NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – April 17, 2026
The final two Western Conference first-round series are set, Connor McDavid wins the Art Ross Trophy, Nathan MacKinnon takes home the Richard Trophy, Macklin Celebrini sets a Sharks record, the Canucks reportedly fire GM Patrik Allvin, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPS OF THE LAST NIGHT OF THE NHL REGULAR SEASON
NHL.COM: Edmonton Oilers rookie Matt Savoie tallied his first NHL hat trick as his club romped to a 6-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. Connor McDavid collected four assists for the 41-30-11 Oilers, who clinched second place in the Pacific Division with 93 points. Canucks rookie Ty Mueller scored his first NHL goal.
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (NHL Images)
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Oilers will face off against the Anaheim Ducks in the first round. Meanwhile, McDavid finished with a league-leading 138 points, winning the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading scorer for the sixth time. He joins Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Gordie Howe as the only players to win that award at least six times.
Speaking of the Ducks, they nipped the Nashville Predators 5-4 on a tie-breaking goal by Troy Terry. Mikael Granlund had three assists for the Ducks, who finished one point behind the Oilers to sit third in the Pacific Division. Steven Stamkos and Filip Forsberg each scored twice for the Predators.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Stamkos and Forsberg both finished this season having reached the 40-goal plateau. For Stamkos (42 goals), it’s the eighth time he’s done it.
The Colorado Avalanche blanked the Seattle Kraken 2-0. Scott Wedgewood turned in a 22-save shutout while Nick Blankenburg and Parker Kelly scored for the league-leading Avalanche (121 points), who will meet the Los Angeles Kings. Rookie goalie Victor Ostman stopped 33 of 35 shots for the Kraken.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Avalanche rested several players, including Nathan MacKinnon. Nevertheless, MacKinnon won the Maurice Richard Trophy as this season’s leading goal scorer, finishing with 53. It’s the first time he’s won the Richard Trophy. He and Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens were the only players to reach the vaunted 50-goal plateau this season.
Wedgewood and fellow Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood won the William M. Jennings Trophy, which is awarded annually to the goaltender(s) who play a minimum of 25 games for the team allowing the fewest goals during the regular season.
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar returned behind the bench after missing the club’s last two games with facial injuries after being struck by a puck during a game against the Vegas Golden Knights last weekend.
As for the Kings, they dropped a 3-1 decision to the Calgary Flames. Goaltender Arsenii Sergeev stopped 27 shots for the win in his first NHL game, while Joel Farabee reached the 20-goal plateau for the third time. Quinton Byfield scored for the Kings.
San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini had a goal and two assists in a 6-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets. William Eklund and John Klingberg each had three points for the Sharks. Cole Koepke replied for the Jets.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Celebrini finished the season with 115 points, breaking the franchise record of 114 set by Joe Thornton in 2006-07. The 19-year-old Sharks center finished fourth overall among NHL scorers this season.
The St. Louis Blues closed out their season with a 5-3 win over the Utah Mammoth. Robert Thomas tallied a hat trick for the Blues. Clayton Keller and MacKenzie Weegar each had two assists for the Mammoth, who will face the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round of the playoffs.
HEADLINES
NHL.COM: The complete schedule for the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs has been released. It begins Saturday with Game 1 of the Ottawa Senators-Carolina Hurricanes series at 3 pm ET.
THE PROVINCE: cited a report in the Swedish paper Aftonbladet, which claimed that general manager Patrik Allvin is set to be dismissed by the Vancouver Canucks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: As of this writing, there has been no official confirmation yet by the Canucks. It’s been speculated for weeks that Allvin could be replaced as general manager following one of the worst seasons in the franchise’s history.
NEW JERSEY HOCKEY NOW: The Devils have hired former Florida Panthers assistant general manager Sunny Mehta as their new general manager. He’s returning to the club where he pioneered the NHL’s first full-time analytics department from 2014 to 2018.
Mehta joined the Panthers in 2020. Promoted to assistant GM in 2023, he contributed to the Panthers winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2024 and 2025.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Among Mehta’s first duties will be deciding the future of head coach Sheldon Keefe, opening contract extension talks on July 1 with team captain Nico Hischier, and perhaps gauging the trade value of veteran defenseman Dougie Hamilton.
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: The Blue Jackets signed head coach Rick Bowness to a one-year contract extension.
