The 18-year-old was selected by the Canucks in the third round of the 2017 draft. He's coming off his third season with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League, where he went 29-21-1 with a .910 save percentage, a 2.79 goals-against average, and seven shutouts.
DiPietro's impressive season earned him the OHL Goaltender of the Year Award, and he was named Canada's third-string goalie at the World Championship in Denmark.
With DiPietro locked up, the team now boasts another promising goaltending prospect alongside 2014 second-round pick Thatcher Demko.
As NHL teams are eliminated from Stanley Cup contention, theScore NHL freelance writer Katie Brown looks back at the highs and lows of their seasons, along with the biggest questions ahead of 2018-19. The 27th edition focuses on the Nashville Predators.
The Good
A record-breaking season. The Predators won a division title and claimed the Presidents’ Trophy for the first time in their history a year after losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final. They also recorded 53 wins, a franchise record. Vezina Trophy finalist Pekka Rinne could become the first player in Predators history to win the award, which would be the first of his career after three previous top-three finishes.
Sensational Subban. P.K. Subban was named a Norris Trophy finalist for the third time after putting together his third 82-game season and recording 59 points. The veteran was the only Nashville player to appear in every game. Though he was one point off his career-best 60-point season in 2014-15, this year’s outing was his best statistically. He finished the season ranked eighth in the league in points by defensemen, while his 16 goals were tied for second.
The JOFA line. The Predators’ top unit of Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg, and Viktor Arvidsson was dangerous all year. The line ranked among the league's top five statistically during the season and added an incredible 10 goals in 148 minutes at even strength in the playoffs.
The Bad
Inconsistent goaltending. Rinne might have had a Vezina-worthy regular season, but his playoffs were ... not the best. He was pulled three times, all at home, during the Predators’ series against the Winnipeg Jets. In Game 7, he gave up two goals on seven shots and was yanked within the first 11 minutes. Rinne did have a few good moments, including a 34-save shutout in Game 6, but his save percentage ended up a dismal .900 for the series. During the regular season, his stat line was impressive: 42-13-4 with a 2.31 goals-against average and .927 save percentage.
Depth didn't deliver. Against the Jets, the Predators scored 19 goals - and 13 of them came from their top line and Subban. Basically, no one beyond the top line made much of an impact on the scoresheet. Nashville addressed its forward depth during the offseason by adding players like Nick Bonino, Kyle Turris, Ryan Hartman, and Mike Fisher to play with a healthy Kevin Fiala, but none of them scored more than two points in the series.
The defense underperformed. The Predators’ formidable defense has become one of their trademarks. Subban, Mattias Ekholm, Roman Josi, and Ryan Ellis form one of the best top-four groups in the league. But they ran into a buzzsaw in the Jets. Winnipeg’s relentless attack, skill, and ability to pressure in the zone gave Nashville’s blue-liners a really tough time. There were stretches where the Predators held their own, but Winnipeg was just that much better.
The Questions
What does Ryan Ellis' next contract look like? Ellis has one year left until he’s a UFA, but he wants to stay in Nashville, and the two parties can start discussing an extension July 1. His current four-year contract, signed in 2014, pays him a reasonable $2.5 million a year, but he could command around $6 million annually on his next deal. Ellis missed part of the season because of knee surgery and played just 44 games but still managed 32 points, which equates roughly to a 60-point pace over 82 games.
How much does Rinne have left? Rinne's said he'll play the one year left on his contract, but hasn't thought further than that. So he’ll be Nashville’s starter for at least one more season, but even he can recognize that he’ll eventually be overtaken by backup Juuse Saros (as long as the 23-year-old continues to progress).
What else needs to change? Probably not much. With the exception of UFAs Scott Hartnell and Alexei Emelin, the Predators will ice mostly the same team in the fall. General manager David Poile could make a splash if he wants to, but don’t expect him to be one of John Tavares' suitors. Adding another forward or two to boost scoring depth might be prudent considering Nashville's offense looked top-heavy in the playoffs.
Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland is reportedly looking to put pen to paper with a couple of pending free agents.
Holland has met with Newport group, which represents pending unrestricted free agent Mike Green, a player the team is interested in bringing back, according to The Athletic's Craig Custance.
Green is coming off his third season with the Red Wings, posting eight goals and 33 points in 66 games.
