from Dave Stubbs of the NHL's website,

The honor never got stale, even if Bobby Orr wasn't always in the house to be honored as the best defenseman in the NHL.

Forty-nine years ago this Tuesday, the Boston Bruins' legendary No. 4 was awarded the James Norris Memorial Trophy for the eighth consecutive time, a record that seems likely to stand forever.

Orr's 1975 trophy, along with his Art Ross Trophy for having been the League's leading point-scorer in 1974-75 with 135 points (46 goals, 89 assists) in 80 games, were accepted on his behalf by Bruins managing director Harry Sinden at the League's Montreal awards banquet.

So too was Orr honored in absentia for winning the Lester B. Pearson Award (since 2010 known as the Ted Lindsay Award), voted by NHL Players' Association members to the player deemed to be the League's most valuable player.

Orr wasn't on hand for the 1975 banquet, said to be attending a family reunion. But it's not as though he hadn't stepped to a microphone a half-dozen times during his fabulous career to accept the Norris, or receive the 1967 Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year, or the Hart Trophy three times (1970-72) as the League's MVP.

"After 'Rest In Peace,' the two most engraved words in the English language are probably 'Bobby Orr,'" the Montreal Gazette reported in its June 18, 1975 editions.

continued

from Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic,

There’s an air of confidence within the Edmonton Oilers after demolishing the Florida Panthers 8-1 on Saturday to secure their first win of the Stanley Cup Final.

Make no mistake, however, confidence is different than cockiness.

“It’s just one win. That’s all it is,” Connor McDavid said. “Doesn’t matter if you score eight or you score one — it’s just one win.”

The Oilers still have their work cut out for them as the series shifts to South Florida for Tuesday’s Game 5. There’s no margin for error.

They must win again to keep their season alive — and then do it twice more without failure — to win the Cup.

“We’ve got to go to Florida and do a job and drag them back to Alberta,” McDavid said.

The Oilers aren’t done yet even if they’re down. They still have a chance if all goes right.

That’s their thinking.

“This is another time where people have counted us out,” coach Kris Knoblauch said. “But there’s a lot of belief in this team. They feel good about themselves. If they play their best, we have an opportunity.”

continued ($)

* The 2024 Stanley Cup Final shifts back to Sunrise for Game 5 on Tuesday as Edmonton endeavors to evade elimination again and Florida takes another shot at clinching its first championship in franchise history. The contest starts at 8 p.m. ET and is available on ABC, ESPN+, Sportsnet, TVA Sports and CBC.

* The Oilers can become the fourth team in League history to force a Game 6 after facing a 3-0 series deficit in the Final, with one veteran vying to achieve the feat for the second time in his NHL career.

* The Panthers contest their second potential Cup-clinching game and first on home ice, where the hosts have earned four consecutive wins and eight overall this postseason.

via the NHL PR department,

No hockey today so enjoy your day with family and have a few pops for me.

You deserve it.

NEW YORK (June 16, 2024) – The National Hockey League (NHL) announced the debut of a new documentary-style, multi-episode program, NHL Trophy Case, about the greatest silverware in sports. The program delves into unique origin stories, intricately detailed trophy designs, as well as the histories of the League’s most storied awards.

NHL Players, Alumni, hockey historians, and longtime hockey journalists provide viewers with detailed insights. The first episode airs tonight and features the Hart Memorial Trophy (most valuable player), the Vezina Trophy (most outstanding goaltender), and the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (sportsmanship combined with elite on-ice ability).

from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

Skilled defensemen who shoot right are a coveted commodity in the NHL, which is why, mere months after the Detroit Red Wings decided to trade one away, they ameliorated the loss by drafting one.

Axel Sandin Pellikka projects to fill, if not exceed, the role performed by Filip Hronek, albeit with a gap of several years. The Wings drafted Sandin Pellikka at No. 17 in 2023, selecting the 5-foot-11 Swede with their second pick last summer. (The first, at No. 9, was used on forward Nate Danielson.)

Sandin Pellikka's appeal was multifold: An offensive defenseman with the ability to run a power play and a skillset to combine playmaking, vision, shooting and mobility into an all-around package. General manager Steve Yzerman indicated at his season-ending review in April that Sandin Pellikka, 19, will stay in Sweden for the 2024-25 season to continue his development with Skellefteå AIK, but the Wings do expect to get a closer look at him during development camp, which generally is the week after the draft, in early July.

