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Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun: The Toronto Maple Leafs star players didn’t do enough to get the Leafs to Conference Finals and there is work for GM Brad Treliving to do this offseason.
It doesn’t seem likely the Maple Leafs are going re-sign Mitch Marner to a huge, long-term deal. 35-year-old John Tavares was consistent for most of the year would take a hometown discount to stay, but will it be the same discounted price the Leafs are thinking?
Max Pacioretty and Jani Hakanpaa are pending UFAs. Matthew Knies and Nick Robertson are RFAs.
Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun: Mitch Marner was the last Maple Leaf player off the ice last night. It was possibly the last time in a Maple Leafs jersey. In six Game 7s for the Leafs, Marner has only two points. Auston Matthews has three assists over the same span, but he’s already got a contract beyond this season.
John Tavares future is also up in the air. Tavares says he still wants to be a Leaf.
“It’s meant everything to me,” Tavares said of his time in Toronto. “It was a big decision I made seven years ago and I’ve loved it. It’s been amazing for myself and my family.”
Marner’s comments weren’t clear.
“I don’t have any thoughts right now.” Marner said of the future. “Pretty devastated with what just happened. Devastated. Always enjoyed this team.”
Evan Doerfler: Marner: “It’s meant everything… I’ve been forever grateful to be able to wear this Maple Leaf.”
Matt Larkin of Daily Faceoff: There will be plenty of questions for the Toronto Maple Leafs to answer after their second-round exit.
Do they pay up to keep Mitch Marner or do they turn to other free agents like Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand and Nikolaj Ehlers? Do they re-sign John Tavares to a cap-friendly deal? Would they be able to trade defenseman Morgan Rielly and forward Max Domi, both who had an up and down season?
One thing seems for certain, the Maple Leafs can’t come back next season with the same core.
You have to feel sorry for tormented Maple Leafs fans. The Leafs not only haven’t won the Cup since 1967, but are 2-14 in clinching games in the salary-cap era, including 0-7 in Game 7s. So close, yet so far. pic.twitter.com/M0c47IHwlD
— Mark Potash (@MarkPotash) May 19, 2025
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Stars to be shorthanded in Western Conference Final rematch with Oilers
The Dallas Stars will be without some significant talent ahead of the Western Conference Final rematch Tuesday night. According to team reporter Brien Rea, the Stars won’t have forwards Roope Hintz or Matt Duchene against the Edmonton Oilers. Additionally, Jake Oettinger is also doubtful, given that he and his wife just had a child. It’s more of the same for Duchene. The 17-year veteran will have missed Dallas’ last eight games due to an upper-body injury after Tuesday night’s contest. He’s only appeared in four games this year, scoring one goal and two assists with a 52.2% success rate in the faceoff dot. Meanwhile, Hintz will miss his fifth straight game due to an undisclosed injury. He’s been a much bigger void to fill, given that he’s been a point-per-game player to start the campaign. Since Duchene left the lineup, the Stars have averaged two goals per game. Other injury notes from the Central Division: In some positive news, the St. Louis Blues will return Robert Thomas to the lineup Tuesday. According to Lou Korac of the NHL, Thomas returned to practice Monday morning and was included in all line rushes. He’s missed the team’s last four games with an upper-body injury. Unfortunately, Thomas’s absence was notably evident, as the Blues lost all four contests. The positive news isn’t only isolated to St. Louis. According to Joe Smith of The Athletic, Minnesota Wild veteran Mats Zuccarello looks very close to returning. Zuccarello suffered a lower-body injury before the start of the regular season. Like Thomas, his absence has been noticeable. Despite leading the league in power-play goals, the Wild are only averaging 1.61 even-strength goals through their first 13 games.
