As it's my first Ramblings since the Cup was awarded, I'll say a quick congrats to Carolina and the many wonderful stories that team has as winners of the Stanley Cup this year. Also, congrats to any of you who rode the Carolina wave to a playoff pool win this year too!

Along with many of the other DobberHockey writers, I managed to pick the Canes in six correctly prior to the finals starting. I did only go seven for 15 through the playoffs, mainly because the only picks I made correctly in the Eastern half of the bracket was where I had the Canes winning. Every non-Canes pick of mine in the East was wrong.

The fun note to look back on though was the pre-season expert's predictions, where I had the Canes and Golden Knights in the finals, though in September I had Vegas taking the series. Re-opening the file prior to writing this, I even see that I put a little note to the side that said "Marner Conn Smythe". That story line almost came true, but Mitch Marner wasn't quite up to the task in the Finals and was ultimately outdueled for the Cup and the Conn Smythe by Jordan Staal.

Marner did still lead the playoffs in scoring, which is a feather in his cap, and hopefully quiets the doubters that said he couldn't win in the playoffs. He'll be back deep in the playoffs again soon, no doubt about that.

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As for John Tortorella, this recent run should earn him a long look at some of the current coaching opportunities, but it was confirmed that he won't be back in Vegas next year. The rumor is that the team is looking to promote their AHL head coach. With that roster, Vegas should be back in the hunt next year too, regardless of which coach takes over.

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I thought this week, as there are no games, and I still have my Rambling next week for the pre-draft thoughts, that I would go through each of the other 14 playoff teams that didn't make the post-season for a bit of a post-(season-)mortem.

Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens might have the brightest immediate future of any team in the NHL, and that includes the Avalanche who are coming off of a President's Trophy win with a core in their prime. The Habs have their core pieces locked up, lots of help on the way, and some flexibility this offseason to either stay the course, or go big-game hunting if the price is reasonable. They're going to be a top team in the Eastern Conference, if not the outright favourite to win the division on opening day of the 2026-2027 season (which is tentatively scheduled for Sept 29^th).

Colorado Avalanche

Speaking of the Avs, they are in a great spot overall, but their problem is that they have won their Cup already and are trying to find the best way to extend their compete window. Cale Makar is in need of a monster extension, and most of the value of assets in the franchise is concentrated in the NHL lineup already, meaning that trades for impact players are a lot tougher to come up with at this stage. The Avs should still be in good shape moving forward, but they don't have as much room for error anymore with their attempts to reload.

They began with that yesterday, moving Ross Colton to Nashville for a pair of third round picks. Colton will be missed as someone who could help drive a line in the middle six, though he didn't always put up the points to get the public recognition for it.

Colton should be able to get back up to the 14-minute mark with the Preds, which would give him the ice time he had back when he was putting up his best production years with the Avs, around 40-points in an 82-game season. If his ice time goes even higher than that, the points may follow.

Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo is in a similar state to the Canadiens, however there are a few more questions in goal than Montreal has. The starter with money and term on his contract would be more difficult to move or bury, while the surprise leader in the playoffs only has a year left and has been a journeyman up to this point. The future in Colten Ellis and Devon Levi isn't on as straight a path as Jacob Fowler for Montreal, which muddies the water as well.

I do wonder whether Connor Hellebuyck would accept a trade to Buffalo, because with the core or Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin in their prime, the time is now for the Sabres to make a big push towards a Cup in the near future. The Sabres are likely now in the best spot to land Hellebuyck if the Jets move in that direction, as the Canes winning the Cup likely takes the edge off their need for a big splash this offseason.

Minnesota Wild

Despite the Wild only playing two rounds, they had two players tied for 12^th in playoff scoring, with a third in the top 20. This team is top-heavy with star power, but it will be the depth management that defines the offence (even if Dylan Larkin is brought in, filling in the bottom-six forwards will be key). This team can hang with top teams in the league all season and could have conceivably come out of the West this year if they were healthy. Expect another long run next year, but with Quinn Hughes' UFA status looming large.

Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks showed that they are building a core that is going to be a playoff powerhouse for years to come. They were undone this year by poor goaltending and a need for more depth. Those will both come with time, as Lukas Dostal can be the leader in net, but he only turns 26 next week. As for the rest of the roster, the top-end pieces are mostly already in place, with the need just for them to grow into their prime years with the depth growing in around them. The second round was a good step but may still be their ceiling for the next couple seasons, especially with how heavy the West is.  