Sandin Pellikka already has had quite a 2024: He won the SHL championship with Skellefteå, and was named the recipient of the Salming Trophy, awarded to the best Swedish-born defenseman in the SHL. In May, he signed his entry-level contract with the Wings — but that won't go into effect while he's still in Sweden. Sandin Pellikka had 10 goals and eight assists in 39 games with Skellefteå, plus seven points in 14 playoff games, and had six points in seven games at the World Junior Championship, where he was an alternate captain.

"I had a chance to watch him at the World Juniors, and he played well," Yzerman said. "He's been good. I watch a little bit of mostly highlights in Skellefteå, and he's good. He moves the puck well, he skates well, he's got good skills. He's a fun a player to watch, and he just needs time like all young players to get a little stronger, more mature, and I think he's going to be a really good player for us. He's a different type of player, and he'll fit in nicely with our group of defensemen in a couple years."

continued ($)

from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- The real difference between the soon-to-be-champion Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers make weak, soft defensive mistakes, which wind up resulting in quick goals against. The Panthers don’t make those kind of errors — and when they do — Sergei Bobrovsky cleans them up in goal. He will win he Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player in the playoffs.

- Before getting to the final, Bobrovsky outplayed fellow netminders Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jeremy Swayman and Igor Shesterkin in goal in the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Stuart Skinner is not anywhere near the calibre of those three.

- Through four post-season rounds, Bobrovsky has allowed one even strength goal heading into Saturday night against from a murderer’s row of scorer, Nikita Kucherov, David Pastrnak, Artemi Panarin, McDavid, Draisaitl and Zach Hyman, six of the most dangerous snipers in hockey. That’s what’s known as coming up big.

- A question asked on a Stanley Cup bus ride: If you had one game to win, who would you want on your team, Bennett or Mitch Marner? The answer on the bus was Bennett, who scores about half the points Marner does most seasons.

more

from Mark Spector of Sportsnet,

They said this season was going to be “Cup or bust.” And it was very nearly both of those.

But somehow, like the Grinch whose heart grew three sizes at Christmas, the Edmonton Oilers found something they’ve been looking for since this Stanley Cup Final began.

Some luck. Some battle level that hadn’t been there. Some shooting accuracy that had gone into hiding.

Some refusal to let this Final go down in hockey history as a sweep.

Together, it arrived like a prairie twister, touching down on Florida’s defensive zone and leaving the Panthers' structure strewn across Oil Country in an 8-1 evisceration on Saturday.

On a night where Sergei Bobrovsky could have walked out of Rogers Place carrying the Conn Smythe Trophy, he was seen skating to the Panthers bench five minutes into the second period.

Goalie Bob got the hook, after allowing five goals on 16 shots. Did anyone have that on their Bingo card?

“It's not easy when you don't have a win. When the puck isn't going in, and the other guy (Bobrovsky) seems unbeatable,” said Zach Hyman. “But the more you play, you know that the more chances you get, it's going to go in. That's just hockey.

“You can break 'em down. That's why this is a seven-game series.”

continued

from Jameson Olive of the Panthers' website,

We’re heading back to Sunrise.

Unable to complete a rare sweep in the Stanley Cup Final, the Florida Panthers suffered an uncharacteristic 8-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 at Rogers Place on Saturday.

Still leading 3-1 in the series, the Panthers now look to Game 5 on Tuesday.

“They played really well,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. “We didn’t play as well as we wanted, so that’s the end result. We lost. We’ve got to figure out now what we can do better and what we did well. That’s not the first time we’ve lost in the playoffs.”

Not the first, but certainly the first in quite some time.

Snapping a six-game winning streak, Florida’s last loss came on May 26 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final.

“We haven’t lost a game in a while until tonight,” Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “At the end of the day, it’s back to the drawing board. If we win, we learn from it and we put it aside. If we lose, we do the same thing. We’re in an unbelievable spot right now [up 3-1]. We came here and after all that craziness got a split. Now we’re going home [to play] in front of our unbelievable fans. They’re so excited to see us and we’re so excited to play in front of them.”

continued

Below, watch Paul Maurice's press conference.

