My 2021 Stanley Cup Final Prediction

 I can't believe we're already at the biggest stage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Cup Final. Before I reveal my prediction, here's a quick recap of the Semifinals: 

My prediction for the Canadiens-Golden Knights series in the Semifinals was spot on. The Montreal Canadiens' cinderella run continues, and I am very happy for them. In addition, I am also incredibly stoked that the Golden Knights are no longer in the playoffs. Cole Caufield is an amazing young player, and his linemates, Tyler Toffoli and Nick Suzuki, have been firing on all cylinders thus far. However, one of the main reasons Montreal has come this far is due to Carey Price. He has stood on his head for much of the playoffs and proven that he is one of the best goalies in the world.

On the other hand, the same series result occurred between the Islanders and Lightning as it did in last year's Eastern Conference Final, except the rematch this year took one more game to get the job done. The Lightning are absolutely stacked and pretty much unstoppable so far. Brayden Point has been scoring at a ridiculous pace, and like Carey Price, Andrei Vasilevskiy has been an absolute force in net. The Islanders are a great team that is built for the playoffs and performed well in this series, but the other New York team couldn't quite solve the defending champs in the end. All it took for the Lightning to get back to the Cup Final was a shorthanded goal by Yanni Gourde in the second period of Game 7.

Without further ado, my 2021 Stanley Cup Final prediction:

Canadiens vs. Lightning: Lightning in 6 

Although I have picked Tampa Bay to repeat as Cup Champs, I wouldn't be too shocked or too disappointed if the Habs ended up winning the Cup this year. Montreal has been a great underdog story in this year's playoffs, having the least amount of regular season points out of all eligible playoff teams and being underestimated in every playoff series they have played in in these playoffs so far. However, the Bolts will be the Canadiens' most difficult opponent yet in these playoffs. I expect most games in this year’s Cup Final to be goaltending duels. The Tampa Bay Lightning are my second favorite team, and with the way they've been playing lately, I can't count them out of any match-up they face against any opponent.

As for Conn Smythe Trophy predictions, which will go to the MVP of the playoffs, it will go to Brayden Point if the Lightning win the Cup or Carey Price if the Canadiens win the Cup.

Check back once the Cup has been awarded, as I plan to give a recap and my thoughts on the entire Cup Final series. It begins tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited.

Sharks Re-sign Matt Nieto to Two-Year Deal

 The Sharks announced yesterday that they have signed Matt Nieto to a two-year extension with an AAV of $850k. 

This past season was the first season of Nieto's second stint with the Sharks, scoring five goals and two assists in 28 games before his season was cut short due to injuries. 

I have always liked Matt Nieto as a depth forward, and I am pretty confident he can bounce back next season and put up some decent numbers in teal. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, Bay Area News Group

Sharks News & Notes (6/15/21)

 Here is another edition of Sharks News & Notes headed your way now: 

• A few depth players on the Sharks have signed new contracts: F Jeff Viel for two years, top prospect F Jonathan Dahlen for one year, and D Nicolas Meloche for one year. Each deal carries an AAV of $750k. 

•  The NHL Fan Choice Award Selections have been announced, and two Sharks players have won awards: Brent Burns for Most Interesting Player and Mario Ferraro for King of Quarantine. I'm grateful that the fans went with the correct choices for these award categories. 

Although these headlines are relatively minor, more Sharks news and notes worth discussing could emerge at any moment. Watch this space for more. 

Source: Sjsharks.com 

My 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals Predictions

 The second round of this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs has officially wrapped up, and despite not getting one of my desired outcomes, we had some great series take place in the second round. 

I expected more of a fight from the Jets against the Canadiens. After Mark Scheifele made an errant hit to knock out Jake Evans and leave Evans with a concussion after scoring an empty-netter, Winnipeg basically folded for the rest of that series. I expected the Hurricanes to win more games than they did in the second round against the Lightning, but that was still an entertaining series, and most importantly, the better team advanced. The Islanders-Bruins series went the way I wanted it to, and the Nassau Coliseum is absolutely buzzing during playoff time with one very passionate fanbase. In addition, the Islanders have shown that they thrive in the playoffs and when it matters most under Barry Trotz's coaching system. I really wanted the Avalanche to force a Game 7 against the Golden Knights and ultimately win Game 7, but unfortunately Vegas was the better team after the first game in that series. Colorado went on to lose four straight after winning the first two games on home ice against the Knights to be eliminated in the second round for the third straight year. The Curse of the President's Trophy lives on. 

