Mark Scheifele Suspended Four Games
June 4: Speaking with the media today, Scheifele explained that though he had the option to appeal, he has decided not to.
June 3: The Department of Player Safety has reached a verdict in the case of Mark Scheifele, handing out a four-game suspension to the Winnipeg Jets forward. Scheifele will miss games two through five of the Jets’ second-round series against the Montreal Canadiens with his team already down 1-0.
As the accompanying video explains:
Scheifele, moving with excessive momentum gained from travelling a considerable distance, finishes his check violently and with excessive force into Evans, making significant head contact in the process and causing an injury.
The league also acknowledged Scheifele’s argument that the distance was travelled with the idea of trying to break up Jake Evans‘ empty-net goal attempt but felt that him not attempting to make a play on the puck meant that he was conceding the goal, leading to the following:
Instead, it is apparent to our department that his intention on this play is to deliver a hard, violent check to an opponent with the outcome of both the play and the game already having been decided. In short, this is a player who has travelled a considerable distance, is moving with exceptional speed, and is fully aware of his momentum who chooses to charge into a vulnerable opponent with a high, predatory hit that causes an injury.
The incident occurred at the very end of the game as Evans scored a game-clinching empty-net goal, and resulted in the Canadiens’ forward lying on the ice unconscious. Evans was eventually stretchered off the ice but did not require hospitalization. According to Montreal head coach Dominique Ducharme, the young forward (who turned 25 last night) suffered a concussion but is recovering.
For Scheifele, it means that he will miss a good chunk of this series should the Jets fail to come out victorious without their star center. Now 28, he recorded his fifth consecutive point-per-game campaign in 2020-21, scoring 63 in 56 during the regular season. In the first-round sweep against the Edmonton Oilers, Scheifele recorded five points but was kept completely off the board by Phillip Danault and company last night.
He received a five-minute major and game misconduct for the hit on Evans and also did not have a history of supplementary discipline. Still, he’ll now miss four games in the North Division deciding series.
TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report the suspension.
Buffalo Sabres Win 2021 NHL Draft Lottery
For the final time for the foreseeable future, all non-playoff teams were eligible to win the first overall pick in the NHL Draft Lottery. Beginning in 2022, a team can only move up a maximum of ten spots, meaning the teams who finish No. 12 through No. 16 in the final league standings cannot move high enough to take over the top pick. The stage was set for a climactic send-off for the old format.
Well, the lottery balls decided not to take a crazy bounce in their last opportunity to move a team from the middle of the first round all the way to the top. Instead, the draft order stayed virtually the same. The Buffalo Sabres, who held the worst record in the NHL this season and thus the top odds in the lottery, retained the No. 1 pick. The expansion Seattle Kraken, awarded the same odds as the third-worst record in the league, moved up one spot, switching places with the Anaheim Ducks. New this year, there were only two lottery draws as opposed to the former three. Here is the official first-round draft order for the top 15 picks:
- Buffalo Sabres
- Seattle Kraken
- Anaheim Ducks
- New Jersey Devils
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- Detroit Red Wings
- San Jose Sharks
- Los Angeles Kings
- Vancouver Canucks
- Ottawa Senators
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Calgary Flames
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Dallas Stars
- New York Rangers
(As a reminder, the Arizona Coyotes forfeited their first-round pick this years as discipline for scouting violations)
This will be the second time in four years that the Buffalo Sabres will pick first overall after selecting Rasmus Dahlin at the top spot in 2018. It also means that two teams, the Sabres and New Jersey Devils, will have owned the first pick in four of the past five drafts. The two clubs are happy that the NHL’s new rule limiting teams to two lottery wins in a five-year span kicks in next year with a clean slate. Incredibly, the Sabres lottery win also further advances the mythology of Taylor Hall. Although Hall is now with the Boston Bruins, this is the fifth time in Hall’s career that his most recent team eligible for the draft lottery has won. A No. 1 overall pick himself, Hall has brought luck to the Edmonton Oilers, Devils, and now Sabres.
Perhaps bigger news than Buffalo at No. 1 is Seattle at No. 2, a major opportunity for the Kraken to draft a player who is ready to join the team in their inaugural season. The Vegas Golden Knights, with the same odds in the 2017 NHL Draft Lottery, fell to No. 6 overall and drafted Cody Glass, who has still yet to establish himself as a regular in the Vegas lineup. With the second pick, Seattle will have better odds of adding an instant difference-maker.