* With the Oilers facing elimination and at risk of being swept in the Stanley Cup Final, Connor McDavid factored on half of the team’s goals in an 8-1 victory to keep their championship hopes alive with the franchise’s first victory in the Final in 18 years.

* Fifteen Oilers players found the score sheet, tying for the most in any game in Stanley Cup Final history and ensuring that the championship series would require five or more games for the 25th consecutive postseason.

* Global music superstar Shania Twain rocked a capacity crowd at the Rogers Festival at the Final concert ahead of Game 4. From there for the Oilers, it only went “Up! Up! Up!” as they set a franchise record for goals when facing elimination in any playoff game.

from David Staples of the Edmonton Journal,

How do you beat the fearsome full-ice pressure of the Florida Panthers? With your own brand of irresistible pressure. With the most potent stretch passing Edmonton’s employed all year, slicing through and avoiding the efforts of Florida’s forecheckers with long bomb pass after long bomb pass.

In whipping the Panthers 8-1 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, in driving Florida’s playoff hero Sergei Bobrovsky from the net, the Oilers met fire with fire, aggression with aggression, beating the dive-bombing Florida checkers with a devastating series of half and three quarter ice passes out of their own zone.

Edmonton’s Show Time fast break broke open a tense game where Florida hit the post twice early on and Stuart Skinner made an all-world save of his own on an odd-man Florida rush.

Edmonton’s second, third, fourth and fifth goals, all in the first 25 minutes of the game, were all kicked off with such a pass, Mattias Ekholm, Evan Bouchard, Bouchard again and Philip Broberg in turn orchestrating Edmonton’s long range bombardment.

continued

HNIC game highlights below.

via the NHL PR department,

Will the @FlaPanthers hoist the #StanleyCup away from home? The champion has clinched the Cup as the designated road team in six of the past eight Finals.

Catch Game 4 at 8 p.m. ET on @ABCNetwork, @ESPNPlus, @Sportsnet, @TVASports and CBC.

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

- ... The NHL buyout period, under which the Rangers would actually gain a cap credit of $247,222 for this season, runs from 48 hours after the Cup Final ends until June 30. Drury should not rush for a buyout that would ding the Blueshirts with a cap penalty of $3.502M in 2026-27. Instead, the GM should seek to move Goodrow in a trade that could materialize at the June 28-29 entry draft.

Goodrow should have value on the market with his deal now having just three years to go. Surely he has more value as a mentor to Connor Bedard than Corey Perry ever did in Chicago. Utah — nee Arizona — may need help in getting to the cap floor and always needs help in veteran character. The Sharks and Ducks are in need of veteran leadership....

- I say no, but would the Canes say no to a one-for-one if the Blueshirts were to offer K’Andre Miller straight up for impending restricted free agent right wing Martin Necas?

- Sometimes the sacrifice is awe-inspiring, and so is the physical commitment over the course of the playoffs.

But I think it would be equally as satisfying and perhaps more entertaining if the playoffs presented the same showcase of skill that the league exhibits over six months.

more on the first topic and additional notes too

from Cathal Kelly of the Globe and Mail,

Big picture in this country, hockey has become something we consider rather than enjoy. What does it say about us? Why don’t we win at it? Is its culture poisonous? It’s a talking point, not a rallying one.

The divide between what hockey was (a prismatic expression of Canadianness) and what it is (a flagging business struggling to engage its customer base) is most obvious during a Stanley Cup final.

No one has to love either of the teams involved, but if a plurality of Canadians can’t even be bothered to tell a fib and say they have a passing interest, that’s worse than bad news. That means whatever nostalgic hold the game had on our national imagination is in the midst of being let go.

much more

from Salim Valji of TSN,

The Florida Panthers are a win away from their first Stanley Cup and their goalie, once thought of as having one of the worst contracts in the NHL, is a leading contender for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Sergei Bobrovsky has been spectacular this postseason. The 35-year-old has won 15 of 20 games, has a .916 save percentage, and has allowed just four goals during the first three games of the Stanley Cup Final.

“Bob has been dialled in,” Panthers captain Sasha Barkov said. “When you see how much work he puts in every single day, in practice and in the games, you're just happy to see him perform like that."

