Sports
Super Bowl champion Sam Darnold’s deferred destiny
TWO YEARS AGO, Sam Darnold sat at a small round table in a Hilton ballroom just outside of Las Vegas. Several reporters visited the table he shared with another San Francisco 49ers teammate throughout the week of Super Bowl media availability, but many more maneuvered around it on their way to talk to someone more important. Darnold was just a backup hidden in a maze of dozens of tables. He wasn’t the star anymore, and he had chosen to fade into the background for his own good.
As Darnold sat unbothered at his table, a reporter asked if he had given thought to the best way to develop a quarterback. What had he learned in the six NFL seasons after he left college early and was drafted No. 3 by the New York Jets, saw “ghosts,” got dumped by the Jets and started over twice since? What does a young quarterback need?
“Just consistency in the organization, and trusting, too,” Darnold said in 2024. “If things don’t go well — which, having a rookie quarterback — they’re not all going to be C.J. Stroud. You’re not just going to go out there and ball out. It takes a really special coach and leadership to be able to have trust and keep everything together for at least a couple years. Let the kid grow into his skin, and after a couple years, you kind of know, if everything’s the same and if you have the same people, GM, coaches.”
That combination of consistency and trust was something Darnold, who had four head coaches in his first five seasons, hadn’t known in the NFL up to that point, and wouldn’t have it until he signed a three-year contract to be Seattle’s starting quarterback in March. He was comfortable enough that for the first time, he bought a house.
“You’d like to think patience is the lesson [from Sam’s career],” Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak said, “but the NFL is not about patience. It’s not a fair league. … Sometimes, you get your tail fired, and then you get to go try somewhere else, and you just make sure that you got better from that last experience. … That’s what Sam’s done.”
The NFL’s draft structure routinely welcomes the most talented young quarterbacks to the worst-run organizations. Their rights are usually controlled by bottom-dwelling teams that lack the patience to figure out how to win, and like clockwork, the coaching staff tasked with developing them is fired. Despite the Jets’ best attempts to develop Darnold, once he left the organization, he strategically pieced together the foundation he had not been afforded at the start of his career.
When then-Niners quarterback coach Brian Griese called Darnold during the early 2023 offseason to recruit him for a reset season as Brock Purdy‘s backup, Griese asked Darnold how he viewed himself coming out of the tough times.
Griese said Darnold answered, “I like who I am.”
“That really cemented for me that he was the right guy,” Griese said. “New York was brutal. … If I had sat down with him and talked with him and he didn’t believe in himself, then I don’t think we would have been interested in San Francisco. So, the fact that he went through what he did, and he came out on the other side with his emotional resilience intact, that gave him a chance.
“What he was seeing on his reads and how he was supposed to play, there was uncertainty there, and that uncertainty is a death sentence for quarterbacks. But he never lost confidence in himself.”
Although Seattle’s offense reached the end zone only once, Darnold’s escapability was the X factor for the offense in the Seahawks’ 29-13 win Sunday night. He dodged and spun out of pressure from the New England Patriots‘ defense multiple times.
Those who know Darnold well say he isn’t motivated to prove the haters wrong, but to prove his teammates and family right. He found that trust and consistency that he said is crucial for quarterback development. He was a Super Bowl-losing backup quarterback then, and now he’s a Super Bowl champion.
WHEN DARNOLD’S FORMER coaches and teammates are asked to describe him, the same word continues to come up: resilient.
Darnold’s private quarterback coach, Jordan Palmer, who played seven years in the NFL, said that Darnold’s resiliency is the reason he has resurrected his career.
Quarterbacks who play through physical injuries are typically considered the toughest, Palmer said, but “I actually don’t think that’s hard.”
“Going through what Sam went through for four or five years, not all these tough guys that can take a hit can live through that. Sam’s one of the toughest quarterbacks I’ve ever been around, and it has nothing to do with his physical toughness.”
Palmer thinks Darnold first started improving in 2022, during his second season in Carolina, which gave up a second-round pick in a trade for him despite three subpar seasons with the Jets. Darnold lost the QB competition to Baker Mayfield and started the season on injured reserve because of an ankle sprain. Coach Matt Rhule was fired, and then Darnold came back from injury to go 4-2 as the Panthers’ starting quarterback for the final six games of the season, and kept Carolina in the hunt for the NFC South title.
Carolina’s offensive coordinator at the time was Ben McAdoo, who, despite now working for the Super Bowl rival Patriots, still considers himself “a big fan of Sam.”
Darnold, then in his fifth season, “was still a raw player in a lot of ways,” McAdoo said. He worked with him on tying his feet to his eyes, so that Darnold could eliminate the hesitancy in his progressions and let his footwork tell him when to move off his first read.
“We tried to break the feet down, and build him back up,” McAdoo said. “Spend a little more time on fundamentals than he did in the past.”
McAdoo said Darnold proved to him that he could reclaim his career during two plays in Carolina’s Week 17 game at Tampa, with the NFC South title on the line. The Panthers lost the game, but Darnold threw a touchdown pass to receiver DJ Moore on third down from the Buccaneers’ 24-yard-line, a pass that McAdoo said was a checkdown off his first read. And later in the red zone again on third down, Darnold made “a tremendous read” to find Shi Smith, his third option, on a dig route for another touchdown.
“Everything happens faster in the red zone,” McAdoo said. “It’s a tough read and a long way to go to get through that progression, and he was on it. I was like, ‘This guy has a chance!'”
After that 2022 season, Darnold became a free agent. McAdoo said he hoped Carolina would hire interim head coach Steve Wilks permanently and re-sign Darnold to keep building off the progress McAdoo had seen, but Carolina moved on from both.
“A lot of the time, the quarterback takes the blame, and the quarterback gets the blame,” said backup quarterback P.J.Walker, who also started games for Carolina that season. “But not a lot of things was on Sam specifically. That situation was tough. It never was a mesh of offense, defense and special teams all playing well. You never could put it all together.”
AS SAN FRANCISCO’S QBs coach, Griese studied all the free agent quarterbacks ahead of the 2023 offseason. It didn’t take him long to realize Darnold was “head and shoulders above” the rest of the class, he said, and “physically, one of the top two or three throwers of the ball in the league.”
