A quick mix of the things we gleaned from the week of hockey, serious and less so, and rolling four lines deep.
1. To retool or to rebuild, that is the question.
And while we have our own opinion on how the Toronto Maple Leafs’ roster should be reconstructed if the goal is to hoist a Stanley Cup and not just hoist back up into playoff contention, MLSE chief Keith Pelley made it clear the short-term path the organization will likely take.
“We have the foundational pieces in place, which gives you the confidence that we can contend very quickly. And if we put the right person in place with the right structure and hockey ops, then I’m convinced … we can do it,” Pelley said Tuesday.
While the boss left the door open for his next and most important hire to change his mind, we can already see candidates entering their job interview with a plan to get the Leafs back to relevance as quickly as 2026-27, the penultimate season on Auston Matthews’ contract.
According to our highly unscientific poll, the public is torn nearly right down the gut. A thin majority believes a retool is the best option, which would mean running back the core stars and, presumably, intriguing young forwards Matthew Knies and Easton Cowan:
And the Leafs themselves, including coach Craig Berube, are on that same page.
Run it back! Mostly!
“Of course, I believe that, because I’ve seen it. Now, it’s been a down year, and we all know that. We had to be better, and we weren’t,” Berube says. “But these foundational players have done it for a while here, so there’s no reason they can’t keep doing it. They need support.
“Everybody needs to be part of it and help bring it along. You know, it’s not just on three or four guys or whatever you’re talking about. It’s on everybody; it’s a team. That’s how you have success in this league.”
All the veteran Leafs with long contracts and fresh memories of their seven playoff wins in 2025 are adamant they can rebound back to form by spring 2027. Even if they’ll be a couple of years older. Even if Buffalo and Montreal are gaining steam.
William Nylander is all aboard for some tweaks. Matthews hasn’t spoken since his injury but, in March, cited the Bruins and Lightning as good teams that rebounded quickly from non-playoff years and suggested Toronto could do the same.
Morgan Rielly: “As a player, you always want to agree with that. I think there’s been examples of teams that have kinda been able to do that.”
John Tavares: “You never stop fighting. You never quit. And you try to build, regardless of where you’re at, and obviously wanting to move things in the right direction.”
Max Domi: “Got all the confidence in the world, man … You can sit here and make every excuse in the book, or you could just look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, it’s done with now. Let’s learn from it, finish off these last (six) games strong and have a great summer.’ Come back, everyone healthy and ready to go, champing at the bit.
“We believe in ourselves, we believe in each other, and we got a strong group in there, so we’ll focus on that.”
Anthony Stolarz: “You just look at the pieces we have. We have a lot of guys on the team from last year, and we made a run there as well. So, having that experience from last year and getting humbled a little bit this year, I think everyone’s gonna go into the summer hungry. And I think we got the pieces here that, moving forward, we can get back to where we want to be.”
They believe.
Is that enough for you to?
2. Pelley rhymed off the sweater numbers of the “foundational pieces” he believes can still be the core of contender in Toronto: 34, 88, 23, and 91.
Not mentioned? No. 44.
The 32-year-old Rielly, the longest-serving Leaf, is younger than Tavares. Like Nylander and Matthew Knies, Rielly is signed for four more seasons beyond this one. The defenceman’s full no-movement protection doesn’t downgrade to a 10-team no-trade list until 2028-29.
Rielly interprets GM Brad Treliving’s firing as a failure of the players. The news, he says, is “fresh.” He’s processing his thoughts on missing the playoffs and the future of the organization.
“It’s been a challenge. And when you’re in it, you never allow yourself to kind of give up or lose hope and lose motivation that you know you’re gonna try to make a push and make the playoffs,” Rielly says. “That’s not the case this year, so it’s challenging.”
Rielly didn’t watch all of Pelley’s presser. He did speak to people who did to learn the message.
“It’s always a little bit uneasy when you’ve worked with people for a certain amount of time,” he says. “You get to know them, and they get to know you. And when that changes, there’s a little bit of uncertainty. And I think it just creates a little bit of an uneasy feeling, just not knowing.”
Berube says Rielly has been handling the turmoil and disappointment well.
“I talked to him quite a bit about it throughout the season,” Berube says. “I mean, there’s a lot of noise. But he never once (said), ‘Well, it’s too much,’ or this or that. He was good: ‘I just want to play, care about the team, do my best.’ That’s it. So, that’s all I can go off of.”
If we’re interviewing the next head of hockey ops, we’re asking for his thoughts on Rielly’s place on this roster.
3. Stolarz (six foot six, 248 pounds) twice skated to centre ice during Toronto’s penalty-filled affair in Anaheim, but it was clear that Ducks counterpart Ville Husso (six foot three, 205 pounds) did not want the smoke.