The 2021 NHL Draft is unique compared to recent years in that there is no consensus top prospect. In fact, it is difficult to remember a draft class in recent memory that is so undecided at the top. One major factor has been the lack of complete scouting due to canceled and shortened seasons and limited live viewings. However, even with complete information, there is still seemingly no prospect that stands heads above the rest. University of Michigan defenseman Owen Power and forward Matthew Beniers are largely considered the top players at each position and the two most likely candidates for the top pick, with Power having a slight lead according to draft pundits. However, current teammate Kent Johnson and Wolverines commit Luke Hughes, a forward and defenseman respectively, are also in the mix. Canadian junior standouts Mason McTavish, Dylan Guenther, and Brandt Clarke and European pros William Eklund and Simon Edvinsson may also be in play.
NHL Upholds Nazem Kadri’s Eight-Game Suspension
June 2: Greg Wyshynski of ESPN reports that Kadri’s hearing with the neutral arbitrator is set for Friday.
May 31: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has upheld the eight-game suspension that the Department of Player Safety assessed to Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri. Kadri had appealed the decision looking for a reduction, but Bettman concluded that the discipline handed out was warranted.
In the decision, Bettman notes that the NHLPA attempted to compare Kadri’s disciplinary history to that of Tom Wilson, Radko Gudas, Brad Marchand, and Zac Rinaldo, arguing that recent decisions regarding those players “illustrate the concept that if a Player plays clean for a given amount of time,” he should not be considered a player who repeatedly violates the league rules. The commissioner did not agree with this assertion, even directly examining the records of each player and comparing them to Kadri. While the NHLPA asserted that a four-game suspension would have been the correct discipline, Bettman disagreed.
The Avalanche forward can now appeal to a neutral arbitrator, though that process only examines the methodology used by the league to determine the length of the suspension and does not make a ruling on the actual incident itself. Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey now reports that Kadri will indeed pursue this route as Wilson did in 2018. In that case, the 20-game suspension that Wilson received was reduced to 14 by the neutral arbitrator Shyam Das, the same one that Kadri will have hear his case.
Kadri has already served three games of the suspension, all Colorado wins.
Vancouver Canucks, Travis Green Reach Contract Extension
The Vancouver Canucks finished last in the North Division, a brutal turnaround after their second-round playoff run in last year’s bubble postseason. Many believed it would lead to substantial changes in the organization, but it appears as though they’ll give it another crack with the same management and coaching group. General manager Jim Benning was retained and now head coach Travis Green has signed a multi-year extension with the team. Benning released a statement:
We are excited to have Travis Green continue to lead the Canucks as head coach and move forward from a challenging year to focus on future seasons. Our plan has always been to draft and develop a young core and surround them with supporting players who can help us win. We have some of the best young players in the NHL and I believe Travis is the right coach to help us achieve team success and a return to the playoffs.
Now, Green was certainly not the reason for the disastrous season and many players spoke up in favor of bringing him back at the Canucks’ end-of-season media availability. Captain Bo Horvat said the team would “love to see him back” and explained that Green had been “awesome” toward them. There were also many who speculated that Green would not be unemployed for long if the Canucks let him go, especially with the number of other vacancies around the league.
Still, it is certainly surprising that no one is losing their job after a season like the Canucks just endured. While they did have a brutal schedule, cut up with a late-season COVID outbreak, they finished 20-26-3, ranked 25th in goals for and 24th in goals against. The team’s powerplay put them 25th, their penalty killing 18th, and save percentage ranked them 20th in the league. By almost every metric, the Canucks were one of the worst teams in the league.
In fact, they have been for a while now. Even with the team’s Cinderella-like run last season, Green’s overall regular season record with the Canucks sits at 122-129-31 and he has reached the playoffs just once in four years. If he and Benning are both coming back, it’s obvious that the real organizational change will have to come at the roster level (though perhaps that’s really the only place to effect real short-term change in any situation.).
With so much cap already tied up and new contracts for Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes to come, making that tangible change will be difficult. The only notable unrestricted free agents the team has are Brandon Sutter and Alexander Edler, who both expressed a desire to return to Vancouver earlier today. Most of the roster is still signed for the 2021-22 season, with more than $66.5MM already committed. Green is returning, but it may be difficult to turn things around in Vancouver right away.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
John Davidson Returns To Columbus Blue Jackets
The news broke late last night, but the move is now official. John Davidson is returning to the Columbus Blue Jackets as president of hockey operations and alternate governor on a five-year contract. The team has also signed general manager Jarmo Kekalainen to a contract extension through the 2024-25 season. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that Davidson had three years remaining on his contract with the New York Rangers, who fired him earlier this year, while Kekalainen was signed through 2022-23 before the extension.
