Five Minute Major

*Photo from Pucks and Pitchforks*     Trade season is heating up as free agency gets closer and closer. The Los Angeles Kings have acquired LW Kevin Fiala from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a first round draft pick and D Brock Faber, according to announcements made by both teams.    The big piece to this trade is Fiala. He is a pending RFA when free agency opens on July 13, and the Kings are reportedly signing Fiala to a 7 year contract with a $7.785 million AAV. Fiala has a no movement clause that takes effect in the 2023-2024 season, and a modified no trade clause for the final 3 seasons of the deal.    The Wild found that moving Fiala was a necessity for them. They enter this offseason with a tight salary cap situation, as the dead cap hits from buying out the contracts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter are set to jump, with those two contracts counting for $13 million this season, and $14.7 million for the next two seasons.    Wild GM Bill Gu...

*Photo from Sportsnet*     We now know who will be inducted into forever fame in the Hockey world. Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Roberto Luongo, Daniel Alfredsson, Riikka Sallinen, and Herb Carnegie will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2022.    Candidates to get into the Hall of Fame have to receive at least 75 percent of the vote among ballots from the selection committee to be inducted. 4 male players, two female players, two builders, or one builder and one referee may be inducted each year. This year, we have 4 male players, one female, and one builder.    The Sedin twins enter the Hall in their first year of eligibility. Both twins spent their entire 17 year careers with the Vancouver Canucks. Henrik leads the Canucks in points, assists, and games played, and is a two time all star, to go with winning the Art Ross Trophy and the Hart Trophy in 2010. Daniel won the Art Ross and Ted Lindsay awards in 2011, and l...

*Photo from Editor in Leaf*     Depth on defense is always important to a team with Stanley Cup aspirations, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are no different. The Maple Leafs and D Timothy Liljegren have agreed to a two year, $2.8 million extension with a $1.4 million AAV, according to an announcement made by the team.    The Right shot D Liljegren was a pending RFA without arbitration rights on July 13. With this new deal, he is locked in on Toronto's defense picture for the next two seasons. Coming off his first full season in the NHL, Liljegren will still be a RFA when his new contract expires after the 2023-2024 season.    Last season, his first full in the NHL, Liljegren scored 5 goals and contributed 18 assists, averaging 16:24 of ice time per game, finishing with a +15 plus/minus rating in 61 games. In two career playoff games, both last season, Liljegren has a +2 plus/minus rating and zero points.    Across parts of 3 NHL seasons, all with the...

*Photo from the Los Angeles Times* Colorado wins series 4-2     Over two decades since they last did it, the Colorado Avalanche are champions again. Nathan MacKinnon scored, Artturi Lehkonen scored the winning goal, and the Avalanche defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 2-1 victory on Sunday night in Tampa Bay.    With the win, the Avalanche claim their first Stanley Cup win in their first appearance since 2001, where they also won the Cup. In 3 appearances in the Cup Finals as a franchise, the Avalanche have won all 3, becoming the first active NHL team to win all of their Cup Finals appearances.    Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said that "There's a huge sense of satisfaction. Relief is part of it right away when I heard the buzzer go. I'm just so proud. Really, honestly, I'm just so proud and excited for our guys to get rewarded."    The only goal of the first period came from Steven Stamkos, who scored 3:48 into the game to give the ...

*Photo from The Rink*     As the summer advances, the coaching carousel continues to spin. The Chicago Blackhawks are finalizing a deal with Luke Richardson to make him their next head coach, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.    Richardson comes to Chicago after some time as an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens. He had been an assistant in Montreal since 2018. He has NHL assistant coach experience with the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators as well, and served as the head coach for the Belleville Senators, the AHL affiliate of Ottawa.    The hiring of Richardson would mark another rookie coach hire by the Blackhawks, after they hired Jeremy Colliton from their AHL affiliate in November of 2018. Exactly 3 years after Colliton was hired, he was fired by the Blackhawks, who rode with Derek King as interim head coach for the remainder of the regular season. Now, they have their next man in Richardson.    The coaching change ...

