The Sweatdown has existed since April of 2018 as a monthly collection of music I’ve been listening to. Sometimes it’s old tracks but it’s usually new music. Everything from indie to synthwave to rock to alternative and more. Every December is a culmination of the music I’ve listened to. Originally posted to Spotify, these playlists can now all be found on YouTube where they will be updated monthly for YouTube Music.

Sweatdown 100

When I first started doing these it was just a way for me to keep up with new music. I started playing around with playlists on Spotify but started to get serious. It was originally just a collection of songs I was liking that month with no real rhyme or reason. I wanted to turn it into a gym playlist for when I worked out. That evolved into gym plus something to dance to. Now it’s a mix of that plus new music I’m enjoying. It’s my definitive statement now that I’m 41 that I’m not going to be the type of person who just sits around listening to the same shitty bands he listened to in high school. There’s great new music out there. The best part? These new bands? They don’t cost a mortgage payment on a home to see live.

I’ve decided for 100 I would do a monster playlist for the best songs since I’ve started doing the Sweatdown. Thank you to everyone who has listened and supported. This is just a hobby but it’s also the one consistent thing I’ve done in the past few years.

Excluded playlists due to being best of’s and not modern music:
September Sweatdown 2K18 (Best of College Years)
April Sweatdown 2K19 (Best of High School Years)
October Sweatdown 2K19 (Spooky Theme)
October Sweatdown 2K20 (Spooky Theme)
July Sweatdown 2K22 (Summer theme)
June Sweatdown 2K23 (Best of Playlist)
February Sweatdown 2K25 (Life Chronology Playlist)

I’ll sprinkle in some thoughts about each year of playlists.

2018: 0001 to 0009

This was when I first started these and didn’t even have the idea of cover photos until June. August was the most important of the Sweatdown’s since I did a trip to New Orleans, Atlanta, Nashville, and Chicago and picked music I wanted to listen to during it. Both Lies by Culture Wars and Walking Away by St. Lucia became all-time favourite songs for me due to it. Of course, Culture Wars changed “Lies” for their first album but I prefer the original.

April Sweatdown 2K18
Summer Love by Trevor Something
May Sweatdown 2K18
Love Stuck by Mother Mother
June Sweatdown 2K18
T-Shirt by The Beaches
July Sweatdown 2K18
Summer in July by Yukon Blonde
August Sweatdown 2K18
Walking Away by St. Lucia
October Sweatdown 2K18
Dressed to Kill by Strvngers
November Sweatdown 2K18
Funeral Show by WhoMadeWho
December Sweatdown 2K18
Lies by Culture Wars

2019: 0010 to 0021

2019 my playlists started getting a little corrupted by the music taste of my girlfriend at the time and at one point it was really hard to get the playlists out but I persevered. There’s some all-timers for me in 2019 like Real Thing by Stars, Ordinary Fools Pt. 2 by Chian Gang, and Gravity by W O L F C L U B.

January Sweatdown 2K19
Social by Smallpools
February Sweatdown 2K19
Falling in Love by Emily Blue
March Sweatdown 2K19
FEEL NOTHING by HEALTH
May Sweatdown 2K19
Real Thing by Stars
June Sweatdown 2K19
Ordinary Fools, Pt. 2 by The Chain Gang of 1974
July Sweatdown 2K19
Gravedigger by MXMS
August Sweatdown 2K19
Gravity by W O L F C L U B, Cadenti
September Sweatdown 2K19
Let’s Get Started on Doing All Those Awesome Things I Suggested by Strong Bad
November Sweatdown 2K19
Rearrange Us by Mt. Joy
December Sweatdown 2K19
American Spirit by Meg & Dia

2020: 0022 to 0033

I was a bit worried I didn’t have enough Battle Tapes on this since it is one of my favourite bands of the 2010s and now 2020s and I used to listen to them all the time. I wanted to sneak in a song like Sweatshop Boys or Solid Gold, two songs I’ve probably heard more than any other, but they really don’t fit the time period of the Sweatdowns. I decided to slip on Control from the Best of 2010s in January despite being one of the few songs off the Form EP I didn’t have on my 2018 Sweatdown’s.

All The Cool Girls by Hailey Whitters is a really great song and sadly the artist has seemed to dip into more conventional country than what she was doing early on. All Summer by Moonbeau is on the November Sweatdown but it became a staple for my summer jams.

Oh, and did I mention this is deep into the pandemic? Having Tonight (We’re Taking Our Own Lives) by Lovelife probably feels like a cry for help but really I was never that bad during the pandemic. Well, at least in 2020. 2021 on the other hand…

January Sweatdown 2K20
Control by Battle Tapes
February Sweatdown 2K20
All My Friends by Madeon
March Sweatdown 2K20
All The Cool Girls by Hailey Whitters
April Sweatdown 2K20
Gotta Get It by Kadeema
May Sweatdown 2K20
Tonight (We’re Taking Our Own Lives) by Lovelife
June Sweatdown 2K20
Twenty Something by Nightly
July Sweatdown 2K20
Indie Rokkers by Soccer Mommy
August Sweatdown 2K20
the 1 by Taylor Swift
September Sweatdown 2K20
lmho by flor
November Sweatdown 2K20
All Summer by Moonbeau
December Sweatdown 2K20
Lucky Me by Glowbug, Lourdes Hernandez

2021: 0034 to 0045

2021 was a very tough year, especially due to the pandemic. Some of the music here kinda help me going. Not that I’m a suicidal person but more sort of giving up on life kind of thing. Should be no surprise that there’s a lot of songs I wanted to keep on it but couldn’t in keeping the list a tight 100. Speaking Off The Record by Hotel Mira I was considering dropping from this but I listened to it, like, a lot, so it would be dishonest to. Much happier I also listened to the 6s to 9s remix just as much and that always put me in a great mood.

At one point I had a lot of Mom Rock on the playlist and had to pair it down. Be sure to check them out. Very good band.

January Sweatdown 2K21
Leave Me Alone by I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME
February Sweatdown 2K21
The Less You Know The Better by Icarus
teche by Culture Wars
March Sweatdown 2K21
RWLYD (Really Wanna Let You Down) by MONOWHALES
April Sweatdown 2K21
City Nights by DRYVE, FATHERDUDE
May Sweatdown 2K21
Others by Immortal Girlfriend
June Sweatdown 2K21
Boy Voyage by Arbi, Koethe
July Sweatdown 2K21
6’s to 9’s – Day Wave Remix by Big Wild, Rationale, Day Wave
August Sweatdown 2K21
Barbados by Lizzy Farrall
Speaking off the Record by Hotel Mira
September Sweatdown 2K21
Beacons by Foxing
Fool Anyone by Losers
October Sweatdown 2K21
Can’t Wait by The G, JJ Mist
November Sweatdown 2K21
if i had better friends by Mom Rock
December Sweatdown 2K21
better with you (stripped) by Chief

2022: 0046 to 0057

I have to give a shout out to Hearts on Fire by Dream Ceremony. It’s a track from 2019 but I couldn’t stop listening to it when I first heard it. It feels like one of those classic songs everyone knows and has driven around at night to but it’s not a well known song? I love it though. This Can’t Be Everything by Phantoms was by far my most played song but I honestly overplayed it to the point where I rarely listen to it anymore. Maybe I’ll feel differently years from now.

The reason there’s a lot of Immortal Girlfriend is I was really digging them for a year or two but they’ve dropped off since. They did one song that sounded nothing like their previous sound then just… vanished. There’s also a lot of Blue Stones who I got really into and enjoy supporting since they are a Windsor, Ontario band.

January Sweatdown 2K22
Life Goes By And I Can’t Keep Up by Dear Rouge
February Sweatdown 2K22
Blackberries by Emily Blue, OTNES
March Sweatdown 2K22
Seeker by Immortal Girlfriend
April Sweatdown 2K22
Love Nobody by Jenn Champion, OYSTER KIDS
May Sweatdown 2K22
Hearts on Fire by Dream Ceremony
June Sweatdown 2K22
This Can’t Be Everything by Phantoms
Out Here by Girls Who Care
August Sweatdown 2K22
Fever Pitch by Hotel Mira
Don’t Miss by Blue Stones
September Sweatdown 2K22
Brooklyn. Friday. Love. by The Midnight
October Sweatdown 2K22
What’s It Take To Be Happy? by The Blue Stones
November Sweatdown 2K22
Wild West by DEVORA
December Sweatdown 2K22
Love You To Death by Fickle Friends

2023: 0058 to 0069

Looking back this might be the best year for Sweatdown? Just because it’s one of my favourite years for music. Fickle Friends was a fantastic find. I got really into the new George Clanton album. Battle Tapes released Texture. I first got a taste of Social Order and I discovered Emi Grace for the first time. It was a very strong year for music I like and still listen to.

January Sweatdown 2K23
Not Okay by Fickle Friends
February Sweatdown 2K23
Porn Star by DEVORA
March Sweatdown 2K23
Birthmark by Dizzy
April Sweatdown 2K23
I Been Young by George Clanton
May Sweatdown 2K23
Feel It All The Time by Soccer Mommy
Perish the Thought by Battle Tapes
July Sweatdown 2K23
Justify Your Life by George Clanton
August Sweatdown 2K23
My Kink is Karma by Chappell Roan
September Sweatdown 2K23
I Used To Be Fun by Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers
October Sweatdown 2K23
Boys by Social Order
Drift by 3TEETH
November Sweatdown 2K23
All We Ever Do Is Talk by Del Water Gap
December Sweatdown 2K23
Golden Days by Emi Grace

2024: 0070 to 0081

Another pretty decent year with discovering more new bands I really liked, like ALEXSUCKS, Sick Love, and discovering Fake Shark after I saw them live with Hotel Mira. I also started really getting into Pink Skies and Kanadia, who don’t appear until next year.

January Sweatdown 2K24
Don’t You Want to Sleep with Somebody Normal? by Love Fame Tragedy
February Sweatdown 2K24
bad idea right? by Olivia Rodrigo
March Sweatdown 2K24
Forever by Mother Mother
April Sweatdown 2K24
Save Me by Fake Shark
May Sweatdown 2K24
Burn Forever by Hot Water Music
June Sweatdown 2K24
Sometimes by Social Order
July Sweatdown 2K24
Return to Sender by talker
August Sweatdown 2K24
don’t rely on other men by JPEGMAFIA
September Sweatdown 2K24
Jacknife by Sick Love
October Sweatdown 2K24
Secret History by Foxing
November Sweatdown 2K24
Warm Beers by ALEXSUCKS
December Sweatdown 2K24
Girls by The Dare

2025: 0082 to 0093

This was honestly a pretty strong year overall. Not 2023 strong but not far off either. Fantasy by Fickle Friends was a song I kept going back to. Wired by Kanadia has some of my favourite guitar in any song. Day Drinking by Pink Skies reminds me of my 30s. Nine Inch Nails released an incredible song and got on this list for the first time. NIN is my favourite band growing up so it was weird I couldn’t fit them somewhere but the only other song released around the time of these I could go with was the song they did with HEALTH. Culture Wars finally released their first album, Tyler Childers made an album I really liked, and of course Hotel Mira putting out banger after banger.

