Week In Review

As the calendar turns to the month of May, there was quite a bit of news around the league.  Here are the top stories from the past week.

Lamoriello Out As Toronto GM: When Lou Lamoriello came to Toronto to take over as general manager, his deal was for three years and then he would become an advisor.  Considering how the team fared under his watch, many wondered if that plan would change.  Team president Brendan Shanahan put an end to that speculation, confirming that as originally intended, the 75-year-old will no longer serve as GM.  The team has a pair of internal candidates to replace him in Kyle Dubas and Mark Hunter and while many expected Dubas to be the favorite, there are some around the league that believe Hunter may be in line to get the GM job.

Goalie Signings: A pair of teams have made an early splash on the free agent market when it comes to goaltenders for next season.  The Oilers announced that they agreed to terms with Mikko Koskinen on a one-year, $2.5MM deal and he is expected to serve as the backup to Cam Talbot for 2018-19, leaving Al Montoya’s future in jeopardy.  Meanwhile, the Avalanche also looked to the KHL as they signed Pavel Francouz to a one-year, $690K pact.  Current backup Jonathan Bernier is slated to hit unrestricted free agency (as is Andrew Hammond) so Francouz will give them some insurance at the very least but he certainly could contend to backup Semyon Varlamov after another stellar season with Traktor Chelyabinsk.

Werenski Out Long-Term: The Blue Jackets may find themselves without the services of one of their top defensemen heading into next season.  The team announced that Zach Werenski underwent successful shoulder surgery with an expected recovery time of five-to-six months.  It turns out that the 20-year-old initially sustained the injury back on October 30th and played through it the rest of the season and their first-round playoff loss to Washington.  If he’s able to return at the short end of that timeframe, he could be ready for the start of the season but he wouldn’t have much, if any, of a training camp.  If he’s out any longer, he’s likely going to miss some regular season action in 2018-19.

Hurricanes, Coyotes Make Swap: Trades don’t often happen in the playoffs but a swap was made between Carolina and Arizona.  The Coyotes acquired center Marcus Kruger along with a 2018 third-round pick in exchange for winger Jordan Martinook and a 2018 fourth-rounder.  The Hurricanes will also retain 10% of Kruger’s $3.083MM cap hit.  Kruger struggled considerably last season and eventually cleared waivers although it was revealed that he played through a hernia issue.  Martinook, meanwhile, has one year left on his contract with a $1.8MM cap charge.  Interestingly enough, Carolina made the trade with an interim GM at the helm as Ron Francis, who was officially fired earlier in the week, has still not been replaced; Don Waddell continues to hold the title on an interim basis.

Stars Hire Montgomery: The Stars have found their replacement for Ken Hitchcock behind the bench as they’ve hired Jim Montgomery as their next head coach.  The move came as a bit of a surprise as he appeared to be the early favorite for the Rangers’ vacancy but instead, New York will continue their search (as will Carolina, the other team still looking for a new head coach).  This will be Montgomery’s first foray into coaching at the professional level as he is making the jump directly from Denver University of the NCAA.

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There are weeks where news around the hockey world is dominated by the players on the ice.  This was not one of those as most of the big news came away from the ice.  Here are the top stories from the past week.

Peters To Calgary: The speculation started as soon as Glen Gulutzan was let go in Calgary and it picked up even more when Bill Peters resigned in Carolina.  It didn’t take long for it to be made official as the Flames officially introduced Peters as their new head coach, signing him to a three-year contract.  He will now be tasked with turning around a team that struggled considerably down the stretch and missed the playoffs despite having one of the stronger defense corps in the league.

Roy Back To Remparts: Former Colorado head coach Patrick Roy has been out of hockey since abruptly resigning back in August of 2016.  He had only been a speculative candidate for any openings since then so he has decided to return to his old post as coach and GM of the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL.  He had quite a successful run in his first stint with that team (one he also owned at the time), compiling a 349-159-37 record and will look to build on that in his second go-round.

