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New York Times
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Scenes from Panthers' non-celebration as juggernaut team heads to third straight Stanley Cup Final
RALEIGH, N.C. – In 1996, when the Florida Panthers won their first Eastern Conference championship in only their third year of existence, sticks and gloves launched high into the air from a bunch of grizzled, bearded, ecstatic third-year expansion castoffs. They gleefully — and rightfully – celebrated after upsetting Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Petr Nedved and the mighty Penguins. They not only touched the Prince of Wales Trophy, they paraded it around the Igloo, posed for pictures on the ice and partied on their charter to Denver for the Stanley Cup Final. Advertisement And then Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Patrick Roy swept them fast and painfully. Wednesday night was not like 1996. Heck, it wasn't even like 2023. After rallying for a 5-3 victory to knock off the Carolina Hurricanes and advance to the Stanley Cup Final for a third consecutive season, the Panthers celebrated like this was Game 53 of 82 during the regular season. They slowly skated to Sergei Bobrovsky to tap his mask. They shared a couple hugs, a few high-fives, then quickly skated to center ice for a nondescript handshake line to show respect for their 10th victim of the past three years. Coach Paul Maurice, who in the first round arranged with Toronto Maple Leafs counterpart Craig Berube to avoid the handshakes because in Maurice's opinion that should be time for the players, did the same with Rod Brind'Amour. And after they didn't touch — for the second year in a row — the prize awarded for winning the Eastern Conference, there was no loud, triumphant music when the locker room door swung open five minutes later. In fact, it was eerily quiet. Barely even smiles. Almost like they lost. But, of course, they hadn't. For a franchise that not too long ago hadn't even won a playoff round in a quarter-century, winning the Eastern Conference has become old hat for these Panthers. It's a tradition at this point 🤭 #StanleyCup — NHL (@NHL) May 29, 2025 They have larger aspirations, and that's to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, starting next week when the puck drops against either the Edmonton Oilers (for the second year in a row) or the Dallas Stars. 'I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,' Matthew Tkachuk said. This time? 'It's all business, and we've got a bigger goal in mind,' Tkachuk said. Advertisement And that should be a terrifying thought for the Oilers, who are up 3-1 in the Western Conference final, or Stars. The Panthers reminded everybody Wednesday night just what type of juggernaut they are. Down 2-zip? Looking like, in Maurice's words, they didn't even deserve to make the playoffs? Playing slow? Looking low on energy? Serving up, in Maurice's words, pizzas? No problem at all. No panic whatsoever. The Panthers, in multiple players' words, were calm between periods. 'We're comfortable in these situations,' Panthers newcomer Brad Marchand said. 'The guys in this room have been here in many different situations and been up and down. And when you've been through it before and you've gone all the way, you see the different way that momentum swings can happen throughout a game and how you can take advantage of that. We knew it would take one shot.' And that it did. First Tkachuk scored a power-play goal. Thirty seconds later, he took a hit to make a play and Sam Bennett set up Evan Rodrigues' tying goal — his first of the playoffs — after Maurice made one simple switch: flipping left wingers Rodrigues and Carter Verhaeghe by moving Rodrigues onto the Bennett-Tkachuk line and Verhaeghe onto the Aleksander Barkov-Sam Reinhart line. THE CATS HAVE CLAWED THEIR WAY BACK 😼 Two goals in 30 seconds makes it a 2-2 game! #StanleyCup 🇺🇸: @NHL_On_TNT & @SportsonMax ➡️ @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ — NHL (@NHL) May 29, 2025 Four minutes after that, Marchand set up Anton Lundell for the go-ahead goal. But even after Seth Jarvis tied the score in the third period to erupt Lenovo Center, the road-warrior Panthers once again didn't roll over. Less than four minutes later, Barkov — whose pinch on the power play in the second led to Tkachuk's goal — powered himself behind the net, fended off Dmitry Orlov as the defenseman draped himself all over him, escaped, cut to the front of the net and served up a beauty pass for Verhaeghe, the NHL's most clutch playoff performer. Advertisement And in his latest ginormous moment, Verhaeghe roofed a perfect shot for his third series-clinching goal. 'I just tried to protect the puck,' Barkov said. 'Had Carter on the back door, by himself, so you want to give the puck to him in these moments.' THE PANTHERS HAVE THE LEAD ONCE AGAIN 😱 What an insane play from Barkov to set up Verhaeghe! #StanleyCup 🇺🇸: @NHL_On_TNT & @SportsonMax ➡️ @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ — NHL (@NHL) May 29, 2025 Seriously, what a play and pass by Barkov. 'That was nice, huh?' Rodrigues said. 'It speaks to who he is as a person. He's so even-keeled, doesn't get too high, doesn't get too low. And just when games get intense and very emotional, he's able to play his game and just do the right things over and over again, and then his talent just shines. He's just all-world, all skill, all talent, and it just comes out.' And seriously, what a shot by Verhaeghe … yet again. The man they call 'Swaggy' has scored 32 career playoff goals – 12 of which have been game-winners – in 86 games. 'He knows where to go on the ice to make himself dangerous every shift, and it just doesn't seem like pressure gets to him at all or the moment in the game,' Marchand said. 