<p>The Florida Panthers are one win away from hoisting the Stanley Cup in back to back seasons, thanks to a massive 5-2 victory over the <a href="http://OilersNation.com">Edmonton Oilers</a> in Game 5. The Panthers take a 3-2 series lead back home to Florida, and will look to end the Oilers&#8217; season on Tuesday night.</p>
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<p>The Panthers and Oilers have been putting on quite the show, as it&#8217;s been an electric series that&#8217;s been extremely fast paced, physical, and laced with some of the best players in all of hockey. Off the ice, the frenzy is starting to begin, as there&#8217;s already been some major developments, and technically, the offseason hasn&#8217;t even started.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s the very latest from around the NHL:</p>
<h2>Buffalo Sabres listening to JJ Peterka trade offers</h2>
<p>The Sabres are a team to watch this summer, specifically around what their plans will be with star forward JJ Peterka. The 23-year-old restricted free agent has quickly become one of the most sought after trade targets on the market, as <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/podcasts/32-thoughts/">Sportsnet&#8217;s Elliotte Friedman</a> recently confirmed via 32 Thoughts podcast, that the Sabres have changed their tone on Peterka, and are now open to hearing trade pitches.</p>
<p>&#8220;I have said several times that the Buffalo Sabres don&#8217;t want to trade J.J Peterka. Their answer has changed, they are at least listening on it, and I think that&#8217;s recent,&#8221; Friedman said.</p>
<p>Peterka is coming off a 27 goal season in Buffalo, hitting a career high 68 points in 77 games. The former second-round pick isn&#8217;t exactly thrilled with the team&#8217;s success early on in his career, and a trade seems much more likely than ever in the coming weeks.</p>
<p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s the reality of the situation. Look, people know Peterka is unhappy, and I think he would like to go somewhere else. I think that reality is sinking in a bit. I think the Sabres have to at least look into it, and I think in the last little bit it&#8217;s gone from &#8216;we don&#8217;t want to do it, and we&#8217;re not doing it&#8217;, to &#8216;we don&#8217;t want to do it, but we at least have to look into it&#8217;.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Sabres have over $23 million in cap space this offseason, so there&#8217;s plenty of room to get a contract extension done, however, at this point it feels likelier to see a trade materialize, and for the Sabres to reset themselves without Peterka in their lineup.</p>
<h2>Jet&#8217;s Ehlers expected to test the open market, could be linked to Marner</h2>
<p><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/report-mitch-marner-unlikely-return-toronto-maple-leafs-has-not-engaged-discussions">While Mitch Marner is getting most of the free-agent attention</a> across the NHL, and rightfully so, one player to keep an eye on who could be tied to <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/report-hurricanes-expected-offer-mitch-marner-7-year-deal-greater-14m-aav">Marner</a> is Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers. Friedman commented on Ehlers&#8217; future in Winnipeg over the weekend, and made it clear he feels Ehlers&#8217; future could be tied to where Marner ends up signing.</p>
<p>&#8220;Like Marner, I&#8217;m hearing Ehlers will go to July 1st, and then we&#8217;ll see. Nobody is confirming he&#8217;s given Winnipeg an absolute no, or anything like that, but, there&#8217;s definitely a feeling out there he&#8217;s going to July 1. And, he&#8217;s going to see what&#8217;s out there.&#8221;</p>
<p>Last season with the Jets, Ehlers scored 24 goals and 63 points in 69 games. One big concern has been health for the Jets&#8217; winger, as he&#8217;s only played in more than 80 games in a season once in the last seven years.</p>
<p>Friedman feels Ehlers will be on the radar of teams who don&#8217;t get a meeting with Marner and his camp.</p>
