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Sharks’ Logan Couture Announces Retirement Due To Injury

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April 15: As expected, Couture told reporters today that he’s unable to continue his playing career (via Pashelka). He’ll presumably remain on long-term injured reserve (if necessary to keep San Jose cap-compliant) for the remainder of his contract, which carries an $8MM cap hit through 2026-27.

April 14: The San Jose Sharks are planning to hold a joint press conference with team captain Logan Couture on Tuesday where Couture is expected to announce the end of his playing career due to injury, per Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group. The news was originally reported by Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. Couture has been working to recover from Osteitis Pubis, a condition that causes inflammation of the joints between pubic bones.

Couture made a detailed effort to return to game shape after receiving his diagnosis ahead of the 2023-24 season. He had to miss the first three months of the campaign to rehab, but told NHL.com in December of 2023 that he was optimistic and trending upwards. Couture said at the time:

Finally, knock on wood, everything continues to go well and I’m over that hump and things can continue to trend to me getting back to practicing with the guys.

He would skate in his first game of that season just over one month after delivering that quote – and recorded an assist in his return. But Couture’s comeback was short-lived, and he’d end up back out of the lineup due to his injury after just six games. His final game, on January 31st of 2024, will now stand as the last of Couture’s storied NHL career.

There’s a short list of players whose name is more ubiquitous with Sharks hockey than Couture’s. He spent all 16 seasons of his NHL career with San Jose, after being drafted by the team with the ninth overall selection in the 2007 NHL Draft. Over the years, Couture worked his way up to the fifth-most games (933) and fourth-most points (701) in franchise history. He also ranks third in goals (323) and fifth in assists (378).

Couture played through his NHL rookie season on the 2009-10 Sharks – a legendary squad in franchise history that featured the likes of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley, Dan Boyle, Ryane Clowe, and Joe Pavelski among many others. Couture only scored nine points in 25 games – the minimum to qualify a rookie season. He found his spot in the NHL lineup before the end of the regular season and went on to support San Jose with four goals in 15 playoff games as the team chased a loss in the Western Conference Finals. Couture would play his first full season in the following year. He scored an impressive 32 goals and 56 points in 79 games during the regular season, and added 14 points split evenly in 18 playoff games to again push the Sharks to a loss in the Western Conference Finals.

With his legs under him, Couture quickly became a locked-in piece of the Sharks’ daily lineup. He held down a set-and-forget role as San Jose’s second-line center throughout the 2010s, serving as the young-and-reliable punch behind Thornton, Marleau, and Pavelski as the trio aged. He routinely rivaled the 30-goal and 60-point mark during the regular season, and consistently found a way to grow to point-per-game scoring in the postseason. That sentiment rang loudest during the 2015-16 campaign, when Couture was forced out of 30 regular season games by a broken fibula – but then returned for a dazzling 10 goals and 30 points in 24 playoff games. He was the beating heart of the Sharks lineup that summer, and pushed the team to their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history, only to be beaten by the dynasty-era Pittsburgh Penguins.

San Jose’s routine appearance in the postseason would fizzle out just three years after their run to the Cup Finals. Couture scored 20 points in 20 games of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs to push the team to one last run to the Conference Finals, but their walls crumbled soon after. Couture missed 30 games of the 2019-20 season with a fractured ankle. His next full season was in 2020-21, on a Sharks lineup without Thornton and soon to part with Marleau, Brent Burns, and Erik Karlsson. The Sharks continued to tear down through 2023-24 – sending Timo Meier to New Jersey in 2023 and Tomas Hertl to Vegas in 2024. Through all of the change and fluctuation, Couture remained the proud consistent – holding strong to the captaincy and welcoming an increasingly younger roster with open arms.

