The NHL's free-agent market opened July 1. Below, theScore's lead hockey writer John Matisz breaks down all the day's biggest moves that dropped before 5 p.m. ET.

Signings: Islanders re-sign G Ilya Sorokin (8 years), D Scott Mayfield (7 years), F Pierre Engvall (7 years)
Analysis: Mega extensions have become the norm on Long Island during Lou Lamoriello's tenure as GM. If you're part of the core, you're sticking around through your mid-30s. In the case of Sorokin, that's fantastic news for Isles fans. Most goalies in the modern NHL aren't worth $8.25 million annually, but Sorokin is an exception to the rule (note: his extension starts in 2024-25). In the case of Mayfield, 30, and Engvall, 27, the mega-extension trend is ... the opposite of fantastic. Mayfield at $2M over seven years, sure. Engvall at $1M over seven, OK, sure, whatever. But both of them earning significant more per year, with Mayfield at $3.5M and Envgall at $3M? No thanks. Yep, Lamoriello just created a future cap crunch.

Signing: Avalanche sign F Miles Wood to 6-year deal
Analysis: In isolation, six years for Wood is fine. In isolation, $2.5 million a year for Wood is fine. Put the term and AAV together, though, and it's a puzzling contract. There's a fit between the fourth-line winger and Colorado as far as pace and forechecking. For a depth player, Wood's reliable. But I don't quite get it. Perhaps the analytically driven Avs see untapped potential and want to get ahead of Wood's big breakout in coach Jared Bednar's system. Seems unlikely. But we'll see, I suppose.

Signings: Penguins re-sign G Tristan Jarry to 5-year extension, add D Ryan Graves (6 years), F Noel Acciari (3 years)
Analysis: Kyle Dubas wasn't interested in wading into free agency with short-term, low-AAV deals. No, the Penguins' new president of hockey operations went all-out with starting goalie Jarry ($5.375 million AAV), top-four blue-liner Graves ($4.5M), and depth winger Acciari ($2M). I'm fine with the Graves and Acciari contracts. They're fair. But the Jarry extension feels risky. It's not like the 28-year-old can't be an average NHL starter. He can be. The issue is the commitment, both in dollars and years, for, well, an average NHL starter. If things go south with Jarry, this deal will be difficult to offload. Making matters worse, Pittsburgh's No. 2 and 3 goalies - Casey DeSmith and Alex Nedeljkovic (the latter signed a one-year, $1.5-million deal Saturday) - don't represent the greatest Plan B for 2023-24, one of the final years of the Crosby-Malkin-Letang era.

Signing: Ducks sign F Alex Killorn to 4-year deal
Analysis: Another piece of the Lightning dynasty leaves, and boy did Killorn make the most of his exit, getting $6.25 million annually and plenty of term - another win for the two-time Cup champion. Meanwhile, Ducks GM Pat Verbeek seems to be taking a page from his old boss Steve Yzerman's playbook by handing out big dough to veterans (Killorn, Gudas) before his rebuilding team is ready to make the playoffs (Yzerman's Wings did something similar last offseason). Make no mistake, Anaheim's on the rise, but I wonder about the timeline here. This contract covers Killorn's 34-to-37-year-old seasons. Yes, he's coming off career highs in goals (27) and points (64), but he was playing with Steven Stamkos and Anthony Cirelli. Will this contract age poorly and end up jamming the Ducks' cap sheet?

Signing: Capitals sign F Max Pacioretty to 1-year deal
Analysis: Washington is substituting one winger coming off an injury-riddled season (Connor Brown) with another here. Pacioretty dressed in only five games last season due to multiple Achilles tears, so, like Brown, his stock was relatively low heading into Saturday. The reloading Capitals are a soft landing spot, though, and his $2-million AAV is accompanied by $2 million in potential bonuses. Translation: Patches will get paid, if he stays healthy. He'll be 35 in November but has been a virtual lock for 30 goals throughout his winding career, only missing the mark in seasons in which he plays fewer than 70 games.

Signing: Hurricanes sign F Michael Bunting to 3-year deal
Analysis: Carolina adores a certain player type, and that player type closely resembles Bunting, who'll have no trouble fitting into Rod Brind'Amour's north-south style. The Hurricanes have been busy on Day 1 of free agency, raising their ceiling a fair amount with the additions of a top-four defenseman (Orlov) and top-six winger (Bunting). Bunting, 28 in September, recorded 23 goals in back-to-back seasons to set himself up for his payday. This deal isn't a ripoff at $4.5M annually, but his playoff suspension for a headshot may have lost him a year or two of term and $1-$2 million annually.

Signings: Sabres add D Connor Clifton (3 years), D Erik Johnson (1 year)
Analysis: Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams supplemented his defense corps with a pair of veterans on July 1. The hit-happy Clifton, whose contract carries a $3.3 million AAV, should find a spot alongside Owen Power in the top four, which also features Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson. Johnson makes sense as a bottom-pair guy, though his cap hit ($3.25M) is an overpay even after accounting for the 35-year-old's dressing-room presence. Both newcomers are righties. The question moving forward: What happens to the other defensemen who are under contract or team control? That list includes Henri Jokiharju, Ilya Lyubushkin, Jacob Bryson, and Riley Stillman.

Signing: Stars sign F Matt Duchene to 1-year deal
Analysis: Dallas needed to add a finisher or two to its forward group and the speedy Duchene, who bagged 43 goals two years ago, satisfies that need. Assuming he slots in at his natural position, Duchene joins Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston, and Radek Faksa on the club's center depth chart - not too shabby. And coming off a buyout with surely some extra motivation, there should be no complaints about Duchene's $3 million AAV. Also of note: The single-year term gives both parties an out if things go sideways. Overall, an A+ signing by the Stars.

Signing: Senators sign G Joonas Korpisalo to 5-year deal
Analysis: Look, the term isn't pretty. Anything beyond three years for a non-star goalie is sketchy. But Ottawa sorely needed help between the pipes and given the weak class of UFA goalies, the club was bound to either overpay in AAV or overcommit with term. The positives: One, the $4 million AAV is fine. And two, last year Korpisalo outplayed his environment in both Columbus and Los Angeles, finishing with a total of 16 goals saved above expected over 39 games. The 29-year-old Finn and incumbent Anton Forsberg should form a decent tandem. Generally speaking, the Sens can't keep spinning their wheels in the Atlantic. They must push forward and be more aggressive in the pursuit of a playoff spot, and this move is a prime example of that line of thinking.

Signing: Hurricanes sign D Dmitry Orlov to 2-year deal
Analysis: Carolina lands the top blue-liner available on a contract that works well for both sides. The Hurricanes, who loathe long-term commitments, dip into their oodles of cap space to add an all-situations defenseman at a cap hit of $7.75 million. Orlov, who had all the leverage in the world coming into Saturday, joins a Cup-contending squad, and he'll be walking into free agency again in 2025, when there's more money in the system thanks to a rising cap. Orlov possesses a terrific skill set: excellent skating, very good puck skills, functional physicality. Early on Saturday, this is the biggest win-win of the day.

Signing: Ducks sign D Radko Gudas to 3-year deal
Analysis: On one hand, it's hard to argue with the rationale: Anaheim's blue line lacks a bruising type like Gudas. On the other hand, $4 million a season is a lot of money for a 33-year-old who should be playing bottom-pair minutes. The Ducks have plenty of cap space, so it's not the end of the world. But it's obvious they loved Gudas' postseason of open-ice hitting and net-front clearing and convinced themselves they wouldn't be outbid for his services. Gudas, who previously made $2.5 million annually, receives a sizeable raise.

Signing: Oilers sign F Connor Brown to 1-year deal
Analysis: Brown's cap hit will be only $775,000, but he can earn upwards of $3.225 million in potential bonuses. The 29-year-old found himself in a weird spot after an ACL injury limited him to only four games last season. This is fantastic value for Edmonton, whose roster was largely set coming into Saturday. Brown has an excellent reputation: he's a hard-working, responsible, middle-six winger loved by teammates. The Oilers are his fourth NHL team. A key factor: Brown and Connor McDavid played junior together.

Signings: Hurricanes re-sign G Frederik Andersen (2 years) and G Antti Raanta (1 year)
Analysis: By bringing back Andersen ($3.4 million annually) and Raanta ($1.5 million), the Hurricanes are once again rolling the dice in net. Sure, the three-goalie system - youngster Pyotr Kochetkov is under contract for four more years - worked last season, to some extent, but there's no way Carolina brass is feeling super comfortable right now. Andersen and Raanta both have long injury histories, which essentially leaves the fate of a Cup-contending team in Kochetkov's hands. In 2022-23, Andersen started 33 games, Raanta 26, and Kochetkov 23. Will we see a similar split next year? Not ideal.

Signings: Rangers add F Blake Wheeler, G Jonathan Quick on 1-year deals
Analysis: Wheeler and Quick are both past their primes - you know that, I know that, and the Rangers know that. However, there's very little downside to either deal. In Wheeler, New York is getting a high-end passer who can help its power play for only $800,000 (plus bonuses). In Quick, New York is getting a veteran, Cup-winning netminder to back-up superstar Igor Shesterkin for only $825,000 (plus bonuses). Put another way: The Rangers are paying peanuts for secondary scoring and mentorship. Very nice bet.

Signing: Predators sign F Ryan O'Reilly to 4-year contract
Analysis: What's left in O'Reilly's tank? That's what comes to mind as the 2019 Stanley Cup champion inks a deal that'll take him past his 36th birthday. While O'Reilly remains an effective two-way center deserving of his new $4.5 million cap hit, I'm a tad worried about the term here. Mind you, the security is presumably what sealed it for the Preds, with two of O'Reilly's former teams - Toronto and St. Louis - reportedly also interested in signing him. Still, I don't love committing four years to an ex-star who started to show signs of decline at times in 2022-23.

