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New York Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Johnny Gaudreau's wife surprises his best friend Sean Monahan with NHL award in emotional video
Blue Jackets center Sean Monahan was brought to tears accepting the NHL's Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy by the wife of his late friend and teammate, Johnny Gaudreau. In an emotional video posted by the NHL on Thursday, Monahan was surprised with the trophy — awarded to 'the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey' — by Meredith Gaudreau, whose husband was tragically killed last August on the eve of his sister's wedding. 'When I was asked to be part of this surprise, I was so honored, so excited,' Meredith said in the video. 'Sean stood by my side for every tribute, every walkout and I dragged him out there to cry with me on national television so many times but I'm excited about this one because this one celebrates Sean.' Advertisement 3 Sean Monahan is a 12-year NHL veteran. NHLI via Getty Images Monahan and Gaudreau played nine seasons together for the Calgary Flames. They reunited in Columbus last July when Monahan signed a five-year, $27.5 million contract in free agency. Advertisement Their dream of taking the ice together again was crushed just weeks before training camp when Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, were killed by an alleged drunk driver while riding bicycles in New Jersey. Through the heartache, Monahan stood strong and often delivered emotional words and tributes while in road arenas. He recorded 19 goals and 38 assists in 54 games en route to receiving the Masterton Trophy. 3 Johnny Gaudreau's wife, Meredith, poses with Sean Monahan and his Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. NHL/X 'Sean, you mean everything to John … this one's about you,' Meredith said with tears in her eyes. 'You persevered through one of the hardest things and you just lead by example and this one's just celebrating your character and how good of a person you are. I know John is so proud of you.' Advertisement Monahan also welled up while he accepted the honor. 'Winning that Bill Masterton Trophy means a lot to me. It's a real big honor. It's a lot of special names on that trophy and the meaning behind it — it's something I take great pride in in day-to-day life being on a team, being a father, a husband,' he said. 'It's a special thing and obviously fresh right now and something I'm definitely going to be reflecting on a lot.' 3 Sean Monahan tears up accepting his award. NHL/X Advertisement Many felt that Monahan was a shoo-in for the award, considering his excellent season while persevering through something as tough as losing a teammate and best friend. The NHL's move to include Gaudreau's wife in the moment was certainly a classy one that made it even more special.
New York Post
17-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Jets' Mark Scheifele's Game 6 status up in air after father's death
The top-seeded Jets will enter Saturday's elimination game in Dallas with heavy hearts following the unexpected death of the father of forward Mark Scheifele. Brad Scheifele died suddenly overnight, Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff told reporters before Saturday's game against the Stars, who hold a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. Scheifele was not in attendance at Saturday's optional morning skate, and it was unclear if the 14-year NHL veteran would play in Game 6. Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets walks towards the ice. NHLI via Getty Images 'We wish to give [Mark's] family our most sincere condolences and obviously ask that everybody respect his and their privacy at this time,' Cheveldayoff said, adding that Dallas coach Scott Arniel had returned to the team's hotel to support Scheifele. The 32-year-old center is second on the team in playoff points with four goals and six assists after notching 39 goals and a career-best 87 points during the regular season. Scheifele's teammates were notified of his father's passing Saturday morning, according to Cheveldayoff. 'It's a terrible loss,' Winnipeg captain Adam Lowry said. 'It's tough to put into words how gutted we all feel for Mark and his family. Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets plays the puck away from Cam Fowler of the St. Louis Blues during second-period action in Game 2 of the First Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Canada Life Centre on April 21, 2025. NHLI via Getty Images 'That's such a big loss, that's your mentor, that's the person you looked up to growing up. That's the person you want to be like. So I think there's just a lot of little things that you've got to do to really make sure Mark feels supported today and moving forward.' The Jets, the Presidents' Trophy winners this year with a league-best 116 points (56-22-4), need a road win Saturday night to force a decisive Game 7 on Monday at home.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Penguins fire head coach Mike Sullivan, who led team to two Stanley Cup championships
Mike Sullivan had a .602 winning percentage with the Penguins. (Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images) Mike Sullivan's run with the Pittsburgh Penguins ended Monday. Sullivan was fired by the team after going 34-36 during the 2024-25 NHL season, the Penguins announced. In a statement, Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas thanked Sullivan for his contributions, saying he will "forever be an enormous part of Penguins history." 'On behalf of Fenway Sports Group and the Penguins organization, I would like to thank Mike Sullivan for his unwavering commitment and loyalty to the team and City of Pittsburgh over the past decade,' said Dubas. 'Mike is known for his preparation, focus and fierce competitiveness. I was fortunate to have a front-row seat to his dedication to this franchise for the past two seasons. He will forever be an enormous part of Penguins history, not only for the impressive back-to-back Cups, his impact on the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bryan Rust, but more importantly, for his love and loyalty to the organization. This was not a decision that was taken lightly, but as we continue to navigate the Penguins through this transitional period, we felt it was the best course forward for all involved.' Sullivan was under contract with the team through the 2026-27 NHL season. The Penguins will begin searching for his replacement immediately, per its statement. The decision ends a fantastic run by Sullivan, who was hired by the franchise during the 2015-16 season after it fired Mike Johnston. In Sullivan's first year with the team, the Penguins won the Stanley Cup. They did it again the following year, giving Sullivan two championships in his first two seasons with the franchise. The Penguins continued to excel over the next five seasons. During that period, the team went 214-119, making the playoffs every year. Despite the club's success, the Penguins faltered in the playoffs, reaching the second round just once. The Penguins finished above .500 in both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, but failed to make the postseason. The team then went 34-36 in 2024-25. It was the first time during Sullivan's tenure that the club finished under .500. Sullivan's tenure with the Penguins ends with 409 wins, making him the winningest head coach in franchise history. He posted a .602 winning percentage in Pittsburgh. Given that winning percentage, and the fact that he is a two-time champion, Sullivan should draw plenty of interest from teams looking for new coaches this offseason.