Extension For Bednar: What a difference a year (and a trade) can make.  Colorado head coach Jared Bednar had a rough first year behind the bench but his team turned it around this season, going from dead last overall to a playoff spot before falling to Nashville in six games in the opening round.  What’s even more impressive is that they did so without Matt Duchene, one of their core players who was dealt away early on in the season.  Management is clearly happy with the progress the Avs are making as they handed their bench boss a one-year contract extension, one that locks him up through the 2019-20 season.  In the press conference announcing the deal, GM Joe Sakic suggested that the team plans to get even younger for the 2018-19 season so it appears they’re more than content with staying the course.

Draft Lottery: The annual Draft Lottery was held on Saturday and the results were a bit different this time around.  After none of the teams with top-three odds won one of the top spots last year, Buffalo, the team with the top odds, held onto the top spot which makes them the favorites to select Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.  The other big winner was Carolina who jumped from eleventh to second while Montreal moved up a position from fourth to third.  Early expectations are that wingers Andrei Svechnikov and Filip Zadina are likely to go in those two spots.

Fletcher Out In Minnesota: Chuck Fletcher was one of the longest-tenured general managers in the league, spending the last nine years with the Wild.  His time with the team has come to an end, however, as the team announced that they would not be renewing his contract.  Minnesota has consistently made the playoffs under his watch and has done so for each of the last six years.  That hasn’t resulted in much success though as they haven’t made it past the second round each time.  Fletcher may have to wait to get another chance at running a team as there currently is just one other GM vacancy (Carolina) around the league.

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While the action is heating up on the ice, there has been a lot of news off of it lately which is highlighted in the top stories of the week.

Gulutzan Fired: Calgary’s late-season collapse proved to be costly for head coach Glen Gulutzan as the team fired him along with assistants Dave Cameron and Paul Jerrard.  His tenure with the Flames winds up being rather short-lived as he was behind the bench for just two years with his teams posting a combined 82-68-14 record with a postseason appearance (albeit a sweep at the hands of Anaheim) back in 2016-17.  The 46-year-old now hits the market in search of a new job but there aren’t a lot of vacancies to be filled and one of them (Dallas) is likely out of the question considering he was fired as their head coach back in 2013.

Byron Out Six Months: The season didn’t end particularly well in Montreal and the offseason isn’t off to a great start either.  The team announced that the speedy winger underwent shoulder surgery that carries a recovery time of six months and as a result, his availability for the start of next season appears to be in question.  Byron, a waiver claim three years ago, has posted back-to-back 20-goal campaigns but this doesn’t appear to be the best of ways for him to head into the final year of his contract.

Lundqvist Declined Trade Opportunity: Back when the Rangers were selling off their veterans around the trade deadline, one of the notables staying put was Henrik Lundqvist.  It turns out that New York had found a willing trade partner for him but the veteran decided to stay put, saying he wanted to see things through.  The 36-year-old has spent his entire career with the Rangers and has three years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $8.5MM, the second-highest for goaltenders next season.  With the team clearly heading for a rebuild based on the moves they made this past season, it will be interesting to see if Lundqvist has the same mindset down the road.

Datsyuk Stays In Russia: While Ilya Kovalchuk is eyeing an NHL comeback, the same can’t be said for long-time Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk.  Instead of heading back across the pond with his contract set to expire, he has opted to sign a one-year extension with SKA St. Petersburg.  The 39-year-old had 35 points in 37 games in the KHL this past season while adding six assists in six Olympic contests.

Peters Opts Out: While they’re still on the market for a new general manager, the Hurricanes will now be searching for a new head coach as well as Bill Peters exercised his out clause to leave the team, forfeiting the remaining year and $1.6MM left on his contract.  He spent four years with Carolina with his teams compiling a 137-138-53 record with no playoff appearances.  There is already plenty of speculation that Peters will wind up in Calgary to replace Gulutzan in the near future but with no GM in place, it may take a bit of time before the Hurricanes announce their next bench boss.

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As always, the first week after the regular season was a busy one around the NHL, including the final odds for the Draft Lottery in two weeks’ time.  Here are the top stories from the past seven days.

