The Carolina Hurricanes' Rod Brind'Amour, Minnesota Wild's Dean Evason, and Florida Panthers' Joel Quenneville are the three finalists for the Jack Adams Award, given annually to the NHL's coach of the year.
Brind'Amour has guided the Hurricanes to three straight postseason berths since becoming the team's head coach, including a Central Division title this past campaign. Carolina went 36-12-8, finishing just two points off a share of the league lead. This is the first time Brind'Amour's been a Jack Adams finalist.
Evason led the Wild to a surprisingly stellar regular season, going 35-16-5 - good enough for third in the West Division. Minnesota finished just seven points back of the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights. This was Evason's first full campaign behind an NHL bench after taking over as interim coach midway through the 2019-20 season.
Few people gave the Panthers much of a chance to make any noise this year, but Quenneville guided the team to its best season in franchise history in terms of points percentage (.705). The Cats finished just one point back of the Canes for first in the Central. Quenneville is seeking his second career Jack Adams Award after winning in 1999-00 with the St. Louis Blues.
Taylor Hall is open to a reunion with the Boston Bruins as he's set to enter unrestricted free agency.
"I see a fit, hopefully they feel the same," he told reporters Friday.
Hall added that finding the right team will be more important than cashing in this summer.
"I'm not looking to absolutely maximize my value at this point in my career. I've been fortunate enough to make some good money in this league," he said. "At this point, it's more of a fit for me than maybe money, or long-term thing."
Hall's estimated career earnings sit at $52.2 million, according to CapFriendly.
The 29-year-old clearly enjoyed his time in Beantown. After signing a one-year, $8-million deal with Buffalo in the offseason, he produced just two goals and 17 assists in 37 games with the Sabres. However, he was rejuvenated after a deadline trade landed him in Boston, as he recorded eight goals and six helpers in 16 contests with the Bruins. He contributed five points in 11 playoff games.
The Bruins have multiple key free agents to take care of, including franchise pillars David Krejci and Tuukka Rask. They have $27 million in projected cap space.
Evolving-Hockey projects Hall will sign a seven-year deal with an annual cap hit of $7.321 million.
The 2018 Hart Trophy winner has played for four teams in the last two seasons.
The Boston Bruins netminder played through a torn labrum in his hip, he told reporters Friday. Rask will undergo surgery within the next month and will likely be out until January or February.
"It was hard," he said. "I had it all year."
Rask added he thinks he hurt his hip during the 2020 playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes. Wear and tear made the injury worse over time. While compensating for the hip, his back seized up, and he could barely walk for a week, which forced him to miss some time during the regular season.
The pending unrestricted free agent also reiterated that he wants to play next year but won't do so for any NHL team other than the Bruins. Rask was then asked what he would do if Boston doesn't want to re-sign him.
"Maybe I go home and play in Finland," he said. "I'm part owner of a team there. Who knows?"
Rask posted a .913 save percentage and a 2.28 goals against average in 24 games during the regular season. The 33-year-old started all 11 postseason contests for the Bruins, sporting a .919 save percentage and a 2.36 goals against average.
With the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the books, theScore counts down the top five players of the postseason so far in all three positional groups. Players on eliminated teams are eligible for this list, as these rankings are explicitly based on cumulative performances from the first two rounds.
Pageau lives for playoff time. After a rather pedestrian regular season, the Islanders' pesky pivot has woken up when it matters and currently has the second-most points among forwards in the playoffs. He was particularly strong against the Bruins, registering six points, including two assists in the Game 6 clincher.
4. Brad Marchand, Bruins
Steve Babineau / National Hockey League / Getty
GP
P
xGF%
ATOI
11
12
60.35%
20:40
Boston's second-round elimination is no fault of its top line. Marchand was spectacular through 11 games and delivered five goals against the Islanders. The 33-year-old maintained his reputation as a playoff performer and now has 64 points in his last 60 postseason contests stretching back to 2018.
3. Brayden Point, Lightning
Grant Halverson / Getty Images Sport / Getty
GP
P
xGF%
ATOI
11
12
58.49%
19:28
Point is another player who continuously rises to the occasion in the playoffs. He was instrumental in the Lightning's dismantling of a deep Carolina team and enters Round 3 tied for eighth in scoring and tied for first in goals. Dating back to last season's Cup run, Point's registered 45 points in 34 playoff games.
