Ryan Getzlaf To Retire After 2021-22 Season
After a long, successful career, Ryan Getzlaf will hang up his skates at the end of this season. The Anaheim Ducks captain announced today that he will retire following the 2021-22 campaign, having only ever played for one franchise. In a statement, Getzlaf explained:
It’s been an honor to play in the NHL and spend my entire professional career with one organization. None of this would have been possible without my family, who offered unwavering love and support each step of the way. Thank you to our owners, Henry and Susan Samueli, for leading an organization committed to success on the ice, but more importantly, to making a positive impact in our community and to those in need.
Getzlaf, 36, played 17 seasons with the Ducks, debuting in 2005 after the lockout and basically never leaving the lineup. Named captain in 2010 after the departure of Scott Niedermayer, he has been the face of the franchise for more than a decade. Now, as the team transitions to a new core, he’ll step away from the game and allow younger players like Trevor Zegras to take the spotlight in Anaheim.
It’s been an incredible career for the 19th overall pick in 2003. Getzlaf has played in 1,150 games, registered 1,013 points, and raised the Stanley Cup in 2007. He sits as the team’s all-time leading scorer, with 200 more assists than Teemu Selanne who sits in second place. In fact, Getzlaf’s 731 career assists are actually good for 51st on the all-time NHL list–he could climb into the top-50 by season’s end.
There was also plenty of international success for the big center. Twice Getzlaf took home Olympic gold medals as part of Team Canada, while also winning World Cup, World Junior, and U18 golds along the way. While he never secured a World Championship gold to enter the “Triple Gold Club,” he did serve as captain of Canada at the event, in which he participated twice. Part of the famous 2003 draft class that will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the best ever, he sits just 21 points behind Eric Staal for the top in the entire group.
Even this year, at the end of his journey, Getzlaf has shown some of his patented playmaking ability, racking up 28 assists in 49 games. While the days of his prime are long behind him, he still has been rather effective for the Ducks in his final year.
Known outside the rink for his community efforts, Getzlaf was also praised by Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli for his work off the ice:
We are so proud of everything Ryan has accomplished in an amazing 17 years playing for the Ducks. While we will all remember his leadership qualities on the ice, it is his community-first approach that has cemented his legacy in Orange County. In addition to spearheading the Ducks Learn to Play Program and numerous other organizational charitable initiatives, he launched his own such event with the Annual Getzlaf Shootout to benefit CureDuchenne, raising over $4.27 million to date.
Getzlaf never did win any major individual awards, though he finished second in Hart Trophy voting in 2014. Like his playstyle that always favored setting up a teammate over taking the shot himself, his career will be remembered more for team success–in the NHL and internationally–than any personal accolades.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Kurtis MacDermid Signs Two-Year Extension
The Colorado Avalanche have signed Kurtis MacDermid to a two-year extension, one that keeps him under contract through the 2023-24 season. The deal will pay MacDermid $975K in the first year and $1.0MM in the second, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
MacDermid, 28, is mostly a defenseman, though he has actually lined up a handful of times this season for the Avalanche, whenever they need a bit of extra physicality upfront. The 6’5″ behemoth is one of the most imposing players in the league, and plays a style of hockey not usually found in the NHL these days.
Averaging just over seven minutes a night through 53 games, he sort of represents the classic enforcer, though he has just six fighting majors on the year. Instead, he racks up hits in his short shifts, totaling 96 on the year despite playing only 395 total minutes. That goes along with 72 penalty minutes, second on the Avalanche (Gabriel Landeskog, 78), and five points. Should he reach nine, it would represent a career-high.
MacDermid has now played in 171 NHL games and is obviously a valued member of the Avalanche organization, not bad for a player who went undrafted and played three full years of junior even after his entry-level contract was originally signed. He was actually the Seattle Kraken’s choice in last year’s expansion draft from the Los Angeles Kings, though he never actually played for the club. The Avalanche spent a fourth-round pick to get him, and now have given him some additional stability with another two-year, one-way contract.
