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Maple Leafs, Predators Linked To Brett Pesce

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Expect the Maple Leafs and Predators to be two of the top suitors for Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce if he hits the open market next month, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports.

The Hurricanes are still attempting to extend Pesce after general manager Don Waddell resigned last month, but they haven’t been close to a deal since discussions started last summer. In fact, most believed he would be traded last summer to avoid losing him for nothing at the end of this season, but they took him off the trade block during training camp and decided to continue negotiations.

Recent reports around Pesce’s pending free agency suggest more of the same. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believed the Canes were holding firm at an offer of around $5MM annually on a five-year deal that Pesce wasn’t willing to accept.

Nashville was one of the teams interested in acquiring him when he was made available for trade last summer, Pagnotta notes, so it’s of no surprise to see them linked to Pesce again. They’re looking for a top-four defender to replace Ryan McDonagh, whom they traded back to the Lightning last month after acquiring him from Tampa in the 2022 offseason.

Pesce would be a similar stylistic fit, but unlike McDonagh, he’s a right-shot. That gives him a greater potential of sliding upward in the lineup to play alongside captain Roman Josi, also a left-shot, on the team’s top pairing.

He’s used to heavy usage, averaging over 20 minutes per game for eight straight seasons. The 29-year-old is coming off a down year offensively with only three goals and 13 points in 70 games, but his career averages suggest the two-way blue-liner is more of a 25-to-30-point producer over a full season.

The New York native has earned sparse Norris consideration in the past, receiving votes in 2018 and 2020. His possession numbers are still strong, controlling 54.4% of shot attempts at even strength throughout his career. He’s also had an expected goals share north of 50% for the past four years, per Hockey Reference.

It’s no surprise to see Toronto engaged in Pesce rumors, either. They’ll be in on nearly all of the top defensemen on this summer’s UFA market, but especially right-shots. Ideally, second-year GM Brad Treliving is looking for a stable partner for top offensive blue liner Morgan Rielly, who’s had a rotating cast of shutdown partners over the past few seasons.

The Leafs lack puck-movers outside of Rielly among their defense corps, and while it’s not a hallmark of Pesce’s game, he would be a small upgrade over Jake McCabe and the outgoing T.J. Brodie in that regard. He’s eclipsed 20 assists four times in his career, including a career-high 25 helpers in 2022-23.

Evolving Hockey’s contract projections peg Pesce to land a six-year, $5.5MM AAV deal on the open market, slightly lengthier and richer than his rumored extension offer in Carolina. That would be feasible for both the Leafs and Preds, who enter the offseason with a decent amount of salary cap flexibility.

Latest On Martin Necas’ Trade Market

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Martin Nečas’ availability in a potential trade has been one of the dominant early storylines of the 2024 offseason. The Hurricanes have been considering moving his signing rights as contract negotiations with the pending restricted free agent remain in a stalemate, and while there was a sense they may make one last pass at re-signing him with interim GM Eric Tulsky now at the helm temporarily, that seems unlikelier with each passing day.

To that end, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli said on the site’s podcast today that a Nečas trade may come over the wire as soon as this week. Previously, we’ve covered reports that the Canucks, Flames and Canadiens have displayed some level of interest in his services. Recently, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period confirmed that at least 12 teams have Nečas “on their radar” and added the Flyers, Kraken and Predators to the existing list of teams that have dictated their interest to Carolina.

Notably, no single team has been named a frontrunner throughout the reporting process over the last few weeks. It’s also been quiet about what the Hurricanes might be able to get in return for their 2017 12th-overall pick, who has 52 goals and 124 points in 159 games since the 2022-23 season.

Nečas, 25, still has another offseason of RFA status ahead of him, but it’s clear he wants to ink a long-term deal this summer. Contract projection models indicate his value is likely in the $7.5MM area on a max-term deal, a figure the Hurricanes don’t seem willing to oblige with the younger Seth Jarvis surpassing him on the depth chart and also needing a new deal this summer. They have a multitude of UFAs to try to retain this summer as well, including one of the best forwards available in Jake Guentzel, who Pagnotta also reported Monday will likely test the market next month before deciding whether to return to Carolina.

