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Five Key Stories: 10/30/23 – 11/5/23

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As the calendar turned to November, there was plenty of news of note across the NHL which is recapped in our key stories.

Senators Out A First-Round Pick And A GM: Back at the 2022 trade deadline, a move that would have sent Evgenii Dadonov from Vegas to Anaheim was vetoed after the fact when it was revealed the Ducks were on his no-trade list.  The Golden Knights weren’t aware of that fact, resulting in them asking the league to look into it.  That investigation is now complete and they came down hard on Ottawa, who had dealt the winger to Vegas the previous offseason.  It was determined that they withheld the no-trade details during the trade call and as punishment, they will be required to forfeit a first-round pick in 2024, 2025, or 2026.  It’s their choice as to which year they opt to forfeit and it must be their own selection, not one they acquired from another team (such as the one they received from Detroit in the Alex DeBrincat trade).

New owner Michael Andlauer decided that this was the final straw for GM Pierre Dorion.  While initially termed as a firing, Dorion officially resigned his position.  He was at the helm in Ottawa since 2016 and helped bring in top young talents like Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson, and Brady Tkachuk to the fold but more recently, he’ll be remembered for creating an unworkable cap situation that limited them from re-signing Shane Pinto before his gambling suspension.  Steve Staios, who just joined the organization a little over a month ago, will serve as interim GM.

Four For McAvoy: Boston’s back end took a big short-term hit as defenseman Charlie McAvoy received a four-game suspension for an illegal check to the head on Panthers defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson that saw him receive a match penalty at the time.  The 25-year-old had gotten off to a strong start to his year with eight points in nine games but that’s on hold for now.  With Ekman-Larsson returning to Florida’s lineup quickly, McAvoy has appealed the ban, a move that doesn’t typically happen too often (although Rasmus Andersson went that route last month with no success).  Since it’s under six games, the appeal will be heard by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

Backstrom Takes A Leave: Long-time Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom underwent hip resurfacing surgery back in June 2022 but returned to the lineup earlier than expected.  He made it through training camp and the first few weeks of this season but has decided to take an indefinite leave of absence from the team while he determines his next steps.  The 35-year-old has spent the entirety of his 17-year NHL career with Washington and sits second to Alex Ovechkin for the most points in franchise history; it remains to be seen if he’ll return to add to his 1,033 career points.  Backstrom is signed through next season with a $9.2MM AAV so retirement won’t be on the table but he has already been placed on injured reserve and will likely be shifted to LTIR at some point.

Talks On Hold: Not long ago, it looked like the Flames were making progress on extension talks with prominent pending unrestricted free agents Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm.  However, with the team off to a rough start this season, sitting just 3-7-1, those discussions are now on hold.  If GM Craig Conroy determines that the team isn’t as close to winning as he originally hoped, it’s possible that he turns around and becomes a seller at which point locking up his two key UFAs could work against him.  For now, it appears it will be a wait-and-see approach to see if Calgary can turn things around but they’ll need to show some progress sooner than later.

Hanging Them Up: Veteran center Paul Stastny has decided to call it a career, announcing his retirement at the age of 37.  The 2005 second-round pick played in 17 seasons at the top level with five different teams including eight years with Colorado who originally drafted him.  In his prime, Stastny was a quality two-way middleman who was above average at the faceoff dot throughout his career.  He hangs up his skates with 293 goals and 529 assists in 1,145 career regular season games; his 822 points rank him in 20th place among U.S.-born players in NHL history.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Andrew Mangiapane Receives One-Game Suspension

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6:00 PM: The verdict is in and Mangiapane has been assessed a one-game suspension.  In the video, it’s noted that the league accepted Mangiapane’s contention that he wasn’t intending to drive McCann’s head into the ice and acknowledged that the Flames forward didn’t use his full extension of arms or body weight.  However, he was deemed to have full body control, resulting in the decision to suspend him.  This is the first suspension of his career and he will forfeit just over $30K in salary.

12:05 PM: The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has announced that Calgary Flames forward Andrew Mangiapane will have a hearing today for cross-checking forward Jared McCann in last night’s game against the Seattle Kraken.