Blues, Hutton To Start Contract Talks: Following a stellar season that saw him lead the league in GAA (2.09) and SV% (.931), Blues goaltender Carter Hutton is set to cash in nicely as a pending unrestricted free agent.  Although St. Louis still has Jake Allen locked up for three more years at $4.25MM, the team has reached out to Hutton’s camp in an effort to get contract discussions underway.  Finding the right fit on a new deal may be tricky as the 32-year-old has never had a number one workload in terms of games played and teams aren’t generally willing to break the bank for what might only amount to an above average insurance policy.

Four Surgeries For Monahan: It’s not uncommon for players on teams that aren’t playoff bound to be shut down early to undergo surgery to make sure they’re ready for next season.  It’s a lot less common for that player to have four separate surgeries in a short span but that’s what happened with Calgary center Sean Monahan.  He was shut down back on March 21st and since then, he had procedures done on his wrist, both hips, and his groin.  Despite playing through so many injuries, Monahan had a strong season overall, tallying a career-best 64 points (33-31-64) despite playing in his fewest games in any of his five NHL seasons (74).

Hitchcock Retires: Ken Hitchcock’s second stint behind the bench in Dallas was a short one as the 66-year-old announced his retirement from coaching after just returning there for this season.  He will, however, remain with the Stars in a consulting role.  Hitchcock sits third all-time in NHL wins as a head coach with 823 behind only Scotty Bowman and Joel Quenneville.  Now, for the second straight offseason, Dallas GM Jim Nill will be looking for a new head coach.  While some will suggest Alain Vigneault for the role, the team could also look to bring in a fresh face after having a pair of long-term coaching veterans previously in Hitchcock and Lindy Ruff.

Senators Could Use Buyouts This Summer: In his press conference following the conclusion of the regular season, Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion acknowledged that they had discussed the possibility of contract buyouts with several players during their exit interviews.  The Sens aren’t exactly known as a high-spending team so the revelation that it’s something that is being considered for multiple players is certainly intriguing.  While high-priced veterans Bobby Ryan and the recently-acquired Marian Gaborik are speculative candidates, winger Alexandre Burrows, who cleared waivers back at the trade deadline, may be another option and would be one that wouldn’t have as significant of a financial impact.

Chiarelli To Return: Despite a dreadful season that saw the Oilers fall well short of expectations, the Oilers have decided to bring back GM Peter Chiarelli for another year.  His tenure with Edmonton has had its ups and downs with some questionable moves such as the Milan Lucic signing and the Taylor Hall trade in recent years but the team still has a strong core to work with as well.  No decision has been made on the fate of their coaching staff just yet with CEO Bob Nicholson stating that Chiarelli will be evaluating them and making a decision at a later date.

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As is often the case, the final week of the regular season around the NHL was a busy one.  Here are the top stories from the past seven days.

Sedins Retire: The Canucks were hoping to get an answer about the playing futures of Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin heading into the summer and they now have that as the twins announced that 2017-18 would be their final season.  The twins wound up playing all 17 of their NHL seasons together with Vancouver and between the two of them, hold franchise records in games played, goals, assists, points, plus/minus, and shots on goal (among others).  They sit first and second in points and considering Alexander Edler is the only other active Canuck in the top-ten and the fact he’s more than 500 points behind each of them, it’s safe to say those two will be at the top for many years to come.

Suter Out For The Year: While Minnesota is off to the playoffs, they will be competing without their top defender as Ryan Suter is out for the remainder of the season after undergoing ankle surgery.  That’s a huge blow for their back end as not only has Suter been quite productive (he tied his career high in points with 55), he also led their team in ice time per game by a considerable margin, logging just shy of 27 minutes per game.  The injury is quite a severe one as well; Suter noted that the severity of it was significant enough that it could have been a career-ender had he played in a different sport instead.  (However, since ankles are tightly secured inside a hockey skate, he should be able to return to action next season.)

Extensions: The Coyotes have locked up their starting goaltender for the next three years as they inked Antti Raanta to a three-year, $12.75MM extension.  While he has struggled to stay healthy this season, Raanta was quite sharp when he was in the lineup, posting a 2.24 GAA and a .930 SV% in 48 games.  That placed him second in the league in both categories behind Carter Hutton of the Blues.  Meanwhile, a long-time Red Wing is also staying put as Detroit signed GM Ken Holland to a two-year extension.  The 62-year-old has been with the organization since 1986 and has held the title of General Manager since 1997.

