Matthew Schaefer

NEW YORK — Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders is the unanimous winner of the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year.

The league surprised him with the award Wednesday.

Schaefer, the No. 1 pick in the draft, was the Calder front-runner from just about the time he made his debut on opening night at Pittsburgh. He scored 23 goals to tie Brian Leetch’s record for the most by a rookie defenseman and finished with 59 points.

The 18-year-old became the face of the Islanders franchise and helped them make a playoff push before falling short in the final couple of weeks of the regular season. He received all 198 first-place Calder votes.

Montreal’s Ivan Demidov was second and Anaheim’s Bennett Sennecke third.

Leafs fire Berube

TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs fired coach Craig Berube on Wednesday, John Chayka’s first major move since taking over as general manager following the team finishing last and missing the playoffs for the first time in a decade.

The move ended Berube’s two-year run with the Maple Leafs. They had 108 points in 2024-25 and reached the second round of the playoffs before struggling this past season.

McNabb suspended

NEW YORK — Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb was suspended for Game 6 of the team’s second-round playoff series at Anaheim tonight for his late hit that injured Ducks center Ryan Poehling.

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced the suspension Wednesday, hours after holding a disciplinary hearing with him about the hit.

McNabb was given a 5-minute major penalty for interference and ejected 9 minutes into Game 5 on Tuesday night. While the hit was shoulder to shoulder, it came long after the puck was gone.

Avs advance

DENVER — Brett Kulak scored 3:52 into overtime after Nathan MacKinnon tied it late in regulation and the Colorado Avalanche advanced to the Western Conference final with a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

Kulak capped a wild comeback for the Avalanche, who trailed 3-0 midway through the second period. Colorado moves on to the conference final for an eighth time since relocating to Denver in 1995-96.

The Avalanche will face the winner of Vegas and Anaheim. The Golden Knights lead that series 3-2.