2021 Year In Review: May
2021 was certainly another eventful year, both on and off the rink. Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis. Next up is a look at May.
Plenty Of Drama In New York: There was plenty of news around the Rangers in May. First, following the Department of Player Safety declining to suspend Tom Wilson for an incident involving Pavel Buchnevich, they took the unprecedented step of calling for George Parros’ dismissal, one that resulted in nothing but a $250K fine. The next day, GM Jeff Gorton and president John Davidson were both suddenly fired with Chris Drury taking over as their new GM, Davidson quickly resurfaced in Columbus. One week after those dismissals, Drury decided to make a change behind the bench as head coach David Quinn was relieved of his duties. All of that came in less than a week and a half.
Disgruntled Stars: Then-Sabres center Jack Eichel voiced his frustration with the organization over their unwillingness to let him have his desired artificial disk replacement surgery on his neck. He had been out since early March and this situation certainly took a while before it eventually was resolved. Meanwhile, defenseman Seth Jones informed the Blue Jackets he wasn’t interested in discussing a contract extension and was intent on testing unrestricted free agency. That was a tough blow for Columbus who has had to deal with an exodus of star players in recent years and eventually resulted in him joining that group.
More Coaching Changes: The end of the regular season usually brings about a few coaching changes and this pandemic-shortened campaign was no exception. Joining Quinn as those leaving head coaching roles were John Tortorella who parted ways with Columbus. He is the winningest coach in franchise history with the team posting a 227-166-54 record during his six seasons with the Blue Jackets and sits 12th all-time in games coached in the NHL. Meanwhile, Arizona also opted for a change, deciding to not renew Rick Tocchet’s contract. The Coyotes didn’t have a lot of success under Tocchet, posting a 125-131-34 record over four seasons with their only playoff appearance coming in the expanded 2020 postseason.
Eight For Kadri: Nazem Kadri has had a fairly lengthy suspension history in both the regular season and playoffs with the latter playing a role in his eventual trade to Colorado. He added to his postseason suspension totals after he received an eight-game ban for a hit on Blues defenseman Justin Faulk. Colorado got out of that first-round series with a sweep before falling to Vegas in six games, meaning that Kadri didn’t get back into the lineup at all. His history is going to loom large as he approaches unrestricted free agency in July although the fact that he’s off to a career-best start could help offset that somewhat.
Coaches Staying: May didn’t only feature coaches leaving but a pair stuck around as well. First, the Red Wings decided to keep Jeff Blashill in the fold, inking him to a contract extension (the term of the deal was not disclosed). Blashill has been at the helm in Detroit since 2015, making him the second-longest-tenured coach in the NHL behind only Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper. Meanwhile, three days later, the Canucks were able to agree to terms on a two-year extension with Travis Green to remain behind their bench. The deal represented a short-term vote of confidence while not being long enough to dissuade them from making a change if it was deemed necessary (and as it turns out, it was).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Ross Colton Enters COVID Protocol
The Tampa Bay Lightning can’t escape the protocol, it seems. Just as they had Cal Foote and Taylor Raddysh re-join the team, another young player has been ruled out. Ahead of tonight’s game, Ross Colton has been placed in the COVID protocol according to team reporter Bryan Burns.
Colton, 25, has played in all 34 games for the Lightning this season, registering four goals and 14 points while averaging just under 14 minutes a night. The fourth-round pick is another example of Tampa Bay’s strong development system, which turned a depth prospect into a full-time NHL contributor–one with a Stanley Cup-winning goal to boot.
The Lightning actually sent Gabriel Fortier back to the AHL earlier today, likely not something they would have done had they expected Colton to be unavailable. Raddysh could enter the lineup after clearing the protocol and is once again listed on the active roster.