Signing: Predators sign D Luke Schenn to 3-year deal
Analysis: Barry Trotz continues to put his stamp on the Predators in the early days of his tenure as GM. This particular move, which comes on the heels of Trotz trading Ryan Johansen and buying out Matt Duchene, certainly lines up with Nashville's hurried timeline. The club is retooling versus rebuilding, and Schenn, 34 in November, is definitely a "win-now" type of defender. It's also easy to feel good for Schenn, who's getting a hefty payday ($2.75 million annually) following a strong postseason with Toronto. He previously signed four straight cheap short-term contracts.

Signing: Blue Jackets sign F Adam Fantilli to 3-year, entry-level deal
Analysis: Well, that was fast. Three days after Columbus picked Fantilli third overall in the draft, the center is turning pro. Fantilli, the Hobey Baker award winner this past season, had little left to prove at the NCAA level, and was said to be open to leaving the University of Michigan even before he landed in the Blue Jackets' lap Wednesday. The free-agent signing period is barely underway and this is already a huge day for small-market Columbus: Fantilli, the type of star-caliber pivot who's been elusive for the franchise, is officially in the fold, and Mike Babcock, a high-profile coach, is officially taking over behind the bench, having been unveiled to local reporters Saturday morning.

Signing: Sharks sign G Mackenzie Blackwood to 2-year deal
Analysis: Interesting play here from Mike Grier. The Sharks GM acquired Blackwood for a sixth-round pick earlier in the week, then in short order signed the goalie to a multi-year deal carrying a $2.35-million cap hit. Blackwood, 26, needed a change of scenery after going through several hellacious seasons of injury and poor performance in New Jersey; this is the previously highly touted netminder's golden chance at redemption. It's likely Blackwood and Kaapo Kahkonen split the goalie load in 2023-24. The rebuilding Sharks are essentially throwing darts at the board in hopes of finding a reliable goalie.

Signing: Maple Leafs sign F Ryan Reaves to 3-year deal
Analysis: My first thought when seeing this deal: Is this really how Toronto's going to allocate its limited cap space? For a team in desperate need of bottom-six offense, especially come playoff time, the 36-year-old Reaves isn't worth it at $1.35 million annually. I get the attraction, though: he's an energetic, intimidating fourth-liner with a big personality. And he can be an asset to a club like the Leafs, if the stars align. But at this price (league minimum would have been fine), for this term, and in this flat-cap world? Nope, not a fan.

Signing: Panthers sign D Oliver Ekman-Larsson to 1-year deal
Analysis: If Ekman-Larsson is Marc Staal's replacement on Florida's third pair - which appears to be the case - I'm giving Panthers general manager Bill Zito a thumbs-up here. Ekman-Larsson's stock is extremely low after being bought out by the Canucks, and, yes, the Swede has lost a step over the past few years. In a sheltered role on the left side, though, the soon-to-be 32-year-old puck-mover should have no issues living up to the $2.25-million cap hit.

Signing: Red Wings sign F Klim Kostin to 2-year deal
Analysis: Kostin's contract carries an average annual value of $2 million and he brings size and strength to the middle six of a team with aspirations of climbing the Atlantic Division standings next season. The last pick of the first round in 2017, Kostin hasn't popped offensively since breaking into the NHL in 2021-22. However, his 11 goals in 57 games last year shows he's not simply a physical presence. Detroit acquired the rights to Kostin and Kailer Yamamoto from Edmonton on Thursday in a salary dump for the Oilers. I like the deal for the Wings: the term is short and the cap hit's reasonable.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

NASHVILLE - The international man of mystery is a mystery no longer - and if first impressions are to be taken at face value, the Philadelphia Flyers are getting a wholly committed Matvei Michkov.

Following a year of questions about everything from his desire to play in North America to a supposedly hard-to-like personality, Michkov slid to seventh overall and into the Flyers' lap Wednesday during the first round of the NHL draft. It was the first selection by Philadelphia's new president-general manager duo of Keith Jones and Daniel Briere, and it's one that could make the executives who picked in the 2-6 range look awfully foolish in the coming years.

Michkov, who some talent evaluators have labeled a "hockey genius" for his exceptional offensive instincts, thoroughly impressed over a 10-minute session with reporters in the bowels of Bridgestone Arena. Flanked by two interpreters, the largely anonymous Russian said on multiple occasions, and in no uncertain terms, that he's committed to playing for Philly.

The sharp-shooting winger even noted the Flyers were atop his list of preferred destinations.

"My biggest wish and biggest expectation is that I want to come to Philadelphia and I want to help them win a Stanley Cup," Michkov said. "I know they've been waiting a long time for one. That's my goal (too), and that's why I'm coming."

Michkov's KHL contract with SKA St. Petersburg runs through the 2025-26 season. "But," he said, "I am hoping as soon as I can get out, I'm going to be coming."

Michkov, 18, met with Philly brass twice during 2022-23. Both interactions were extremely positive and made the youngster feel very comfortable. The organization, he said, is "smart" and "strong."

Briere, meanwhile, tried to trade into the top six of the draft because he was worried Michkov wouldn't be available at seven. The price was too steep, yet Briere still got his guy. "We don't have anybody like him in our organization," the GM said, spitting truth. Beyond 2022 first-rounder Cutter Gauthier, the Flyers previously lacked high-end talent.

The soft-spoken Michkov praised his entire immediate family for influencing his career up to this point, and he specifically credited his late father Andrei with teaching him how to disguise his shot, which is considered elite.

Adding to the mystique of Michkov in the leadup to the draft was a lack of live viewings. Most NHL scouts and executives were limited to assessing Michkov and his Russian peers exclusively on video due to travel restrictions because of the war in Ukraine. Many teams had yet to meet the kid until earlier this week.

With so many enticing options at the top of the draft, passing on Michkov - the first overall pick in several recent draft classes, based on his current talent level and NHL ceiling - wasn't particularly hard for risk-averse teams. But that doesn't make the Flyers' decision to tap Michkov any less impressive, especially when coupled with a safe but smart pick at 22nd overall (defenseman Oliver Bonk from the OHL's London Knights).

As the questioning slowed and the scrum with reporters dissipated, Michkov uttered his first English words to North American media and, by extension, fans. "Thank you. Thank you very much," he said into the NHL-branded microphone before walking away.

If Michkov actually has no plans on playing in the NHL, he put on one heckuva acting performance in Nashville.

Loud winner: Blue Jackets

While the Flyers left Bridgestone with a potential game-changer, the Columbus Blue Jackets were the true winners Wednesday. That's saying something considering seven teams held more than one first-round pick.

After phenom Connor Bedard went first to Chicago and Anaheim chose Swedish center Leo Carlsson at No. 2, Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen didn't overthink it when picking Adam Fantilli.

Fantilli, a total-package center who was named the top player in college hockey this past season, might step into the Blue Jackets' lineup as early as this fall. There's little else for him to prove in the NCAA following 30 goals and 35 assists in 36 games against players in their early-to-mid 20s.

It's possible Carlsson ends up being the more impactful NHLer, but the smart money's on Fantilli, not Carlsson, reaching superstar status. Scouts rave about Fantilli's skill set - the shooting, the skating, the stickhandling - as well as his physical tools and strong character. In a word: stud.

It's ideal timing for Kekalainen, who acquired defensemen Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson via trade earlier this month and will introduce Mike Babcock as the club's new coach in a few days. Fantilli will face hurdles, as all young players do, but he's a polished prospect.

Kekalainen is 10 years into his tenure. The Blue Jackets have won a grand total of one playoff series over that period. It's clear he's uninterested in being a middling squad moving forward and views last season's woeful record (25-48-8-1) as an aberration. If the Finnish GM's track record tells us anything, he isn't done wheeling or dealing, either.

Translation: Continue to keep an eye on the Blue Jackets as free agency opens Saturday. They should be active, as usual.

Predators nab 'diet Cale Makar'

Pundits tend to traffic in superlatives around the draft. Sometimes, it gets out of hand. In Tanner Moldendyk's case, though, the hype surrounding his skating is legitimate. As FloHockey analyst Chris Peters puts it, he's a "diet Cale Makar."

"He doesn't have Makar's straight-line explosiveness," Peters said of Molendyk, the 24th overall pick to Nashville. "But he's got multiple avenues of mobility. His edge work is outstanding, and if he's on the offensive blue line, he can make some puck plays with his feet after standing still."

Molendyk, a defenseman for the WHL's Saskatoon Blades, studies elite NHL skaters Shea Theodore and Miro Heiskanen. The 5-foot-11, 181-pounder says he honed his stride as a kid by skating twice a day at the arena in tiny McBride, British Columbia. His quick feet allow him to keep a tight gap on attackers. He's also known for having an active stick and an edge to his defensive game.

The next step: Molendyk, who put up 45 points in 85 regular-season and playoff contests this past season, wants to "crack that seal" in his offensive game with an improved shot. He didn't score his first goal until his 21st game of 2022-23 - though his draft stock bounced back after a strong postseason.

While Peters believes Molendyk can blossom into a top-four NHL defenseman, it's no guarantee. "Does he think the game at a high enough level to maximize those athletic tools that he clearly has?" the analyst asked.

I love this pick for new Predators GM Barry Trotz. His pick at 12th overall - forward Matthew Wood - was relatively safe. He's banking on upside with Molendyk.

Player to watch: Dylan MacKinnon

Earlier this month at the scouting combine, MacKinnon grinned widely after being asked about his mullet. Was it new? Nope, he's been rocking it all year.

"I had a mustache earlier this week," MacKinnon said proudly. "But I figured I'd give that a trim before I started talking to NHL teams."