Stolarz even brushed Husso as they crossed paths during a stoppage and had a few words.
“I saw he slashed Willy (Nylander) earlier in the game,” Stolarz says. “I just told him, ‘Don’t touch anyone else again, or I’m going to come down there.’
“We’re sticking up for each other.”
With the sudden spike in goalie fights this season, Stolarz would welcome some action.
“I think I’d be fine,” the New Jersey native grinned, devilishly. “I’m a bigger guy, so that’s going to help with the reach. It’s not something you go into every game looking for, but if the opportunity does come, you know, I wouldn’t say no.”
Would he rather score a goal or have a fight?
“That’s a tough one. Probably a goal. I’d say a goal, for sure.”
4. Quote of the Week.
“I’m all pro keeping (the) coach as long as possible.” —Kris Knoblauch, Edmonton Oilers coach on Bruce Cassidy’s firing.
5. Cassidy has a .631 career points percentage, a winning playoff record (62-57), and a Stanley Cup ring.
Peter DeBoer has a .585 career points percentage, a winning playoff record (97-82), a perfect record in Game 7s (9-0), and two Cup Final appearances.
Do they have short shelf lives and rub some players the wrong way? Sure.
But if you want to upgrade your bench, you better pounce quickly.
Cassidy and DeBoer will improve your sagging team for 2026-27. Bank on it.
6. Ottawa Senators coach Travis Green dismissed the latest Wingmen podcast as “white noise,” which is a broad term that usually refers to social-media opinion or sports-talk radio.
But when the captain’s father makes mocking reference to not being able to play due to a bad night’s sleep after your team’s No. 1 goalie begs out of an important start in the name rest, and he also wonders if the captain is getting enough ice time, and then that conversation gets uploaded on the captain’s podcast … well, it’s a tough look and a PR headache at best.
At worst, if Keith was talking about Ottawa, it’s a glimpse into some team dysfunction and a harbinger that Brady Tkachuk and/or Linus Ullmark may not be long for the Sens.
Winning, they say, cures all.
So, Ullmark backstopping Ottawa to a big 4-1 win over the Sabres on Thursday, and Tkachuk’s fiery performance that night, served critical for both keeping the playoff dream alive and mitigating some of the drama.
Turns out, Keith Tkachuk was only talking about the Panthers anyway. Huh.
7. As the unseen steam engine that is the Sabres officially end their 14-year playoff drought, the Detroit Red Wings (nine years and counting without a post-season gate) are in grave danger of taking that dreaded baton.
The Wings occupied the Atlantic Division penthouse on Jan. 25. As recently as Feb. 26, they were in second. On March 21, they were still clinging to a wild-card spot.
Stretch runs have been a killer.
The winged wheels fall off every March, a month in which Detroit has gone 17-35-5 over the past four seasons.
The Wings enter the weekend deadlocked with the Senators.
There’s an undeniable romance to hiring franchise playing greats as executives, but things get sticky when results don’t follow.
Steve Yzerman is the sixth-longest-tenured NHL GM. The five execs with more seniority have all led their team to at least one Stanley Cup, conference championship, or Presidents’ Trophy since Yzerman’s hiring.
Yzerman, who was hired in April 2019, is still trying to host his first playoff game at Little Caesars Arena.
8. One man eager to prolong Yzerman’s drought is Marco Sturm.
Boston’s rookie head coach credits the Bruins’ off-season depth additions — Viktor Arvidsson, Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly, et al. — and a new-look bench for meshing well with the existing core and pushing for consistent effort.
But Sturm is realistic about where his scrappy bunch is at. He knows why they didn’t make a deadline splash and sees multiple areas in need of improvement, despite a plus-22 goal differential.
“We are not an elite team in this league, right? So that means we’re still finding our ways. But I like how we find ways to win hockey games,” Sturm says. “The guys are very structured. The guys are working really hard to give me everything they can, but you got to stick with it. For this year, we’ll see what happens. And the following year, who knows?”
In the present, Sturm is treating every night as a must-win. This experience of pushing for a playoff spot will serve young players — and young head coaches — in the future.
He doesn’t sound bogged down by the pressure. The B’s have gathered at least a point in nine of their past 11 games.
“For me, it’s exciting. I’m lucky enough, maybe it’s in me. Because when I even played, I took it as a motivation, right? And that’s how I am right now. Yes, I feel the pressure, but it’s also motivating for me coming to the rink. You want to beat these guys, you know?” Sturm says.
