Links, News and Notes: Vegas Rolling, Flyers Selling, King Clancy Finalists and More

The Stanley Cup finals turned a bit fiesty in Game 2. Unfortunetly for the Florida Panthers, the Vegas Golden Knights took it to their advantage as they go up 2-0 in the series.

• Sergei Bobrovsky picked the worst time to play some of his worst playoff hockey but if anyone can bounce back, he's the goalie to do it. He was pulled in Game 2 but there is zero doubt he'll get the start back home and if the Panthers have any chance to make a series out of this, it starts with him.
• Matthew Tkachuk has been a cornerstone to the success of the Panthers but he might need to re-focus. He received his second 10-minute misconduct of the playoffs and let the frustrations of the game get to him. He needs to be much better.
• The Vegas Golden Knights seem invincible right now, the amount of confidence from players like Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault has them playing with so much ease. It's really hard to imagine the Panthers being able to overcome them now.

As for the rest of the league; we have some updates for you ranging from suspect coaching hires to trade season unofficially beginning.

• As the Senators continue to sort out their ownership situation, another lingering issue seems to be taking a wrong turn. Sens fans were hoping Alex DeBrincat's contract extension wouldn't turn into another messy situation but according to Pierre LeBrun from the Athletic, DeBrincat has reportedly submitted a list of preferred teams for a trade and, according to Bruce Garrioch, is not interested in signing a long term deal at the moment. Many have speculated he had been waiting for the ownership picture to become clearer but it seems DeBrincat is out of patience. Nothing is confirmed and all this information could be speculation or backup planning by both parties, but if the Sens end up losing DeBrincat it's going to be a huge void to fill.
• The Philadelphia Flyers are sellers and they started their garage sale with a bang. On Tuesday, they were part of a 3-team trade involving The Columbus Blue Jackets and the LA Kings which saw defenceman Ivan Provorov end up being in Columbus.
• The Columbus Blue Jackets are seemingly interested in building a "not so nice" reputation for themselves. After acquiring Ivan Provorov, they are now reported to being interested in hiring Mike Babcock as their newest coach. Babcock had announced his retirement last summer but it seems he's quickly changed his mind. A lot has been said about Babcock's toxic behaviour as a coach and many fans are not very thrilled to see him back but it seems one player in particular is taking it personally that a team is giving him another chance. Mike Commodore took to Twitter with his harsh opinion of the reported hiring, calling Babcock a bully.
• The King Clancy Award is usually the least controversial award handed out at the events and very few can actually object which NHLer does the "better" form of charity. This year the nominations go to Mikael Backlund from the Calgary Flames, Anders Lee from the New York Islanders and Darnell Nurse from the Edmonton Oilers. Their work has helped cancer and ALS charities both in Canada and the US.
• Katey Stone has spent the last 30 years turning the Harvard University Women's Hockey program into a powerhouse and one of the main development programs in North America. However, after allegations that she harboured a toxic and abusive environment, she has decided to retire. While investigations into the allegations were made, the University did not take any action possibly with the agreement that Stone would resign at the end of year although both the University and Stone made no mention of the allegations. For someone who had such a big responsibility, it is unfortunate to hear about the victims she had impacted along the way.