Afternoon Notes: Jeannot, Parekh, Bourque

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Winger Tanner Jeannot is once again facing trade rumors, as the Tampa Bay Lightning look to clear enough cap space for a serviceable off-season. The team is facing the loss of their franchise player Steven Stamkos with just $5MM in cap space – not nearly enough to afford the services of the future Hall-of-Famer. That could push them to try and move Jeannot’s $2.665MM cap hit, though Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times shares that there’s been no legitimate discussions of a move just yet. Though Encina did speak to the idea being a tantalizing one for the Lightning, with many teams around the league still interested in acquiring Jeannot.

The Lightning acquired Jeannot from the Nashville Predators ahead of the 2023 Trade Deadline, sending the Music City defenseman Callan Foote, the picks that turned into Dylan MacKinnon (2023 third-round, 83rd-overall), Jayson Shaugabay (2023 fourth-round, 115th-overall), and Kevin Bicker (2023 fifth-round, 147th-overall), as well as a second-round pick in 2024 and a first-round pick in 2025 in return. Nashville traded the Shaugabay pick back to Tampa four months later, in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round pick, and moved the Bicker pick to the Detroit Red Wings to move up in the 2023 second-round.

Jeannot scored just four points in his 20 games with Tampa after the trade, though that didn’t dissuade their faith in him, with the Lightning signing Jenanot to a two-year, $5.3MM contract last summer – a deal that avoided the arbitration hearing Jeannot filed for. The rough-and-tumble winger wasn’t able to rekindle his spark on the new deal, though, scoring just 14 points in 55 games this season. He added 75 penalty minutes and a -10 – and tallied just one assist in four postseason games.

There’s still reported interest in Jeannot around the league despite his lacking scoring. Teams like the Calgary Flames have been looped into trade rumors, though Encina emphasized that a trade isn’t likely Plan A. Tampa will need to get a hefty return in any Jeannot trade, if only to hedge their losses from a costly 2023 move.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Saginaw Spirit defenseman Zayne Parekh has won the CHL’s Defenseman of the Year Award, beating out Memorial Cup Finals competition Sam Dickinson. Parekh was dazzling this season, posting a position-leading 33 goals and 96 points in just 66 games this season. He’s just the second OHL defenseman to top 95 points since 2000, joining Ryan Ellis’ 100-point season in 2010-11. But while Ellis was already an NHL draftee, Parekh is headed into his first year of eligibility in the 2024 NHL Draft. He’s seen as one of the top defensemen in the class and should rival a top 10 selection.
  • The Dallas Stars are swapping talented young forwards, with Ty Dellandrea stepping out of the Game 6 lineup in favor of Mavrik Bourque, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Bourque won the AHL’s ‘Les Cunningham’ MVP Award this season after posting 26 goals and 77 points in 71 games this season. Bourque formed a dynamic duo with Stars standout Logan Stankoven in the first half of the season. Dallas will look to use that pairing as their X-factor, as they face elimination at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers.

Predators To Part Ways With Assistant Coach Dan Hinote

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The Predators have elected to make a change behind the bench for next season.  The team confirmed to Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean that they will not renew the contract of assistant coach Dan Hinote when it expires at the end of June.

Hinote was an energetic winger over his nine-year NHL career split between Colorado and St. Louis.  He opted to play in Sweden for one final season in 2009-10 before hanging up his skates.

However, Hinote wasn’t out of a job for long as after retiring, he was named an assistant coach with Columbus.  The 47-year-old spent four seasons in that role before moving into scouting where he spent four more years with the Blue Jackets.  From there, he spent two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program before former Nashville GM David Poile brought Hinote onto their staff back in 2020.  After four years in that job, Hinote will now be on the lookout for another job.

While Hinote won’t be returning, their other assistants will.  Daugherty added that Nashville’s two other assistant coaches, Tom Richards and Derek MacKenzie, are expected to return next season so there will only be one new voice behind the bench on Andrew Brunette’s staff.