More Retirements: The Sedins weren’t the only players to announce that they were calling it a career.  Blackhawks winger Patrick Sharp revealed earlier in the week that this was going to be it for him while Panthers winger Radim Vrbata did the same on Saturday.  Sharp finishes up with 287-333-620 totals in 939 games between Philadelphia, Dallas, and Chicago while Vrbata posted 284-339-623 across 1,057 games with seven different organizations (including three separate stints in the desert with the Coyotes).

Coaching News: It took until the final day of the regular season for the first coach to be fired and it was by the Rangers, who relieved Alain Vigneault of his duties.  He spent five years with the Blueshirts and his team made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final back in 2014 before losing to the Kings.  Vigneault has been a head coach every year since 2006-07 and is sure to draw some attention if and when other vacancies open up.  Meanwhile, despite their rough year, there won’t be a change behind the bench in Chicago as the Blackhawks announced that Joel Quenneville will return for his 11th season with the team.  While there has been talk of friction between him and GM Stan Bowman, the latter will also retain his title heading into next year.

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It was a fairly quiet week overall but that should change soon as most college teams have been eliminated which should start to open up the free agent market in the days to come.  Meanwhile, here are the top stories from the past seven days.

Mascherin Won’t Sign With Florida: It’s not very often that a second-round pick will opt to re-enter the draft over signing with the team that picked him but that’s the case with Panthers 2016 pick Adam Mascherin, who informed the team that he will not sign with them.  Florida is now likely to try to trade his rights in the hopes of recouping some sort of asset for him; only first-rounders that do not sign are eligible for compensation picks.  The diminutive winger had his third straight season with at least 35 goals and more than 80 points, putting up 40-46-86 totals in 67 regular season contests.

Rangers Open To Trading A First-Rounder: As a result of the Rick Nash and Ryan McDonagh trades near the deadline, the Rangers have two extra first-round picks in the upcoming draft.  GM Jeff Gorton acknowledged that he would be open to moving one of those selections even though the team is clearly rebuilding.  With New York adding several other prospects in their trades plus their pair of first-round selections from 2017, there is a young core now in place and perhaps that may be what Gorton would be looking for in this type of trade – another young player whose NHL timeline meshes with that group.  They’d be wise to talk to Calgary who is looking to acquire a first-round pick before the draft.

Thornton Could Return In Postseason: The Sharks have done well to position themselves in a playoff spot as they sit second in the Pacific, six points clear of Los Angeles.  Now, they’ve got further good news as center Joe Thornton has been skating for the better part of two weeks now and wouldn’t rule out the possibility of returning at some point in the playoffs.  The veteran has been recovering from MCL surgery back in late January and is no stranger to postseason action as he sits third overall among active players in playoff contests with 160 and tied for third overall in playoff points with 123 (27-96-123).

Marody To Edmonton: It’s rare at this time of the year to see a trade but there was one made between the Flyers and Oilers with Edmonton acquiring prospect Cooper Marody in exchange for New Jersey’s third-round pick in 2019 (previously acquired for Patrick Maroon at the trade deadline).  The Flyers get a nice return on their investment in Marody, who they selected 158th overall in 2015.  Marody recently finished up a very productive year at Michigan, collecting 48 points (16-32-48) in 38 games.  He has one year of college eligibility remaining although it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Oilers try to take a run at signing him.

Draft Lottery Changes: With the addition of Vegas this season, the draft lottery odds needed to be changed as there are now 15 teams that miss the postseason.  The new odds have been agreed upon with the chances of the team finishing last overall actually increasing slightly, from 18% to 18.5%.  Meanwhile, the team with the most points that misses the postseason will have just a 1% chance, down from 1.1%.  Additionally, the odds for teams in the middle of the lottery have been decreased, undoubtedly in response to the results from the 2017 lottery that saw the bottom three finishers all drop three spots in the selection order.

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While activity around the league has quieted down lately (that should soon change with college free agency really getting set to kick off), there were still several key stories around the hockey world this past week.