Starting quarterback Brock Purdy was coming off elbow surgery, and the team wasn’t certain when he’d be ready to play, so the 49ers needed a “bona fide” backup.
“As I started digging into his tape, I saw that there was not a whole lot of foundation and structure that he had been given in his first three, four years in the league,” Griese said. “I knew that he was made of the right stuff. I knew he had the right talent. It was just a matter of, could we convince him to come to San Francisco to be a backup?”
Griese and Palmer said Darnold had multiple opportunities with other teams that offseason to compete for starting jobs, but chose San Francisco to take a year to learn from Kyle Shanahan instead.
“He takes a huge pay cut to go there,” Palmer said. “Myself, his agent, a couple of us were big on, you need a redshirt year. It’s like going to Harvard, or night school, you need to go sit in a room with [Kyle] Shanahan.”
Griese said he was honest with Darnold during his recruiting call about what he needed to improve. Darnold turned the ball over — a lot. He threw 55 interceptions and fumbled 35 times in 46 games during his first five seasons.
“He was erratic at times,” Griese said, “and it’s impossible to play this position in the NFL when you have any uncertainty or any doubt in your mind. I could see that on the tape, and we talked about that, and he confirmed it.”
Griese’s pitch was convincing: The Niners’ coaching staff and Shanahan’s offensive scheme could help Darnold find confidence in what he was seeing on the field.
“I told him that he needed to refocus and take more of a 30,000-foot view of where he was in his journey,” Griese said. “To understand what his strengths were and to understand the situations that he had been in, and how we could create a foundation underneath him that was solid enough that he could see how good a player he could be. That’s what he bought into.”
Even though he was headed into his sixth season, he was only 26 years old, and the Niners’ staff still thought he had room to grow.
“He just understood, I got another 10 plus years to play, and I want to be able to be good for a long time. That was awesome, just so rare, for any player,” a source close to the Niners said.
In the Niners’ first QB meeting during the offseason program, Griese said he asked the QBs why they play. When it was Darnold’s turn, Griese said he talked about his relationships with his teammates during his Jets career and how hard it was to come back into the locker room week after week after losing games. “When you work your ass off as hard as you possibly can, and you don’t see progress and then the scaffolding around you starts to fade and crumble and crash,” Griese said.
Seattle run game coordinator Rick Dennison was the Jets’ offensive line coach during Darnold’s rookie season in 2018. During Super Bowl media availability in San Jose, California, he described that year like this: “Whereas teams figure out how to win, we figured out how to lose.”
Darnold said during a Super Bowl week news conference that his Jets era taught him to “flush bad plays, flush bad games.”
“Early in my career, I was really hard on myself,” he said. “After a bad rep or a bad practice, I would let it affect my attitude a little bit. … It’s football, we’re not always going to be perfect. Jerry Rice has a quote that he never had a perfect practice or a perfect game.”
Darnold’s detailing of his Jets trials was an important perspective for Purdy to hear, Griese says, because the second-year starter and last pick of the 2022 draft wore rose-colored glasses. Purdy started as a rookie midseason after Jimmy Garoppolo got hurt, played well right away and in his first season, the Niners made it to the NFC Championship Game.
“But we have unbelievable support systems around him from an organization standpoint,” Griese says. “It’s easy for a young player to think, ‘Oh, this is how it should always go.'”
Griese said the Niners staff saw Darnold’s potential immediately during OTAs and training camp, particularly Darnold’s “underrated” athleticism.
“His ability to roll left and to get his body in position to make throws while he’s rolling against his throwing arm was really special,” Griese says. “When you see him on these bootlegs, which Klint [Kubiak] loves to run to the left with Sam, his ability to contort his body is not natural. He makes it look easy.”
Darnold only played one game that season, a meaningless Week 18 matchup against a Los Angeles Rams team that was also resting its starters, but he’d shown enough that season in his support role that multiple sources said Niners assistant general manager Adam Peters, who was hired that January as the Washington Commanders general manager, tried hard to sign Darnold with his new club.
But the Commanders had the No. 2 overall pick in 2024 and would be drafting a quarterback, so Darnold chose to sign a one-year deal with the Vikings, who also would be drafting a quarterback, but later in the first round.
Then, rookie J.J. McCarthy tore his meniscus during the preseason and Darnold started the entire season, taking the Vikings to a playoff berth and his first postseason appearance.
Darnold and the Vikings won 14 games, but lost the last game of the regular season at Detroit with a playoff bye at stake. The next week, Minnesota exited the playoffs in the wild-card beatdown at the hands of the Rams, who sacked Darnold nine times.
“A lot was put on his shoulders to really lead the team to 14 wins,” then-Vikings backup quarterback Nick Mullens says. “And now that he’s got a complete football [team], I’m not totally surprised. The run game is really good in Seattle.”
The back-to-back losses in the most important games of the season tested the Vikings’ trust in Darnold, as many analysts began another round of questioning whether Darnold could ever win a big game.
“It was not only Sam’s fault,” Mullens says. “To say that two weeks before those games, he was a top desired, top-dollar free agent, and then he plays two bad games after winning 14, and then he’s, a ‘I don’t know if he truly is the guy or not.’ To go from that high to that low, I think, is an unfair judgment.”
Minnesota let Darnold leave after his career year and decided to roll with McCarthy for 2025. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said Darnold had “earned the right” to explore free agency.
“Man, to win 14 games in the NFL and not know if you’re good enough?” Mullens says. “That’s brutal. Like, what do you want, undefeated?”
ON SATURDAY NIGHT before each game, Darnold, Seattle backup quarterback Drew Lock and QB3 Jalen Milroe get together at a table in the team hotel ballroom about an hour before the team dinner opens. The three quarterbacks review each play on the call sheet together, especially the ones that aren’t printed on the wristband.
“I’ll call it out to him,” Lock says. “He’ll call it back to me, and we’ll talk through all of our cans and alerts. I would vouch for any quarterback to do it.”
The group Saturday night study session is new to Lock. Before this season with Darnold, Lock used to study on his own at home in the afternoon before reporting to the team hotel.
