This week, Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov took home his third Selke Trophy; Noah Cates was rewarded with a four-year, $16 million extension; and Jesper Fast, who missed the entire season in the wake of a neck injury, has opted to call it a career after scoring 91 goals over 11 seasons. Other Fantasy hockey stories we’re tracking…

Matthew Tkachuk Mauled the Canes

This is getting routine for the Florida Panthers, as the defending champions have made a third straight trip to the Finals.

And while Edmonton is favoured to unseat Florida, a really great sign for the Panthers has been the recent play of left winger Matthew Tkachuk, who seems to be getting healthier, at least based on his production last round.

After suffering an LBI in the 4 Nations Cup, he wound up missing a ton of time down the stretch, only returning in time for the first game of the playoffs. Tkachuk promptly put any doubts about his health to rest when he fired a pair of goals and an assist in the opener vs. TB. Over the next four games, he wasn’t quite as dynamic, but still managed a goal and an assist while his PT started to rise closer to his usual level.

In the next round, Tkachuk was held in check, managing just four assists over the seven game series vs. Toronto. And while his ice time continued to rise, it was reasonable to wonder just how fit he was.

That narrative changed vs. Carolina in the ECF as Tkachuk recorded points in four of the five games, totaling a pair of goals and five assists. He’s now averaging nearly a point over the course of the postseason despite not getting his usual allotment of PT, so it’s no surprise he’s among the favourites to win the Conn Smythe Trophy (currently +2600 as per FanDuel). Let’s just hope Tkachuk can avoid the struggles he endured when these two teams met for the Cup last season.

But how badly has he been craving this rematch? Hell, Tkachuk called it a year ago.

Keith’s oldest son is on a mission to add another ring to his collection, so we’ll see what the Oilers cook up to negate his scoring, edge and agitating presence.

Waiver Wire Pick of the Week

Kiefer Sherwood, RW, Vancouver Canucks (ESPN: 35.4 per cent; CBS: 25 per cent): Sherwood’s first season with the Canucks was a resounding success. Over his first six seasons, he never really showed anything worth of Fantasy attention, but man, did he ever put himself on the map in 2024-25. Not only did Sherwood set personal highs with 19 goals and 21 assists plus his first ever shorthanded goal and assist, but he somehow managed to rifle home six game-winning tallies. The best part, however, was that he drilled everything that moved. In seeing his most ice time ever, Sherwood laid out a ridiculous 462 hits – 156 more than anyone else in the NHL. In formats that reward this category, that alone made him worth owning, but toss in the solid secondary scoring, and he proved a real asset. He’s no spring chicken at 30, but do not sleep on this fan favourite (see below) for 2025-26, as he’s clearly part of Vancouver’s go-forward plan.

RotoRob Tune of the Day

Bryan Guy Adams is better known to the world as Bryan Adams, the British/Canadian singer-songwriter. In 2014, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his album Reckless, an expanded version was released. From this comes a live version of his hit “Cuts Like a Knife.”