The Edmonton Oilers and the sublime Connor McDavid may have suddenly injected some life into this Stanley Cup Final, beating the Florida Panthers on Tuesday to extend the series to a Game 6 in Edmonton on Friday.
But nothing slows down the calendar. We are now a week away from the draft (for which the Bruins, currently without picks in the first three rounds, are scheduled to mostly observe) and less than two weeks away from the opening bell of free agency on July 1.
Here are a few thoughts and observations as the silly season of speculation is about to end and things are already getting real:
*The first shoe in the goalie market dropped on Wednesday and now there’s one less potential landing spot for Linus Ullmark. The New Jersey Devils, long believed to be coveting Calgary Flames netminder Jacob Markstrom, finally landed their prey for a return that’s fairly decent: big 23-year-old defenseman Kevin Bahl, who has a decent upside as a shutdown defenseman, and a top-10 protected first-round draft pick in 2025. Calgary also has to retain $1.875 million of Markstrom’s $6 million cap hit.
That should at least set the market for Ullmark, though it is still not clear just who is on his 16-team no-trade, which goes to a 15-team no-trade list on July 1.
Though he hasn’t yet won a playoff series, Ullmark is three and a half years younger than Markstrom, has a Vezina on his resume and is a relative bargain at $5 million for the 2024-25 season, the final year of the deal. The no-trade list has been a stumbling block – he reportedly nixed a deal to the Kings at the trade deadline (LA finally picked up their goalie on Wednesday when they sent Pierre-Luc Dubois to Washington for Darcy Kuemper) – but if a team on Ullmark’s naughty list comes through with a handsome extension, perhaps he’d be willing to change his mind.
One interesting player that the B’s have been linked to is Carolina’s Martin Necas. Necas has played some center, but has been primarily a wing and it would seem like a stretch to think he’s the B’s answer to their quest for a No. 1 pivot. Still, he’s a talented offensive player who has notched 52-72-124 totals over the last two seasons. The Canes could also use a goalie; the B’s need scorers. Based on the Markstrom return, the B’s would probably have to sweeten the pot for Necas, a restricted free agent who’d then have to be signed. But there could be a fit there. We’ll see.
*One BU guy did another BU guy a favor on Wednesday. San Jose GM Mike Grier did his former Terrier teammate and Ranger GM Chris Drury a solid when he claimed Barclay Goodrow off waivers, meaning the Rangers won’t have to buy out the rest of Goodrow’s deal that calls for him to be paid $3.64 million for three more seasons.
But it’s not like the Sharks get nothing out of it. Goodrow’s money will help the rebuilding Sharks get to the salary cap floor and, with the added acquisition of Ty Dellandrea from Dallas for a fourth-round pick, will give them some depth as they incorporate young uber-talented stars-to-be Macklin Celebrini (whether it’s this season or next) and Will Smith into the NHL lineup.
If this was a couple of years ago, a player like Goodrow would have been a prime target for the B’s. But the fact that the Rangers, who are looking to get tougher after being bounced by the Panthers, were desperate to be rid of a sandpaper player like Goodrow says a lot about how far they believe his game has fallen off. While he scored six goals in the playoffs, he had just four in the regular season and, though goalscoring is not his best attribute, that’s just not enough for the salary.
*Perhaps this is not the time to be shaming any of your players while you are still on the cusp of a Stanley Cup, or maybe it’s the exact right time. Regardless, Oliver Ekman-Larsson surely gave Paul Maurice some ammunition if he believed the latter. With less than 20 seconds left in Game 5 and the Panthers playing 6-on-5, Ekman-Larsson sullied what had been a good game for him. Matthew Tkachuk made a tremendous, diving effort to keep the puck from going in the net, stretching out to somehow hook the puck and force it wide. But Ekman-Larsson, skating just behind Tkachuk, had given up. He cruised by the play and allowed McDavid an easy empty-netter.
OK, so maybe there was little chance of Florida going back down the ice and scoring in such little time. But it was very unlike the Panthers, who are so good on their details and compete level on every puck. The play should serve as a wake-up call for the Panthers as they head into a charged atmosphere in Edmonton on Friday.
*For much of his career, McDavid has been the out-of-sight-out-of-mind superstar. He is a player who is every bit as electric as Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux – arguably even more so – but he hadn’t enjoyed the team success that was able to elevate Gretzky’s profile while he played in the Great White North.
That has all changed. McDavid has been spectacular in these Cup playoffs, showing off his eye-popping offensive skills while demonstrating tremendous endurance on long shifts and puck-hunting abilities on the backcheck. No matter what happens in Game 6 and a potential Game 7, he should get the Conn Smythe.
The people in south Florida may be sick of him by now, but this is a good development for the NHL and its fans.
*Leon Draisaitl has not enjoyed the same level of success in the final as McDavid, but he is still a fabulously gifted offensive player. Whether he soon becomes available is the question that’s on most people’s minds. Whether it’s true or not, there have been rumblings that he’s looking to get out of Edmonton, despite his own words to the contrary. He’s got one more year on his deal. If he is indeed looking to move on, will he pull a Matthew Tkachuk and let the Oilers know he doesn’t plan on re-signing, thus forcing their hand into a trade? If that’s the case, you can bet the B’s – along with most of the teams in the league – will have their hand up.
*If July 1 comes and Jake DeBrusk is not signed by the B’s, history has shown us that coveted UFAs are out the door. If DeBrusk walks, GM Don Sweeney’s job of getting the B’s back among the elite will be much more difficult.