Wide receiver Cooper Kupp comes an hour early too, and brings the quarterbacks each an order of pho, the Vietnamese soup dish. Kupp is responsible for finding the pho spot for each road trip, and the group ranks and reviews Kupp’s choices like a trio of food critics after they’ve finished reviewing the call sheet.
“We get another dinner together,” Lock says. “It’s also good because a lot of guys get there early and they see you working, putting a little extra time in.”
Griese said Darnold picked up the QB group study habit from Purdy’s preparation during his year in San Francisco, and he has taken it with him since.
“What does a guy that has been in the league five years and experienced what [Sam] has, have to learn from a second-year player?” Griese says. “But Sam did that.”
In March, Seattle general manager John Schneider traded quarterback Geno Smith to the Raiders and signed Darnold in free agency, a move that wasn’t unanimously seen as an upgrade.
“All I knew is that people were writing him off,” said Seattle linebacker Ernest Jones IV, after Seattle won the NFC title game. “Once he signed to us, we were immediately supposed to be worse than we were the year before.”
Jones — and many of his teammates — have taken on the role of Darnold defender. Kupp wore an “I <3 Sam Darnold” shirt to a Super Bowl media availability. When Darnold threw four interceptions against the Rams in Week 11, Jones dropped an F-bomb to let everyone know how serious he was about Darnold.
“Sam’s been balling,” Jones said postgame. “If we want to try to define Sam by this game, Sam’s had us in every f—ing game. So, for him to sit there and say, ‘That’s my fault,’ no it’s not.
When Darnold’s high school football coach Jaime Ortiz saw the clip of Jones IV, he mailed him a San Clemente Tritons football T-shirt with a note that said, “Thanks for having Sam’s back.”
“Watching a guy stand up for Sam, it was good to see, because Sam takes ownership when his team doesn’t do well,” Ortiz said.
“He’s my QB, you don’t put hands on my QB,” Jones said during Super Bowl week. “From the first day we met him, regardless of what he was labeled as before he got here, he got a clean slate with us and he has shown and proved why we believe he would get us to this point.”
On the Thursday ahead of Seattle’s first playoff game against San Francisco, Darnold injured his left oblique at practice. Lock says he didn’t throw again until the game, and Macdonald said he barely practiced the following week ahead of Seattle’s NFC Championship Game win against the Rams when he threw for three touchdowns and 346 yards. He was limited in eight practices until the Thursday before the Super Bowl.
Lock has had a similar oblique injury, so he has an appreciation for what Darnold has been playing through.
“You feel it in everything you do,” Lock says. “Especially throwing. We were both front side obliques, so pulling into it, turning into it, it’s gnarly.”
Lock said his own oblique injury was bad enough that he took a Toradol shot on gameday even though he was a backup — just in case he had to play. “Those obliques are nothing to mess with.”
Because Darnold has played well through the injury and downplayed it publicly, Lock said no one outside the team is appreciating what Darnold has done in the last two games before the Super Bowl. “You can tell how good Sam is mechanically, to be able to go out, trick your brain into thinking nothing’s going on, and still be able to deliver the football,” Lock says. “It’s extremely hard.”
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Sam Darnold throws the 1st TD of Super Bowl LX to AJ Barner
Sam Darnold finds AJ Barner in the end zone for a 16-yard Seahawks touchdown.
THE VIKINGS FIRED general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah the Friday after Darnold went toe-for-toe with Matthew Stafford and led his team to a Super Bowl appearance. The suspiciously late timing of the firing, after Adofo-Mensah spent the week at the Senior Bowl, made it impossible not to connect the dots with Darnold’s success for another club. Since Adofo-Mensah’s firing, several Vikings players, including receiver Justin Jefferson, have done press tours singing Darnold’s praises and wishing he were still their quarterback.
“I definitely feel like we would have done better [with Darnold],” Jefferson told USA Today.
“I felt like we had everything we needed [last year],” Vikings running back Aaron Jones said on the Nightcap podcast. “But we are not GMs, that’s outside of us. When you got a group of guys behind a QB, and he wants to stay somewhere, I think you should try to make it work.”
Jamal Adams, who played with Darnold his first two seasons in New York, called Minnesota’s decision a “headscratcher.”
“Why would you let him go?” he told ESPN.
And former Jets GM Mike Maccagnan told ESPN, “You would think, after winning 14 games, they would’ve figured out a way to hold on to him. I personally would’ve done that. At the end of the day, you can’t have enough good quarterbacks.”
There’s a lesson in Darnold’s career for both clubs and quarterbacks, if they’re open to receive it.
“You can’t write him off right away,” says the source close to the Niners. “The Baker Mayfields and Sam Darnolds and those guys that have that confidence, the belief in themselves and the mental toughness. If they have the talent, don’t give up on them.”
“It’s easy to say, this guy’s a bust,” says the same source close to the Niners. But the whole environment around him plays into why he didn’t have initial success.”
Darnold didn’t let the turbulent situations doom or define him. He looked inward, had hard conversations with the people who supported him and came to tough conclusions. Eight seasons later, he saved himself by finding patience in his own development and trust that his unconventional choices would work.
It’s not a coincidence that Mac Jones, another first-round pick (2021) and “bust” who is represented by the same agency as Darnold, is following the same playbook as a Niners backup quarterback.
And for those who are still unconvinced, Darnold isn’t bothered, and his Darnold defenders know there’s more to come.
“This is not out of nowhere,” Palmer says. “It started out his last year in Carolina. It led into what he did every day in practice. You talk to the Niners guys off the record, they’re like, yeah, we thought this would happen. We watched him every single day in practice. Everyone was trying to get Sam that year, and he chose the Vikings, and then Kevin O’Connell gets [NFL] Coach of the Year and gets all the credit. How about some credit for Sam?”
“This is a repeatable pattern. Wait until you see how good the Seahawks are going to be in three years when he’s not learning the system like he did all offseason. Anybody who thinks it all came together this year, no, this is how dynasties start.”
–ESPN Jets reporter Rich Cimini contributed to this story.
Five months into the 2025-26 season, only eight teams remain. Each team has a chance to go to Indianapolis to play in the Final Four, provided it wins one more game.