MacKinnon, who could go off the board Thursday as early as the third round, is a throwback defenseman. He works his ass off. He plays a simple, north-south game. He uses every inch and pound of his 6-foot-2, 190-pound frame to deliver thunderous body checks. He kills penalties. He fights if need be.

Unsurprisingly, the Halifax Mooseheads blue-liner models his game after the NHL's premier open-ice hitter, Jacob Trouba. "Very physical guy," MacKinnon said. "He isn't afraid to shed the mitts. I just absolutely love the way he plays."

MacKinnon's NHL ceiling is the bottom pair. But even in a limited role, he'd be a fan favorite. Don't believe me? Here he is on trash-talking in the QMJHL:

"I'm usually the one throwing them around. There were a couple (high-quality chirps) in the last series of the playoffs. They were all asking me what I do for my team. But none of them would fight me," MacKinnon said. "I told them I was a (younger player) and that I'd still fold them like a lawn chair. They got the memo. In that series, I think I was averaging like 10 pretty big hits a game. They all knew they weren't going to do anything about it."

Quiet winner: Devils

The salary cap is rising by only $1 million. The UFA crop is weak. The draft class is strong.

These variables suggested Wednesday would be a busy night of trades. In the end, though, there wasn't a single swap completed on the draft floor. How anticlimactic.

Hey, maybe it all comes down to the fact that New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald ticked off the bulk of his offseason business prior to the opening pick. Even without a first-rounder, the Devils had themselves a draft week to remember by pulling off a pair of trades and re-signing a key free agent.

Coming in through a trade with the Calgary Flames: two-time 30-goal scorer Tyler Toffoli. Sticking around through an eight-year extension: three-time 30-goal scorer Timo Meier. Leaving: underperforming goalie Mackenzie Blackwood and middle-six forward Yegor Sharangovich. (There was a trade involving AHLers, too, as well as late-round picks that went in and out at different points, but you get the point.)

If you loop in Jesper Bratt's extension and Severson getting shipped to Columbus, Fitzgerald's been the league's most productive GM in a generally busy month of movement. Now, after allocating his cap space cleverly over the past three years, New Jersey's front office has locked in an enviable core.

Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Ondrej Palat, Bratt, Toffoli, and Meier - a dynamite top-six forward group - will combine to make $42.2 million in 2023-24, and all but Toffoli are signed through 2026-27. It's too early to pick Stanley Cup contenders for next season. But New Jersey, who lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round in May, has certainly commanded my attention.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It was Nov. 3, 2004, about two months into the NHL lockout, and forward Darby Hendrickson was taping his hockey stick before a game in Minsk, Belarus, almost 5,000 miles from home.

Hendrickson, a Minnesota native and veteran of nine NHL seasons, had been recruited by an old Minnesota Wild teammate to suit up for a Latvian side called Riga 2000. That teammate, local icon Sergei Zholtok, was now urging him to pay attention to how a local team was practicing.

At the glass, Zholtok gushed over how clubs from that region of the world ran practices. He and Hendrickson chatted for a while about the finer details of the sport they loved - as they often did. At one point, Zholtok turned to Hendrickson and said, "You're going to be a coach one day."

"We'll see," Hendrickson replied.

A few hours later, Zholtok was fighting for his life. The 31-year-old collapsed outside the Riga 2000 dressing room after pulling himself from the game during the third period. While players and coaches filed into the room, Hendrickson stayed by Zholtok's side in the hallway.

Zholtok had missed seven Wild games the year prior due to an irregular heartbeat diagnosis, but he'd been cleared to return to action. Hendrickson accompanied his teammate to the hospital during that first health scare.

Now, as someone retrieved Hendrickson's cell phone from the team bus so he could relay information from the Wild's team doctor, paramedics were trying to revive Zholtok with chest compressions.

Zholtok soon took his last breath. An autopsy revealed the father of two died of heart failure.

"You walk into the arena with your friend, but you don't walk out without him," Hendrickson recalled in a recent interview.

"It was devastating to lose him. It was really, really hard."

It turns out Zholtok was right about Hendrickson being coach material; he's been an assistant with the Wild since 2010. Nearly 19 years later, Hendrickson says he still thinks about his friend every day. Thursday will be an especially reflective moment: Hendrickson and his wife Dana's third of four kids, Beckett, is set to be picked by an NHL team sometime on Day 2 of the draft, which is being held in Nashville, the last NHL city Zholtok called home.

Beckett Hendrickson, born seven months and 21 days after Zholtok's death, has two middle names. One is George - a popular first name on Dana's side of the family. The other is Sergei - after his dad's late friend.

"You lose someone special to you, then you gain your son," Darby said. "There's definitely a connection between the two, with what happened over such a short period."

"It's an honor," Beckett said of the name, before adding: "You try to carry on the legacy."

Beckett's middle name isn't so much a tribute to Zholtok's 258 points in 588 games for the Wild, Predators, Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, and Edmonton Oilers. It honors the person who connected with his dad on a deep, personal level; somebody who truly loved his family, his friends, his country, and his sport; somebody who was seemingly always optimistic.

"Sergei was awesome," Darby said of the man teammates jokingly nicknamed the "Latvian Lover." "You talk to anyone who played with him and you'll find out quickly that everyone loved him. He had contagious energy. He wasn't selfish. He was a good teammate. So passionate."

Darby and Zholtok carpooled to and from the rink and gym during their three years together on the Wild. The stint overseas solidified rumors: Zholtok was a soccer-level celebrity in Latvia.

"My dad tells me about how much people looked up to Sergei in Latvia," Beckett said. "They'd be walking through the streets together and it was like he was the mayor. People are yelling, 'Sergei!' 'Sergei!'"

Beckett's middle name might come up in conversation if he's flashing a piece of ID at the doctor's office or airport. But that's about it. Over the years, though, he's heard stories about Zholtok. He walks past a framed white "Zholtok 33" Wild jersey in the basement of the family's home in Minnetonka, Minnesota. There was once a tribute at the family's property a few hours north, too.

The last time Zholtok visited the Hendrickson cabin, he forgot his wet underwear in the sauna - and they weren't moved for a decade. "'Why would you have a pair of Calvin Klein boxers right there?'" Darby said, imitating guests. "We'd say, 'Well, they're Sergei's.' We had fun with that."

Darby was a pallbearer at the funeral. He grieved alongside Zholtok's loved ones, including his wife, Anna, and the couple's boys, Edgar and Nikita, who were 14 and 4. The Hendricksons also helped the other family organize its finances. During those last days abroad in 2004, Darby felt a "great peace," and upon returning home, he kept leaning on his Christian faith and support from his own family.

"Maybe it's Sergei who tapped me on the shoulder and said, 'I'm glad you're here.' I really don't know," he said. "But there was just this weird, strange peace at the end of my time there."

Zholtok, a right-handed center with a bullet of a shot, remains a legend in the small but mighty hockey nation of Latvia. He's second all time in points and fourth in games played among the country's NHLers, according to the database Quant Hockey. The now-defunct Riga 2000 franchise, which claimed the Latvian Hockey League title in 2004-05, retired Zholtok's No. 33, while a Riga high school was posthumously named in his honor in 2005.

Both of Zholtok's kids are doing well, Darby says. He's always kept up with the family - "I'd want the same from him, so that's what I've tried to do" - and even attended Nikita's wedding in May. Darby hopes to one day return to Riga to visit Zholtok's gravesite with his wife and kids.

"The everyday love Sergei had for the game, you want Beckett to have part of that. If he does, he's got a chance to be very successful," Darby said of his son, a 6-foot-1 forward for the USHL's Sioux Falls Stampede who's committed to the University of Minnesota for the 2024-25 season.

Losing his friend and teammate was horrible. Seeing Zholtok go the way he did was traumatic. It's something that will stay with Darby - and by association, Beckett - for a very long time.

"Sergei left our world as Beckett was coming in," Darby said. "He will be honored forever."

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

There's an awful lot of uncertainty surrounding the Ottawa Senators.

Questions swirl around the involvement level of new owner Michael Andlauer, the job security for head coach D.J. Smith, the trade market for winger Alex DeBrincat, the options between the pipes - and that's just the high-level stuff.

Something the Senators don't have to worry about? Jake Sanderson's ceiling.

The rookie defenseman wasn't named a finalist for the Calder Trophy, so he won't be at the NHL awards show Monday in Nashville. However, given the state of Sanderson's game - mature and well-rounded - you can bet he'll be invited to future awards gatherings as a contender for the Norris Trophy.

Seriously, don't be shocked if Sanderson's counting stats pop as a sophomore and by his third or fourth year he's being strongly considered for the Norris. The details of his three-zone game are already pretty polished. More NHL experience, a jump in points, and team success should vault him into the elite tier of defensemen who can impact the game in multiple ways.

"A lot of the D-men coming up are more focused on offense than defense. Jake's different," DeBrincat told theScore prior to Ottawa's second-last game of the season, a 4-3 loss to Buffalo on April 13. "He's got that old-school mentality of protecting the front of our net before going on the attack."

The tracking data from Sportlogiq backs up DeBrincat's insight.

A total of 289 NHL defensemen, including 10 on Ottawa, logged 100 minutes in 2022-23. On a per-game basis, Sanderson finished first on the Sens and fifth in the league in blocked passes. He also ranked first on his team in puck-battle wins (21st in NHL) and blocked shots (10th), while ranking second in stick checks and outlet-pass completions, third in zone entries, and fourth in zone exits. Keep in mind the Sens' blue line isn't filled with a bunch of AHLers; Thomas Chabot, Jakob Chychrun, and Artem Zub are on the top two pairings.

