Mark Letestu Named Head Coach of AHL’s Colorado Eagles
Mark Letestu, a veteran of 11 NHL seasons, has been named head coach of the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, per a release from the Colorado Avalanche.
Lestestu, 40, spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach for the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. In that time, the Monsters recorded a record of 136-117-23-16 and qualified for the playoffs each of the last two seasons. Letestu also coached one season in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) as an assistant during the 2012-13 season.
In the team release, Lestestu noted how grateful and excited he was for the opportunity. He said:
“I am excited and ready for this challenge to lead their AHL franchise. Thank you to the Kroenke family, Joe Sakic, Chris MacFarland and Kevin McDonald for their trust in me, as well as a big thank you to Martin Lind, Ryan Bach and the entire Eagles organization. Most importantly thanks to my family for all of their support throughout my playing career and now my coaching career. I can’t wait to get the season going.”
Letestu, played collegiately at Western Michigan University during the 2006-07 season and ranked 14th in points among all NCAA skaters. This led the forward to sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins as an undrafted free agent in March of 2007. He spent four seasons in the minors before making his NHL debut with the Penguins during the 2009-10 season. He also spent time with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, and Winnipeg Jets. His best season came in 2016–17 with the Oilers, when he recorded a career-high 16 goals and 35 points, and added five goals and 11 points in 13 playoff games. Through 567 career NHL games, Letestu scored 93 goals and 210 points. Always a threat on penalty kills, he added 10 career shorthanded goals.
Columbus Blue Jackets Announce Hockey Ops Promotions
The Columbus Blue Jackets have changed their president of hockey operations, their head coach and now will be promoting several former players to new roles. The team announced today that Rick Nash has been promoted to director of player development, Josef Boumedienne has been promoted to head of pro scouting, while Derek Dorsett and Mark Letestu have joined the organization as development coaches. Brad Thiessen has replaced Jim Corsi as goaltending development coach, while Nelson Ayotte, the former director of high performance, has retired.
Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen released a statement on the changes:
We are always looking to strengthen our hockey operations group and these moves do just that, particularly in the area of player development. In Rick, Derek, Mark and Brad, we have four former players with a combined 34 years of experience in the NHL and 17 in the AHL, as well as having played major junior and college, so they will be able to share a wealth of knowledge and experience with prospects throughout our organization. They are also passionate about the Blue Jackets, our city and what we are building here.
Nash, 37, is one of the most decorated players in franchise history and still comes to mind when you think of the Blue Jackets. Though he ended his playing career with stints in New York and Boston, it is Columbus where he forged his name as an NHL superstar. Selected first overall by the team in 2002, Nash would record his first 40-goal season in 2003-04, winning the Rocket Richard trophy in his sophomore year. He would score at least 27 goals in each of the seven seasons that followed and currently sits as the franchise leader in games played, goals, assists, points, shots, and several other categories. He rejoined the organization as a special assistant to the GM in 2019 after his playing career ended and now that he has learned the front office side, will take on a larger role.
Dorsett and Letestu also have ties to the organization from their playing days. The former started his NHL career in Columbus after working his way up from the seventh round as an enforcer but turned into a quality bottom-six option for the Blue Jackets. In 2011-12 he recorded 12 goals and 20 points while also leading the league in penalty minutes with 235. Letestu meanwhile spent the middle portion of his playing career in Columbus, recording 102 points over parts of six seasons. The undrafted center has long been lauded as one of the hardest-working players in professional hockey and will now be able to impart some of that experience to the Blue Jackets’ young talent.
Mark Letestu Announces Retirement
Mark Letestu never tallied more than 16 goals in a season, but the forward still put together an impressive NHL career as a key utility player, appearing in 567 games. However, that time looks like it’s over as The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (subscription required) writes that Letestu is retiring.
“The tool bag … it’s had enough,” Letestu told The Athletic on Sunday. “I skated good enough. I shot the puck really well. I thought the game really well. But I got a lot of breaks along the way, too, right from the very start. Luck is a big part of all of it, absolutely, but I also took advantage of those opportunities and played well when I needed to. I got a lot of time out of being a short, slow guy in a fast man’s league.”
The 35-year-old Letestu hasn’t seen much NHL action since playing 80 games between Edmonton and Columbus in 2017-18. He stayed with Columbus for the 2018-19 season, but spent most of that time with their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, playing 64 games there, while only appearing in two games with the Blue Jackets that year. Last year wasn’t much better as Letestu signed with the Winnipeg Jets last offseason, but even with their injury woes, Letestu still only played seven games for the Jets.