At the start of the campaign, many would have believed all of these programs had a chance to play in the penultimate weekend of the season — with the exception of 9-seed Iowa. But it might have been difficult to believe the way they all got here.
Duke played through major injuries to advance to the Elite Eight. Arizona is there without a singular star, but a team full of selfless standouts who can all lead the Wildcats in scoring on any night. Michigan has three players who are 6-foot-9 or taller in the starting rotation — a contrast to the small-ball era so many within the game have touted. Illinois is led by a freshman who was overlooked on the recruiting circuit and several European talents.
Then, there are those Hawkeyes — a team that was 3-7 in its last 10 games entering the NCAA tournament but has reached the Elite Eight for the first time in 39 years.
The truth is, however, that there’s a lot of chalk among the last eight teams. A ton of resilience, too. Let’s rank the squads in the Elite Eight.
All times Eastern
How the regional finals were set
1. Arizona Wildcats
Original seed: No. 1 (West)
Tournament results: Def. No. 16 Long Island 92-58 (first round); def. No. 9 Utah State 78-66 (round of 32); def. No. 4 Arkansas 109-88 (Sweet 16)
Arizona has been chasing greatness all season. The Wildcats not only handed John Calipari the worst NCAA tournament loss of his career in Thursday’s lopsided Sweet 16 win over Arkansas, but it was also the first time a team (Arizona) had 60 paint points and 30 free throws in a single NCAA tournament game since 2000, per ESPN Research. But that dominant effort against the SEC tournament champion is only new if you haven’t been watching college basketball. The Wildcats shot 50% from inside the arc in their season-opening win over Florida. They beat Alabama — one of the best offensive teams in America — by 21 points in December, with the Tide recording just 99 points per 100 possessions. There was a 23-point victory over Kansas in February and a 16-point triumph over Iowa State days later. The Wildcats have made a lot of statements to support the case that they’re the team to beat, the team that could be the last one standing because of its ability to play a complete game: Arizona is fourth in adjusted offensive efficiency and third in adjusted defensive efficiency. It’s also difficult for opponents to know who to target because of their depth. Veteran Jaden Bradley? Freshman star Brayden Burries? Freshman star Koa Peat — who, after a strong start to the season, faced a rough patch — is averaging 16.6 points through three NCAA tournament games.
Up next: vs. Purdue (Saturday, 8:49 p.m., TBS/truTV)
2. Michigan Wolverines
Original seed: No. 1 (Midwest)
Tournament results: Def. No. 16 Howard 101-80 (first round); def. No. 9 Saint Louis 95-72 (round of 32); def. No. 4 Alabama 90-77 (Sweet 16)
Three years ago, Dusty May didn’t want to leave Florida Atlantic because life was good in Boca Raton. He lived a few miles from campus and rode his bike to work every day. But the opportunity to lead a Big Ten powerhouse was too much to pass up, and he accepted the Michigan job in 2024. Even then, he didn’t leave it all behind. There’s a tie between the 2022-23 Owls, who made a run to the Final Four, and this year’s Wolverines, who are a win away from the school’s first run to the Final Four since 2018: interior defense. May’s FAU squad held opponents to a 46.6% clip in the paint, one of the top marks in America that season, per Synergy Sports. His Michigan team this season is clocking in at 48.9% in that metric. In Friday’s Sweet 16 win, it held Alabama — which entered the game ranked top three in offensive efficiency — to just 31 shots, 23 of which were 3-pointers. That’s a by-product of May’s suffocating interior defense, a staple of his best teams. And it’s proof the Wolverines aren’t just tough around the rim on defense; they make opponents think twice about trying to score in the post in the first place.
Up next: vs. Tennessee (Sunday, 2:15 p.m., CBS)
3. Illinois Fighting Illini
Original seed: No. 3 (South)
Tournament results: Def. No. 14 Penn 105-70 (first round); def. No. 11 VCU 76-55 (round of 32); def. No. 2 Houston 65-55 (Sweet 16)
Illinois proved with Thursday’s Sweet 16 win against Houston that it can reach a level on offense even the best defenses in America can’t stop. A 17-0 run early in the second half created separation between the two teams, with the Cougars spending the rest of the game trying to close the gap. David Mirkovic and Keaton Wagler became the first freshman teammates to record double-doubles in the NCAA tournament since freshmen became eligible for to play in the postseason in the 1972-73 season, per ESPN Research. But while Illinois’ offensive strength has been its most appealing quality, Brad Underwood’s team is a true national title contender because of its ability to stall opposing teams. Since the start of the Big Ten tournament, the Illini have been a top-25 defensive team nationally, per BartTorvik. They’re also eighth in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency and seventh in adjusted offensive efficiency since the start of the NCAA tournament. Those are important metrics to consider. Eight of the past 10 national champions were ranked top 11 in both categories. If balance is the ticket to a title, Illinois is in a good spot.
Up next: vs. Iowa (Saturday, 6:09 p.m., TBS/truTV)
4. Duke Blue Devils
Original seed: No. 1 overall (East)
Tournament results: Def. No. 16 Siena 71-65 (first round); def. No. 9 TCU 81-58 (round of 32); def. No. 5 St. John’s 80-75 (Sweet 16)
The close call against St. John’s wasn’t anything the Blue Devils hadn’t experienced: Remember the clutch effort late in a one-point win over Florida? Being tied with Michigan State near the two-minute mark not long after that? They had two tougher than expected games against Florida State in the regular season and in the ACC tournament. There was the battle with Michigan in Washington, D.C, too. Free throws sealed a win over Virginia in the ACC tournament title game. A first-round tussle with 16-seed Siena and a slow start against TCU in the second. The one constant through all of these tough games has been Cameron Boozer. He dominated at the high school, AAU and now the collegiate level. He provides his team with confidence in the most desperate situations and has the Blue Devils equipped to get through tough times — even if it’s someone else stepping up. Against the St. John’s in Friday’s Sweet 16 game, Caleb Foster somehow thrived (11 points on 5-for-7 shooting after halftime), despite having suffered a broken foot 20 days ago. Isaiah Evans (25 points) was brilliant. Maliq Brown (four blocks) did more to disrupt this game defensively than he’ll get credit for. And Cameron Boozer (22 points, 10 rebounds, three assists) was just Cameron Boozer. Nobody gets afraid on this team when adversity hits.