So, the eye test and underlying numbers both suggest Sanderson's a high-end defender at 20 years old. Often trusted by Smith to shut down the other team's best line, he skated for 21:55 a night in all situations. Sanderson, an incredible skater and evasive puck mover, pitched in offensively, too, trailing only Owen Power for points by a first-year defenseman with 32 in 77 games.

"He thinks like an offensive guy when he's playing defense, if that makes sense," Sens winger Drake Batherson said. "It's a huge advantage for him and for us that he knows what the attacker will want to do offensively, and then he's one step ahead of them to defend it. Honestly, he's just a treat to watch."

"I can't even imagine what Jake's going to be like when he's 27," he added.

Sanderson recently switched his representation to super agent Pat Brisson of CAA Sports. The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder's entry-level contract expires after next season, which means he's eligible to sign an extension on July 1.

Now, that extension shouldn't be atop the to-do list for Sens general manager Pierre Dorion. There's too much uncertainty elsewhere. But the new deal shouldn't be far down the list, either. Assuming he avoids injury in Year 2, Sanderson's stock will only rise - and rise exponentially - moving forward.

One word to describe Bedard

Connor Bedard, the most hyped hockey prospect since Connor McDavid, will officially become a member of the Chicago Blackhawks next Wednesday. Bedard roasted the WHL for 71 goals and 72 assists in 57 regular season games in 2022-23, somehow exceeding the sky-high expectations for his draft year.

If I could use one word to describe Bedard at this moment between junior and pro, it'd be "alien." Both his shot and hockey sense are otherworldly.

At the scouting combine in early June, I asked 13 of Bedard's draft class peers to pick just one word to describe the next great Connor.

Leo Carlsson, forward: "Incredible."

Brayden Yager, forward: "Generational."

Jakub Dvorak, defenseman: "Unpredictable."

Tanner Molendyk, defenseman: "Special."

Andrew Cristall, forward: "Greatness."

Carson Bjarnason, goalie: "Humble."

Nate Danielson, forward: "Exceptional."

Gracyn Sawchyn, forward: "Dynamic."

Matteo Mann, defenseman: "Complete."

Zach Benson, forward: "Exceptional."

Larry Keenan, defenseman: "Impressive."

Caden Price, defenseman: "Exceptional. Elite. One of those, probably."

Jakub Stancl, forward: "Not human. Yeah, that's two words …" (Laughs)

Sizing up the 2023 goalie crop

Four goalies have been selected in the first round over the past four drafts.

Florida picked Spencer Knight at 13th overall in 2019, Nashville tapped Yaroslav Askarov at 11th in 2020, and Detroit and Minnesota picked up Sebastian Cossa and Jesper Wallstedt at 15th and 20th, respectively, in 2021.

There's a decent chance a goalie goes off the board in the first round this time around. Overall, though, 2023 lacks a true stud like the highly touted Askarov.

"It's a pretty average crop. It's not outstanding, and it's not poor," Washington Capitals assistant GM Ross Mahoney said Thursday on a conference call. (The longtime scout sprinkled in a bit of humor: "I'm sure some of them will prove me wrong in the future here.")

The scouting service HockeyProspect.com lists five goalies in the top 50 of its final ranking of the entire 2023 class. Michael Hrabal, a 6-foot-6 Czechia native playing in the USHL, comes in at 24th; Slovak Adam Gajan, who was eligible for last year's draft, is 35th. Italian Damian Clara and Americans Jacob Fowler and Trey Augustine are bunched in the mid-40s: 44th, 46th, and 48th.

"There's a beautiful blend of different talent at the position this season," reads a section in HockeyProspect.com's draft guide. Fowler and Augustine are "ultraefficient and technically proficient." Clara and Gajan are "freak athletes."

"What separates Hrabal is he has arguably the best blend of these qualities," the scouting service gushes. "His hockey sense isn't as high-end as Fowler's or Augustine's, and his athleticism isn't as high-end as Gajan's or Clara's, but (Hrabal) is the most well-rounded when you look at the total package."

To sum up industry consensus: Expect a run on goalies in the second round.

Parting shots

Hockey Hall of Fame: If I had to choose one or the other, I'd rather Curtis Joseph be inducted, not Mike Vernon. I'd also rather have two women's hockey players enshrined in November, not just Caroline Ouellette. It's insane that Alexander Mogilny remains on the outside looking in after not only stringing together a Hall of Fame-caliber career but also being a trailblazer for European players. However, none of these complaints compare to my No. 1 issue with the Hall: its lack of transparency. The secrecy surrounding the annual induction announcement taints the entire process. Transparency wouldn't eliminate criticism, of course, but at least the public would be better informed and thus move on to celebrating the inductees faster. In the current setup, we don't even know if Mogilny has ever been nominated. How foolish.

Combine hero: Caden Price, a strong-skating, left-handed defenseman for the Kelowna Rockets, puked out his breakfast prior to the fitness tests at the scouting combine in Buffalo in early June. "Little nervous, but I think I had some acid reflux. I couldn't keep it down," Price told me afterward. By the end of the day, the projected second-rounder's name was all over the high-achievers list released by Central Scouting. Among 100-plus combine participants, he finished with a top-20 score in seven different categories, most notably recording the fourth-highest vertical jump. Now that's an athlete!

Calgary Flames: A fascinating experiment is underway in Calgary. In trying to avoid a repeat of what happened last offseason with unrestricted free agent Johnny Gaudreau, new GM Craig Conroy is asking for commitments from the club's core pieces. Noah Hanifin and Tyler Toffoli have both expressed they don't plan on re-signing, while Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund are both "leaning towards" not re-signing, according to Daily Faceoff. All four are set to become UFAs in July 2024. On one hand, Conroy's gaining valuable intel on the Flames' future, and if he wants, the team can start shopping the players. On the other hand, it's almost as if Conroy's created problems for himself by being so proactive, giving not one but four players an out on their remaining time in Calgary. There's no guarantee any of them will be traded, and hey, maybe a couple ultimately re-sign. If it all works out wonderfully for Calgary in some form, Conroy could look like a genius. If it doesn't ... well.

Takes, Thoughts, and Trends is theScore's biweekly hockey grab bag.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

BUFFALO - After a whirlwind eight-hour day of interviewing with prospective employers, undergoing a balance test, and answering reporters' questions, Andrew Cristall is asked if he'd like to watch a few clips from his highlight reel.

"Oh yeah, for sure, absolutely," a grinning Cristall replies from his seat inside a Marriott hotel restaurant. It's June 1 and the NHL's annual scouting combine is well underway for Cristall and roughly 100 of his 2023 draft classmates.

Cristall's eager because he's an extrovert obsessed with the sport of hockey. Dissecting clips of his finest moments is right in his wheelhouse. Also, it's a short break from a week's worth of discussions about his flaws as a player.

The first clip begins with Cristall, an 18-year-old left-winger for the WHL's Kelowna Rockets, skating through the neutral zone with possession of the puck. Between him and the goalie is one defender, who he promptly turnstiles:

"His stick is close to the puck," Cristall says of the backpedaling defenseman, "and I know he's going to look to poke it soon. So, I push the puck out to my left side, then slap his stick a little bit to prevent him from getting it. I know from there he's going to cross over, which means I've got an opportunity to put the puck through his triangle, go in on a breakaway, and score."

That slap of the defender's stick, which is indiscernible on video, is a subtle yet brilliant move. It puts the defender on his heels and allows Cristall to waltz into the middle lane of the ice. The puck's in the back of the net seconds later.

The sequence showcases Cristall's trademark intelligence and creativity.

Rockets teammate Caden Price says Cristall's skill level and manipulation techniques are "absurd." Connor Bedard, the presumptive No. 1 pick and one of Cristall's closest friends, calls his former minor hockey teammate "probably the smartest hockey player I've gotten to play with." Cristall puts it succinctly: "I make reads some other guys can't."

The sequence is also the kind of highlight that could split a room of hockey people. Critics might scoff at it, insisting Cristall is simply feasting on inferior competition and that he'll never replicate such a flashy sequence in the pros. Supporters might argue that Cristall can translate his skill set to the NHL, outsmart pros, and repair his biggest weaknesses.

Unlike the majority of potential first-round picks, there's a lack of consensus with Cristall, both behind closed doors among scouts and in the public discourse. Arguably 2023's most divisive prospect, he's ranked 13th, 24th, 25th, 35th, and 68th by some of the most popular NHL draft analysts. Is Cristall worthy of a top-15 pick? Or is he a Day 2 selection?

Let's stick with the strengths for a moment.

Cristall's puck skills are exceptional. His craftiness in tight quarters, a byproduct of running through countless small-area drills as a young player in Vancouver, makes him difficult to contain. Armed with both a hard, accurate shot and seam-finding passing chops, he's a dual threat in the offensive zone.

"If the pass is there, I'm 100% going to make that pass to create a goal. Whatever the best option, that's the option I'm going to choose," says Cristall, who finished sixth in the WHL with 95 points (39 goals, 56 assists) despite missing 14 games in the middle of the season due to a quad injury.

Cristall grew up adoring legendary Canucks forwards Henrik and Daniel Sedin. Nowadays, he models his game after Mitch Marner, the magician-like winger for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Cristall's attracted to Marner's evasiveness and patience with the puck - how he's capable of controlling the pace of the game.

Then there are Cristall's many "Michigan" attempts, which are less Marner and more Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks. The behind-the-net, lacrosse-style scoring play combines Cristall's hands, creativity, and swagger.

"I've never seen a player try the 'Michigan' more often than him. Realistically, it drives our ownership mental," Rockets head coach Kris Mallette says with a laugh. "But it's the new way. You look at Zegras, you look at other young guys, it's just what they do. Some of the stuff he does in practice - calling his shot, then going in on the goalie and making it look easy - is impressive. He works hard, challenges himself to be better, and is a fun guy to be around."