While he may not play every game over the next two seasons, a contract like this represents almost zero risk for the Avalanche. The entire cap hit–of $987.5K–can be buried in the minor leagues if necessary, though that would require him to pass through waivers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
AHL Shuffle: 04/05/22
It’s a busy night in the NHL with ten games on tap, including several that could have playoff implications. The Toronto Maple Leafs try to complete the Sunshine sweep as they head to face the Florida Panthers, while the Minnesota Wild try to show why they’re ahead of the Nashville Predators in a Central Division matchup. One interesting cross-conference game will be the Colorado Avalanche taking on the Pittsburgh Penguins, a battle of two Stanley Cup contenders (and of two good friends in Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon). As those teams and others prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor shuffling right here.
Atlantic Division
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled Parker Kelly from the AHL, giving them an extra body for their match this evening. Kelly, 22, has played in 27 games for Ottawa this season, scoring five goals.
- Forward Kyle Criscuolo is up with the Detroit Red Wings under emergency conditions, per the team. Criscuolo already has an assist in three NHL games this season and could add to that total in the next few games if in the lineup.
Metropolitan Division
- After securing his first win as a member of the New York Islanders, Cory Schneider has been returned to the minor leagues. The 36-year-old netminder stopped 27 of 30 shots on Sunday in his first NHL appearance since 2020. That win could very well end up being his final appearance in the NHL, depending on what happens down the stretch and when he reaches unrestricted free agency in the summer.
Central Division
Pacific Division
- Another emergency call-up comes in the form of defenseman Jack Rathbone, who’s now up with the Vancouver Canucks. Rathbone suffered what seemed to be a serious injury with AHL Abbotsford earlier in the year, but is now healthy and could get some NHL action down the stretch. He’ll likely slot into the lineup tomorrow against Vegas as Quinn Hughes is out with a non-COVID illness.
This page is updated throughout the day
Marian Hossa To Sign One-Day Contract With Chicago Blackhawks
Marian Hossa‘s 12-year contract finally expired at the end of last season, though he had not actually played in an NHL game since the 2016-17 campaign. Now that his time as an Arizona Coyote is over, he’s free to sign anywhere as an unrestricted free agent. He’ll do so by inking a one-day contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, in order to officially retire as a member of the team.
Hossa, 43, didn’t start his career in Chicago. Selected 12th overall in 1997 by the Ottawa Senators, he quickly showed how he would impact the game. An excellent two-way player from the very beginning, he finished second to Chris Drury in Calder Trophy voting during the 1998-99 season and was receiving Selke Trophy votes by 2001. He would end up with the Atlanta Thrashers next, where he recorded his only 100-point season, and then would pop between contenders for a few years, reaching the Stanley Cup Final with both the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2008 and Detroit Red Wings in 2009.
Both teams would end up losing, leading to jokes about Hossa being a bad luck charm in the playoffs. He’d put that notion to rest in 2010, when he joined the Blackhawks and helped them to the first of three Stanley Cup championships. Over eight seasons in Chicago, Hossa would rack up 415 points in 534 games, while still being considered one of the very best defensive wingers in the game. In all, he received Selke votes in 13 different seasons, reaching as high as fifth in 2014 at the age of 35.
Throughout his entire career, the Slovakian forward would record 1,134 regular season points in 1,309 games, putting him among the best of all time. He sits 59th in career points and 61st in games played. Even better are his 149 playoff points, which puts him 30th all-time. In 2020, before his NHL contract had even officially expired–Hossa was forced out of the game due to a skin condition–he was chosen to enter the Hockey Hall of Fame. Two years later, he’ll now officially retire where he won it all.
Jokerit, Dinamo Riga Officially Withdraw From KHL
The KHL will be down to 22 teams for the 2022-23 season, announcing today that both Jokerit and Dinamo Riga will no longer take part. Jokerit had already withdrawn from this year’s playoffs after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Just a few years ago in 2016-17, the KHL hit a peak of 29 teams. That number has been reduced again, removing many opportunities from the league and potentially leading even more players to pursue jobs elsewhere around the world.
It is not clear if Jokerit will re-join Liiga in Finland for next season. The team has only announced that club president Jari Kurri has left his position on the KHL board of directors, and will announce future plans “as soon as possible.” The club made the move from Liiga to the KHL in 2014, and was quite successful during its time there. Making the playoffs every season, it was one of the teams to abandon the postseason in 2020 due to COVID concerns and first to withdraw this year.