January Sweatdown 2K25
Come Apart by The Blue Stones
March Sweatdown 2K25
America’s Favourite Pastime by Hotel Mira
April Sweatdown 2K25
Typical Ways by Culture Wars
May Sweatdown 2K25
Over & Out by LEAP
June Sweatdown 2K25
NOVOCAINE by little image
July Sweatdown 2K25
Nose on the Grindstone by Tyler Childers
August Sweatdown 2K25
As Alive As You Need Me To Be by Nine Inch Nails
September Sweatdown 2K25
Day Drinking by Pink Skies
October Sweatdown 2K25
Re: Valentine’s Day by Hotel Mira
November Sweatdown 2K25
Wired by Kanadia
December Sweatdown 2K25
Fantasy by Fickle Friends

2026: 0094 to 0099

The last of the list honestly? Good music, but the year will probably be dominated by me listening to specifically two songs: NOTHING ON THE LINE by George Barnett (which came out four years ago but whatever I heard it now) and Last Night in Paris by The Midnight featuring Carpenter Brut. I was tempted to get High Hopes 3000 by Role Model on here since I’ve listened to it a lot but I’m already getting the feeling that much like another song I got temporarily obsessed with and then lost all interest (in November of 2021 I was really into Bad Honey by Pandas & People to the point where I think I had it in my top spot for best songs of 2021 and quickly regretted it) so I’m just going to pre-emptively keep it off.

It’s kinda funny I got Pro Wrestling The Band (who I saw live!) as my top song in January and CQ Wrestling (from the UK) as my top song in June. I’ve recently dropped pro wrestling for the next bit because it wasn’t hitting me how it used to and here all of my pro wrestling love seems to be going to bands named after Wrestling who don’t even like Wrestling. Funny that.

January Sweatdown 2K26
Coke Blues by Pro Wrestling The Band
February Sweatdown 2K26
DISSOLVER by ROMES
March Sweatdown 2K26
Forever Your Star by The Chain Gang of 1974
April Sweatdown 2K26
Say It by Social Order
May Sweatdown 2K26
NOTHING ON THE LINE by George Barnett
Last Night in Paris by The Midnight feat. Carpenter Brut
June Sweatdown 2K26
Soft Top by CQ Wrestling

Thank you so much for being on this journey with me. 100 down, many more to go!

The post July Sweatdown 2K26: 100th Sweatdown appeared first on Aaron Wrotkowski.

NHL 2025 Off Season
2025-26 Likely Wrong NHL Predictions
Midway Through 25-26 Season
25-26 End of NHL Season and Playoffs
2026 NHL Playoffs 2nd Round
2026 NHL Playoffs 3rd Round
2026 Stanley Cup Final

They only won it on June 14 and this is June 24 but it feels like they won it five years ago. Why? Because the NHL has been in complete chaos and pandemonium ever since.

We’re only 10 days later but it doesn’t feel like it because teams have been wheeling and dealing with trades. I’m writing this June 23 and today alone we’ve got:

– Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway of the Buffalo Sabres to the Chicago Blackhawks for 4th overall, 45th overall, and Louis Crevier. As of writing this Bowen Byram has not agreed to a contract extension.
– Jordan Kyrou of the St. Louis Blues to the Washington Capitals for Connor McMichael, Milton Gästrin, and the 16th overall pick.
– William Eklund, Kasper Halttunen, and Brandon Svoboda of the San Jose Sharks to the Ottawa Senators for the 9th overall pick.
– Simon Nemec and Maxim Tsyplakov of the New Jersey Devils to the Calgary Flames for a conditional 1st round pick in 2027, conditional 1st round pick in 2028, 35th overall pick in 2026, and Etienne Morin. Nemec as of writing has not signed an extension with the Calgary Flames.

That’s just today!

Right after the Cup final concluded the San Jose Sharks swapped their 20th overall pick (from the Edmonton Oilers) to the Buffalo Sabres for Michael Kesselring and the 27th overall pick. Darren Raddysh of the Tampa Bay Lightning got traded to Toronto Maple Leafs and signed to an extension (Toronto also traded Joseph Woll to the Philadelphia Flyers), but the big ones happened on the 21st when Florida traded Mackie Samoskevich to the Seattle Kraken then traded what they got for Mackie (Tampa Bay’s 25th overall pick) plus Florida’s 2027 2nd round pick and 9th overall pick this draft for Brady Tkachuk to unite the Tkachuk brothers in Florida.

We got only 48 FREAKING HOURS to digest that before we got the craziness today. And I’m supposed to try and tell you what happened 10 days ago?

Let’s kick off with my prediction: on the dot!

Carolina Hurricanes in six games

I predicted and I nailed it. After the first three games with the Golden Knights up 2-1, people were talking like the series was over and Mitch Marner was going to win the Conn Smythe trophy. Everyone was talking like the series was done. Vegas wins, Evil Empire triumphs. It’s like somehow everyone forgets that these are a best of seven series. Game one was a 5-4 victory for Vegas. Game two was a 4-3 overtime win for Carolina. Game three was a double OT win for Vegas with a 5-4 score. Double OT! But Mitch Marner scored a hat trick so people had to act like that’s game.

Game four the Hurricanes put in Brandon Bussi and win 5-3. In game five, Bussi does even better allowing only two goals for a 4-2 victory. Game six? Shutout.

I originally had Logan Stankoven as my Conn Smythe trophy pick, but nobody saw Jordan Staal becoming a final MVP and absolutely stealing with six goals in six games in the final.

It was a fantastic series (save for the first two games) and it meant Carolina ended up with one of the most dominant playoff performances of all time. Let’s break it down.

Carolina Wins

I had for several years put my faith in the Carolina Hurricanes but time and time again they let me down. To the point I didn’t pay attention to just how much their team actually changed in the past two years.

Their top line was Jackson Blake, Logan Stankoven, and Taylor Hall. Hall and Stankoven came from the Mikko Rantanen deal, who came from a Martin Necas trade with Colorado. Basically a three way trade also including Chicago to acquire Taylor Hall. Jackson Blake was only in his second year in the NHL. That means their top line in the playoffs was a line that couldn’t really have existed two years prior.

Carolina’s third leading scorer in the playoffs was Nikolaj Ehlers who signed with Carolina in the offseason. That means their top four playoff scorers were all guys that came in the past two years. But what changed from Carolina in those two years?

At forward in 23-24, Hurricanes made a big deal for Jake Guentzel, who finished fourth in their playoff scoring then ran off to Tampa Bay. They had Evgeni Kuznetsov and Teuvo Teravainen. Otherwise it was pretty much the same forward group. Oh and Marty Necas, but I already mentioned how he was traded. That’s the four guys at forward who basically got replaced by Ehlers, Stankoven, Hall, and Blake.

The defence is where the real change was. Brady Skjei is now in Nashville. Dmitry Orlov played in San Jose this past season. Brent Burns tried to chase a ring in Colorado and, well, got burned. Tony D’Angelo I won’t even bother to look up where he is. Actually I think it’s the Islanders. Brett Pesce went to New Jersey. That’s five of their seven defencemen gone from 23-24 to 25-26. Only Jaccob Slavin and Jalen Chatfield remain.

24-25 they add Shayne Gostisbehere, Sean Walker, and Alex Nikishin. This year they added K’Andre Miller in a trade with the New York Rangers and veteran (and former Montreal Canadien) Mike Reilly as an extra body.

In goal it has been Freddy Andersen every year but this time they had a rookie backup in Brandon Bussi they got off waivers. Bussi ended up saving Carolina’s bacon in the Cup final. Andersen was pretty great for most of the playoffs and if he wasn’t injured in game three, or tried to keep playing? I’d be writing about Vegas winning the Cup. He had a rough final. Nothing to be ashamed of. That’s why Staal gave him the Cup next.

The lesson to learn about Carolina is basically if at first you don’t succeed? Try try again, but add to it. It’s not about trading away your star players. Sebastian Aho kind of disappointed. Seth Jarvis wasn’t scoring his usual level. Andre Svechnikov contributed off the scoresheet but might have been better to score more. It was fine. They didn’t have to trade one of those three to build this team. They only had to trade Necas.

The one place they did overhaul was the defence, bringing in a lot more puck moving and speed. Losing long time guys like Skjei and Pesce likely hurt at first but not once the team really got their rhythm with Miller, Gostisbehere, and Walker. Think about all that stuff you heard for years about how you need big punishing defencemen in the playoffs. Sean Walker is 5’11”, 191lbs. Ghost is 5’11” 183lbs. Both played important minutes. Slavin is 6’2″ but he’s a Lady Byng type. He doesn’t punish you he boxes you out and doesn’t allow you to set plays.

This was a very clean Cup win. Carolina played the right way. They might have been called a bunch of jerks but I think this was a very respectable Stanley Cup. I hated seeing Montreal getting stomped (I think the media has overblown how bad the Habs lost and don’t realize how similar it was to the Capitals loss the season prior. Habs ran out of gas) but I always respected how they played us.

The Jerks did well.

Vegas loses

I picked Utah to win. They lost to Vegas.

I picked Vegas to beat the Ducks. They did that at least.

I picked Colorado to beat them in six games and Vegas swept them.

I bet against Vegas two times and was wrong. Why should I bet against them again?

Because they were not as good as the Canes.

Full credit to Vegas for making it to the Cup final. They did not look like a Cup contender going into the playoffs. They really figured their defensive game out with John Tortorella behind the bench replacing Bruce Cassidy only a week before the playoffs. Torts was basically a good luck charm.

I never thought Vegas was going to get that far replacing Alex Pietrangelo with Mitch Marner. Turns out I was very wrong. I didn’t think the goaltending would hold up since I didn’t have much faith in Carter Hart. Turns out he was just good enough. Vegas went to the Cup once already with just good enough goaltending. The goalie who got them there was now deemed unplayable and burns a hole in the Golden Knights cap. I should have known they’d almost do it again.

Vegas was a big target as people treated them as the villains they are, and the captain Jack Eichel and GM Kelly McCrimmon really tried to fight the narratives. Silly. Vegas should just embrace being the villain. Even their defences made them sound worse. You’re not winning anyone over talking about how much everyone wants to play on your team.

Vegas is projected to have around $90 million in cap which leaves them with about $14 million to acquire three defencemen and three forwards while also re-signing Pavel Dorofeyev. That won’t be easy. Knowing Vegas they gotta be thinking of getting rid of someone so they can bring someone back. I could see Colton Sissons staying on a really cheap deal. Cole Smith as well as Vegas liked playing him on the fourth line. That leaves you with $12 million for Dorofeyev, another bottom six guy, and three defencemen. I doubt they can afford Rasmus Andersson, even if he takes a pay cut. I kinda wonder if they even want him.

But this is the Vegas Golden Knights. They are ruthless. I’ve heard people say they will tell Mark Stone to pick a new home to save $9.5 million and land a bigger fish. I could see Ivan Barbashev and maybe even William Karlsson getting moved. Who knows. Oh, also, buying out Adin Hill? Absolutely pointless until 28-29. That’s when you actually save on it. He got them good on his deal. They need to find a team who wants him or they are stuck with that $6.25 million cap hit.

I think Vegas will pull something off to make their team desirable next season, but I don’t know if they get back here the way Edmonton got back after losing a Cup final.

The Stanley Cup 2027

As per tradition: LET’S GET STUPID WHO WINS NEXT YEAR?

You gotta look to Carolina first. They had literally one of the best runs to the Cup of any team in over 30 years.

I already mentioned the trades made yesterday. I don’t think Washington is suddenly a contender with Jordan Kyrou. I honestly think Ottawa is better off without Brady Tkachuk and while William Eklund is a good add they need more. Toronto is definitely trying to make the playoffs but I don’t think they get to contender status.