Bowness took over on an interim basis in mid-January. Under his guidance, the Blue Jackets rose from the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings to second place in the Metropolitan Division by March 25.
However, the Blue Jackets went 3-9-1 over their remaining games to fall out of the playoff picture. That sparked a public season-ending tirade from Bowness, accusing the players of being too comfortable with losing. He subsequently walked back those comments, but his claim that he would change the culture if he returned as head coach has resonated with management.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bowness claimed he loved the Blue Jackets players, who said they loved playing for him. It remains to be seen if that mutual love translates into a culture change that leads to a winning team next season.
NHL.COM: Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews appeared noncommittal about his future when speaking to the media during the club’s locker cleanout on Thursday. The 28-year-old superstar center expects to be physically ready for next season, but he’s uncertain about where things go from here.
Matthews said he can’t predict the future, pointing out that the Maple Leafs are in the process of hiring new management.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It sounds like Matthews will wait to see who becomes the new GM and what their plans are for the offseason and for 2026-27. He has two years remaining on his contract, which explains the curiosity about his plans among the denizens of Leafs Nation.
TSN: Speaking of the Maple Leafs, Craig Berube said he expects to return as their head coach next season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: That will depend on the next general manager and how much autonomy he’ll have from ownership when it comes to making decisions about the coaching staff.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin offered up more clarity about his future. Despite speculation that this season could be his last, the 40-year-old Capitals captain remains hopeful that he hasn’t played his final NHL game. He intends to decide at some point in the offseason.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Ovechkin is due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: The Penguins placed defenseman Matt Dumba on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. It will allow him to finish this season without having to participate in the AHL playoffs.
FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: The Panthers will have a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft after all. They had traded that pick to the Chicago Blackhawks as part of last year’s Seth Jones trade. However, the pick was top-10 protected. The Panthers currently sit eighth in the draft order and can fall no lower than two spots in the draft lottery.
Months back I posted, for comparison purposes, the league standings by Conference once all teams had reached the 41-game half-way mark – a process that took a couple of weeks due to scheduling quirks. Below, in two separate posts – Eastern then Western – I repeat that, along with the standings over the second half which clearly reflects the magnitude of team performances that drastically changed their position, including either dropping them out of contention … elevating them into a playoff spot … or just missing by a small margin.
Eastern Conference First Half
1. Tpa 25 13 3 53 142 110 +32 .646
2. Det 24 14 3 51 131 138 -7 .622
3. Car 24 14 3 51 138 127 +11 .622
4. Pha 22 12 7 51 129 118 +11 .622
5. Mtl 22 13 6 50 137 138 -1 . 610
6. Pitt 20 12 9 49 135 131 +4 .598
7. Buf 22 15 4 48 130 129 +1 .585
8 . NyI 22 15 4 48 116 117 -1 .585
9. Fla 22 16 3 4 7 129 130 -1 .573
10. Was 21 15 5 47 133 118 +15 .573
11. N.J. 22 17 2 46 113 121 -8 .561
12. Ott 20 16 5 45 136 134 +2 .549
13. Tor 19 15 7 45 137 138 -1 .549
14. Bos 21 18 2 44 130 134 -4 .537
15. NyR 19 17 5 43 106 110 -4 .524
16. Clb 18 16 7 43 127 137 -19 .524
Eastern Conference Second Half
1. Car 29 8 4 62 158 113 +45 .756
2. Buf 28 8 5 61 158 112 +46 .744
3. Mtl 26 11 4 56 146 118 +28 .683
4. Bos 24 9 8 56 142 116 +26 .683
5. Ott 24 11 6 54 142 112 +30 .659
