Week In Review

With the regular season ending and the playoffs beginning, there was no shortage of storylines across the NHL this past week including Arizona’s relocation being made official.  We recap the biggest ones in our key stories.

St. Louis Extended: The Canadiens haven’t had much on-ice success in recent years since their improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.  However, that didn’t stop the team from exercising a two-year contract option on head coach Martin St. Louis.  The Hall of Fame winger has spent parts of three seasons behind the bench in Montreal, originally coming on as an interim coach during the 2021-22 campaign.  His teams have played to a 75-100-26 record, good for a points percentage of just .438 with the team in the middle of a full-scale rebuild.  However, quite a few key young players have shown improvement under his tutelage including 2022 first overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky who put up 50 points in 82 games this season after notching just 10 in 39 appearances in his rookie year.  Montreal will be counting on St. Louis to continue to get those young core players to improve.

Granato Fired: The Sabres’ playoff drought reached 13 years after they failed to make the postseason.  That resulted in the team electing to make a coaching change as they fired Don Granato before his extension signed back in 2022 had even started.  Granato led Buffalo to a 122-125-27 record over parts of four seasons having taken over during the 2020-21 campaign.  Expectations were higher for the Sabres coming into this year after they narrowly missed making the playoffs the year before but instead, several of their key young players took steps back offensively, resulting in a drop-off of 50 goals, a gap that was too much to overcome.  Buffalo will now be searching for their eighth head coach since last reaching the postseason.

Sticking Around: It was expected that this season would be Marc-Andre Fleury’s last but that won’t be the case.  Instead, 2024-25 will be as the veteran goaltender signed a one-year, $2.5MM contract extension and indicated that he will retire at the end of that season which will be his 21st at the NHL level.  The deal does not contain any performance bonuses while Fleury receives a full no-move clause.  The 39-year-old struggled this season, posting a 2.98 GAA with a save percentage of just .895, a career-low.  With Filip Gustavsson still under contract for two more years and top prospect Jesper Wallstedt looking like he’s ready for a longer look, Minnesota will at least have strong depth at the goaltending position next season.

Not Sticking Around: Veteran center Jeff Carter has elected to not see what type of offers he could have received in free agency, instead announcing his retirement at the end of Pittsburgh’s final game, one he scored in.  The 39-year-old struggled this season, notching just 11 goals and four assists in 72 games while seeing his ice time dip to a career-low 12:34 a night.  However, that shouldn’t take away from what was a very strong career overall; in 19 seasons, Carter amassed 442 goals and 409 assists while also winning a pair of Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014 with Los Angeles.  Meanwhile, Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz confirmed he’s also retiring.  He missed all of this season and most of last season with groin and knee injuries.  When healthy, he was a very effective netminder, posting a .919 SV% in 73 career NHL appearances, all with Colorado.

Johansen Unlikely To Play Next Season: When Philadelphia took back Ryan Johansen as part of the Sean Walker trade last month, it was expected that he wouldn’t play for the Flyers and that they’d try to move him elsewhere.  However, it was revealed after the swap that he had a hip injury, one that kept him out for the stretch run and now, all of next season as well; GM Daniel Briere indicated that the veteran isn’t expected to play at all in 2024-25.  The 31-year-old struggled with Colorado this season, notching just 13 goals and 10 assists in 63 games, making him a possible buyout candidate this summer.  But due to the injury, that won’t be an option as injured players can’t be bought out.  Instead, the Flyers will be forced to carry him on the NHL roster next season although he will be eligible for LTIR if Philadelphia needs to use it.

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With the playoffs now just days away, there was plenty of news of note around the hockey world.  We recap the biggest news from the past seven days in our key stories.

Coyotes To Salt Lake City? Early in the week, it came out that an alternate schedule was being drafted that had the Coyotes playing out of Salt Lake City.  Soon after, momentum increased toward a full relocation and while it hasn’t officially been announced yet (that should come as soon as this week), things are trending in that direction with players reportedly being told that the move is happening.  With an uncertain arena situation in Arizona, this is an outcome that the league and NHLPA will both likely be pleased with.  However, this might not be the end of NHL hockey in Arizona.  Outgoing owner Alex Meruelo is believed to have a five-year window to trigger an expansion franchise, giving him ample time to secure a new arena, whether it’s by winning the current auction that will end in June or on another site altogether.

Golden Knights Get Stronger: Vegas got a big boost to their lineup early in the week when they activated center Tomas Hertl off LTIR.  One of their key deadline pickups, Hertl will give the Golden Knights another impact center and some more firepower.  When they acquired him, it was expected that Hertl would be available for the stretch run, allowing him to get some games in before the playoffs.  Meanwhile, captain Mark Stone has been cleared to return to practice as he works his way back from a lacerated spleen.  Vegas used Stone’s LTIR savings to make their trade deadline additions so they won’t be able to activate him now as they did for Hertl.  However, with a full week next week of practice, the winger might be available when the playoffs get underway.