The best chance in the East to stop Carolina from repeating is of course the Florida Panthers making their big “revenge tour” with a healthy Barkov (hopefully) and now having the Tkachuk brothers instead of just, you know, the good one. I can’t discount the value of adding a strong forward to your top nine after Mitch Marner was able to counter the loss of Alex Pietrangelo to get Vegas to a Cup final. I can’t make that mistake again. I just need to see what Florida does about their goaltending. If they figure out a way to add Connor Hellebuyck? Of course they become the favourite. That might be tough.

The west is a crapshoot. You got Edmonton bringing in Mike Babcock to coach. I’m sure that goes fine. Anaheim will try to take a next step and use Mason McTavish to get there as trade bait. Dallas has some serious cap problems and might look very different. Minnesota proved they are a player and seem to be in a lot of trade rumours but still need a second line centre. They also need to actually re-sign Quinn Hughes.

Colorado also has to re-sign a big defenceman in Cale Makar, but they also have to deal with the fact that Brock Nelson isn’t getting younger and has a full no trade clause. He’s going nowhere until next summer unless he agrees to. Nazem Kadri is back full time but they have to find a spot for him. Most seem to feel like the Avalanche will move off of Valeri Nichushkin to get better but who is taking him off their hands?

The San Jose Sharks are probably not Cup contenders but I wonder what happens if they take a step forward. Everyone seems to think they make a big addition to the blueline. Morgan Rielly? Darnell Nurse? Maybe even Zach Werenski? Nobody has assets like them.

I’ll quickly circle back to my Montreal Canadiens. The fanbase is getting restless because they haven’t added a top six centre yet. They also have to find Brendan Gallagher a new home or buy him out, and also need to move on from Sam Montembeault. If they get lucky and do that without taking cap back? That’s $9 million off the books. Montreal was rumoured to have been very close to a deal for Matthew Knies with Toronto which wouldn’t really address a need but would certainly make the Habs harder to play against. I don’t know who the Canadiens get but I have no doubt they will get someone. My dream would be Adam Fantilli. I doubt they pull that off but like I said. It’s a dream.

I was sure the Cup was going west last year. It stayed in the east. For the past 11 years the Cup has gone to a team in the east eight times. I went 11 just because Pittsburgh won back to back. The prior years it was going mostly west (Chicago, LA, Anaheim, hey remember Detroit in the west) and we used to constantly talk about the west being the better conference. Not so much anymore.

It’s funny that I said I expected the east to go full on trying to beat Florida, destroy itself, and it would allow a west team to play clean up. That’s pretty much what happened but in the opposite conference. Without a Florida to beat in the East? Carolina just played clean up losing only one game in three series. It was the west that beat itself up trying to beat Colorado, and it ended up someone just sweeping them in the end.

It’s just too early (NO FUCKING DUH) to pick a winner just due to the sheer craziness of trades lately. We don’t know if in a week someone is going to acquire Auston Matthews and Kirill Marchenko and Sidney Crosby after trading 20 first round picks and suddenly oh yeah that team is the favourite.

If I picked a team in the east it would be Carolina repeating. Repeats are popular these days and their run was so dominant how could you not? For the west? I’m tired of picking Dallas. Which will probably mean Dallas finally wins it like Carolina did.

But I’ll go totally wacky, what are you doing, this is insane, and say the San Jose Sharks. They got NINETY SEVEN MILLION IN CAP SPACE which means they could offer sheet Adam Fantilli for four first round picks paying him $20 million a year and they’d still have SEVENTY SEVEN MILLION IN CAP SPACE. They could add Zach Werenski and Morgan Rielly and even Darnell Nurse on top of it and still have FIFTY MILLION IN CAP SPACE. If the Sharks want to go for it? They got an over abundance of assets, youth, and cap space to do absolutely anything and everything. I hope the Sharks do it.

Then again they are kinda cursed so…

Break the Curse Sharks!

“Carolina Hurricanes vs. New Jersey Devils – March 9, 2013” by Dougtone is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 .

The post The Carolina Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup appeared first on Aaron Wrotkowski.

The post June Sweatdown 2K26 appeared first on Aaron Wrotkowski.

2026 NHL Playoffs Third Round
2026 NHL Playoffs Second Round
2026 NHL Playoffs First Round

I won’t be too hard on myself. I admitted I was being a homer (it’s very popular to be a Homer right now) when I picked the Montreal Canadiens to win. I also think most expected the Colorado Avalanche to make the Stanley Cup final. I don’t think anyone ever would have predicted that the Montreal Canadiens would win more Conference final games than the Colorado Avalanche.

It was a very strange Conference final in various ways.

Third Round Recap

Sigh.

Presidents Trophy Winner Colorado Avalanche versus Pacific Division Winner Vegas Golden Knights

My Prediction: Colorado Avalanche in six games

Result: Vegas Golden Knights in four games

Swept.

I only watched one game from this series. I know Cale Makar was out for game one and game two. Game three I watched the first two periods. In period one, with Makar returning to the Avalanche lineup, the Colorado Avalanche absolutely destroyed the Vegas Golden Knights on home ice. 4-0 lead. Almost ran Carter Hart out of his net. It looked like the Avalanche were back and ready to storm back into this series with reckless abandon.

And then the second period happened.

Credit to Vegas. They have a great defensive system and pretty much every player handles their role well. They protect their zone better than anyone except their future Stanley Cup final opponent. I watched as the Colorado Avalanche proceeded to get nothing near the net and constantly fumble the puck in the Vegas zone. Vegas tied it up in the second. As far as I was concerned the series was over in that second period.

There’s a lot of people talking about another teams failure (I’ll get to that) but the Colorado Avalanche here were absolutely dreadful. I haven’t seen such a strong team go from pure power, depth, and momentum to an absolute wet sock like that. I’ve heard all of the injury claims and yeah I’m sure everyone had their leg blown off and will have to regenerate it in the summer. Happens to every team. That second period was a fireable offence. For head coach Jared Bednar to just watch his team take the foot off the Golden Knights throat and proceed to get pounded into the dirt like that? Unacceptable for who was technically the best NHL team this year.

People were talking about this Avalanche team winning 70 games at one point. When we started 2026, the Avalanche had two regular season losses. They won 30 of 39 games. They finished the year a +99 on goal differential and added Nazem Kadri and Nicholas Roy at the trade deadline. Sure, the Boston Bruins of 22-23 had 65 wins and a +128 goal differential and went out in the first round. Sure, the Tampa Bay Lightning of 18-19 had 62 wins and a +103 goal differential and got SWEPT in the first round. But why do you want to be compared to those teams?

There’s only two ways for this Avalanche team to go. Either they lick their wounds from this loss and win the Stanley Cup next year or this is the beginning of the end of the Nathan MacKinnon era. I don’t see some middle ground where they are merely good. Tampa licked their wounds and won two Cups. Boston essentially closed the book on the previous era and are now just a team avoiding a rebuild they should be probably considering. Colorado? This is either a heavy fall or a powerful rise. I say that because Cale Makar has one year left and if the team falls apart without him in two playoff games? Imagine how this club looks if he walks in free agency next summer.

Oh right, there’s another team to talk about.

I picked the Vegas Golden Knights to win the division. I also picked them to lose the first round. I said they were a weird team making weird decisions. I didn’t care for Rasmus Andersson and I still don’t. I didn’t think Mitch Marner made up for the loss of Alex Pietrangelo. I honestly still don’t. The thing I didn’t consider is maybe it didn’t matter. Maybe Mitch doesn’t make up for the loss of Pietrangelo but it does help the team play in a style that’s hard to beat.

I should also say that part of my first round loss prediction was Vegas didn’t have William Karlsson, who I think is the most underrated player in the NHL today. He’s so much better than he ever gets credit for. His return in the playoffs made the Golden Knights a different team. I truly believe that.

The coaching change to John Tortorella makes for a fun story but the antics of the Golden Knights refusing to talk to media, not shaking hands, all that stuff is just a good villain story. When they won the Cup I said it was good for the league to have a villain. The Golden Knights are absolutely fine with that role. Nobody wants to see them win. While I think they got people on the team I never want to see lift that Stanley Cup? I also think the league is better with someone to root against.

Eastern Conference Winner Carolina Hurricanes versus Montreal Canadiens

My Prediction: Montreal Canadiens in six games

Result: Carolina Hurricanes in five games

The big talk before the series was rest versus rust. Montreal won the first game so resoundingly that people were talking like the series was already over. It was over in five games as Carolina did a gentlemen sweep after.

To anyone not trying to create narratives it’s pretty obvious that the Montreal Canadiens completely ran out of gas and the Carolina Hurricanes play a style you can’t be even a little tired to be able to beat. Montreal would at various times suddenly play great and if they didn’t get the goals would be playing exhausted after.

All of the focus on the shots and the game four and game five disasters ignores the fact Montreal did win the first game and games two and three went to OT. Montreal could have been up 3-0, and in one of the OTs absolutely had several chances to close it out and just didn’t. This series, from the incorrect narratives to the way Montreal went out, reminds me of the Washington series from the previous postseason. In that series? Everyone claimed Montreal was physically dominated. In reality they ran out of gas doing everything possible to make the playoffs. This year they ran out of gas after two extremely tough division series.

That isn’t to say Montreal should have beaten Carolina. Simply it should have been more competitive. There were so many strange decisions by Montreal in this series. Their best line in the first round was Zachary Bolduc and Alexandre Texier on the wing of Kirby Dach. Without that line they don’t beat the Tampa Bay Lightning. What does head coach Martin St. Louis do? He breaks up the line against Buffalo and never puts them back together. You get incredible bottom six chemistry, essentially a fourth line based on even strength minutes, scoring better than any other line on the team, and you break them up permanently? You move Dach to the wing? All to get Joe Veleno in the lineup? JOE VELENO!?

Then you have St. Louis playing Jayden Struble over Arber Xhekaj, which too many look at from the perspective of Struble versus Xhekaj. That’s not what it’s about. It’s that St. Louis is okay playing Xhekaj on the right side so Lane Hutson, the best defenceman and arguably the Canadiens best skater, can play his natural left side. When Struble plays? He plays to the left of Hutson.

Hutson on the left when Xhekaj playing. Montreal won 6-2.

Hutson on Struble’s right when Struble is playing. Montreal lost 4-0.

Going forward the Canadiens have to play for Lane Hutson on the left side. Permanently. I don’t care if that makes it tough as to how you handle the minutes of Guhle, Matheson, Xhekaj, and Struble. David Reinbacher should be up with the team as the right handed third pair which means you get to play three left shot defencemen and three right shot defencemen. Figure out who plays with who, but it’s time to end this silliness.

You can also see the giant hole in the second line centre position, filled in the regular season by Oliver Kapanen who was near unplayable in the playoffs. The team absolutely needs to upgrade from that position.

If it’s up to me? If I was both Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton? My goal would be to have Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov as my premier top wingers. That means getting them a centre. Then I would have Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. They need a new wing. The bottom six would shake out with Bolduc, Newhook, Texier, and Anderson on the wing with Danault and Evans down the middle. This means Kirby Dach, Oliver Kapanen, Brendan Gallagher, and Joe Veleno are out.