'And he's an incredible shooter. He's a shot-first guy. And when you have that mentality, you put more pucks to the net, the more opportunity you're gonna get. And he just buries his head and shoots it as hard as he can every time he's in that slot.' And yet when the final buzzer sounded to send Florida to its latest championship round, nobody – not even the new guys – jumped for joy. Nothing. It was just like a win in February. 'It's not our first rodeo with this,' Tkachuk said. We know what we came for. — x – Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 29, 2025 'We haven't accomplished anything yet,' Marchand added. 'You could just see the guys have been here before, and we're excited that we got through the round, but that's where it stops. The toughest team that we're going to face is coming up next. And if you don't do the job there, you didn't win anything. Advertisement 'So, yeah, we're excited, but it's just like any other round. There's a huge job to do moving forward, and we have to prepare for that now.' In 2023, the Panthers went to Stanley Cup Final and lost. In 2024, the Panthers went to the Stanley Cup Final and won. They liked that a lot better. 'There's one team that's happy at the end of this thing,' Sam Reinhart said. 'We're well aware of that. We've gone through both sides of it. You've got to enjoy this. You've got to enjoy every game, every win, every series win, but we know there's a tremendous amount of work left out there.' (Photo of the Florida Panthers celebrating victory:)
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Will The Colorado Avalanche Benefit Long-Term From Depth Over A $12-Million Rantanen?
The Colorado Avalanche began and ended the 2024-25 NHL season on a low note. They came out of the gate 13-12-0 and ended their year losing to the Dallas Stars in a first-round Game 7 where they held a lead for much of the game. But in between those competitive valleys, the Avalanche remade their roster about as radically as any team this season. Although the Avalanche got burned in Game 7 by the star they traded away, right winger Mikko Rantanen, Colorado's president of hockey operations, Joe Sakic, spoke out about the trade on Tuesday and defended the move. 'You look at where we were the last few years, we weren't good enough – we weren't deep enough,' Sakic told media Tuesday. 'This stings not because Mikko is on the other side, it stings because…we were close…We felt we had the team to move on and really compete.' It's difficult to argue with Sakic's rationale for the Rantanen trade. The Avalanche could've been a top-heavy team, with three highly paid stars in Rantanen, center Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar. Instead, Colorado wound up with very good right winger Martin Necas, center Jack Drury and trade deadline acquisitions Brock Nelson, Ryan Lindgren and Charlie Coyle. Considering that the Avalanche went 21-10-2 after the Rantanen trade, you can see why Sakic and Avs GM Chris MacFarland chose to move Rantanen and make their roster deeper. Heading into next season, the Avalanche have a projected $8.7 million in salary cap space. Now that Rantanen has signed an extension with Dallas at $12 million per season, that amount of Avs cap space would've been significantly less had he remained in Denver. That would've led to a top-heavy Colorado team that had to flesh out its roster with league-minimum players. Rantanen, McDavid Or Nylander: Who Are The Early Conn Smythe Favorites? The Conn Smythe Trophy does not get awarded in the first or second round of the playoffs. But less than three weeks into the post-season, it's already clear that some players have emerged as early MVP favorites. The Avalanche aren't the only team forced into this kind of financial crossroads, and other teams have chosen to build their team differently. Certainly, the Toronto Maple Leafs have famously built around their 'Core Four' of star forwards Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander. And consequently, they've had no choice but to pay much of the rest of the roster a relative pittance to stay under the cap ceiling. The moves have led to the Maple Leafs getting into the second round of this year's playoffs, but if Toronto gets eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the rest of the second round, there will be calls for Leafs management to abandon their current team structure and go the way the Avalanche have gone with their financial pyramid. The Avalanche's cap space this summer will permit them to potentially bring back Nelson or Lindgren and pay another mid-tier player or two to fill out their lineup. That means Sakic and MacFarland made the right move, and with a full season of a more balanced roster and the return of captain Gabriel Landeskog, the Avalanche may have a better record next year. That may lead to a longer playoff run for them next spring. If that's the way it plays out for them in 2025-26, it will be because Avs management had the stones to swing big in the trade department this year. The Rantanen deal didn't work out perfectly, but in the long-term picture, moving away from a top-heavy lineup was the best thing for the Avalanche to do. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Avalanche President Reveals Honest Truth Behind Mikko Rantanen Trade