Holland has also met with Anthony Mantha's agent, Pat Brisson. They're reportedly nearing a bridge contract for the pending restricted free agent.
"I thought the meeting went well," Brisson said. "We obviously discussed some possibilities we're going to have to review together internally and we anticipate getting back to him probably within a week."
Mantha is coming off his entry-level deal and just finished his third year with the team, recording 24 goals and 48 points in 80 games - good enough for third in team scoring.
After a disappointing 2018 season, the Detroit Red Wings hold their highest draft pick at No. 6 overall since 1990, when they took Keith Primeau at No. 3.
But that doesn't mean the team isn't willing to deal the top-10 pick.
"I've started to talk to some teams about a lot," general manager Ken Holland said, according to The Athletic's Craig Custance. "As you work your way towards (host) Dallas at the draft, draft movement possibilities - I think at this stage in the game, everybody is kicking tires as to what might be out there.
"I'm open to possibly move."
Holland noted to Custance he has little desire to try to trade up in the draft, and with the team eyeing centers and defensemen - a position the draft has an abundance of - they wouldn't be opposed to moving down.
"We're also comfortable (doing nothing)," Holland said. "We're going to get a good player at six."
In all, the Red Wings will have 11 picks at June's draft, giving them plenty of opportunities to make trades or simply add to their prospect pool.
Associate coach Rick Bowness was dismissed and assistant coach Brad Lauer agreed to part ways with the club, it was announced Thursday.
Bowness had been with the Lightning since June 2013, overseeing the defense and penalty kill. He has coached more than 2,000 NHL games, largely in an assistant or associate capacity.
Lauer joined the team in 2015 after spending four seasons with the Anaheim Ducks.
With his power-play marker in the second period of Game 2 on Wednesday night, Alex Ovechkin collected his first career goal in the Stanley Cup Final. It was a big achievement for arguably the purest goal-scorer going, but more importantly, it helped the Washington Capitals walk away with a series-tying win against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The goal was a classic one-timer from the side of the net, but looking at the entire play, it becomes evident that the tally was the product of the Capitals exploiting the Golden Knights' blown coverage on the penalty kill.
The Golden Knights initially appeared to be in decent shape. As Nicklas Backstrom moved the puck to John Carlson at the point, Deryk Engelland (positioned in front of the net) made sure to get his stick in Ovechkin's shooting lane, anticipating a potential pass from Carlson.
Instead, the puck went to Backstrom, and Engelland shifted his focus to T.J. Oshie, who was positioned in the slot. Unfortunately for the Golden Knights, it looks like all four of their skaters were trying to prevent the puck from getting to him.
While all the Vegas players were fixated on the puck, Ovechkin started sneaking toward the side of the goal.
The puck then went down low to Lars Eller. He quickly made a one-time, cross-ice pass to Ovechkin, leaving no time for Engelland to get his stick or body in position to block the pass.
Marc-Andre Fleury attempted to poke-check the puck, but missed, leaving him with a desperation pad save as his lone hope.
Meanwhile, it's worth noting that Tomas Nosek wasn't covering Oshie or Ovechkin.
The pass got through. Ovechkin had moved down lower, and he isn't going to miss from there. Nosek finally noticed Ovechkin, but it was far too late.
The Capitals' power play has been the second-most lethal unit during the playoffs and Wednesday night it clicked once again. Eller stepped up, taking the spot usually occupied by the leading scorer of the playoffs, Evgeny Kuznetsov (who left the game in the first period with an injury).
As for the Golden Knights, next time, they might want to be sure they pay attention to the man with over 600 goals on his resume.
Capitals head coach Barry Trotz was not a fan of Brayden McNabb's hit on Evgeny Kuznetsov, which knocked Washington's No. 1 center out of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final in the first period.
Trotz described the play as a "questionable hit" from the Vegas Golden Knights defenseman, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli. Trotz added that he thought the hit was high, and said "the league will look at it."
Holtby bounced back from an uneven Game 1, making 37 saves, but one clearly stood out to his teammates, who were grateful for the former Vezina Trophy winner.
"That'll be on Sportscenter," Matt Niskanen added.
The Capitals now head back home with a 1-1 series split and are looking to take control of the series after surviving the Golden Knights in a rowdy atmosphere.
