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Sale Of Arizona Coyotes Approved By League

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The Arizona Coyotes will be sold to Alex Meruelo, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the NHL’s Board of Governors have approved the sale. The transfer will actually take place in July as long as everything proceeds as planned, at which point current owner Andrew Barroway is expected to retain a minority stake.

The Coyotes have a long and varied history of ownership, including former Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo, Wayne Gretzky and the NHL themselves at different times. Barroway purchased a majority stake in the team in 2014, after a failing bid to get into ownership with the New York Islanders. He bought out the remaining investors in 2017, a move that was quickly followed by a change in leadership for the team, with Gary Drummond and Dave Tippett both leaving the organization entirely. There were also some hard on-ice decisions made, including leaving Shane Doan unsigned and trading Mike Smith to the Calgary Flames.

In 2017 there was also a real push from the league to find a way to move Arizona to a new arena, as commissioner Gary Bettman penned a letter explaining to legislators that “the Coyotes cannot and will not remain in Glendale.” The battle for a move out of Glendale will now fall to the new ownership.

Obviously, this transfer of ownership will also bring up the long standing issue of franchise relocation. Not just finding a new arena for the Coyotes in Phoenix, but the idea that the team could move to another city and state entirely. With the announcement that the team will be moving into the Central Division once the Seattle expansion franchise is operational, many had speculated on a potential move to Houston. When the NBA’s Houston Rockets were sold to Tilman Fertitta in October of 2017, he immediately expressed interest in bringing the NHL to the city.

The NHL however, for all the strong language about not remaining in Glendale, has always strongly supported the Coyotes staying in the Arizona market. Indeed they will remain there for the time being, as relocation is a last resort for the league. Hopefully new ownership will be able to finally find some financial and organizational stability for the franchise.

Gary Bettman On Video Review: “A Blessing And A Curse”

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Before game one of the Stanley Cup Final kicked off tonight, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daley gave their annual “State of the NHL” press conference. One of the biggest questions on hockey minds around the world right now is video review and the possible expansion of the process in the future. Speaking to reporters including Frank Seravalli of TSN, Bettman called video review “both a blessing and a curse,” admitting that the Competition Committee would discuss the issue again when they meet in the near future. The league wants to avoid “destroying the essential fabric of the game” with too many reviews.

Expanding video review is not what everyone wants, but when asked about the possibility of a reduction—specifically in regards to the offside review process—Bettman indicated that it would not be possible at this point, using the phrase “that ship has sailed.”

Given the way things have gone in the playoffs, especially with regards to the San Jose Sharks, there was always going to have to be a longer discussion on video reviews. The Sharks were involved in two key incidents that drove public outcry for expanded review rules. First, Vegas Golden Knights forward Cody Eakin was given a five-minute major for cross-checking Joe Pavelski which the league eventually apologized for. Pavelski suffered a serious injury, but the Sharks were able to score four times during the ensuing powerplay to pull ahead in a deciding game seven. Next, a hand pass was missed completely in overtime of game three of the Western Conference Final, leading to the game-winner by Erik Karlsson. The league once again admitted that the call was missed, but nothing could be done.

Those may have been the most notable incidents given their game-changing nature, but they were obviously not the only missed calls throughout the playoffs. The question for the league to answer is when will does review expansion stop, if not now. The game isn’t yet riddled with stoppages and called to Toronto’s war room, but it also is still missing or making the incorrect call at key times.