6. Tpa 25 13 3 53 148 121 +27 .646
7. Pitt 21 13 7 49 158 177 -19 .598
8. Clb 22 14 5 49 126 116 +10 .598
9. Was 22 15 4 48 130 136 -6 .585
10. Pha 21 15 5 47 121 125 -4 .573
11. NyI 21 19 1 43 117 124 -7 .524
12. Det 17 17 7 41 111 120 -9 .500
13. N.J. 20 20 1 41 117 133 -16 .500
14. Fla 18 22 1 37 122 146 -24 .451
15. NyR 15 22 4 34 132 140 -8 .415
16. Tor 13 21 7 33 116 161 -45 .402
Western Conference First Half
1. Col 31 3 7 69 165 93 +72 .842
2. Dal 25 9 7 57 143 113 +30 .695
3. Min 24 10 7 55 129 108 +21 .671
4. Veg 18 11 12 48 128 129 – 1 .585
5. Sea 20 14 7 47 115 120 -5 .573
6. Edm 20 15 6 46 137 138 -1 .561
7. Ana 21 17 3 45 139 147 -7 .549
8. LA 18 14 9 45 111 113 -2 .549
9. SJ 20 18 3 43 127 146 -19 .524
10. Nas 19 18 4 42 118 136 -18 .512
11. Uta 19 19 3 41 126 118 +8 .500
12. Cgy 18 19 4 40 111 121 -10 .488
13. Chi 16 18 7 39 115 132 -17 .476
14. StL 15 18 8 38 101 143 -42 .463
15. Van 16 20 5 37 117 143 -26 .451
16. Win 15 21 5 35 118 130 -12 .427
Western Conference Second Half
1. Dal 25 11 5 55 136 113 +23 .671
2. Col 24 13 4 52 137 110 +27 .634
3. Uta 24 14 3 51 133 122 +11 .621
4. Min 22 14 5 49 143 132 +11 .598
4. StL 22 15 4 48 130 115 +15 .585
6. Edm 21 5 5 47 145 131 +14 .573
7. Veg 21 15 5 47 137 121 +16 .573
8. Win 20 14 7 47 113 130 -17 .573
9. Ana 22 16 3 47 134 141 -7 .573
10. LA 17 13 11 45 114 134 – 20 .549
11. Nas 19 16 6 44 129 133 -4 .537
12. S.J. 19 17 5 43 124 146 -22 .524
13. Cgy 16 20 5 37 101 138 -37 .451
14. Chi 13 21 7 33 98 143 -45 .402
15. Sea 14 23 4 32 111 143 -32 .390
16. Van 9 29 3 21 99 173 -74 .256
Most noteworthy improved performances in the 2nd half: Carolina, Buffalo, Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, Columbus, Utah, Winnipeg.
Most noteworthy collapses in the 2nd half: Detroit, NYI, New Jersey, Toronto, Florida, Seattle, NYR, Vancouver and Chicago.
I like the chances of the bruins picking up the leafs draft choice this year even though the percentages are good. After last years draft where they sank to 7th was a bit disappointing although Hagens is looking good. There are so many good prospects in this years draft. We should be able to draft a good centre at 6 or 7 and with our own get a pretty good d. I heard Felger yesterday saying the draft isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be in building a club. well if I’m going to believe Felger or a a couple of seasoned GMs who say it’s crucial
to your teams success I’m going to believe the later.
JA,we will have to wait until May 5, to see if we get the Maple Leafs pick!
welcome home back to NJ, Sunny Mehta. He was born in Michigan but grew up in NJ, and was originally hired for analytics by NJ before he joined the Panthers.
now onto hiring a president of hockey ops. Everyone mentions Shanahan due to his Devils roots, but if not, Mike Gillis deserves another chance, this time as hockey ops not gm
Mehta has a lot of work to turn the team around, not a lot of cap space, and a LOT of no movement/trade clauses on the team
If anything of Zito’s approach rubbed off on Mehta he should do OK.
So the play offs are starting and I encourage everyone to play the fun drinking game Mrs.Dark and I play.
Essentially it’s called “are the Leafs in the playoffs??”
Every time (usually a Canadian broadcast) the announcer mentions the Leafs through some kind of reference of what is on the ice in the current game that the Leafs clearly aren’t playing in. You DRINK.
Example. “Montreal Canadiens dump the puck into Tampa Bay’s end and former Toronto Maple Leaf 6th round D man Pontus Holmberg pushes a break out pass up the middle”
Chris Cuthbert is particularly inflicted with this habit, so have lots of drink on hand.
DarkG
You’ll be blackout drunk by the 1st intermission if you start at puckdrop.
If you watch Hockey Central leading up to the game you might be unsure of which game you’re watching before passing out.
100%
still fun to shake your head at how they try and continuously work this team into a broadcast where they don’t need to be mentioned
They’ll analyse Austin Mathew’s contract, comments, and potential Leaf GM hire info during the first intermission of the Sens v. Canes game.
It’s why I don’t watch the intermission nonsense.
