Blue Jackets Will Wait Until Summer To Discuss Rick Bowness’ Future
The Columbus Blue Jackets became the first team to fire their coach this season when they parted ways with Dean Evason in early January. Columbus immediately hired veteran head coach Rick Bowness as an interim head coach and have posted a 16-2-4 record – second-best in the NHL – ever since. That hot streak has propelled the Blue Jackets into a strong spot in the Eatern Conference Wild Card race. They sit just one point outside of playoff contention, behind the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings. With that race at the front of their minds, the Blue Jackets don’t plan to talk about Bowness’ future in the role until after the season, general manager Don Waddell told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
It has been six years since the Blue Jackets last made the Stanley Cup playoffs. Their last berth was brought to a first round end at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who they beat in the first round in the year prior. Even still, the Blue Jackets’ streak of four consecutive appearances from 2017 to 2020 hinged on Wild Card races and no more than 50 wins each season. That is the position that Columbus once again find themselves in, leaning on a top-three defense – by goals allowed – under Bowness to try and lock in a Wild Card spot while on pace for 42 wins.
The Blue Jackets’ boom under new coaching has been a pleasant surprise. That fact has many wondering if Bowness will stay in the fold, including some of the team’s players per Friedman. Waddell told Friedman that he and Bowness may be the only two people not worried about the long-term.
That relaxed stance could be a good sign for the Blue Jackets. Bowness announced his retirement from coaching in May 2024, after his then Winnipeg Jets were eliminated from the playoffs. That news brought an end to one of the longest active coaching careers in the sport. Bowness debuted behind an NHL bench in 1982 when he was hired as an assistant by Winnipeg, where he had spent the final years of his NHL playing career. He coached in 36 of the next 40 NHL seasons, including 24 consecutive seasons from 1999 to 2024. His retirement came as Bowness approached his 70th birthday. Now 71, he has returned from retirement to head the Blue Jackets bench, and became the last remaining head coach to coach in the 1980s in doing so.
Columbus is now led by plenty of veteran coaching experience. Waddell also began his management career in the 1980s, with the IHL’s Flint Spirits. The two are seasoned hockey names who know the conversations that go into coaching contracts. Their lack of concern over Bowness’ future shows where their focus sits as Columbus approaches a month of must-win games. On the other side of the playoffs, Bowness will face the question of whether he wants to return to retirement or continue on as the oldest head coach in the league. The Blue Jackets will anxiously await that conversation, with their fortunes on the rise on the back of five difficult seasons.
Snapshots: CHL, Vaakanainen, Laba
In November, we covered reports indicating that the NHL was seeking to come to an agreement with the CHL on allowing 19-year-old CHL players to play in the AHL under specific circumstances. At the time, it appeared the league was seeking a deal that would allow each club to select one player, who would have previously been ineligible to play in the AHL, to be loaned to that league. The Athletic’s Michael Russo and Pierre LeBrun reported today that NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly had a meeting scheduled for today with the CHL’s President, alongside the three commissioners of the CHL’s leagues. Per Russo and LeBrun, “there will be some type of change” to the rule, and the negotiations are reportedly more about determining “the number of 19-year-olds that could be assigned” and “the criteria” of who would be allowed to be assigned.
Russo and LeBrun indicated that with the flow of CHL players to the NCAA, now that the NCAA’s rules permit CHLers to join the college ranks, NHL teams “want to maintain control of their drafted players.” Providing a player with the flexibility to turn pro might keep a player from playing college hockey, something that would accomplish that goal for teams. Recent history is littered with players who teams would likely have preferred to turn pro rather than return to the CHL, perhaps none more high-profile than 2022 No. 4 pick Shane Wright. The year after he was drafted, Wright got into eight NHL games, a handful of AHL games (on a conditioning loan), and was reassigned to the OHL after the World Juniors. It’s likely that Wright would have simply spent the year in the AHL had the rules been different, and with today’s reporting, it appears the next Wright might very well get the chance to do just that.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- The New York Rangers announced tonight that defenseman Urho Vaakanainen left the team’s contest against the New Jersey Devils after suffering an upper-body injury. The full extent of Vaakanainen’s injury is, of course, unclear at this time. The 27-year-old, who is under contract through next season at a $1.55MM AAV, has served as a seventh defenseman for the Rangers this season. He’s gotten into 32 games, scoring six points and averaging 14:08 time on ice per game.
