The first full week of March was a quieter one as teams settle in for the stretch run but there was still a fair bit of big news around the league.
Bouwmeester Out For The Year: After a lengthy losing skid and the trade of Paul Stastny to Winnipeg at the trade deadline, the Blues were already in tougher shape for making the playoffs. That path got even more challenging with the announcement that defenseman Jay Bouwmeester is out for the season with a hip injury that carries a recovery timeline of four-to-six months. 2017-18 was certainly an injury-riddled campaign for the 34-year-old as he finishes it up having played in a career-low 35 games. However, when healthy, he still logged big minutes for St. Louis and they will certainly miss his presence on the back end down the stretch.
Washington Sits Down Holtby: It’s not very often where a team in contention will announce that they’re sitting their starting goalie down late in the season but that is what happened with the Capitals and netminder Braden Holtby. Since the start of February, the 28-year-old has posted a 4.44 GAA with a .872 SV%, numbers that are well below the league average. Philipp Grubauer is poised to run with the number one spot for the time being and has fared well in his first two starts, allowing just two goals on 52 shots. Considering that he is widely expected to be traded in the summer, this is quite the opportunity for Grubauer to showcase himself to potential suitors around the league.
Francis Out As Carolina GM: New Hurricanes owner Thomas Dundon isn’t wasting much time putting his stamp on the organization. Barely a week after Carolina was largely inactive at the trade deadline, Dundon removed Ron Francis from his role as general manager and named him president of hockey operations. The move may sound like a promotion in title but Dundon stated that he wanted a new voice for personnel moves which isn’t exactly a vote of confidence for the moves (or lack thereof) that Carolina has made in recent years.
Rutta Extension: Jan Rutta’s first season in the NHL has been a solid one and the Blackhawks certainly have taken notice as they signed him to a one-year, $2.3MM contract extension. The 27-year-old has logged over 19 minutes per game this season and ranks second on Chicago in points-per-game from defensemen. The ‘Hawks now have their top-six defenders all locked up for next season at a combined cap hit of just over $20.4MM.
Whitecloud To Vegas: College free agent season is now upon us and the Golden Knights landed the first prominent player as they signed defenseman Zach Whitecloud to a three-year, entry-level contract. The 21-year-old put up 19 points in 35 games in his sophomore season at Bemidji State University and drew interest from several other teams around the league including the Kings, Lightning, and Red Wings. That may have played a role in Vegas deciding to have him skate with the big club for the rest of the regular season although it remains to be seen how much game action he will see.
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