Riga meanwhile has been in the KHL since the club was re-founded in 2008, but had failed to qualify for the postseason in each of the last eight years. It is not at all clear what will happen next for the Latvian club, or if they will play at all in 2022-23.
Anton Lander Signs In SHL
It’s finally time for Anton Lander to go home. The Swedish Olympic captain has signed a three-year contract with Timra IK of the SHL, one that likely ends any chance of him returning to the NHL given his age.
Lander, 30, has had an incredibly varied and interesting career in professional hockey, debuting as a teenager in 2007-08 with Timra. Selected 40th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2009, he came to the NHL in 2011 and almost immediately stepped into a regular role. Over parts of six seasons, he would play 215 games with the Oilers, setting a career-high of 20 points in just 38 games during the 2014-15 campaign.
His contributions to that organization were felt mostly at the AHL level though, where he wore the “C” for two seasons with the Oklahoma City Barons and an “A” in his final year with the Bakersfield Condors. Scoring at nearly a point-per-game pace in the AHL, it was easy to expect success once he decided to go overseas in 2017. In his first season in the KHL he won the Gagarin Cup with Ak Bars Kazan, and represented Sweden at the 2018 Olympics. Three more successful years in Russia followed, before Lander joined EV Zug in Switzerland for the 2021-22 campaign.
He had the honor of wearing that captain’s “C” again at this year’s Games, though Sweden was unable to medal once again. Now, more than a decade after he left, he returns to the Swedish club that developed him. By the end of a three-year deal, Lander will be 33 and eight seasons removed from hockey in North America.
Kirill Marchenko, Ivan Morozov Linked To NHL
At the end of this month, many contracts in the KHL will expire, making a whole wave of players free agents eligible to sign in other professional leagues. For some, it appears as though NHL contracts are on the horizon. A report from Leonid Zakhvatov of Match TV in Russia indicates that both Kirill Marchenko and Ivan Morozov will sign entry-level contracts with their respective NHL clubs, leaving the KHL behind.
Marchenko, 21, was selected 49th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2018, a team that has patiently awaited his arrival in North America. The young forward has shown an ability to score even in limited KHL minutes while playing with SKA St. Petersburg the last few seasons, adding 12 goals in 39 games this year despite averaging under 12 minutes of ice time.
He actually hasn’t played with the KHL club since January though, heading to the VHL instead for the affiliate’s playoff run, where he added four goals in ten games so far. Marchenko is playing a lot more there, but is in danger of being eliminated tomorrow as SKA is down 3-1 in their semi-final series.
Morozov, meanwhile, was the 61st pick in 2018, this time by the Vegas Golden Knights. He too was playing with SKA the last few seasons and saw a demotion to the VHL squad this year, before ending up with HC Sochi for the end of the year. The complicated year for Morozov is especially curious, given how well he had previously shown at the highest level. In 2020-21 he scored 31 points in 55 regular season games, added seven more in 15 playoff contests, and then was named to the Russian World Championship team. This year, in 22 KHL games combined between SKA and Sochi, he had five goals and 11 points.
Both players represent no sure thing but could be quick risers through the system and contribute at the NHL level in 2022-23, should the contracts be finalized. In fact, technically either one would even be eligible to play in the postseason this year, though it would mean burning the first year of the entry-level deal.
Yaniv Perets Staying At Quinnipiac For 2022-23
One of the stories of the NCAA season was the goaltending at Quinnipiac, where Yaniv Perets stepped into the spotlight in a big way. The undrafted 22-year-old netminder posted a 22-5-2 record, .939 save percentage, and record-breaking 1.17 goals-against average, all in his first real action on the college stage. Perets had just two appearances in 2020-21–though he did stop all 12 shots he faced.
Some may have looked at those numbers and wondered whether the young netminder would leave the collegiate scene after such an outstanding season, but he’ll be heading back according to the Quinnipiac Chronicle. That’s great news for the program, but also for Perets, who despite his success still certainly has work to do if he’s to become a legitimate NHL prospect.