Dolphins considering drastic Tua Tagovailoa move
Tua Tagovailoa's future as the Miami Dolphins' starting quarterback may be on shaky ground. Through nine starts, Tagovailoa is 2-7 and has posted a below-average 43.6 QBR. If his play doesn't improve soon, the team may make a drastic move. Dolphins are reportedly considering benching Tua Tagovailoa In a story published Sunday, NFL Media insider Ian Rapoport reported the Dolphins could bench Tagovailoa in favor of Zach Wilson or rookie Quinn Ewers later this season. Rapoport added, "Tagovailoa's play would really have to fall off for Miami to turn to either Wilson or Ewers." However, the QB may be nearing that point. In his past four games, the 2020 first-round pick has tossed seven of his 11 interceptions. Wilson and Ewers have both filled in for Tagovailoa during blowout losses this season. Former New York Jets flop Wilson completed 5-of-8 passes for 32 yards in a 33-8 Week 1 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Ewers, a seventh-round pick out of Texas, finished 5-of-8 passing for 53 yards in a 31-6 Week 7 loss to the Cleveland Browns. What would happen if the Dolphins benched Tua Tagovailoa? The Dolphins' benching of Tagovailoa would signal they want to move on from the QB, but that would be challenging. In July 2024, the former Alabama star signed a four-year, $212.4M contract extension with $167.1M guaranteed. The deal is now an albatross for the franchise. According to Rapoport, Miami would incur an NFL-record $99.2M cap hit if it released him this offseason. The Dolphins could designate him as a post-June 1 cut to spread the amount out over the next two seasons ($67.4M in 2026 and $31.8M in 2027). The Denver Broncos did the same in March 2024, after taking an $85M cap hit following the release of former starting QB Russell Wilson. To avoid these expenses, the Dolphins could consider trading Tagovailoa with a post-June 1 designation. A pre-June 1 trade would leave $45.2M in dead money against Miami's salary cap. But a declining and injury-prone Tagovailoa shouldn't attract many suitors. The sixth-year veteran has had four documented concussions in his NFL career. The Dolphins should hope Tagovailoa gets his act together. Per Over The Cap, his deal runs out of guaranteed salary in 2027. Until then, they're likely stuck with the 27-year-old passer.
3 Depressing Realizations From Green Bay Packers Crushing Loss Against Carolina
The Green Bay Packers continue to frustrate fans by failing to play up to their lofty standards. For a team that has impressed during most of this 2025 season, what was supposed to be an exciting return home to Lambeau Field against the Carolina Panthers quickly soured into a very gloomy afternoon. Here are three key takeaways from the Packers’ first home loss of the year. #1: Dismal Red Zone Play Dooms Green Bay Packers Offense Entering Sunday, Green Bay had a 70% TD rate when entering the red zone, one of the highest marks in the league. Quarterback Jordan Love was in the upper tier of passers in red zone completion percentage. However, against Carolina, the team went just 1 for 5. In the first half, a Savion Williams red zone fumble started the day off on the wrong foot. Later, Jordan Love threw multiple incompletions and Matt LaFleur chose to kick a field goal on 4th 6 at the Carolina 8 yard line. The 8 yard line was a site of issues for the Packers in the 4th quarter as well. On 3rd 3, Emanuel Wilson got the ball and ran for -5 yards on what was a massive play in the game. Down 13-6, the Packers then turned it over on downs on the ensuing 4th 8. While part of the issues were obviously execution-related, the play-calling can also be questioned. As much as LaFleur has the reputation of an elite play-designer, his situational play-calling and play-call sequencing continues to feel like it needs improvement. 10 points on 5 red zone trips is absolutely abysmal. This kind of outing is what makes one of the more talented squads in the NFL a beatable team. #2: Defensive Line Takes a Step Back Although they only gave up 16 points, the defense did not have a good day. QB Bryce Young barely passed for 100 yards, but the Panthers averaged 5 yards per carry on their way to 163 rushing yards. Lead back Rico Dowdle specifically averaged 5.2 yards a carry on 25 totes, scoring both Panthers touchdowns. Carolina is one of the better running teams in the NFL, but the Packers still routinely failed to get the stops they needed in critical running situations. The Packers gave up 11 rushing first downs and were consistently getting pushed back at the line of scrimmage. While the overall unit played below par, it was Micah Parsons who had a truly poor day. While also being culpable in an underwhelming day against the run, Parsons failed to impact the game as a pass rusher and was locked down by Panthers tackle Icky Ekwonu. #0 failed to record a single pressure in the game, something he has never done before. The team once again had 0 sack yards, as the lone QB takedown by Xavier McKinney netted 0 yards. The issues in the secondary are well documented, the defensive line not carrying their weight is even more concerning. #3: Tucker Kraft-Sized Hole Means It’s Now or Never For Young Skill Position Players Arguably more depressing than the loss itself was the fact that star TE Tucker Kraft when down with a serious knee injury that, the following day, was declared to be an ACL tear. Kraft was on his way to an All-Pro season and now is going to be missing the rest of the season. With 489 yards and 6 receiving touchdowns on the year, Kraft led the team in both categories. At the tight end spot, Luke Musgrave is obviously going to have to step up in a major way. He has shown the ability to be a weapon, particularly in 2023 during his rookie season, but now he is going to have to level up his game even more. More realistically, it will be the young wide receivers who are going to need to pick up the slack for Kraft. Matthew Golden and Savion Williams, both of whom had forgettable afternoons on Sunday, are going to have to grow up fast if the Packers are going to continue being a Super Bowl threat. With Golden in particular, much of his hype so far this season has been about how he has been a good separator, or near-miss highlights of what could have been. It’s now time for him to actually produce like a first-round receiver. Golden’s fellow first-rounders Tetairoa McMillan and Emeka Egbuka have had no issues producing as primary options on their respective teams. While it wasn’t fair to compare Golden’s situation to theirs, Green Bay is now in a situation where they need a player of Golden’s caliber to rise to the occasion and help Christian Watson be a focal point of the passing attack.