- Vaakanainen isn’t the only Rangers player who left their game against the Devils with an injury: the team also announced that rookie center Noah Laba has been sidelined with a lower-body injury. Laba’s emergence has been one of the more positive storylines for the Rangers this season, as the 2022 fourth-round pick has been a developmental bright spot for a team whose track record in that area has come under scrutiny. The 22-year-old has 21 points in 64 games this season and has been operating as the team’s No. 3 center, averaging 13:33 time on ice per game including a secondary role on the penalty kill.
Wild’s Joel Eriksson Ek Out Day-To-Day
The Minnesota Wild will once again need to shore up their center depth due to injury. This time it is Joel Eriksson Ek headed to the mend with a day-to-day, lower-body injury per NHL.com’s Joe Smith. Minnesota will move Robby Fabbri into the lineup while Danila Yurov and Ryan Hartman platoon the top-center role.
Eriksson Ek is expected to miss at least three games with this injury, general manager Bill Guerin told Michael Russo of The Athletic. That means Minnesota will be without their top center for a home-and-home slate against the Chicago Blackhawks, then an important bout with the Dallas Stars. Should this timeline hold true, Eriksson Ek would be next available when Minnesota begins a three-game road trip to the East coast next Tuesday.
Eriksson Ek has had a tough go as of late, netting two points and a minus-one over his last nine games. That cold streak came after Eriksson Ek caught fire before the Olympics, netting eight points in Minnesota’s six games before the break, then adding two more points in the Wild’s return. The Wild haven’t found much more scoring from their other centers as of late, with both Yurov and Hartman boasting three points in their last nine games.
Those small totals could put weight on trade acquisition Michael McCarron to begin carving out his spot in Minnesota’s lineup. He has long been an effective defensive-center, routinely posting a faceoff percentage north of 50 percent and at least 100 hits a season. This year, McCarron has racked up 179 hits, 67 shot blocks, and a 53.1 faceoff percentage in 65 games split between Minnesota and the Nashville Predators.
McCarron will bring a tidy bit of two-way responsibility, while the Wild look towards their star scorers to spur the offense. Matt Boldy and Quinn Hughes have each scored nine points in their last nine games while Kirill Kaprizov, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Mats Zuccarello each have seven points. Even with their spark, Minnesota has fallen to a 3-4-2 record – including two shootout losses – since February 27th. They will need to find another X-factor to tilt even matchups until Eriksson Ek is back to full health.
Penguins’ Blake Lizotte Out A Month, Justin Brazeau And Evgeni Malkin Back
Another lineup change is inbound for the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team will add star Evgeni Malkin back into the fold in Monday night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche after the conclusion of a five-game suspension for slashing. Pittsburgh will also have scoring winger Justin Brazeau back from an injury that held him out of the last four games per Josh Getzoff of Sportsnet Pittsburgh. One of the decisions for who to remove from the lineup will be made for Pittsburgh, as centerman Blake Lizotte is out with an upper-body injury.
After missing Monday night’s game, the Penguins announced that Lizotte would not be re-evaluated for at least four weeks. He will stay on the shelf and could land on injured reserve, while Pittsburgh will be faced with how to make up for an impactful, bottom-six center.
Malkin and Brazeau are expected to resume their roles filling out Pittsburgh’s right-wing depth chart. The former has continued to serve as a cornerstone of the Penguins lineup even in his age-39 season. Malkin has scored 13 goals and 47 points in 46 games this season. That is the second-highest points-per-game on the team behind only Sidney Crosby, who has 59 points in 56 games. The pair of future Hall-of-Famers continue to drive Pittsburgh’s offense, though the Penguins will only be able to lean on Malkin in the short-term, as Crosby continues to recover from an injury of his own.
While Malkin fortifies the top of the lineup, Brazeau will bring a goal-scoring presence back to the middle-six. He has racked up 16 goals and 30 points in 48 games this season, while averaging 13 minutes of ice time each game. It has been a breakout year for Brazeau, who split the 2024-25 season between the Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild, ultimately totaling 22 points in 76 games. A hot start to the year with Boston encouraged a Spring trade, but after netting just two points in 19 games with Minnesota, Brazeau was left on the open market this summer. Pittsburgh swooped in to land a 27 year old capable of filling a veteran presence among their young forward group.