Bobrovsky’s time with the Panthers has been a roller coaster. Florida signed the two-time Vezina winner to a seven-year, $70 million contract in the summer of 2019. A season later, the organization wasn’t sure if he was their No. 1 goalie. He started 31 of 56 games during the 2021 campaign and there were questions about his future with the franchise.

He’s started 50-plus games in each of the three seasons since then and become one of the most critical players on a Panthers squad now one win away from hoisting the Stanley Cup.

It all starts off the ice for Bobrovsky.

“His preparation and being so calm,” said forward Matthew Tkachuk. “He’s been playing unbelievable for us right now…his workouts are incredible. Everything he does outside the rink is preparing him for what he’s going to do once that game starts.”

continued

from Harman Dayal and Shayna Goldman of The Athletic,

Carolina has a ton of key players on expiring contracts, including Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainan, Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce, Jordan Martinook and Stefan Noesen. Seth Jarvis is also an RFA in line for a massive raise.

With all those other needs, the Canes may not want to pay Necas, an arbitration-eligible RFA coming off a $3 million AAV, a huge contract. ...

Detroit took strides this past season and was in the playoff race until the very end. But ultimately, they fell short — which sent Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings management back to the drawing board to devise their next steps.

Last summer, management added Alex DeBrincat. Maybe Necas could be this summer’s target to add even more jump to the forward group — especially if both David Perron and Patrick Kane walk as free agents. Even if the two veterans stay, there is room for another winger on the younger side, considering that Detroit finished in the bottom five in expected goal creation this season at five-on-five.

The Red Wings are stocked with draft picks, prospects and cap space right now. How much cap space is left to go around depends on how the Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider extensions are handled. But until that cap room dries up, any time a forward in their early-to-mid-20s becomes available, Detroit should be kicking the tires on them.

10 more ($) teams

* The Panthers and Oilers go head-to-head in a momentous Game 4 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN+, Sportsnet, TVA Sports and CBC as Florida attempts to capture its first Stanley Cup while Edmonton look to extend the series to at least five games.

* The Oilers look to become the ninth team in NHL history to force Game 5 after facing a 3-0 deficit in the Stanley Cup Final. Connor McDavid enters the contest with 19 points in eight games following a loss in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* The Panthers are within one win of the Stanley Cup due to multiple keys to success including balanced scoring, clutch goaltending, a perfect penalty kill in the Final and the ability to win tight games and close out leads.

from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal,

Kris Knoblauch says his team is getting more chances to score against Florida than Los Angeles, Vancouver and Dallas, but then they didn’t have Sergei Bobrovsky.

So the Edmonton Oilers expected goals in this Stanley Cup Final are fine.

Didn’t the analytics people say that about Jesse Puljujarvi?

But real goals right now? Not so much, as we all know, with the Oilers down three.

Article content

Four in three games of this final against the Panthers, in large part because of Bobrovsky, who has one hand and three fingers on the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP if Florida closes it out Saturday night.

And while we’re beating a dead horse here, it has to be reinforced: zip from Zach Hyman, who came into the Cupfinal with 68, including 54 in regular-season. None from Leon Draisaitl, nothing from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Still looking for his first goal, Connor McDavid.

They’ve had 33 shots in the first three games, and no goals on Bobvrovsky. McDavid has 14 shots, Draisaitl 9, Hyman 7 and Nugent-Hopkins 3, with only one in the last two games.

Hyman, Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins don’t have a point.

The “We’re getting our looks” quote is running out of its shelf life.

continued

from Jameson Olive of the Panthers' website,

In the long and storied history of the NHL, teams that have raced out to a 3-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final have gone on to win in the series in 27 of 28 such instances.

If you fire up social media, that’s a statistic that many are talking about right now.

But not the Florida Panthers.

With a chance to sweep the Edmonton Oilers and claim their first-ever Cup, the Panthers aren’t putting the cart before the horse heading into Game 4 at Rogers Place on Saturday.

“We don’t look at that stuff,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said on Friday. “You guys do. I’m sure a lot of other people do, but we don’t. Come in today, have a nice recovery day and do what you can to get ready for tomorrow. We’ve done such a good job of having that simple one-game mindset. Win the first period. Win your first few shifts. That’s all you’ve got to do tomorrow. It’s a really calm, chilled and relaxed group today. We’ll use that to our advantage.”