OK, onto the weaknesses: Cristall is small (5-foot-9.5, 175 pounds), and his skating is considered average for a major-junior player. He'll put up points and get you out of your seat with some puck wizardry, sure, but small forwards who don't skate well and aren't known for their compete level rarely blossom into longtime NHLers. At least that's how the thinking goes in some circles.

"For smaller players without high-end skating ability, you'll have a really hard time finding a spot in the top six of a forward group," says Chris Peters, who covers the prospect world for FloHockey. "The most common thing I hear about Cristall from people working for teams is that if you draft him, you're getting a one-way player, a guy who fits into very few options in your lineup."

Peters adds that Cristall could theoretically evolve into a more complete player by focusing on his defense. However, nobody's currently projecting him to be a shutdown forward, and bigger, more athletic players usually fill that role. "That's the other thing teams will consider with Cristall: Where does he go from here? What's his trajectory? How long will he take to develop?"

Still, Peters is at least a half-believer, as evidenced by Cristall landing 24th on FloHockey's final ranking of all 2023 prospects. It's impossible to ignore the gaudy offensive tools and the points he accumulated on a relatively weak Kelowna squad. "Real boom-bust potential with drafting a player like Cristall this high, but the hockey sense wins the day here for me," Peters wrote.

"Do I want to miss on this?" Mallette, the Rockets coach, says of the potential downside of passing on Cristall in next Wednesday's first round. "You don't want to be that team that two, three years down the road is missing out on a very, very special player. So that's what's intriguing but also what's scary, right? Because you never know with young hockey players. It's the unknown."

To Cristall's credit, he's doing what he can to make it less of an unknown.

On top of bulking up through strength training, Cristall's worked with skating coach Barb Aidelbaum multiple times a week since his season ended in late April. Cristall notes that he needs to be more on his toes than his heels when he's skating. With better mechanics and a stronger lower body, his stride should start generating extra power. He's doing this work in concert with physiotherapy, with the off-ice treatment aiming to bring greater fluidity to his movements and, in turn, lengthen his stride on the ice.

Those close to Cristall praise him for being an optimistic, competitive person.

"If you have a plan, you can come to a solution," he says of his mindset.

Cristall was told he wouldn't be effective once he was old enough for body-checking hockey because of his size - yet he was and exploded offensively. He was told he wouldn't play junior hockey because of his size and skating - yet he did and exploded offensively. Now, he's being told he might not play in the NHL.

"It's something I use to motivate myself," Cristall says from his Marriott seat, long day over. "I want to prove people wrong and prove myself right."

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

As the game clock ticked down to 10 seconds and a 9-3 demolition of the Florida Panthers neared its conclusion Tuesday night inside T-Mobile Arena, William Karlsson and Keegan Kolesar began jumping in their skates.

The Golden Knights forwards, circling the top of Vegas' zone with the kind of anxious energy reserved only for soon-to-be champions, caught serious air. Seemingly 3 feet high, their limbs flailed in every direction, pure elation.

A few seconds later, despite the final buzzer not yet sounding on Game 5, the Vegas bench spilled onto the ice to join Karlsson and Kolesar in a moment that won't ever be replicated. The Golden Knights, the NHL's boldest franchise, are first-time Stanley Cup champions after defeating the shorthanded Panthers in five games by a cumulative score of 26-12.

The glitziest and most glamorous trophy in North American pro sports now belongs to those who call the continent's flashiest city home. What a world.

"Listen to this right now. It's unbelievable," captain Mark Stone, wowed by the 19,058-person crowd, told Sportsnet as the celebration raged on around him.

Stone, as is tradition, was the first player to hoist the Cup. Reilly Smith, Jonathan Marchessault, Karlsson, Brayden McNabb, Shea Theodore, and William Carrier followed, which was fitting. The six of them have been around since the beginning. The original Golden Knights - the so-called Golden Misfits - rule the franchise record books in virtually every category and were integral to claiming the 16 wins required to be the last team standing in June.

Marchessault, the undrafted sniper, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for bagging 13 goals, three of them game-winners, and recording 12 assists. Nobody on Vegas was locked in quite like Marchessault, whom the Golden Knights selected alongside Karlsson, McNabb, and Carrier in the 2017 expansion draft. (Theodore and Smith both arrived via trade on the same day.)

Bill Foley, the club's cowboy owner, predicted a playoff debut in Year 3 and a Cup win in Year 6. His managers, coaches, and players destroyed the first milestone in Year 1 by not only securing a playoff berth but also winning three series. And now, with an almost entirely revamped roster, they've nailed the ambitious second milestone. Over a half-decade, the plucky Cinderella crew of 2017-18 evolved into the stacked, bullying championship outfit of 2022-23.

Vegas' playoff run was ultra convincing, too. The Western Conference's No. 1 seed went games without a hitch, almost always in full control. Automatic, surgical, dominating, overwhelming - feel free to choose your own adjective.

Also taking down the Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, and Dallas Stars, the Golden Knights posted a 9-0 record when leading after the first period. They outscored the opposition 34-11 in the second, often rendering the final frame moot. Overall, in 1,084 minutes of five-on-five action across 22 games, the Golden Knights finished an absurd plus-33 (66 goals for, 33 goals against).

Vegas excelled in all three zones under Bruce Cassidy, who was hired as the franchise's third head coach one year ago Wednesday. Defensive structure insulated the goalies extremely well, speed helped Vegas attack through the neutral zone, and scoring chances were turned into goals through precision passing and shooting, whether it be off the rush, cycle, forecheck, or rebound.

"I'm in the club, and they can't kick you out," Cassidy, who lost in the 2019 Cup Final while coaching the Boston Bruins, told TNT. (Yes, he was grinning.)

President George McPhee and general manager Kelly McCrimmon laid the foundation for a Cup winner with a killer performance at the expansion draft. Then, with Foley's blessing, the front-office duo shuffled coaches and upgraded the roster through aggressive, sometimes cutthroat moves. Amazingly, 19 of the 24 players to appear in the playoffs were acquired via trade, free agency, or waivers. Nic Hague was the lone homegrown draft pick.

At several points along the way, critics warned McPhee and McCrimmon that the wheeling and dealing would catch up to them; that swapping out fan favorites Marc-Andre Fleury and Max Pacioretty, as well as a handful of first-rounders, would come back to haunt them; that the dangerous dances with the salary cap and team chemistry would eventually bite them in the ass.

Going "all-in" doesn't always work in Sin City. It ultimately did for them.

Among those traded for: former Buffalo Sabre Jack Eichel, who in his first postseason racked up a league-high 26 points, plus countless compliments for strong defensive play. Former Ottawa Senator Stone, Vegas' best all-around player, contributed 24 points, including three huge goals in the clincher. Both recently underwent major surgery - Eichel on his neck, Stone on his back, twice - and came out the other side arguably better than ever.

"It's the best feeling in the world," a nearly speechless Eichel said of winning.

Goalie Adin Hill, a 27-year-old journeyman fighting for playing time to start the season, was a rock, maintaining a .932 save percentage in 16 games. Marchessault deservedly won MVP, but Vegas doesn't climb the top of the mountain without Eichel, Stone, and Hill all playing at MVP levels. Those drivers were surrounded by enviable depth, from Alex Pietrangelo, Theodore, and Zach Whitecloud to Karlsson, Chandler Stephenson, and Ivan Barbashev.

The Golden Knights' short yet storied history now reads: lost in the Cup Final in Year 1; lost in the opening round in Year 2; lost in the conference final in Year 3; lost in the conference final in Year 4; missed the playoffs entirely in Year 5; and won the Cup in Year 6.

Most franchises would kill for results like that over a 30-year timeline. Yet, only a few would even consider adopting Vegas' aggressive mindset. Did Foley, McPhee, and McCrimmon benefit from relaxed expansion draft rules? Absolutely. What ultimately led them to glory, however, was the laser focus on winning, at all costs. They had a vision. They were given the resources. They were impatient. They weren't afraid to make mistakes or hurt feelings.

Now there's a Cup parade coming to the Strip.

"I might not go to bed for a few days here," Marchessault quipped.

Viva Las Vegas.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Saturday night in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. While teams leading 3-1 in the Final are 36-1 all time, the Panthers are capable of mounting an unlikely comeback, having erased a 3-1 deficit versus the Boston Bruins in the opening round. Here's the road map to Vegas taming Florida in Tuesday's Game 5 - then raising the Cup.

Zero in on Florida's stars

Heading into the Final, there was a case to be made that the teams' top three forward lines and top two defense pairings were equally talented. However, Vegas' overqualified fourth line of Nicolas Roy between William Carrier and Keegan Kolesar and the burgeoning third pair of Nicolas Hague and Zach Whitecloud is what tipped the scales in Vegas' favor as far as depth and head-to-head matchups.

Fast-forward four games, and Florida's usually productive third line has been minimized due to the absence of Eetu Luostarinen, who's out with an undisclosed injury. Alongside fill-in Ryan Lomberg, Anton Lundell and Sam Reinhart haven't generated nearly as many scoring chances off the cycle and forecheck as we've come to expect during this playoff run.

It may seem wacky to suggest that losing a depth piece like Luostarinen has tilted the series. Yet, the Lomberg-Lundell-Reinhart trio has generated virtually nothing of substance through 21 five-on-five minutes (zero goals, two high-danger shot attempts, according to Natural Stat Trick). Lomberg's old line has somehow accomplished less (zero goals, one high-danger attempt).

An ineffective bottom six means Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, and Brandon Montour have to be even bigger catalysts than they've already been. The club's play-driving stars have combined for eight points in four games, which is alright but not good enough. A glimmer of hope for Panther fans: The greater the moment throughout the postseason, the better their leaders have played.