Even with two strong scorers back in the lineup, Pittsburgh will feel the brunt of losing Lizotte to injury. He has served as a hard-working center all season long, often filling defensive and utility roles to help clear space for Pittsburgh’s stars. Lizotte ranks third on the Penguins, behind Crosby and Noel Acciari, with a 50.0 faceoff percentage on 476 draws this season. He also ranks sixth on the offense in hits (49) and shot blocks (35).
Lizotte’s absence will leave a hole that will require some shifting to fill. Rookie Benjamin Kindel is likely to move to the center position, while Bryan Rust is able to move back to his natural wing with Pittsburgh’s pair of returns. These changes will leave one of Avery Hayes or Elmer Soderblom outside of the lineup on Monday. Hayes has gone without a point in his last 10 games after scoring two goals in his NHL debut. Soderblom, who seems more likely to stick in the lineup, has yet to record a point in four games with the Penguins. He was acquired from the Detroit Red Wings prior to the Trade Deadline.
Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl Expected To Miss Remaining Regular Season
The Edmonton Oilers will be missing major firepower for Tuesday night’s divisional matchup against the San Jose Sharks. Superstar Leon Draisaitl has been declared out for the matchup due to a lower-body injury sustained in Sunday’s win over the Nashville Predators. Draisaitl left that game in the first period after taking a hard bump from Predators winger Ozzy Wiesblatt. No update was provided after the game.
After announcing that he would miss Tuesday night’s game, the Oilers released an additional statement sharing that Draisaitl will have to miss the remaining regular season. He will not need surgery for the injury and should be available for the start of playoffs, general manager Stan Bowman told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
This news will be a major blow to the Oilers offense as they look to seal their spot in the top-three of the Pacific Division. Draisaitl has stayed red-hot since Edmonton returned from the Olympic break. He has six goals and 17 points in his last 10 games, bringing his year-long totals up to 35 goals and 97 points in just 65 games. The 30 year old ranks second on the Oilers in scoring behind Connor McDavid, who has already reached 114 points in 68 games. The two are one of the best duos in the league whether they’re playing alongside each other or not – making Edmonton’s task of replacing Draisaitl that much more challenging.
Max Jones will step into the lineup to fill Draisaitl’s hole. Jones has appeared in nine NHL games, and scored one point, this season. He has also racked up 10 goals, 18 points, and 61 penalty minutes in 39 AHL games. He is a veteran of 293 NHL games with 66 points, split evenly, to show for it. Jones should assume a bottom-line role, while Vasily Podkolzin and Matthew Savoie move up the lineup to bridge the top-six. Podkolzin has three points in his last six games and 30 points on the year, while Savoie has two points in his last two games and 27 points in total. The two should keep play moving just enough to earn Edmonton’s other star talent – McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zach Hyman – scoring chances. Meanwhile the Oilers brass will hold their breath until a clearer timeline for Draisaitl’s return becomes available. The team expects to have updates before the weekend.
If that will be enough to sustain Edmonton’s offense across their remaining 14 games will be a larger question. The Oilers have scored the second-most goals in the NHL (238) behind only the Colorado Avalanche (249). Much of that scoring came from the one-two punch that is McDavid and Draisaitl. Without one of those hooks, the Oilers will need to look towards Hyman to make up for short-term scoring. This could also be a major opportunity for Savoie or Isaac Howard to step up as scoring pieces, after quieter starts to their pro careers than many expected.
Doug Armstrong Steps Down As Team Canada GM
Following the 2026 Winter Olympics, Doug Armstrong has stepped down as the general manager of Team Canada’s Olympic men’s hockey team per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Armstrong led Canada to a silver medal finish at the latest Olympics, losing in a heartbreak overtime to Team USA. The tournament was led in scoring by two Canadian players – superstar Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini, the youngest NHL player to suit up for Canada’s Olympic men’s team. In an interview with LeBrun, Armstrong said that the result of the tournament was not why he was stepping down. Instead, he felt it was time for change:
I’ve enjoyed every aspect of it. Obviously, you wish you could go out on top. But it would be selfish to want to do it again. It’s such a great experience and I think more people should enjoy it.