Maybe you find that winger for Caufield and Suzuki in trade. You’ll certainly have to find the centre for Slafkovsky and Demidov via trade. I think you find the winger in free agency. Montreal loves to talk about how much players want to play here. I look at Bobby McMann and wonder how he looks with Caufield and Suzuki. Or Mason Marchment. I know a lot of people are looking at Anthony Mantha since he’s a Quebec boy but I’ve always questioned his commitment level. He has been pretty terrible in every playoff game he’s played and has yet to score a goal in the playoffs and is now 31. Mason Marchment also has a reputation for bad playoffs but at least he’s scored a few goals. Bobby McMann has only played a single playoffs, no goals. Sigh. Guess I can’t be so hard on Mantha.

Actually I can. He straight up sucked against Philly.

The bigger question is that second line centre job and I have noticed a lot of Habs fans don’t actually want a second line centre. They don’t want a 50 point guy. They want another first line centre. Robert Thomas, Nico Hischier (who I would ADORE as a Hab), Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, these are the guys people want for the job. None of these guys are second line centres. Second line centres are guys like Dylan Strome, William Karlsson, Logan Stankoven, Brock Nelson, and Sam Bennett. Not 70 point guys. 50 point guys.

I feel that could set people up for disappointment on whomever the Habs eventually bring in as a second line centre for what will be a very inflated price. Whether they try to scoop a young guy struggling like Mason McTavish in Anaheim (benched by Quenneville, 41 points in the regular season after signing a six year deal worth $7 million per season, everyone says he had a horrible playoffs but he had 6 points in 10 games?) or go after say a veteran needing a change of scenery like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (33, three years left, 56 points in the season, 5 in 6 in the playoffs) I think people will end up expressing disappointment in those players. I’d love a guy like Dylan Strome from Washington if he ended up available, but I bet others would see him as a stop gap reactionary move instead of a permanent answer.

If the Canadiens can get a guy like Nico Hischier? I’d be ecstatic. If they end up with a Mason McTavish? I’ll honestly be really happy too. I think he isn’t as bad as he seems. I think last year a lot of people were overrating his size, and there are issues with his skating, so I didn’t want to pay a Cole Caufield like some were claiming to want to do. But if they got him for a package with a high prospect and pick? I’d probably be good with it and think he’d do well here.

Okay… Carolina.

Here is what I said in the second round: “Carolina cruises to the Conference final to play an Atlantic division team that just survived a war. Maybe even two wars.”

I wasn’t wrong.

Carolina is a really good team. I had been picking them for years and they kept letting me down. This time they finally got to the Cup final. There’s a couple additions this year that really make the difference. Go look at their playoff stats. Top scorers? Taylor Hall and Jackson Blake. Hall came in last season as a close to trade deadline move when they traded Mikko Rantanen to the Dallas Stars. Jackson Blake is a sophomore. Now the next two. Logan Stankoven and Nikolaj Ehlers. Stankoven was the main piece in the Mikko Rantanen trade. Ehlers was their big free agency signing.

We can even go down to their sixth best scorer and find K’Andre Miller who they traded for in the offseason.

That’s five of their top six that either came in this season or last season. Additions to the roster that are elevating them to the Cup. The team that was led by Aho, Jarvis, Svechnikov, Staal, and dare I say Slavin? They weren’t good enough to get here. This team needed extra firepower and they’ve got it in the form of a former Hart trophy winner, a little engine that could from Dallas, the son of Jason Blake, a top free agent signing from Winnipeg, and picking the carcass of a sinking New York Rangers squad.

That’s why they beat the Montreal Canadiens. A very good team got greater. They’ve only lost one game this playoffs. They deserve to be in the Cup final.

Stanley Cup Final Prediction

Eastern Conference Winner Carolina Hurricanes versus Western Conference Winner Vegas Golden Knights

I was about to say it a paragraph ago and stopped myself to say it here.

Carolina has only lost one game this playoffs. Do you really expect them to lose four more?

But this is the Vegas Golden Knights. They just swept the best team in the NHL. They absolutely dismantled them. Carolina beat Ottawa, Philly, and Montreal. How much of a step down is that from Utah, Anaheim, and Colorado?

Breaking it down, I would give the goaltending edge to Carolina, the defensive edge to Carolina, the top six edge to Vegas, and the bottom six edge to Vegas. So Vegas gets the nod at forward but Carolina on goaltending and defence. Both teams are extremely good at team defence but I’d give a slight advantage to Carolina. If Carter Hart goes down? Adin Hill might actually be better. If Frederik Andersen goes down, Brandon Bussi had a good rookie year (until he didn’t.)

If Vegas wins this? Mitch Marner probably wins the Conn Smythe trophy. Even though I think it should go to Jack Eichel. If Carolina wins this? Some may say Andersen but I’d go with Logan Stankoven. I love it when the small guys win the Cup. Really defeats the size arguments. They have to move goal posts and start talking about “not playing small” when that was never their original point.

Anyway. I’m delaying my prediction. It’s Carolina. I don’t see them losing this series. I think they are better than Vegas. It’s going to take some incredible coaching by Torts to make me change my mind. I think Carolina is ready for this. They’ve gone through the fire. So many failures and now they finally got a shot to win it. If Vegas wins? Hey, bad guys win. I just give it to the jerks here.

Carolina Hurricanes in six games

It has been a fun playoffs. See you in a few weeks.

“Carolina Hurricanes vs. Florida Panthers – March 14, 2015” by Dougtone is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 .

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Time to brag going into the NHL Playoffs Third Round.

2026 NHL Playoffs Second Round
2026 NHL Playoffs First Round

2nd Round Recap

President’s Trophy Colorado Avalanche versus Minnesota Wild

My Prediction: Colorado Avalanche in six games

Result: Colorado Avalanche in five games (-1)

Only off by one game.

Minnesota was a tough challenge but you can only do so much with how they are down the middle. Great wingers, great defence, a very good goalie, but this is the Colorado Avalanche. It’s why if my Montreal Canadiens somehow get to the Cup final against Colorado I would not put their chances very high. Colorado is a juggernaut down the middle.

I just called Minnesota a tough challenge and they only won one game. That’s how incredible Colorado is right now. They absolutely feel like they are well on their way to win the Cup.

Pacific Division Winner Vegas Golden Knights versus Anaheim Ducks

My Prediction: Vegas Golden Knights in six games

Result: Vegas Golden Knights in six games

I said I had been hoping for the Anaheim Ducks to prove me wrong but instead the Vegas Golden Knights showed they had a secret weapon named William Karlsson.

Karlsson might be one of the most underrated players in the National Hockey League. For real, unlike Barkov who everyone regards as great all the time then calls underrated. Karlsson is a Cup winner, one of the best second line centres in the game, and his return after being gone for most of the season due to injury put the Knights in a place the Ducks couldn’t catch up.

Most games were close but both blowouts (game three and game six) were road wins by the Golden Knights.

Eastern Conference Winner Carolina Hurricanes versus Philadelphia Flyers

My Prediction: Carolina Hurricanes in five games

Result: Carolina Hurricanes in four games (-1)

I even said I felt the Hurricanes could sweep but I felt bad for changing my first round prediction from the Flyers to the Penguins. Gotta give them something. Unfortunately they gave us nothing.

Carolina looks spectacular. They truly feel like a team who did not care about their first two rounds and just trucked their opposition to get here.

Probably the funniest thing of the series wasn’t the games but on social media where Philadelphia Flyers fans, who delight in being the trolls of the hockey world with Gritty killing Penguins in the first round, suddenly became the arbiters of decency and respect and were offended by the Carolina “Bunch of Jerks” Hurricanes Twitter account for clowning on their loss.

It was a great example how you can’t have it both ways. If you wanna live by the gag? You gotta die by it too. If you want Gritty messing with the opposing team? You gotta take your lumps when the team does the same to you. Play it in stride. Philly fans couldn’t.

Atlantic Division Winner Buffalo Sabres versus Montreal Canadiens

My Prediction: Montreal Canadiens in six games

Result: Montreal Canadiens in seven games (-1)

I was really hoping for a game six win where Cole Caufield just exploded as Mr. Saturday Night and instead I got one of the worst performances of the playoffs.

It’s a pretty strange series when you consider the fact Montreal lost game one celebrating their series win in Tampa a night too long. They should have went to Buffalo after the series but decided to stay back. They were absolutely not ready for Buffalo in game one. And then the Canadiens proceeded to destroy the Sabres for the next two games. And then Buffalo squeaked a win in game four based on a one in a million bounce and a goalie change. Montreal in game five? Another absolute destruction of the Sabres. Followed by the Sabres absolutely destroying Montreal by yes, again, changing goalies. They were winning 3-1 and then the Sabres changed goalies and won 8-3.

Seven unanswered goals.

At home.

A lot of people were deflated and forgot that Montreal has yet to lose back to back games this playoffs. Not to Tampa and not to Buffalo. Game seven, Montreal goes up 2-0, Buffalo scores 2, and Habs win in OT.

You’re already hearing people say silly things like Montreal being outplayed in game seven. They were outplayed in the second and third period but they were the better team in first period and OT. Apparently the first period and OT don’t matter now.

But the series is over. Buffalo got dominated for three of their losses. Montreal got dominated for one loss, looked awful in game one, and just had flat bad luck in a third loss. They weren’t allowing four of them.

Third Round Predictions

Well here we are.

Presidents Trophy Winner Colorado Avalanche versus Pacific Division Winner Vegas Golden Knights

Do you know how long it has been since the Presidents Trophy winner got to a Conference final? Actually it wasn’t that long ago you just probably don’t remember. It was the New York Rangers. Yeah, the Rangers were the best team in the regular season in 2023-24. They beat the Dallas Stars by a point. Both of those teams made it to the Conference final only to lose to Florida and Edmonton.

This year we have a similar situation. The conference winners are both in the conference final. Being the best in the league has its advantages finally.

I have a hard time believing in Vegas this year and it mostly comes down to their goaltending. I like almost everything else on the team. I just don’t see any world where Carter Hart shuts down the Colorado Avalanche. Except, maybe, injuries.

Vegas is going to have to do everything they can to crush the Avalanche and take out their best weapons physically. There’s no other way I can see them winning. I’ll give them two wins to be nice.

Colorado Avalanche in six games

Eastern Conference Winner Carolina Hurricanes versus Montreal Canadiens

Carolina finds itself in its third Conference final in four years. In the past 10 seasons the Hurricanes have made the conference final four times in 10 years.

Do you know how many games they’ve won in the Conference final?

One.

Since the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup in 2006 they have been to the Conference final five times now and only have a single victory to show for it, last season against the Florida Panthers.

2008-09? Swept by the Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins

2018-19? Swept by the Cup losing Boston Bruins

2022-23? Swept by the Cup losing Florida Panthers

2024-25? Gentlemen’s Sweep by the Cup winning Florida Panthers

They once again face the Atlantic Division winner but it won’t be a repeat opponent.

The media is already making this a hockey rust versus hockey exhaustion question. Will the Carolina Hurricanes be able to contain a battle ready Habs? Or will the exhausted Habs run out of steam against a fresh Hurricanes squad?

The reality is I can’t say who should win this series until I see if the rust is real or if the Habs have any energy left. I think they had a good OT and proved they still had life in them against Buffalo but we have to see how they come out in game one. They flubbed it with Buffalo but came back in games two and three. That might be tougher against Carolina.

If Carolina’s rust is too much? Montreal will win this in five or six. If Carolina being rested is a weapon? Montreal won’t make it to six.