Notable Moves From The NCAA Transfer Window

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The NCAA Transfer Window is nearing its June 4th closing date, after staying open for 45 days rather than 30 for the first time following an October rule change. Collegiate athletes across all sports pushed for the increased window, naturally leading to much more eagerness to move schools. That’s shined through in men’s hockey, where many top players have left their posts in favor of a new role somewhere else. We’ll walk through some of the most notable moves today, as well as their impact on both the 2024-25 collegiate season and long-term effects on the NHL.

Breaking Down the Top Moves of the NCAA Transfer Window

Eric Pohlkamp (RD): Bemidji State to University of Denver

If there were ever an equivalent to Boston College’s ’Goalie U’ for defensemen, it’d be David Carle’s Denver Pioneers. They just stomped their way to a second National Championship in the last three years, largely thanks to a blue-line that featured top NHL prospects Shai Buium, Zeev Buium, and Sean Behrens. Shai and Behrens, both winners of the 2022 National Championship, have since signed their entry-level contracts in the NHL, leaving two massive holes atop the team’s depth chart. Zeev will likely assume his brother’s role atop the lineup – should he not be persuaded to turn pro by the team that drafts him – but Denver had to look externally to find the second half of their next top pair. And, true to the ’Defender U’ persona, they’ve found an absolutely perfect fit in San Jose Sharks prospect Eric Pohlkamp.

Pohlkamp had a breakout season in his final year in the USHL, boasting 16 goals and 51 points through 59 games with the 2022-23 Cedar Rapids Roughriders. It was the most a RoughRiders defender has scored since 2010 and Pohlkamp certainly looked the part, combining powerful and smooth skating with his hefty frame to blow through opponents and support the offensive rush. The performance was enough to convince San Jose to draft him in the fifth round of the 2023 NHL Draft, after he went undrafted in his first year of eligibility. He’s vindicated their decision, posting 11 goals and 24 points in his first 32 collegiate games.

After facing skepticism in his first year of draft eligibility, Pohlkamp has since firmly planted his feet as a top NHL prospect. He’ll now move to a red-hot University of Denver with the wind behind his sails. Pohlkamp’s ability to battle for possession and carry the puck out of the zone should be very welcome in a Carle lineup that thrived in the neutral zone last season – while his heft will be a nice balance for the fleeter Buium. Pohlkamp should be set up for a big season with the Pioneers, who will be looking to challenge the National title once again.

William Whitelaw (LW/RW): University of Wisconsin to University of Michigan

The University of Michigan lost a lot of talent following the end of their season. Each of Frank Nazar, Gavin Brindley, Dylan Duke, and eventually Seamus Casey signed with their respective NHL club, leaving substantial holes throughout the lineup. Some of those will be filled in by Michigan’s impressive recruitment class, including 2024 first-round hopefuls Matvei Gridin and Michael Hage, who will join in 2025. But the Wolverines were still in need of added bite in their top six during the transfer window.

And while they didn’t find as ideal of a match as Denver found in Pohlkamp, they’ve embraced similar potential, bringing in Columbus Blue Jackets prospect William Whitelaw after a slow freshman season at the University of Wisconsin. Whitelaw was one of many young players to transfer away from Wisconsin this Spring, and now seems set for a top role on a much more explosive Michigan offense. Whitelaw was the star forward of the Clark Cup-winning Youngstown Phantoms in 2022-23, recording a combined 41 goals and 70 points across 71 regular season and playoff games that year. The performance earned him a third-round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, though he was slow to follow it up, posting just 10 goals and 17 points in 37 games as a Wisconsin freshman.

Whitelaw’s game is rooted in his strong toolkit, boasting very sharp and aware stickhandling, agile skating, and a powerful shot that each make him a threat in the offensive zone. He’s certainly still working on how to use those skills cohesively with his teammates on the forecheck – growth that should be supported very well by the strong linemates Whitelaw will inherit in Michigan. Whether he play with McGroarty, Hage, or Gridin – any of the trio should help Whitelaw better find and maintain his tempo, while showing off how his raw skill can lead to goals. Whitelaw is a proven scorer when he’s in the right setting, but didn’t seem to have that setting in Wisconsin. He’ll look to remedy that on one of the most explosive offenses in college, in a what could be looked back on as a very lucrative move.