As for the Semifinals, the final four teams are the same as last year except for the Montreal Canadiens, who have been the biggest surprise of this year's playoffs thus far. However, the biggest similarity between this year's Canadiens and last year's Dallas Stars is that Corey Perry played for both of those teams. Now that the Stanley Cup Semifinals match-ups have been determined, here are my predictions for both Semifinals series: 

• Islanders vs. Lightning (rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Final that took place in the bubble): Lightning in 5
  

• Canadiens vs. Golden Knights (first-ever playoff series between these two teams; only way this playoff match-up occurs in a normal year is in the Cup Final): Canadiens in 6 

The Stanley Cup Semifinals begin on Sunday, and I am greatly looking forward to them getting underway. Check back in about two weeks for some of my thoughts on the Semifinals once they are completed and my Cup Final prediction here on CPF Hockey. 

Sources: NBC Sports, NHL Network, NHL.com

Sharks News & Notes (6/9/21)

 Since my most recent Sharks News and Notes post two days ago, more Sharks headlines worth covering have been released. Let's get into them: 

• Patrick Marleau has been named a finalist for this year's Masterton Trophy alongside Matt Dumba of the Wild and Oskar Lindblom of the Flyers. Patty has earned his spot as a finalist for the Masterton for breaking the all-time games played record this past season that was previously held by Gordie Howe. 

• Brent Burns' game-winning goal against the Wild early this past season where he blew through four Wild defenders and put one away on the backhand has been nominated for Goal of the Year as part of the NHL Fan Choice Awards. 

• Mario Ferraro has been nominated for an NHL Fan Choice Award in the category of King of Quarantine. During the early stages of the pandemic, Ferraro spent much of his time making entertaining videos for YouTube. I believe he still plans to make YouTube videos during the offseason. 

Stay tuned to CPF Hockey for all your Sharks offseason needs. I also have my Stanley Cup Semifinals predictions and a few rankings on the way, so be on the lookout for those. 

Source: NHL.com

Sharks News & Notes (6/7/21)

 The second round of the playoffs are in full swing with the Canadian series now officially wrapped up. However, there have been a few recent headlines involving the Sharks that were released that may have been overshadowed by playoff action. Let's get into them: 

• Kurtis Gabriel has been named a finalist for the King Clancy Award alongside the Predators' Pekka Rinne and the Devils' P.K. Subban for their humanitarian efforts off the ice. 

•  Brent Burns has been nominated for Most Interesting Player as part of the NHL Fan Choice Awards. Burnzie has earned his nomination in this category due to his personality, large collection of exotic animals, passion for barbecuing, and ranch in Texas where he spends his offseasons. 

•  Mario Ferraro and Team Canada won Gold at this year's IIHF World Championships in Latvia, while Ryan Donato, Kevin Labanc, Sasha Chmelevski, and Team USA claimed Bronze. 

•  The Sharks will become the first team in the NHL to accept cryptocurrency for "large or recurring payments" starting next season. These payment options include season tickets, suite leases, and team partnerships. One huge factor contributing to the Sharks jumping into the cryptocurrency space is the fact that they accept PayPal, which began to accept cryptocurrency last year. Team Teal is the third Bay Area team to begin accepting cryptocurrency payments, joining the Oakland Athletics and San Jose Earthquakes. 

Stay tuned to CPF Hockey for all of your Sharks news and content this offseason. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL.com, NHL Network

2021 NHL Draft Lottery: Sharks to Draft 7th Overall

 The 2021 NHL Draft Lottery has officially been determined, and there weren't a lot of surprises in the draft order of the first 15 picks of this year's entry draft. 

As for the Sharks, they will be drafting seventh overall in 2021, the first time in franchise history they will be doing so. This will also be the Sharks' highest draft pick since they selected Milan Michalek sixth overall in 2003. Before the draft lottery this afternoon, the Sharks had the seventh-best odds of winning the draft lottery at 6.7 percent. 

I expected San Jose to retain the seventh spot in the draft order this year, and thankfully they didn't fall any further down the list. In addition, I am pretty satisfied with the Sharks selecting seventh overall this year, as there will be an abundance of promising prospects still available when it's their turn to make their first selection in the draft. I'm not sure who the Sharks plan to select with the seventh overall pick, but we will wait and see come July 23, the first day of the NHL entry draft. I am certainly looking forward to it. 

As for the rest of the draft lottery results, here they are: 

1) Buffalo Sabres 

2) Seattle Kraken 

3) Anaheim Ducks 

4) New Jersey Devils

5) Columbus Blue Jackets

6) Detroit Red Wings

7) San Jose Sharks 

8) Los Angeles Kings 

9) Vancouver Canucks

10) Ottawa Senators

11) Chicago Blackhawks

12) Calgary Flames

13) Philadelphia Flyers

14) Dallas Stars

15) New York Rangers

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, San Jose Hockey Now, NHL.com, NBCSN