Barkov, in particular, must put forth another monstrous performance. The captain looked terrific at both ends of the ice during Florida's home games, putting the clamps on Jack Eichel in Game 3 and then bagging a goal and a primary assist in Game 4. His 55.7% expected goals rate leads the team.

Tkachuk had two glorious chances in the first 10 minutes of Saturday's contest before failing to convert on a point-blank opportunity with the net empty and time running out in the third period. The Hart Trophy finalist was noticeably less physical along the boards and in the corners, and he skated for only 4:03 in the third and 16:40 total. Obviously hurt, Tkachuk's Game 5 status is up in the air.

The math is simple for Vegas at this point: The more difficult life is made on Tkachuk, Barkov, and Montour, the more likely they are to hoist the Cup.

Dominate the neutral zone

To the eye, the transition battle in this series has been completely one-sided. Most notably, Vegas has executed on the majority of stretch passes, while Florida's quick-strike tries have tended to yield icings and, thus, longer shifts.

It feels like Chandler Stephenson alone has flown through the neutral zone with the puck on his stick more times than the entire Panthers skater group. Both of the center's Game 4 goals were the byproduct of smart neutral-zone decisions. Whitecloud fed Stephenson a perfect pass for a zone entry ahead of his first goal, and Stephenson chipped the puck to a streaking Mark Stone for an entry moments before he scored his second off a one-timer.

Stone put on a clinic to start the second period Saturday - forechecking like a maniac, winning multiple puck battles, tipping several shots, and drawing a penalty over just a few shifts. He's been a rock star for the entirety of a 21-game postseason, with his 21 points failing to do his full body of work justice.

Led by Stone's dogged puck pursuit and puck-stripping abilities, the Golden Knights are pressuring Florida skaters into mistakes all over the rink. The Panthers have fumbled exits out of the defensive zone, leading to sustained zone time for Vegas. They've also fired pucks into shin pads, leading to a comical blocked shots counter of 99-54 for Vegas, the team that's almost always had the puck.

Adin Hill and his stellar work in the Golden Knights' crease can't be glossed over. He's been equal parts steady and stunning en route to a .925 save percentage off 120 total Florida shots. Hill's desperation paddle save on Nick Cousins in Game 1, with the score tied 1-1, was the series' first crossroads moment. If Cousins scores, would the Panthers be up 3-1?

Eyes on the ultimate prize

When a team's 60 good minutes away from sipping from the Cup, simply staying focused on the task at hand can become difficult. It isn't easy when everybody around you - in and outside of the organization - is making plans for the celebration. It's even harder in a chaotic party city like Las Vegas.

All of that said, the Bruce Cassidy-led Golden Knights have left no doubt that they can keep their eyes on the prize. The roster is filled with veterans, and the on-ice product has evolved into an organized, precise operation.

Florida will be throwing everything at Vegas in Game 5. The physicality will ramp up. The nastiness will ramp up. The number of risky plays will ramp up. The officiating, which hasn't been kind to the Panthers, could swing the other way. Surely, Florida's 0-for-13 power play will convert sometime soon.

The Panthers are a resilient and clutch bunch, as evidenced by a perfect 7-0 record in overtime games in these playoffs. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky could easily have another dynamite performance in him. TTechnically, this series isn't over. But if Vegas sticks to the road map, they'll be fine - Cup champion-level fine.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Spoiler alert for July 1: The 2023 unrestricted free-agent class doesn't have a headliner.

There's no Johnny Gaudreau of 2022, Dougie Hamilton of 2021, Alex Pietrangelo of 2020, or Artemi Panarin of 2019. There are plenty of household names available, sure, but most are past their prime and thus less desirable.

This year's crop is, in a word, underwhelming. However, that doesn't mean it's boring, especially with the upper limit of the salary cap likely rising once again by only $1 million for the 2023-24 season (to $83.5 million). With so little additional cap space available, some players are going to get squeezed.

"Is it the top-tier guys since there's no real big name in the class? Is it the guys in the middle? Or is it some of the lower-end, lower-lineup guys?" Kyle Stich, president of AFP Analytics, wondered aloud during a recent interview.

Will teams eat a "bad" cap hit for this coming season in order to sign a player they really like for multiple seasons, then feel better about it once the upper limit jumps? Or, with teams and players eyeing that big increase over the next couple of years, will there be more short-term deals than usual this summer?

With the help of Stich and AFP Analytics - which recently released contract projections for hundreds of free agents - let's take a look at three particularly intriguing UFAs.

Adin Hill (AFP projection: 2 years, $3.34-million cap hit)

AFP's projections were finalized after the regular season, so, as Stich puts it, the 27-year-old Hill "might have earned himself another year or two and another couple of million each year" by posting a .934 save percentage in 14 playoff games. Winning the Stanley Cup would be the icing on the cake.

Hill's stellar play in the Vegas crease this spring has moved him into Jordan Binnington and Scott Darling territory. Binnington signed for two years at $4.4 million per year in 2019 (5.4% of upper limit at signing time), while Darling signed for four years at $4.15 million per year in 2017 (5.7% of upper limit).

Hill's NHL sample size is small (115 total games), which could be viewed as a plus or a minus, depending on the front office. "If you're a team that wants to buy into what you've seen so far, you can talk yourself into him," Stich said. "If you're a team that wants to steer away, you can talk yourself out of him."

Michael Bunting (AFP projection: 5 years, $5.26-million cap hit)

Bunting's suspension in the first round of the playoffs may not have left a favorable impression on prospective future employers. But there's no denying the 27-year-old winger can slot into any top six. In Toronto, he showed he can play the heel alongside play-drivers Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

AFP envisions Bunting's next deal ending up in the same ballpark as Blake Coleman's deal with Calgary (six years, $4.9 million per, 6% of upper limit at signing) and Zach Hyman's deal with Edmonton (seven years, $5.5 million per, 6.8% of limit). Jonathan Marchessault, who, like Bunting, took a while to break through in the NHL, is another data point (six years, $5 million per, 6.7%).

Bunting's just one of many useful UFA wingers, such as Tyler Bertuzzi, Alex Killorn, and Ivan Barbashev. "Does he get signed first, get a high-dollar amount and term, and then the market dries out for somebody else?" Stitch wondered.

Dmitry Orlov (AFP projection: 5 years, $6.27-million cap hit)

Orlov must have been smiling ear to ear Friday as he learned of the sign-and-trade between New Jersey and Columbus. That deal took Damon Severson, Orlov's stiffest competition among UFA defensemen, off the market entirely.

Suddenly, the demand for Orlov, which was presumably already fairly high, is even higher. The 31-year-old Russian recorded a career-high 36 points this past season while splitting his time between Washington and Boston after a midseason trade. Orlov's ability to break the puck out, intimidate physically, and help out on the power play makes him an enticing, top-pairing package.

Two relevant contracts: Jeff Petry's deal with Montreal and Mattias Ekholm's deal with Nashville. Both defensemen, now playing for other teams, signed in their early 30s for four years, $6.25 million per season, and 7.7% of the upper limit at the time.

2003 draft, 20 years later

June 21 marks two decades since Cape Breton Screaming Eagles goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was selected first overall in the 2003 draft. A historically strong class, 130 picks have played at least one NHL game, including all 30 first-rounders, ranging from Hugh Jessiman (two games) to Eric Staal (1,365).

The depth doesn't stop there: 48 of 292 total draftees, or a whopping 16.4% of the class, have appeared in 500 or more games. And 16 have reached the 1,000-game milestone, with the 38-year-old Fleury not far behind (985) heading into the second season of a two-year deal with the Minnesota Wild.

The top-five picks from draft day:

1. Marc-Andre Fleury, G, Pittsburgh Penguins

2. Eric Staal, F, Carolina Hurricanes

3. Nathan Horton, F, Florida Panthers

4. Nikolai Zherdev, F, Columbus Blue Jackets

5. Thomas Vanek, F, Buffalo Sabres

The Penguins, Hurricanes, and Sabres made out well. The Panthers did OK. The Blue Jackets ... not so great. Zherdev left in 2011 for the KHL. He was 26.

Placing a heavy emphasis on longevity, here's who I'd pick in a redraft:

1. Patrice Bergeron, F, Pittsburgh (actual slot: 45th)

2. Marc-Andre Fleury, G, Carolina (1st)

3. Corey Perry, F, Florida (28th)

4. Ryan Getzlaf, F, Columbus (19th)

5. Eric Staal, F, Buffalo (2nd)

Honorable mentions: Shea Weber (49th), Joe Pavelski (205th), Ryan Kesler (23rd), Brent Seabrook (14th), Brent Burns (20th), Corey Crawford (52nd).

Caps' Carbery no ordinary rookie

Back in 2016, Dave Drinkill reached out to NHL executive Kyle Dubas. Drinkill, the general manager of the OHL's Saginaw Spirit, had never hired a coach and was seeking advice from colleagues who'd been through the process.

Dubas told Drinkill to be thorough in his search and to trust his instincts. It's hard to explain, Drinkill recalls the Penguins' new president of hockey operations saying, but when you find your guy, you'll know. It's a gut feeling.

Drinkill felt it as he interviewed Spencer Carbery, a former minor-league winger who'd just won the ECHL's coach of the year award. The GM and prospective coach talked for several hours straight - about life, family, hockey - yet the conversation never dragged because they found so much common ground.

Carbery checked off all the boxes: On top of being detail-oriented and a strong communicator, his teaching philosophies and work ethic aligned with Drinkill's. Plus, Carbery had the "it" factor seen only in natural leaders.