Club president Mike Priest released a statement:
John Davidson and Jarmo Kekalainen worked tirelessly and effectively together to transform our hockey club from a team with one Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance in 12 seasons to one that reached the postseason five times in seven years from 2013-20. This is an important time for our organization and having stability and proven leadership at the top of our hockey operations department is critical for us to do what we want to do, which is bring a Stanley Cup championship to Columbus. Signing Jarmo to an extension and then bringing J.D. back gives us the right people to address the opportunities and challenges before us and we couldn’t be more excited.
Almost exactly two years ago, Davidson resigned his post with the Blue Jackets to chase his dream job with the Rangers. At the time, he explained that a chance to return to New York, where he had spent so much of his playing and broadcasting career was one he “simply could not pass up.” After two relatively successful seasons helping to rebuild the team, he was fired along with general manager Jeff Gorton and head coach David Quinn. At the time of the dismissal, many in the hockey world expressed the notion that Davidson would not go unemployed for long.
So, just two weeks later, Davidson is in charge of an NHL franchise again, returning to Columbus where he spent seven years between 2012-2019. The Blue Jackets are in a period of transition after parting ways with John Tortorella and finishing in last place. Davidson and Kekalainen have a lot of work to do to right the ship, including a few difficult decisions on roster construction. Seth Jones, the team’s best player, is scheduled for unrestricted free agency after next season and will need a huge contract to stick around. Max Domi, Elvis Merzlikins, Joonas Korpisalo, Boone Jenner, and others are also ticketed for UFA status next summer, meaning the next 12 months could see a drastic reshaping of the Blue Jackets roster.
Detroit Red Wings Extend Jeff Blashill
The Detroit Red Wings have decided the improvement the team saw under Jeff Blashill this season should continue, signing the head coach to a contract extension. General manager Steve Yzerman also announced that assistant coach Dan Bylsma will not return as he is going to pursue other opportunities in 2021-22. The team did not include details on the extension.
Blashill, 47, has been the head coach of the Red Wings since 2015 and with the organization since 2011. He had previously served as head coach of the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins, where he won a Calder Cup in 2013 and won the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as AHL Coach of the Year. On three occasions, USA Hockey has tabbed Blashill as the head coach for the World Championship, though he has taken home just a bronze medal during those appearances.
It doesn’t come as much of a surprise that Blashill is coming back after reports surfaced recently about contract negotiations, but it certainly won’t please every Red Wings fan. Detroit made the playoffs during his first year behind the bench but have been one of the league’s worst in the years since, finishing below the .500 mark in each of the last five seasons. Overall, Blashill has a 172-221-62 record as an NHL head coach and owns just one postseason victory.
After bottoming out in 2019-20, winning just 17 of 71 games, the team did rebound this season under Blashill’s leadership. The group was unlikely to compete for the playoffs as they continued a rebuild, but managed to climb out of the basement and finish ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Central Division. The Red Wings even had an impressive 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning late in the season and several other strong performances down the stretch. That improvement, along with the development of the young players, is likely why Blashill is coming back.
Still, given that the Red Wings haven’t quite turned the corner on their rebuild, it’s unclear if Blashill will actually be the head coach still when the team is really ready to contend.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Arizona Coyotes, Rick Tocchet Agree To Part Ways
With their season complete, the Arizona Coyotes announced they have parted ways with head coach Rick Tocchet. The two sides opted to mutually part ways as the team failed to reach the playoffs this year after Tocchet, whose contract was set to expire on June 1, led them to a 24-26-6 record. The Coyotes will begin their search for a new head coach immediately.
“After meeting with Rick, we have agreed that a coaching change is in the best interest of the club,” said general manager Bill Armstrong. “This was a very difficult decision, but we believe that it is time for a new direction and new leadership. Rick is a very good coach and an incredible person, and we sincerely appreciate all his hard work and dedication to the Coyotes the past four years. We are grateful for everything that he has done for our organization and wish him the best of luck in the future.”