NHL Makes Several Schedule Adjustments
The NHL has announced five schedule changes as it continues to try and work through dozens of postponements and attendance restrictions in Canadian markets. The following changes have been made:
- Game #693, Columbus @ NY Islanders on January 18 – to be postponed with a rescheduled date announced at a later time
- Game #694, Detroit @ Philadelphia on January 18 – to be postponed with a rescheduled date announced at a later time
- Game #340, NY Islanders @ Philadelphia previously scheduled for November 30 will now be rescheduled for January 18 @ 7:00 p.m. ET
- Game #723, NY Islanders @ Toronto currently scheduled for January 22 will be rescheduled for April 17 @ 7:30 p.m. ET
- Game #1211, Toronto @ NY Islanders currently scheduled for April 17 will be rescheduled for January 22 @ 7:00 p.m. ET
These are just the latest in what will be an ongoing stream of changes for the rest of the season as the league tries to squeeze in games whenever possible. There will be many more of these announcements to come.
Snapshots: Rask, Matthews, Team Canada
Unrestricted free agent goaltender Tuukka Rask still needs to be medically cleared to return to action, but that could come as early as this weekend according to Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com. The return would likely come at the AHL level for the Providence Bruins, who play against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday and Sunday.
Rask, 34, hasn’t played a game in the AHL since the 2008-09 season when he went 33-20-4 for Providence and led them to the Eastern Conference Finals. He would likely sign a professional tryout contract in order to suit up at that level, as an NHL contract would require him to pass through waivers before being assigned to Providence. A conditioning loan, which would be another potential way of getting him time in the AHL while under an NHL contract, would not remove Rask from the 23-man roster, meaning Boston would be at a disadvantage while the veteran goaltender got up to speed. A PTO for Providence doesn’t have these restrictions, meaning there could be one coming down the pipe in the next few days if he’s cleared.
- Auston Matthews‘ positive COVID result from a rapid test yesterday was not confirmed today, as his PCR result returned negative. While he was still held out from practice, there is still a chance he avoids the protocol and can play for the team tomorrow night. Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters including Luke Fox of Sportsnet that they are awaiting the results of another test that should be known tomorrow morning.
- The Canadian women’s hockey team will not play again before the Olympics as they try to avoid any further COVID-19 cases. According to the Canadian Press, the group will enter a bubble for the next few weeks in order to ensure they can all travel to Beijing in time for the tournament, which kicks off on February 2–actually a few days ahead of the opening ceremonies. The team must make three cuts from the 26 players they currently have, but will no longer play the tune-up matches against the United States or the AJHL.
Claude Giroux, Ivan Provorov Enter COVID Protocol
The Philadelphia Flyers announced Tuesday that captain Claude Giroux, defenseman Ivan Provorov, and a staff member were placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.
Giroux and Provorov make it five Flyers currently in COVID protocol. Forwards Derick Brassard and Jackson Cates as well as defenseman Nick Seeler are on the list at the moment.
Unfortunately for Philadelphia, this now means that the two cornerstones of their offense are both out of the lineup. Sean Couturier is also unavailable as he’s listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Giroux had shifted back to center at times this season with Couturier and Kevin Hayes missing time, but his offensive production is still the best on the team. Through 32 games, the 33-year-old captain has 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points.
Provorov is also an extremely tough loss for the time being. He logs big minutes for this Flyers team, averaging 24:25 per game. He’s got 13 points through 32 games this year.
Devils Issue Injury Updates On Hamilton, Hischier, Others
After the New Jersey Devils completed their morning skate Tuesday, the team had quite a few injury updates to share.
Defenseman Dougie Hamilton will have surgery tomorrow to repair a broken jaw suffered on January 2, and he’s been moved to injured reserve. Goalie Jonathan Bernier had hip surgery yesterday and is out for the remainder of the season. Team captain Nico Hischier is out for tonight’s game against Boston with a lower-body injury, and forwards Yegor Sharangovich and Pavel Zacha entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol today.
Hamilton’s certainly been decent this season, his first with the Devils. Through 30 games, the free-agent acquisition has seven goals and 13 assists while logging 21:24 per game, the second-highest mark on the team behind Damon Severson.