I’ll be a homer and give it to the Habs.

Montreal Canadiens in six games

That would give us Montreal vs Colorado for the Cup.

Wouldn’t that be fun. The Battle of Quebec.

I guess we will see how things shake out soon.

“Las Vegas Golden Knights Battle Wagon Celebrates a Victory” by slgckgc is licensed under CC BY 2.0 .

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The Sweatdown has existed since April of 2018 as a monthly collection of music I’ve been listening to. Sometimes it’s old tracks but it’s usually new music. Everything from indie to synthwave to rock to alternative and more. Every December is a culmination of the music I’ve listened to. Originally posted to Spotify, these playlists can now all be found on YouTube where they will be updated monthly for YouTube Music.

Some of what’s here for May

Big fan of the new albums by Metric and Broken Social Scene so there’s representation from both. I think they both should be touring more shows in Canada this year and next.

The song from George Barnett is from 2022 but I had to get it on here for just being absolutely fantastic. Puts me in such a great mood. Don’t know how it slipped onto my radar but I had to get it on here.

A new artist I got into was Winona Fighter and I really like how aggressive BOMBS AWAY is.

Had to get something from the Nine Inch Noize project and Heresy made the most sense.

The FM-84/Josh Dally song is apparently something from seven years they were releasing today but remixed which is why it’s considered new. I liked the 201.7 FM version best.

I think bbno$ said they were quitting but then released this so I guess they were not quitting. I was never that much of a fan but I appreciate the fight against bullshit Gen AI.

I’ve fallen for the sombr guy. I kinda wanna hate this tall teenager with curly hair but I love these songs. I think he’s got the sauce. I am so far feeling that much like Emi Grace and Olivia Rodrigo he just holds the past in a high regard without just trying to replicate it. It’s all about building on the past into a new future instead of a bad impression of the past.

Chappaqua Wrestling with one of the best build ups to a song. Great way to be a closer.

May Sweatdown 2K26 features:

Metric – Tremolo
Chain Gang of 1974 – Thinking of You
almost monday – no more regrets
George Barnett – NOTHING ON THE LINE
Winona Fighter – BOMBS AWAY
Nine Inch Noize – Heresy
Madeon feat. Slayyyter – Fire Away
Basement – Pick Up The Pieces
The Midnight feat. Carpenter Brut – Last Night in Paris
Gunship – Tell Me When The World Stops Ending
FM-84 and Josh Dally – Radio (201.7 AM)
The Menzingers – Chance Encounters
Broken Social Scene – Only the Good I Keep
Charli xcx – Rock Music
bbno$ – why am i like this
sombr – Homewrecker
CQ Wrestling – Finish Line

Thank you for reading, thank you for listening, and hope you look forward to another year of The Sweatdown!

Photo by me of riverside Windsor April 15, 2026

The post May Sweatdown 2K26 appeared first on Aaron Wrotkowski.

The first round of the playoffs frustratingly didn’t end before they started second round games so I’m having to push this out now that the Montreal Canadiens have locked up their spot in the second round.

Prediction wise I was pretty close on the games in most series but I got the correct winner 4/8. I got the correct games 3/8.

It’s too bad we’re not getting Dallas or Tampa in the second round but that’s just how these playoff matchups with divisional battles first end up. Two really good teams have to go home. If it was up to me I’d just slip Dallas in over Vegas and Tampa in over Philadelphia. But sadly that’s not the case.

Anyway here we go with the first round.

First Round Recap

President’s Trophy Winning Colorado Avalanche versus Los Angeles Kings

My Prediction: Colorado Avalanche in four games

Result: Colorado Avalanche in four games (!)

Sometimes with the current playoff system we forget it’s still eight teams. It may sound silly but when we had the 1/8 2/7 3/6 4/5 system we always doubted the eighth seed. Now we have this 1/wildcard 2/3 1/wildcard 2/3 system our mind sometimes forgets that the team who squeaked in? They didn’t really belong.

The Western Conference was weak. Maybe the correct way to explain it is they were top heavy. In the West only three teams had 100+ points and five had 90+ points. In the East it was five teams with 100+ and seven with 90+ points. Maybe that just sounds like four extra but there’s only 16 in a conference. Only four teams in the East had under 90 points. The Los Angeless Kings made the playoffs with 90 points. Eight teams were below them.

The St. Louis Blues started the year absolutely terrible and were still four points from the Kings because they had a four game winning streak to end the year. The Nashville Predators had three more wins than the LA Kings but missed the playoffs. I hope this gives you an idea of just how much of a mess the bottom of the West was.

I gave the Kings no chance and I don’t feel bad about it. Next year they will be without Anze Kopitar but have a full season of Artemi Panarin. Kevin Fiala will be healthy this time. Maybe that’ll make it easier to make it but there’s very little to convince me the Kings will be a contender. Also, what happens when Drew Doughty finally retires and there’s nothing left of the Cup winning Kings teams?

Divisional Matchup Dallas Stars versus Minnesota Wild

My Prediction: Dallas Stars in seven games

Result: Minnesota Wild in six games (-1 on series, -1 on wrong team)

I said Dallas had an X-Factor you could never count out in Mikko Rantanen. I guess that’s only when Colorado is either on his sweater or on the opposing team.

Quinn Hughes ended up being the X-Factor for the Wild. The first win for the Wild and the series ender were not close games but everything else was. Dallas losing three straight was a surprise but when you look at game four they were never in it. It just wasn’t enough and Bill Guerin deserves credit for everything he did to stack the Wild for this playoff run. Quinn Hughes, Michael McCarron, Bobby Brink, heck even credit to trading for Jeff Petry who got in a game.

Dallas continues to let me down in the playoffs when I constantly believe in them. Happened last year and has now happened this year. Don’t know what it’ll take for me to believe in them again. They gotta figure out what to do with Tyler Seguin. Gotta re-sign Jason Robertson or trade him. Thomas Harley’s new contract kicks in next season and boy they need a lot more from him at $10.5 million. I forgot they traded for Michael Bunting who wasn’t much for them.

I’m sure Dallas will still be good next season, very good even, but they need to inject some new life in them. This is their Florida Panthers trade for Matthew Tkachuk moment. They need to bring something in.

Pacific Division winner Vegas Golden Knights versus Utah Mammoth

My Prediction: Utah Mammoth in six games

Result: Vegas Golden Knights in six games (-1 on wrong team)

This series was closer than it seemed. Vegas had to win games four and five in OT, both barn burner 5-4 games. I said Mitch Marner wasn’t going to show up after the first four games and he proceeded to assist on the game winning goal in game five and have two goals and an assist in game six. Maybe he finally shed the choking in Toronto?

The Mammoth just ran out of steam. This was a seventh seed after all. I’m happy for Utah fans getting a playoff series. They have a very good team with a lot of guys in their early to mid 20s like JJ Peterka, Logan Cooley, and Dylan Guenther to keep improving. They made one of the best acquisitions of the trade deadline in Mackenzie Weegar who I think ends up their best defenceman going forward, especially offensively. I like their chances of improving next year, even if the Central is top heavy and they end up a wildcard team again.

Divisional Matchup Edmonton Oilers versus Anaheim Ducks

My Prediction: Edmonton Oilers in seven games

Result: Anaheim Ducks in six games (-1 on games, -1 on wrong team)

IN MY DEFENCE I said, “If the Ducks win this? Please Anaheim fans. It’s not I didn’t believe in you. You deserve this. I just can’t count Edmonton out in the first round.” I also said, “Everything in my body is saying the Oilers should lose this” because I did not believe in any way, shape, or form that the Edmonton Oilers were the better team. I just couldn’t count them out. In fact I am happy Anaheim won this.

Anaheim is young, well coached (by a man who probably shouldn’t be coaching in the NHL anymore but that’s the business), and had advantages up and down the lineup. What they did lack was the incredible star power of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The fact the Oilers even made it to six is impressive with Connor clearly playing hurt. Leon likely as well.

The Edmonton Oilers are the biggest frauds since the San Jose Sharks of the 2010s. The Sharks also struggled with reliable goaltending while chasing big name players. The Sharks also sacrificed strong back end defence for offensive dynamos. I think Evan Bouchard at $10.5 million is one of the worst contracts in the league. I don’t care how many points he puts up. He’s Erik Karlsson but an even worse defender. Karlsson at least had health issues. Bouchard is just bad.

I’m glad the Ducks won. I’m also glad Connor and Leon called out Oilers management but can we take a second to point out how bullshit it was the Oilers management tried to claim they couldn’t do anything last summer to make the team better? Connor took less money! You signed Andrew Mangiapane to a stupid deal after trading Evander Kane and clearing his cap!

You couldn’t figure out that while Stuart Skinner wasn’t the answer as a starting goalie the move wasn’t to trade him for a worse goalie with a larger cap hit (that can’t be bought out for any savings) but it was to push him down to two and have a better starting goalie. No you trade Skinner for a worse guy, and then make Connor Ingram your starter? You deserve this. Stan Bowman shouldn’t be a GM in this league just like Coach Q shouldn’t be a coach. Accept your fate.

If I’m any of the top Oilers I’d be asking out. I doubt they will. They will run it back.

Eastern Conference

Eastern Conference winner Carolina Hurricanes versus Ottawa Senators

My Prediction: Carolina Hurricanes in six games

Result: Carolina Hurricanes in four games (-2)

Not much to say here. I do recall a lot of Canadian sports media trying to gas up the Ottawa Senators and say they were a big threat this playoffs. I didn’t buy it. The only game I watched was game four and it was one of the worst powerplays I’ve ever seen from a supposedly good team. Passes nowhere near the players intended. Just pure incompetence.

It’s funny I gave Ottawa two wins here and they couldn’t even muster that. Listen, I actually like the build of the Ottawa Senators and don’t think they are that far from being a much better team but they gotta get rid of Brady Tkachuk. Crying about how he keeps getting asked if he wants out. Absolutely pathetic leader. He’s lucky JT Miller is a captain in this league or he’d look even worse.

I would not be surprised if Linus Ullmark asks for a trade to get out of that organization after everything he’s gone through. When he needed them the most when he took a leave it’s clear the team was mad at him for not sucking it up. Well when they needed him the most he showed up when the rest of the team didn’t. In the playoffs. Ottawa doesn’t deserve him. If they don’t get rid of Brady? Linus should say get me out.

Divisional Matchup Philadelphia Flyers versus Pittsburgh Penguins

My Prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games

Result: Philadelphia Flyers in six games (-1 on games, -1 on wrong team)

I changed my prediction 10 minutes before publishing from Flyers to Penguins and I paid for it.

Flyers nearly swept the Penguins and then Pittsburgh switched goalies and made a run for it. That game six being a 1-0 overtime win for the Flyers what a heartbreaker. It really felt like the Pens would take it to seven.

I did give credit to Philly for being a real good defensive team and that’s honestly what won it for them. It’ll be interesting to see how the Matvei Michkov drama is handled in the second round and beyond. I feel like the Flyers now with Porter Martone have an open door to move Michkov (if anyone wants him) and lessen the backlash knowing Martone is their future offensively.

If Pittsburgh plays Silovs from the start do they win this series? Do they take it to seven? Maybe, but that’s on the coaching staff for trusting Skinner for three games. Should have went to Silovs in game two. Maybe they still lose 1-0 but that’s at least on the offence and not the kind of goals Skinner was allowing. He’ll be interesting as a free agent this summer. I wonder what contender he hops onto to be the backup.

