2018 was quite a busy year in the hockey world. There were several big trades and free agent signings, plenty of changes behind the bench, and much more. Over the coming days, PHR will continue its look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis. Next up is a look back at November, a month that saw plenty of changes made around the league.
Coaching Changes: Last season, there weren’t any in-season coaching changes. That’s not the case in 2018-19. Four different teams opted to change things up behind the bench. The Kings replaced John Stevens with former Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins, the Blackhawks relieved Joel Quenneville of his duties and replaced him with Jeremy Colliton, the Oilers brought Ken Hitchcock out of retirement to take Todd McLellan’s spot, and the Blues promoted Craig Berube in place of Mike Yeo. It’s at least worth noting that only Chicago’s hire is likely to be a long-term one; Los Angeles and St. Louis placed interim tags on their new coaches while Hitchcock was billed as a possible interim option for the rest of the season as well if they don’t get back on track. Aside from an early spark from the Oilers, none of these coaching changes drastically improved the fortunes of their respective teams.
Wilson’s Suspension Reduced: Although Gary Bettman upheld Capitals winger Tom Wilson’s suspension in October, it was reduced by six games by arbitrator Shyam Das from 20 to 14. Interestingly enough, 16 games had already passed by this point in time but Wilson at least got to keep the salary he would have otherwise forfeited. When he has been in the lineup, the 24-year-old has been quite productive this year, tallying 11 goals and 19 points in just 21 games.
Blackhawks-Coyotes Swap: Arizona and Chicago swapped young players as the Coyotes dealt Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini to the Blackhawks for Nick Schmaltz. Strome, the third overall pick back in 2015, did not live up to expectations in the desert and was holding down a minor role while Perlini had taken a step back. However, Strome has fared a lot better since the trade with the Blackhawks, collecting 13 points in 19 games. As for Schmaltz, he was the most proven commodity in the trade and put up 52 points in Chicago last year. Things weren’t going as well for him this season though before the move but he too has benefitted from the change of scenery, collecting 14 points in 17 contests. Both teams are hopeful that they’ve found a long-term fixture down the middle with this move.
Hextall Fired: In a move that came as a surprise to many, the Flyers fired general manager Ron Hextall. Team president Paul Holmgren cited a difference in philosophical approach as a reason for the move, leading to plenty of speculation that Philadelphia will be more aggressive on the trade front compared to Hextall’s slow build methodology. He leaves the Flyers with a strong pipeline of prospects in the system and a pretty clean salary cap situation but at the same time, the team was often viewed as an underachiever during his tenure.
Extensions: The Lightning are facing a looming salary cap crunch but that didn’t stop them from locking up another cog in their attack as they inked Yanni Gourde to a six-year, $31MM extension. The 27-year-old didn’t establish himself as a full-time NHL player until last season where he posted 64 points and is off to another strong start in 2018-19. If he can keep up this pace, this could be a below-market deal fairly quickly. Meanwhile, the Coyotes celebrated Jakob Chychrun’s return to the lineup with a six-year extension of their own, one that was worth $26.7MM. The 16th pick back in 2016 has impressed over his first few seasons and, when healthy, is a key part of their back end. However, staying in the lineup has proven to be difficult so far so while the AAV is more than reasonable for a top-four defender, there is some risk involved as well because of the injury history.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.