Welcome to another edition of Around The NHL, where we take a look at current events across the league. It was a busy weekend across the board, while the Toronto Maple Leafs recorded their first road victory of the year, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 on Saturday, where Easton Cowan scored his first NHL goal.

New York Islanders defenceman Matthew Schaefer is off to a tremendous start to his rookie campaign, and the 18-year-old entered the record books Sunday. Schaefer became the youngest defenceman in NHL history to record a multi-goal game, surpassing Bobby Orr, as he steered the Islanders to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Selected first overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, Schaefer has been a transformative presence for the Islanders, and he’s been their best player by some distance to start the year. He’s the favourite to win the Calder Trophy through the opening month of the season, pulling ahead of Montreal Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov. And few players make the game look so easy, as Schaefer’s world-class skating and ability to enter the rush are propelling the Islanders into must-watch territory.

Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid can certainly empathize with the heartbreak that comes with a Game 7 championship loss, and expressed his pride and sorrow for the Toronto Blue Jays.

We don’t need to go into the particulars, but somehow, in case you missed it: the Blue Jays lost in the 11th inning to the Los Angeles Dodgers in crushing circumstances, two outs away from winning their first World Series since 1993. McDavid offered his thoughts on the 2025 Blue Jays, with the World Series finale broadcast in-arena during the Oilers’ game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

“It was a historic moment and I couldn’t be more gutted for those guys,” McDavid said. “Obviously we know what that feels like, and for it to happen the way it happened, I’m just completely gutted for those guys. It was a fun run, they’ve given Canada a lot to cheer about and they should be very, very proud of themselves.”

We’re all proud of the Blue Jays, and count McDavid among the legion of fans reinvigorated by the team’s push to the World Series. There’s always next season, and McDavid is keenly aware of this, as he looks to propel the Oilers over the finish line this summer.