Matthew Wood (LW/C): University of Connecticut to University of Minnesota

The Pohlkamp and Whitelaw moves represent talented players moving to environments that should give their skillsets more room to shine. That’s not necessarily the case for Predators prospect Matthew Wood, who’s commanded a top-line role at UConn for each of the last two seasons. He’s been fantastic in his first two collegiate seasons, scoring 27 goals and 62 points over a combined 70 games and serving as the Huskies’ leading scorer in both years. Wood has been a dominant scorer since his days in youth hockey and even posted a combined 98 points in just 64 games during two seasons in the BCHL. He’s a tough and rugged winger who plays hard on the puck and puts plenty of power behind his shot. Many criticized his slow skating and lack of direction during his draft season, though his consistent scoring has always made him tough to doubt.

Wood will now move to a Minnesota lineup coming off the loss of top-line forward and team captain Jaxon Nelson, who signed an entry-level contract with the Boston Bruins. Wood should be set up to be Nelson’s direct fill-in, serving in tandem with Chicago Blackhawks prospect Oliver Moore. The duo seem perfectly matched, with Moore boasting very speedy playmaking while Wood brings power and grit. Moore posted 33 points in 39 games as a freshman this season, despite scoring just nine goals on the year. He’ll be the perfect pointman for Wood, who should only continue scoring at a high rate on a Minnesota team looking to take back the Big Ten.

Tim Lovell (LD): Arizona State University to University of Michigan

Michigan headlined what was a very active Transfer Window for the Big Ten. In a corresponding move to Whitelaw’s addition, the Wolverines also brought in top Arizona State defender Tim Lovell to try to fill the hole left by Seamus Casey’s move to the NHL. But while Whitelaw is supplemented by a strong offensive recruiting class, Lovell could be in line to take on the lion’s share of Casey’s minutes. He’ll be one of the most experienced, and certainly the highest-scoring, collegiate defenseman on Michigan’s lineup next season, and while he could cede some ice time to 2024 NHL Draft prospect Will Felicio, Lovell’s ability to drive the puck down the ice should give him a strong advantage. That’s the trait that made Casey so dominant in college and was likely exactly what the Wolverines were looking for on the open market.

They’ve certainly found it in Lovell, who’s shown no fear in carrying the puck through his first three seasons with Arizona State. He’s subsequently posted 12 goals and 79 points across 119 collegiate games, boasting an offensive awareness that should blend well with Michigan’s style. But Lovell has faced criticism for his ability to keep up with defending the rush and holding his position when his team is off of the puck. Casey – who certainly faced similar concerns – was much more stout at controlling both ends of the ice, especially towards the end of his collegiate career. Michigan has found a similar offensive style and skillset in Lovell, but they may need to balance out his aggression with strong defense elsewhere in the lineup. This move is high-risk, high-reward; particularly for a Wolverines team that faced challenges with controlling high-tempo offenses last season.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Predators, Anthony Beauvillier Have Had Extension Talks

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Trade deadline pickup Anthony Beauvillier is interested in signing an extension with the Predators, per a report from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. An agreement doesn’t appear imminent, but they’ve had positive initial discussions.

It’s no surprise that Beauvillier wants to stick in one place this summer. He was traded twice this season, splitting 2023-24 between the Canucks and Blackhawks before heading to Nashville a day before the deadline. Overall, he’s suited up for four teams over the past two years, as he headed from the Islanders to Vancouver in last season’s Bo Horvat blockbuster swap.

Also unsurprisingly, his unsteady campaign yielded some disappointing numbers on the scoresheet. The former 20-goal scorer lit the lamp only five times in 60 games this season, a career-low. He added 12 assists for 17 points with a -8 rating, a difficult showing for the pending unrestricted free agent. He turns 27 early next month.