Couture’s support of the Sharks has stayed consistent even as he’s faced career-ending injury. He’s supported rookie head coach Ryan Warsofsky for much of this season, helping to make lineup decisions and adjust star rookies to the next level. He enters retirement still in firm grip of San Jose’s captaincy – and surely with a coaching or development role soon to come. Stepping onto a pro team’s staff will likely coincide with Couture handing the Sharks’ “C” to one of the team’s future superstars – most likely Macklin Celebrini. That handoff will mark yet another meaningful step in Couture’s journey as a Sharks legend, even if the details surrounding it are unfortunate. Couture’s only hardware during his NHL career was a Gold Medal at the 2017 World Cup – though his presence as a consistent leader, strong two-way forward, and top-echelon franchise scorer will almost certainly earn the Guelph, Ontario native respect from local Hall of Fames over the coming years.

Nikolaj Ehlers Out Week-To-Week With Foot Injury

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Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers is out week-to-week with the foot injury he aggravated in a collision with an official against the Blackhawks on Saturday, head coach Scott Arniel said today (via Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press).

Ehlers’ status for the beginning of Winnipeg’s first-round series against the second wild card in the Western Conference is now highly doubtful. A week-to-week designation likely sidelines him for the first two games of the series at the very least, although that timeline this late in the regular season could keep him out for the entire first round – or even longer.

That’s a humongous blow to the President’s Trophy winners as they attempt to win their first playoff series since 2021. Ehlers, a perennial top-six producer despite receiving less-than-expected deployment, ranks third on the Jets in scoring with 24-39–63 in 69 games. He also missed a stretch of games earlier in the year with a lower-body injury. It’s the third time in four seasons Ehlers has missed at least 10 games due to injury.

Ehlers’ performance this season is the second-best of his career on a per-game basis, and it also comes in the final season of his seven-year, $42MM contract. Might the pending unrestricted free agent have played his final regular-season game in Winnipeg? He’ll look to at least get back to that production if the Jets can win enough playoff games without him to extend his season, building on what’s been an extremely underwhelming playoff reputation so far in his career. The 29-year-old has just four goals in 37 career postseason outings.

Luckily, the Jets may not be down a pair of top-six fixtures when their postseason begins. Arniel also said that top-line winger Gabriel Vilardi has been upgraded to day-to-day as he nears a return from the upper-body injury that’s kept him out since March 23. Like Ehlers, he’s a member of the 60-point club with a career-best 27-34–61 stat line in 71 showings. He spent the year stapled to Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele and will return to that role when he gets back in the lineup, whether that’s in their final regular-season game tomorrow against the Ducks, Game 1 of the playoffs, or later in their first-round series.

It’s still a big bite out of the league’s third-ranked offense and will mean one of Alex Iafallo or Nino Niederreiter remains elevated in a top-six role when the postseason begins, even if Vilardi is cleared to play. Ehlers also has the best possession impacts of any qualified Winnipeg forward, with a 53.3 CF% and +10.1 expected rating at even strength.

Avalanche Terminate Gabriel Landeskog’s Conditioning Stint

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Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog will rejoin the team for practice today after a brief conditioning stint with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, the club announced. With the Avs’ regular season schedule over, he’ll remain on long-term injured reserve until the rest of the league wraps up their games by Thursday.

Things went well for Landeskog in the minors as he gears up to return to the NHL after a nearly three-year absence due to multiple right knee surgeries. Colorado sent the 32-year-old down to the minors last week for the first time in his career. He suited up in back-to-back games for the Eagles against the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday and Saturday, notching a goal and an assist in the latter effort.

It’s still uncertain whether he’ll be on hand when the Avs open up their first-round series against the Stars, likely on Saturday. Landeskog still has a few days of practice and off time ahead of him to gauge how he feels, but his knee feeling strong enough to play on back-to-back nights in the AHL is promising. If he’s an option for Colorado to open the postseason, it will be his first NHL appearance in 1,028 days. He last suited up in the series-clinching Game 6 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final against the Lightning.

