Panthers claim 1st Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history

The Florida Panthers secured the Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s top regular-season team on Thursday night thanks to a win over the Ottawa Senators and the Colorado Avalanche’s loss to the Nashville Predators.

Florida has 122 points with one game remaining. The Panthers’ mark is the most in franchise history and the third-highest total for any NHL team since the award was introduced in 1986. The 1996 Detroit Red Wings hold the record at 131.

The Panthers will have home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which begin May 2. Florida hasn’t advanced past the first round since it reached the final in 1996.

This postseason, the Panthers are set to play either the Washington Capitals or Pittsburgh Penguins. The Metropolitan Division rivals are separated by one point heading into the final game on their respective schedules.

Florida’s dominant campaign has come on the strength of a near-unstoppable offense. The club recently set a salary-cap era benchmark with 322 goals and currently sits at 338 and counting with a plus-102 goal differential.

Winger Jonathan Huberdeau has led the charge up front with 115 points in an MVP-caliber season, and he’s one of four 30-goal scorers on the Panthers’ roster.

Florida caps its record-setting regular season Friday against the Montreal Canadiens.

NHL Awards to be held in Stanley Cup Final host city

The NHL is changing the location of its annual awards show.

The festivities will take place on either the night before Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final or on the off-day between Games 3 and 4 in the city hosting those tilts, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

It’ll reportedly be a one-hour event and presumably be in-person, unlike the last two years when the league held it remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NHL has held the awards show in Las Vegas since 2009, using various hotels and casinos to host the gala. The league moved it to Vegas from Toronto that same year.

Draisaitl: ‘There’s more important things right now’ than winning trophies

Although Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl was in the midst of the best year of his career before the 2019-20 season was paused, he admits the personal hardware at stake isn’t at the top of his mind at the moment.

“There’s more important things right now in the world going on and much more important than winning a trophy or anything like that,” Draisaitl told TSN’s Darren Dreger on “Dreger’s Cafe.”

When the season was paused on March 12, Draisaitl was running away in the Art Ross Trophy race with 110 points – 13 ahead of his teammate Connor McDavid. He was also seen as one of the front-runners in the race for the Hart Trophy.

The 24-year-old spent some time on a line with McDavid earlier this season, but ended up anchoring his own. Halfway through the year, the German was paired with Kailer Yamamoto and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and the trio began to wreak havoc on the ice.

“If I told you that I don’t like playing with Connor I’d be lying into your face. Getting a chance to play with probably the best player in the world, it’s special and it’s a lot of fun, no question,” Draisaitl added. “But you know the line that I had at the end there with Yamo and Nuge, we’ve been clicking and I think it made our team more dangerous and that’s what we all want – we want a dangerous team and we don’t want one dangerous line.”

Draisaitl amassed 43 goals and 67 assists before the stoppage. Sitting fourth in the league in goals, he was also starting to sneak into the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race.

Golden Knights to host NHL Awards, expansion draft June 21

Two events on one stage.

The NHL has announced it will couple its annual awards ceremony with the coming expansion draft for the Vegas Golden Knights.

The event will take place June 21 at T-Mobile Arena, where the Golden Knights will call home next season. Vegas’ 30 selections – one from each existing club – will be announced throughout the two-hour broadcast.

Teams can protect either seven forwards and three defensemen or eight skaters of any combination. Teams must also expose one goaltender.

Golden Knights owner Bill Foley, general manager George McPhee, and newly appointed head coach Gerald Gallant will be present at the expansion draft. Vegas also plans to introduce select players as part of the broadcast.

“June 21 will be an incredible day for the city of Las Vegas and our fans,” Foley said in a statement. “The anticipation around the expansion draft has been building for months and that excitement will continue to grow as we get closer to draft day.

“By combining the draft with the NHL Awards, Golden Knights fans will get to experience a monumental day in our team’s history while enjoying one of the premier NHL events that features the game’s biggest stars.”