It’s not like he had a late-season turnaround with the Preds, either. After general manager Barry Trotz sent Chicago a 2024 fifth-round pick to acquire the longtime Islander, he averaged 12:17 per game through 15 contests and had a goal and two assists with a -6 rating. He played a similarly limited top-nine role in the postseason, logging a goal and an assist in their six-game loss to the Canucks while playing just over 13 minutes per game.

Coming off a tough year, he shouldn’t cost too much to extend. Evolving Hockey projects a three-year, $2.8MM AAV deal for Beauvillier to remain in Nashville. That could be a solid bet for a player whose career numbers suggest a rebound campaign is on the way in 2024-25.

His biggest outlier this season was his shooting percentage. Beauvillier’s reduced usage did mean he wasn’t generating as many shots on goal, averaging 1.75 per game compared to 2.15 last season. But he finished at just 4.8% in 2023-24, far below his 10.9% career average. He also shot over 13% three times with the Isles, although he hasn’t finished at that rate since 2020-21.

Beauvillier isn’t exactly a two-way force, but his possession numbers haven’t been close to liability territory, either. His career 47.6 CF% at even strength is exactly in line with the averages of the teams he’s played on, and his career 49.2 xGF% is subpar but not awful.

Over his eight-year, 550-game career, Beauvillier has accumulated 116 goals and 130 assists for 246 points. That works out to a 17-goal, 37-point average in an 82-game season – fine numbers for a run-of-the-mill third-line winger. He did have a career-high 40 points split between the Isles and Canucks just one year ago.

He doesn’t move the needle much for a Predators team that struggled with impactful depth scoring this season, but he is a rebound target that wouldn’t be prohibitively expensive to retain and has more offensive upside than some of their other currently projected third- and fourth-line wingers. With $26MM in projected cap space this offseason (CapFriendly), a lack of funds won’t be an issue if they decide to kick extension talks into high gear.

Predators Hire Mitch Korn As Director Of Goaltending

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The Predators have hired Mitch Korn to be their new director of goaltending, the team said in a statement Wednesday. Korn, the team’s goalie coach for its first 15 seasons from 1998 to 2014, had been working as the Islanders’ director of goaltending and was previously expected back with the team next season.

Korn, 66, began his coaching career at the low collegiate level with Kent State University in 1979. He worked his way up the ranks over the next decade before being named the Sabres’ goalie coach in 1990. After being hired by the expansion Predators under head coach Barry Trotz in 1998, Korn and Trotz were nearly inseparable. He’s followed him to subsequent coaching jobs with the Capitals and Islanders, winning a Stanley Cup in Washington in 2018. He re-joins Trotz, now the Preds’ general manager, in Nashville.

The New York native is arguably one of the best goalie specialists in league history despite not having played professionally. He played a significant role in the development and success of all-time great Dominik Hašek in Buffalo before doing the same with All-Stars Pekka Rinne and Tomáš Vokoun in Nashville. He also presided over the best years of Braden Holtby’s career in Washington and helped Ilya Sorokin become one of the best goalies in the league with New York.

Predators fans hope Korn can have the same effect with 2020 11th-overall pick Yaroslav Askarov, who’s set to challenge for full-time NHL duties after back-to-back All-Star seasons with AHL Milwaukee. Korn will have direct reports in Preds goalie coach Ben Vanderklok, who’s held the role since 2014, goaltending development coach Jason Barron, and Rinne, their European development coach and scout.

Lightning Acquire Ryan McDonagh From Predators

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The Lightning have re-acquired defenseman Ryan McDonagh from the Predators via trade, the team announced Tuesday. Tampa is picking up the Oilers’ 2024 fourth-round pick in the deal and sending their 2025 second-round pick and 2024 seventh-round pick to Nashville in return.

It’s incredibly unusual timing for a swap, especially one of this significance. Both the Bolts’ and Preds’ seasons ended a few weeks ago in first-round playoff exits.

There was no previous indication McDonagh was on the trade block, but he’ll now finish out the last two seasons of his seven-year, $6.75MM AAV contract back in Tampa, where he signed it in 2018. The Predators are not retaining salary in the deal – an important factor for the Lightning as they attempt to keep captain Steven Stamkos, a pending unrestricted free agent, from going to market.