Outside of its monumental nature, the left-winger’s potential return carries important roster construction implications for the Avs. Top-six fixtures Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin missed Colorado’s final regular-season game on Sunday with lower-body injuries, the team relayed to Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette. They haven’t been handed designations any longer than day-to-day, so while they remain probable for Game 1 against Dallas, they’re not certain yet. Jonathan Drouin also missed the final six games of the season with a lower-body injury and remains uncertain to open the playoffs. That potentially leaves Colorado without three of its four usual top-six wingers to begin the series.

Of course, expecting Landeskog to stop right back into a top-six role out of the gate is unrealistic. He only played around 15 minutes in his AHL debut on Friday and would presumably have his minutes capped at a similar number if he returns to the NHL lineup. Nonetheless, it’s a major boost for the Avs to have their captain back in the lineup at all.

Ducks Sign Tim Washe To Entry-Level Contract

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Fresh off a national championship, Western Michigan captain Tim Washe is headed to the Ducks on a one-year entry-level contract beginning immediately, the team announced. The undrafted free-agent center will immediately become a restricted free agent this summer. He’s expected to make his NHL debut in tomorrow’s penultimate regular-season game against the Wild, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports.

Washe, 23, was only eligible for a one-year contract because he turns 24 before Sep. 15. He’ll earn an extremely prorated salary figure for the final few days of the season before negotiating a standard one-way or two-way deal with Anaheim over the offseason.

The 6’3″, 216-lb pivot arrives in Anaheim after captaining the Broncos to their first Frozen Four appearance and national title in program history, defeating Boston University 6-2 in last weekend’s championship game. The fifth-year forward finished the season in second place on the team in scoring, erupting for a 16-22–38 line in 42 games. That’s more output than he had in his four previous seasons at WMU combined. The Detroit native only posted 12-24–36 in 129 NCAA games from 2020-21 through 2023-24.

That big of a breakout that late in a player’s development generally doesn’t bode well for their NHL ceiling, but he was dominant enough this season in a winning effort for multiple NHL teams to step up with offers. One of them was Minnesota, Russo relays, but the Wild were informed this morning that Washe opted not to sign with them.

Washe joins an Anaheim center pipeline that doesn’t have a ton of help coming after Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish solidified themselves as top-nine forwards over the last couple of seasons. While Washe quantifies as more of a young free agent pickup than a legitimate prospect add, there’s an opening for him to prove he can handle an NHL depth role heading into training camp next fall as a hardworking fourth-line piece, whether down the middle or on the wing.

Oilers’ Mattias Ekholm Out For First Round

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April 14: Ekholm has been ruled out for the Oilers’ first-round series against the Kings, head coach Kris Knoblauch told broadcaster Bob Stauffer today. There’s still hope he could return later in the postseason if Edmonton manages to knock off L.A. without him.

April 12: The Oilers won’t have key two-way defenseman Mattias Ekholm available when they begin their first-round playoff series next weekend. He aggravated his undisclosed injury early in yesterday’s win over the Sharks and could even be ruled out for the season once testing is complete, Ryan Rishaug of TSN reports.

Ekholm had missed seven games with an undisclosed injury before returning against San Jose. Shortly before that, he’d missed six games with an illness. The stalwart Swede has only been available for five games since March 4. They’ve still managed to go 8-5-0 without him, though. It’s unclear when Ekholm sustained the injury against the Sharks, but he left after three shifts and only logged 1:52 of ice time.

There’s a strong argument to be made that Ekholm is Edmonton’s most crucial defenseman at even strength. He’s had another dominant season with his usual partner, Evan Bouchard, controlling 59.5% of expected goals as a pair (per MoneyPuck). When paired with Brett Kulak in Bouchard’s absence, their xG share drops to 57.1%. Offensively, he’s continued to hover above his career average as he has since the Oilers acquired him from the Predators at the 2023 trade deadline. With 9-24–33 in 65 games, he’s tied with Darnell Nurse for sixth on the team (and second among defensemen) in scoring. He’s averaged 22:12 per game, up by over a minute from last year. Most of that increase has come at even strength, although he’s also seen a small bump in his still-minimal power play deployment. He’s still managed seven power-play points (3 G, 4 A) despite averaging under a minute per game with the man advantage.