Sticking Around: One of the other players Vegas added at the deadline using Stone’s LTIR placement is defenseman Noah Hanifin.  He won’t be a short-term rental after all, however, as he signed an eight-year, $58.8MM contract extension.  The $7.35MM AAV will make the 27-year-old the second-highest-paid blueliner on the Golden Knights behind Alex Pietrangelo ($8.8MM).  Hanifin has seen his offensive output increase in recent years while remaining a strong defensive blueliner, making him a relatively safe bet for this long of an extension.  Worth noting is that Vegas now has over $85MM in commitments for next season already, per CapFriendly.  While Robin Lehner’s $5MM will likely stay on LTIR giving them a bit more wiggle room, Jonathan Marchessault, Anthony Mantha, and Chandler Stephenson are among the players who need new deals and it will be near-impossible to keep all of them around.

Not Sticking Around: When the buzzer sounds at the end of the game on Thursday against Vegas, Ducks winger Jakob Silfverberg’s NHL career will come to an end as he announced he plans to retire from the NHL.  The 33-year-old started his career with Ottawa but was moved to Anaheim the following season and has stayed there ever since, spanning 11 seasons.  In his prime, he was an impactful two-way player with a stretch of four 20-goal seasons in five years.  Since then, he has become more of a depth piece and rather than search for a new contract in free agency, Silfverberg will instead return to play back home in Sweden.

Injury News: The Devils have been without their star center for the last few games as Jack Hughes underwent season-ending shoulder surgery.  The 22-year-old ends his campaign with 74 points in just 62 games, his third straight year of averaging more than a point per game.  Hughes is expected to make a full recovery in time for training camp in the fall.  Meanwhile, their state rival got some good news on the injury front as center Filip Chytil was cleared to start skating with the Rangers.  He has missed the majority of the season after sustaining what’s believed to be two concussions with the team shutting him down for the year back in January.  Now, while he’ll undoubtedly be ramped up slowly, the 24-year-old could potentially return at some point in the playoffs which would certainly be a big boost to their lineup.

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The stretch run is upon as we get set to turn the calendar to April.  We’re still likely a few weeks away from some big headlines but there was still some notable news across the NHL which is recapped in our key stories.

Three For Benoit: Last summer, Simon Benoit was non-tendered by Anaheim, eventually settling for a one-year deal worth the NHL minimum salary with Toronto.  However, he has done well with the Maple Leafs and he was rewarded for his efforts with a three-year, $4.05MM contract extension.  The 25-year-old has played in 55 games this season and while he doesn’t put up many points (just five so far), he leads the team in hits with 210 while averaging nearly 17 minutes a night, giving the third pairing some stability.  That stability will now run through the 2026-27 season.

Injuries: If the Islanders are going to climb up the standings and into the playoffs, they’ll have to do so without defenseman Scott Mayfield as it was revealed that he underwent season-ending surgery.  The 31-year-old has been limited to just 41 games this season due to injuries, hardly the way he or the team wanted the first season of his seven-year contract to go.  Meanwhile, Blues center Oskar Sundqvist suffered a torn ACL and will be out for the rest of the season.  He returned for a second go-around with St. Louis in the summer and did well enough to earn a two-year, $3MM contract earlier this month just before the trade deadline.  With a six-month recovery timeline, Sundqvist won’t be ready for the start of training camp and could miss the start of next season.

Fleury Open To Playing Next Season: When Marc-Andre Fleury signed a two-year deal with Minnesota in 2022, it was widely expected that those two seasons would be the last ones of Fleury’s career.  However, that might not be the case as the veteran netminder indicated this week that he would be open to re-signing with the Wild for next season.  However, that option would only extend to Minnesota as he appears to be unwilling to move his family again.  Fleury is in his 20th NHL season and while his GAA is the same as a year ago at 2.85, he has lost nine points off his save percentage, going from .908 to .899, his lowest since 2005-06.  However, if the Wild feel that prospect Jesper Wallstedt would be better suited with another AHL season, they could decide to bring Fleury back for one more year.

Fedotov Joins Flyers: The Flyers have waited a long time to get Ivan Fedotov to North America, even when he had a contract going back to last season.  Fedotov played in the KHL this season despite sanctions from the IIHF but he was surprisingly released from that deal this week, paving the way for the netminder to finish up the year with Philadelphia.  It might not just be a short-term option for the 27-year-old as extension talks are already underway.  Fedotov had a quiet year by his standards with CSKA Moscow but still managed a 2.37 GAA and a .914 SV% in 44 games.  Long viewed as one of the top netminders outside North America, Fedotov represents an immediate upgrade at the backup goalie position and if a new deal is agreed on, he could help bolster Philadelphia’s crease position for a little while.

Bear Enters Assistance Program: The Capitals will be without defenseman Ethan Bear indefinitely as he has entered the NHL/NHLPA Assistance Program.  Bear had to wait until late December to get a contract after being injured while playing for Canada at the Worlds back in May although he was able to get a back-loaded two-year, $4.125MM deal from the Capitals.  Through 24 games this season, Bear has a goal and three assists while averaging a little under 15 minutes a night.

