Which NHL coach is on the hottest seat right now?

Is it Andrew Brunette? In his third year coaching the Nashville Predators, Brunette’s team just can’t find chemistry, despite having some terrific players on the roster.

Is it Lindy Ruff? After Kevyn Adams was fired as Buffalo Sabres GM, social media ran rampant about the possibility of new GM Jarmo Kekalainen making a change behind the bench, possibly even looking toward a certain ESPN analyst to fill the role. But the Sabres have won five straight and are deflecting that talk right now (winning cures everything, after all).

Then, there’s Toronto.

The Maple Leafs are struggling; there’s no question. After finishing first in the Atlantic Division last season, they’re near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, with 35 points through 34 games. They have allowed 113 goals, the 12th most in the league, and more surprisingly, have scored 108 goals themselves; that’s good for 15th in the NHL but much lower than their expected output (especially compared to recent seasons). The loss of Mitch Marner has certainly played a part.

But after a particularly stinging loss against the Predators, the postgame quotes painted quite an interesting picture.

“Yeah, it is. It’s mental, for sure. We’ve got to get through it,” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube told reporters. “We’ve got to get over that. We’ve got to make better decisions throughout the game.”

But then there’s this from captain Auston Matthews: “I think mentally we’re fine. I thought tonight, as s—-y as it is losing, I thought the process was better. I thought we had good energy all night. And even though you’re leaving the rink upset, not getting out of any points in tonight’s game, I think just the process that we had throughout is something that we can take and move forward.”

Are the coach and his players not on the same page?

Two quotes a fired coach does not make, but in a hockey-crazed market like Toronto, they will certainly get people asking more questions. The spotlight is simply brighter and the leeway a bit shorter.

The Leafs have lost two in a row; what if the streak reaches five? Of course, the Leafs have been hit by the injury bug — but many other teams have, too. Toronto will be an interesting team to keep an eye on in the next few weeks, especially after the holiday roster freeze lifts.

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

MONDAY

7:30 ET | NHL Network

Philly has lost four of its past five, including to the Rangers at MSG where the home team can’t buy a win this season. They face Vancouver, a team with an infusion of young talent from the Quinn Hughes trade. I’m interested to see how they jell and develop (before the next inevitable veteran trade).

TUESDAY

8 ET | ESPN+/Hulu

Speaking of Hughes, he has a goal and two assists in four games with Minnesota so far, looking dangerous with Brock Faber as the Wild’s top defensive pairing. Maybe we can get Nick Saban to join during the intermissions since he just bought a minority stake in the Predators. Hey, a guy can dream!

WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY

The NHL’s holiday break! Enjoy the time with your families.

SATURDAY

6 ET | ESPN+

The Colorado Avalanche–Vegas Golden Knights game has a lot of fire power, and Colorado still has just two regulation losses through 34 games. They are appointment viewing so long as they keep pace for the NHL season points record, which they are on pace to break.

But I like the Rangers on Long Island to face the Isles. The Blueshirts are lights-out away from home, but it will feel like a home game with the amount of Rangers fans at UBS Arena for the game. We will see how the Rangers respond to a choppy stretch that included a home win against the Flyers but also losses to Vancouver, Anaheim and Chicago.

SUNDAY

5 p.m. ET | ESPN+

Phillip Danault is back with the Canadiens — will the pizza tradition continue if they make the playoffs?

The Bolts have regressed after a hot start in late October and November; they are 3-6-1 in their past 10. Both teams are dealing with injuries. Both teams have a very viable shot of being playoff teams in an Eastern Conference that is starting to see a little separation after they were superglued together by the end of November.