The plan for 2020-21 was to go back to the BCHL, where he had dominated the year prior, but given the COVID restrictions that ultimately canceled the season, he ended up joining the Quinnipiac program late in the year. Since they already had Keith Petruzzelli there as a Hobey Baker-candidate starter, there wasn’t much action for any other netminder. In fact, Perets’ 32 minutes of gameplay was actually second for all Quinnipiac goaltenders–Petruzzelli logged 1,716.
It wasn’t quite that lopsided this year, with Dylan St. Cyr receiving a handful of starts, but make no mistake the Quinnipiac net belongs to Perets. In fact, he put up his own Hobey Baker-level season, ending as a Top Ten finalist last month. If 2022-23 brings more of the same success, you can bet NHL teams will certainly be picking up the phone next spring. Whether he decides to turn pro at that point remains to be seen, but his name will certainly be on the minds of many watching the undrafted college free agent ranks.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Price, O’Ree
The NHL has released its Three Stars for last week, led once again by Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oiles. McDavid added five goals and eight points to his totals, and cracked a few important thresholds. For the third time in his career, he has broken the 40-goal mark, while he once again has more than 100 points, the fifth time in seven seasons. McDavid leads the league in scoring with 105 points so far.
Second and third went to Aleksander Barkov and Semyon Varlamov respectively, after their own outstanding weeks. The Florida Panthers captain scored five goals in four games and is closing in on his previous career-high. Barkov needs just three more goals to crack that mark of 35. Varlamov meanwhile just continues to get it done, posting a 3-0 record and .952 save percentage last week. The 33-year-old netminder doesn’t have a good record, but still carries a .919 on the season.
- The Montreal Canadiens don’t have a ton left to play for in terms of the standings but there may be a nice surprise for fans in the coming days. Carey Price was a full participant at practice and Eric Engels of Sportsnet suggests that the star goaltender could potentially make his debut in the next few games. Next Monday at home against the Winnipeg Jets seems a likely possibility for Price to make his season debut after a very tumultuous year, though there is no indication yet from the team when he’ll be back in the crease. Brendan Gallagher was also in a regular jersey at practice, and while he admitted he needs to speak to the medical staff for clearance, expects to play tomorrow.
- The three finalists for the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award have been named today, as one of Noel Acton, Ryan Francis, and Meridith Lang will take home the trophy this season. The award is given to the individual who, through the sport of hockey, has positively impacted his or her community, culture, or society. Even though just one will win, all three should be celebrated for their impact and community work. You can read more about the finalists here.
Kyle Connor, Nate Schmidt Clear COVID Protocol
April 4: Both Connor and Schmidt have cleared the protocol and re-joined the Jets at practice today, after missing three games. Unfortunately, the team lost two of those and now sits six points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the final wild card position.
March 30: The Winnipeg Jets will not have Kyle Connor or Nate Schmidt in the lineup for the next few games, as they have both tested positive for coronavirus and have entered the league’s COVID-19 protocol. Not only will they miss tonight’s match against the Buffalo Sabres, but Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press reports that they will also have to remain in the U.S. for the next five days, while the Jets head to Toronto and then back to Winnipeg.
It’s brutal timing for the Jets, who have won seven of their past ten games and are just three points behind the Dallas Stars for the final wild card spot. They have played 67 games, meaning every single one is extremely important from here on out, and losing Connor is a huge blow. The 25-year-old forward has scored 41 goals and 82 points in 67 games, setting new career highs in both categories. That includes 18 points in that recent ten-game stretch, carrying the offensive load for the Jets in recent weeks.
While losing Connor is probably the worst thing that could happen, losing Schmidt is also a substantial blow to the Jets. The 30-year-old leads all Winnipeg defensemen with 31 points in 66 games, and is still averaging more than 20 minutes a night (though that number has dropped recently). Losing both could very well be a death sentence for the Jets’ season, if other players aren’t able to step up and secure some points in the next three games.
Interestingly enough, even though they sold Andrew Copp at the deadline, the Jets have actually brought in some forward depth of late. Mason Appleton, Morgan Barron, and Zach Sanford were all acquired, giving them some more options that will hopefully emerge over the next few games.