Up next: vs. UConn (Sunday, 5:05 p.m., CBS)
5. Purdue Boilermakers
Original seed: No. 2 (West)
Tournament results: Def. No. 15 Queens University 104-71 (first round); def. No. 7 Miami 79-69 (round of 32); def. No. 11 Texas 79-77 (Sweet 16)
Few coaches in college basketball have suffered the amount of basketball heartbreak as Matt Painter. In 2009-10, star Robbie Hummel suffered a season-ending injury late in the season that cost the Boilermakers a chance to compete for a national title. In 2019, former Purdue star Carsen Edwards scored 42 points and still couldn’t beat eventual champion Virginia in overtime. Painter once again reached the national title game in 2024 with Wooden Award winner Zach Edey — but ran into the bulldozer known as UConn on its way to its second straight national title. None of those Purdue squads, however, were as hot as this current crew. During the Boilermakers’ seven-game winning streak, Braden Smith is averaging 9.5 assists and Trey Kaufman-Renn looks like an All-American again while averaging 17.8 points. The group is second in adjusted offensive efficiency (60% from inside the arc, 38% from the 3-point line) during this stretch. And now Painter will have another shot at getting over the hump.
Up next: vs. Arizona (Saturday, 8:49 p.m., TBS/truTV)
6. UConn Huskies
Original seed: No. 2 (East)
Tournament results: Def. No. 15 Furman 82-71 (first round); def. No. 7 UCLA 73-57 (round of 32); def. No. 3 Michigan State 67-63 (Sweet 16)
Men’s college basketball has had a multitude of legendary coaches over the 60-plus years since John Wooden led UCLA in the 1960s and ’70s. Mike Krzyzewski won five national titles. Roy Williams retired with three. Rick Pitino has two rings with two different teams. Bill Self and Billy Donovan have a pair of championships. Hurley has a real chance to win his third national championship in four years, which would be an unprecedented feat in the modern history of the sport and a greater challenge than anything Wooden ever faced during his time. Because Hurley’s chasing this third title with a third different roster. The team that held off Michigan State on Friday night in the Sweet 16 does not resemble the teams he had in 2023 or 2024. Alex Karaban is the only holdover from those back-to-back title teams. There’s still a significant similarity between all three groups: They were all better when they played a free-flowing style, executed great defense and pushed the pace. It’s how the 2026 Huskies achieved an early double-digit lead over the Spartans and overcame a sloppy stretch in the second half. They also proved that, even with their recent lack of efficiency (they entered Friday ranked 74th in adjusted offensive efficiency since March 1), they can outlast and attack any opponent to advance.
Up next: vs. Duke (Sunday, 5:05 p.m., CBS)
7. Tennessee Volunteers
Original seed: No. 6 (Midwest)
Tournament results: Def. No. 11 Miami (Ohio) 78-56 (first round); def. No. 3 Virginia 79-72 (round of 32); def. No. 2 Iowa State 76-62 (Sweet 16)
It’s no secret that Texas decided Rick Barnes hadn’t kept up with the times and that the game had left him behind when the school fired him in 2015. His dismissal came after a string of first-weekend exits and a seven-year gap between his Elite Eight appearances. But when he accepted the Tennessee job that same year, Barnes — who has been a head coach since 1987 — didn’t change his philosophy. He has always believed smart shots, suffocating defense at every spot on the floor and a bruising approach to rebounding were the keys to victory and long-term success. He has coupled that attitude with a recognition that playmakers win games at the highest level. He found Dalton Knecht and Chaz Lanier in the transfer portal in back-to-back years. This year, his Vols are the top offensive rebounding team in America. Nate Ament is a projected lottery pick. Maryland transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie has been Barnes’ most reliable addition. The formula has resulted in Tennessee’s third consecutive Elite Eight appearance.
Up next: vs. Michigan (Sunday, 2:15 p.m., CBS)
8. Iowa Hawkeyes
Original seed: No. 9 (South)
Tournament results: Def. No. 8 Clemson 67-61 (first round); def. No. 1 Florida 73-72 (round of 32); def. No. 4 Nebraska 77-71 (Sweet 16)
The 3-point line was introduced in Division I men’s basketball in the 1986-87 season by the NCAA’s rules committee. It was a wild idea at the time, from Ed Steitz, a member of the committee, whose research suggested it could revolutionize the game. That season, the Hawkeyes attempted 382 3-pointers — and made 39% of them. They went 5 for 11 from beyond the arc in their 93-91 Sweet 16 victory against Oklahoma that season. They’re now back in the Elite Eight for the first time in 39 years because they rediscovered the power of the 3. Ben McCollum’s group has already taken 818 shots from beyond the arc this season. Since March 11, nearly 50% of its field goal attempts have been 3s. It has made 37.4%, a top-40 mark nationally. Yes, the Sweet 16 win over Nebraska on Thursday was the result of the Hawkeyes’ resilience and second-half defense. But really, the only way they stayed close in the game was because of those 3s (13-for-30, 43%) — the same way the last Iowa team won this round.
Up next: vs. Illinois (Saturday, 6:09 p.m., TBS/truTV)
Mohamed Salah is considering a return to Roma when he leaves Liverpool in the summer, while Manchester United are on alert as midfielder Adam Wharton expects to leave Crystal Palace when the window opens. Join us for the latest transfer news and rumors from around the globe.
Transfers home page | Men’s winter grades | Women’s grades
TRENDING RUMORS
– Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah is considering a return to Roma when he moves on in the summer, as reported by Gazzetta dello Sport. Salah scored 34 goals in 83 games during a two-year stint but it will be difficult to complete a deal now as the 33-year-old earns a net €12 million-per-season, while Roma have set their cap at a net €4 million, but he could look to spend a year back in the Italian capital before deciding where to go next. Meanwhile, sources told ESPN that Al Ittihad have resumed work on a deal for the Egypt international and Al Qadsiah is the only other Saudi Pro League club capable of competing with them.