Even a best-case scenario will keep Ekholm out for “quite some time,” Rishaug writes. Reading between the lines, it’s plausible that Ekholm won’t be able to suit up against L.A. and will likely only be available to help them if they win at least one series without him.

That makes their deadline acquisition of Jake Walman from the Sharks all the more critical. Ekholm was a rock for Edmonton in last year’s run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, ranking fourth on the team with a plus-nine rating. He contributed 5-5–10 in 25 games and averaged nearly 22 minutes per game, third on the team behind Bouchard and Connor McDavid.

Of course, Walman doesn’t have the 112 games of postseason experience that the 34-year-old Ekholm has under his belt. He’s got just one, coming as a member of the Blues in their first-round loss to the Avalanche in 2021. He’s also missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury. With Ekholm’s absence confirmed to be longer-term, it’ll be interesting to see whether Walman gets slotted in top-pairing minutes with Bouchard when he’s ready to return or if he anchors a second pairing while Nurse slots in with Bouchard.

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Oilers Sign Quinn Hutson To Entry-Level Deal

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April 14: The Oilers announced Hutson’s deal this morning, making it official. PuckPedia reports his deal carries a cap hit of $875K and breaks down to an NHL salary of $787.5K, an annual signing bonus of $87.5K, and a minors salary of $85K. Naturally, his 2024-25 figures are prorated.

April 13: The Oilers are signing undrafted free agent winger Quinn Hutson to a two-year entry-level deal out of Boston University after the Terriers’ loss to Western Michigan in last night’s national championship game, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet confirms. Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects was the first to report the deal. Hutson will join Edmonton immediately and burn the first year of his contract, although he’s ineligible to suit up for them in the playoffs.

The older brother of presumptive Calder Trophy finalist Lane Hutson and Capitals prospect Cole Hutson turns pro following three years of college play. While the 5’11”, 170-lb righty was a productive top-six presence out of the gate, he reached new heights in his junior season in 2024-25. The Illinois native finished two points ahead of Cole to lead BU in scoring, posting 23-27–50 in 38 games. NCAA-wide, Hutson tied for ninth in goals, 15th in assists, finished ninth outright in points and ranked fourth in the country in points per game.

Arguably the top college free agent available, Hutson provides a significant jumpstart to a 29th-ranked Oilers prospect pool (per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic), even if he’s at the older end of the scale at 23 years old. It’s not as if this year’s breakout was entirely unforeseen. He flirted with the point-per-game mark last season and finished his college career with 56-58–114 in 117 games, seventh in the NCAA over the last three years.

The Oilers’ pool is extremely light on wingers, making Hutson all the more of an important pickup. Their two first-round picks in the system (Sam O’Reilly, Matthew Savoie) are both natural centers, and their best wing prospect before Hutson’s signing was the oft-injured Roby Jarventie, who’s a question mark to receive a qualifying offer this summer after appearing just twice for AHL Bakersfield in 2024-25.

Hutson will push for a spot on Edmonton’s opening night roster next fall as a cost-effective tertiary contributor, presumably in a third-line scoring role. The Oilers enter the offseason with nearly $13MM in space to fill four roster spots, but a significant portion of that money will likely go to pending RFA defenseman Evan Bouchard. They’ll need multiple low-cost players to punch above their weight on offense as a result.

Wild Sign Zeev Buium To Entry-Level Deal

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April 13: Buium signed his three-year entry-level deal today and will join the team immediately, Minnesota confirmed. Per Michael Russo of The Athletic, his deal carries a $975K cap hit, including $97.5K in signing bonuses per season. There’s a $25K bonus in his deal if he wins the Conn Smythe Trophy this season, allowing Minnesota to max out his Schedule ’A’ performance bonuses in the second and third years of the contract.