Golden Knights Notes: Salary Cap, Gusev, Gambling

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Trusted salary cap database CapFriendly has rolled over their site to the 2019-20 season already and one of the most eye-grabbing results is just how much trouble the Vegas Golden Knights are already in. Using a projected salary cap ceiling of $83MM, up $3.5MM from this season, at the top of the projected salary list is Vegas, who are already $125K over the cap with more than $83MM committed to just 19 players. A further inspection reveals that the Knights have just one goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury, and six defensemen signed as of now, with no room to make any further additions. GM Kelly McCrimmon and company will have no choice but to shed salary this summer, at the very least just to re-sign restricted free agents like William Karlsson, Nikita Gusev, Jimmy Schuldt, and Malcolm Subban. Any free agent signings beyond that will require further sacrifice. Despite being just two years into their existence, Vegas has already accumulated an incredible amount of salary, mostly due to major contracts handed out to the likes of Mark Stone, Nate Schmidt, Alex Tuch, Shea Theodore, Max Pacioretty, Paul Stastny, and Fleury, all signed since this time last year. Golden Knights fans should be prepared for some tough moves, as solving this problem won’t be as easy as simply placing David Clarkson on the injured reserve. Inaugural Knights like Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, Cody Eakin, and Colin Miller are among the most likely casualties.

  • Even in the midst of his new team’s cap crunch, Nikita Gusev is expecting and hoping to re-sign with Vegas. Gusev, whose rights were acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, finally jumped to the NHL late this season after a decorated career in the KHL. The 26-year-old forward burned his one-year entry-level contract, despite not playing, and is now a restricted free agent. He tells Russian hockey source Sport-Express, as translated by The Sin Bin, that he likes Las Vegas and feels he owes it to the team to re-sign with them if made a reasonable offer. Gusev acknowledges that he will likely receive other offers, either from KHL clubs overseas or in the form of an NHL offer sheet, but he will wait for Vegas’ initial offer before making any decisions. What might it cost the Knights to retain their newfound weapon? The interviewer suggested to Gusev that a $4MM AAV could be the ballpark price and he did not disagree. He would only confirm that he expects a one-way deal, but did not talk specific finances. Overall, Gusev sounded very flexible about getting a deal done and even acknowledged that he would be open to playing in the AHL if that is what is asked of him. That seems like an unlikely route for Vegas to take, but Gusev’s attitude at least implies that this negotiation process and first full year in North America should go smoother than it did for Vadim Shipachyov. If (when) the Golden Knights are forced to sell off scoring this off-season, Gusev could be an ideal candidate to take on a major role next season.
  • Speaking at a conference today, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman projected the successful growth of betting on hockey by using the Golden Knights as an example, per TSN’s Rick Westhead. In Nevada, where sports gambling is legalized, hockey bets grew by 60% in Vegas’ inaugural season and again by 40% this season. While Nevada, and Las Vegas in particular, is the unofficial gambling capital of the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Murphy v. NCAA last summer allows all states to decide for themselves whether or not to allow for legalized gambling. Many states already have sports books up and running and many more will soon follow. If the growth exhibited in Nevada in regards to betting on hockey is replicated by other states, it will be a key growth factor for the game and the NHL and one that Bettman will surely try to take advantage of as best he can.

Snapshots: Marchand, Tippett, Ruck

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Boston Bruins agitator Brad Marchand was caught “punching” Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Scott Harrington in the back of the head as time expired on Game Three on Tuesday night. While unnecessary and unsportsmanlike, the NHL Department of Player Safety has decided that the otherwise innocuous play is not suspension-worthy. As The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline points out, there are no fines in the postseason, only suspensions, as players aren’t paid for playoff games and thus there is no mechanism for calculating fines. Even with Marchand’s track record, it would have been hard to imagine a postseason suspension for the incident as well. Commissioner Gary Bettman opined that Marchand should have received a penalty on the play, but given the timing of the incident and the result holding, it would not have made a difference. One might expect the Blue Jackets to thus police the situation themselves through the rest of the series, but Portzline believes that no retaliation is coming after speaking with several players. While Marchand is capable of getting fans riled up better than anyone in the league, it seems this issues could be over as soon as it began.

