The Avalanche advance to the Western Conference Final, reaction to Matthew Schaefer winning the Calder Trophy, the Maple Leafs firing head coach Craig Berube, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: The Colorado Avalanche are going to the Western Conference Final after defeating the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on an overtime goal by Brett Kulak in Game 5 to take the series four games to one.
The Wild opened the scoring on a goal by Marcus Johansson and expanded that lead to 3-0 on two goals by Nick Foligno. However, Avalanche forward Parker Kelly made it 3-1 in the second period, with Jack Drury and Nathan MacKinnon scoring late in the third period to tie it, setting the stage for Martin Necas making a great individual effort to set up Kulak’s series-winning goal.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Wild were seemingly poised to send the series back to Minnesota for Game 6. They dominated Colorado early, driving Mackenzie Blackwood from the Avalanche net after he gave up three goals on 13 shots. Scott Wedgewood took over and stopped all seven shots he faced as the Avalanche stormed back, outshooting the Wild 22-7 over the remaining two periods and overtime.
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (NHL Images).
MacKinnon’s tying goal was a back-breaker, sniping a wrist shot from the faceoff circle that went over the right shoulder of Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt and bulged the twine under the crossbar.
Necas’ assist on Kulak’s goal occurred because he realized the Avalanche didn’t have enough men on the ice as he was about to go off for a line change. He stayed on, gained control of the puck, skated around the Wild net, and set up Kulak to end the series.
The Wild were hampered in this series with the absences of two-way center Joel Eriksson Ek and blueline stalwart Jonas Brodin, and blueliner Zach Bogosian missed this game with an upper-body injury. The Avalanche were banged up too, playing without forward Artturi Lehkonen and defenseman Sam Malinski for the second straight game. Superstar blueliner Cale Makar left this game briefly with an upper-body injury.
Colorado’s depth and experience made the difference in this game and in this series. The Wild are an excellent team and should remain a contender next season, but the Avs showed everyone in this series why they’re the favorite to win the Stanley Cup this year.
The Avalanche await the winner of the Anaheim Ducks-Vegas Golden Knights series. The Golden Knights hold a 3-2 series lead and could advance to the Western Conference Final with a win on Thursday.
NHL.COM: New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the 2025-26 Rookie of the Year.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: A well-deserved honor for Schaefer, who was chosen first overall in last year’s draft by the Islanders, quickly establishing himself among their core players. He was presented with the Calder Trophy by his family while appearing on ABC’s “GMA3” in New York.
Schaefer is the second player to win the award by unanimous vote, joining Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne, who won it in 1993. He set the NHL record for points by an 18-year-old defenseman (59) and tied the single-season record for most goals (23) by a rookie blueliner. He’s the youngest player to win the Calder, and the first Islander to do so since Mathew Barzal in 2017.
MONTREAL HOCKEY NOW: Canadiens winger Ivan Demidov was runner-up to Schaefer for the Calder Trophy, garnering the majority of the second-place votes. Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes finished fourth behind Anaheim Ducks winger Beckett Sennecke, and Habs center Oliver Kapanen was 11th.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Demidov led all rookies in 43 assists and 62 points. Dobes led all rookie netminders with 29 wins, and was second in goals-against average (2.78) for rookie goalies with at least 20 games played. Kapanen was third among rookie goal scorers with 22.
TSN: The Toronto Maple Leafs fired head coach Craig Berube on Wednesday morning. He was their bench boss for the past two seasons, coaching them to first place in the Atlantic Division with 108 points in 2024-25 and the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. However, they tumbled to 78 points this season and missed the playoffs.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Berube paid the price for the poor decisions by Brad Treliving, who lost his job as general manager in March. Some insiders assumed he was safe because of his friendship with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment honcho Keith Pelley, but that obviously wasn’t the case.
Berube will likely land with another NHL club at some point. Meanwhile, Treliving’s replacement, John Chayka, must find a suitable replacement for Berube who will meet the approval of team captain and franchise player Auston Matthews.
Chayka claimed that the players had no input into his decision to fire Berube. However, he will have to take into account what effect the next coach will have on Matthews, who has two years left on his contract and has made Leafs Nation nervous with his silence about his future.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb received a one-game suspension for his hit on Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Poehling during Game 5 of their second-round series on Tuesday.
THE PROVINCE: The Vancouver Canucks appeared poised to make assistant general manager Ryan Johnson their next general manager.
Johnson is also the GM of their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford. Reports by CHEK-TV’s Rick Dhaliwal, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, and Canucks Army’s Irfaan Gaffar claimed Johnson is set to take over the role.
MAYOR’S MANOR: The Los Angeles Kings are getting closer to staging an NHL outdoor game on the beach in Santa Monica, CA.
RATINGS.COM: Marco D’Amico profiled prospect winger Wyatt Cullen, who is the son of former NHL forward Matt Cullen.
The 6’1, 180-pound Cullen is in his second season with the US National Development Team, overcoming an injury that sidelined him during the opening months of the season to finish with 16 points in 15 games. He also had a breakout performance at the U-18 World Championships, with three goals and nine points in five games for Team USA.