Forbes
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
New York Islanders, Utah HC Win Top Picks In 2025 NHL Draft Lottery
The lottery balls take flight during the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery at NHL Network Studio on May 07, ... More 2024 in Secaucus, New Jersey. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images) With a new, live format for the first time ever, the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery yielded some thrilling and unexpected results. The New York Islanders, who held the 10th-best odds heading into the lottery, vaulted into the No. 1 spot. It's their first pick inside the top 10 since taking Michael Dal Colle at No. 5 in 2014, and their fifth No. 1 pick in franchise history. In this millennium, the Islanders took John Tavares first overall in 2009, and goaltender Rick DiPietro at No. 1 in 2000. In their first two years of existence, they used their first-overall picks on Billy Harris in 1972 and Denis Potvin in 1973. Perhaps the Islanders' representative at the draft lottery brought the team good luck. After the departure of president and GM Lou Lamoriello on Apr. 22, dynasty defenseman Ken Morrow stepped up, as the team's longtime director of pro scouting. 'The Hockey Gods smiled on us,' Morrow said after the lottery result was announced. 'I can't tell you how thrilled I am for Islanders fans, ownership and our entire organization.' NHL commissioner Gary Bettman presides over the the drawing for the first overall pick awarded to ... More the New York Islanders in the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery at NHL Network Studio on May 5, 2025 in Secaucus, New Jersey. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images) The unveiling of the results proved suspenseful, as the league brought its lottery-ball machine to center stage for the first time. Rather than pre-drawing the lucky numbers and having deputy commissioner Bill Daly reveal the results on ordered cards, 14 numbered balls were placed in the machine. Four balls were drawn at 30-second intervals to determine the first winner, then a second drawing took place to determine the second winner. As the number on each ball was revealed, a real-time chart showed which teams dropped out of contention, and which teams saw their odds increase. Before the fourth and final ball was revealed for the first drawing, the four teams with the best remaining odds to win were the Islanders (10th), the Chicago Blackhawks (second), the Philadelphia Flyers (fourth) and the Pittsburgh Penguins (ninth). The San Jose Sharks (first), Seattle Kraken (sixth) and Buffalo Sabres (seventh) remained in the running, at lower odds. The NHL's rules now prohibit a winning team from moving up more than 10 places, so here's how the odds looked heading into Monday's drawings: That rule came into play in the second drawing, which was won by the Utah Hockey Club. They moved up from 14th to fourth. Technically, Utah is a brand-new team, so this is just its second draft lottery. Last year, Utah's first-round picks were centers Tij Iginla at No. 6 and Cole Beaudoin at No. 12. The 2024 lottery did not change the draft order at all — the first time that had happened since 2010. After finishing last in the league standings, the San Jose Sharks claimed the first-overall pick for the first time in their franchise's history, and used it to pick Canadian center Macklin Celebrini. The Sharks improved by five points in 2024-25, but finished last again. This year's lottery results bump them down to the No. 2 pick. Here is the full 2025 draft order of the non-playoff teams: Celebrini was one of just six players from his draft class to play NHL games, and the only one to stay on the roster for the full 2024-25 season. He turns 19 in June, making him the youngest player to play more than four games in the NHL this year. Celebrini's 25 goals ranked him second among all rookies, and his 63 points tied him for second place. On Monday, he was announced as a Calder Trophy finalist for rookie of the year alongside Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, 21, and Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf, 24. For the 2025 draft, the presumptive top prospect is Canadian defenseman Matthew Schaefer. He's a smooth-skating defenseman with good puck skills who could be a good long-term fit with Noah Dobson on the Islanders' blue line. But there are some question marks attached to his name. Between a bout of mono and a broken clavicle suffered at the 2025 world junior championship, he was limited to just 17 games with the OHL's Erie Otters this season. With the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery in the books, attention now turns to the draft itself. With the IIHF's world U18 championship just completed, the next gathering of top prospects will be the 2025 NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo from June 1-7. The draft itself will be held in a new, decentralized format on June 27-28. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will call the names of the drafted prospects at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles while teams set up their war rooms in their home markets.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Why can't the Kings beat the Oilers? A familiar pattern emerges in playoff elimination