  • There have been rumors for some time that Dave Tippett has been itching to get back behind an NHL bench, despite his current adviser position with the Seattle expansion team, and he is now officially taking steps toward such a move. Sportsnet’s Elliott Friedman writes that Tippett has interviewed for the Buffalo Sabres head coaching vacancy, as some speculated he might. Tippett now joins Jacques Martin and less established options like Rikard Gronberg and Sheldon Keefe among Buffalo’s top options, according to Friedman. Tippett, who has nearly 20 year of NHL coaching experience, held both the head coach and VP of Hockey Operations positions with the Arizona Coyotes when he was last in the league in 2016-17 and would still be a great option for the Sabres even after a few years off.
  • After losing starting keeper Cayden Primeau to the pros after a remarkable year, Northeastern University was hoping that graduate goaltender Ryan Ruck may stay with the program to help bridge the gap. That won’t happen, as Colorado College announced today that they have received a commitment from Ruck to join the program as a graduate transfer. Although he played in only six games last season for the Huskies, Ruck was nearly unstoppable, posting a .956 save percentage and 1.01 GAA. Those numbers should give Ruck the leg up on the starter competition at Colorado College, who lost this year’s starter Alex Leclerc to the pros. Meanwhile, Northeastern will likely have to lean on true freshman Connor Murphy in net next season.

Slava Voynov Suspended For Entire 2019-20 Season

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The NHL has finally made a decision regarding Slava Voynov. The defenseman has been suspended for the entire 2019-20 season and playoffs, while his eligibility will be restored on July 1, 2020 assuming “good behavior.” Voynov had applied for reinstatement after he previously received an indefinite ban from the league following his 2014 arrest for domestic violence. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has released this statement:

I have determined that Player Slava Voynov engaged in acts of domestic violence directed at his wife. Today’s ruling, while tailored to the specific facts of this case and the individuals involved, is necessary and consistent with the NHL’s strongly-held policy that it cannot and will not tolerate this and similar types of conduct, particularly as directed at a spouse, domestic partner or family member. 

While Voynov had already been suspended for years, the important thing to note out of this decision is that he now has the right to appeal the decision with a neutral arbitrator. The NHLPA is reviewing the decision currently and could file an appeal on the behalf of Voynov.

In 2014, Voynov was arrested following a domestic violence incident and spent nearly two months in jail after pleading no contest. He was suspended indefinitely by the league and returned to Russia to play in the KHL, where he suited up for three years with St. Petersburg SKA. Last summer he petitioned the court to have his conviction dismissed, and started the process for reinstatement to the NHL.

As Bettman stated today, the incident revolved around Voynov and his wife, Marta Varlamova. That incident has been detailed and examined countless times since the arrest—perhaps most thoroughly by The Athletic’s Katie Strang (subscription required) last June—and will certainly bring about plenty more media speculation now that his name is back in the news.

It is important to note that Voynov’s NHL rights still belong to the Los Angeles Kings, the team he was playing for when he was first suspended. The team gave a statement to LA Kings Insider Jon Rosen, indicating that they are still reviewing the decision themselves and that it would be premature to comment at this point.

Gary Bettman Upholds Jakub Voracek Suspension

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The NHL commissioner has reviewed the facts and conducted a hearing with Jakub Voracek and his NHLPA representatives, but does not believe the two-game suspension was unwarranted. Gary Bettman released his decision today to uphold the ban, given to Voracek for an incident with Johnny Boychuk in a game on March 9th. Voracek has already missed one game for the Philadelphia Flyers, and will be forced to sit out tomorrow night as well. He will also forfeit more than $88K in salary. From the decision:

While I accept Mr. Voracek’s explanation that he thought Mr. Boychuk was going to initiate a check, the video makes it clear that it was Mr. Voracek who initiated the contact. At the hearing, it was acknowledged that Mr. Voracek had other options available to him, but instead Mr. Voracek moved into Mr. Boychuk’s path by taking a step to the left and driving upwards into Mr. Boychuk. The onus was on Mr. Voracek to avoid causing a significant blow to Mr. Boychuk’s head. The force was significant enough to cause Mr. Boychuk to require medical attention on the ice and he did not return for the balance of the game. It is worth acknowledging that during his long career in the NHL, Mr. Voracek has maintained a strong character and a clean record with no prior supplemental discipline history. However, that does not absolve Mr. Voracek of the responsibility to play this game in a safe manner in accordance to the applicable rules.