Of the aformentioned 27 teams that took a 3-0 lead and went on to hoist Lord Stanley, twenty of them completed the sweep. After taking their own 3-0 lead with a 4-3 win over the Oilers in Game 3 on Thursday, the Panthers are confident they can be the twenty-first team on that list.

After all, they've certainly looked like champions through three games.

Especially on defense.

continued

If he doesn't sign with Detroit by UFA day.

via the YouTube page of TSN,

If Patrick Kane makes it to July 1st, where's the best fit for the three-time Stanley Cup champion? How much does the 35-year-old have left in the tank? TSN Hockey analyst Cheryl Pounder joins 7-Eleven That's Hockey to give her thoughts.

from Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff,

We’re back with our latest Trade Targets board with 25 names in play, including five new names on the list:

1. Mitch Marner
Right Wing, Toronto Maple Leafs
Age: 27
Stats: 69 GP, 26 G, 59 A, 85 Pts
Contract: 1 year remaining, $10.9 million AAV
Scoop: President Brendan Shanahan said it: “We will consider everything,” and Marner is at the center of it all. He wants to be a Maple Leaf, that much is clear, as his camp has signaled he intends to play out his deal. But it’s way less clear if the Leafs want the one player who seems to crack under the pressure of the playoffs more than others. And it’s decision time. Marner is entering the last year of his deal, so it’s either time to extend him this summer, or move him. Yes, he holds the full ‘no-move’ clause, but if Toronto signals that no extension is coming, wouldn’t it be in Marner’s best interest facilitate a move to a preferred destination to play out a contract year?

2. Martin Necas
Right Wing, Carolina Hurricanes
Age: 25
Stats: 77 GP, 24 G, 29 A, 53 Pts
Contract: Pending RFA, due $3.5 million qualifying offer
Scoop: Necas has apparently made it clear to the Canes that he’s looking for more opportunity, which is difficult to find with Seth Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov ahead of you on the depth chart. More than half the league has made a serious inquiry to Carolina demonstrating that they really want to get their hands on Necas. Necas is due a sizable raise and that will need to be baked into the equation of a deal. Don’t sleep on the Blue Jackets with Necas’ old GM, Don Waddell, now in Columbus. Calgary, Vancouver, Boston, Chicago, Detroit and Nashville are also believed to be among the teams that have closely followed the action.

read on for 23 more names....

from Mark Spector of Sportsnet,

Newsflash: The Florida Panthers are simply a better team than the Edmonton Oilers. Or at least, they play a better game of Stanley Cup playoff hockey.

Why are the Oilers coughing up pucks every night that end up in their goal, while Florida is not? Because Florida is cleaner in their own zone, and smarter.

Why is Florida scoring three or four goals a night while Edmonton is chasing every game? Because when the Panthers get a chance they get it to the net, while Edmonton button-hooks, passes off and works the perimeter, always searching for the tic-tac-toe goal, and not grinding out the greasy one until far too late in this fatal third game.

The Oilers have solved three teams on the road to this Final. But the Panthers, they’re a puzzle that Edmonton does not seem able to solve.

“We're trying to figure them out,” said Connor McDavid. “We haven't beat them in three games, we've had stretches of good and stretches of bad… We're trying to figure them out.”

He and Leon Draisaitl are both without a goal in this series. Draisaitl doesn’t even have a point.

“It’s very frustrating,” Draisaitl said. “I pride myself on being good in the playoffs and playing well, and I just can't seem to get anything going. Obviously, I have to look in the mirror and try to be better.”

continued

from Michael Russo of The Athletic,

* Captain Aleksander Barkov propelled the Panthers to a commanding 3-0 series lead via his fourth game winner of the postseason and moved his club within one win of the Stanley Cup, ensuring the trophy will be in the building for Game 4 on Saturday (8 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC & TVAS).

* Sergei Bobrovsky made a highlight-reel save with less than five minutes left in Game 3, after the Oilers rallied from a three-goal deficit to pull within one in front of a Rogers Place crowd that chanted “Let’s Go Oilers” from the time the doors opened through the final buzzer.

* The Panthers skated to a 3-0 series lead for the fourth time in two years – the first team to do so in over a decade. It is just the second time in 10 postseasons that a team has pulled ahead 3-0 in the Final.