Armstrong’s tenure in Canada’s upper management stretches all the way back to the 2002 World Championship, when he worked under Lanny McDonald‘s lead. He has since won seven Gold medals and six Silver medals at the World Championship. Armstrong also worked under Steve Yzerman to put together Canada’s Gold medal-winning rosters at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.
Throughout his reign over the country’s national team, Armstrong has been no stranger to bold decisions. He chose to ignore Celebrini’s age when rostering him for the 2026 Olympics and leaned on a goalie he could trust – the goalie who earned Armstrong his first Stanley Cup win, Jordan Binnington. Those patterns for bold decisions stretch back to the inclusion of players like Braden Schneider, Chris Kunitz, and Dan Hamhuis on international rosters. The decisions often benefited chemistry and morale where they didn’t boost the scoresheet – helping Canada continue blazing their trail of international success.
Naturally, the conversation will shift towards who will become Armstrong’s heir leading Canada’s men’s roster. The triple-gold-winning GM didn’t have any thoughts on immediate successors but did tell LeBrun that he thinks Sidney Crosby would be a perfect fit on the other side of his playing days. Armstrong praised Crosby’s “dignity and grace” on top of his wealth of hockey experience and drive to win. Where Canada tries to act professional and classy, Crosby takes it to another level. Armstrong said he also sees those traits in McDavid.
Armstrong will move forward with a focus on his final days in the St. Louis Blues’ GM role, which is set to turnover to Alexander Steen this summer while Armstrong moves into a full-time President of Hockey Operations role. Team Canada won’t need to worry about a replacement immediately, though they’ll have a great list of options available. Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill, Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien BriseBois, and Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney were all assistants to Armstrong at the 2026 Olympics. The team’s management staff also employed Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas and up-and-coming managerial advisor Ryan Getzlaf.
It seems any of the reigning Silver medal winners could take on the big chair – with Nill and Sweeney offering experience, Dubas offering youth, and BriseBois offering unique approaches. Canada has also called on Yzerman, Shane Doan, and even Wayne Gretzky to manage international rosters. Their star-studded list of candidates will keep news around Team Canada exciting, even as they lose a core part of their management for more than 20 years.
Flames’ Yan Kuznetsov Out Day-To-Day
The Calgary Flames will need to shake up their blue-line before Monday night’s matchup against the Detroit Red Wings. Defenseman Yan Kuznetsov is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury, head coach Ryan Huska told Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960. Kuznetsov filled a second-pair role in Calgary’s Saturday night loss to the New York Islanders. He and partner Zach Whitecloud were the only Flames pairing to record a plus-minus and outshoot their opponents in that matchup.
Kuznetsov, in his rookie season, has grown into a bigger role in the lineup following the departure of Rasmus Andersson. He has now played 10 games with at least 20 minutes of ice time, since Andersson’s trade – bringing Kuznetsov up to 33 such games on the year. His 20:09 in average ice time ranks fourth among current Flames defenders.
The 24-year-old Russian has racked up four goals, 12 points, and a minus-nine in 52 games this season. He is the second-highest scoring defenseman on the current Flames roster, behind Kevin Bahl who has 16 points. That’s an impressive jump for Kuznetsov, who spent the entire 2024-25 season with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. He totaled 21 points in 72 AHL games last season, bringing his career totals in the minors up to 53 points in 216 games. Kuznetsov also recorded two goals in 10 AHL games to start this season, before earning a full-time call-up in early-November. He has played in 52 consecutive NHL games since that recall, a streak that will end on Monday.
Kuznetsov’s absence will force fellow rookie Zayne Parekh up the lineup. Parekh has just two points, both assists, in 21 NHL games this season. It has been a quiet year despite the 19 year old scoring five points in four AHL games throughout the season. A bump into the top-four should represent a chance to find his scoring behind Calgary’s top forward lines – though the Flames will need to lean on Whitecloud and Bahl to make up for Kuznetsov’s physical role.