– Adam Wharton expects to leave Crystal Palace this summer amid interest from Manchester United, according to The Sun. The 22-year-old midfielder feels he is ready to make the next step in his career and wants to join a club playing in the Champions League. The Red Devils have also tracked Nottingham Forest‘s Elliot Anderson, Newcastle United‘s Sandro Tonali, Brighton & Hove Albion‘s Carlos Baleba and AFC Bournemouth‘s Alex Scott. In another report from The Sun, it is suggested that Brighton are softening their stance regarding Baleba after demanding £100 million for the 22-year-old’s transfer last summer.
– Liverpool want to bring in Bayern Munich‘s Michael Olise to replace Salah, amid interest from Real Madrid, reports Christian Falk. However, Bayern aren’t willing to let the 24-year-old leave even if an offer worth €200 million comes in, and he doesn’t have a release clause. The Bundesliga leaders also want to offer the France international a new contract even though his current deal runs until 2029.
– Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva is doing everything possible to join Barcelona when his contract expires in the summer, as reported by Sport. Barcelona have previously tried to sign the Portugal international during various transfer windows, but they now have doubts about the 31-year-old’s age and whether they need someone in the positions he operates best in. Barcelona sporting director Deco has asked for more time to make his decision, while Silva and his agent Jorge Mendes have indicated that they will be patient.
– Juventus are ready to make a move for Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, as reported by Gazzetta dello Sport. Juve have made enquiries to the 37-year-old’s entourage in recent weeks, with his contract expiring at the end of the season, and they travelled to Warsaw this week to watch Lewandowski score Poland‘s equalizer as his side came from behind to beat Albania 2-1. Juventus are evaluating him while also discussing a deal to extend Dusan Vlahovic‘s contract and try to sign Randal Kolo Muani, who is currently on loan at Tottenham Hotspur from Paris Saint-Germain.
EXPERT TAKE
1:42
Why does Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz play better for Germany?
Craig Burley reacts to Florian Wirtz’s performance in Germany’s 4-3 win over Switzerland.
OTHER RUMORS
– Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes is likely to join Manchester United if Michael Carrick stays on as manager. (Football Insider)
– Liverpool could table an offer worth around €80 million to sign Nottingham Forest center back Murillo. (TEAMtalk)
– Manchester United are intrigued by the opportunity to sign Barcelona forward Ferran Torres. (TEAMtalk)
– Marcus Rashford is fully committed to making his loan from Manchester United to Barcelona permanent despite interest from Saudi Arabia and Aston Villa. (TEAMtalk)
– Manchester United have asked for updated information on Atalanta midfielder Ederson, although they haven’t taken any concrete steps towards a deal yet. (Rudy Galetti)
– Barcelona, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are among the clubs tracking Roma center back Evan Ndicka. (Caught Offside)
– AC Milan want Genk attacking midfielder Konstantinos Karetsas, who has also received interest from Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United. (Tuttosport)
– AC Milan want to sign Fiorentina striker Moise Kean but will try to negotiate a formula for the deal rather than paying his €62 million release clause at one time. (Calciomercato)
– Having failed to sign Al Ittihad winger Moussa Diaby in January, Internazionale could find a deal easier to complete in the summer if the Saudi Pro League club signs Salah from Liverpool. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
– A decision on the future of Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has been postponed, with a discussion expected to take place after the Bavarians have faced Real Madrid in the Champions League. (Christian Falk)
– Romelu Lukaku seems ready to leave Napoli after the World Cup. The striker has been approached by Saudi and Turkish clubs, while Anderlecht are also looking at a return. (Nicolo Schira)
– Internazionale’s search for a center back has resulted in them looking at Udinese’s Oumar Solet, Sassuolo’s Tarik Muharemovic and River Plate’s Lautaro Rivero. (Corriere dello Sport)
– Inter could offload Luis Henrique to free up the space and resources for them to sign Atalanta wing back Marco Palestra, who is currently on loan at Cagliari. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
– Real Betis are strong contenders to sign Dani Ceballos after the midfielder decided that he will leave Real Madrid. (Marca)
– Real Madrid and backup goalkeeper Andriy Lunin don’t plan to part ways, despite plenty of offers to sign him being expected in the summer. (AS)
There are just three weeks until the start of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs. As chaotic as the standings have been the past few weeks, it’s only going to get wilder now that the pressure is ramped up.
NHL fans are in for a treat on what’s been dubbed Showdown Saturday, with 15 games throughout the course of the day.
And instead of the usual “eight games starting at 7 p.m. ET” trick, the start times have been staggered earlier in the day, too!
So without any further preamble, let’s dive right into the storylines ahead of each contest in regards to playoff positioning, the draft lottery and more:
Ottawa Senators at Tampa Bay Lightning
1 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
The Senators were in a playoff spot earlier this week, and are pushing to get there again. They enter play a point behind the Islanders and two behind the Bruins for the wild-card spots; importantly, Ottawa holds the regulation-wins tiebreaker over both of those clubs. On the other side, the Lightning still have designs on an Atlantic Division title; they are two points and two regulation wins behind the Sabres, with two games in hand.
Florida Panthers at New York Islanders
1 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Well, we knew the Panthers might be a little out of sorts this season after two straight Cups (and a Cup Final appearance the year before that), and their playoff hopes are closing in on zero. However, they are in line for a top-10 draft pick, currently sitting No. 8 in the lottery standings. The Islanders are hanging on to a playoff spot by a thread; getting wins in games like this one against a non-playoff team are crucial.
Anaheim Ducks at Edmonton Oilers
3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
If you’d told a hockey fan prior to the season that this game would pit a team with a five-point Pacific Division lead against one battling it out for the No. 2 or 3 seed, they’d likely have replied, “Wow, good for the Ducks to eke their way in!” Instead, it’s Connor McDavid and friends whose playoff lives are in a bit more peril. A win here by Anaheim would put it seven points ahead of Edmonton, while a decision the other way would drop the Ducks’ lead to three.
Minnesota Wild at Boston Bruins
5 p.m. ET (NHL Network)
This will be the final meeting of the season between U.S. Olympic teammates Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman (Bruins) with Quinn Hughes, Matt Boldy and Brock Faber (Wild) — unless they meet again in the Cup Final. The Wild are on the cusp of clinching a spot, with a magic number of two; the Bruins have quite a bit more work to do, with the Senators and Red Wings nipping at their heels. Also of note: the B’s are just two points back of the Canadiens for the No. 3 spot in the Atlantic.
