Brent Burns leads the list of OGWAC candidates for the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs

I will never forget Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice raising 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 finally captured Lord Stanley's Mug in 2024. The most beautiful trophy in sports was passed to him mid-interview; he paused what he was saying, grabbed the Cup and lifted it, delivering one of the longest and most satisfying exhales in sports history.

Even if you weren't a Panthers fan, in that moment you were thrilled for Maurice -- a guy who devoted his life to hockey and finally achieved his dreams.

There have been a few such iconic moments in NHL history. The most famous example is Ray Bourque winning the Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001 as Joe Sakic made the most famous "pass" in hockey history, not even raising the Cup before delivering it to Bourque's awaiting hands. Lanny McDonald retired a champion with the Calgary Flames in 1989 and was the subject of my favorite hockey photo ever, a perfect example of how arduous it is to win the Cup and how blissful it feels to finally do it:

Every year, hockey fans love to identify a veteran who hasn't won the Cup yet to cheer for in the playoffs (particularly if their team doesn't make the postseason). Who has the feel-good story? Who has been in the league for so long that you believe they deserve one?

Some label it the OGWAC, or "old guy without a Cup." The same year Paul Maurice first won it in 2024, Kyle Okposo also was one of the strongest OGWAC candidates. He won his first Cup with the Cats after an 18-year career with the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres.

Here are my OGWAC picks for this season as we march toward the Stanley Cup playoffs:

Brent Burns
D, Colorado Avalanche

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 lot of OGWAC votes as one of the few NHL players over 40.

The good news for Burns is that he plays for the Avalanche, the team 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 team that just couldn't get over the hump. Now, he's a candidate to finally get a Cup while skating with the best team in the NHL.

Nick Foligno, Marcus Foligno
Fs, Minnesota Wild

What a story this would be.

Although Nick Foligno has captained two NHL clubs (Columbus then Chicago), he hasn't played north of 10 playoff games in one season. He was part of that record-setting Boston Bruins roster in 2023 that dramatically lost in the first round to the Panthers. While playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, he was the first guy to drop the gloves with Corey Perry after Perry landed an accidental but damaging knee on a prone John Tavares during the playoffs. Simply put, Nick is one of the great leaders in sports of our generation.

Now the 38-year-old, for the first time ever, is on the same team as his younger brother (34). They're part of a stacked Wild team that is looking for its first Stanley Cup in franchise history. The image of the Foligno brothers hoisting Lord Stanley's Mug in the air would be an all-time hockey photo.

Jamie Benn
F, Dallas Stars

The captain of the Stars also gets the "spent his entire NHL career with the same team" vote, truly becoming the heartbeat of the Stars' franchise. He's relatively young compared with some on this list, but the 36-year-old signed a one year, $1 million deal this past offseason to get another run at the Cup with Dallas. This would also produce a cathartic moment should the Stars win, since as captain Benn would be the one skating to the commissioner to grab the trophy first.

Benn captained the team to the Cup Final in 2020 and to conference finals runs in the past three seasons. Not many hockey fans would be disappointed seeing Benn raise the Cup.

Ryan Reaves
F, San Jose Sharks

"Reavo" will certainly gain votes from fans of his former teams for how much he has stuck up for star players in seasons past -- and continues to do so for Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and the other young Sharks this season.

Reaves, 39, scored the Western Conference finals-clinching goal for Vegas in 2018, sending the Golden Knights to the Cup Final; they ultimately lost to the Washington Capitals (giving Alex Ovechkin his first Stanley Cup).

The Sharks are fun to watch and firmly occupy that "second-favorite team" position for many hockey fans. So if San Jose does make a push and secures a playoff spot, it will no doubt get a lot of love, with Reaves earning some of the OGWAC vote.

Mats Zuccarello
F, Minnesota Wild

Yes, the Wild have multiple candidates on the list!

In 2014, Zuccarello became the first NHL player from Norway to play in the Stanley Cup Final, in a losing effort for the New York Rangers. Although we are seven years removed from his last game in a Broadway Blueshirt, some Rangers fans still hold a soft spot for Zucc and would love to see him win the Cup.

I imagine that in the order of who gets to house the Cup first, Zuccarello might be at the front of the line on the Wild, right after captain Jared Spurgeon. Nick Foligno would probably be right behind Mats (Zucc wins out due to Minnesota tenure and both being similar in age -- that would be my guess).

