically, how do you feel about the way you guys get awkwardly left out of the discussion, with everyone pointing to the Panthers and Lightning and Stars and Golden Knights and Predators attracting all the star talent and then mumbling something about Chandler Stephenson? While you're mulling that over, cheer for the Oilers just so it will annoy Canucks fans. Pick: Oilers St. Louis Blues If the Panthers win, you guys are the Ultimate Losers yet again, for what would be the fifth time in franchise history. I'm all for embracing a bit, but maybe let someone else have a turn. Pick: Oilers Utah Mammoth I know you guys aren't technically the Coyotes, but it's still worthwhile to remember where you came from. Did you know that in their last two years in Arizona, the Coyotes signed Troy Stecher in the offseason and then traded him at the deadline for future assets both years? That amuses me. And you still have a fourth-round pick in 2027 to look forward to from those deals. Anyway, I can't think of any really good reasons for Utah fans to swing one way or another, so let's cheer for Troy to get a ring. Pick: Oilers Washington Capitals Four-year Capitals blueliner Nate Schmidt is the only OGWAC option the Panthers have, partly because you guys beat him in the final back in 2018. Pick: Panthers Boston Bruins Finally, I'm pulling the Bruins out of their regular spot in alphabetical order because there are unique circumstances here that are worth special consideration. It was easy enough to root against the Panthers last year, after they'd ended the Bruins' season twice in a row. But now that Florida has become the big farm with lots of room to run around that Brad Marchand got shipped off to, you can root for your former captain. Especially now that he's in the waning years of his storybook career, having transformed into a more mature and maybe even quasi-likeable veteran personality. Hold your nose and do it for Brad. Pick: Panthers Montreal Canadiens But seriously, screw Brad Marchand. Pick: Oilers (Top photo of Connor McDavid and Matthew Tkachuk: Joel Auerbach / Getty Images)