Dallas Stars at Pittsburgh Penguins
5 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Another green vs. yellow matchup! The Stars have clinched a postseason spot and are likely to be paired up with the Wild in Round 1, as they enter Saturday nine points back of the Avalanche for first in the Central. Pittsburgh has been swapping spots with the Blue Jackets and Islanders recently. As it stands heading into this one, the Penguins are the Metro’s No. 2 seed, one point and two regulation wins ahead of both Columbus and New York.
New Jersey Devils at Carolina Hurricanes
5 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
The Hurricanes appear destined to win another Metro crown, with an eight-point lead over the Penguins. What remains to be won is the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed; Carolina enters the day tied in the standings with Buffalo, but ahead on the games played tiebreaker. Of note, they have five fewer regulation wins than the Sabres. As for the Devils, a late-season surge has been encouraging for 2026-27, but a playoff spot would require an extraordinary amount of help from opponents of the teams ahead of them. New Jersey sits No. 12 in the draft lottery standings.
San Jose Sharks at Columbus Blue Jackets
5 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Last season, the Blue Jackets remained in the playoff race until the final week of the season, ultimately just missing the cut by two points. This season, the Hockey Gods appear to be on their side, as they hold the Metro’s No. 3 spot heading into Saturday. They are a point behind the Penguins for second, and a tiebreaker ahead of the Islanders. San Jose finished 44 points out of a playoff spot in 2024-25, so the fact that they have any chance at all at this stage is a vast improvement. But if they are going to make it, they’ll need to start earning points more regularly; the Predators hold the second Western wild card six points ahead of the Sharks, and the Golden Knights are eight points ahead in the battle for third in the Pacific.
Seattle Kraken at Buffalo Sabres
5:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
The Kraken are even closer to the playoff mix than the Sharks — three points behind Nashville, five behind Vegas — but face an even more challenging opponent Saturday. The Sabres are on an epic run; as a result, they hold a two-point lead in the Atlantic Division, and are a tiebreaker behind Carolina for first overall in the East.
Toronto Maple Leafs at St. Louis Blues
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
This is the first matchup of the slate featuring two lottery-bound teams; unfortunately for the Leafs, their pick belongs to Boston unless it falls in the top five. As of now, Toronto is 10th in the lotto standings, in the middle of a cluster of eight teams between 71 and 76 points. One of the teams at the end of that cluster is the St. Louis Blues, who hold the No. 5 position with 71 points.
Montreal Canadiens at Nashville Predators
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Is it a bigger surprise that the Canadiens are on pace for 104 points, or that the Predators are in line to earn a playoff spot after how dreadful last season (and the start of this one) went? Montreal is four points (and seven regulation wins) back of Tampa Bay for second in the Atlantic, and has a two-point edge on Boston to retain their No. 3 position. Nashville is just a point ahead of Los Angeles for the second Western wild card, and three points behind Utah for the first.
Winnipeg Jets at Colorado Avalanche
7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
The NHL awards the Presidents’ Trophy to the team with the best regular-season record. In 2024-25, that team was the Jets. In 2025-26, that team will likely be the Avalanche. Sadly for the wonderful fans of Winnipeg, the Jets’ success last season didn’t carry over into this one, and they enter Saturday five points back of Nashville for the wild card. Maybe the club will have some lottery luck, and it enters the day in seventh in the draft standings.
Philadelphia Flyers at Detroit Red Wings
8 p.m. ET (ABC)
Time is running out for both of these teams to vault into a playoff spot. As play begins Saturday, the Red Wings are one point back of the second wild card, two back of the first, and four back of Montreal for the Atlantic’s No. 3 seed. The Flyers have four additional points to make up — although their pathway in the Metro is slightly easier, with the Blue Jackets five points ahead in the No. 3 spot and the Penguins six ahead for second.
Utah Mammoth at Los Angeles Kings
9 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
As the end of Anze Kopitar‘s career comes into sight, the Kings remain alive for a playoff berth, but must surpass the Predators for a wild card (they are one point back), the Golden Knights for No. 3 in the Pacific (they are three points behind) … or the Mammoth themselves, who are four points ahead. One wrinkle: Los Angeles will almost certainly need to get ahead of teams on standings points, as they are well behind everyone else in the regulation wins column.
Vancouver Canucks at Calgary Flames
10 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Here’s our other draft lottery positioning game of the day — although it’s exceedingly unlikely that any team “catches” the Canucks, who are 15 points clear of anyone else in the No. 1 position in the draft lottery standings. Calgary enters the day in fourth in the lottery standings, one point behind the Blackhawks and three behind the Rangers.
Washington Capitals at Vegas Golden Knights
10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Will this be Alex Ovechkin‘s final visit to Las Vegas as a member of the Capitals? If so, his team could really use the points as it looks to chase down even a wild-card spot. As the slate begins, the Caps are six points back of the Isles and Blue Jackets, although if they do get back in the mix, their regulation-wins total (currently 31) might well beat out anyone if it comes down to tiebreakers. As for the hosts, the Golden Knights appear much more likely to return to the playoffs — largely because of the relative weakness of the Pacific Division — but could certainly use any additional points they can get to bolster their chances.
Every team has around 10 games remaining before the regular season concludes April 16, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch every day. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2026 NHL draft lottery.
Note: Playoff chances are via Stathletes.
Jump ahead:
Current playoff matchups
Today’s schedule
Last night’s scores
Expanded standings
Race for No. 1 pick
Current playoff matchups
Eastern Conference
A1 Buffalo Sabres vs. WC1 Boston Bruins
A2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. A3 Montreal Canadiens
M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC2 New York Islanders
M2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. M3 Columbus Blue Jackets
Western Conference
C1 Colorado Avalanche vs. WC2 Nashville Predators
C2 Dallas Stars vs. C3 Minnesota Wild
P1 Anaheim Ducks vs. WC1 Utah Mammoth
P2 Edmonton Oilers vs. P3 Vegas Golden Knights
Saturday’s games
Note: All times ET. All games not on TNT or NHL Network are available to stream on ESPN+ (local blackout restrictions apply).