April 11: The Minnesota Wild are expected to sign star defense prospect Zeev Buium to his entry-level contract in the coming days. Wild general manager Bill Guerin appeared on Minnesota’s KFAN-1003 to share the news per Joe Smith of The Athletic. Buium later told Smith that he would join the Wild at their Monday practice, just ahead of their season finale on Tuesday. Minnesota has all but clinched the top Western Conference Wild Card – though they could theoretically lose their top spot should they lose their final three games, the Calgary Flames win each of their final four games, and the St. Louis Blues win at least one of their final two games.

The Wild will lean on Buium to help them through their final push towards the postseason. When discussing his ice time, Guerin remarked, “He’ll play. These kids are different, man. They’re ready for this stuff.”

It’s hard to question Guerin’s claim. Buium was far and away the star of the Denver lineup over his two seasons in school. He supported the school to a national championship in his freshman year while leading all collegiate defensemen in scoring with 50 points in 42 games. He also recorded a plus-33 – tied with his brother Shai Buium for fourth-highest in the league. With brother Shai and star partner Sean Behrens both signing in the AHL, Zeev was able to graduate to Denver’s No. 1 defender role this year. He repeated as the NCAA’s top-scoring defenseman with 48 points in 41 games and helped push Denver to the Frozen Four before their semi-final elimination at the hands of a double-overtime loss to Western Michigan University.

Buium was worth the price of admission with the Pioneers. He was constantly involved in play through all three zones and moved quickly up the ice with long strides. Buium earned control of the puck quickly and stayed on it with strong stickhandling. He drove Denver’s movement up the ice and had a special knack for creating time and space from off the offensive blue line. Buium beat opponents cleanly and repeatedly this season. With this news, he’ll get to test his fancy puck-handling and nose for the net against the top flight. His 1.18 points per game in college hockey are the third-highest from a defender through multiple seasons since 2000 – behind Lane Hutson (1.26) and Adam Fox (1.20).

Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images.

Lightning Recall Conor Geekie

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The Lightning have recalled top center prospect Conor Geekie from AHL Syracuse, per a team announcement. He’s expected to play in this evening’s game against the Sabres. To keep Tampa cap-compliant, they reassigned winger Cam Atkinson to Syracuse in a corresponding move.

Geekie, 20, gets the call for the first time since the Bolts sent him to the minors in early February. The 2022 first-round pick, whom Tampa acquired from Utah in last summer’s Mikhail Sergachev trade, made the Lightning’s opening night roster but had seen his ice time dwindle as the season progressed.

As expected, Geekie has been a force for Syracuse since the demotion. The 6’4″, 207-lb center has 11-9–20 through his first 24 minor-league games in the Lightning organization, ranking third among active Crunch skaters in points per game with 0.83. Evidently, that’s enough momentum to get him another look in NHL minutes over the Bolts’ final three games as they continue to mull their Game 1 lineup when their first-round series begins next weekend.

It’s not as if Geekie was a complete non-factor before the AHL stint. He had 6-6–12 in 49 appearances while averaging 12:09 per game, routinely getting second-line opportunities on the wing with Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli. Such an opportunity may still be available. Head coach Jon Cooper has opted to deploy youngster Gage Goncalves in that role in recent days while keeping veteran trade-deadline pickups Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde in a third-line role with Nick Paul. Might the higher-ceiling Geekie get another look at the 2RW spot while Goncalves slides down to fourth-line duties?

The organization’s top-ranked prospect (via Scott Wheeler of The Athletic) may have ended up with a minus-three rating, but his possession metrics with Hagel and Cirelli were strong. He’s also made his mark as one of the team’s more physical forwards, posting 8.67 hits per 60 minutes to rank fourth on the club among qualified skaters. In any event, the younger brother of Bruins forward Morgan Geekie has done enough between his initial NHL stint and his minor-league assignment to secure a second straight appearance on the opening night roster next fall.