<p>&#8220;I do wonder about a team that&#8217;s looking on the wing, says &#8216;alright, we&#8217;re not in the Marner game, and we don&#8217;t have a shot at Marner, we&#8217;re just going right to Ehlers.&#8221;</p>
<h2>Panthers amazed by Marchand&#8217;s abilities, call him &#8216;YouTube star&#8217;</h2>
<p>One of the biggest reasons for the Panthers success these playoffs has been the impact of veteran winger Brad Marchand. The 37-year-old has turned back the clock in a major way with Florida, including couple of massive goals in Game 5, with one making rounds on the highlight reel.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Brad Marchand&#39;s goal was so filthy, this Oilers&#39; fan had to switch teams 😭🤣 <a href="https://t.co/rOrgPLIlr7">pic.twitter.com/rOrgPLIlr7</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1934075702086627663?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>&#8220;Those are the goals you look (up) on YouTube when you&#8217;re a kid and try to go out and practice yourself,&#8221; Marchand&#8217;s linemate, Anton Lundell <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEIPf013pXM%20">said</a> after Florida&#8217;s 5-2 Game 5 victory. &#8220;We&#8217;re all pretty amazed by him.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Panthers will look to close out the 2024-25 NHL season on Tuesday, and look for Marchand to have a big role in Game 6. With his two goals last game,  Marchand became just the second player in NHL history to score five goals in multiple championship series.</p>
<h2>Quick hits from around the NHL:</h2>
<ul>
<li>Anaheim Ducks acquired Chris Kreider from the New York Rangers, and took on his full $6.5 million AAV contract for the next two seasons. The Ducks still have $32 million in cap space and are a <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/david-pagnotta-believes-anaheim-serious-contender-land-mitch-marner">dark horse to sign Marner</a>.</li>
<li>Friedman reports the Carolina Hurricanes are expected to go <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/report-hurricanes-expected-offer-mitch-marner-7-year-deal-greater-14m-aav">big-fish hunting this offseason, with Marner</a>, Ehlers and Marchand as free-agent options.</li>
<li>Victor Soderstrom was traded from the Boston Bruins to the Chicago Blackhawks. Soderstrom was a first-round pick in 2019.</li>
<li>Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed Boko Imama to a one-year deal. Imama recorded one goal and 30 penalty minutes in 16 games last season with the Penguins.</li>
<li>Marco Rossi is a likely trade candidate out of Minnesota, and look for the Wild to receive interest from both the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.</li>
<li>Kris Letang and his playing style irked former Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan and assistant coach David Quinn this past season, sources told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6411139/2025/06/10/penguins-kris-letang-trade-contract/?source=emp_shared_article">The Athletic&#8217;s Josh Yohe</a>.</li>
<li>T.J Oshie announced his retirement after 16 NHL seasons. Oshie will go down as one of the best shootout performers in league history.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Sponsored by bet365</h3>
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The Florida Panthers are one win away from hoisting the Stanley Cup in back to back seasons, thanks to a massive 5-2 victory over the <a href="http://OilersNation.com">Edmonton Oilers</a> in Game 5. The Panthers take a 3-2 series lead back home to Florida, and will look to end the Oilers' season on Tuesday night.
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The Panthers and Oilers have been putting on quite the show, as it's been an electric series that's been extremely fast paced, physical, and laced with some of the best players in all of hockey. Off the ice, the frenzy is starting to begin, as there's already been some major developments, and technically, the offseason hasn't even started.