This move will also promote another rookie, Hunter Brzustewicz, into the lineup. Brzustewicz recorded 15 minutes of ice time, and three shots on goal, in Calgary’s March 12th win over the New Jersey Devils. That was his first NHL appearance since late-January. In total, he has scored two points in 19 NHL games and 13 points in 34 AHL games this season. He too will sit in a prove-it role as Calgary looks for who can replace one of their most impactful rookies this season.
NHL Announce 2028 World Cup Of Hockey
NHL general managers are convening in Palm Beach, Florida for a week of GM meetings beginning on Monday. A top agenda item will be preparing the announcement for the 2028 World Cup of Hockey, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The tournament has been held three times between 1996 and 2016. It was most recently held from September 17 to September 29, 2016, in Toronto. The 2028 iteration of the tournament was originally announced in February 2025.
Despite claims that the tournament will move forward without IIHF involvement, the NHL has announced that they are partnering with the international body to help ensure players from outside the NHL can be made available per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen.
The league made the official announcement at 12:30 P.M. ET on Monday. In it, Calgary and Edmonton, Canada, and Prague, Czechia, were revealed as the hosts cities. The event will take place in February, 2028 – in the middle of the 2027-28 season. Prague and Calgary will each host half of the round robin section of the tournament, while Edmonton will host the semi-finals and finals.
Further, the NHL announced that the tournament will use NHL rules rather than international rules per LeBrun. Most notably, that will mean that overtime periods are five-on-five, rather than three-on-three.
The last iteration of the tournament brought together six countries – America, Canada, Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Czechia – as well as two specialized teams, one featuring talent from other European countries and another featuring the top U24 players in America and Canada. The resulting Team North America brought together many NHL superstars well ahead of their prime, including Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Aaron Ekblad, Nathan MacKinnon, and more.
Team North America posted a 2-1-0 record and scored an 11-to-eight goal-differential – but ultimately lost out to Russia’s fewer goals-against (five) in the standings. Russia lost to Team Canada in the first round of the knockout stage, while Team Europe beat Sweden on the other side. Canada would go on to win the tournament, proudly led by leading scorer Sidney Crosby. Alongside Patrice Bergeron, Jonathan Toews, Brad Marchand, and Carey Price – Crosby was able to lead Canada to a win over Europe’s Mats Zuccarello, Anze Kopitar, Marian Gaborik, and Leon Draisaitl.
The next iteration of the World Cup of Hockey should similarly bring together world class talent in a best-on-best competition in the years leading up to the 2030 Winter Olympics. One questoin the NHL will need to be prepared to answer is if, and where, Russian talent will fit into the conversation. The country has been, and continues to be, excluded from all IIHF competition dating back to 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine. The NHL will not have to abide by the IIHF’s decision but has previously said that Russia is not expected to be invited to the event, however the NHL did not confirm this in their press conference following the official announcement.
If the NHL chooses to bolster the number of contending teams with another Team Europe or Team North America will also be closely followed. The league has no shortage of young talent breaking through – with stars like Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Schaefer even making their case for league-best titles.
Islanders’ Max Shabanov Out Day-To-Day
The New York Islanders’ Monday practice was laden with positive injury updates, including the brief return of Pierre Engvall, Alexander Romanov, and Sergei Varlamov at various points around practice. Even with the positives, New York will need to adjust their lineup, as winger Max Shabanov recovers from a day-to-day, lower-body injury per NHL.com’s Stefen Rosner.
The Islanders iced depth winger Kyle MacLean and listed Shabanov as a healthy scratch in Saturday’s win over the Calgary Flames. MacLean contributed one assist to the Islanders’ three-goal effort. That brought him up to seven points in 48 games this season. MacLean has spent many of those games in a fourth-line role that should continue on until Shabanov returns to a lineup role. New York could also lean on Marc Gatcomb, who has scored four points in 36 games this season.
Shabanov has had a tough time transitioning to the NHL after a standout season in Russia’s KHL last season. He finished the 2024-25 season with 23 goals and 67 points in 65 KHL games, the third-most points in the league. That production made Shabanov a top free agent last summer. Multiple teams were in on the race to sign the stickhandling wizard, with the Islanders ultimately winning out.