The decision also explains how Voracek would not have appealed a one-game suspension, and that he was seeking a reduction to that level. These kind of short-term suspensions are never appealed in this manner and as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet points out, they can not be taken to an independent arbitrator now that Bettman has made his ruling. Obviously Voracek believed he was being unfairly punished, especially given his lack of discipline history.

Philadelphia will now have to hope they can take down the Washington Capitals tomorrow night without one of their key offensive pieces, a task that quite literally could decide their season. The team is currently sitting five points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final wild card spot and can’t afford to slip any further in the standings.

Rangers’ Hall Of Famer Harry Howell Dies At Age 86

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Hockey lost one of their greats Sunday when longtime New York Rangers defenseman Harry Howell passed away at the age of 86. The Hall of Famer, despite retiring from the NHL back in 1973, still holds the Rangers’ record for games played after playing 16 seasons in which he only missed 17 total games.

“The National Hockey League mourns the passing of legendary defenseman, consummate professional and Hockey Hall of Famer Harry Howell. He will be remembered not only for his consistency and leadership but with the ultimate class from with which he carried himself,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman from a statement.

Howell played 1,411 games at the NHL level, scoring 94 goals and 418 points throughout his career. He joined the New York Rangers in the 1952-53 season and immediately became an impact defense-first blueliner and while his 6-foot-1, 195-pound frame was considered big for that era, Howell did not use his size to be overly physical as he was a defenseman who built his level of play with proper positioning and a high hockey IQ. While he had 418 points throughout his career, he was not a big point producer over the first nine seasons as he never reached the 20-point plateau in all those year. His first big offensive year actually came in 1966-67, his 15th season, when he tallied 12 goals and 40 points. That was the year he won the Norris Trophy, as the NHL’s best defenseman.

After the 1968-69 season, Howell began to have back problems that eventually required surgery. Despite offering him a position with the team, Howell, 37 at the time, wanted to keep playing, so the Rangers traded Howell to the Oakland Seals for cash. He played with the Seals for a season and a half before the then California Golden Seals traded him to the Los Angeles Kings for another two and a half seasons. He later continued his career by playing with the WHA for three more seasons after that before retiring completely in 1976.

He was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1979 and had his number retired by the Rangers in 2009, and will no doubt be remembered as one of the great New York Rangers players ever.

 

 

NHL Releases Special Events Schedule for 2019-20

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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced a new schedule for all the special events happening in the 2019-20 season. While it was reported Monday that the 2020 Winter Classic will be in Dallas, Bettman also announced that the St. Louis Blues will host the 2020 Honda NHL All-Star game, Regina will host the 2019 Tim Horton’s NHL Heritage Classic between the Winnipeg Jets and the Calgary Flames, while Colorado will host the 2020 Stadium Series at the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Falcon Stadium.

There is no word yet on who the Dallas Stars will play next year at the 2020 Winter Classic at the Cotton Bowl. The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro reports that the opponent will be determined by the Stars, NBC and the NHL in a group effort and will be made within the next few weeks. However, with no regional rival, there isn’t an obvious opponent, although some are already suggesting that the Minnesota Wild might be a good match. It’s not expected to be the Blackhawks, who played in the event this year and has already played in six outdoor games. This marks the first time that Dallas will play in an outdoor game.

Bettman said that other venues were considered and will continue to be considered. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reports that Bettman said that there has been conversations between both Florida teams of a future night game on Jan. 1. The Athletic’s Joe McDonald adds that Bettman said the league will have discussions with the Bruins after their renovations at TD Gardens are complete about receiving another event.

