Hockey Pool Finale — How Tucker McSwain Won It All

The final horn has sounded on this year’s NHL playoff pool totals are OFFICIAL. Points are finalized. In the end, it wasn’t just about star power... it was about squeezing every last point out of the two round wonders and banking on deep playoff runs.

Standing above the rest is your 2026 champ, Tucker McSwain.

Time to close the doors to the local barn, and the NHL postseason. The hockey offseason has officially begun.

🏆 Champion’s Blueprint: How Tucker McSwain Built a Winner

Tucker McSwain's roster construction leaned heavily into a group of the most skilled goal scorers and playmakers in the NHL. The astounding fact is he won WITHOUT anyone from either Stanley Cup finalist teams; Vegas or Carolina.

🔑 The Winning Formula:

• Minnesota & Colorado Core Dominance

  • Kiril Kaprizov and Quinn Hughes with 15 points a piece

  • Nathan Mackinnon and Martin Necas with 28 points between them

  • survived an injury from superstar Avalanche D-man Cale Makar

  • overcame subpar goaltending from Scott Wedgewood from the wood brothers Avs tandem

He filled out his picks with young stars Rasmus Dahlin and Cole Caufield who both performed great in their first real playoff experiences. McSwain also survived the first round upset of the Edmonton Oilers, losing elite trio Evan Bouchard, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid on his way to victory early on. It took 116 points to win, and McSwain finished with a whopping 120 points. He will possess a bragging chip going into the next chance to take home the title and cash prize of the SportsKlub Playoff Hockey Pool.

🥈 Braeden Price’s Late Surge Falls Just Short

If the playoffs had gone one more round, we might be telling a different story.

Braeden Price stormed into second place thanks largely to one of the most impactful late-pool players:

• Shayne Gostisbehere

While others saw production taper off, Gostisbehere surged, racking up crucial points from the blue line when most defensemen among top teams were already eliminated. He finished 5th in scoring among D-Men with 12 pts and 9 on the power-play.

Price’s roster came alive late, but the early gap created by McSwain’s Wild/Avs-heavy core proved just a little too much to overcome.

A scenario where if Montreal managed potentially just one more game against Carolina, Price's duo of Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson could have made the difference. They both shared Caufield, so likely seven games in the Eastern Conference Final eludes to a different outcome. But we all know, "if if's and buts were candy and nuts, everyday would be Christmas".

🥉 Jesse Bremner’s “What If” Finish

Third place belongs to Jesse Bremner, but his story is the one that will linger.

Bremner had strong Montreal exposure with Lane Hutson, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovski that carried his team to the podium. Unfortunately, one player decision may have costed him a sure fire shot at the win: Tim Stützle

Had Bremner pivoted off Stützle for a deeper playoff asset, particularly from Vegas or Carolina, there’s a very real chance he leapfrogs both Price and McSwain. Only 8 pts separated Bremner and McSwain.

📊 NHL Playoff Leaders: The Engines Behind the Pool

Pictured above: Hurricanes Coach Rod Brind'amour holding the Stanley cup as a coach of the same team he did as captain.

Here is a more in-depth look at the breakdown of some of the names that could've gotten you closer to being victorious this year:

🥅 Scoring Leaders

• Goals: Brett Howden (VGK) – 14

• Assists: Jack Eichel (VGK) – 20

• Points: Mitch Marner (VGK) – 29

🎯 Specialty Categories

• Power Play Goals: Pavel Dorofeyev (VGK) – 5

• Game-Winners: Howden / Aho / Stankoven – 3

• Shots: Dorofeyev (VGK) – 58

• Shooting %: Howden (VGK) – 34.1%

🧠 Play Drivers

• Goals Created: Mitch Marner (VGK) – 10.4

• Goals Created/Game: Matt Boldy (MIN) – 0.49

🧱 Goaltending Backbone

• Wins / Saves / Minutes: Carter Hart (VGK)

• Shutouts: Frederik Andersen (CAR) – 3

Vegas was good and they were everywhere. They dominated for three and a half rounds.

After the abysmal first round performance by Ottawa against Carolina, a four game sweep, the biggest "what if" is if 5th place Shannon Price (108 pts) leaned into any other Atlantic division team. Being stocked with six Vegas stars and points leader Mitch Marner (29 pts), not filling out the rest of the roster with five Ottawa players easily could have added the 13 points needed to catch and surpass champion McSwain.

🧠 The Perfect Lineup: Maximum Point Build

Just for fun - If you could rebuild a perfect roster using only playoff production, here’s the optimal combination:

🔥 Forwards (6)

• Mitch Marner (VGK) - 29 pts

• Jack Eichel (VGK) - 22 pts

• Jackson Blake (CAR) - 20 pts

• Taylor Hall (CAR) - 19 pts

• Nicolaj Ehlers (CAR) - 18 pts

• Brett Howden (VGK) - 18pts

🛡️ Defense (4)

• Shea Theodore (VGK) - 18 pts

• Lane Hutson (MTL) - 16 pts

• Quinn Hughes (MIN) - 15 pts

• Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) - 14 pts

🥅 Goalie (1)

• Frederick Andersen (CAR) - 16 pts (13W/3SO)

  
  

TOTAL - 205 pts

🧾 Final Word

A massive thanks to the almost two dozen teams gunning for the win and generously donating half the pot back to SportsKlub. In a SportsKlub fundraising staple, every year is always full of surprises and unexpected performances. The pool would be nothing without everyones support. Who knows, maybe next year a return to the playoffs for teams having off years like Florida, Toronto and Winnipeg. Or teams sniffing the next step like San Jose and NY Islanders sneak in. A refreshing class of teams swooped in this year and showed anyone can make a run, but the truly battle tested teams are hardest to beat and outlast.

In a playoff pool defined by attrition, Tucker McSwain got his points early and outlasted the final two rounds.

He bet on the right teams. He mostly avoided early 1st round exits. And when it mattered most, his roster produced at optimal levels even without a player active in the finals. His stars showed up and showed out.

That’s how you win.

Congrats Tucker! See you all next spring.