*Photo from the Tampa Bay Times* Colorado leads series 3-2     With their season on the line, the Tampa Bay Lightning did what they had to do. Jan Rutta scored, Ondrej Palat scored the game winning goal, and the Lightning defeated the Colorado Avalanche with a 3-2 victory on Friday night in Denver.    Entering the game trailing 3-1 in the series, the Lightning needed to win in order to keep their season alive. That they did, winning to force a game 6 in the series. Two different skaters had two assist games for the Lightning, and they capitalized when they had to.    Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said that "You're down in in the series, the Cup is in the building, you're in a great environment for the home team. And how do you show gamesmanship? You do everything they just did. You get the lead, you defend, you kill off penalties, score on the power play, and then when you need the big goal at the end, you get it."    Starting the scoring f...

*Photo from Yahoo! Sports*     We have a coaching change coming to Sunrise. The Florida Panthers have hired Paul Maurice as their next head coach, according to Darren Dreger of TSN. The Panthers officially confirmed the hiring on Wednesday.    Panthers GM Bill Zito said of bringing in Maurice that "When we spoke to Paul Maurice, it was overwhelming that this was the man to be the real fit. It was a fit to take us into the challenges that are ahead of us moving forward ultimately to what our goal is. Looking forward to what to what we see on the horizon, the challenges that we're going to face with cap, with re-signing some of the guys and trying to get this moving forward and achieve the next level, experience is paramount."    Maurice comes to the Panthers after they decided not to retain interim head coach Andrew Brunette as head coach. Brunette guided the Panthers to a Presidents Trophy and a second round appearance in the playoffs after taking...

*Photo from the Boston Globe* Colorado leads series 3-1     Yeah, I think Nazem Kadri is pretty back. Nathan MacKinnon scored, Kadri scored the game winning goal, and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 3-2 victory on Wednesday night in Tampa Bay.    After missing 4 games due to hand surgery, Kadri got back on the ice and delivered in the biggest moment for the Avalanche. His OT goal gave the Avalanche a commanding 3-1 series lead, just one win away from hoisting the Stanley Cup, with the potential to do it in game 5.    Kadri said of his winning goal that "Sitting here right now it's kind of surreal. I just was excited to join the team again and be in the dressing room. This is what has I've been working on my whole life pretty much, so it was certainly exciting to get back in the lineup."    The only goal of the first period came just 36 seconds into the game, when Anthony Cirelli scored his 3rd goal of the playof...

*Photo from the Hockey News*     On Tuesday night, in between games of the Stanley Cup Finals, the NHL awards took place in Tampa Bay, with a slew of awards being handed out to some of the games best players. If you happened to miss the ceremony on TV, here's a quick rundown of who took home the awards handed out. *Photo from NHL.com* Calder trophy: Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings The only defenseman among the finalists, Seider takes home the Calder Trophy, which is basically the NHL's version of the rookie of the year award. Seider picked up 1,853 points, garnering 170 first place votes, beating out other finalists Trevor Zegras and Michael Bunting. Seider reached the 50 point mark, with 7 goals and 43 assists in his inaugural season. Zegras came in second place in voting, with Bunting in 3rd. *Photo from the Toronto Star* Ted Lindsay award: Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs The Ted Lindsay award is given to the most outstanding player in the NHL, as voted by fellow NHLer...

*Photo from ABC Action News* Colorado leads series 2-1     We've got ourselves a series folks. Nick Paul scored the game winning goal, Steven Stamkos had a goal and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Colorado Avalanche with a 6-2 victory on Monday night in Tampa Bay.    After being punched in the mouth in game two, the Lightning responded in a big way, cutting the series deficit to 2-1 with a game 3 win. The Lightning offense was driven by two point games from Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Pat Maroon, Ondrej Palat, and Victor Hedman, certainly a big response.    Stamkos said of picking up the win that "We knew that this was a pretty much a must-win game for us. So I thought we played like it tonight. I thought our attention to detail was a lot better and the game plan, not that it changed too much, but we executed it. So a way better effort for our group."    Kicking off the scoring for the Avalanche was Gabe Landeskog, who score...

*Photo from Washington Hockey Now*     One of the key parts of the Washington Capitals is in limbo. Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom underwent left hip resurfacing surgery on Friday, according to an announcement by the team.    This type of procedure has no set timeline for recovery, but the Capitals said Backstrom would begin his "lengthy recovery process" immediately. It's also not Backstrom's first time undergoing hip surgery. Backstrom had a arthroscopic surgery on his hip in 2015, but this surgery is considered more serious. He also missed time in the 2021-2022 season due to a hip injury.    Hip resurfacing surgery has a mixed track record among NHL players. Defenseman Ed Jovanovski was able to return in the 2013-2014 season for the Florida Panthers after having the surgery, but Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Kesler had the same surgery after the 2018-2019 season, and was unable to resume his playing career.    Currently, Backstrom has 3 seasons ...