New York began the season with Shabanov in a middle-six role. He scored 10 points in his first 19 NHL games, while averaging just over 14 minutes a game. That hot streak was followed by a nine-game stretch where Shabanov only scored one point, beginning in mid-December. He kicked the bug for a bit, only to fall into another cold streak recently, with one point in his last 12 games.
The Islanders have responded to the dwindling scoring by demoting Shabanov to a fourth-line role and even healthy scratching the scoring winger. He sits with four goals and 16 points in 42 games in his NHL rookie season. A short-term injury will offer Shabanov a chance to rest up after a tough stretch and prepare to once again contribute strong scoring as the Islanders push for their first playoff appearance since 2024.
PHR Mailbag: Blackhawks, Mammoth, Oilers, Blackhawks, MacKinnon, CBA
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include thoughts on what Utah did and didn’t do at the trade deadline, the rescinding of Nathan MacKinnon’s major penalty, and more. If your question doesn’t appear here, watch for it in our next two mailbag columns.
SpeakOfTheDevils: I know what he said in his after-deadline presser but what are the odds that Tom Fitzgerald is fired as the GM of the NJ Devils this offseason? Second part, who would be the top three choices to replace him???
General managers typically get a longer leash than coaches but he’s had the role since January 2020 when he took over in an interim capacity, getting the tag lifted soon after. He’s had five full seasons in charge and the Devils have won just one playoff round in that span. Barring a miracle comeback over the final month, they won’t get a chance to add to that number this spring. Yes, they’ve had some injuries, but they can’t use that as a crutch again. Based on that, you might be inclined to think the odds are rather high that he’d be fired.
But he’s also the team president, a role he has only held since January 2024. His contract terms weren’t disclosed but there are probably a couple of years left on it. And if ownership still believes in his vision, maybe he stays.
Maybe there’s an in-between option, one we’ve seen more frequently in recent years. What if Fitzgerald is moved to just president duties and cedes the GM role? Is that viewed as a possible compromise? I could see that happening, so maybe the odds of him not being GM could be in the 50-60% range and the odds of him leaving the organization outright more in the 30-40% territory.
As for part two, if Fitzgerald is out as GM, a lot depends on if he’s out altogether or just as GM. If they remove the GM title but keep him as president, Dan MacKinnon, their assistant GM, would be the logical choice to move up and take on a bigger role. If he’s gone altogether, I think Marc Bergevin would get consideration. He has been up for a couple of jobs lately and it feels like a matter of when, not if, he gets another crack. Brendan Shanahan is believed to be looking to get back into things. That one might be more of a president role but I think he’d be on the list. I also expect Ryan Martin to land one of the GM jobs soon. A veteran of 20 years in various front offices, he’s second in command with the Rangers at the moment and a chance to steal someone from a key rival might be appealing.
bottlesup: With the addition of Weegar, could you see the Mammoth possibly upsetting whoever the Pacific Division champ is in the 1st round? Assuming Utah continues to hold a firm grip on the WC1.
I’ll preface this by saying that I like the MacKenzie Weegar pickup for Utah. Yes, he’s having a down year but the track record is solid and if he’s in more of a second-pairing role for the Mammoth which he’s better suited to, I think he’ll bounce back a bit. So far, the early returns have been decent. But is he a big needle-mover? I’m not sure he materially affects their odds of winning a series. He helps get them there, but I don’t think his addition necessarily gives them a big leg up against a Pacific team.
Having said that, I think Utah has a legitimate chance to pull off an upset, simply because the Pacific Division just isn’t that great. Anaheim is playing well but like Utah, they’re very inexperienced in the playoffs so that could be a toss-up. Vegas isn’t turning things around like many expected them to. However, they have a good enough track record in the playoffs that they’d probably be the favorite in a hypothetical series. The same can be said about Edmonton. The Kings and Sharks aren’t entirely out of it but probably aren’t getting into first place so I won’t cover them here. Utah has a shot at making it through the first round if they can hold onto that top Wild Card spot.
Gbear: Feels to me that Utah missed a chance at the deadline to add a top-six winger (the whole Thomas thing from the Blues was a non-starter) and really give themselves a chance to win a round or two. Keller deserved that chance. Thoughts?
