The top OGWAC candidates for the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs
I’ll always remember Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice elevating the Stanley Cup for the first time.
A coach in the NHL since 1995 when he took his first bench boss gig with the Hartford Whalers at the age of 28, Maurice lastly captured Lord Stanley’s Mug in 2024. The most lovely trophy in sports activities was handed to him mid-interview; he paused what he was saying, grabbed the Cup and lifted it, delivering one in every of the longest and most satisfying exhales in sports activities historical past.
Even in case you weren’t a Panthers fan, in that second you have been thrilled for Maurice — a man who devoted his life to hockey and eventually achieved his desires.
There have been a number of such iconic moments in NHL historical past. The most well-known instance is Ray Bourque successful the Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001 as Joe Sakic made the most well-known “pass” in hockey historical past, not even elevating the Cup earlier than delivering it to Bourque’s awaiting arms. Lanny McDonald retired a champion with the Calgary Flames in 1989 and was the topic of my favourite hockey picture ever, an ideal instance of how arduous it’s to win the Cup and the way blissful it feels to lastly do it:
Every 12 months, hockey followers like to establish a veteran who hasn’t received the Cup but to cheer for in the playoffs (notably if their workforce would not make the postseason). Who has the feel-good story? Who has been in the league for so lengthy that you simply consider they deserve one?
Some label it the OGWAC, or “old guy without a Cup.” The identical 12 months Paul Maurice first received it in 2024, Kyle Okposo was additionally one in every of the strongest OGWAC candidates. He received his first Cup with the Cats after an 18-year profession with the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabers.
Here are my OGWAC picks for this season as we march towards the Stanley Cup playoffs:
Could this season be it for the most majestic beard in the NHL and one the league’s most colorful characters? He will garner a number of OGWAC votes as one in every of the few NHL gamers over 40.
The excellent news for Burns is that he performs for the Avalanche, the workforce that has the shortest odds to win the Stanley Cup, at +290 per DraftKings Sportsbook. Burns made a Cup Final with the Sharks and achieved playoff success with a Hurricanes workforce that simply could not recover from the hump. Now, he is a candidate to lastly get a Cup whereas skating with the finest workforce in the NHL.
What a narrative this could be.
Although Nick Foligno has captained two NHL golf equipment (Columbus then Chicago), he hasn’t performed north of 10 playoff video games in a single season. He was a part of that record-setting Boston Bruins roster in 2023 that dramatically misplaced in the first spherical to the Panthers. While enjoying for the Toronto Maple Leafshe was the first man to drop the gloves with Corey Perry after Perry landed an unintentional however damaging knee on a inclined John Tavares throughout the playoffs. Simply put, Nick is one in every of the nice leaders in sports activities of our technology.
Now the 38-year-old, for the first time ever, is on the identical workforce as his youthful brother (34). They’re a part of a stacked Wild workforce that’s trying for its first Stanley Cup in franchise historical past. The picture of the Foligno brothers hoisting Lord Stanley’s Mug in the air could be an all-time hockey picture.
The captain of the Stars additionally will get the “spent his entire NHL career with the same team” vote, actually changing into the heartbeat of the Stars’ franchise. He’s comparatively younger in comparison with some on this record, however the 36-year-old signed a one-year, $1 million deal this previous offseason to get one other run at the Cup with Dallas. This would additionally produce a cathartic second ought to the Stars win, since as captain Benn could be the one skating to the commissioner to seize the trophy first.
Benn captained the workforce to the Cup Final in 2020 and to convention finals runs in the previous three seasons. Not many hockey followers could be disillusioned seeing Benn elevate the Cup.
“Reavo” will definitely achieve votes from followers of his former groups for how a lot he has caught up for star gamers in previous seasons — and continues to take action for Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and the different younger Sharks this season.
Reaves, 39, scored the Western Conference finals-clinching objective for Vegas in 2018, sending the Golden Knights to the Cup Final; they in the end misplaced to the Washington Capitals (giving Alex Ovechkin his first Stanley Cup).
The Sharks are enjoyable to look at and firmly occupy that “second-favorite team” place for many hockey followers. So if San Jose does make a push and secures a playoff spot, it can little doubt get a number of love, with Reaves incomes a few of the OGWAC vote.
Yes, the Wild have a number of candidates on the record!
In 2014, Zuccarello turned the first NHL participant from Norway to play in the Stanley Cup Final, in a shedding effort for the New York Rangers. Although we’re seven years faraway from his final recreation in a Broadway Blueshirt, some Rangers followers nonetheless maintain a smooth spot for Zucc and would like to see him win the Cup.