McDonagh, who was part of the Lightning’s three straight Stanley Cup Final appearances from 2020 to 2022, spent the last two seasons in Nashville after the Lightning couldn’t afford to keep his contract on the books. They traded him to the Preds in July 2022 for minor-league pieces Grant Mismash and Philippe Myers. Mismash never suited up for Tampa and is now playing in Norway, while Myers has logged 16 appearances for the Bolts in the last two seasons.

It’s hard to argue with the asset management here from Predators general manager Barry Trotz. McDonagh gave them two seasons of solid top-four minutes, averaging 21:40 per game over 145 contests. He isn’t the player he once was offensively, but he still put up a respectable 52 points in a Nashville uniform and a combined +31 rating, which leads Nashville skaters since 2022-23. Trotz also nets a second-round pick for his troubles.

McDonagh’s contract has a full no-trade clause, which he waived to return to Tampa. The Lightning have struggled defensively without him the past two seasons, going from a consistent top-10 team in goals against to 14th in 2022-23 and 22nd this season. They also haven’t managed to win a playoff series since trading him away, losing to the Panthers in the first round this season and the Maple Leafs last year. While trading him away did allow GM Julien BriseBois to sign the younger Erik Černák, Anthony Cirelli and Mikhail Sergachev to long-term extensions, it didn’t result in a continuation of their success from the beginning of the decade.

The veteran defenseman turns 35 next month and is entering his 15th NHL season. Formerly the captain of the Rangers, the Lightning initially acquired McDonagh, along with J.T. Miller, in a blockbuster trade at the 2018 deadline. McDonagh played parts of five seasons in Tampa before ending up in Nashville, putting up 99 points and a +74 rating in 267 games in a Lightning uniform while averaging 21:51 per game.

However, re-acquiring McDonagh doesn’t mean the Lightning are in a more advantageous cap situation than when they traded him away. They’re down to just over $5MM in projected cap space next season with a roster size of 18, per CapFriendly, likely not enough to re-sign Stamkos without a corresponding move.

Evolving Hockey projects Stamkos could earn close to $8.5MM annually on a short-term deal on the open market, and while he’s likely willing to take a hometown discount to stay in Tampa, a contract worth less than half his market value would be extreme. They also have a couple of other depth forward spots to fill to ice a full roster, and none of their minor-league forwards are particularly strong candidates to crack next fall’s opening night roster.

After trading away their 2025 second-rounder in this deal, the Lightning now don’t have a pick in the first two rounds until 2026. That’s a tough sell for an aging core, considering they have a bottom-five prospect pool in the league, as analyzed by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler.

Meanwhile, Trotz frees up some significant cap space to allow Nashville to be slightly more aggressive in free agency. The buyout penalty for Matt Duchene increases by $3MM on July 1 to a $5.55MM price tag next season, eating into their offseason flexibility. After moving McDonagh, CapFriendly now projects the Preds with $26MM in space next season with a roster size of 15. That’s more than enough to go big-game hunting for a younger, more cost-controlled replacement for McDonagh on the open market this summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Zucker And Sherwood Likeliest Candidates To Return?

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The Predators have half a dozen pending unrestricted free agents to decide on this summer.  Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean profiles each case, suggesting that of the six, wingers Jason Zucker and Kiefer Sherwood are the likeliest to stick around.  Zucker provided some depth scoring for the Preds down the stretch, collecting five goals in 19 games after being acquired from Arizona at the deadline and while he’s almost certainly facing a pay cut from the $5.3MM he made this season, he could still command a fair-sized salary considering he’s only a year removed from a 27-goal campaign in Pittsburgh.

As for Sherwood, the 29-year-old was a full-time NHLer for the first time, getting into a career-best 68 games this season where he had 10 goals and 17 assists along with 234 hits in just over 12 minutes a night.  Considering the effectiveness of that fourth trio and the fact that his linemates have already received two-year extensions, it stands to reason that the Predators would like to keep that trio intact.  However, after playing for the league minimum for four straight seasons, Sherwood appears to be well-positioned to potentially double that on his next contract.