Letestu originally signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins, eventually playing four years for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He signed with the Edmonton Oilers in 2015 and played with the Oilers for three seasons before the Blue Jackets reacquired him at the trade deadline in 2018 to help out in their playoff hopes. He was known as a jack-of-all trades forward, who could operate in any situation on the ice, making him quite valuable to any team that had him. His best season was in 2016-17 with the Oilers when he tallied 16 goals and 35 points (along with 11 points in 13 playoff games). In all, Letestu scored 93 goals and 210 points over his 12-year career.
Nominees Announced For 2020 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is given out annually to the NHL player who exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. The award has been voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association since 1968, and today they announced their nominees for 2019.
Past winners of the award include Robin Lehner (2019), Brian Boyle (2018), Craig Anderson (2017), Jaromir Jagr (2016), Devan Dubnyk (2015), Dominic Moore (2014) and Josh Harding (2013).
Below are the nominees from each team:
Anaheim Ducks – Ryan Miller
Arizona Coyotes – Conor Garland
Boston Bruins – Kevan Miller
Buffalo Sabres – Curtis Lazar
Calgary Flames – Mark Giordano
Carolina Hurricanes – James Reimer
Chicago Blackhawks – Corey Crawford
Colorado Avalanche – Ryan Graves
Columbus Blue Jackets – Nathan Gerbe
Dallas Stars – Stephen Johns
Detroit Red Wings – Robby Fabbri
Edmonton Oilers – Connor McDavid
Florida Panthers – Noel Acciari
Los Angeles Kings – Jonathan Quick
Minnesota Wild – Alex Stalock
Montreal Canadiens – Shea Weber
Nashville Predators – Jarred Tinordi
New Jersey Devils – Travis Zajac
New York Islanders – Thomas Hickey
New York Rangers – Henrik Lundqvist
Ottawa Senators – Bobby Ryan
Philadelphia Flyers – Oskar Lindblom
Pittsburgh Penguins – Evgeni Malkin
San Jose Sharks – Joe Thornton
St. Louis Blues – Jay Bouwmeester
Toronto Maple Leafs – Zach Hyman
Vancouver Canucks – Jacob Markstrom
Vegas Golden Knights – Shea Theodore
Washington Capitals – Michal Kempny
Winnipeg Jets – Mark Letestu
Three finalists and the winner will be named at a later date.
NHL Rosters To Be Frozen During Suspended Season
According to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, the NHL will implement a league-wide roster freeze this evening after announcing a new directive for players earlier today. Johnston points to this freeze as the reason for several roster moves today, moving players between the NHL and AHL. We’ll list those moves below:
- The New Jersey Devils have moved both Janne Kuokkanen and Matt Tennyson to the AHL. Both players are on two-way contracts, earning less at the minor league level.
- The Minnesota Wild have moved Matt Bartkowski back to the AHL. He hadn’t played in a single NHL game this season and is on a two-way contract.
- The Winnipeg Jets have recalled Mark Letestu from his conditioning loan in the AHL. He is on a two-way deal, but would need to clear waivers in order to be sent to the AHL full-time.
- The Florida Panthers have moved Sam Montembeault back to the AHL. He is on a two-way deal and is still waiver-exempt.
- The Anaheim Ducks have sent both Jani Hakanpaa and Anthony Stolarz to the AHL. Both players are actually on one-way contracts, meaning they don’t earn any less at the minor league level.
- The Colorado Avalanche have sent Logan O’Connor to the AHL. The 23-year old is on a two-way contract.
- The Vegas Golden Knights have sent Keegan Kolesar and Brandon Pirri to the AHL. Pirri is on a one-way contract, while Kolesar is still on his two-way entry-level deal.
Mark Letestu Loaned To AHL On Conditioning Assignment
After months of hard work and recovery, Mark Letestu will soon play again in a professional hockey game. The Winnipeg Jets forward has been sent to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose on a conditioning assignment after being diagnosed with myocarditis back in October. At that time the Jets announced that Letestu would only be allowed to do light activity for six months—it has been less than five.
Letestu, 35, played just seven games for the Jets before the diagnosis shut down his season.
Through 567 NHL games, Letestu has scored 210 points and gone to the playoffs on five different occasions. That kind of depth would certainly be welcomed by the Jets as they try to claw their way into the postseason, but it’s hard to know exactly what the veteran forward could provide at this point.
Letestu is on a one-year deal worth $700K at the NHL level and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.
Central Notes: Wild, Rantanen, Letestu
After dealing away Jason Zucker to Pittsburgh and firing Bruce Boudreau as head coach, the Wild have turned things around and have gone 6-2 under new bench boss Dean Evason. As a result, they’ve pulled themselves right back into the playoff picture. However, don’t expect GM Bill Guerin to be content with that. In an appearance on Sportsnet 590 (audio link), he indicated that there is “absolutely there’s going to have to be some change somewhere within the organization”. How much of that there is will likely be affected by how they finish this year but for starters, it’s quite possible that the Zach Parise trade talks get revisited this summer while they have more than $10MM in money coming off the books with Alex Galchenyuk and Mikko Koivu slated to be unrestricted free agents. Former GM Paul Fenton made a few changes last year while Guerin has started to put his own stamp on the team but the changes don’t appear to be done just yet.