What I loved this weekend

The Habs have had a goaltending conundrum this season, eventually calling up Jacob Fowler to alleviate the concerns of the play of Sam Montembeault and Jakub Dobes. The 21-year-old rookie, who played his college hockey at Boston College, earned a shutout in the fourth start of his NHL career, stopping all 31 shots the Pittsburgh Penguins sent towards goal. Fowler became the youngest Canadiens goalie with a clean sheet since Carey Price in 2007-08.

play

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens: Game Highlights

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens: Game Highlights

Speaking of young achievements on the Canadiens, Lane Hutson became the fourth fastest American defenseman to reach 100 career points (119th game), behind only Mark Howe (94), Brian Leetch (102) and Phil Housley (106).

And speaking of the Penguins, I generally love the concept of “no lead is safe,” but we’ve had two examples that won’t exactly fill the respective fan bases’ hearts with joy. Last weekend, Pittsburgh became the first team in NHL history to squander multiple three-plus-goal leads in the third period in the same season. This weekend, the Hurricanes made it back-to-back games saying goodbye to three-goal leads then losing. Ouch.

Hart Trophy candidates if the season ended today

Uh oh, Avs fans … here comes Connor McDavid!

Here I was thinking that Nathan MacKinnon would lead the way for the rest of the season while sleeping on McDavid … you just can’t do that! McDavid and MacKinnon are tied atop the points race, so they both get a Hart Trophy nod this week. Nate is on a seven-game point streak, with six points in his last three games. Connor, meanwhile, is on a nifty nine-game heater and has seven points in his past three games. This one could flip-flop like a pancake on a skillet for the rest of the season.

For that third spot, we’re taking a one-week hiatus from pushing the “goalie for Hart” narrative. Macklin Celebrini continues to shine bright like a diamond, on a team that is battling for a wild-card spot. So it’s the Return of the Mack for a Hart Trophy nod this week from me — Celebrini has 10 points in his past four games.

Social media post of the weekend

One of the most popular, fun and inventive hockey creators out there is Pavel Barber.

In the clip below, he flips a puck in the air and picks up a baseball bat to hit a home run. Is there anything this guy can’t do on the ice? (Bonus points for the GO Train speeding by as he does it; great catch.)

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Stick taps

I have a few this week. First, stick taps to one of the greatest American hockey players of all time, Hilary Knight, who announced that the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics will be her last. Knight has played 105 international games across Olympic games and World championships, winning Olympic Gold and 10 World championships (no big deal). She was a great analyst to work with at ESPN — we hosted a couple Stanley Cup Final pregame shows for international markets together.

Stick taps to Auston Matthews, who recently said that he wishes there was a season two of “The Acolyte” (same, Auston, same).

Stick taps to anniversaries! Dec. 19 marked 46 years since ESPN aired its very first NHL game, the Hartford Whalers vs. the Washington Capitals at the Springfield Civic Center. The graphics from that game are peak retro!

Happy anniversary to the @NHL on ESPN. 46 years ago today in 1979, ESPN televised its first ever NHL game… @Capitals vs. Hartford Whalers at the Springfield Civic Center.

Great trivia: the first NHL player to score a goal on ESPN was the Whalers’ RW Blaine Stoughton. 🏒 pic.twitter.com/isUSaX6EIP

— bill hofheimer (@bhofheimer_espn) December 19, 2025

South Korean infielder Sung-mun Song and the San Diego Padres finalized a $15 million, four-year contract on Sunday.

Song will receive a $1 million signing bonus in two equal installments, in 30 days and on Jan. 15, 2027, and salaries of $2.5 million next year, $3 million in 2027 and $3.5 million in 2028.

Song’s deal includes a $4 million player option for 2029 and a $7 million mutual option for 2030 with a $1 million buyout.

If Song wins a Rookie of the Year award, his salary the following season would escalate by $1 million. If he finishes among the top five in MVP voting, his salary in all remaining years of the contract would increase by $1 million each.

He will be a free agent at the end of the contract, and the team will pay for an interpreter and round trip airline tickets from South Korea.

