The Stanley Cup Final resumes tonight in Las Vegas with the Golden Knights able to win it outright. The locals seem to be in to it as they are even packing the team practice facility, and they know who is the MVP on their team.

I'm going with Vegas wins it all tonight. It will be one hell of a party on Las Vegas Blvd.

As we noted yesterday, if the Cup is won tonight, it triggers a 48 hour countdown to the first contract buyout window. We also looked at will or won't the Leafs use that facility here:

Buyouts and the Leafs
It’s been a few years since buyouts were very relevant to our interests around here, but this year is different. The Leafs have open positions to fill, and they also have that goalie issue.
Cathy SquiresPPP Leafs

Other News

Who will be the Toronto Marlies next head coach? Here's some ideas.

The search for the next Toronto Marlies head coach: A preliminary list of candidates
Brad Treliving has a long laundry list of tasks to accomplish over the next few weeks. The new Maple Leafs General Manager has to attend to the Auston Matthews contract situation, decide whether Sheldon Keefe stays on as head coach, oversee (to the extent he’s allowed by the league) the team’s upcom…
Mark RackhamMaple Leafs Hotstove

Speaking of the AHL, the Calder Cup Finals continue tonight with Game #3, moving from California to Pennsylvania with the Hershey Bears (Washington Capitals affiliates) looking for a first win after losing the first two games in the series to the Coachella Valley Firebirds (Seattle Kraken affiliates).

AHL establishes playoff attendance record
>> Patrick Williams archiveThe American Hockey League

Much has been talked about the Firebirds goalie who so far in this series has stopped the Bears from scoring any goals at all. Both games have been shutouts for 26 year-old Joey Daccord who was obtained by the Kraken from the Ottawa Senators in the expansion draft. He has had less success in his very limited NHL starts with the Kraken, but in this Calder Cup Finals series he has turned away every single shot, making 58 saves in a row.

Also he made a dig at his old team in the post-game #2 press conference, saying the support he's had "has never happened before in his career". Ouch, Senators.

Meanwhile, the Rangers are picking up a new coach who has been on the coaching carousel so long that this would be his sixth team head coach job over the past 22 years.

NHL Trade Rumors: Flyers’ Scott Laughton receiving ‘lots’ of interest
Add Scott Laughton’s name to the list of current Flyers that might end up getting traded in a couple weeks.
Thomas WilliamsBroad Street Hockey
Florida Panthers sign Swiss goalie Ludovic Waeber to entry-level contract
Despite being in the midst of the Stanely Cup Final, the Florida Panthers aren’t forgetting about the offseason stuff, inking Swiss goaltender Ludovic Waeber on a one-year, entry-level contract for the the 2023-24 NHL season. The 26-year-old Waeber appeared in 19 games with the ZSC Lions of the Swi…
Todd LittleLitter Box Cats
How healthy scratch Phil Kessel is bringing joy to Vegas’s Stanley Cup run
Heading toward an 18th consecutive healthy scratch, Phil Kessel’s impact on the Vegas Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup run may have come in the locker room, on chartered flights and at practice, but it cannot be overstated.
| June 12, 2023, 1:41 PMSportsnet
Toronto mom behind girls’ hockey league scores public ice time but says change needed | CBC News
Amy Laski founded the Tween Girls’ Hockey League in 2021 so girls could have more recreational hockey options. But she told CBC Toronto that prime city ice time is given to legacy leagues, making it challenging for her league to operate.
CBC

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