The Ducks will be moving forward without John Carlson, who has noted his preference to play in the Eastern Conference, and he will be testing free agency in two weeks.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers were a surprise playoff team that has a young core and still a lot of roster construction questions. Dan Vladar showed well in his first season as a starter, but the added wear and tear of the extra games did seem to affect him. The Flyers are rumoured to be looking at a five-year extension for him, which could pay off, or as many goalie contracts do, it could massively backfire. It seems the Flyers could take any direction from here with the roster, which often means the team is about to get stuck in the mushy middle of the standings again.

The first hint though was yesterday's trade with the Leafs, spending a 3^rd round pick to add what in theory is more proven talent (and cap) to the roster. Joseph Woll should slot in nicely behind Vladar, while Simon Benoit ideally fills in as a 7^th defenseman.

You can read Cliffy's fantasy take on the trade here.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning have most of their core locked up on long-term deals, but Nikita Kucherov is only one year away from free agency now, which I would expect to be addressed in July as other than with Steven Stamkos, the Bolts have generally gotten to these things done early. They should be a lock for the playoffs again, and a common selection to come out of the East again next year.

Dallas Stars

As one of the most cap-strapped teams coming into the offseason, there will need to be at least one big move from the Stars, shipping out a large amount of cap dollars elsewhere. Many believe that will be Roope Hintz, but moving out the team's top center is not often a road to better playoff performances, which is why it wouldn't surprise me to hear discussions between the Stars and Tyler Seguin about whether he would waive his no-trade clause or not. If not, it might have to be Jason Robertson who gets shopped, as it is his new contract (along with Mavrik Bourque's) causing the cap crunch. Dallas will still be a top team next year, but their makeup could be different.

Edmonton Oilers

Can Tristan Jarry regain some form for the Oilers next year? Will Connor McDavid start to open the front door and look around for greener pastures? Will a Darnell Nurse trade actually make the team better (addition by subtraction)? These and plenty of other questions will dog the Edmonton offseason, and there won't be answers until the season starts. We know that with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl around the team is going to make the playoffs, it's again just whether they can win four rounds in the spring that really matters.

Pittsburgh Penguins

At least one more year of Evgeni Malkin means that the trio of Malkin, Kris Letang, and Sidney Crosby plays together for the 21^st season, with the contracts of both Crosby and Malkin expiring in 2027, while Letang is signed until 2028. The Penguins have some work to do if they want to be considered realistic contenders, but they should be on the playoff bubble until Crosby retires.

The Penguins also made a minor trade over the weekend, shipping out prospect Emil Pieniniemi for winger Oliver Okuliar, who until this point was best known for calling the Tkachuk brothers "scumbags". Not really a surprise Florida traded his rights after that, and then just days later the Penguins signed Okuliar to a one-year two-way deal. Odds are he doesn't make the Penguins out of camp next year, but he's another possibility for the Penguins as they look to reload once again. If he gets a game against Ottawa or Florida, then expect some PIMs too.

Boston Bruins

I don't really have much to say about the Bruins here. They should be much of the same next year as we saw this year. They have $15 million in cap space though, which they could weaponize to make some additions, as only Viktor Arvidsson is a notable UFA. Massachusetts native John Carlson could be a big addition that puts the Bruins back into real playoff contender territory…

Utah Mammoth

Utah's roster is young but fairly well constructed right now, and they're in a similar spot to Anaheim, except they only made it to the first round of the playoffs this year. Like Anaheim, they need the forward depth to fill in, and some more consistency from their young core. They will also be a force in a few years, but they aren't there yet, and they're maybe a step behind the Ducks at the moment.

LA Kings

The Kings' season is really going to hinge on Quinton Byfield taking a big step forward to be a top-line center on a playoff contender. If he doesn't – and it's very possible that big jump doesn't come until the fall of 2027 when he hits his 400-game breakout threshold – it might be a long season.

Ottawa Senators

The Sens are at a bit of a crossroads, having a young core that looks like it's growing towards being a Cup contender, however they also have one of the worst prospect pools in the NHL, and Brady Tkachuk is a flight risk to leave for an American-based team as soon as his current contract expires in 2028. Quinn Hughes was dealt with 1.5 years left on his deal for much the same reason, and if the Senators get off to a slow start this year, the chatter surrounding Tkachuk is really going to explode.

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See you next Wednesday, and if you have any fantasy hockey questions or comments you can find me on BlueSky @alexdmaclean.