The Winnipeg Jets earned their first Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history on Sunday.
Although Winnipeg lost 4-1 to the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, the Washington Capitals lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets, meaning they can’t catch the Jets.
The Jets led the Western Conference since Jan. 14, dominating the regular season with a 55-22-4 record with one more game remaining. Although Winnipeg and Washington raced for the top spot for most of the season, the Jets separated themselves.
That means the Jets are the first Canadian team to win the Presidents' Trophy in 13 years.
The Vancouver Canucks were the last Canadian team to finish on top of the NHL, accomplishing the feat in 2012. They also won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2011, when they lost in the Stanley Cup final to the Boston Bruins.
Since the award was introduced in 1986, a Canadian team has won the Presidents’ Trophy only eight times. Winnipeg is the fifth Canadian club to win it, with three Canadian franchises winning multiple times. Before the Canucks won, the Ottawa Senators clinched the trophy in 2003.
The Oilers were the first team to capture the Presidents' Trophy, taking it home in 1986 and 1987. After that, the Calgary Flames were the best team in the regular season in 1988 and 1989. The Oilers followed their Presidents’ Trophy win in 1987 with the Stanley Cup championship, while the Flames did the same in ’89.
However, winning the Presidents' Trophy does not often lead to Stanley Cup success. The last team to be the champion of the regular season and playoffs were the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2012-13 season.
In recent years, it has been more likely for teams to win the Stanley Cup one or two seasons after winning the Presidents' Trophy.
The Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning and Capitals are all recent examples of this. Florida won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2022 and the Cup in 2024. The Avalanche won the Cup in 2022, one year after being regular-season champs, while the Lightning captured back-to-back Cups in 2020 and 2021 after finishing first in the 2019 regular season. The Capitals won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2016 and 2017 before winning the Stanley Cup in 2018.
The Jets, meanwhile, haven’t had plenty of playoff success lately. In their last two playoff campaigns, they lost in the first round in five games. They hope things will be different this year with a Presidents' Trophy under their belt.
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"It's very disappointing seeing where we were and now where we're at," said Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin Sunday afternoon following practice. The evening prior, the Red Wings were officially eliminated from playoff contention, though the "e" next to their name in the standings felt like a formality after limping through the month of March to the end of season with playoff hopes that existed as a mathematical possibility more than as any offshoot of their performances on the ice. For the ninth season in a row, Detroit will not have representation in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Now, Monday night against the Dallas Stars, the Red Wings will play their final game at Little Caesars Arena of the 2024-25 season, a jewel of a venue opened in 2017 that's yet to host a Stanley Cup Playoff game.
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"There's always something to play for in this league," said Larkin. "There's always someone watching. There's always opportunity." But on this particular Monday, it's difficult to identify just what that something might be.
"We're out. What else can I say? We're out," said coach Todd McLellan Sunday. "We're not happy. There are different moments throughout the season that you can point to, different aspects of our play that point to being out. And that's where we are right now. All that does is tell us we've got a lot more work to do, and we've got to get after it."
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"You could tell the spirit wasn't the same in practice," the coach admitted. "I get it. But they gotta come and work tomorrow. I'm counting on them, and they should count on each other to do that." McLellan used the word "reputation" to describe what was on the line for his team individually in three remaining games that lack collective stakes.
When asked what needs to improve for 2025-26, McLellan named the penalty kill, defending in all situations, five-on-five offense and defense, and becoming heavier as growth areas "off the top of my head real quick." In short, there's a lot of work left to do in Detroit.
Monday night's game (a 7pm puck drop) will air on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit in the Detroit market and the NHL Network elsewhere. 97.1 The Ticket will handle the radio broadcast, per usual.
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At the beginning of the season, the Montreal Canadiens were expected to finish at the bottom of the Atlantic Division for the fourth-straight season.
Entering the final week of the campaign, the Canadiens are on the verge of making the playoffs for the first time since their improbable run to the Stanley Cup final four years ago.
Montreal has set a torrid pace with a 6-1-1 record and an NHL-best 13 points since March 30, pulling away from the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers and New York Islanders. But this weekend, a 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators and a 1-0 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday prevented the Canadiens from punching their ticket to the post-season.
"I thought our effort was there the whole time,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said Saturday. “Coming in on a back-to-back is tough. I thought we kept it pretty simple, trying to go north, (we) defended well, our penalty kill did a helluva job. It's a point. We might need that, so we'll take it."
The only club still able to catch Montreal is the equally surprising Columbus Blue Jackets, which registered back-to-back wins over the Washington Capitals to stay alive. With two games left, the Canadiens have 88 points and lead Columbus by three points for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
Canadiens' Suzuki Itching For Playoff Hockey In Sold-Out Bell CentreMontreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki knew exactly what he wanted to accomplish this season before it began.
The Habs need a single point in their final two games against Chicago on Monday and Carolina on Wednesday to eliminate the Blue Jackets and lock up their first-round matchup against the Capitals.
The matchup against Washington would mark the first time that the two clubs met since 2010. The Capitals would be the overwhelming favorite in the series as they were 15 years ago, but Montreal did upset top-seeded Washington in seven games behind the stellar goaltending of Jaroslav Halak.
“(We have to) just stay the course,” Canadiens coach Martin St-Louis said Saturday. “Play the game that’s in front of you, like we did (against Toronto), and things will work out. I’m really proud of the way the guys played tonight.”
Last year’s first-round pick, Ivan Demidov, took to the ice for the first time with his new teammates at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday. There had been speculation that the speedy 19-year-old Russian could make his NHL debut against the Blackhawks on Monday, but that could be in jeopardy based on the fact that Monday’s contest has playoff implications.
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Report: Sharks captain Couture to announce end of NHL career Tuesday originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
It appears to be the end of an era for the Sharks.
Veteran San Jose center Logan Couture will announce the end of his NHL career in a press conference on Tuesday at SAP Center, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported Monday.
#sjsharks and captain Logan Couture are scheduled to hold a press conference Tuesday to announce that Couture is unable to continue his playing career as a result of injury.
Tough way to end an incredible career. Couture led playoffs (in separate years) in goals, assists and…
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) April 14, 2025
Couture was selected by the Sharks with the No. 9 pick in the 2007 NHL Draft, debuting in the 2009-10 season, and played 14-plus seasons with San Jose before suffering a deep groin issue, specifically osteitis pubis, in January 2024. Couture has not played since, and missed the entire 2024-25 NHL season as he attempted to work his way back to the ice.
In 933 career games with San Jose, Couture, a two-time NHL All-Star, recorded 701 points (323 goals, 378 assists) while being named to the 2010-11 All-Rookie Team in his first full season with the Sharks.
Couture played a pivotal role in helping lead San Jose on numerous playoff runs from 2011-2019, including three Western Conference Finals appearances (2011, 2016, 2019) and one Stanley Cup (2016) appearance during his tenure.
The 36-year-old is beloved by Sharks fans, and now appears to be hanging up his skates after a stellar career in San Jose.