As for Atkinson, the veteran winger continues to be a cap casualty after clearing waivers last month. The Bolts have now sent the 35-year-old down to Syracuse on three occasions in the last several weeks, although it’s never for very long and he doesn’t actually report to the minor-league affiliate. This time surely won’t be any different, and the veteran of over 800 NHL games should be back on the roster when the postseason begins. He’s been limited to 4-5–9 in 38 showings with the Bolts after signing a one-year deal last summer.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.

Alec Martinez Announces Retirement

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Today will be Blackhawks defenseman Alec Martinez’s final NHL game, he told Chicago Sports Network’s Darren Pang during warmups (via Tab Bamford of Bleacher Nation). He joins teammate Pat Maroon in retiring following the season, but neither will travel for the team’s season-ending road trip through Montreal and Ottawa.

Martinez’s NHL dream began in 2007 when the Kings selected him in the fourth round out of Miami University. He had been passed over in the 2005 and 2006 drafts but was selected following a strong sophomore showing with the RedHawks. His post-draft season saw him record a career-high in points and CCHA Best Defensive Defenseman honors, earning him an entry-level contract with Los Angeles the following summer. He spent most of the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons with their AHL affiliate, then the Manchester Monarchs, but made his NHL debut with a four-game trial in the latter campaign.

After a strong start to 2010-11 in Manchester, the Kings recalled him in November, and he never looked back. He scored his first NHL goal in his first game of the season and stuck around as a bottom-pairing fixture, posting 5-11–16 in 60 games with a +11 rating as the Kings made the playoffs but lost to the Sharks in the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

In 2011-12, Martinez spent the first half of the year as a frequent healthy scratch but got regular reps after L.A. traded rearguard Jack Johnson to the Blue Jackets for Jeff Carter. Of course, that trade was one of the most consequential of the decade – Carter flourished in a top-six role as the eighth-seeded Kings dominated the 2012 postseason en route to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup. Martinez played in all 20 playoff games, now a third-pairing regular with Johnson out of the picture, and posted three points with a plus-five rating while averaging 14:28 per game.

That’s not the Cup run Kings fans will remember Martinez for, though. Now established as a consistent championship contender, Martinez posted a career-high 22 points in the 2013-14 regular season before scoring two overtime series-clinching goals – one to send the Kings to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final and the other to win it over the Rangers a couple of weeks later. Those were two of the five goals Martinez scored during that playoff run, the same number as star blue-liner Drew Doughty, as he forever established himself as a legend in Los Angeles sporting lore.

In his late 20s, Martinez began taking on consistent top-four minutes as the Kings’ championship window drew to a close. His most divisive season came on a 2016-17 Kings club that missed the playoffs, posting a career-high 39 points in 82 games while finishing with a career-worst -17 rating.

While Martinez’s point totals began to dwindle in the late 2010s, he remained a shot-blocking extraordinaire with a well-rounded defensive game. Amid his fifth consecutive season averaging over 20 minutes per game, his time in Los Angeles came to an end when they traded him to the Golden Knights ahead of the 2020 deadline.

The trade to Vegas breathed new life into Martinez’s two-way game. He made multiple deep playoff runs with the club, including his third Stanley Cup ring in 2023, while continuing to serve as a top-four presence, commonly alongside Alex Pietrangelo. He also had the best offensive campaign of his career in 2020-21 with 0.60 points per game – 0.12 above his previous career high – but the COVID-shortened season prevented him from setting a career-high in points outright. In Vegas’ first Stanley Cup championship in 2023, Martinez’s +13 rating ranked fifth on the team, and he naturally led the club with 57 blocks in the postseason.

Injuries also began to stunt Martinez’s availability, though. After making just 26 appearances in the 2021-22 season, multiple injuries cost him a significant chunk of the 2023-24 campaign. With his ice time and normally staunch possession impacts dwindling, Vegas opted not to re-sign him with his three-year, $15.75MM contract coming to a close.