The incident in question occurred at a chaotic moment during yesterday’s 6-3 Flames victory, wherein Mangiapane and other Flames players were making a push in the offensive zone, trying to get a goal past a scrambling Seattle netminder.

Mangiapane fired a backhander towards an open net that was promptly blocked by McCann, who as part of his block slid towards Mangiapane. The puck appeared to stay with McCann after the block, and, in his search for the puck under McCann, Mangiapane delivered a cross-check to the head/neck area of McCann.

McCann immediately recoiled, a whistle was blown, and Mangiapane was assessed a match penalty with a standard 15 penalty minutes added to his record. Now, Mangiapane is facing supplemental discipline by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety and could end up missing games for the Flames.

Any Mangiapane suspension would be a major blow to the Flames, who count on the 27-year-old as one of their more consistent scorers. Mangiapane currently ranks second on the Flames with seven points in 11 games, and losing him for any amount of time would make it even more difficult for the team to climb out of the 3-7-1 hole it has found itself in to start the season.

Penguins Injury Notes: Poulin, Puustinen, Sparks

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have had a rocky start to the season and were possibly eyeing some reinforcements for a fourth line that has been unable to generate anything thus far this season. Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey is reporting that the team received some unfortunate news today on the injury front as a couple of possible call-ups are hurt and will be out week to week.

Sam Poulin received an extended look at Penguins training camp and was likely one of the first players in line for an NHL call-up. But, unfortunately for the 22-year-old center, it appears he will be out of action week to week with a lower-body injury. Poulin missed a good portion of last season to focus on his mental health and came back this year looking stronger than ever. His positive play hasn’t translated to his offensive numbers as he has just a goal and an assist in five AHL games, but he remains one of the Penguins’ best call-up options in the AHL and could receive a promotion when he returns to action.

In other Penguins injury notes:

  • Valtteri Puustinen is also out week to week for the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins according to Androckitis. The 24-year-old was another Penguins forward who had a strong showing at training camp and could have likely cracked the lineup if it weren’t for his contract status. Puustinen is out with an upper-body injury, which when added to Poulin’s injury could leave the Penguins with very few call-up options should they decide to make the move for fourth-line reinforcements from internally.
  • Finally, Androckitis is reporting that Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins netminder Garret Sparks will be out of action week to week after suffering a lower-body injury. The 30-year-old goaltender signed a one-year AHL contract with the Baby Penguins in the offseason and has dressed in just one game so far this year. The Penguins signed several goaltenders with NHL experience in the offseason to try and build up depth at the position for circumstances such as this. Sparks backstopped the Toronto Marlies to a Calder Cup in 2018 on top of playing 40 career NHL games.

Five Key Stories: 10/23/23 – 10/29/23

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The week around the hockey world ended in tragedy, with former Penguins center Adam Johnson passing away.  Meanwhile, it was a busy week across the NHL which is recapped in our key stories.

Draft Changes: A majority of teams have told the league that they would like to decentralize the draft, meaning teams would no longer send large contingents to the draft city and that it would work more like the drafts of the other major league sports.  With that, the NHL’s intention is now to switch formats no later than 2025 with 2024 not being ruled out either.  In our current reader poll, it’s fair to say that this change is not exactly a popular one.

Lots Of Injuries: It has been a tough week on the injury front across the league.  Blackhawks winger Taylor Hall’s shoulder injury isn’t getting better so he’s now on IR and listed as week-to-week.  That’s the same designation for Coyotes winger Jason Zucker who is dealing with a lower-body issue.  At one point, it seemed like Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce was going to be out long-term.  While that’s not the case, he underwent surgery on a lower-body injury and will miss two to four weeks.  Meanwhile, Canadiens blueliner David Savard and Senators rearguard Thomas Chabot both sustained fractured hands that will likely keep them out of their respective lineups until sometime in December.