The 57-year-old Tocchet is the second head coach to hit the free agent market. The Columbus Blue Jackets mutually agreed to part ways with John Tortorella late Saturday as well. The coach was hired by Arizona back in 2017 and spent four years as the team’s head coach, reaching the playoffs last year, but losing in the first round. He was a highly sought-after coaching candidate back in 2017 after serving as assistant coach with Pittsburgh during their 2016 & 2017 Stanley Cup Champion runs. Tocchet finished his tenure as Arizona’s head coach with a record of 125-131-34 in 290 games.
“It’s been an honor to coach the Coyotes the past four seasons,” said Tocchet. “I have great respect and admiration for all the players I coached in Arizona, along with my coaching staff, the medical staff, the equipment managers, the PR staff and the team services staff. They are the best in the NHL, and I appreciate all their help and hard work. I also want to thank the fans of the Valley for all their support. I have loved living, playing, and coaching in Arizona and this place will always be special to me.”
Like Tortorella, Tocchet could be a highly sought-after commodity on the coaching free agent market, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger, as several teams could consider him, including the expansion Seattle Kraken. Other teams had been in the mix in hiring him back in 2017, including the Buffalo Sabres, who also will be looking for a head coach this offseason.
John Tortorella Not Returning To Columbus Next Season
Sunday: The Columbus Blue Jackets have made it official. Both Kekalainen and Tortorella released statements today.
From Kekalainen:
“Torts and I have had numerous discussions throughout the season, and we have agreed that the time is right for both he and the club to go different ways,” said Kekalainen (via NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti). “He is a great coach and his accomplishments with our club over the past six seasons speak for themselves. He has played an integral role in our success since his arrival, and we are extremely grateful for his passion and commitment to the Blue Jackets and our city. He was the right coach at the right time and helped us establish a standard that we will carry forward.”
From Tortorella:
“After discussion and consideration of the future direction of the team, Jarmo and I have come to a mutual agreement to part ways,” said Tortorella (via The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline). “I’d like to thank the Columbus Blue Jackets organization for the opportunity to coach this team and live in the great Columbus area. It has been a privilege to work with the players, coaches and hockey operations staff, which is one of the best in the League. Also, I want to thank the CBJ fans and the community for the support they’ve given the team and for the work of the CBJ family in support of the community. My family and I have loved living and working in the area. We have made life-long friends here, so we do feel considerable sadness, which is to be expected, when something so meaningful comes to an end. This is a great hockey community and I wish everyone here great success moving forward. Thank you again.”
Saturday: The Columbus Blue Jackets season has ended and so has John Tortorella‘s tenure as head coach. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that Tortorella, whose contract expires at the end of this season, will not return for 2021-22.
Portzline adds that “all indications suggest” that the veteran coach wants to continue running a bench in the NHL, meaning there is suddenly a very experienced option on the market. Tortorella sits 12th on the all-time list for NHL games coached with 1,383. One more full season would put him into the top eight, passing Mike Keenan (1,386), Pat Quinn (1,400), Ron Wilson (1,401), and Dick Irvin (1,449). He has won the Jack Adams award twice, one of only four coaches to win it with two different teams.
It’s been six full seasons in Columbus, taking over in 2015-16 and leading the team to the postseason four times. This year has been very different though, with the Blue Jackets winning just 18 of 56 games and finishing behind the rebuilding Detroit Red Wings. It’s been a season full of headlines, with Pierre-Luc Dubois forcing his way out of Columbus, while Tortorella clashed with newcomers Patrik Laine and Max Domi. Big changes appear imminent for the Blue Jackets, who already sold off Nick Foligno and David Savard at the deadline, among others.
Though it has been clear for a while that Tortorella likely wasn’t being brought back, there has still been no official announcement from the team. Whenever it comes, there will be plenty of accolades heaped on Tortorella’s time in Columbus. His numbers for the organization dwarf the likes of Ken Hitchcock, Todd Richards and Dave King, the only three other coaches who have been behind the bench for at least 200 Columbus games. Tortorella’s time finishes with 447 games coached and a 227-166-54 record. He has been the coach in 31 of the team’s 41 postseason appearances.
New York Rangers Fire John Davidson, Jeff Gorton
4:35pm: The Rangers have made it official, announcing that Davidson and Gorton are “leaving the organization” effective immediately. Drury has taken over as president and general manager, while senior advisor Glen Sather will help him during the transition. Dolan has released a statement:
We want to thank JD and Jeff for their contributions to the organization. They are both great hockey professionals who worked hard for the Rangers, however, in order for the team to succeed in the manner our fans deserve, there needs to be a change in leadership. Chris is a very sought-after executive and a strong leader, who has proven himself to be one of the top young minds in hockey. We are confident he will effectively guide the team to ensure the long-term success we promised Rangers fans.