The long-term absence of Bernier is organizationally tough to swallow, too. Bernier had been solid through 10 games with a .902 save percentage, but the injury had been bothering him intermittently throughout the season and it’s the right move to shut him down to hopefully avoid career-ending complications.
Right now, the backup role will be competed for by Akira Schmid, Jon Gillies, and Nico Daws, all of whom have played NHL games this season. Gillies will likely win the role to allow more development time for Schmid and Daws, who are both just 21 and haven’t blown the doors off in NHL action. More time in the AHL will serve them best.
Both Sharangovich and Zacha have been valuable depth pieces for New Jersey, and they’ll hopefully only be subject to the five-day quarantine and will only miss the team’s next three games. Sharangovich has seven goals and 14 points through 30 games this year, while Zacha has nine goals and 16 points through 33.
It’s hard to remember the last time that a team issued injury updates simultaneously about this many players, and it forces the Devils to make serious adjustments to their roster and their lineups. It’s a seriously tough break for a team that’s barely hanging on to their chances to make the playoffs.
Latest On Anaheim Ducks GM Search
The Anaheim Ducks are one of several teams around the league currently searching for a new general manager after Bob Murray resigned from the position in early November. In his place, vice president of hockey operations Jeff Solomon was named interim GM and ownership indicated that a “methodical, extensive search” would begin to fill the position.
Now, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that a search committee has been formed, which includes a few familiar names for Ducks’ fans. CEO Michael Schulman and president of business operations Aaron Teats will be joined by Scott Niedermayer and Paul Kariya on the committee, which will also include owners Susan Samueli and Henry Samueli.
It’s difficult to find two more beloved figures in franchise history than Niedermayer and Kariya. The pair of Hall of Fame players had huge impacts on the success of Anaheim, with the former leading them to the organization’s only Stanley Cup. Niedermayer won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2007 and raised the Cup for the fourth time in his career after averaging just shy of 30 minutes per game on the Ducks’ championship run.
Kariya meanwhile was the franchise’s first superstar, entering the league in 1994 after his stint with the Canadian national team. He scored 39 points in 47 games as a rookie but would find a running mate in Teemu Selanne the following year and never look back. In 606 games for Anaheim, Kariya would score 300 goals and 669 points.
Yesterday, when discussing the multiple GM vacancies around the league on The Jeff Marek Show, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet noted that unlike some of the other spots, Anaheim has some big roster decisions to make in the coming months. Rickard Rakell, Hampus Lindholm, and Josh Manson are all unrestricted free agents at the end of the season and could bring back big returns should the Ducks decide to trade them at the deadline, while captain Ryan Getzlaf is also on just a one-year deal with the team. Anaheim has been good enough to perhaps consider adding, not subtracting at the deadline, but that kind of a decision would certainly be one that–in an ideal world at least–should be made by the team’s next GM.
Krebs, Tuch, Bjork Enter COVID Protocol
So much for the Jack Eichel trade already paying off for the Buffalo Sabres. Just a few days after making their Buffalo debuts, Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch have both been placed in the COVID protocol. Anders Bjork has entered with them.
Krebs and Tuch managed just three games with the Sabres since their recent activation with the two connecting on a powerplay marker in Saturday’s game against the Boston Bruins. They represent the biggest parts of the Eichel trade that went down earlier this season and a huge chunk of the team’s future moving forward.
Bjork too is a regular with the Sabres, though his five points in 29 games are certainly not what the team was hoping for this season. The 25-year-old forward had six in 13 games down the stretch for Buffalo last season but has seen his minutes slashed dramatically and his role on the team diminished.
With Kyle Okposo and Casey Fitzgerald already on the protocol, the Sabres are now severely shorthanded as they wait for the San Jose Sharks to come to town on Thursday. Luckily, the team isn’t scheduled to play again after that game until January 11, meaning several of these players could exit the protocol if they are experiencing no symptoms.
Minnesota Wild Recall Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi
It’s time for the kids to have an impact in Minnesota. The Wild have recalled both Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi to the taxi squad, with both expected to make their NHL debuts against the Boston Bruins this Thursday.