Steelers' Undrafted Free Agent Rookie Could Help Influence 2026 First-Round Decision
Even though the Pittsburgh Steelers have gotten quality quarterback play in 2025 with Aaron Rodgers, they still need to search for a future face of the franchise. Rodgers is almost 42 years old and close to retirement. Even if he does play another season, it will be good to have a first-round pick behind him to learn and develop in a way that even most coaches can't do. If Pittsburgh has to trade up to get a quality option, the front office has to stop delaying the inevitable and take a shot at a young gun. Just because Ke'Shawn Williams is an undrafted rookie for the Steelers, that doesn't mean that he can't help with a scouting report. After his final year in college, he worked with recent transfer Fernando Mendoza during offseason training, as well as Williams' Pro Day. He spoke with reporter Brian Batko about what he has seen in the Indiana Hoosiers' star. "It’s just his ability to do everything," Williams said. "He can make the throws, he’s very mobile, he has a lot of experience, very smart leader, a good person — all the intangible things you want out of a quarterback, somebody to come in and potentially lead your group...He’s got my vote, for sure." After transferring from the California Golden Bears to Indiana, Mendoza has lit the college world on fire. He currently leads the FBS in touchdown passes through eight games, and it's not like Indiana has had an easy schedule either. He has gone up against two Top 10 teams in the country and led the Hoosiers to victories in both contests, including a road upset against the Oregon Ducks. Indiana is now the #2 team in the country, only behind conference rival Ohio State Buckeyes. If Mendoza and the Hoosiers keep this up, the two teams will face off in the Big 10 conference championship game, where the winner will have the top seed in the College Football Playoffs and get a first-round bye, while the loser would have to play in the first round. This amazing 2025 performance has put the 22-year-old junior near the top of the quarterback rankings of the 2026 draft class. He is currently favored to win the Heisman Trophy as well. Depending on how he does in this last month of football and in the playoffs, he may even be out of the Steelers' reach, as he could easily be the first overall pick. Even if he falls outside the Top 5, it may be worth it for the Steelers to make a trade to get him. Steelers Are Likely Underwhelmed By Everyone Else It goes without saying that outside of Mendoza, most draft-eligible quarterbacks have completely bottomed out in the 2025 season. It's so bad that the Steelers may consider skipping out on drafting a quarterback in 2026 if they can't land Mendoza. If that is the case, the price to trade up in the 2026 NFL draft may rise up as well. Of course, the Steelers overall have not played great football, and there is a realistic chance that they end up drafting higher than they usually do. Obviously, nobody in that organization has any desire to tank, but a sub-par season for Pittsburgh standards could put them in a better position to go and get their guy. What is there to lose at this point? Despite Williams' scouting report on Mendoza, it's not set in stone that General Manager Omar Khan will do everything he can to try and draft the Indiana star. However, that inside information will still be helpful in the long run, especially Khan believes his testimony lines up with the tape at all. The undrafted receiver is not the deciding vote, but he could give a little nudge to help sway the Steelers towards selecting him.
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