The leading candidates to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, the latest on the Golden Knights and Hurricanes ahead of the Stanley Cup Final, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

NHL.COM: Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen and Vegas Golden Knights winger Mitch Marner are the leading choices of NHL.com’s staff writers to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as this season’s playoff MVP.

Of the 15 staffers, eight predicted that Andersen would win the Conn Smythe Trophy. Four predicted Marner would take home the award.

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (NHL Images).

Hurricanes forwards Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall each received one vote. Golden Knights center Jack Eichel also got one vote.

Ten of their staff writers also predicted the Hurricanes would become Stanley Cup champions.

The 2026 Stanley Cup Final begins Tuesday, June 2, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Professional Hockey Writers Association selects the Conn Smythe Trophy winner at the end of the playoffs.

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: The remaining original members of the Vegas Golden Knights (aka “The Golden Misfits”)are preparing for their third trip to the Stanley Cup Final since the club’s inaugural season in 2017-18.

They include defenseman Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb, and forwards William Karlsson and Reilly Smith.

Of the four, Smith is the only one not to have played the entire nine seasons with the Golden Knights. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins following their 2023 Stanley Cup run. Smith also spent time with the New York Rangers before returning in a trade last season.

NHL.COM: Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon is “super thankful” that his club has reached the Stanley Cup Final.

Since Dundon became majority owner of the Hurricanes in 2018, the club reached the Eastern Conference Final in 2019, 2023 and 2025, but was unable to advance to the Cup Final until this season.

Dundon is pleased with the work done by general manager Eric Tulsky building the roster. He’s especially happy for Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour and the five Hurricanes who’ve played through those eight years: Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Jaccob Slavin, Jordan Martinook, and team captain Jordan Staal.

“There’s a reason those five are still here,” Dundon said. “They’re super important to me. They’re super important to the organization. And yeah, it would be awesome, and Rod, it would be awesome for him (to win the Cup).”

DAILY FACEOFF: Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson praised the Hurricanes’ performance following Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final on Friday. He also noted that he and his teammates still have a ways to go to contend for the Cup.

“They played really well too, but I’m not really sure why we couldn’t bring better,” Hutson said after the Hurricanes eliminated the Canadiens in Game 5. “We’re still far off, and we know it.”

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canadiens have a promising young core that includes Hutson and forwards Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Ivan Demidov. However, it will be up to the club’s management to continue improving the roster depth around those core players.

DAILY FACEOFF: The family of former NHL star Claude Lemieux released a statement on Saturday indicating that they will be donating his brain to the UNITE Brain Bank to study the long-term effects of traumatic brain injuries and repetitive head impacts.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lemieux died by suicide last week at age 60. His family indicated that he had been battling depression. The study will determine if he was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is a degenerative brain disease found in individuals with a history of repetitive head trauma.

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Former NHL star Dennis Hull passed away on Saturday at age 81.

The younger brother of Hall of Fame winger Bobby Hull, Dennis played 14 NHL seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings from 1964-65 to 1977-78. He spent 13 of those seasons in Chicago, with eight of those as Bobby’s teammate.

Hull scored 303 goals and 351 assists for 654 points in 959 regular-season games, along with 33 goals and 34 assists for 67 points in 104 playoff contests. That included a career-high 40 goals in 1970-71 and 90 points in 1972-73. He reached the Stanley Cup Final with the Blackhawks in 1965, 1971, and 1973. Hull was also a member of Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to Hull’s family, friends, former teammates, and the Blackhawks’ organization.