2. David Pastrnak, Bruins
Adam Glanzman / Getty Images Sport / Getty
GP
P
xGF%
ATOI
11
15
62.11
19:44
Pastrnak did all he could to will the Bruins into Round 3, but unfortunately for him, the lasting memory of his postseason efforts will be an inexplicable miss in a Game 4 loss versus the Islanders. Aside from that blunder, Pastrnak was brilliant. He totaled nine points in six contests versus New York and sits second overall in playoff scoring.
1. Nikita Kucherov, Lightning
Gregg Forwerck / National Hockey League / Getty
GP
P
xGF%
ATOI
11
18
58.58%
19:27
Kucherov is playing at a Conn Smythe-worthy level once again. Last season's playoff leading scorer is well on pace to do so again and looks bound to create a scoring chance each time he touches the puck. Kucherov's notched the majority of his points on the power play (13) but is still generating expected goals at an elite rate at five-on-five. His even-strength shooting percentage (5%) is the second-worst among all Bolts forwards, so if that begins to trend upward as the playoffs progress, Tampa could be unstoppable.
"I thought he was the best player in the series, on either team," DeBoer said after Vegas eliminated the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday, per The Athletic's Jesse Granger.
"He was an absolute monster for us."
Pietrangelo had four points in six games against the Avalanche, including the game-winning goal Thursday. He also controlled 53.33% of shot attempts and 59.20% of expected goals at five-on-five during the series, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Pietrangelo joined the Golden Knights as last offseason's top unrestricted free agent, signing a monster seven-year, $61.6-million deal. The 31-year-old won a Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, and he sees familiar habits with his new club, which is on to Round 3 for the third time in four years of existence.
"It's a winning culture," Pietrangelo said of playing in Vegas. "It started in Year 1, and there have been different players added, but the culture stays the same. It starts with ownership and trickles down."
Nathan MacKinnon's Game 6 post-game press conference was something. "I'm going into my ninth year next year and haven't won sh*t" pic.twitter.com/0yBiQzxBpW
"I'm going into my ninth year next year and I haven't won shit. So, I'm just definitely motivated, and it just sucks losing four (games) in a row to a team," MacKinnon said postgame.
"It felt like last year was our first real chance to win, and this year, I thought we were the best team in the league. But for whatever reason, we just couldn't get it together," MacKinnon added. "I'm sure in training camp next year we'll figure it out, dissect things, and come back better."
The Avalanche bowed out in the second round for the third straight season. They won the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's top regular-season club in 2021, beating out the Golden Knights in a tiebreaker after both clubs finished with 82 points.
Colorado thumped Vegas 7-1 in Game 1 and then won Game 2 by a 3-2 margin in overtime before losing the next four.
The Avalanche haven't advanced past the second round since losing in the conference finals back in 2001-02.
MacKinnon debuted with Colorado in 2013-14 after the team chose him first overall in the 2013 draft. The superstar, who'll turn 26 in September, is a finalist for the Hart Trophy this season. He was the runner-up for the honor - given annually to the NHL's MVP - in 2017-18 and 2019-20.
The semifinals of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs will begin Sunday, the NHL announced Thursday night.
Here's a look at the full schedule for both series:
Lightning vs. Islanders
Game
Date
Home
Time (ET)
1
June 13
Lightning
3 p.m.
2
June 15
Lightning
8. p.m.
3
June 17
Islanders
8 p.m.
4
June 19
Islanders
8 p.m.
5*
June 21
Lightning
8 p.m.
6*
June 23
Islanders
8 p.m.
7*
June 25
Lightning
8 p.m.
*If necessary
This series marks a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Final, in which the Lightning prevailed in six games. The defending champs eliminated the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 2, while the Islanders dispatched the Boston Bruins.
Golden Knights vs. Canadiens
Game
Date
Home
Time (ET)
1
June 14
Golden Knights
9 p.m.
2
June 16
Golden Knights
9 p.m.
3
June 18
Canadiens
8 p.m.
4
June 20
Canadiens
8 p.m.
5*
June 22
Golden Knights
9 p.m.
6*
June 24
Canadiens
8 p.m.
7*
June 26
Golden Knights
8 p.m.
In this matchup, the NHL's newest team will take on the league's oldest. The series will also mark the first time this season a Canadian team takes on an American team. The Canadian government recently implemented a travel exemption for clubs entering the country for the final two rounds of the playoffs.
The Vegas Golden Knights advanced to the final four of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by knocking out the Colorado Avalanche with a 6-3 victory in Game 6 on Thursday night.
Vegas will meet the Montreal Canadiens in the semifinal round. The Canadiens swept the Winnipeg Jets in Round 2. The Tampa Bay Lightning will battle the New York Islanders in the other Round 3 matchup.