Song hit .315 with a career-high 26 homers and 90 RBIs this year for South Korea’s Kiwoom Heroes. Primarily a third baseman, the 29-year-old left-handed hitter has a .284 average with 80 homers and 454 RBIs in nine seasons with Nexen (2015, 2017-19) and Kiwoom (2021-25).

Under MLB’s posting agreement with the Korean Baseball Organization League, the Padres will pay the Heroes a $3 million posting fee. San Diego would owe a supplemental fee of 15% of any escalators triggered.

Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami is joining the Chicago White Sox, landing the home run record-setter in Nippon Professional Baseball with a rebuilding team making its first free agent splash in years.

The White Sox announced Murakami’s addition Sunday, with sources telling ESPN the sides agreed on a two-year, $34 million contract.

Murakami, 25, was arguably the most fascinating player to hit free agency this winter. A 6-foot-2, 230-pound left-handed slugger with elite exit velocity, he was the youngest player on the market, and he now heads to Major League Baseball with 246 home runs in his eight seasons for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.

He has been a star in Japan since he hit 36 home runs as a 19-year-old in 2019. He followed that up with 56 home runs in 2022, breaking the record for a Japan-born player set in 1964 by Sadaharu Oh. Murakami, a two-time Central League MVP, missed time last season with an oblique injury but hit 22 home runs in 56 games with a .273/.379/.663 slash line.

While projections for Murakami to hit a financial jackpot preceded his free agency, concerns about his defense — he can play third base or first base — and his propensity to swing and miss at pitches in the zone caused a slower market than anticipated ahead of his 5 p.m. ET Monday deadline to sign.

Though teams tried to get in for lower-dollar long-term deals, Murakami opted for a higher-dollar short-term offering, allowing himself to prove his ability to adjust to superior MLB pitching.

Should he do so, Murakami would hit the market again at 27 and be primed to cash in on a megadeal, similar to how other free agents in recent seasons with softer-than-expected markets parlayed short-term contracts into long-term paydays.

The leap in Murakami’s strikeout rate over the past three years (over 28% each season) and his 72.6% in-zone contact rate (would have been second lowest in MLB this year) illustrate the potential downside in his offensive game. But San Francisco Giants slugger Rafael Devers remains productive with a high whiff rate, and Chicago saw the opportunity to bring in the sort of talent it typically does not have access to with a low payroll and a prospect-hoarding mentality.

Murakami’s 90th-percentile exit velocity would have been fifth in MLB, his maximum exit velocity 12th and his hard-hit rate first. For a White Sox team two years removed from the most losses in MLB history, adding Murakami to a lineup that includes promising young hitters in shortstop Colson Montgomery, catchers Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero, infielder Miguel Vargas, and second baseman Chase Meidroth brings even more hope after winning the draft lottery at the winter meetings.

The overwhelming favorite to go No. 1 in the July draft is UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, giving the White Sox a potential abundance of young infielders in the coming years.

Whether Murakami is manning first or third, he will be in the middle of a White Sox lineup in desperate need of power. With 165 home runs last season, the White Sox finished 14th of 15 American League teams, just ahead of the Kansas City Royals. In his eight seasons with the Swallows following his debut as an 18-year-old, Murakami hit .270/.394/.557 with a walk rate of greater than 16% and a strikeout rate nearing 26%.

Highlight reels of his home runs have long circulated on the internet in anticipation of Murakami’s arrival in MLB. He played a vital role in Japan’s victory in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, hammering a game-winning two-run double in the ninth inning of a semifinal win against Mexico.

Chicago saw that version of Murakami and will add him to perhaps the most uniquely constructed roster in baseball, with five players signed — Murakami, Luis Robert Jr. ($20 million), Andrew Benintendi ($17.1 million), Anthony Kay ($5 million) and Derek Hill ($900,000) — none eligible for arbitration and the remainder making around the major league minimum.

Murakami’s deal will cost the White Sox $40.575 million in total, with the Swallows receiving a $6.575 million posting fee to transfer him to Chicago.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel contributed to this report.