Kulikov Out Eight Weeks: Winnipeg has had rough luck with injuries all season long and that continued with the announcement that defenseman Dmitry Kulikov will miss the next eight weeks after undergoing back surgery.  While the 27-year-old hasn’t quite lived up to his $4.33MM cap hit this season, he has still provided the Jets with quality minutes on the third pairing and has jumped into a top-four role when called upon as well.  They also got some more bad news with goalie Steve Mason suffering a knee injury that will keep him out for two-to-three weeks.

Carolina’s GM Search: What a strange week this was for Carolina and their search for a new general manager to replace Ron Francis.  First, Mike Futa withdrew his name from consideration.  Paul Fenton was the next to do so and then Tom Fitzgerald and Bill Guerin pulled their names out of the hat.  Not surprisingly, new owner Thomas Dundon is expected to slow the search down a little bit in an effort to make things less public.  Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reports (video link) that money is playing a role in some of these people bowing out, noting that the offer from Dundon is believed to be around $400K per year.

Sign-And-Trade For Tavares? Sign-and-trades aren’t particularly common in the NHL but TSN’s Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger both suggested that it could be a possibility with Islanders center John Tavares.  Doing so would allow the pending unrestricted free agent to get the maximum eight-year term on his next contract (instead of seven if he signed with a new team directly) while New York would be able to recover some sort of asset for facilitating the move.  It’s believed that Tavares will indicate his plans to the team in advance of the NHL Entry Draft in June which would give GM Garth Snow a bit of time to try to work some sort of trade out if their franchise player decides to move on.

Spurgeon Out Four Weeks: Minnesota was dealt a big blow with Jared Spurgeon tearing his hamstring, an injury that will keep him out of the lineup for the rest of the regular season (and four weeks in total).  The 28-year-old sits third on the Wild in points by a defenseman while also logging 24:33 per night in ice time, second on the team.  His absence will certainly be a tough one to absorb as Minnesota continues to battle for a playoff spot in the tightly-contested Western Conference.

Kovalchuk Wants To Return To The NHL: While he is technically retired from the NHL, Russian winger Ilya Kovalchuk reiterated his intent to return to the NHL this summer while noting that he hopes to play there for several years.  The 34-year-old led the KHL in scoring this season with 63 points (31-32-63) in 53 games while picking up a Gold Medal at the Olympics.  As he will be 35 before the start of next season, he will be eligible for performance-based incentives in his contract as long as he signs for one year which could be intriguing to some cap-strapped teams.

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The first full week of March was a quieter one as teams settle in for the stretch run but there was still a fair bit of big news around the league.

Bouwmeester Out For The Year: After a lengthy losing skid and the trade of Paul Stastny to Winnipeg at the trade deadline, the Blues were already in tougher shape for making the playoffs.  That path got even more challenging with the announcement that defenseman Jay Bouwmeester is out for the season with a hip injury that carries a recovery timeline of four-to-six months.  2017-18 was certainly an injury-riddled campaign for the 34-year-old as he finishes it up having played in a career-low 35 games.  However, when healthy, he still logged big minutes for St. Louis and they will certainly miss his presence on the back end down the stretch.

Washington Sits Down Holtby: It’s not very often where a team in contention will announce that they’re sitting their starting goalie down late in the season but that is what happened with the Capitals and netminder Braden Holtby.  Since the start of February, the 28-year-old has posted a 4.44 GAA with a .872 SV%, numbers that are well below the league average.  Philipp Grubauer is poised to run with the number one spot for the time being and has fared well in his first two starts, allowing just two goals on 52 shots.  Considering that he is widely expected to be traded in the summer, this is quite the opportunity for Grubauer to showcase himself to potential suitors around the league.

Francis Out As Carolina GM: New Hurricanes owner Thomas Dundon isn’t wasting much time putting his stamp on the organization.  Barely a week after Carolina was largely inactive at the trade deadline, Dundon removed Ron Francis from his role as general manager and named him president of hockey operations.  The move may sound like a promotion in title but Dundon stated that he wanted a new voice for personnel moves which isn’t exactly a vote of confidence for the moves (or lack thereof) that Carolina has made in recent years.