I think about that in the order of who will get to deal with the Cup first, Zuccarello may be at the entrance of the line on the Wild, proper after captain Jared Spurgeon. Nick Foligno would most likely be proper behind Mats (Zucc wins out attributable to Minnesota tenure and each being related in age — that might be my guess).
Honorable mentions
Although ineligible for the OGWAC classification, two different gamers who would definitely get consideration chasing a Cup this spring are:
Corey Perry. This is solely attributable to the incontrovertible fact that though Perry, who’s 40, received a Cup with the Ducks again in 2007, he has misplaced in the Cup Final in 5 of the previous six seasons.
Connor McDavid. The “always a bridesmaid, never a bride” narrative is in hyperdrive after the Olympics. But that feeling has been there the previous few seasons for McDavid, 29, just because he is the finest hockey participant on the planet. The NHL’s most team-friendly contract he signed in the fall can be an enormous consider these excessive expectations.
Jump forward:
Games of the week
What I loved this weekend
Hart Trophy candidates
Social post of the week
Stick taps
Biggest video games of the week
This week, I’m locked in on two groups chasing a playoff berth after lacking for the previous few years:
The Columbus Blue Jackets sit one level again in the East wild-card race — however could be in first place in the Pacific Division. They host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, the New York Rangers on Thursday and the Seattle Kraken on Saturday earlier than heading to Long Island to satisfy the New York Islanders on Sunday.
A win streak right here could be fairly helpful, as they give the impression of being to catch the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings whereas staving off the groups behind them as effectively.
The San Jose Sharks climbed into the second West wild-card spot over the weekend; think about an Avalanche-Sharks first-round matchup! That could be a pleasure to look at.
Macklin Celebrini & Co. go to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday earlier than internet hosting the Buffalo Sabers on Thursday and Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Those are two powerful video games in opposition to playoff-bound golf equipment, after which they will face a workforce begging for factors at this level in the season.
Hart Trophy contenders if the season ended in the present day
I’m beginning to marvel what number of Hart Trophy votes gamers akin to Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Schaefer will get for how useful they have been to their workforce. Maybe successful the Calder can be sufficient in the voters’ eyes for Schaefer, and even when the Sharks declare a postseason spot, Celebrini won’t clear the sheer quantity of factors that the large three have (though he is a greater motive the Sharks would make the playoffs in the first place).
My record stays unchanged, however wavering; I’m an enormous “literal definition of the Hart trophy” man, and I’m monitoring the standings for that motive.
Connor McDavid has 111 factors, together with six factors in his previous 5 video games, as the Oilers battle for the Pacific Division lead.
Nathan MacKinnon is at 109, with 12 factors in seven video games throughout March, together with a four-point night time in opposition to Seattle on Thursday, and the Avs stay at the top of the complete league standings.
Nikita Kucherov is the solely different participant with north of 100 factors in the NHL this season (106), and he had the most factors in his previous 5 video games of the large three (10). The Lightning are 4 factors again of the Sabers on top of the Atlantic Division.
What I cherished this weekend
The Sabers and Maple Leafs are stepping into reverse instructions. The Sabers are a “wagon” and certain playoff certain (lastly!), whereas the Leafs are deliberating varied phases of a rebuild/retool/revamp.
Ahead of the Sabers-Leafs matchup Saturday in Buffalo, Sabers coach Lindy Ruff was requested about the standing of the long-standing custom of hockey followers in Toronto shopping for up Sabers residence recreation tickets (even in opposition to non-Toronto groups) given the new dynamic, which elicited a humorous response from Ruff:
With the Leafs and Sabers having considerably reverse seasons, Lindy Ruff hoped Leafs followers may be prepared to promote their tickets to Sabers followers in Buffalo 😂 pic.twitter.com/iPMmIbl3fB
— BarDown (@BarDown) March 14, 2026
Social media submit of the weekend
Team USA’s official Sometimes you simply need to tip your cap.
Appointment tv. 🍿#WinterParalympics pic.twitter.com/lh0DWUc3qQ
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) March 13, 2026
Stick faucets
Congratulations to the under-10 C2-2 Kirkwood Stars from the Kirkwood Youth Hockey Organization in the St. Louis space, winners of the Blue Note Cup in 2026!
No. 56 Adeline McKenna is on the workforce; her father is former NHL goaltender Mike McKenna, who can be a part of the Kirkwood teaching employees.
The workforce entered the competitors with the No. 3 seed, needed to win three video games in a row to take the trophy and did, together with a 4-3 victory over Lady Liberty.
“The improvement throughout the season was incredible,” coach McKenna stated. “[We had] four players that came from the Learn to Play program. …They took off and became outstanding players.”
Go Stars!
