With round two in the books, it’s time to go Around the Rink. In this edition we have some coaching updates, a look at the future in Beantown, thoughts on playoff telecasts and the upcoming conference finals matchups. Let’s get into it!

New Chief in Town: Well, that didn’t take long at all. Following their elimination by the Boston Bruins, the Maple Leafs quickly replaced Sheldon Keefe with Stanley Cup Champion head coach Craig Berube. In my opinion, while there is still work to be done on the roster side of things, this is a home run hire for the “buds.” Berube brings a winning pedigree to this job and a fresh yet “old school” approach to coaching a team. He is detail oriented and will look to make Toronto tougher to play against on a regular basis, something they haven’t been in some time. An identity change will help the Leafs, but now they need to change the construction of this roster to give Berube the tools he needs to succeed. Keep an eye on a potential Mitch Marner trade.

No Change on the Bench…or in the Playoffs: This past weekend the Hurricanes announced that they had signed coach Rod Brind’Amour to a five-year contract extension, to keep him away from leaving for another job. While the desire to keep their former captain behind their bench, it was a bit surprising potential change was expected following another disappointing elimination. This was supposed to be THE year for the Canes as they went all in at the trade deadline, bringing in rental additions Evgeny Kuznetsov and Jake Guentzel, something ownership did not sanction at trade deadlines past. But they were once again undone by the rival New York Rangers thanks to issues in goal and on defense. After initially bursting onto the scene by making the conference finals in 2019, they have only made it back to that point in the years since and seem unable to get over the hump against their fellow top contenders. Keeping Brind’Amour is fine, but it’s hard to see how this team remains amongst the contenders as they are facing an offseason with several key players hitting free agency.

Back to the Drawing Board in Boston: The 2024 postseason brought a second straight elimination at the hands of the Panthers for the Boston Bruins. While this one doesn’t come near the disappointment of last year’s first round exit after breaking the NHL points record, it was still a painful way to go out. This season’s squad was better than the sum of its parts en route to finishing second in the Atlantic and eliminating the Leafs in round one. But their lack offensive depth or a dynamic number one center seemed to handcuff them in the playoffs. Pavel Zacha, their number one center on most nights, scored just one goal all postseason, coming in game six of round two. It feels like time to dub Jeremy Swayman the true number one goalie after his strong campaign and playoff run so perhaps backup Linus Ullmark will be on his way out in exchange for a more dynamic option on offense via trade. Jim Montgomery should be sticking around but the leash is unusually short for a coach that has enjoyed the kind of success Montgomery has.

Broadcasting Masterclass: This is really a sticking point of mine as someone who has spent a lot of time studying different broadcasts, but it has to be said that the Sportsnet game broadcast this postseason has blown away their American counterparts. While their studio show is a bit too dull, the work of the production staff and booth on site at these games is unmatched as they get great shots of both the players and the fans. While I think TNT does a fine job here in the US, the ESPN telecast pales in comparison to the work being done north of the border, which is especially disappointing given how many games they have in a given year and playoff run. Also, shoutout to the great Harnarayan Singh who continues to do fabulous play by play work for Sportsnet and is coming off an unreal performance calling the marquee moments from the Rangers and Hurricanes series.

And Then There Were Two: Be sure to check out the preview of The Rangers Ed. Podcast Eastern Conference Final as my Rangers take on the Panthers in what should be a great series. I wanted to get my preview of the West Final in this edition of Around the Rink, as this matchup brings plenty of intrigue to it even though one team feels like a heavy favorite. The Stars come into this matchup with the Canucks as favorites to advance and with good reason, as they are at the time the healthier and more complete team in this series. Dallas played two incredibly tough teams in route to this series as they outlasted the defending champs Las Vegas in seven games and then took care of Colorado in six. While just about everyone has contributed for them, Wyatt Johnston has led the forward core while veteran d-man Chris Tanev has anchored the blue line with netminder Jake Ottinger cleaning things up in the pipes.

Meanwhile the Oilers come into this matchup after surviving a game seven on the road. The blue and orange knocked off the Canucks in round two after finishing off the Kings in round one for the third straight year. As always, they are led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl with Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent Hopkins, and Dylan Holloway contributing in supporting roles. Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm anchor a defensive core that has actually improved over the course of the campaign. Their biggest question mark resides in net as the goalie tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard has struggled this postseason. Edmonton will likely continue to rotate them both while they look for their big guns to get after Dallas in their own zone. This series feels oddly reminiscent of the conference finals the Oilers were swept in back in 2022, as they don’t match up well with the Stars in many areas.

The Prediction: Stars in 5

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