After a relatively quiet first week of February, there were several big headlines around the NHL over the past seven days which our highlighted in our key stories of the week.
Virtanen On The Block: It has been a tough season for Canucks winger Jake Virtanen. Despite getting a two-year, $5.1MM deal over the offseason, his hold on a full-time spot always seemed tenuous. His early-season performance (just one goal in 13 games) has had him as a healthy scratch already and it appears that GM Jim Benning is open to giving him a change of scenery as he is being shopped around the league. Still just 24, Virtanen had a career year last season with 18 goals and 18 assists in 69 games and has the ability to be an effective middle-six forward. However, his consistent inconsistency and slow start have Benning trying to make a deal when his value is rather low.
Pittsburgh Hires: The Penguins were looking to move quickly to find former GM Jim Rutherford’s replacement and they did just that. However, they didn’t just find a new GM in Ron Hextall, they also added a new President of Hockey Operations in Brian Burke. Hextall comes over from Los Angeles where he was working in their front office but he was at the helm of the Flyers from 2013-2018. Burke, meanwhile, last served in the NHL as Calgary’s President of Hockey Operations, leaving that post also in 2018. Patrik Allvin had been serving as interim GM during the search and will now resume his old role.
Senators-Hurricanes Swap: Carolina and Ottawa decided to swap some underachieving veterans with the Sens bringing back winger Ryan Dzingel in exchange for winger Alex Galchenyuk and center Cedric Paquette. Dzingel had two straight 20-goal seasons with Ottawa but has struggled away from the Senators over the past two years, notching just 14 goals in 96 games with Columbus and Carolina. Paquette had seen limited playing time in Ottawa after coming over in a salary cap-motivated move from Tampa Bay but should factor into Carolina’s fourth line before too long. As for Galchenyuk, his immediate future is in question as the 2012 third-overall pick was waived by the Hurricanes today. If he isn’t claimed, he’ll likely wind up on their taxi squad.
Changes In Arizona: It wasn’t that long ago that John Chayka left Arizona’s front office, abruptly resigning his role as GM. Steve Sullivan took over on an interim basis before Bill Armstrong was brought in. Now, Sullivan is out as well as he was fired by the team who also announced that the position will not be filled this season. Sullivan had been with the Coyotes since 2014 in a variety of roles but will now be looking for opportunities elsewhere.
Koivu Retires: Mikko Koivu’s time away from Minnesota was short-lived. After struggling in the early going this season with Columbus as he worked his way back from a battle with COVID-19, the 37-year-old decided to call it a career, announcing his retirement. Koivu was a key two-way center for the Wild for many years and leaves with 1,035 career NHL regular season games, all but seven of which were with Minnesota and is one of only 150 players in league history with at least 500 career assists. While the Blue Jackets gave Koivu a one-year, $1.5MM contract, it won’t count on their books for the remainder of the season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.