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Around the NHL: Senators’ Tkachuk linked to offseason trade, Kopitar waves goodbye to Kings’ faithful
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Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Jeremy Tingly
Apr 27, 2026, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 27, 2026, 09:39 EDT
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Welcome back to another Stanley Cup Playoff edition of Around the NHL. It’s been a wild seven days across the league, as we’ve had two sweeps, one in each conference, one of this era’s best bids farewell, and there’s already been lots of offseason trade buzz brewing.
Heading into the new week, in the Eastern Conference, the Pittsburgh Penguins are down 3-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Carolina Hurricanes have sent the Ottawa Senators home, the Buffalo Sabres lead the Boston Bruins 3-1, meanwhile, Brandon Hagel played the hero in Game 4 and the Tampa Bay Lightning evened up their series with the Montreal Canadiens.
In the Western Conference the Colorado Avalanche swept the Los Angeles Kings, the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars are tied at two, the Anaheim Ducks snuck out a win in Game 4 Sunday night and carry a 3-1 series lead over the Edmonton Oilers, and lastly, the Utah Mammoth used an energized home crowd to hold a 2-1 lead over the Vegas Golden Knights.
Here’s the rest of the very latest from around the NHL:

Senators’ Brady Tkachuk could be on the move this summer

After getting swept by the Hurricanes, the Ottawa Senators could be heading into an offseason of massive change, and after a drama-filled season, captain Brady Tkachuk has been linked to a summer blockbuster trade.
Speculation is brewing across a wide variety of insiders that Tkachuk is checked out in Ottawa, and many feel it’s time for a change of scenery for the Sens captain. The bruising power forward is signed through the 2027-28 season at $8.2 million AAV, holds a no-movement clause, and control of his own destiny.
This season, Tkachuk appeared in 60 games, recording 59 points, and his season had a truly underwhelming ending, as he was held pointless in their four games against the Hurricanes, despite averaging 21:30 of ice-time per game, including 5:54 with the man advantage.
As far as potential destinations go, playing with his brother in Florida would be a wild scene. Tkachuk is also very close to the Hughes brothers, so perhaps New Jersey makes the list, as well as Minnesota. There’s also the family’s connection to St. Louis, and with the Blues looking to retool on the fly, would a Robert Thomas for Tkachuk trade spark the interest of both teams?

Kopitar bids farewell to Kings faithful after getting swept by Avalanche

Anze Kopitar is hanging up the skates. As one of the best two-way centres to ever play the game, the 38-year-old pivot was able to hear the love from the home crowd in his final NHL game, even though it was bittersweet based on the fact the Avalanche swept Kopitar’s Kings in their first-round series.
‘Kopi’ was an absolute master of class and played the game with a ton of grace. He was as sportsmanship as anyone he suited up against, and a wonderful leader, and impactful community member in the US and back home in Slovenia. Kopitar retires after a decorated career that started way back in 2006-07 after being a first-round selection at the 2005 NHL Draft, 11th overall.
Kopitar appeared in 1521 regular season games, scoring 452 goals, and 864 assists for 1316 points. He’d also contribute 89 points in 107 Stanley Cup Playoff games, which included hoisting two Stanley Cups in both 2012 and 2014. Kopitar hangs them up and can reflect on an amazing career, including a ton of hardware to show for it as Kopitar won eight major awards over his career, including, as mentioned two Stanley Cups (2012, 2014), two Selke Trophies (2016, 2018), three Lady Byng Trophies (2016, 2023, 2025), and the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award (2022).
Kopitar mentioned he wants to be remembered as a great teammate, and did a bunch of reflecting during his final press conference below:

Quick hits from around the NHL:

  • Bruins defenceman Charlie McAvoy didn’t mince his words after Boston was roasted 6-1 at home in Game 4 against the Sabres. “If, man-to-man in here, if we’re not f**king embarrassed with what just happened, then I don’t know what to say,” stated McAvoy in his postgame comments to the media. “It’s not over after three games, so we have everything to play for here, and we know we’re such a better team than what we did.”
  • McAvoy wasn’t the only Bruin with choice words, as goaltender Jeremy Swayman let the bench hear it after being pulled early in Game 4.
  • If the Oilers get bounced by the Ducks in the first round, it feels like head coach Kris Knoblauch could be looking for a job.
  • In three games against the Mammoth, Golden Knights winger Mitch Marner has recorded two assists.
  • Dallas Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist avoided having to go to the hospital after taking a skate to his face, though coach Glen Gulutzan had no further update Sunday.
  • While a lot of the attention in Ottawa surrounds Brady Tkachuk, Ridly Greig’s sucker punch on Hurricanes’ Sean Walker is gaining a ton of attention around the league. Greig’s expected to be suspended for multiple games of the 2026-27 season, meanwhile, TNT/Spittin’ Chiclets Paul Bissonnette didn’t hold back on Greig during the broadcast:
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