More from the Central:
- Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen skated before practice for the first time since sustaining a shoulder injury last month, notes Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. However, he’s still likely a little while away from returning considering that he still has to get cleared for contact. Still, it’s at least a little bit of good news on the injury front for Colorado which is something they haven’t had much of lately; on top of also being without goalie Phillip Grubauer, wingers Andre Burakovsky, Matt Calvert, and Colin Wilson plus center Nazem Kadri, blueliner Cale Makar will also miss his second straight game tonight against Anaheim due to an upper-body issue.
- Back in October, Jets center Mark Letestu was slated to miss six months after being diagnosed with myocarditis which effectively ended his season. Or so it seemed. Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun reports that the veteran has resumed skating and head coach Paul Maurice indicated that it’s a possibility that Letestu returns this season. Having been out for so long though, the 35-year-old will need a while to get back up to speed in terms of his conditioning but the fact that he has received the green light from team doctors is certainly good news.
Mark Letestu Out For Six Months With Myocarditis
The Winnipeg Jets are in the news again today, this time announcing that veteran forward Mark Letestu will not be playing hockey anytime soon. Head coach Paul Maurice explained to reporters including Mitchell Clinton that Letestu has been diagnosed with myocarditis, a virus that attacks the heart. Expected to make a full recovery, Letestu will be allowed only to do light activity for six months.
It’s a tough break for a player who was just trying to keep his NHL career in tact after playing almost all of 2018-19 in the minor leagues. Letestu signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Jets at the start of free agency and has suited up seven times for them this season.
Obviously everyone hopes that he can return, but a six-month layoff at this point in his career may spell the end of Letestu’s time in the NHL. The 34-year old is a great example of perseverance, working his way up from being an undrafted college free agent to a regular in the league. Over 567 regular season games he has scored 210 points, adding another 15 in his 36 postseason appearances.
For the Jets, this just takes another one of their depth pieces off the board for the rest of the season. While Letestu wasn’t expected to make a huge contribution, it still means his experience won’t be available for the team if they run into other injury concerns.
Snapshots: Wild Injuries, Hall, Fleury, Letestu
After blocking several point shots on the same penalty kill on Thursday night, Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek looked to be in a lot of pain and the fact he didn’t return to the game was cause for concern. However, head coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters, including Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (Twitter link), that the lower-body injury should only keep him out for a week or two. Meanwhile, center Victor Rask is listed as day-to-day and will not suit up on Sunday against Montreal. Additionally, winger Mats Zuccarello was transferred to injured reserve to create a roster spot for their earlier recall of Gabriel Dumont today. He last played on October 12th meaning that he’ll be eligible to be activated as soon as he’s able to return.
Elsewhere around the league:
- Devils GM Ray Shero acknowledged to reporters, including Corey Masisak of The Athletic (Twitter link), that he spoke with Taylor Hall’s agent over the last few days but stopped short of indicating if any discussions were held regarding a potential contract extension. Hall’s future with New Jersey is one of the big storylines around the league in the early going of the season and their slow start to 2019-20 has only increased the spotlight. He has a $6MM cap hit but could come close to doubling that on his next deal if he has a strong performance this season and stays healthy.
- Canadiens defenseman Cale Fleury is dealing with a minor injury and won’t play today, notes Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette. Head coach Claude Julien has already classified the rookie as doubtful for their game on Sunday as well but that the issue shouldn’t hold him out for more than a week. Christian Folin will return to the lineup in Fleury’s absence.
- Jets center Mark Letestu has been shut down through the end of the month due to an undisclosed injury, reports TSN 1290’s Brian Munz (Twitter link). He has already been transferred to injured reserve. The issue could pave the way for rookie David Gustafsson to have more of a regular role after playing in just two games so far this season.
Mark Letestu Signs With Winnipeg Jets
Veteran forward Mark Letestu has signed a one-year two-way contract with the Winnipeg Jets, joining the organization as a depth piece for next season. The deal will pay him $700K at the NHL level.
Now 34, Letestu suited up 72 times for the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL last season and was their best player on many nights. The veteran center ended up with 50 points in the regular season and another five in the playoffs, showing that he certainly isn’t finished just yet. There was a time not too long ago that Letestu was a solid depth option for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Edmonton Oilers, routinely scoring double-digit goals and somewhere around 30 points. His transition to the minor leagues would only help the Manitoba Moose and provide some injury insurance for the Jets throughout the year.