Honorable mentions

Jeff Skinner
Free agent forward

I must add Skinner to this list. The 33-year-old free agent is eligible to join an NHL team for a playoff push. Don't let his relative age to the others on this list fool you -- he definitely has the sentimental vote.

Skinner set the record as the first NHL player in history to play at least 1,000 regular-season games before appearing in his first postseason game. He started in the league in 2010 and waited until 15 years later to suit up for the Oilers for their push to the Cup Final. Skinner played five games and put up a goal and an assist, also playing in three Cup Final games in Edmonton's loss to Florida.

But if a team does pick him up and go on a run, it will be one heck of a story and a lot of hockey fans will jump on the Skinner bandwagon.

And although ineligible for the OGWAC classification, two other players who would certainly get attention chasing a Cup this spring are:

• Corey Perry. This is simply due to the fact that although Perry, who is 40, won a Cup with the Ducks back in 2007, he has lost in the Cup Final in five of the past 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 past few seasons for McDavid, 29, simply because he's the best hockey player on the planet. The NHL's most team-friendly contract he signed in the fall is also a big factor in those high expectations.

Jump ahead:
Games of the week
What I loved this weekend
Hart Trophy candidates
Social post of the week
Stick taps

Biggest games of the week

This week, I'm locked in on two teams chasing a playoff berth after missing for the past few years:

The Columbus Blue Jackets sit one point back in the East wild-card race -- but would 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 before heading to Long Island to meet the New York Islanders on Sunday.

A win streak here would be quite beneficial, as they look to catch the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings while staving off the teams behind them as well.

The San Jose Sharks climbed into the second West wild-card spot over the weekend; imagine an Avalanche-Sharks first-round matchup! That would be a joy to watch.

Macklin Celebrini & Co. visit the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday before hosting the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday and Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Those are two tough games against playoff-bound clubs, and then they'll face a team begging for points at this point in the season.

Hart Trophy contenders if the season ended today

I'm starting to wonder how many Hart Trophy votes players such as Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Schaefer will get for how valuable they've been to their team. Maybe winning the Calder will be enough in the voters' eyes for Schaefer, and even if the Sharks claim a postseason spot, Celebrini might not clear the sheer volume of points that the big three have (even though he's a major reason the Sharks would make the playoffs in the first place).

My list remains unchanged, but wavering; I'm a big "literal definition of the Hart trophy" guy, and I'm monitoring the standings for that reason.

Connor McDavid has 111 points, including six points in his past five games, as the Oilers battle for the Pacific Division lead.

Nathan MacKinnon is at 109, with 12 points in seven games during March, including a four-point night against Seattle on Thursday, and the Avs remain on top of the entire league standings.

Nikita Kucherov is the only other player with north of 100 points in the NHL this season (106), and he had the most points in his past five games of the big three (10). The Lightning are four points back of the Sabres on top of the Atlantic Division.

What I loved this weekend

The Sabres and Maple Leafs are going in opposite directions. The Sabres are a "wagon" and likely playoff bound (finally!), while the Leafs are deliberating various stages of a rebuild/retool/revamp.

Ahead of the Sabres-Leafs matchup Saturday in Buffalo, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff was asked about the status of the long-standing tradition of hockey fans in Toronto buying up Sabres home game tickets (even against non-Toronto teams) given the new dynamic, which elicited a funny response from Ruff:

With the Leafs and Sabres having somewhat opposite seasons, Lindy Ruff was hoping Leafs fans might be willing to sell their tickets to Sabres fans in Buffalo 😂 pic.twitter.com/iPMmIbl3fB

Social media post of the weekend

Team USA's official X account put out a preview post for Sunday's gold medal sled hockey game against Canada and called the feud "Seated Rivalry," an homage to the popular show "Heated Rivalry" on HBO. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap.

Appointment television. 🍿#WinterParalympics pic.twitter.com/lh0DWUc3qQ

Stick taps

Congratulations to the under-10 C2-2 Kirkwood Stars from the Kirkwood Youth Hockey Organization in the St. Louis area, winners of the Blue Note Cup in 2026!

No. 56 Adeline McKenna is on the team; her father is former NHL goaltender Mike McKenna, who is also part of the Kirkwood coaching staff.

The team entered the competition with the No. 3 seed, had to win three games in a row to take the trophy and did, including a 4-3 victory over Lady Liberty.

"The improvement throughout the season was incredible," coach McKenna said. "[We had] four players that came from the Learn to Play program. ... They took off and became outstanding players."

Go Stars!