After they picked up Weegar without moving any of their top assets, I thought Utah GM Bill Armstrong was well-positioned to make a splash up front but it obviously didn’t happen. I don’t know how much of a chance was missed, though. Which top-six wingers actually moved? Bobby Brink has been one before, Conor Garland (who the team is familiar with from their days in Arizona), and, well, that’s about it. Centers and defensemen were the currency and that’s something Utah didn’t need to dabble in, especially knowing they were nearing an extension with Nick Schmaltz that has since been finalized and that they had already acquired Weegar.
It’s not a bad thing either that they didn’t push in a bunch of chips. There’s something to be said for getting some playoff experience and then using that to shape their next aggressive swing over the summer. And, as noted above, they’re in a spot where they could very well get through the first round if they wind up in the Pacific bracket. I expect there will be more opportunities to add a top-six winger over the offseason than there were at the trade deadline so in the end, they might wind up being better off for having waited, assuming they get something across the finish line a few months from now.
sovietcanuckistanian: I don’t know about you, but did Edmonton miss the boat by not significantly upgrading either/both of its defense corps and goalie at the trade deadline? With Florida almost assuredly not making the playoffs (injury bug), it seems like a missed opportunity – especially since McDavid is on that only two-year extension.
I’m going to flip the order of these so I can pick up on the theme from the last question about how realistic a move for a goalie upgrade there was. There wasn’t a single NHL goaltender moved at or leading up to the deadline. I know there was speculation about Sergei Bobrovsky but I don’t think trade talks got far considering Florida is trying to re-sign him. Jordan Binnington’s name was out there but the Oilers can’t afford to take on the contract and I don’t think St. Louis would have retained salary. Was anyone else out there really an upgrade? There were rumblings about a Toronto goalie but that feels more like an offseason decision. Samuel Montembeault’s name was thought to be in play but is he an improvement given how his season has gone? It’s hard to be too critical in that sense since there wasn’t much out there that they could do.
Granted, some of that is self-inflicted. GM Stan Bowman traded for Tristan Jarry’s contract in full, cutting into their financial flexibility. He also signed Andrew Mangiapane to a contract that they wound up having to pay a high price to get out of, also cutting into that flexibility. That Jarry trade was risky at the time it was made and hasn’t aged well since then.
That financial situation also limited what they could do defensively, although I think they did well enough with what they had to work with. Connor Murphy isn’t a top-four player anymore but he should stabilize things defensively and help on the penalty kill. They didn’t have the cap space to do much more than a depth deal, nor did they have the prospect or draft assets to get into the bidding on some of the more prominent blueliners to move.
It’s a missed opportunity in the sense that Florida isn’t in the playoffs and the division is up for grabs. Edmonton could very well have bolstered their chances to take the division and give them a chance to make the Conference Final once again. But in terms of their limitations (asset and cap-wise), I don’t think they did terribly. It wasn’t an ‘A’ deadline but a ‘B-‘ or ‘C+’ one.
tucsontoro: The Hawks lead the league in blown leads. It’s great that they have Boisvert and Frondell on the verge of joining the big club. But if they don’t find a way to keep the puck out of their own net, they won’t be going anywhere for a long time. Where does the defense come from?
In a nutshell, time and external acquisitions. Unfortunately for rebuilding teams, there is no fast-forward button when it comes to defensive development. While young forwards can sometimes make a big impact right away, it doesn’t generally happen as often with defensemen. Generally, the thought is a blueliner needs at least 200 to 250 NHL games before they’re truly ready and might not hit their prime for a little while after that. Chicago only has two players in that range and one of them (Matt Grzelcyk) is on an expiring deal; Alex Vlasic is the other at 243.
Sam Rinzel will get there. So will Artyom Levshunov. But they’re a couple more years away at least from getting to a baseline level of reliability defensively and likely longer before they’re consistently counted on as shutdown players.
In the meantime, GM Kyle Davidson will need to look outside the organization to bring in some help. They have a boatload of draft assets and prospects to deal from, particularly down the middle; with centers being in high demand, they can take advantage of it. An external add or two like that over the next few seasons will help in those late-game situations but it’s going to take some time before Chicago is much more reliable when it comes to holding the lead. It’s something that a lot of young teams go through and the process can rarely be sped up.