Rutta Extension: Jan Rutta’s first season in the NHL has been a solid one and the Blackhawks certainly have taken notice as they signed him to a one-year, $2.3MM contract extension.  The 27-year-old has logged over 19 minutes per game this season and ranks second on Chicago in points-per-game from defensemen.  The ‘Hawks now have their top-six defenders all locked up for next season at a combined cap hit of just over $20.4MM.

Whitecloud To Vegas: College free agent season is now upon us and the Golden Knights landed the first prominent player as they signed defenseman Zach Whitecloud to a three-year, entry-level contract.  The 21-year-old put up 19 points in 35 games in his sophomore season at Bemidji State University and drew interest from several other teams around the league including the Kings, Lightning, and Red Wings.  That may have played a role in Vegas deciding to have him skate with the big club for the rest of the regular season although it remains to be seen how much game action he will see.

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As expected, it was quite a busy week around the league with plenty of trades being made before the deadline.  You can catch up on the moves made in our Eastern and Western Conference recaps.  Here are five other key stories from around the hockey world.

Dell Signs Extension: Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell was viewed as one of their top trade chips heading into the trade deadline but he wound up staying put.  One day later, he put pen to paper on a two-year, $3.8MM extension that will keep San Jose’s goaltending duo intact for the next two years.  The Sharks will be spending a lot more on their masked men next season as the combined cap hits of Dell and Martin Jones will jump from $3.625MM to $7.625MM.

Two Canucks Out For The Year: The injury bug hasn’t been kind to Vancouver this season and that continued this past week.  Winger Loui Eriksson suffered a fractured rib and is out for the season while winger Sven Baertschi separated his shoulder and he is also done for the year.  It’s the second time this year that each will miss at least ten games.  For perspective, eight other Canucks skaters have missed at least ten contests in 2017-18.

Hornqvist Extension: There is rarely a dull moment around the trade deadline when Jim Rutherford is around.  After landing Derick Brassard in the days leading up to it, they struck again the day after the deadline by signing winger Patric Hornqvist to a five-year, $26.5MM extension.  The 31-year-old has been a key and consistent part of their attack for each of the last four seasons and should crack the 20-goal mark for the fifth straight season and eighth out of the last nine.  (The one season he didn’t do so was the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign.)  The Penguins now have just over $70MM committed to 17 players for next season.

Bergeron Has Foot Fracture: Although he played in one game after being seen in a walking boot, Bruins center Patrice Bergeron has been shut down due to a fracture in his foot.  He is set to be re-evaluated in two weeks but there is no firm timetable for his return.  Bergeron has played an integral role in Boston’s success so far this season and has been hovering around the point-per-game mark all year.  With the Bruins being safely in a playoff spot, they will at least be afforded the opportunity to be as patient as they need to be to make sure he’s fully recovered for the postseason.

CHL Considering Lifting Import Goalie Ban: One of the more controversial decisions the CHL had made in recent years was back in 2013 where it prevented its 60 teams from selecting European-born goaltenders in the annual Import Draft.  Now, it appears that they are at least considering reversing that decision which could create some opportunities for the top draft-eligible junior netminders to cross the pond once again, something that would certainly appeal to NHL scouts.

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Unsurprisingly, activity around the league has picked up considerably with the trade deadline right on the horizon.  Here are the biggest stories from the past week.

1) The Brassard Kerfuffle: Center Derick Brassard was dealt to Pittsburgh…twice.  After the Pens, Sens, and Golden Knights reached a three-way trade, the deal was vetoed by the NHL.  That led to hours of speculation about whether or not the trade could be reworked.  In the end, a revised swap consisting on three separate trades was agreed on and approved with Ottawa landing a first-round pick along with prospect goalie Filip Gustavsson, defenseman Ian Cole, and Pittsburgh’s 2019 third-round choice.  Vegas, meanwhile, adds rugged winger Ryan Reaves along with and Vancouver’s 2018 fourth-rounder in exchange for retaining 40% of Brassard’s contract plus minor league winger Tobias Lindberg (who also wound up in Ottawa when all was said and done).  In Brassard, Pittsburgh lands a top-six caliber center that they will use on their third line, giving them considerable depth at position for this season and next.  The Penguins also received Ottawa’s 2018 third-round pick in the trade.