Pinto Suspension: The bad news in Ottawa didn’t stop with Chabot as the NHL announced that unsigned center Shane Pinto has received a 41-game suspension for activities relating to sports wagering, to quote its press release.  The exact nature of the violation was not revealed publicly with the league noting that Pinto did not bet on NHL games.  The Sens have since rescinded all of their previous contract offers to Pinto, who is now almost certain to sign a low-cost, one-year deal once he is cleared to return in mid-January.  While there is a December 1st deadline for unsigned restricted free agents to sign deals, that rule will be waived for Pinto and the Sens.  Instead of Ottawa potentially getting him back in a week or two, it’ll now be a few more months before that happens.

Retirements: A trio of long-time NHL forwards hung up their skates.  First, after failing to catch on with Anaheim in training camp, winger Zack Kassian retired at the age of 32.  The 13th pick in 2009 played in 661 games over parts of a dozen seasons, collecting 203 points, 913 penalty minutes, and 1,360 hits.  Long-time Montreal center Tomas Plekanec was next to retire; he had been playing for his hometown team in Czechia but suffered an early injury that ended his season prematurely.  The 40-year-old played in 1,001 NHL games, all but 17 of which came with the Canadiens.  Lastly, Joe Thornton officially called it a career at the age of 44.  The top pick back in 1997 last played in 2021-22 and he amassed over 1,500 points in 1,714 games over parts of 24 NHL seasons.  He currently sits 12th in league history in points and sixth in games played.

Bowness Steps Away: The Jets are currently without head coach Rick Bowness as he has taken a leave of absence to be with his wife who suffered a seizure and was hospitalized earlier in the week.  Bowness is in his second season behind the bench in Winnipeg and obviously, there is no timetable for his return.  Associate coach Scott Arniel, who has head coaching experience from his time with Columbus a little more than a decade ago, is currently serving as their interim bench boss.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Adam Johnson Passes Away

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Former NHL forward Adam Johnson has tragically passed away after suffering a major medical emergency during a game last night with the EIHL’s Nottingham Panthers. Nottingham confirmed his passing this morning after Johnson suffered a cut during a game against the Sheffield Steelers last night. The 29-year-old was attended to by medical personnel as fans were asked to leave the arena after the incident had occurred. A statement from Johnson’s former NHL team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, can be found here.

The unfortunate sequence of events started with a collision at center ice that caused Johnson to suffer an injury to his throat. The players from both teams formed a circle around him before screens were brought onto the ice as paramedics attended to him. This morning the Panthers released an official statement saying:

The Nottingham Panthers are truly devastated to announce that Adam Johnson has tragically passed away following a freak accident at the game in Sheffield last night. The club will dearly miss him and will never forget him. Adam, our number 47, was not only an outstanding ice hockey player but also a great team-mate and an incredible person with his whole life ahead of him.

The full statement is available here.

Johnson was born in Minnesota and was in his first season in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) after joining the Panthers this offseason. He began playing as a professional in 2017 after spending two years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he won an NCHC championship in 2017. He spent the first three years of his pro career with the Penguins organization and did dress in some NHL games with the club, posting a goal and three assists in 13 games spread over two NHL seasons. In his AHL career, Johnson dressed in 257 career AHL games with the Ontario Reign, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He registered 50 career AHL goals and 87 assists.

Former NHLer Matt Cullen told Rob Rossi of The Athletic that Johnson was “An unreal kid, just a great guy. A salt-of-the-earth kind of guy. So humble and a very easy person to be around. He’s one of those guys who just loves the game and being around the rink with the guys.”

PHR joins the entire hockey world in mourning the passing of Adam Johnson. Our condolences to the Johnson family and all of his teammates, friends, and peers.

Tomáš Plekanec Announces Retirement

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1001-game NHL veteran Tomáš Plekanec has announced his retirement from the game, via Czech journalist Matěj Hejda. Citing health issues as the reason for his decision, Plekanec ends his playing career several years removed from his last NHL game, after three full, highly productive seasons playing in the Czech Extraliga.

A third-round pick of the Canadiens at the 2001 NHL draft, the versatile center would become one of the faces of the Canadiens franchise in the team’s post-lockout era. After back-to-back AHL All-Star campaigns, Plekanec broke into the league at the age of 23, scoring 29 points in 67 games.