1:50pm: In a stunning development, the New York Rangers have fired team president John Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. This comes less than 24 hours after the team issued a harsh statement critiquing the league and Department of Player Safety head George Parros. Frank Seravalli of TSN reports that the two men “scurried to distance themselves” from the statement, telling other executives that they did not know it was in the works until after it was released. Larry Brooks of the New York Post tweets that associate GM Chris Drury will remain with the organization in a prominent role and Friedman reports that it will be as president and GM.
Darren Dreger of TSN has been told that the firings are not related to the statement and Friedman adds that James Dolan, the team owner, was unhappy with the team this season and wanted a change. Dolan was also behind the statement, reports Friedman.
While the Rangers are going to miss the playoffs again this season, the rebuild is going pretty much exactly as planned. Three years ago, the team issued a letter to fans telling them that they would be trading franchise icons in order to amass a new young core to put them back in contention for the Stanley Cup. Names like Ryan McDonagh, Mats Zuccarello, Rick Nash, J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes, Brady Skjei, and Marc Staal were all shown the door, while Gorton and his staff compiled prospects and picks to build for the future. The team went out and signed Artemi Panarin to a huge contract in free agency to move things along and even took part in the postseason last year, losing to a much more experienced Carolina Hurricanes team in the qualification round.
This season they will miss the playoffs thanks to a brutal East Division, sitting ten points behind the New York Islanders but holding a 26-21-6 record. The Rangers would hold a playoff position in two of the other divisions with the same record and have the 13th-best goal differential in the NHL.
Apparently, that rebuild has not gone the way ownership envisioned. Davidson and Gorton are out, adding two respected and experienced executives to the market for teams to go after this summer. It was less than two years ago when Davidson resigned his role with the Columbus Blue Jackets to take a similar job with the Rangers, noting that it was a homecoming of sorts for the former player and broadcaster. That homecoming is now over, but it seems very unlikely that Davidson is without work for long if he wants to continue in an NHL front office.
Of course, even though they are moving on from two experienced executives, the Rangers have a ready-made replacement in Drury. An Olympic medalist as a player, Drury has been one of the most sought-after young managers in the league the last several years but has continued to commit himself to the Rangers whenever a new opportunity presented itself. He joined the team as its director of player development in 2015 and has worked his way up the ranks, also serving as GM for Team USA at the World Championships. There’s no doubting Drury’s ability in the role, though his appointment does come suddenly and with plenty of surprise.
Seattle Kraken Make Final Expansion Payment, Gain Official Standing
The NHL now has 32 teams. On Friday, the Seattle Kraken made the final installment of a $650MM franchise expansion fee and was given official NHL standing. That means the team immediately gains the ability to sign free agents, make trades and vote on league proposals. They have a seat at the table, so to speak. Commissioner Gary Bettman released a short statement:
On behalf of the Board of Governors, I am delighted to officially welcome the Seattle Kraken to the NHL as our 32nd Member Club. Congratulations to David Bonderman, the Bonderman Family, their partners, the entire Seattle Kraken organization, the city of Seattle and Kraken fans as the Club continues on its exciting journey towards puck drop in October.
In 2017, the Vegas Golden Knights were given official standing on March 1 and just five days later signed the first player in franchise history. Reid Duke, a free agent junior player who had originally been drafted by the Minnesota Wild but never signed, inked an entry-level contract with the Golden Knights. Two months later they would sign Vadim Shipachyov out of the KHL to a two-year, $9MM deal. A few weeks before the expansion draft, they would add Czech forward Tomas Hyka to an entry-level deal.
None of those players made a big impact on the Golden Knights and similarly, though the Kraken can now sign contracts of their own, don’t expect their pre-expansion signings to be any key players. Still, even though the college free agent market has been picked clean, Francis could potentially still nab some undrafted junior players. He told Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times that they are looking at some OHL and WHL players, along with some free agents from Europe. The true fun will happen for Seattle when the draft approaches and teams around the league are forced to make side deals, protecting extra assets or convincing Kraken GM Ron Francis to take some bad money.
Welcome to the NHL, Seattle.