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Five Key Stories: 4/10/23 – 4/16/23

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The regular season has come to an end and as is often the case, there was plenty of notable news around the NHL which is recapped in our key stories.

Pittsburgh Shakes Up Front Office: After missing the playoffs for the first time since 2006, changes are coming in Pittsburgh as the team fired GM Ron Hextall, assistant GM Chris Pryor, and President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke.  Hextall and Burke hadn’t been at the helm for long with their tenures lasting a little over 26 months in total.  However, the Penguins haven’t had much on-ice success over that stretch and many of their moves made over the past year haven’t worked out as intended.  Whoever takes over for Hextall will be tasked with navigating a tough salary cap situation to try to get Pittsburgh back into the postseason as it’s hard to see them entering a rebuild with as many core veterans locked up as they have.

Five For Gaudreau: It’s safe to say that Wild center Frederick Gaudreau has been a late bloomer.  He only became a truly full-fledged regular last season at the age of 28 but has quickly become a reliable secondary part of Minnesota’s attack.  He was rewarded for his efforts with a five-year, $10.5MM extension that begins next season, a deal that more than doubles his career earnings thus far and gives him some long-term stability for the first time.  Gaudreau set a new career high in goals with 19 this season while picking up 38 points, six shy of his benchmark from a year ago.  On top of that, the 29-year-old led all Minnesota forwards in shorthanded ice time.  If he continues to play at this level, this contract should become a team-friendly one fairly quickly.

Landeskog Won’t Return: Throughout the year, the recovery timeline for Gabriel Landeskog’s knee injury kept getting pushed back but there remained optimism that he’d be back for the playoffs.  That won’t be the case, however, as he has been ruled out for the entire postseason.  In the end, instead of missing 12 weeks after undergoing surgery in October, he’ll wind up missing at least 12 months assuming he’s cleared to return for the start of 2023-24.  While Colorado won the Central Division, Landeskog’s absence will certainly be felt as they look to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.  Last season, the veteran had 59 points in 51 games in the regular season before adding 22 more in 20 playoff contests.

Coaching Changes: As is often the case when the season ends, coaching changes have started around the league.  First, on Friday, the Ducks announced that they won’t renew the contract of Dallas Eakins.  He spent four seasons behind the bench in Anaheim but they managed just 100 wins over that stretch in 291 games.  Then, the Capitals revealed that they and Peter Laviolette had mutually agreed to part ways.  Laviolette was at the helm for three seasons with the team posting a 115-78-27 record along the way.  He will likely come up as an option for the other openings this spring.  Then, on Saturday, the Blue Jackets parted ways with Brad Larsen after just two years.  Columbus underachieved under his tutelage, posting a record of just 62-86-16.  All three teams will now begin their searches for their new bench bosses.

Moving On: At this point, it remains unclear whether Jonathan Toews will play next season; there has been some recent speculation that he might retire.  However, if he does come back for a 16th NHL campaign, it won’t be with Chicago as the team announced that they will not be re-signing the 34-year-old.  Toews, who scored in his final game with the Blackhawks, winds up his time with the franchise with 883 points in 1,067 games plus a trio of Stanley Cup titles.  All in all, Chicago did quite well selecting him third overall back in 2006.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mikael Backlund Unsure About Signing Extension With Flames

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Mikael Backlund has been a fixture in Calgary’s lineup for well over a decade as the center has suited up in over 900 games for them over parts of 15 seasons.  Along the way, it has widely been expected that the 34-year-old would be someone who sticks with the Flames for his entire career.  However, speaking with reporters recently (video link), Backlund expressed some hesitance in committing to signing another deal with them this summer:

I’ve been here for a long time and I love Calgary, I love this organization.  But the year that we had, I’m 34 years old and I want to win the Stanley Cup and I … I don’t know this summer what’s going to happen, if they even offer me anything. I might want to see what this group can do before I make a decision.

It’s worth noting that Backlund has one more year remaining on his deal, a pact that carries a $5.35MM AAV and a 21-team no-trade clause so in the short term, he probably isn’t going anywhere.

Interestingly, in a season where not a lot went right for Calgary, things certainly went well for Backlund as he potted 19 goals and 37 assists while playing all 82 games, setting new career highs in assists and points in the process.  The Flames were in the bottom half of the league offensively but while others struggled, Backlund did quite well.  So much so, in fact, that he could be in line to command a similar price tag to his current deal on an extension, a scenario that wouldn’t have been realistic even a year ago.