  • Still with Nashville, Predators prospect Felix Nilsson has been loaned to IK Oskarshamn for 2024-25, his SHL team in Rogle announced. The 18-year-old was the 43rd overall pick last June and split the season between the SHL and Sweden’s junior league.  He played in 41 games with Rogle but in a limited role, notching just three points.  Meanwhile, at the junior level, Nilsson added 23 points in 22 regular season contests.  The decision to loan him to the second-tier Allsvenskan level is an in-between step, allowing him to play at a higher level than he would have in junior but in a more prominent role than he’d have likely had in Rogle.

NHL-Affiliated Prospects Playing In 2024 Memorial Cup

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The field for the 2024 Memorial Cup, the top club tournament in junior hockey, is set. The QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs, the OHL’s London Knights and the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors all swept their respective league championship series within the last two days to advance to the CHL championship tournament, joining the host Saginaw Spirit of the OHL.

This year marks the first Memorial Cup held in the United States since 1998, which was hosted by the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. The Spirit will attempt to become the first U.S.-based team to win since the Chiefs in 2008, and they have a strong chance. They’re stronger than a typical host team, finishing second in the league in the regular season with a 50-16-2 record and trailing London by just two points. They were eliminated by London in six games in the Western Conference Final.

The Knights lead the way with 10 NHL-affiliated prospects on their roster, including two first-round picks in Flyers defenseman Oliver Bonk and Maple Leafs forward Easton Cowan. The latter was named the OHL playoffs MVP after leading the Knights in scoring with 10 goals, 24 assists and 34 points in just 18 games. He had 15 points in four games in their championship sweep over the Oshawa Generals.

If you’re looking for some non-Stanley Cup Playoff hockey to watch, check to see if your favorite NHL team has prospects suiting up in the tournament, which begins May 24:

Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL champion)

D Mikaël Diotte (Devils, free agent signing)
RW Ethan Gauthier (Lightning, 2023, 37th overall)
RW Alexis Gendron (Flyers, 2022, 220th overall)
D Vsevolod Komarov (Sabres, 2022, 134th overall)

NHL Utah 2022 first-round pick D Maveric Lamoureux is out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery in March.

London Knights (OHL champion)

C Denver Barkey (Flyers, 2023, 95th overall)
D Oliver Bonk (Flyers, 2023, 22nd overall)
C Easton Cowan (Maple Leafs, 2023, 28th overall)
D Jackson Edward (Bruins, 2022, 200th overall)
D Isaiah George (Islanders, 2022, 98th overall)
RW Kasper Halttunen (Sharks, 2023, 36th overall)
C Jacob Julien (Jets, 2023, 146th overall)
C Kaleb Lawrence (Kings, 2022, 215th overall)
C Max McCue (Blue Jackets, free agent signing)
C Landon Sim (Blues, 2022, 184th overall)

Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL champion)

RW Jagger Firkus (Kraken, 2022, 35th overall)
D Denton Mateychuk (Blue Jackets, 2022, 12th overall)
D Kalem Parker (Wild, 2023, 181st overall)
D Vojtech Port (Ducks, 2023, 161st overall)
LW Martin Rysavy (Blue Jackets, 2021, 197th overall)
C Matthew Savoie (Sabres, 2022, 9th overall)
C Brayden Yager (Penguins, 2023, 14th overall)

Saginaw Spirit (host)

C Owen Beck (Canadiens, 2022, 33rd overall)
LW Josh Bloom (Canucks, acquired from Sabres in 2023 trade for Riley Stillman)
D Rodwin Dionicio (Ducks, 2023, 129th overall)
D Jorian Donovan (Senators, 2022, 136th overall)
C Hunter Haight (Wild, 2022, 47th overall)
C Ethan Hay (Lightning, 2023, 211th overall)
G Nolan Lalonde (Blue Jackets, free agent signing)
C Matyas Sapovaliv (Golden Knights, 2022, 48th overall)
C Joseph Willis (Predators, 2023, 111th overall)

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