Atlantic Division winner Buffalo Sabres versus Boston Bruins

My Prediction: Buffalo Sabres in five games

Result: Buffalo Sabres in six games (-1)

One of the few times I got the team right but not enough games.

Not much to say here really. I think Boston got really lucky in game five. Sabres defensively shut the Bruins down in games three and four. They squeaked a second goal in game five in OT. Buffalo got them back to their one goal ways after that. Boston scored seven goals in the first two games followed by five in the next four.

A lot of people gave credit to Boston for rebounding after a bad year. I get it. Swayman is a very good goaltender. David Pastrnak is a really good player. One of the best wingers in the league. How has Boston tried to support that? Elias Lindholm, Pavel Zacha, and Casey Middlestadt. If you can’t find a 1C might as well try to acquire three 2C’s. Luckily for Boston they got James Hagens on the way but will Pastrnak be a difference maker by the time he’s ready to be a top forward for them?

Happy to see Buffalo make it to the second round. Their fans deserve this.

Divisional Matchup Tampa Bay Lightning versus Montreal Canadiens

My Prediction: Montreal Canadiens in seven games

Result: Montreal Canadiens in seven games (!)

I’ll say it again. October 1, 2025 I said Montreal and Tampa would play each other in the first round with Tampa in the second divisional seed and Montreal in the third.

Now I nailed the playoff prediction. Habs in seven.

What I did not predict was how much of this series would be a defensive chess match. Jon Cooper effectively shut down the Habs top six to the point where Oliver Kapanen got benched in favour of Brendan Gallagher. The Montreal Canadiens had to scramble their top line for the first time all year. Montreal played better defence in this series than they have all year. I guess they always had it in them.

This ended up the best series of the first round by a large margin, with every game being close until game seven when Montreal’s shot faucet absolutely seized up for 30 minutes but the Habs still won. Only 9 shots. 9!

I’ve talked about the other teams needing to do stuff in the summer. The last thing Tampa needs to do is panic. They lost the closest series we may see in this playoffs, one of the closest series ever. If Tampa won the division they would have wrecked Boston or Ottawa. Montreal was the worst possible matchup. Heck I think they would have beaten the Sabres even.

What happens to Raddysh though? Bjorkstrand? Does Corey Perry retire? Those are some big questions. I was shocked that Bjorkstrand had zero points in his four games because I thought he was deadly on the puck every shift. I always knew when he was out there.

One does wonder though. Point, Cirelli, Guentzel, Cirelli, Cernak, Moser, McDonaugh, and Hedman are all locked up on multiple years. Kucherov’s deal is over next summer. Vasilevskiy has two more years. Maybe they make a change on one of these players? I love Kucherov. Absolutely love him. I would not be shocked if Tampa Bay decided just because he’s one of the best players in the regular season doesn’t mean he’s untouchable. Only a modified 10 team no trade list. If you’re the Dallas Stars, would you give up an RFA Jason Robertson for one year of Nikita Kucherov playing with Mikko Rantanen? Just asking. Probably not, but just asking.

Second Round Predictions

I have to first note that I’m starting this with two games already in the bag. The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Minnesota Wild 9-6 (reverse nice) and the Carolina Hurricanes shut out the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0. Not my fault the NHL didn’t wait for Montreal/Tampa to be over.

President’s Trophy Colorado Avalanche versus Minnesota Wild

Colorado is already up 1-0 in the series.

It’s a tough road for Minnesota. They had to beat the Dallas Stars and now they have to beat the Colorado Avalanche. Montreal can relate. But this is the NHL playoffs and you gotta do what you gotta do to win.

Colorado is well rested and on easy street after a win against the Los Angeles Kings so I think they have a lot of advantages when it comes to this series. I also think Minnesota will make it hard on them. I just don’t know how hard they can overcome the Avs.

I think Colorado wins this series but the Wild push them as hard as they can.

Colorado Avalanche in six games

Pacific Division Winners Vegas Golden Knights versus Anaheim Ducks

This will be a very tough series to figure out.

My first instincts is to give the advantage to the Anaheim Ducks. I think they are better in goal, their defence has more snarl, and they have a better bottom six. The Vegas Golden Knights however proved to me their playoff experience is a playoff advantage, and now with Mitch Marner not being usual Leafs Marner? They could absolutely get to the conference final.

This is also a series between two teams I didn’t pick to make it to the second round, though I wanted the Ducks to do it.

I’d hate to see Carter Hart with another playoff series win but I’m going to go with the Vegas Golden Knights. Again, Ducks fans? It’s not I have something against anyone other than Coach Q on your team, and trust me I hate Hart a lot more. I just think Vegas wins this one. Prove me wrong again please.

Vegas Golden Knights in six games

Eastern Conference Winners Carolina Hurricanes versus Philadelphia Flyers

Carolina is already up 1-0 in the series

Honestly? Hurricanes could sweep this. I didn’t see anything in the Flyers first game. This is Carolina feasting on the Southeast division like they once did 20 years ago.

I can’t go with a full sweep though. I’ll go with the “gentleman’s sweep” and say Philly wins a game at home. Carolina cruises to the Conference final to play an Atlantic division team that just survived a war. Maybe even two wars.

Carolina Hurricanes in five games

Atlantic Division Winners Buffalo Sabres versus Montreal Canadiens

Don’t be shocked if this is the best series in the playoff round again. Montreal having another war everyone is watching.

The games between these teams were fun this year. They went 2-2 with pretty close games, all four having empty net goals scored. Alex Lyon was in net for the two Sabres losses while Jakub Dobeš was in net for the two Habs wins. That’s a good sign for Montreal, but Buffalo already proved in the Boston series that the regular season doesn’t really count.

I honestly like the chances of both teams. It’s really hard to choose. Going another seven games for Montreal feels like the cowards way out so I’m going to say this. Cole Caufield is considered Mr. Saturday Night. Montreal didn’t play a single Saturday game against Tampa Bay. This series? There will be one. Game six. I think Montreal closes it out in game six.

Montreal Canadiens in six games

This would give us a top of the division battle against Colorado and Vegas in the west (the last two Western Conference teams to win the Cup as well) while Montreal and Carolina meet in the east.

The Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche only met once in the playoffs in that weird pandemic year where they won in six games in 2021. The last time a Presidents trophy team made the Stanley Cup final was the last time a Presidents Trophy team won the Stanley Cup, the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013. It was still 1/8 and Chicago got to feast on a weak 8th seed Minnesota Wild, about to crash Detroit Red Wings in the 7th seed, and Los Angeles Kings in the 5th seed. The Avalanche, should they make the Cup final, would have a much harder route. The Kings would be considered an 8th seed, Minnesota a 3rd seed, and Vegas the 4th seed.

Carolina and Montreal last met in the playoffs 20 years ago. They also played each other in 01-02. Carolina won both series. Prior to moving to Carolina, the Hartford Whalers never beat the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs. Funny that. Maybe the Canadiens can convince Carolina to wear the Hartford colours every game.

I’d love a Montreal versus Colorado Cup final. If I can’t have that? Give me the best in the east versus the best in the west in Carolina versus Colorado. Haven’t had a matchup like that in a while.

“Colorado Avalanche at Seattle Kraken – 2023-04-24 – Round 1 Game 4 – Yanni Gourde and Josh Manson shoving (52852174496)” by Jenn G from Seattle, WA is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 .

The post 2026 NHL Playoffs Second Round appeared first on Aaron Wrotkowski.

It’s really easy to get caught up in nostalgia these days because nostalgia is a selling point. The term isn’t even used right compared to its original definition. There used to be a pain feeling of nostalgia. Now it’s the opposite. It’s essentially about running from the pain of your present to the comforts of the past.

Previous to the past few seasons I would have dipped into my childhood and said that the stretch of 92-93 to 95-96 was the best years of NHL hockey I had watched. The only seasons I would go outside of that would have been the first season coming out of the lockout in 05-06 and maybe 13-14 but that’s mostly because the Montreal Canadiens felt like a Cup contender then. I was very deep in my PK Subban fandom and thinking Alex Galchenyuk could be a number one centre.

Now see, there’s nostalgia proper. There’s the pain.

But 13-14 was still a very heavy defence type of hockey. There were times that goals only got scored on deflections it felt. Now we’re in the speed and skill era. Everyone has to be mobile. Everyone has to be smart. While some of it is influenced by advanced statistics, I do feel it’s also a smarter evolution of what we thought of analytics at the time.

Back then it was an obsession of holding the puck and taking as many shots as possible. Only three teams this year shot over 30 shots per game on average. In 15-16, 10 years ago? 13 teams averaged 30 shots or more per game. So shots are down on average but scoring is up.

Less shots on goal would usually mean a more boring game. There is a lot of more missed shots (15-16 only one team had over 1,200 missed shots. In 25-26 it’s 20) and around the same blocked shots (12 teams in 15-16 and 25-26 with 1,200 blocked shots or more) which you would think would equate to a worse game. It isn’t though. Someone else could break it down but I think the shot quality and shot ability is much higher than it used to be, so when a puck does get to the net? It’s a much better quality shot.

Having watched mostly Atlantic division games as a Montreal Canadiens fan it has felt like there’s far better teams in the league than in the past. Honestly it’s just a conference tilt. It used to be the west was the best. For league points only three teams in the West are in the Top 10. If the NHL went with where the Top 16 teams in the league make the playoffs instead of these divisional spots? Detroit and Washington would have made the playoffs. Anaheim and Los Angeles would be on the outside looking in.

The talent in the league is just incredible right now and really reminds me of those 90s seasons. I remember when the top defencemen were Ray Bourque, Phil Housley, Brian Leetch, Chris Chelios, Paul Coffey, Al MacInnis, and Sergei Zubov. These were puck moving offensive defencemen. Now we got Cale Makar, Zack Werenski, Quinn Hughes, Lane Hutson, Evan Bouchard, Adam Fox, Jake Sanderson, and Matthew Schaefer. These guys move the puck and score at a high pace. Heck Evan Bouchard almost hit 100 points.

I’ve loved watching hockey this year and I truly believe it’s possible this is the best NHL hockey I’ve ever watched in my life. Maybe 92-93 was better but that still makes this year second best.

Let’s look at my predicted standings from October 1, 2025 and see how right/wrong I got it.

Western Conference

I already talked about how the Western Conference wasn’t as strong as the East. I didn’t think that would be the case going in. A lot of teams fell apart I didn’t think would, and funny enough, it’s the Canadian teams who I thought I was being hard on. I wasn’t hard enough.

Pacific Division

1. Vegas Golden Knights

2. Edmonton Oilers

3. Los Angeles Kings

4. Calgary Flames

5. Vancouver Canucks

6. Seattle Kraken

7. Anaheim Ducks

8. San Jose Sharks

1. Vegas Golden Knights

2. Edmonton Oilers

3. Anaheim Ducks

4. Los Angeles Kings

5. San Jose Sharks

6. Seattle Kraken

7. Calgary Flames

8. Vancouver Canucks

I said Anaheim would maybe surprise and called them 7th. They ended up top three. I also wasn’t nice enough to San Jose. I thought I was being sharp saying Vancouver would miss the playoffs. They absolutely bottomed out. Looking back I don’t know why I had so much faith in the Calgary Flames. I’ll admit I’m a big Dustin Wolf fan and likely thought he’d win them games they didn’t deserve.

