It has not been an easy couple of years for the Stars winger, but he's showing in the Stanley Cup final why he's won almost every championship imaginable and why Dallas signed him.

He waited years before deciding to share his story, unsure of how hockey culture would receive it. Once he decided to come out publicly, he didn't look back. It isn't always easy to be a role model at 17, but it's a role he embraces.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are one game away from winning the Stanley Cup because their best players have taken over the series, while the Dallas Stars' top performers are hurting their cause.

Florida gets a battle-scarred vet, Pittsburgh takes a chance on a struggling defenseman.

Lawmakers in Quebec have been asked to give the QMJHL $20 million in pandemic relief, but wants the league to reduce fighting. That's not enough. A government should want to see fighting eliminated. Full stop.

The flat salary cap will send many teams scrambling to make moves and stay compliant. Among high-impact players, which are most likely to get dealt?

He played just five shifts in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final, but Steven Stamkos gave an enormous boost to the Tampa Bay Lightning. And it's probably the last we'll see of him in the final.

Talks between the St. Louis Blues and their star defenseman have stalled, opening the door for him to hit the market. Which landing spots are most realistic?

The Quebec League is looking for $20 million from the provincial government to cover the cost of playing in empty arenas, but that money would come with a very significant caveat.

With just two goals and a 3.4 percent shooting percentage in the playoffs, the Stars' highest-paid player and top scorer has been a victim of bad luck, but he's running out of time for his fortunes to change.

How Bill Armstrong got the GM job in Arizona - and why you shouldn't bet against the veteran hockey mind having success in the desert.

After a rough Game 1 and first part of Game 2, Nikita Kucherov proved why he is one of the NHL's elite talents. If he keeps this up, the Lightning's chances of winning the Cup increase exponentially.

Leon Draisaitl was a deserving winner if we view the Hart through the lens of 'most talented NHLer' in 2019-20. But he didn't actually have the most valuable impact on the game.

The 2020-21 season is underway in a number of countries and these youngsters are making noise early.

The Dallas Stars defenseman picked the perfect time to score the first goal of his NHL career. And the journey to that goal is one that is long and winding and full of life lessons.

The top Jr. A league is considering the measure during uncertain times, plus a very different schedule for 2020-21.

Your best players have to be your best players. We hear that cliche all the time. But sometimes your role players have to come up big and that's exactly what the Dallas Stars got in the first game of the 2020 final.

While the proposed Dec. 1 start date might have to be pushed back, the NHL commissioner is still intent on having a full season. Even though there is no much beyond the NHL's control, it would be unwise to bet against him.

From Steven Stamkos to Jamie Benn, Miro Heiskanen to Victor Hedman, there is no shortage of interesting storylines in a Cup final like no other in NHL history.

From the expansion Ottawa Senators to the juggernaut Tampa Bay Lightning, the Dallas Stars coach has seen it all. Now he's hoping to win the Stanley Cup as a senior citizen.

Who has the edge in the final battle for the holy grail? We break down Tampa and Dallas in six categories to preview the series.

With Steven Stamkos out and Brayden Point clearly playing through an injury, the Lightning's depth is certainly being tested. And so far, Tampa has passed every test. Now comes the final exam.

Dallas defenseman Thomas Harley just turned 19, but he's a big part of the Stars' future and is soaking up a ton of great experience in Edmonton.

The former Blues assistant GM and minor pro journeyman is known for his patience and work ethic. He'll need both to call on both of those qualities to build a winner in the Arizona desert.

Landing Staal gives Buffalo the veteran center depth it desperately needs. There's also an ejector seat built in if the Sabres' season goes south in 2020-21.

The defenseman gets a $42-million extension, giving the Wild another big contract.

It's pretty clear that if the Islanders are going to have any chance to win the Eastern Conference final, they're going to have to play the way they did in Game 5. And many fans will have to shield their eyes.

Washington gets a Stanley Cup-winning coach to maximize their window.

It may not seem that way sometimes, but the NHL does not pull rules out of thin air. There was a very deliberate purpose to impose the puck-over-glass rule and it serves that purpose.

Stars knock off Vegas in five games thanks to resiliency, confidence - and Denis Gurianov.

The players sent a strong message with their boycott in August. The NHL laid out a detailed plan for change days later. What are the next tangible steps in carrying it out?

Lightning now one win away from Stanley Cup final thanks to top line.

A remarkable season on Long Island is about to come to an end. The difficult part now will be keeping the band together with three crucial RFAs to sign and very little cap room. Lou Lamoriello is the craftsman up for this complicated challenge.

Lou Lamoriello had never won the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award before. But that's largely because the award didn't exist before 2010.

The Isles' rugged Martin is a scoring hit, the Canucks' Demko (almost) couldn't be beat, and the Avs had the most dangerous offensive weapon in the playoffs – and it's not MacKinnon.

The Canadiens have a surplus at center, so the trade rumors make sense. But the two-way maven Danault should not be the one to go. The Habs can learn from the Ryan O'Reilly trade.

Much of the hockey world has never heard of Kim Cannon, but she was instrumental in helping Jon Cooper and Patrick Maroon reach the NHL. And when she died in a car accident Wednesday night, it devastated both of them.

Conferences are working together for what could be one of the best draft classes ever.

Tampa coach Jon Cooper did not have an update on the status of Brayden Point for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final, but if Point can't play, Cooper has a ton of confidence in his replacement.

A turbulent off-season looms for most NHL creases. Which teams in the West might have new starting netminders for 2020-21?

Tips and tricks from the New York Islanders coach on how to become a structured team.

No, it didn't. But it did give the Golden Knights the foundation for a pretty competitive team. GMs George McPhee and Kelly McCrimmon did the rest of the heavy lifting to make Vegas a perennial threat.

A turbulent off-season looms for most NHL creases. Which teams in the East might have new starting netminders for 2020-21?

Looking at the future for Tanev, Toffoli, Markstrom and more.

Steve Yzerman and Al Murray went to a WHL playoff game in 2012 to watch Morgan Rielly. But the more they watched Rielly, the more they liked Brayden Point. Luckily, a little more than the Minnesota Wild liked him.

Ryan battled his alcoholism on his own for years. Now, after getting help and working on his sobriety with his family, he's a new man.

Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes were rookie revelations in the regular season, and they lead the freshman power rankings in the post-season, too. But now that they're out, look for others to showcase their talent as first-year wonders.

The Dallas defenseman came up big in Game 1 against Vegas.

It was a Game 7 that was about as compelling as watching paint dry, but the Islanders are in their first conference final since 1993 for their ability to score goals as much as prevent them.

Did Ryan Reaves target the head of Vancouver Canuck forward Tyler Motte? Well, the league says it accepts Reaves' plea that the intent was there, but then talks about Reaves, 'picking the head with force.'