Ottawa Senators at Tampa Bay Lightning, 1 p.m.
Florida Panthers at New York Islanders, 1 p.m.
Anaheim Ducks at Edmonton Oilers, 3:30 p.m.
Minnesota Wild at Boston Bruins, 5 p.m. (NHLN)
Dallas Stars at Pittsburgh Penguins, 5 p.m.
New Jersey Devils at Carolina Hurricanes, 5 p.m.
San Jose Sharks at Columbus Blue Jackets, 5 p.m.
Seattle Kraken at Buffalo Sabres, 5:30 p.m.
Toronto Maple Leafs at St. Louis Blues, 7 p.m.
Montreal Canadiens at Nashville Predators, 7 p.m.
Winnipeg Jets at Colorado Avalanche, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia Flyers at Detroit Red Wings, 8 p.m. (ABC)
Utah Mammoth at Los Angeles Kings, 9 p.m.
Vancouver Canucks at Calgary Flames, 10 p.m.
Washington Capitals at Vegas Golden Knights, 10:30 p.m.
Friday night’s scoreboard
Detroit Red Wings 5, Buffalo Sabres 2
New York Rangers 6, Chicago Blackhawks 1
Expanded standings
Atlantic Division
Points: 96
Regulation wins: 37
Playoff position: A1
Games left: 9
Points pace: 107.8
Next game: vs. SEA (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: 10
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 94
Regulation wins: 35
Playoff position: A2
Games left: 11
Points pace: 108.6
Next game: vs. OTT (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: 12
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 90
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: A3
Games left: 11
Points pace: 103.9
Next game: @ NSH (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 93.8%
Magic number: 16
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 88
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 10
Points pace: 100.2
Next game: vs. MIN (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 65%
Magic number: 18
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 86
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Points pace: 97.9
Next game: @ TB (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 74.5%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 19
Points: 86
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Points pace: 97.9
Next game: vs. PHI (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 32.1%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 19
Points: 75
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 9
Points pace: 84.3
Next game: @ STL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: ~0%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 6
Points: 73
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 84.3
Next game: @ NYI (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 8
Metro Division
Points: 96
Regulation wins: 32
Playoff position: M1
Games left: 11
Points pace: 110.9
Next game: vs. NJ (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: 10
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 88
Regulation wins: 29
Playoff position: M2
Games left: 10
Points pace: 100.2
Next game: vs. DAL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 90.1%
Magic number: 18
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 87
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: M3
Games left: 10
Points pace: 99.1
Next game: vs. SJ (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 82.1%
Magic number: 19
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 87
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 9
Points pace: 97.7
Next game: vs. FLA (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 49.1%
Magic number: 19
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 82
Regulation wins: 22
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 94.7
Next game: @ DET (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 10.8%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 17
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 31
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 9
Points pace: 91.0
Next game: @ VGK (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 2.3%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 12
Points: 76
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 87.8
Next game: @ CAR (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 0.3%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 11
Points: 67
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 9
Points pace: 75.3
Next game: vs. NYI (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: OUT
Central Division
Points: 106
Regulation wins: 42
Playoff position: C1
Games left: 11
Points pace: 122.4
Next game: vs. WPG (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Magic number: IN
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 97
Regulation wins: 33
Playoff position: C2
Games left: 10
Points pace: 110.5
Next game: @ PIT (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 100%
Magic number: IN
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 94
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: C3
Games left: 9
Points pace: 105.6
Next game: @ BOS (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: 2
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 80
Regulation wins: 28
Playoff position: WC1
Games left: 9
Points pace: 89.9
Next game: @ LA (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 96.4%
Magic number: 16
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 77
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: WC2
Games left: 10
Points pace: 87.7
Next game: vs. MTL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 34.9%
Magic number: 19
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 72
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Points pace: 82.0
Next game: @ COL (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 2.3%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 15
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 26
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 82.0
Next game: vs. TOR (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 5.2%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 16
Points: 67
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 9
Points pace: 75.3
Next game: @ NJ (Sunday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 8
Pacific Division
Points: 86
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: P1
Games left: 10
Points pace: 97.9
Next game: @ EDM (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 99.9%
Magic number: 10
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 27
Playoff position: P2
Games left: 9
Points pace: 91.0
Next game: vs. ANA (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 94%
Magic number: 15
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 79
Regulation wins: 24
Playoff position: P3
Games left: 9
Points pace: 88.7
Next game: vs. WSH (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 97.7%
Magic number: 17
Tragic number: N/A
Points: 76
Regulation wins: 19
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Points pace: 86.6
Next game: vs. UTA (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 38.2%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 19
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 25
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 85.5
Next game: @ BUF (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 5.9%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 19
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 20
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 12
Points pace: 83.2
Next game: @ CBJ (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 25.5%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 18
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 23
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 10
Points pace: 77.4
Next game: vs. VAN (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 0.1%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: 11
Points: 50
Regulation wins: 14
Playoff position: N/A
Games left: 11
Points pace: 57.8
Next game: @ CGY (Saturday)
Playoff chances: 0%
Magic number: N/A
Tragic number: OUT
Note: An “x” with a team’s name means the club has clinched a playoff spot. An “e” means that the club has been mathematically eliminated.
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Atop draft boards for this summer is Gavin McKenna, a forward for Penn State.
Points: 50
Regulation wins: 14
Points: 67
Regulation wins: 20
Points: 67
Regulation wins: 20
Points: 68
Regulation wins: 23
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 26
Points: 71
Regulation wins: 20
Points: 72
Regulation wins: 24
Points: 73
Regulation wins: 27
Points: 74
Regulation wins: 25
Points: 75
Regulation wins: 23
Points: 76
Regulation wins: 19
Points: 76
Regulation wins: 25
Points: 81
Regulation wins: 31
Points: 82
Regulation wins: 22
Points: 86
Regulation wins: 28
Points: 86
Regulation wins: 32
*Note: The Maple Leafs’ pick belongs to the Bruins, unless it lands in the top five.
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