Central Division

1. Dallas Stars

2. Colorado Avalanche

3. Winnipeg Jets

4. Minnesota Wild

5. St. Louis Blues

6. Utah Mammoth

7. Nashville Predators

8. Chicago Blackhawks

1. Colorado Avalanche

2. Dallas Stars

3. Minnesota Wild

4. Utah Mammoth

5. St. Louis Blues

6. Nashville Predators

7. Winnipeg Jets

8. Chicago Blackhawks

I called myself a Jets hater and I didn’t hate on them enough. I would have got my Top 3 correct if I let my hate run properly. I won’t make that mistake next time. I was wrong on how good Utah could be. I was correct on St. Louis, Nashville, and Chicago missing the playoffs.

Eastern Conference

I watched a lot of hockey on the Eastern Conference and let me tell you… I got the Metro division completely wrong. I’ll come out and say it. Honestly that’s a hard division to predict. I also got one team really wrong in the Atlantic. And one I’ll take a victory lap on.

Metropolitian Division

1. Carolina Hurricanes

2. Washington Capitals

3. New Jersey Devils

4. Columbus Blue Jackets

5. New York Rangers

6. Philadelphia Flyers

7. New York Islanders

8. Pittsburgh Penguins

1. Carolina Hurricanes

2. Pittsburgh Penguins

3. Philadelphia Flyers

4. Washington Capitals

5. Columbus Blue Jackets

6. New York Islanders

7. New Jersey Devils

8. New York Rangers

I had Pittsburgh at eighth. I said they would be a total disaster. I had them last in 24-25 and 25-26. Stupid me. Dunk on me Pens fans I deserve it.

Philly I figured was bottoming out. I said did anyone believe in the goaltending or defence? I don’t think I was entirely wrong to question it. I just didn’t give enough credit to what Tocchet could do with the team in turning them around defensively.

The New Jersey Devils really fell apart. I should have been harder on them due to how much I dislike Sheldon Keefe.

The New York Islanders at one point were looking pretty good but they fell apart. I feel justified on “the rest of the team sucks” and the fact they fired Patrick Roy when he got them much closer to a playoff spot than they deserved to be is wild.

Atlantic Division

1. Toronto Maple Leafs

2. Tampa Bay Lightning

3. Montreal Canadiens

4. Florida Panthers

5. Ottawa Senators

6. Boston Bruins

7. Buffalo Sabres

8. Detroit Red Wings

1. Buffalo Sabres

2. Tampa Bay Lightning

3. Montreal Canadiens

4. Boston Bruins

5. Ottawa Senators

6. Detroit Red Wings

7. Florida Panthers

8. Toronto Maple Leafs

I said I was tired of waiting for Buffalo to be great. I think we all were. Them especially. Now they are great.

I ripped hard on Detroit. Extremely hard. Should I have said they were a basement team? No. I should have predicted another spring disaster. This one I feel very good on. They are right now the talk of the league due to how bad they ended up flopping this year after being the top team in the Atlantic at the start of 2026.

Having Toronto leading the Atlantic was a mistake. I don’t know why I was so confident in them. I think I listen to too much Leafs podcasters and that had me thinking optimistic about them doing well this year. 1st to 8th. Ouch.

Florida was an injured mess. I did have them barely making it but still making it.

I was harsh on Boston. They made it. Whatever.

Tampa, Montreal, and Ottawa? Had them perfectly positioned.

My Second Half Predictions

Second half predictions were made here.

So what did I predict?

1. Ivan Demidov wins the Calder Trophy. Not looking like it. Matthew Schaefer is the clear favourite and it’s well deserved. Demidov likely 2nd place.

2. Neither Pennsylvania team makes the playoffs. Not only was I wrong here? They play each other in the first round!

3. The Edmonton Oilers will trade for a goalie. Again. Got this one wrong too. They did a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks and it was all for depth pieces. Connor Murphy, Colton Dach, and Jason Dickinson.

4. All three California teams make the playoffs. Two out of three ain’t bad but it isn’t the prediction. San Jose missed by six points. They actually had six regulation/overtime wins more than the LA Kings but if one gets in the other doesn’t.

5. Artemi Panarin gets traded by the New York Rangers to the Minnesota Wild. Bzzt. 0/5. Panarin did get traded to the Western Conference but it was the Los Angeles Kings acquiring him. Lucky for Panarin they squeaked into the playoffs.

NHL Playoffs

Here’s a breakdown of the first round.

Western Conference

President’s Trophy Winning Colorado Avalanche versus Los Angeles Kings

I’m not giving the Kings a chance here.

Could they win a few games? Sure. Panarin got back in the playoffs. Kuemper could steal a game or two. I just think the Kings didn’t deserve this playoff spot and were not a playoff credible team all season. This is exactly the type of wildcard slip in that will get bounced hard.

Colorado Avalanche in four games

Divisional Matchup Dallas Stars versus Minnesota Wild

I kinda got this one right back in October! I said they would be playing each other in the playoffs but said it was Dallas winning the division with Minnesota as a wildcard.

This, along with Montreal vs Tampa, will be the biggest series in the first round. They should be conference final games not first round games.

The teams split their four game regular season series. Dallas whipped them 5-2 in October, Minnesota whipped them 5-2 in December, Minnesota won a squeaker 2-1 in OT in March and then their last game two weeks ago was won by Dallas 5-4. Minnesota blew two leads in that game.

I’ve long predicted Dallas to eventually get to the Cup final and they just keep… not doing it. It’s disappointing. I also have a soft spot for the Minnesota Wild. I love Kaprizov and I think a lot of anti-Russian hockey media really discredits him. They act like the Wild paying him so much needs to fail. The Wild are now not just Kaprizov but Quinn Hughes as well. Who knows if Quinn stays but he’s a big part of the Wild in third.

Dallas has an X-Factor I can’t ever count out. That’s Mikko Rantanen. Last playoffs in the first round against his former Colorado Avalanche he put up 11 points in the final three games. What about the final three in the first round against the Jets? 6 points on the best goalie in the league at the time. He’s one of the best playoff performers in the league and I don’t think he lets the Dallas Stars lose this one.

Dallas Stars in seven games

Pacific Division winner Vegas Golden Knights versus Utah Mammoth

The Washington Capitals missed the playoffs with 95 points. The Vegas Golden Knights led the Pacific Division with 95 points.

We shouldn’t talk about the Golden Knights the way we used to. Even after adding Mitch Marner this is a weird team making weird decisions. The magic of a few years ago feels dissipating. They at least finished the season strong to lock that first place in the division. They still have incredible depth but man, that Rasmus Andersson move feels like a mistake at this point.

Utah is just more exciting. Second year since moving from Arizona and now with an official name in the Mammoth. Utah just feels far more exciting. They also got themselves a former Calgary Flame in Mackenzie Weegar and didn’t even pay a 1st for him, instead three 2nd’s and even got to dump Olli Maatta to make it work on the cap. Far better trade.

I think Utah wins this. Fanbase will be going nuts in Utah for their first playoff games. Vegas will have Mitch Marner doing great for the first four games then disappear like he did on the Leafs. Giving this to Utah. Lock it in.

Utah Mammoth in six games

Divisional Matchup Edmonton Oilers versus Anaheim Ducks

I should have expected more from the Ducks just due to getting Joel Quenneville back. I don’t like seeing him in the league again but he’s a great head coach. He just is.

The Ducks have so many offensive options now. It’s not just Leo Carlsson waiting for the other kids to get better. Cutter Gauthier came from Philly and Beckett Sennecke went from a “reach” by the Ducks to the second best rookie forward in the league. The weird one is Mason McTavish. Everyone was sure this guy was going to be that 2C strong body centre who breaks out. He’s had a terrible season under Quenneville.

The Ducks also have this veteran right side of recently acquired John Carlson, Jacob Trouba, and captain Radko Gudas. That’s a lot of veteran experience (all UFA this summer) for the kids like Jackson Lacombe and Pavel Mintyukov.

Edmonton… sigh. They stumbled into the playoffs. Almost missed it. They currently have Leon Draisaitl out. Can McDavid, Hyman, and Bouchard really do it?

Everything in my body is saying the Oilers should lose this. Edmonton won the season series 2-1 (blowout 7-4 win in January, 6-5 loss in February, 4-2 win in March) and if Drai was there I’d be confident that Edmonton, not the better team, would win just having these better players.

I mean just look at their goaltending! Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram? Can you really win a series with that?

And yes it’s absolutely plausible that the Oilers do it. The Anaheim Ducks should win this series. They have better goaltending. Better defence. Better depth at forward. They don’t have an injury to one of the best players in the game. And yet… Connor McDavid.

If the Ducks win this? Please Anaheim fans. It’s not I didn’t believe in you. You deserve this. I just can’t count Edmonton out in the first round.

Edmonton Oilers in seven games

In a fair and just world we would get Colorado versus Edmonton and Dallas versus Utah due to a re-ranking of points (Utah had more points than Edmonton despite being a wildcard team) but instead it stays divisional. Colorado would face Dallas and Edmonton would take on Utah. It’s pretty crazy that even with the Oilers goaltending woes there may still be a path to the Stanley Cup final again for them. If the Central division teams essentially destroy each other and they can pass Anaheim and Utah? They are walking on sunshine to the Cup final again.

I sincerely hope we don’t see that. Colorado, Dallas, and Minnesota, I don’t care which of the three get to the final. One of them should.

Eastern Conference

Eastern Conference winner Carolina Hurricanes versus Ottawa Senators

Well would you look at that! I called this one as well! Carolina winning the Metro playing the Ottawa Senators. I did say it was Ottawa in the first wildcard spot so I’m technically off by a wildcard spot (Ottawa finished in the second) but that’s pretty dang close!

The Ottawa Senators have had a pretty weird season. It felt like a disaster heading to missing the playoffs. Instead they had a really strong March/April and solidified a playoff spot in the hardest division. With all of the controversy on their goalie and their shit for brain captain? They still made it. There’s a lot I like about the Senators but I don’t think they will ever become what their fans want to be until they move off of Brady Tkachuk. He’s no leader. Good player, but no leader. I’d rather they build around Jake Sanderson and Tim Stutzle. Damn, that Sens D at some point will be Sanderson, Chabot, and Yakemchuk. Absolutely deadly.

But it’s not there yet and the Carolina Hurricanes are very good at first round matchups. Since they started making the playoffs again in 18-19 they only lost to the Boston Bruins in the first round of 19-20 but that was after winning their qualifying round against the New York Rangers. I don’t think Ottawa has enough to knock out Carolina in the first round.

Carolina Hurricanes in six games

Divisional Matchup Philadelphia Flyers versus Pittsburgh Penguins

Hey, it’s the series I thought wouldn’t happen because both teams would miss! Go ahead Pennsylvania hate me.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are the third best scoring team in the league while allowing the 24th most goals. 7th best powerplay, 6th best penalty kill, and surprisingly 24th on faceoffs. Silov and Skinner has been a shaky goaltending duo but it’s been good enough.

The Flyers are not a high scoring team at 21st in the league but they are 9th for allowing goals. They have the dirt worst powerplay at 32nd and are 22nd on the penalty kill. They are actually better at faceoffs than Pittsburgh at 18th. Dan Vladar has been sneaky good all year.