It’s telling that Backlund hinted at wanting to see what happens with this group before deciding on if he wants to remain with the only NHL organization he has ever played for.  Things haven’t gone well for Calgary in the past year with Johnny Gaudreau leaving in free agency and Matthew Tkachuk indicating he wouldn’t sign a long-term agreement after the playoffs last season.  Their acquisitions in that swap – winger Jonathan Huberdeau and defenseman MacKenzie Weegar – both underachieved.  They entered this season as a speculative contender and finished outside the playoffs altogether.

When things don’t go as planned, players understandably aren’t as openly enthusiastic about the prospect of sticking around; Elias Lindholm, in the same contractual situation as Backlund, was even less committal (video link) about his future.

We’ll see what happens.  I have one more year and I’m gonna look at it that way. I have one more year, and that’s all I can say.

That type of response from Lindholm isn’t entirely surprising given that he’s likely heading for a max-term agreement on his next contract so it’s understandable that he might want to see what the market brings in 2024.  But for Backlund, a player who many thought would be a ‘forever Flame’, to be hesitant about an early extension is a sign of how much they’ve fallen over the past year and indicative of the team needing a busy summer to restore some faith in its direction.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Golden Knights Notes: Hill, Thompson, Recalls

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Having successfully gotten through his conditioning stint earlier this month, Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill confirmed to reporters today (video link) that he has fully recovered and is available to dress for Tuesday’s series opener against Winnipeg.  He has been out for more than a month with a lower-body injury and posted the lowest GAA on the team at 2.45 while contributing a .915 SV%.  However, at this time, Hill isn’t sure if he’ll be dressing for Game One with Laurent Brossoit set to get the start against his former team.  Either Hill or trade deadline acquisition Jonathan Quick will serve as the backup.

More from Vegas:

  • Goaltender Logan Thompson has not yet resumed skating, relays Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (Twitter link). The 26-year-old, who was the starter for most of the season and also posted a .915 SV%, has played just once in the last two months.  At this point, it seems safe to suggest that he won’t be available to play in the first round at a minimum and with three other healthy netminders, even if he is cleared later on and Vegas moves on, it’s hardly a guarantee that he’ll be in uniform when the time comes.
  • With AHL Henderson’s season now over and the Silver Knights not playoff-bound, the Golden Knights have made two recalls, per CapFriendly (Twitter links) as defenseman Kaedan Korczak and Brayden Pachal are back up with Vegas. Both players picked up two assists in ten NHL contests this season.  Korczak also collected 14 points in 50 games with Henderson while Pachal collected 15 in 55 appearances.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see other players recalled in the near future to comprise their ‘Black Aces’ group.

Red Wings Dismiss Ben Simon, Three Other AHL Coaches

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While the Red Wings aren’t expected to be making any changes to their NHL coaching staff, they will be shaking things up at the minor league level.  Their affiliate in Grand Rapids announced that they will not be renewing the contracts of head coach Ben Simon, assistant coaches Matt Macdonald and Todd Krygier, and goaltending development coach Brian Mahoney-Wilson.

Simon had been with Grand Rapids since 2015 when he joined the team as an assistant before being promoted to the top job in 2018.  In his five seasons behind the bench, the Griffins posted a 144-137-38 record but made only one postseason appearance in that stretch, that coming back in 2019.

As for the now-former assistants, Macdonald and Krygier had been working under Simon for five and four years, respectively, while Mahoney-Wilson had been working with Grand Rapids’ goaltenders since the 2016-17 campaign.

This season, Grand Rapids finished last in the Central Division which played a big role in the decision to make a change; Detroit GM Steve Yzerman emphasized in his season-ending press conference on Friday that he felt that a winning environment was crucial for player development.  He and Grand Rapids GM Shawn Horcoff will now be tasked with finding the right staff to make that happen.

Pacific Notes: Boeser, Johansson, Weegar, Sharks

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Canucks winger Brock Boeser has been featured in plenty of trade speculation in recent months but while a deal didn’t materialize last month, some have wondered if he’ll be on the move this summer.  But if the 26-year-old has his way, he won’t be going anywhere.  He told reporters including Thomas Drance of The Athletic (Twitter link) that he doesn’t want to be traded and would prefer to remain with Vancouver.  This season was a mixed bag for Boeser who actually came one point shy of matching his career high but he managed just 18 goals which isn’t a great return on a $6.65MM AAV.  He has two years remaining on his contract.