"If someone walks into the room with a presence, and they're in charge, you just feel it," Drinkill explained. "You buy into what they're telling you, you get to work, and soon enough, you're ready to go through the wall for that person. You respect them, and they respect you. You can have fun, but when it's time to work, it's time to work. There's an understanding there. Carbs had that."

Fast forward six years, and Carbery is the Washington Capitals' new bench boss after successful head-coaching stints in the ECHL, OHL, and AHL. According to reports, the hottest NHL coaching prospect on the market also interviewed for vacancies in New York (Rangers), Anaheim, and Nashville.

An assistant on Sheldon Keefe's staff the past two seasons, Carbery led the Toronto Maple Leafs to first- and second-ranked power plays. In Washington, the 41-year-old is armed with a capable group of offensive contributors - including ultimate trigger-man Alex Ovechkin - that finished a disappointing 23rd and 16th in power-play percentage the last two seasons.

Carbery knows the Caps organization well, having spent eight total seasons as head coach of its ECHL and AHL affiliates. On one hand, the team's in transition after recently trading a handful of veterans. On the other, it remains tied to a core anchored by Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and John Carlson.

Carbery wants the Caps to play with more pace and better connectivity. You can expect him to spend as much time teaching the club's depth players as its stars. He'll be invested in matters big and small. That's how he's wired.

"I'm going to put everything I've got into this organization," Carbery said last week during a press conference. His old boss Drinkill has no doubts about it.

Parting shots

Barry Trotz: I love the idea of Trotz transitioning from head coach to general manager. (He officially takes over as Nashville Predators GM in July.) Always seeming very wise, Trotz is a hockey lifer who isn't afraid to change with the times or think outside the box.

I love the hire even more after reading a few of his recent comments. For one, Trotz told reporters he wants his scouting staff to "take some swings" and target players who "get people out of their seats" in the draft because the front office can find depth players in free agency or via trade. Of course, it's easy to ask for swings when your club has 13 picks in a draft being held locally. What a perfect time to make a splash. Still, the comment shows he's trying to attack team-building from a different angle than, say, his predecessor David Poile, who's been in the Preds' GM chair since 1997.

Player empowerment: Star players getting what they want, excelling, then motivating others to follow is an under-the-radar theme of the Stanley Cup Final. Vegas has Jack Eichel, who in 2021 got what he wanted after arguing with his old team, the Buffalo Sabres, over which type of neck surgery was the best route. Peers Tyler Johnson and Joel Farabee have since undergone the same artificial disc replacement procedure. Florida has Matthew Tkachuk, who, as a restricted free agent last summer, got what he wanted after telling his old team, the Calgary Flames, he wasn't interested in signing a long-term extension. Peers Alex DeBrincat and Pierre-Luc Dubois are both currently working with their respective clubs to facilitate a trade despite being RFAs. It turns out the NHL can be a copy-cat league at the player level, too.

Columbus Blue Jackets: GM Jarmo Kekalainen is about to hire Mike Babcock as head coach. He acquired Ivan Provorov in a complicated three-way trade on Tuesday, bidding farewell to a first-round pick in the process. He brought in Severson on an eight-year, $50-million contract on Friday. I don't like any of those moves in isolation, but props to Kekalainen for decisively turning the page on an injury-filled 2022-23 season and forging ahead at warp speed.

The NHL's first European GM is banking on a core led by Gaudreau, Patrik Laine, Zach Werenski, Kent Johnson, and David Jiricek - and is probably just getting started. The small-market Blue Jackets will be active on July 1, which, if nothing else, will be entertaining.

Takes, Thoughts, and Trends is theScore's biweekly hockey grab bag.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Vegas Golden Knights, up 2-0 in the Stanley Cup Final after a 7-2 beatdown of the Florida Panthers on Monday, are two wins away from their first Stanley Cup. Home-ice advantage shifts to the Panthers, though, with Game 3 set for Thursday night in Sunrise. Here are four pivotal battlegrounds to monitor.

Tkachuk line vs. Hague-Whitecloud

It's never a positive sign when you punch a rival in the face multiple times and get nothing but smirking and a viral TV moment in response.

That's exactly what happened in Game 1 as Panthers superstar Matthew Tkachuk and linemate Sam Bennett attempted (and failed) to rattle Golden Knights blue-liner Nicolas Hague in one of the series' many post-whistle scrums.

It's also never a positive sign when two games haven't produced much of a highlight reel despite what, on paper, is a winnable head-to-head matchup - Florida's top offensive line of Bennett between Tkachuk and Nick Cousins versus Vegas' least-experienced pairing of Hague and Zach Whitecloud.

Tkachuk has been on the ice for one goal for and one goal against - as well as 20 shot attempts for and 17 attempts against - in 15 total five-on-five minutes opposite Hague-Whitecloud. The Hart Trophy finalist's defensive-zone turnover led directly to Vegas' 4-2 goal in Game 1, and while he did score in Game 2, it was a garbage-time tally that he barely celebrated.

A Conn Smythe Trophy contender coming into the Cup Final, Tkachuk's been neutralized. The series will be over in four games if he's unable to break through in a meaningful way. The Panthers tend to go as Tkachuk goes.

Staying out of the penalty box would be a good starting point. After being relatively disciplined during the first three rounds of the postseason (24 total penalty minutes), Tkachuk's already racked up 36 PIMs against Vegas thanks to three minors - all roughing calls - and three misconducts. Despite playing a physical brand of hockey, the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Hague and 6-foot-2, 207-pound Whitecloud have largely avoided the box. Whitecloud's misconduct late in Monday's blowout is the duo's lone infraction. They're dialed in.

Panthers' goalies vs. netfront traffic

Two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky allowed four goals on 33 shots in Game 1, then four on 13 shots in the first half of Game 2. In relief, journeyman Alex Lyon surrendered three on 13 shots as Florida unraveled.

You don't have to dig up advanced statistics to conclude that Florida's goaltending needs to be significantly better. (Though Game 3's starter hasn't been named, expect Bobrovsky to take the net back.)

That said, the goalies don't deserve all the blame. In fact, it's the skaters in front of them who should be targeted by Panthers coaches in video sessions. Florida's defensive-zone coverage was subpar in the opener and downright horrendous in the second game - poor gaps off the rush, tentative pressure on the walls, and too much puck-watching, to name just a few concerning trends for a club that previously outlasted the attacks of Boston, Toronto, and Carolina.

The netfront area needs to be cleaned up ASAP. Bobrovsky and Lyon were screened on six of 11 non-empty-net goals. Amazingly, on four of those six screened goals, it was a Panther, not a Golden Knight, clogging up the shooting lane. The other two goals featured an even worse save-making environment of one Panther and one Golden Knight in front of the goalie.

There's sacrificing the body to block a shot, and then there's making life more difficult for your goalie. Vegas is doing the former (36-22 advantage in blocked shots despite controlling play), while Florida is doing the latter to an extreme.

Vegas' stars vs. Florida's agitation

The Golden Knights are a handful at even strength. An elite transition squad that often sustains pressure after the original scoring chance, they currently boast a five-on-five goal differential of plus-30 in the playoffs (56-26).

Let that sink in: Vegas, in 19 games against the NHL's best, is up 30 goals!

And while Vegas' 21.5% power play ranks fifth out of the nine teams with at least 30 opportunities this postseason, Florida cannot keep giving its opponent so many reps. The Golden Knights are generally uninterested in the extracurricular activities between whistles and the referees are clearly not afraid to penalize troublemakers. So, the Panthers, who've been shorthanded 11 times so far, must find the middle ground between agitation and discipline.

The Ivan Barbashev-Jack Eichel-Jonathan Marchessault line, which makes up 60% of Vegas' top power-play unit, has been deadly this series - and the rest of the run - regardless of game state. Eichel collected his fourth assist in two games Monday following a clean but thunderous hit by Tkachuk. Barbashev, who's issued three monstrous hits of his own, earned primary helpers on Game 1's winning goal and Game 2's 2-0 marker. Triggerman Marchessault has padded his Conn Smythe case by bagging three goals and adding an assist.

Penalty killing was a popular talking point ahead of the Cup Final - rightfully so, considering recent history (71.2% playoff kill rate for Florida, 63.0% for Vegas). The Golden Knights have been perfect through two games.

Panthers' depth vs. injury/fatigue

Florida's in trouble. The obvious reason: The Panthers are down 2-0 in a best-of-seven series and the second game was a gong show. The less obvious reason: The toll of a long, rough-and-tumble postseason seems to be catching up to them.

Catalysts Bobrovsky and Tkachuk had their worst showings of the run in Game 2; is this the beginning of the end for two terrific individual performances? Key defensemen Brandon Montour and Gustav Forsling have logged 70 and 50 more playoff minutes, respectively, than any Golden Knights skater; do they have enough gas in the tank to contribute to a four-win comeback?

Panthers winger Eetu Luostarinen has missed the first two games and blue-liner Radko Gudas left Game 2. Neither is guaranteed to draw back into the series, which may mean extra ice time for seventh defenseman Casey Fitzgerald and 12th forward Zac Dalpe, who was scratched Monday as head coach Paul Maurice opted for 11 forwards and seven defensemen. To put it mildly, that's not an ideal scenario.

The Golden Knights, with a buzzsaw of a fourth line featuring Nicolas Roy between Keegan Kolesar and William Carrier, was the deeper team at full health. With the Panthers seemingly fighting it, that gap is even wider.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Four were selected in the 2017 NHL expansion draft; two were acquired via trade on the same day. Four are now in their 30s; two are in their late 20s.

Together, Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, Reilly Smith, William Carrier, Shea Theodore, and Brayden McNabb represent the past and present of Golden Knights hockey. Despite all of the chaos swirling around a franchise that's become known for its cutthroat decision-making, the remaining members of the "Golden Misfits" still call Las Vegas home and are one win away from a second Stanley Cup Final in just six years.