I also dislike most of the people on the broadcast…biz is a leaf Homer…bieska is smug and I find him to be unlikeable, Friedman annoys me, I still have not forgiven Ron for his position with Grapes. I just listen to tunes, get snacks…play with my border collie…anything else lol.
It is likely mostly a me thing, but i just cannot be bothered with the lot of them.
Not at all a “me thing” 1Oilerefan … I agree totally.
Cannot stand that CBC “homer” crew, with Bieksa especially annoying. I switch over to YouTube to see if anything of more interest pops up there – like unusual rainfall in Dubai!
I find my Mrs. Dark is an excellent evaluator of the media talent. Interestingly she has a particular disdain for most of the females on sport broadcasts.
Cassie Campbell – D colossal fail not because she’ s a woman but because she’s just not very good.
Sheryl Pounder – B+ – knows her stuff and delivers it in a pretty good way. Annoyance for this missus is her wild appearance changes. She never looks the same twice.
Claire Hanna C+/B- some homer bias, she’s gotten better. She can get a tad too excited. Breathe — calm down.
Kate Bierness B+ when she’s doing basketball. She knows her lane and stays in it.
Andie Patrillo – C. She used to be better. Now they just throw her into broadcasts when there’s a need. Unfortunate.
Kenzie Lalonde – C – play by play is tough even for men. They usually cut their teeth in the minors..I guess she is too doing largely PWHL. She’s getting better. Suffers from the same thing Claire Hanna does. Sometimes less is more.
Osmak a solid B. She’s been around a while. She knows her stuff and doesn’t throw her voice like a complete luna-tic-toc influencer (see Sara Davis who does her best work when muted)
Tekeya Singh C. Knows sports gambling. Knows Davis Sanchez. And she knows how to smile. In fact I suspect she’d be smiling at a funeral.
Jennifer Botteril- B . As far as that panel is concerned she’s by far the most tolerable.
Hazel Mae – B+ – her mid game pieces are often Puff Pieces but she stays in her lane as a sideline reporter.
Madison Shipman – SOLID B. I think if I did this again in a year or two from now she’s be the only A up here. She knows her baseball. Speaks clearly and concisely like a normal human. Doesn’t sugar coat it. When it’s crap (like the jays are currently) she says so.
Agree disagree…these are opinions only. I’m not a tv broadcaster.
You could have lots of practice just reading these columns!
You guys sure seem to impacted by the Leafs talk, sheesh.
It’s the biggest fan base in the country, by a lot I would think, so hardly a surprise that a media company that makes it’s money by having people watch it talks about them a lot.
I root against the Leafs because they are a Bruins rival, so there is some joy in watching these guys over analyze the whole situation.
I also find the whole situation interesting, how the most valuable franchise in the NHL can’t figure it out.
Kind of incredible when you think about it.
Ray, when the “media company” is privately-owned (and funded) … that’s one thing. When it’s a “state broadcaster” funded by Canadian taxpayers from coast to coast to coast to the tune of $1.4 BILLION annually, then I expect a totally-balanced coverage of all seven teams … regardless of from where the “show” originates.
George, taxes make up the shortfall in revenue vs expenses, and there has always been one.
Personally, I would prefer if that shortfall was less, and if that means some Leaf talk to keep those fans watching, great.
They need to generate more revenue IMO.
We could get into why there is such a shortfall vs expenses, but this is a hockey site.
Also between periods, isn’t Sportsnet and CBC basically the same?
I’m sure Sunny will bring in some grit and sandpaper to the Devils. He wants the team to be Mehta-physical. He’ll change the team dynamic. They’ll undergo a Mehta-morphisis.
Sorry, but I had to.
LOL to both you and Dark G. Dark G., on the US broadcasts, ESPN always finds ways to mention the Rangers cup. Which happened in 1994.
Beats reaching back to the antediluvian age of 1967, Sneaky Pete. LOL.
But you’re right. Once the “anniversary” of some achievement extends beyond 2 or 3 decades and none of the players involved are still active, stop bringing it up to the point where it starts to look ridiculous.
On that score, I have seldom, if ever, heard similar “nostalgic” fawning out of the various Montreal-based media crews regarding the 1993 Habs Cup – other than when it’s mentioned as being the last time the Cup was won by a Canada-based team.
An with Montreal, Edmonton and Ottawa the only hopes this year, I’m sure we’ll here it somewhere again, including when the last one is eliminated … if it comes to that.