The NHL has released its Three Stars for last week, with Seattle Kraken goaltender Martin Jones taking top spot. The honor continues what has been an incredible run for the 33-year-old netminder. In each of the last three seasons (two with the San Jose Sharks and one with the Philadelphia Flyes), Jones has failed to eclipse 17 wins. This year, through 31 appearances, he has 21. That is despite putting up a save percentage – .895 – that is actually slightly lower than any he has posted in the past. Jones has faced more than 30 shots just five times this season.
Second and third went to two wingers at very different stages of their careers. Lucas Raymond of the Detroit Red Wings is just trying to establish himself as a consistent presence in the league, while Nikita Kucherov continues on his Hall of Fame track. Each one collected three goals and seven points in three games last week.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins are expecting Kris Letang to return to the team in the next few days. The veteran defenseman was away dealing with the death of his father, and hasn’t played since December 28. The Penguins have 40 games left in the season, and Letang needs to play in 30 of them to reach 1,000 for his career.
- Sergei Gonchar, who last coached in the NHL during the 2019-20 season, may be on his way back to join Rick Tocchet with the Vancouver Canucks, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. While Tocchet’s hiring isn’t official, Friedman seems to believe it is inevitable at this point, suggesting it could happen within the next few weeks. Today, Jim Rutherford admitted that he had been in contact with potential replacements.
Have the Canucks checked Tocchet’s record as a Head Coach ?
Surely there are better options out there.