Here's the very latest from around the NHL:
<h2>Buffalo Sabres listening to JJ Peterka trade offers</h2>
The Sabres are a team to watch this summer, specifically around what their plans will be with star forward JJ Peterka. The 23-year-old restricted free agent has quickly become one of the most sought after trade targets on the market, as <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/podcasts/32-thoughts/">Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman</a> recently confirmed via 32 Thoughts podcast, that the Sabres have changed their tone on Peterka, and are now open to hearing trade pitches.

"I have said several times that the Buffalo Sabres don't want to trade J.J Peterka. Their answer has changed, they are at least listening on it, and I think that's recent," Friedman said.

Peterka is coming off a 27 goal season in Buffalo, hitting a career high 68 points in 77 games. The former second-round pick isn't exactly thrilled with the team's success early on in his career, and a trade seems much more likely than ever in the coming weeks.

"I think it's the reality of the situation. Look, people know Peterka is unhappy, and I think he would like to go somewhere else. I think that reality is sinking in a bit. I think the Sabres have to at least look into it, and I think in the last little bit it's gone from 'we don't want to do it, and we're not doing it', to 'we don't want to do it, but we at least have to look into it'."

The Sabres have over $23 million in cap space this offseason, so there's plenty of room to get a contract extension done, however, at this point it feels likelier to see a trade materialize, and for the Sabres to reset themselves without Peterka in their lineup.
<h2>Jet's Ehlers expected to test the open market, could be linked to Marner</h2>
<a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/report-mitch-marner-unlikely-return-toronto-maple-leafs-has-not-engaged-discussions">While Mitch Marner is getting most of the free-agent attention</a> across the NHL, and rightfully so, one player to keep an eye on who could be tied to <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/report-hurricanes-expected-offer-mitch-marner-7-year-deal-greater-14m-aav">Marner</a> is Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers. Friedman commented on Ehlers' future in Winnipeg over the weekend, and made it clear he feels Ehlers' future could be tied to where Marner ends up signing.

"Like Marner, I'm hearing Ehlers will go to July 1st, and then we'll see. Nobody is confirming he's given Winnipeg an absolute no, or anything like that, but, there's definitely a feeling out there he's going to July 1. And, he's going to see what's out there."

Last season with the Jets, Ehlers scored 24 goals and 63 points in 69 games. One big concern has been health for the Jets' winger, as he's only played in more than 80 games in a season once in the last seven years.

Friedman feels Ehlers will be on the radar of teams who don't get a meeting with Marner and his camp.

"I do wonder about a team that's looking on the wing, says 'alright, we're not in the Marner game, and we don't have a shot at Marner, we're just going right to Ehlers."
<h2>Panthers amazed by Marchand's abilities, call him 'YouTube star'</h2>
One of the biggest reasons for the Panthers success these playoffs has been the impact of veteran winger Brad Marchand. The 37-year-old has turned back the clock in a major way with Florida, including couple of massive goals in Game 5, with one making rounds on the highlight reel.

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1934075702086627663?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

"Those are the goals you look (up) on YouTube when you're a kid and try to go out and practice yourself," Marchand's linemate, Anton Lundell <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEIPf013pXM%20">said</a> after Florida's 5-2 Game 5 victory. "We're all pretty amazed by him."

The Panthers will look to close out the 2024-25 NHL season on Tuesday, and look for Marchand to have a big role in Game 6. With his two goals last game,  Marchand became just the second player in NHL history to score five goals in multiple championship series.
<h2>Quick hits from around the NHL:</h2>
<ul>
 	<li>Anaheim Ducks acquired Chris Kreider from the New York Rangers, and took on his full $6.5 million AAV contract for the next two seasons. The Ducks still have $32 million in cap space and are a <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/david-pagnotta-believes-anaheim-serious-contender-land-mitch-marner">dark horse to sign Marner</a>.</li>
 	<li>Friedman reports the Carolina Hurricanes are expected to go <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/report-hurricanes-expected-offer-mitch-marner-7-year-deal-greater-14m-aav">big-fish hunting this offseason, with Marner</a>, Ehlers and Marchand as free-agent options.</li>
 	<li>Victor Soderstrom was traded from the Boston Bruins to the Chicago Blackhawks. Soderstrom was a first-round pick in 2019.</li>
 	<li>Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed Boko Imama to a one-year deal. Imama recorded one goal and 30 penalty minutes in 16 games last season with the Penguins.</li>
 	<li>Marco Rossi is a likely trade candidate out of Minnesota, and look for the Wild to receive interest from both the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.</li>
 	<li>Kris Letang and his playing style irked former Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan and assistant coach David Quinn this past season, sources told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6411139/2025/06/10/penguins-kris-letang-trade-contract/?source=emp_shared_article">The Athletic's Josh Yohe</a>.</li>
 	<li>T.J Oshie announced his retirement after 16 NHL seasons. Oshie will go down as one of the best shootout performers in league history.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Sponsored by bet365</h3>
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