The Blackhawks stepped up to offer the respected veteran a one-year, $4MM commitment on the open market, and the 37-year-old Martinez arrived in Chicago to help anchor one of the league’s most inexperienced blue lines. Groin and neck injuries limited him to 43 appearances, but he served as an alternate captain and contributed 12 points with a -15 rating while averaging 18:45 per game. Of course, his 5.95 blocks per 60 minutes finished second on the team behind Connor Murphy.

Martinez finishes his career with an 88-201–289 scoring line in 861 games. Among 2007 draftees, he ranks 17th in games played – of course, tremendous value for a fourth-round pick. His career +73 rating also ranks sixth in the class. Only five players – Pietrangelo, John Carlson, Mark Giordano, Ryan McDonagh, and Kris Russell – have blocked more shots than Martinez since he debuted.

All of us at PHR wish Martinez all the best as he ends the playing phase of his hockey career and congratulate him on his spectacular career.

Image courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images.

Lightning Prospect Isaac Howard Wins Hobey Baker Award

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Tampa Bay Lightning prospect and Michigan State University forward Isaac Howard has won the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college hockey. He beat out University of Denver defenseman Zeev Buium (Minnesota Wild) and Boston College winger Ryan Leonard (Washington Capitals) for the award.

Howard was the motor behind a strong Spartans lineup this season. He led Michigan State in all scoring categories, with 52 points split evenly. His 26 goals were two times more than anyone else on the roster. Howard’s scoring also averaged out to 1.41 points-per-game, the most in the NCAA – though he ranks fifth in total scoring. It was a breakout performance for the 21-year-old junior. His offense boomed after he found his footing in Adam Nightingale’s offense with a transfer from the University of Minnnesota-Duluth last season. Howard scored 36 points in 36 games in his first season with the Spartans, more than double the 17 points in 35 games he scored in his freshman season with the Bulldogs. Howard’s dazzling scoring came on the back of tireless hockey. He seemed to dominate all open space north of his own blue-line with fleet-footed skating and a strong drive through opponents. He filled a utility-tool role for the Spartans – making gritty plays behind the net, strong passes from the perimeter, and took hard shots in the slot.

Michigan State had their season ended by Cornell University in the first round of the Men’s Ice Hockey Championship. It was another early end for the Spartans after they lost to rival University of Michigan in the quarterfinals last year. It seems Howard isn’t satisfied with the pair of missed chances at the NCAA’s Frozen Four. He’s announced he’ll return to college for his senior season after not coming to terms with the Lightning on an entry-level contract in the recent weeks. There seems to be a growing divide between the Lightning and Howard’s camp, with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman even suggesting Howard could be traded before signing his first pro deal. The rift is believed to be in part because Howard’s NIL earnings exceed what he would make on a minor-league deal.

It’d be hard to envision Howard’s role in Michigan State changing at all next season. Instead it will be the Spartans’ focus to build around their engine, which will be helped along by the commitments of multiple top prospects. Defensemen Tyson Jugnauth (Seattle Kraken), Colin Ralph (St. Louis Blues), and Matthew Lahey (Toronto Maple Leafs) are all headed to East Lansing next season, as well as forwards Austin Baker (Detroit Red Wings) and Ryker Lee, a 2025 NHL Draft prospect. That influx in talent will inspire Michigan State’s push for their first Frozen Four appearance since their 2007 championship win.

Howard beats out fantastic competition in Leonard and Buium. Leonard has already played in five NHL games and scored his first professional goal. He was a force to be reckoned with at Boston College, serving as the power-checker and goal-scorer on a star-studded Eagles top-line. He scored 30 goals and 49 points in 37 games of his sophomore season, good for most on Boston College and 10th-most in all of college hockey.

Buium was arguably an even bigger impact to his team, as he unquestionably filled the role of star defender for the University of Denver. He amassed 48 points in 41 games this season, most among all collegiate defensemen. It was his second year earning that title, after he managed 50 points in 42 games as a freshman last year. Buium is expected by many to sign his NHL entry-level contract in the coming days, after Denver’s season was ended by Western Michigan University in the semifinals.

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