*Photo from Sporting News* Colorado leads series 2-0     Looking at the final score, you'd think it was the first drive of a football game. Valeri Nichushkin scored twice, Cale Makar potted two goals, and the Colorado Avalanche routed the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 7-0 shutout victory on Saturday night in Denver.    So far this series, it's been all Avalanche, taking a 2-0 series lead in dominating fashion in game two. They became the 3rd team in NHL history to score at least 3 goals in the first period of the first two cup final games, joining the 1936 Detroit Red Wings and the 1981 New York Islanders.    Simply put, the Avalanche are a machine. They've won 7 straight playoff games, having not lost since game 5 of the second round against the St. Louis Blues, and even then, they were one win from advancing. Nichushkin and Makar each scored twice for the Avalanche, leading the offensive attack.    Colorado defenseman Josh Manson said of the key to...

*Photo from Broad Street Hockey*     As the playoffs reach their winding point, the coaching carousel is beginning to heat up. The Philadelphia Flyers have hired John Tortorella to be their next head coach, according to Kevin Weekes of NHL Network. The Flyers have confirmed the deal.    With the hiring, Tortorella becomes the 23rd head coach in Flyers history, after interim head coach Mike Yeo was fired. His contract is for 4 years, and is in the neighborhood of $4 million per season, according to Weekes. The Flyers first interviewed Tortorella back in May for the vacancy.    Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher said of Tortorella that "John demands the best out of his players every single game. He is a Stanley Cup champion and has a lengthy track record of both regular-season and playoff success. During the interview process, we discussed a number of factors that are crucial to bring this team immediate success, and it became clear to me that his vision and style...

*Photo from CBS Sports*     As one coach goes, another coach enters. The Vegas Golden Knights have hired Bruce Cassidy as their next head coach, according to NHL Network's Kevin Weekes. The Golden Knights have confirmed the news, making the deal official.    Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon said of hiring Cassidy that "We were thorough, we did not interview a long list of candidates, we were pretty specific about what we were looking for, what we felt the right coach for our team needed to be. Partway through that process, the decision was made in Boston where Bruce was available, and able to be contacted. We got permission from Boston, which is part of how that process works. Really, it's eight days or whatever it's been since this happened for Bruce, so a lot's gone on in a short period of time."    After a disappointing season in Vegas that saw the Golden Knights miss the playoffs for the first time in team history, Pete Deboer was fired as head coach. They pivo...

*Photo from the Tampa Bay Times* Colorado leads series 1-0     If game one is any indication of the rest of the series, we're in for a real treat. Gabe Landeskog had a goal and an assist, Andre Burakovsky scored the winning goal, and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 4-3 overtime victory on Wednesday night in Denver.    After a long layoff in between the conference finals and the Stanley Cup, the Avalanche came out firing on all cylinders, taking game one of the series at home, starting the series the right way. Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen, and Valeri Nichushkin were each two point scorers for the Avalanche.    Landeskog said after the game that "I hope I'm not alone, but I was pretty nervous all day and coming off of warmups the fans were amazing. You're trying to enjoy the moment as much as you can but you're human and the nerves are there. That's OK, you just have to deal with it and I thought as a team we did a good job o...

*Photo from the Hockey Writers*     Good team defense is important, and the Nashville Predators are trying to address it. The Predators and D Jeremy Lauzon have agreed to a 4 year, $8 million extension, with a $2 million AAV, according to an announcement by the Predators.    Lauzon was a pending RFA in July, so he's now 100 percent back in the fold in Nashville, for the next 4 seasons. Lauzon is a defenseman who can play both sides, but is a natural left shot defenseman and is known for his physical play and penalty kill presence rather than scoring goals, so he's a NHL regular 3rd pairing defenseman.    Asked about staying in Nashville, Lauzon said that "As a defenseman who likes to play with physicality, I love the identity our team brings each game and knew this was a group I would fit in with right away. My teammates and the entire organization made me feel welcome from the day I arrived, and I'm looking forward to some stability and a chance to help ou...