Elsewhere in the Pacific:

  • Canucks prospect Filip Johansson will be joining AHL Abbotsford for their playoff run, relays Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic (Twitter link). The 23-year-old was a first-round pick by Minnesota back in 2018 but the Wild opted to take a compensatory second-round selection instead of signing him; Johansson signed with Vancouver soon after.  He played in 51 games with Frolunda of the SHL this season, picking up five goals and 16 assists, both career highs while also chipping in with five points in a dozen playoff contests.  This will be Johansson’s first taste of action in North America.
  • Flames defenseman MacKenzie Weegar will suit up for Canada at the upcoming World Championship, reports Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson. The 29-year-old had a bit of a down year in his first season with Calgary, seeing his point output dip from 44 to 31 (in 81 games) while his playing time was shaved by more than two minutes per game.  While Weegar’s current contract expires in June, he has already locked in with the Flames for the long haul, inking an eight-year, $50MM extension back in October.  This will be Weegar’s first time suiting up for Canada in an international tournament.
  • Sharks winger Tomas Hertl won’t be suiting up at the Worlds next month, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). The 29-year-old struggled defensively in what he called a challenging season but reached the 60-point mark for the second straight year and third time in his career while winning nearly 55% of his faceoffs.  His 63 points placed Hertl third on the team in scoring.  Meanwhile, in a separate tweet, Pashelka notes that center Nico Sturm will play for Germany in the tournament, his first time representing his home country.  The 27-year-old had a career year this season, collecting 14 goals and 12 assists in 74 games.

Ducks AHL Coach Roy Sommer To Retire

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It won’t just be a new head coach in Anaheim that Ducks GM Pat Verbeek will be looking for in the coming weeks.  There will be a vacancy to fill with their AHL affiliate in San Diego as well; the team announced that head coach Roy Sommer will retire following tonight’s season-ending contest against Colorado.

The 66-year-old is in his first season outside of San Jose’s organization in the better part of three decades.  Sommer spent 26 years behind the bench with their affiliates before departing and joining Anaheim last summer.  He is the winningest coach in AHL history with 828 while tonight’s contest will be his 1,814th, also a league record.

This season didn’t go as planned for Anaheim who finished at the bottom of the Western Conference and the NHL.  Meanwhile, things didn’t go much better for the Gulls as they also sit last in the Western Conference and AHL with just 43 points through 71 games.  With the Ducks battling injury trouble throughout the season, that put extra strain on San Diego that they clearly weren’t able to overcome.

This will be the second straight summer under Verbeek that he’ll be seeking an AHL bench boss.  Last summer, he fired Joel Bouchard after just one season in the role and with Sommer calling it a career after tonight, that search will resume.

Wild Notes: Johansson, Eriksson Ek, Sundqvist, Petan

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The Wild are hopeful that winger Marcus Johansson will be available for the start of their first-round series against Dallas, relays Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.  The veteran was injured earlier in the week on a cross-check from Winnipeg blueliner Neal Pionk but head coach Dean Evason indicated that while the 32-year-old is sore, nothing is broken.  Johansson’s second stint with Minnesota has been quite successful as he had six goals and 12 assists in 20 games after being acquired from Washington just before the trade deadline.  He returned to practice with the team today which is a positive sign for him being able to suit up on Monday.

More from Minnesota:

  • Center Joel Eriksson Ek skated before practice today as he works his way back from a lower-body injury, notes Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has missed a little over a week since suffering the injury against Pittsburgh.  Eriksson Ek was given a week-to-week designation so it seems unlikely that he’ll be ready for Monday’s season opener.  His absence is a significant one as not only is he their matchup center against top opponents but he also finished fourth in team scoring, surpassing the 60-point mark for the first time in his career.
  • Forward Oskar Sundqvist also skated today for the first time since suffering also a lower-body injury against Pittsburgh last week, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 29-year-old was acquired from Detroit at the trade deadline and had made a good first impression with Minnesota, collecting three goals and four assists in 15 games before the injury.  It’s unclear at this point if he’ll be good to go to start the series against Dallas but he has not yet been ruled out for Game One.
  • The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Nic Petan cleared waivers today, enabling them to return him to AHL Iowa. Petan played his tenth game of the season Thursday, meaning that he had to pass through waivers to get back to the minors.  The 28-year-old has had another strong season at the AHL level, tallying 60 points in 51 games heading into the final weekend.