The Philadelphia Flyers are currently paying Kevin Hayes $3.5M of his $7.1M cap to play for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

So we got a firepower Penguins having to beat Dan Vladar. Sounds easy right? Except Philly is one of the best teams in the league if they keep the puck out of their net. They score just enough, and they are facing Silovs and Skinner in playoff games. They can score on those guys. Two of the Pens wins this year against the Flyers were breaking their goalies. 5-1 and 6-3. Their two losses were in the shootout.

They say defence wins you playoff games and that’s why I originally leaned on the Flyers winning this but now that I look at the numbers? I think I’m giving the advantage to Pittsburgh if they can stay healthy. I think it goes to seven just because these two teams hate each other but I think Pittsburgh solves the Flyers defence before the Flyers solve the Penguins offence.

Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games

Atlantic Division winner Buffalo Sabres versus Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins won 3 of 4 games against the Buffalo Sabres. Two of their wins came in October before the Buffalo Sabres figured it out. The last game was an OT win for the Bruins.

I don’t know how much that says about how this series will go because like I said, that was before the Sabres figured things out. I think Buffalo wants this more than the Bruins. Buffalo can’t finally make the playoffs only to lose to a pretender like Boston. Boston is a very middle of the road team in almost every aspect with weak centre depth and got a decent year from Jeremy Swayman but it’s not like it was a world beating one. Alex Lyon of Buffalo had basically the same save perentage in just less games.

I think this ends up some good games but I think Buffalo takes it in five. This Boston team, sigh. Why couldn’t you be better Leafs. Or Panthers. Or W… nah. Not them.

Buffalo Sabres in five games

Divisional Matchup Tampa Bay Lightning versus Montreal Canadiens

I nailed it. I fucking nailed it. October 1st I said this was the matchup. I got the right teams on the Dallas/Minnesota and Carolina/Ottawa matchups but this one is right on the dot.

I’ve essentially been prepared for this series since October. It’s the rematch of the 2021 Stanley Cup final. The year I hated the Habs and rooted against them because I didn’t want Marc Bergevin to be right. I didn’t want him banking everything on Carey Price and choosing Shea Weber over PK Subban to lead to a Stanley Cup. I didn’t want this squad of tough veterans and slow defence to actually win it all. They didn’t. Tampa did.

Since Tampa’s back to back Stanley Cups and a final appearance losing to Colorado, the Lightning haven’t been able to get out of the first round. They lost to Toronto and Florida twice. Well neither of those teams are here to beat them now. They beat Montreal in 2021. They beat them in 2015. I almost forgot Montreal swept them in 2014. Surprised Jon Cooper survived that and the sweep against Columbus in 2019.

But this is a different Habs team from those teams. This team is young. They have one of the best centres in Nick Suzuki. He’s honestly one of the best centres in their entire history. Cole Caufield scored 51 goals. Lane Hutson is one of the best defencemen in the league. Juraj Slafkovsky is making up for Montreal picking Jason Ward instead of Marian Hossa back in 1997 (a dark day of my young Habs loving days) and Ivan Demidov is basically looking at Nikita Kucherov on the other side of the ice and saying someday I’m gonna have your career. He needs to work on how much alcohol he can consume after a Cup win.

Tampa allowed 22 less goals this year which makes it feel like they’d be better defensively but if we go January 1 to the end of the year? Montreal actually allowed two less goals than the Tampa Bay Lightning. To be fair, same time period? Tampa scored six more goals. This is a very equal matchup. The only thing I think Montreal has a clear advantage is faceoffs. Otherwise one team is maybe a little better than the other in things but nothing extravagant.

The biggest issue for Montreal is losing Noah Dobson to a blocked shot. Of course that just means Montreal and Tampa will end up on equal ground since they likely don’t have Victor Hedman, or if they get him back he won’t be 100%. The Lightning are banking on Darren Raddysh and Janis Jerome Moser to lead them in his absence. Montreal is banking on David Reinbacher coming up and playing bigger minutes than one would have expected for him. He was supposed to make his debut next season. He ends up Montreal’s third straight year of calling up a rookie early to perform. He’s got big skates to fill of Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov.

Honestly it could go either way. Tampa could finally get out of the first round and go on a Cup run now that Florida isn’t blocking their way. Montreal could win this series and declare they’ve arrived. Neither team should feel shame for losing.

Going with Montreal to win just because Martin St. Louis will want it more.

Montreal Canadiens in seven games

This would give us Carolina versus Pittsburgh and Buffalo versus Montreal. I’m realizing I’m saying no wildcard team makes it to the second round in the East. That’s fine. It’s a better world in my view if Ottawa and Boston both stay in the first round. Buffalo and Montreal ruling the Atlantic just feels right. Time for a changing of the guard.

If we’re going too early? Let’s say the Western Conference ends up Dallas and Utah while the Eastern Conference is Pittsburgh versus Montreal. Cup final Dallas versus Montreal. Last year I predicted Colorado versus Tampa in a rematch. No more rematches possible. Well, unless Colorado does play Tampa. Or Tampa plays Dallas. After that you’d have to go all the way back to 2007 for Anaheim versus Ottawa. That would be funny.

Anyway, you can laugh at the early prediction if the Habs get bounced in the first round or the Wild beat the Stars quick. This ain’t about being right. This is about having fun. And I am pumped for this playoffs.

Unless Edmonton somehow wins with the worst goaltending ever. The province of Alberta doesn’t deserve that.

“NHL Hockey Players (1)” by Kaz Andrew is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 .

The post 25-26 End of NHL Season and Playoffs appeared first on Aaron Wrotkowski.

The Sweatdown has existed since April of 2018 as a monthly collection of music I’ve been listening to. Sometimes it’s old tracks but it’s usually new music. Everything from indie to synthwave to rock to alternative and more. Every December is a culmination of the music I’ve listened to. Originally posted to Spotify, these playlists can now all be found on YouTube where they will be updated monthly for YouTube Music.

Some of what’s here for April

I had to kick it off with this Sneaker Pimps song from their 1996 album and was released as a single in 1997. Listen with headphones. It has some incredible production from Jim Abbiss and Flood. The song sounds really modern. It took me aback with how much it sounds modern when it’s 30 years old.

I have decided I’m officially a HEALTH fan. I had HEALTH on this way back in 2019 so I’ve been listening to them for a long time. I just wasn’t a fan. I wasn’t dipping into their discography or listening to all of their songs just what I saw released as singles. That’s changed with A.L.O.N.E. which I thought was one of their best songs. It got me to dipped into the rest of their work and check out the band and I am so in. Need to see them live.

I love the way Social Order finds a way to surprise me. The BPM on this sound and the quick bass is so good in this. It gives me a Cult kick but it’s so distinctly Social Order. They are absolutely making music that fits my mood in the past few years. I really regret not seeing them in Detroit now, even though it’s a good thing to keep my U.S. trips to a minimum.

Congratulations to Culture Wars for releasing their new album Don’t Speak today. Be sure to check out the new album and I’ll probably have to see them live when they come to Toronto in the late summer. Most of the album I’ve already heard so Don’t Speak is one of the few new songs. Love the guitar and drums in it.

I guess I’m on a bass guitar kick recently for what’s been scratching my itch because ALEXSUCKS song Duct Tape has a great bass line throughout and it’s why the song is grabbing me more than other songs on their recent album.

Speaking of new albums, Tigercub released Nets to Catch the Wind recently as well and much like Don’t Speak being the track one on Culture Wars new album, so is Silver Smile and that ended up being the song that caught me the quickest.

The SOFY track Wishbone has a very good music video that feels like it references previous videos in a way I haven’t figured out yet but I enjoy it. Great chorus.

Great to see Frost Children a band I saw live when I saw George Clanton get remixed by The Dare.

April Sweatdown 2K26 features:

Sneaker Pimps – Post Modern Sleaze
HEALTH – A.L.O.N.E.
Social Order – Say It
Culture Wars – Don’t Speak
ALEXSUCKS – Duct Tape
Trevor Something – Electricity
Tigercub – Silver Smile
Pro Wrestling The Band – Tarps
Kadeema – Little Spiders
almost monday – leaving is easy
Basement – The Way I feel
Koethe – Release
SOFY – Wishbone
Frost Children – WHAT IS FOREVER FOR (The Dare Remix)

Thank you for reading, thank you for listening, and hope you look forward to another year of The Sweatdown!

Photo by me of a rainbow on my street taken April 5th, 2026.

The post April Sweatdown 2K26 appeared first on Aaron Wrotkowski.

The Sweatdown has existed since April of 2018 as a monthly collection of music I’ve been listening to. Sometimes it’s old tracks but it’s usually new music. Everything from indie to synthwave to rock to alternative and more. Every December is a culmination of the music I’ve listened to. Originally posted to Spotify, these playlists can now all be found on YouTube where they will be updated monthly for YouTube Music.

Some of what’s here for March

I am so happy to see the return of Chain Gang of 1974 which a lot of people see as a sign of Grand Theft Auto VI being around the corner. My relationship to the band is a lot different than others. Most got into Sleepwalking (which is an all time classic) but I actually got into them due to this remix by Spacebrother of Innerpartysystem (now Black Caviar) of Miko. It was the remix of Miko which got me into the band, and the fact they did an incredible cover of The Naked and Famous’ song What We Want just deepened the wound they created. Heck, I might prefer that version. I ended up seeing them live in support of The Naked and Famous in 2015 in Toronto which was the best concert I’ve attended.

Welcome back Kamtin.

I always try to add songs that just recently came out but I had to make three exceptions. One is Mt. Joy’s “She Wants To Go Dancing” since I didn’t catch their new album last year and just heard it in the past month. Next is Me Not You’s “Kill The Noise” which came out a decade ago but this is a newer (g a z i n g) mix of it which is cheating to include it but it’s my playlist! Finally we got Sky Ferreira’s “Everything is Embarrassing” which I think is a forgotten classic. It just fit my mood for the month.

YouTube Music so far has been a terrible algorithm for finding new music. It doesn’t do a good job telling me new music is out from bands I like. The tab for telling me music I’d want to check out that’s new is full of AI crap and artists I’ve never listened to and sound nothing like something I’d want to listen to. But plain ol’ basic YouTube? The suggestions have actually been decent. Particually for Kids That Fly and Basement who I found simply checking out the bands they suggested. I’m going to have to do a deep dive on Basement because they sound exactly like my kind of candy.

Talker is such an interesting artist to me. I loved “Return to Sender” and actually the first track I had on a Sweatdown was “Suck Up” from 2020 on the April Sweatdown 2K20. I think “Gold Rush” is just different from what anyone else is doing. She’s taking swings and I appreciate it.

March Sweatdown 2K26 features:

Chain Gang of 1974 – Forever Your Star
G Flip & The Beaches – LEZ GO!
Sky Ferreira – Everything is Embarrassing
Me Not You – Kill the Noise (g a z i n g)
Talker – Gold Rush
Kids That Fly – THE BOXER
Basement – WIRED
Metric – Time is a Bomb
Kadeema – Fault Lines
Fatherdude – Working
Step Rockets – Lovechild
Mt. Joy – She Wants To Go Dancing
Sick Joy – Stockholm Flavour
White Lies – I Just Wanna Win One Time
The Smallest Number – Neverending Sunshine

Thank you for reading, thank you for listening, and hope you look forward to another year of The Sweatdown!

Photo by me from The Irish Harp Pub in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario on May 8, 2025.

The post March Sweatdown 2K26 appeared first on Aaron Wrotkowski.