*Photo from Oil on Whyte*     As the offseason begins for the Edmonton Oilers, they've lost a key piece. Goaltender Mikko Koskinen has signed a two year contract with HC Lugano in Switzerland, according to an announcement by HC Lugano on Monday, which confirms the deal.    After playing in the KHL in Russia, Koskinen returned to the NHL to play for the Oilers, and now, as a pending UFA, the Finnish goalie is going back overseas, this time to play in Switzerland. As a soon to be 34 year old, this likely concludes Koskinen's NHL career.    Last season with the Oilers, ultimately his final in Edmonton, Koskinen finished the season with a 27-12-4 record, with a 3.10 GAA and .903 save percentage, getting 43 starts and two relief appearances. Koskinen made a few relief appearances in the playoffs, but was the backup goalie to Mike Smith for the duration of the postseason run, which ended in the Western Conference Finals.    Outside of a short 4 game sti...

*Photo from Sportsnet*     Right after being eliminated, the New York Rangers immediately made a roster move. The Rangers and RW Vitali Kravtsov have agreed to a one year, $875,000 deal, according to his agent Dan Milstein. The Rangers have confirmed the deal.    This offseason, Kravtsov was a pending RFA, and now has a new deal for the 2022-2023 season. Kravtsov will be an RFA again next offseason. He didn't have arbitration rights, so the Rangers could have also issued a qualifying offer to keep him under team control, which is similar to the deal he got.    In his professional career, Kravtsov has one NHL season under his belt so far. It came in the shortened 2021 season, with Kravtsov scoring two goals, also adding two assists, with a -6 plus/minus rating with an average of 12:24 of ice time per game, playing in 20 games in the Pandemic shortened 56 game season with the Rangers.    Entering the 2021-2022 season, Kravtsov was left off the ...

*Photo from Sporting News* Tampa Bay wins series 4-2     We might just have a 3 peat in hockey after all. Steven Stamkos scored two goals, Ondrej Palat had a two assist game, and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the New York Rangers with a 2-1 victory on Saturday night in Tampa Bay.    The Lightning have reverse swept the Rangers with this win. After trailing 2-0 in the series, the Lightning have rattled off 4 straight wins, winning the series 4-2 and clinching a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals for the 3rd straight year, having won the whole thing in their last two trips.    Tampa Bay also continued their recent playoff dominance, dating back to the playoff bubbles in 2020. They've now won 11 straight playoff series, which is the 3rd longest run of playoff series wins in NHL history. They trail only the Montreal Canadiens from 1976-1980 with 13 straight series wins, and the New York Islanders from 1980-1984 with 19 straight.    Lightning head coach...

*Photo from the Buffalo Hockey Beat*     A longtime Buffalo Sabre is getting his deserved honor. The Sabres organization announced on Friday morning that they will retire former goaltender Ryan Miller's number 30 and raise it to the rafters next season.    In his 18 season NHL career, Miller spent the first 10 and a half seasons in a Sabres uniform, making his debut in 2002-2003, and staying with the Sabres up until midway through the 2013-2014 season, when he was sent to the St. Louis Blues.    Miller told the Sabres website that "I've always appreciated my experience here as a member of the community. Coming here and playing hockey was a dream come true. Playing with a great NHL organization and building something with a great group of guys. But then to also feel at home in the city was important to me and to make myself a member of the community where I could give back in different ways."    Across Miller's 10 and a half seasons with the S...

*Photo from NHL.com* Tampa Bay leads series 3-2     Everyone knew this series was going to be a battle, and it's been a fun one. Mikhail Sergachev scored, Ondrej Palat scored the winning goal, and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the New York Rangers with a 3-1 victory on Thursday night in Manhattan.    After losing two straight games to begin the series, the Lighting were down 2-0, an unfamiliar spot for the back to back defending champions. They then proceeded to rattle off 3 straight wins, taking the 3-2 series lead, and now sit one win away from the Stanley Cup Finals.    Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said of Palat's goal that "Pally has been a guy that, like I've talked about and we've all talked about, is just the warrior mentality out there. He's willing to do anything and he gets rewarded because he plays the game the right way. Whether it's hockey gods or karma or whatever it is, you do the right things, things are bound to happen." ...