Rangers Daily: Vaakanainen, Finland win Worlds gold; Maple Leafs coach rumors debunked
Urho Vaakanainen waited three extra months to wear his country’s sweater in an important international tournament. But is was worth the wait for the 27-year-old New York Rangers defenseman.
Left off Finland’s Olympic roster for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games in February, Vaakanainen not only was on their roster, but played a big role for Finland when it won the gold medal at the IIHF World Championship on Sunday.
In fact, Vaakanainen was on the ice for the Golden Goal, scored by Konsta Helenius at 10:42 of overtime, in Finland’s 1-0 victory over host Switzerland. Vaakanainen hopped on the ice to replace defenseman Mikko Lehtonen, just as Anton Lundell snapped a pass to Helenius at center ice. The Buffalo Sabres’ first-round pick (No. 14 overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft did the rest, hanging on to the puck in the offensive zone, using, first, Lundell, then Vaakanainen, as decoys, before snapping home the championship-winning goal.
Vaakanainen immediately threw his gloves and stick in the air, and darted straight for Helenius behind the Swiss net. But the fired-up 20-year-old actually blew right past the Rangers defenseman and the wild celebration began further up ice with his teammates.
In any case, good for Vaakanainen, who played seven of the 10 games for Finland in the tournament, including the 4-1 victory over Czechia (and Rangers teammate Jaroslav Chmelar) in the quarterfinals and 4-2 win versus Canada in the semis. He had two assists and was plus-3.
Also, 18-year-old Rangers prospect Mikkel Eriksen won a bronze medal with Norway, though he wasn;t in the lineup when they stunned Canada 3-2 in overtime of the bronze medal game Sunday. Eriksen was pointless and minues-1 in six games for Norway; but considering his age, this was a tremendous honor and experience for him to represent Norway on the international stage.
The 2025 fourth-round pick (No. 111 overall) played for three different teams this past season, including 15 games in the SHL.
New York Rangers news and analysis
So, should the Rangers pursue Seattle Kraken forward Bobby McMann in free agency this summer. Our John Kreiser breaks down the pros and cons of signing the 29-year-old.
Our latest end-of-season Rangers report cards focus on Matt Rempe and Adam Edstrom, in a pair of lost seasons for the Twin Towers.
Speaking of reports cards, we also graded Alexis Lafreniere and Will Cuylle, in case you missed it.
The Rangers might be closing in on hiring Jay Leach as the new coach of their AHL affiliate in Hartford.
ICYMI: In an exclusive interview with Forever Blueshirts, Mike Richter shared his memories of the late Claude Lemieux from their intense playoff battles in the 1990s and reflected on the news about Clause’s tragic passing last week.
NHL news and rumors
TSN: Chris Johnston emphatically shot down the growing rumors that the Toronto Maple Leafs are close to naming David Carle their next coach. Carle is expected to remain at the University of Denver, where his team just won another National Championship this season.
Sportsnet: However, the Maple Leafs were granted permission by the Minnesota Wild to interview Judd Brackett for their assistant general manager opening.
Forever Blueshirts: Former Rangers forward Brendan Lemieux and his family donated his father Claude’s brain for CTE research at Boston University.
Philadelphia Hockey Now: William James breaks down how the Flyers could trade up into the Top 5 of the NHL Draft.
Sportsnet: Breaking down whether the Colorado Avalanche should move on from coach Jared Bednar after their flop in the Western Conference Final.
Montreal Hockey Now: Though the end result was painful, losing in five games to the Carolina Hurricanes in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Final, the Montreal Canadiens are going to be better for the experience and have quite the bright future, per Marc Dumont.