“I want to be the best every night. And that’s why my guys will get the message — because that’s just how I feel, and I don’t want them to slip. That’s something I always had and hopefully will never change. Because if you look at some of the young kids now, it’s not the same anymore. So, you got to help those kids out too, the new generation.”
What’s different about this generation?
“If you look at my kids, they’re the same way. They just ask a lot more questions now. They want to know why. You’ve got to explain. You’ve got to spend way more time these days as a coach. It’s not just going on the ice and doing practice and changing lines; there’s more to it. That’s the biggest change.”
9. The timing of Jim Nill’s two-year extension in Dallas was certainly interesting, as the announcement arrived less than 24 hours after the Leafs fired their general manager.
If the money is decent, we can’t see a reason for Nill, 67, to leave a tax-free state and a Stanley Cup contender.
The Toronto gig is complex and burdensome. Plenty of issues, roster and otherwise, to address.
In Dallas, Nill has already locked up his 2026-27 goaltending and defence corps. He’s got a newish coach doing a fine job.
A couple small decisions need to be made on pending UFAs, like captain Jamie Benn (one-year deals until he retires, like Joe Pavelski?) and rental Michael Bunting.
The only major bit of business on Nill’s desk is the Jason Robertson file, a restricted free agent and leading scorer due a big contract.
But that’s a good problem to have.
Robertson lacks trade protection in a summer razor-thin on UFA scoring wingers.
Nill can either commit to a productive scoring threat in his prime or shop a dynamic asset to 31 competitors.
Nill has set himself and the organization up well.
10. The laser disguised as 22-year-old Cutter Gauthier’s shot is in the 99th percentile for both the NHL’s hardest (99.9 m.p.h.) and most frequent (271) this season.
Last year, as a rookie, the Ducks sniper got it off 190 times and converted on 10.5 per cent of his attempts over 82 games. As a sophomore, Gauthier believes his confidence in growing in concert with his accuracy (14 per cent) and willingness to let ’er rip.
“I think I had that confidence last year, and I shot a lot of pucks, but they didn’t really go in as much. I’m just ramping up the shooting this year and getting more comfortable with the team, the guys. Just being able to get on the ice and not think and just play confidently,” Gauthier tells me. “That’s probably it.”
What’s remarkable is the left wing’s knack and willingness to fire from distance or in tight, and from either side of the sheet. A peek at his shot chart shows no specific “office.”
“Well, I thought he could score. I didn’t know he could score at the rate he’s scored at,” says coach Joel Quenneville, a first-timer in Anaheim. “He’s got great release. He’s got some quickness. He’s got the ability to find the open ice. And he gets his shot away before (goalies) are set or through a defenceman as well, which is dangerous.
“The thing that sticks out is, he’s got the quickest release you could have. It’s loaded and he’s accurate, and it’s got some pace to it that you usually don’t see. One of those shots you can do pretty well with it.”
Uh, yeah.
It’s no accident that no one as young as Gauthier has scored as often this season.
“It’s my understanding of goalies,” Gauthier reveals. “I got really close to (Ducks starter Lukas) Dostal last year. Just talking to him on how to beat goalies in certain situations and working on it in practice. I find out what goalies tendencies are and try to pick on those deficiencies.”
He gets the book right before he hits the ice.
“I’ve played against every goalie in the league almost now. Like, I kind of know what works on some of them, what doesn’t. (Ville) Husso and Dostal will tell me where to shoot right before the game.”
11. An insane individual streak is happening right now. We might put it up there with Glenn Hall’s 502 consecutive games in net as unbreakable.
Anaheim’s Troy Terry has zero hits through 54 games played and 989:31 in total ice time.
To put that in perspective, no skater who has appeared in at least five games this season has gone hitless. The next-busiest skater without a hit is Ottawa defenceman Carter Yakemchuk, still looking to initiate contact at four games and 58:08.
Since time on ice (2000-01) and hits (2005-06) have been tracked, Terry is the first player to reach 310 minutes without a hit. Now he’s closing in on 1,000.
We’re guessing no one is happier to have his record broken than Nick Schmaltz, who didn’t throw a body check through 17 games and 306:22 with the 2018-19 Arizona Coyotes.
12. The Washington Capitals’ final home game takes place April 12, against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
If this is the final time Alex Ovechkin — unsigned and uncommitted for 2026-27 — and Sidney Crosby face off, hockey’s dueling game-changers are going out with a bang.
Ovechkin, 40, just registered his 20th 30-goal campaign, filling the net at a quicker rate than he did in 2023-24. Every goal the Capitals captain scores is a new record, of course.
Meanwhile, Crosby, 38, needs a measly three points over Pittsburgh’s final six games to beat his own record and complete his 21st point-per-game season.
Greatness is one thing. Sustained greatness is something else.