The Blues will host the 2020 all-star game, which will be held on Jan. 24-2. It will be the first time that St. Louis has hosted an all-star game since 1988. It will be the third all-star game in the city as the team also hosted one in 1970. St. Louis hosted the Winter Classic two years ago, but its success only helped the Blues bring in another big event.

“St. Louis was a great host for us for the Winter Classic, and in the final analysis, the total circumstances including the substantial renovation that they’ve done of the Enterprise Center made it the right time to go back. We have no doubt it will be a huge success,” Bettman said (via The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford).

The Winnipeg Jets announced earlier today they will host the Heritage Classic, but the opponent hadn’t been announced. Bettman announced that the Calgary Flames will make their second appearance in the occasionally-held Canadian outdoor game which will be on Oct. 26, 2019.

The Avalanche will get a chance to host their second Stadium Series. They hosted the Detroit Red Wings at Coors Field in 2016. It also marks the second time a game will be at a U.S. service academy. The Washington Capitals hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium at the U.S. Naval Base in Annapolis, Maryland in March last year. Just as with the Winter Classic, an opponent has yet to be named and will be determined in a few weeks.

Winnipeg Jets To Host Heritage Classic In Regina In 2019-20 Season

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The Winnipeg Sun is reporting that when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman makes his special 2019-20 event announcements during the second intermission of the Winter Classic on Tuesday between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Boston Bruins, the league is expected to announce that  Regina and the Winnipeg Jets are expected to host the fifth installment of Canada’s Heritage Classic at Mosaic Stadium, the home of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Bettman is likely to announce who the opponent will be during his announcements for both outdoor games. It was announced Monday that Dallas will host the 2020 Winter Classic next year and the opponent is expected to be revealed today as well as the opponent for the Heritage Classic. The Winnipeg Sun reports that the likely opponent will be either the Calgary Flames or the Edmonton Oilers.

The Heritage Classic has been held four times, the most recent of which was on Oct. 23, 2016 between the Jets and the Oilers. The first Heritage Classic was held in 2003 in Edmonton between the Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens and was a huge success, which started the Winter Classic in 2008, but the league didn’t have another Heritage Classic until 2011 between the Canadiens and the host Flames. The league held a third Heritage Classic in Vancouver in 2014 against the Ottawa Senators.

NCC Terminates Relationship With Eugene Melnyk, RendezVous LeBreton Group

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The hopes of Ottawa Senators fans that their team could be moving closer to the city in the near future were dashed today. The NCC, the National Capital Commission, is responsible for urban development and controls the use of the land located in the LeBreton Flats area of Ottawa. The organization had previously partnered with Senators owner Eugene Melnyk and Trinity Development executive John Ruddy of the RendezVouz LeBreton Group, to allow the team to begin plans to build a new arena. However, given the recent fallout between the two, with Melnyk suing Ruddy and Ruddy submitting a counterclaim yesterday, the NCC has lost faith in their initial choice. The organization has opted to terminate the preferred proponent sheet, which had named the RendezVouz LeBreton Group as the preferred developers of the LeBreton Flats area.

The NCC noted in their announcement that they were apprised of the “unresolved internal issues” between Melnyk and Ruddy in November and decided at their most recent meeting to move forward with a different plan of action – “The NCC remains committed to redeveloping LeBreton Flats to the highest standards of design, accessibility, sustainability and connectivity”.

One would assume that as long as Melnyk is the owner of the Senators, the LeBreton Flats area is no longer a viable location for a new arena in Ottawa. The much maligned owner has seemingly burned his bridges with the NCC and will have to look elsewhere. The Senators continue to struggle with attendance, ranked 27th so far this season and last among Canadian clubs, at the Canadian Tire Center in Kanata, close to 15 miles from downtown Ottawa. LeBreton Flats, only about a mile from downtown, would have been a far superior location. Of course, arena location is just one of many struggles for Melnyk and the Senators. With yet another knock on him now, the NCC’s decision could be the final straw for commissioner Gary Bettman and the league to step in sooner rather than later.

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