Early in his career, Plekanec was defined by how quickly he climbed the Canadiens’ depth chart.

In his age-24 season, Plekanec scored 20 goals and 47 points, beginning to establish himself as a true top-six center in the NHL.

In his age-25 season, Plekanec had soared to 29 goals and 69 points, a performance that helped the Canadiens to the second round of the playoffs and earned him a third-place Selke Trophy vote.

In 2009-10, Plekanec had the best season of his career, scoring 25 goals and 70 points. He was the top scorer on an underdog Canadiens team that took out two heavyweight Eastern Conference contenders en route to the Conference Finals, helping the Canadiens on their deepest playoff run since their 1993 Stanley Cup championship.

That playoff run marked the beginning of a competitive era for the Canadiens that included three division titles and another run to the Eastern Conference Finals.

By 2017-18, the Canadiens’ decline had mirrored Plekanec’s fading on-ice value, and near the end of that season the Canadiens made the shocking move of trading their beloved two-way center to their arch-nemesis Toronto Maple Leafs.

Plekanec spent a short period of the following campaign with the Canadiens, a move that allowed him to play his 1,000th NHL game with the team before departing for Czechia. This season has been Plekanec’s third as captain of Rytíři Kladno, a team he has also led in scoring during that span.

Beyond just his consistently strong NHL career as a member of the Canadiens, Plekanec also had a highly respectable international career.

He represented Czechia at two World Junior Championships, eleven IIHF Men’s World Championships, and two Winter Olympics.

A valuable leader, Plekanec had the honor of captaining Czechia on multiple occasions, including at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Although a gold medal eluded him as team captain, he won the gold at the 2001 World Juniors and also took home two bronze medals and a silver at the World Championships.

Although it’s unfortunate that health issues have ended Plekanec’s career before he might have wanted to hang up his skates, he nonetheless ends his professional career with so much to be proud of.

He wasn’t the flashiest player, but he was a consistent two-way force. Sporting his signature turtleneck, Plekanec was one of the faces of the most competitive era of hockey in recent Montreal Canadiens history. We at PHR would like to extend our best wishes to Plekanec and his family as he begins his retirement.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. 

Arizona Coyotes Recall Jan Jeník

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The Arizona Coyotes have recalled forward Jan Jeník from their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. Jeník was originally sent down on Wednesday but now he returns to the NHL roster in advance of tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Kings.

PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan wrote on X that Jeník’s recall was likely made for the purpose of him serving as the club’s spare forward for tonight’s game.

Coyotes head coach André Tourigny told the media today that forward Lawson Crouse is sick and is unlikely to play in tonight’s game. So with Crouse likely to miss the contest, veteran Zach Sanford will most probably draw into the lineup in Crouse’s place.

Sanford’s move into the nightly lineup necessitates this Jeník recall so that the team can have an extra forward on its roster as a precaution. The cost of this to the larger Coyotes organization is that Jeník won’t be able to appear with the Roadrunners in their game today against the Bakersfield Condors.

Jeník, 23, has scored at an almost point-per-game rate in Tucson since 2021-22, so not having him in their lineup is a major loss for the Roadrunners.

But the NHL club and its chase of a Central Division playoff spot is of the utmost importance, and this recall gives Tourigny an extra option to work with as he looks to put together a winning formula for tonight’s game against the Kings.

Zack Kassian Announces Retirement

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Zack Kassian has officially ended his playing career, according to a release from the NHLPA.

As part of the release, Kassian issued a statement which reads:

To play in the NHL is one thing, but to make a 12-year career of it is pretty special. From coaches to equipment staff and fellow players I’ve met along the way, I’ve made so many relationships that are going to last a lifetime.

Kassian, 32, signed a PTO with the Anaheim Ducks in August with the hope of making the team and earning a full-time NHL deal.

He ended up released from the PTO, though, and rather than potentially play in the AHL or Europe (which may have been options open to him) Kassian has instead decided to hang up his skates.

The 13th overall pick of the 2009 NHL draft, Kassian’s career was defined by ups and downs. While he never quite became the impactful prototypical power forward at the NHL level that he was drafted to become, he still had a respectable 661-game NHL career with some memorable moments.