Viktor Arvidsson (33), Mattias Janmark (13) and Vasily Podkolzin (92) celebrate after scoring during the second period during Game 6 of their playoff series against the Kings Thursday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Andy Devlin / NHLI via Getty Images) Stop me if you've heard this before, but the summer is starting early for the Kings after a first-round playoff loss to the Edmonton Oilers. This one is a little different, though, because this was a season that had inspired rare promise before it ended Thursday in the same painful monotony as the last three, with the Oilers going on and the Kings going home. Advertisement And that's particularly disappointing since the Kings tied franchise records for wins (48) and points (105) and set one for home victories (31) this season. Yet it ended with the team breaking another record: it has now gone 11 seasons without winning a playoff series, the longest drought in team history. A postseason in which the Kings seemed primed for a long run lasted just six games, the last a 6-4 loss to the Oilers at Rogers Place that leaves the organization once again shuffling off into the offseason plagued by doubt, frustration and one big question. Edmonton Oilers Adam Henrique and Trent Frederic celebrate after scoring in the first period against the Kings during Game 6 of their playoff series at Rogers Place on Thursday. (Andy Devlin / NHLI via Getty Images) What happened? 'Having the season that we had, the group of guys in this locker room, and know, to come up short again? It sucks,' said captain Anze Kopitar, who scored the team's final goal of the season. 'It's frustrating. This one hurts a little more.' Advertisement Hurts a little more because the Kings lost more than a game and a series Thursday. They lost a golden opportunity. Rarely has a postseason set up so favorably for the team. After acquiring Andrei Kuzmenko at the trade deadline, the Kings went on a tear, winning 17 of their final 22 games, averaging better than 3.7 goals a game. The once-punchless power play became potent; goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper went 15 games allowing two or fewer goals, the second-longest streak in the NHL's expansion era; and the team sprinted past the Oilers to place second in the Pacific Division, its best finish in nine seasons. No team finished the season hotter nor healthier than the Kings. Read more: Kings' season ends in another playoff loss to Oilers: 'This one hurts a little more' Advertisement That also meant the Kings, who had the best home record in the NHL in the regular season, would have the home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs. And if they finally got past an Edmonton team that limped into the postseason wounded, they would have faced Las Vegas in the second round and a team from a quartet of Winnipeg, Dallas, Colorado or St. Louis in the Western Conference final. The Kings were a combined 8-4-1 against those teams in the regular season. It wasn't outlandish to think the Kings had a shot at the Stanley Cup final. 'It's all going according to plan,' one team executive whispered early in the playoffs. And then it wasn't, with the Kings once again tripping over a familiar hurdle. 'One hundred percent it's a missed opportunity,' Kings coach Jim Hiller said. 'We had great buy-in from our players. We believe we could have won the series. We believe we should have won the series. We didn't. Advertisement 'So that's the bottom line.' The Oilers have proven to be the kryptonite to even the most Superman-ish of Kings teams, with Edmonton the place the Kings postseasons go to die. The teams have met in the playoffs 11 times since 1982 with the Oilers winning nine of those series, including the last four in a row. The last time the Kings beat Edmonton in the playoffs, in 1989, Wayne Gretzky led the team in points, current general manager Luc Robitaille was in his third season as a player while Kopitar, the only player on this year's team who was even alive then, was still in diapers. The year's loss may be the most painful of the lot though. Advertisement The Kings had the home-ice advantage, one of the league's top three goaltenders in Darcy Kuemper and the top power play in the playoffs. They led in every game. Yet they still lost in six. The turning point in the series came in late in Game 3. After dominating the first two games at home, the Kings were leading the first game in Edmonton with about seven minutes to play when disaster struck. After the Oilers' Evander Kane tied the game on a controversial goal, Hiller challenged the call, arguing for goalie interference. He lost, Edmonton was awarded a power play, and 10 seconds later the Oilers went in front to stay. Read more: Kings rally to take lead, only to collapse in third period of Game 3 loss to Oilers Advertisement In Game 4 the Kings led with less than 35 seconds to play when Quinton Byfield failed to make a simple clearance out of the Kings' zone. The Oilers pounced on the mistake to tie the game, then won it in overtime. They never lost again. 'You can pinpoint Game 3, we didn't close out,' Kopitar said. 'Definitely Game 4. It's a completely different series if we go home up 3-1 versus 2-2. But could've, should've, would've.' The Kings simply wore down, especially on the blue line. That's why they gave up a playoff-worst 15 goals in the third period and overtime in the series. The Oilers scored just 12 times in the first and second periods combined. Yet asked in his postgame press conference if he regretted how he used his defensemen, Hiller was curt. Advertisement 'No,' he said. And with that he walked away from the podium for the final time this season. Edmonton Oilers fans celebrate their team's playoff series win over the Kings Thursday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Andy Devlin / NHLI via Getty Images) Then there's the offense. Kopitar and Adrian Kempe combined for 19 points in the series, but had just one goal and two assists combined after Kane's game-tying goal in Game 3. 'The chances were there. We just couldn't convert,' Kopitar said. 'Credit to their goalie, he made some good stops. Credit to their team. The last couple of games they played a solid checking game and made it harder on us to generate stuff. 'We fought and came up short.' That's beginning to sound redundant. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