Colorado Avalanche president Joe Sakic gave his first public explanation for the team's controversial decision to trade Mikko Rantanen before the trade deadline. Sakic cited salary cap limitations and a desire to improve roster depth as the driving forces behind the move. Advertisement The Avs president said so during his end-of-season media availability held on Wednesday, referring to the team's salary commitments to Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Rantanen being unsustainable if kept together. 'Just paying three high-end guys and not having a surrounding cast wasn't gonna get it done,' Sakic said. Rantanen was traded to Carolina in January and later moved to the Dallas Stars in a subsequent trade. He has since signed an eight-year, $96 million deal with Dallas. The Avalanche were unwilling to meet Rantanen's ask of $13 million annually, countering with a final offer in the $11.6 million range, according to Nick Kypreos. Advertisement 'You look at where we were in the last few years, we weren't good enough. We weren't deep enough,' Sakic said. 'We won in '22 because we had our stars, but we were also deep. And you can't win the Stanley Cup without it. And status quo wasn't good enough.' Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (8) hugs Dallas Stars right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) at American Airlines Miron-Imagn Images The Avalanche acquired Martin Necas, Brock Nelson, Jack Drury, and Charlie Coyle in return for Rantanen. Those four combined for just 12 points during the seven-game loss to Dallas in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Rantanen matched that total by himself in the first-round series and now leads the playoff field with 15 points in eight games. Advertisement 'Listen, if you've got Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon, your window's open,' Sakic said. 'And that's why it's important from the management side to when it comes to trade deadlines, you try and do what you can to give them the best opportunity.' Related: Gabriel Landeskog's Blunt Take on Mikko Rantanen's Historic Game 7
Washington Post
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Coach Jared Bednar receives vote of confidence after Avalanche ousted in early rounds again
This first-round playoff exit to Dallas, though, was particularly tough to swallow for MacFarland and team president/Hall of Famer Joe Sakic. Not just because former Avalanche forward turned Stars series saver Mikko Rantanen was the one to send them packing with a hat trick in Game 7. It was more because the front office firmly believed they had assembled a team that could win another Stanley Cup title, just like they did in 2022.
Associated Press
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Coach Jared Bednar receives vote of confidence after Avalanche ousted in early rounds again
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] DENVER (AP) — Jared Bednar's job on the bench appears perfectly safe after the Colorado Avalanche were ousted in the early rounds yet again. General manager Chris MacFarland gave Bednar a vote of confidence Tuesday — '100% confident Jared's our head coach,' MacFarland exclaimed in a deconstruct-what-went-sideways news conference. This first-round playoff exit to Dallas, though, was particularly tough to swallow for MacFarland and team president/Hall of Famer Joe Sakic. Not just because former Avalanche forward turned Stars series saver Mikko Rantanen was the one to send them packing with a hat trick in Game 7. It was more because the front office firmly believed they had assembled a team that could win another Stanley Cup title, just like they did in 2022. 'This one stings. I'm not going to lie to you,' Sakic said. 'We knew we had the team to do it. We feel like this year's team was on that (2022) level. So that's why this one's going to sting. It's going to sting a little longer than other years. 'We'll regroup. Great players here, great character. They want to win and we're going to find a way next year to be in the situation again and try and compete for the Cup.' One change the Avalanche made in the aftermath of the Dallas loss was letting go of assistant coach Ray Bennett, who oversaw the power play. The Avalanche were 3 of 22 with the man advantage against the Stars. 'They (Stars) did everything they needed to be dangerous and scored (in) key moments of the game,' Sakic said. 'We just didn't have it at the right time. So at the end of the day, when you look at it all, that was the difference.' The Avalanche have been to the postseason eight straight years under Bednar, who's the winningest coach in franchise history. During that stretch, they've only made it past the second round when they won it all in 2022. 'I went through it as a player as well. Sometimes things just aren't going to go your way,' Sakic said of a series. 'We just missed on some opportunities and we didn't capitalize. But we'll get back at this again next year.' Sakic said he was involved in the deal that sent Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 24 that acquired Martin Necas and Jack Drury. Rantanen was then sent by Carolina to Dallas on March 7 at the trade deadline. Rantanen tormented the Avalanche in the series — five goals, seven assists — and will continue to do so for years to come after agreeing to a $96 million, eight-year contract. 'What's done is done. That happened. We move forward,' Sakic said. 'We were very confident with the group we have here. Listen, we had a really good team here. ... It was a lot deeper, a lot stronger than it was to start the year or Christmas time. We didn't get it done.' Through all the squandered third-period leads in the series, Colorado was still 6:14 away from advancing — before Rantanen tied it up. 'Everybody's frustrated,' Sakic said. 'Everybody's disappointed, just because we felt we were this close to moving on.' Now, some decisions. Forwards Jonathan Drouin, Joel Kiviranta, Jimmy Vesey and Brock Nelson along with defensemen Ryan Lindgren and Erik Johnson are set to be free agents. MacFarland isn't opposed to running it back, especially with a nucleus of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Devon Toews, along with the return of their captain, Gabriel Landeskog. Landeskog made it back for Game 3 after not playing in an NHL game for nearly three years. He's been sidelined by a chronically injured right knee since helping the Avalanche to the 2022 title. Showing no signs of rust, Landeskog had one goal and three assists over five playoff games. 'Listen, nobody knew if he would be able to come back, not even himself,' Sakic said. 'To come back the way he did, it was pretty inspiring.' ___ AP NHL playoffs: and