A two-time 15-goal scorer, Kassian scored a total of 92 goals and 203 points in his career, to go alongside 913 penalty minutes.

He played in the playoffs in six of his twelve seasons in the NHL and created some memories for Oilers fans in particular, such as with this memorable goal against the Anaheim Ducks in the 2017 Western Conference Semifinals.

Beyond just the NHL, Kassian was an accomplished junior player. Not only did he represent Canada at an IIHF Men’s World Junior Championship tournament, he also took home an OHL championship and a Memorial Cup title.

While Kassian slowed down considerably in recent years (he scored two points in 51 games last season) he did manage to carve out a steady role in the NHL for more than a decade, which is an impressive feat.

We at PHR would like to extend our best wishes to Kassian as enters his retirement.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Penguins Rookie John Ludvig Leaves Game

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that defenseman John Ludvig will not return to tonight’s game against the Dallas Stars. The 23-year-old rookie left the game with an injury after laying a hit on Dallas forward Radek Faksa. The two men appeared to bump heads at high speed as Ludvig stepped up to complete a check. Faksa was able to bounce back up from the hit while Ludvig fell to the ice face-first and did not move.

The good news is that Ludvig was able to leave the ice under his own power, however, the Kamloops, British Columbia native didn’t look steady on his skates as he was escorted by teammates to the bench. It was a sad ending to what was a special night for Ludvig as tonight’s game was his NHL debut.

Ludvig spent three years in the AHL after being drafted in the third round of the 2019 NHL entry draft by the Florida Panthers. The Penguins claimed him off waivers prior to the start of the season and have kept him with the big club, although he had only practiced with the team prior to tonight. Today he was inserted into the lineup to replace healthy scratch Chad Ruhwedel.

The Penguins have offered no update on Ludvig’s condition yet and are saying that they will provide updates at a later time. The young defender had shown aggressiveness and physicality during his limited time on the ice, and it was something the Penguins desperately needed to add to their lineup. Hopefully, for both Ludvig and the Penguins he will be okay and able to get back into the lineup sooner than later.

Poll: Which Is The Most Surprising Team To Start The Year?

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A little over a week and a half into the 2023-24 NHL season, it’s still tough to gauge for most teams where they will end up in the standings in April. Between teams reaching well beyond expectations, and other teams reaching well short, there have been a handful of surprises out of the gate.

By far and away the team most dramatically outperforming expectations is the Detroit Red Wings. Led by Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin, the Red Wings bring a 5-1-0 record into tonight’s game against the Seattle Kraken, looking to extend their winning streak to six games. Detroit had primarily been projected as a fringe playoff candidate coming out of the Eastern Conference this year, but with DeBrincat and Larkin one and two in league scoring, respectively, and the Red Wings leading the entire NHL in GF/G, their offense could easily carry them to postseason hockey.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Edmonton Oilers have failed to deliver on some lofty expectations coming into this season. After finishing sixth in the league standings last year thanks to a generational season by superstar Connor McDavid, as well as losing to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions in back-to-back postseasons, the Oilers were considered the third likeliest team to win the Cup by Vegas oddsmakers. Nevertheless, the team has gotten off to a 1-3-1 start, in large part due to the subpar play of their defensive core and goaltenders.

In a similar vein to the Oilers, the Carolina Hurricanes had incredibly high expectations heading into this season, carrying some of the best defensive depth in the entirety of the NHL. The Hurricanes still have plenty of time to recover from a 3-3-0 start, but they will need their goaltending to bounce back in a big way. After finishing second in the NHL last season in terms of GA/P, Carolina now sits alone in last place to start the 2023-24 campaign. Combining the trio of Frederik Andersen, Antti Raanta, and Pyotr Kochetkov, the Hurricanes goaltending trio holds a 3-3-0 record, with a .833 SV% and a 4.50 GAA.

So there you have it, even though the season is young, there are still plenty of emerging storylines to follow throughout the season. Now it’s time for the vote, which team do you think is off to the most surprising start?

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