2) Extensions: The Islanders have locked up an important unrestricted free agent, agreeing to terms on a new six-year, $30MM pact with winger Josh Bailey.  The 28-year-old has played alongside pending UFA center John Tavares this season and has already put up career numbers across the board, tallying 15 goals and 47 assists in 59 games; his 62 points rank 17th overall in the NHL.  Even if Bailey can’t maintain this level of production moving forward, this should still be a pretty good contract for New York if he can hover around the 45-50 point mark in the years to come.

Meanwhile, Vancouver reached an agreement to keep one of their defenders around for the foreseeable future, inking Erik Gudbranson to a three-year, $12MM pact.  The stay-at-home blueliner has had trouble staying healthy and has seen his role reduced this season but the Canucks believe that he can still be a quality fourth or fifth defender for a few more years.

3) Nash To Boston: As expected, the Rangers parted with veteran winger Rick Nash, sending him to Boston for a sizable package.  In return, New York acquires the Bruins’ first-round pick in 2018, left wing/center Ryan Spooner, winger Matt Beleskey, prospect blueliner Ryan Lindgren, and a 2019 seventh-rounder.  The Rangers are retaining 50% of Nash’s contract while Boston is doing the same with Beleskey which is notable as he is signed at a $3.8MM cap hit through 2019-20.  Nash should bolster Boston’s second line while New York picks up a pair of key young assets in the first-rounder plus Lindgren and could conceivably look to flip Spooner as well in advance of the deadline.

4) Goalie Swaps: After injuries took out both Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth, the Flyers moved quickly to secure a replacement, acquiring Petr Mrazek from Detroit in exchange for a pair of conditional draft picks.  The Red Wings will receive a 2018 fourth-rounder at a minimum; that pick becomes a third if the Flyers make the playoffs with Mrazek winning five games and shifts to a second-rounder if Philadelphia makes the Eastern Conference Final and Mrazek wins six games.  Detroit will also land a 2019 third-round selection if the Flyers re-sign the 26-year-old.

This wasn’t the only goalie move of the week, however.  The Coyotes picked up Darcy Kuemper from the Kings in exchange for winger Tobias Rieder and netminder Scott Wedgewood (who was subsequently waived and cleared).  Kuemper then agreed to a two-year, $3.7MM extension which gives Arizona a bit of stability between the pipes with starter Antti Raanta eligible for unrestricted free agency in July.  Meanwhile, the Kings land a versatile winger in Rieder who should help bolster their attack for the stretch run.

5) Devils/Rangers Deal: For the first time ever, the Devils and Rangers made a trade with each other as New Jersey picked up winger Michael Grabner from New York in exchange for the Devils’ 2018 second-round pick and defenseman Yegor Rykov.  Grabner has been one of the top even-strength scorers this season with 24 of his 25 tallies have come in that situation.  The speedster should slot in as a middle-six winger as the Devils look to lock down a playoff spot in the very tight Metropolitan Division.

Since it has been a very busy last few days, here’s a bonus key story:

6) News From Montreal: It hasn’t been a good year for Montreal and the tough news kept on coming.  After feeling some discomfort in his injured foot when he tried to resume skating, the team has shut him down for the remainder of the season and he will undergo surgery to repair a tendon in his left foot.  He finishes up 2017-18 with 16 points (6-10-16) in only 26 games.  Meanwhile, goaltender Carey Price has been diagnosed with a concussion and is out indefinitely.  For the time being, the Canadiens will go with veteran Antti Niemi (unless he is traded by the deadline) and youngster Charlie Lindgren between the pipes.

Meanwhile, Montreal dealt their one prominent pending free agent in center Tomas Plekanec (along with minor league winger Kyle Baun) to Toronto in exchange for the Leafs’ second-round pick in 2018 plus youngsters Rinat Valiev and Kerby Rychel.  The Canadiens are also retaining 50% of Plekanec’s $6MM contract.  In Plekanec, Toronto gets a strong checking center that should play a key role on the penalty kill plus strengthen their depth down the middle while Montreal picks up their fourth second-rounder for the upcoming draft plus a couple of younger players who could benefit from a change of scenery.

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