The Wild are currently in free fall from the top of the Central Division, losing their last five games and dropping to third place behind the St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators. They’re also without Joel Eriksson Ek and Jordan Greenway for the time being, opening room for the top prospects to step in and contribute.
Boldy, selected 12th overall in 2019, is the only top-20 player from his draft that has yet to make an appearance at the NHL level. The 20-year-old forward has 28 points in 24 games for the Iowa Wild since signing out of Boston College last year, though only ten of those appearances have come this season. Boldy suffered a broken ankle in October as he was trying to crack the Minnesota roster out of training camp.
Rossi meanwhile was picked even higher, ninth overall in 2020. The 20-year-old center was start the 2020-21 campaign in Switzerland, but a bout with COVID revealed a myocarditis diagnosis that kept him out the entire season. It wasn’t at all clear whether Rossi’s career would continue, with the young forward telling Michael Russo of The Athletic how frightening the diagnosis was:
Every time before I went to sleep, I was so scared that I won’t wake up anymore. Every night, before sleep, I was really sad and always crying because I was scared of that. I told my parents, ‘Could you sleep right next to my bed and be here ’til I fall asleep?’ And every day I woke up in the morning, I was so glad that I woke up. It was really hard.
Now healthy and playing every day in the AHL, Rossi has picked up right where he left off in 2020. Through 21 games with Iowa, he has 23 points, routinely controlling the game with his strong two-way play.
The two youngsters may not be up for the rest of the season, but it will be exciting for Wild fans to see them take the ice in a Minnesota sweater for the first time.
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/04/22
Eight games grace the NHL schedule this evening, as things start to get back to normal across the league. The Calgary Flames will face a shorthanded Florida Panthers team, while the defending champions try to get back in the win column against a Zach Werenski-less Blue Jackets’ squad. As those teams and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league and taxi squad shuffling.
Atlantic Division
- With Nikita Kucherov approaching a return, the Tampa Bay Lightning have sent Gabriel Fortier back to the AHL. Fortier, 21, has one goal in ten games for the Lightning this season, his first in the NHL.
- The Florida Panthers have assigned Aleksi Heponiemi to the taxi squad, as they prepare for action without the likes of Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, or Mason Marchment. Heponiemi, 22, has played two games for Florida this season.
Metropolitan Division
- Tarmo Reunanen has been recalled to the New York Rangers taxi squad. The team has also moved Matthew Robertson back to the AHL, without the young defenseman actually appearing in the NHL. Robertson, 20, has five points in 23 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack in his first year of professional hockey.
- The Washington Capitals have recalled Aliaksei Protas from the AHL, while sending Lucas Johansen, Michael Sgarbossa, Pheonix Copley, and Alexander Alexeyev to the minor leagues. Protas has been a nice find for the Capitals so far, registering six points in 22 games just two years after dropping to the third round of the draft.
- With Claude Giroux and Ivan Provorov entering COVID protocol today, the Philadelphia Flyers recalled forwards Gerald Mayhew and Max Willman as well as defenseman Cam York to the active roster from the taxi squad.
Central Division
- Arizona Coyotes forward Matias Maccelli is back with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners, per the team. He didn’t get into a game during his call-up, and he’s still looking for his first NHL action, but he’s impressed with 21 points through 21 games in Tucson this year.
- The Dallas Stars have reassigned Ty Dellandrea, Rhett Gardner, Riley Tufte, and Adam Scheel from the taxi squad to the Texas Stars, giving them some extra bodies for their games this weekend.
Pacific Division
- The Los Angeles Kings have reassigned Martin Frk and Jacob Moverare from the AHL to the taxi squad. Moverare, despite still waiting for his first NHL opportunity, has been involved in ten transactions since the middle of December, bouncing up and down on a near-daily basis.
- The Seattle Kraken reassigned forward Kole Lind and goalie Joey Daccord to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers today, according to a team tweet. The two have combined to play seven games at the NHL level this season.
This page will be updated throughout the day