The incredible part: Marchessault and Karlsson have been essential to this particular playoff run, while the other four have proved to be valuable assets in their own unique, less glamorous ways.

Marchessault, the rare dressing room "glue guy" who's also vitally important on the ice, is up to eight goals - three of them game-winners - plus six assists. He and star center Jack Eichel have been the offensive drivers through 15 games. Marchessault has accumulated a team-high 5.86 expected goals thanks to an insane 28 quality scoring chances, according to Sportlogiq.

Karlsson's bagged eight goals himself to go along with three assists. Most notably, he's been on the ice for 12 goals for and five against over 189 minutes of five-on-five action. The Swede's most common forward opponent against the Winnipeg Jets? Kyle Connor. Edmonton Oilers? Connor McDavid. Dallas Stars? Jason Robertson. Talk about acing three difficult assignments.

Turnover is inevitable in every NHL organization. But cores that win enough tend to stay largely intact, a decade zooming by relatively quickly. Not in Vegas, though.

The Golden Knights are bold. They make blockbuster trades and landmark signings to bring in the likes of Eichel, Mark Stone, and Alex Pietrangelo. They fire head coaches, with Bruce Cassidy counting as the third bench boss.

Six originals remain, and the front office deserves credit for choosing the right ride-or-die players. Especially in the cases of Marchessault and Karlsson.

2023 NHL draft FAQ

With the June 28-29 draft fast approaching, I checked in earlier this week with an Ontario-based amateur scout for an NHL team, a Europe-based amateur scout, and Dan Marr, the vice president of the league's in-house Central Scouting bureau. Here are a few takeaways from those discussions.

Quality of draft class: The 2023 class is generating loads of hype. So much, in fact, that some have labeled it exceptionally deep or excellent overall. The two team-affiliated scouts, who were granted anonymity because they're not permitted to speak with reporters, aren't quite buying the hype.

"After the top five, the draft becomes rather average," the Europe scout said.

In no particular order, those consensus top-five players are forwards Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, Matvei Michkov, Leo Carlsson, and Will Smith.

"You could make the argument that any of those five guys could have gone first overall last year," the scout added. "That's where all of the hype comes from, or should come from. After them, it drops off pretty significantly. The 6-10 range is not that strong compared to the better drafts of recent memory."

The Ontario scout says the depth in 2023 is "nowhere close" to the vaunted 2003 and 2015 classes.

"You've got Bedard, Fantilli, and a few others at the top. So it seems really, really good at first glance," the scout said. "But the impression I've gotten from talking to people in the industry is that it's not that great, overall."

Marr, who scouted for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Atlanta Thrashers for two decades prior to joining the league in 2011, is a bit higher on 2023. But he too stopped short of comparing it to 2003, which produced 48 players with at least 500 NHL games played, or 2015, McDavid and Eichel's draft year.

"The top 10 is strong," Marr said, before noting teams slotted between 15th and 20th overall in Nashville next month will be "very happy" with their picks.

High-level trends: Forward is the class' strongest position, and the first few tiers feature a variety of player types: goal-scoring forwards, pass-first forwards, two-way forwards, physically mature forwards, raw forwards, etc.

According to the Europe scout, there's a small chance consensus top defenseman David Reinbacher goes off the board within the first five picks. However, Reinbacher is more likely to be selected between sixth and 10th, and there's a sizable gap between him and the class' second-best blue-liner.

The goaltending crop is nothing special, either.

As for top leagues and countries, the Western Hockey League, led by Bedard, Zach Benson, and Nate Danielson, has a big presence. The U.S. National Team Development Program should have at least four first-round picks - forwards Smith, Ryan Leonard, Oliver Moore, and Gabriel Perreault - in a good-but-not-great year for the Michigan-based team. Sweden, as usual, is Europe's powerhouse, while Marr points out Czechia and Slovakia have truly revived their pipelines.

Marr's fairly certain the first two, perhaps three, defensemen picked will be from Europe or Russia. Austrian Reinbacher; Swedes Axel Sandin Pellikka, Tom Willander, and Theo Lindstein; and Russian Mikhail Gulyayev are the top names on Central Scouting's final ranking of international skaters.

Players of intrigue: Central Scouting expects 106 draft-eligible players at the scouting combine, which goes June 4-10 in Buffalo. Marr says eight or nine Russian players would've been invited but can't attend because of visa issues.

The "Russian factor" always lingers around the draft. It's more pronounced this year because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the exclusion of Russian teams from international tournaments. These variables could cause the country's best prospects to slide on draft night. Michkov, who's under contract with his KHL team through 2025-26, is the class' ultimate wild card.

The Europe scout would "probably recommend Michkov" as the top prospect outside of North America. "Michkov's ceiling is quite a bit higher than Carlsson's. I still love Carlsson as a player, but he's more of a potentially really good player than a potentially elite player."

The upside: Michkov's eventual arrival in the NHL could change the course of a franchise, like fellow Russian Kirill Kaprizov did with the Minnesota Wild.

"Everything about him is legit," Marr said of Michkov's on-ice abilities.

Eduard Sale, a forward from Czechia, is another interesting case. He entered the season with top-10 hype, the Europe scout notes, but was "sliding really, really hard throughout the year" due to concerns over his compete level and work ethic. And these concerns weren't limited to only a few talent evaluators.

Cam Allen, a defenseman from Canada, also saw his stock drop, though not because of a low compete level, the Ontario scout says. He just didn't produce or live up to expectations after winning the OHL's Rookie of the Year award in 2021-22. NHL teams are left wondering which Allen is the real Allen.

VR company making inroads

Buffalo Sabres rookie Devon Levi is a huge proponent. Seattle Kraken prospect Joey Daccord has been using it throughout the AHL playoffs. Other pro goalies and skaters are on board. Same goes for coaches and managers.

Virtual reality company Sense Arena has carved out a niche for itself in the hockey world over the past few years. With only a headset and handheld controllers required, the "completely immersive experience" can help players fine-tune read-and-react skills through a series of drills.

The objective is to expose oneself to different on-ice scenarios - off the ice.

"The more you are in situations where you need to make decisions, your brain creates a pattern. Then, when you get into the same situation on the ice, and you have been there a thousand times before, you just react. You don't think," said Sense Arena CEO Bob Tetiva, a former professional basketball player who founded the Prague-based company in 2018.

Sense Arena is making inroads at an opportune time, as coaches have begun to come around to the idea that hockey sense can be taught. While some players are naturally better at reading the game, expert teaching - whether it's on-ice instruction, video sessions, or VR - can lead to notable improvement.

"Is it easier to learn a language at three years old than at 23? Absolutely. But can you still learn a language? Yeah," Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis told Sportsnet earlier this season.

He added, "We can make (players) better. You're not going to get him fully there versus a kid who already has that. But if you improve him 10% or 15%, how much more productive and efficient can he be on the ice?"

Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson, who'd be nowhere without high-end hockey sense and IQ, seems to have a similar view.

"There are players who have it more than others. Some are very cerebral," Robertson told me last fall. "They just know what's going to happen, know how pucks are going to come off the boards - or wherever - so they get into the right spot. But you can teach how to play predictably, too. You can teach players to get to specific areas of the ice. People can learn that and adjust."

For goalies, VR is especially useful for learning how to better read shot releases off sticks and anticipating the puck's trajectory toward the crease. Both goalies and skaters can keep the mind sharp during injury and rehab periods. Heck, even when a player is healthy, VR can be a substitute for on-ice work, since there's less wear and tear on the body.

Parting shots

Sam Bennett: Bennett is endlessly fascinating for his habit of flipping the switch come playoff time. Over an eight-season career split between the Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers, he's averaged 0.63 points and 3.8 hits per game in the playoffs versus 0.45 points and 1.8 hits per game in the regular season. Bennett, a bearded 26-year-old centering an all-agitator top-six line with Matthew Tkachuk and Nick Cousins, has certainly earned his increased production. As of Thursday morning, the Holland Landing, Ontario, native was first or tied for first in inner-slot shots (20), scoring chances generated off the forecheck (seven), and chances off rebounds (seven), according to Sportlogiq.

Offer sheets: Teams looking to dramatically improve their roster through free agency this offseason are fighting an uphill battle. The group of unrestricted free agents could be kindly described as "below average," and the group of restricted guys isn't much better. RFAs, of course, can be acquired only through the offer-sheet process, which is arduous and can ruffle feathers in the opposing front office. Three RFAs who jump off the page: goalie Jeremy Swayman (the Boston Bruins have limited cap space and a lot of players to sign), forward Michael McLeod (breakout performance for the New Jersey Devils in the playoffs), and forward Pierre-Luc Dubois (Winnipeg is losing him once he becomes a UFA next summer, anyway). Offer sheets are so rare that the chances any of them are tabled with one are slim. But if an enterprising team wants to get creative:

Carolina Hurricanes: For a team that's made the playoffs in each of Rod Brind'Amour's five seasons behind the bench, twice making it to the conference finals, the books are extremely clean. Amazingly, only three players are signed past 2024-25: Andrei Svechnikov, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Pyotr Kochetkov. This financial freedom, plus plenty of draft capital, should allow general manager Don Waddell to address Carolina's glaring needs: pure goal-scorers and an NHL-caliber goalie to pair with Kochetkov. Maybe that means re-signing UFA forward Max Pacioretty and UFA goalie Frederik Andersen, then adding one or two other game-breaking forwards via free agency or trade. Maybe that means bringing in a whole new cast of characters. Regardless, the Canes find themselves at a crossroads.

Takes, Thoughts, and Trends is theScore's biweekly hockey grab bag.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.