Carl Hagelin Hopes To Play Next Season

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It has been more than a year since Capitals winger Carl Hagelin has played due to an eye injury.  As a result, he spent all of this season on LTIR.  However, while his current contract is set to come to an end, the veteran told reporters including NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link) that he’s hopeful that he’ll be able to play next season.

Hagelin, when fully healthy, has been an effective two-way player whose speed was a significant asset.  However, his production had tapered off over his last few seasons to the point where he managed just three goals in 53 games last season before being shut down.

While the 34-year-old hasn’t yet been cleared to return from the injury, he indicated that he’s hoping to be cleared later this summer.  For now, the plan is for him to skate for a couple of months this summer and then look to make a final decision on his future sometime in August.

Between his decline in production and the uncertainty surrounding his future, Hagelin can certainly afford to be patient in trying to see if he’ll be able to play in 2023-24 as he’s quite likely to be a PTO candidate in training camp if he does get the green light to suit up.  Otherwise, he’ll probably be hanging up his skates after a successful 11-year career that saw him collect 296 points in 713 games with five different organizations.

Metropolitan Notes: Carter, Worlds, Dowd, Islanders

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After a good performance in 2021-22, Penguins center Jeff Carter was rewarded with a two-year contract extension.  However, things didn’t go as well this year as the 38-year-old managed just 29 points in 79 games while having his playing time cut by nearly four minutes a night.  However, despite the setback, Carter told reporters, including Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that he intends to play next season instead of retiring.  Even if whoever takes over for GM Ron Hextall doesn’t want to have Carter back, there is no benefit to buying him out as he’s on a 35-plus contract while the veteran also has a full no-move clause.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Still with Pittsburgh, winger Rickard Rakell has declined an invitation to play at the upcoming World Championship, relays Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link). The 29-year-old had a bounce-back year with 28 goals and 32 assists but is dealing with some minor health issues.  Meanwhile, winger Jake Guentzel will suit up for the United States in the event.  The 28-year-old was third on the Penguins in scoring this season with 36 goals and 37 assists.
  • Capitals center Nic Dowd told reporters including NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link) that he was playing through a couple of injuries and a decision about whether he’ll need surgery will be made within the next couple of weeks. Despite playing through the injuries at the end, the 32-year-old had a career year this season, setting new benchmarks in goals (13) and points (25) despite missing 17 games due to other injuries.  Dowd has two years left on his contract with a $1.3MM AAV.
  • Although their farm team has been eliminated from playoff contention, the Islanders don’t intend to have a full taxi squad for the playoffs, head coach Lane Lambert told Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link). Teams often carry extra skaters that can be slotted in if need be in either games or practices while it’s typically beneficial for them to continue to work under the eye of team trainers.  For the time being at least, New York will opt to go without a full group of reserves although it wouldn’t be surprising to see a handful of players be brought up as insurance.

Maple Leafs Recall Wayne Simmonds

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Now that the regular season has come to an end, there are no more salary cap restrictions in the NHL.  Accordingly, the Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that they have once again recalled winger Wayne Simmonds from AHL Toronto.

The 34-year-old was sent down a total of seven times this season although he never did suit up for the Marlies; he has never suited up for a game in the minors in his career.  The reason behind those frequent demotions was largely salary cap-related but with that no longer in play and roster restrictions being lifted after the trade deadline, Simmonds should be up for the duration of Toronto’s playoff run.

It has been a tough season for Simmonds overall who was limited to just 18 games with the Maple Leafs in between the demotions, a career low.  His playing time also dipped to the lowest of his career as he logged just 7:27, dropping for the sixth season in a row.

At this point, it’s difficult to see them putting Simmonds into their lineup when their series against Tampa Bay begins next week but with AHL Toronto potentially primed for a long playoff run of their own after winning the North Division, the Maple Leafs won’t have many spare forwards on their roster when the series starts.  Accordingly, if there are some injuries, Simmonds could have a chance to see some action as the first round progresses.

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