The final full week of June has come and gone with the Stanley Cup Final being set between Montreal and Tampa Bay. Meanwhile, there was some notable news off the ice as well which is highlighted in the key stories of the week.
Gunnarsson Retires: Veteran defenseman Carl Gunnarsson has decided to call it a career at the age of 34. A right knee injury limited him to just a dozen games with the Blues this season so his career wraps up with 138 points in 629 regular season games between Toronto and St. Louis. Of course, he’ll best be remembered by St. Louis fans for his game-winning overtime goal in the second game of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. It winds up being his only postseason tally in 82 games but it was certainly a critical one as it helped lead the Blues to the title.
Armia Enters COVID Protocol: The Canadiens could be without winger Joel Armia for the Stanley Cup Final as he has entered COVID protocol. The 28-year-old missed more than two weeks back in March following a positive test and if he has indeed tested positive again (more information is expected on Monday), he’ll miss the entire series. Armia has been an important piece of their surprising run, tying for the team lead in goals with five, including a pair of shorthanded tallies. Meanwhile, Montreal will soon get their head coach back as Dominique Ducharme will return for the third game of the series after testing positive for the virus last round.
Hakstol Hired: There were several different coaches linked to Seattle but Dave Hakstol wasn’t one of them. However, in the end, he was GM Ron Francis’ pick as the Kraken’s inaugural head coach after a lengthy search. This will be Hakstol’s second go-round as an NHL head coach as he spent three years behind the bench with Philadelphia; while they made the playoffs twice in that span, they were also eliminated in the first round both times. He spent the last two years as an assistant with Toronto and has head coaching experience in the NCAA and USHL as well. Francis wanted someone with NHL experience and while Hakstol was certainly under the radar, he is certainly an intriguing hire for the expansion franchise.
Exempt From Expansion: The NHL released the list of players who have medically been ruled exempt from the upcoming expansion draft. These are players who are not expected to play again due to long-term or chronic injury and features some that have effectively retired such as Chicago’s Brent Seabrook and Andrew Shaw and players that haven’t played in several years including Tampa Bay’s Marian Gaborik and Arizona’s Marian Hossa. Vancouver’s Micheal Ferland is one that’s still under contract and a return hasn’t been ruled out that was deemed exempt from selection as is Winnipeg’s Bryan Little although a return for him remains highly unlikely at this point.
Kurvers Passes Away: Minnesota assistant GM Tom Kurvers passed away at the age of 58 following a valiant battle with lung cancer. He was diagnosed more than two years ago but retailed his role in the front office during that time. Kurvers had an 11-year NHL playing career, suiting up in 659 games with seven different franchises before beginning an even longer journey off the ice. From 1998 through to this past week, he worked in several different capacities, working his way up from a scout to an assistant GM, making him a hockey lifer.
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