Morning Notes: Hedman, Rutherford, Owen Sound
A few days ago, it was announced that the captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Victor Hedman, had taken a leave of absence from the team for mental health reasons. Taking the absence on March 25th, Hedman missed Tampa Bay’s last 15 games of the regular season, and their Round One series loss against the Montreal Canadiens.
From a team perspective, it’s a bind in all honesty, as you’re stuck between wanting the best for the player and their long-term health, while also recognizing that your team is better when Hedman is on the ice. Furthermore, there’s no set timeline for how long it takes a player to recover, unlike more objective injuries.
Still, Hedman shared that he’s feeling much better, and there’s not much concern that he won’t begin the 2026-27 season on time. In fact, speaking on 32 Thoughts, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicated that there’s a “1000% chance” that Hedman plays next year. Given that there’s a distinct possibility that the Lightning lose defenseman Darren Raddysh in free agency this summer, having Hedman back for the whole year will make that pill go down much easier.
Additional morning notes:
- Canucks President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford provided more context behind his decision to step down from his role at the head of Vancouver’s front office. In an interview with Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, Rutherford said, “It was time for me before the season even started; I was trending in that direction. But I think we can put something together here in our hockey department that I can feel good about when I step down.“
- According to Greg Cowan of the Owen Sound Sun Times, the OHL’s Board of Governors is preparing to meet to finalize the sale of the Owen Sound Attack. Cowan indicated that an official announcement of the sale is expected in the next few days and that the new ownership group plans to hire a relatively young player agent to lead the hockey operations department.
West Notes: Rutherford, Bogosian, Gudas, Kantserov
Speaking with reporters following tonight’s Draft Lottery (video link), Canucks President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford indicated that he will be leaving his role after the draft and will transition into more of an advisory role while remaining an alternate governor. The 77-year-old, who has been working in an NHL front office since 1994-95, has held his current title for the better part of the last five seasons and is currently leading the search for a new GM. On that front, he noted that the team is down to five candidates for the position. Rutherford added that at this time, they’re not sure if they will just be hiring a GM or if they’ll also be bringing someone in to take his spot as well.
More from out West:
- Prior to tonight’s game against Colorado, the Wild announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Zach Bogosian is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He was dealing with a lower-body issue down the stretch in the regular season but it’s unclear if this is a recurrence of that or something different. The 35-year-old had six points in 41 games during the season and had been averaging just over 13 minutes per night in the playoffs. Jeff Petry took Bogosian’s place in the lineup.
- Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas skated today but has already been ruled out of Wednesday’s game against Vegas, notes Derek Lee of The Hockey News (Twitter link). The veteran has only played once in the postseason as he deals with a lower-body injury. However, head coach Joel Quenneville indicated that he expects that his captain should be able to return at some point in this series. Gudas had 13 points, 87 blocks, and 164 hits in 56 games this season.
- The Blackhawks anticipate speaking with Roman Kantserov’s agent in the coming weeks to discuss the possibility of him signing for next season, relays Scott Powers of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 21-year-old was a second-round pick back in 2023, going 44th overall. Since then, his stock has certainly been on the rise. Last year, he more than doubled his post-draft output, notching 13 goals and 25 assists in 47 games. This season, he was even more productive, tallying 36 goals and 28 helpers in 63 games with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, good for ninth in KHL scoring.
Canucks Notes: Willander, Demko, Center
The Vancouver Canucks’ General Manager Patrik Allvin and President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford held their end of season press conference earlier today. As one of the most important revelations from the media availability, Harman Dayal of The Athletic received a confirmation from Allvin that top prospect Tom Willander intends to return to Boston University for his junior season.
Allvin’s announcement comes with little surprise, given that a report a few days ago indicated that contract negotiations weren’t going well between the parties. The report suggests that the Canucks are low-balling Willander on Schedule ‘A’ bonuses, obviously something the 2023 first-round pick isn’t interested in accepting.
Still, it’s not necessarily a worst-case scenario from Vancouver’s perspective. The organization still owns Willander’s contractual rights until after the 2026-27 NCAA season. That reality gives the Canucks a lot of control over the negotiations, having time on their side in repairing the relationship.
Other notes from the Canucks’ media availability:
- In a surprising admission, Thomas Drance of The Athletic quoted Rutherford as saying, “We would like to extend him,” regarding netminder Thatcher Demko. The negotiations will be interesting to observe due to concerns about Demko’s health over the past year. He’s signed through next season on a $5MM cap hit and was only healthy enough to participate in 23 games for Vancouver this year. Meanwhile, the Canucks signed his tandem partner Kevin Lankinen to a five-year, $22.5MM extension in February.
- Lastly, Randip Janda of Sportsnet publicized one of the more brutally honest quotes from the press conference. The quote in question was concerning the Canucks’ need for a center with Rutherford saying, “It will be expensive. But it will be expensive not to get one.” After trading J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers, Vancouver finished the season with a lethargic group down the middle, led by an unimpressive performance from Elias Pettersson, who scored four goals in 19 contests after the deal.