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While there won’t be much in the way of activity on the transactions front for a while beyond prospect signings, there was still some news of note in the NHL over the past seven days which is recapped in our key stories.

Proposed Rule Changes: Each year, a handful of tweaks to the rules are recommended by NHL general managers.  That continued this year, albeit with a few more proposed changes than usual.  Among the suggested amendments are that goalies can be assessed a minor penalty for intentionally knocking the net off, allowing a coaches’ challenge for delay of game and high-sticking (for friendly fire), and bringing back a warm-up for goalies coming into a game when the starter is taken out due to injury.  They won’t be enacted right away as they still need to be ratified by the Competition Committee and the NHL Board of Governors.

Bowness Away From Jets: For the second straight week, a head coach has taken a leave of absence.  After Martin St. Louis left Montreal for family reasons, Rick Bowness is away from Winnipeg for the second time this season, this time for a minor medical procedure.  He left the Jets on their road trip for treatments while Scott Arniel is serving as interim head coach for the second time this season.  Winnipeg struggled over the weekend but finds itself in a tight battle for the top spot in the Central Division.

Wilson Gets Six: Capitals winger Tom Wilson has a lengthy history with the Department of Player Safety.  Another entry was added this past week as he received a six-game suspension for his high stick on Maple Leafs winger Noah Gregor.  It’s the sixth suspension of his career, bringing his total to 36 games cumulative while he forfeits more than $161K in salary, bringing that running total to a little over $1.5MM.  More importantly for Washington, they lose a key top-six winger as they try to chase down Philadelphia for the final playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division.  Wilson will be eligible to return to the lineup on April 4th and ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reports (Twitter link) that no appeal will be filed.

Coyotes Likely To Stay At Mullett Arena In 2024-25: The future of the Coyotes in Arizona is once again in question after their planned arena site fell through earlier this year.  There’s another option that involves a public auction that won’t happen until June.  While the team’s fate might be better known at that time, the possibility of relocation that late into the offseason would be difficult to pull off.  Accordingly, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly indicated that the team is likely to stay at Mullett Arena at Arizona State University for the 2024-25 season regardless of the outcome of that auction.  That will be the final year of the original three-season agreement although there are two one-year options to extend it.

Two Former NHLers Pass Away: We end on a sad note as a pair of players passed away.  Former Penguins winger Konstantin Koltsov died at the age of 42.  A first-round pick back in 1999, Koltsov played in 144 NHL games over parts of three seasons with Pittsburgh before spending the next decade playing internationally, primarily in Russia.  Soon after, it was revealed that Chris Simon passed at the age of 52.  He had a 15-year NHL career with seven different franchises and picked up a Stanley Cup title with Colorado back in 1996.  He was with that franchise after being part of the Eric Lindros trade back in 1992.  Simon had 1,824 penalty minutes in his career, good for 67th in NHL history.

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With the trade deadline now behind us, activity around the NHL was much quieter as expected.  However, there was still some news of note which is recapped in our key stories.

Third Time’s A Charm? There has been plenty of speculation about NHL expansion or potential relocation with a handful of markets emerging as potential places.  One of those is a market that has had an NHL team twice before as former NHL player Anson Carter is leading a group that wants to bring a franchise back to Atlanta.  That market was home to the Flames from 1972 through 1980 while they also had the Thrashers, an expansion franchise, from 1999 through 2011 before the team relocated to Winnipeg to become the second iteration of the Jets.  The group has apparently been in talks with the league about this since 2019 but with no expansion on the immediate horizon (yet, at least), they’ll likely be waiting a while longer before trying to garner serious consideration.

Third Time’s A Charm? (Part Two): Senators center Josh Norris has had a hard time staying healthy with lingering shoulder issues.  He missed the beginning of the season while still recovering from the second surgery on his left shoulder and that same shoulder will cause him to miss the rest of the season as a third surgery is required.  Norris is an important part of Ottawa’s young core and is signed through the 2029-30 campaign at $7.95MM per year.  However, between this season and last, he only was able to play in 58 of 164 games.  There was no immediate word on how long the recovery will be from this procedure and if it will roll over into training camp in the fall.

Vilardi Out Indefinitely: When healthy, Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi has been quite an impactful player.  However, staying healthy has been a challenge.  Now, already on the shelf due to an upper-body injury, the team learned that the 24-year-old has an enlarged spleen.  Accordingly, his status has now been changed to out indefinitely.  Vilardi was arguably the centerpiece of the offseason trade that saw Pierre-Luc Dubois go to Los Angeles and he has made an impact when he’s in the lineup, collecting 30 points in just 38 games.  But now, Winnipeg will be without a key performer for the foreseeable future as they continue their tough three-way battle with Colorado and Dallas for the top spot in the Central Division.

St. Louis Takes A Leave: Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis has taken a leave of absence from the team for family reasons.  He’s in his third season behind Montreal’s bench with the team playing to a 70-94-21 record in his 185 games at the helm.  There is no word on when he’ll be able to return.  In the meantime, assistant coach Trevor Letowski is serving as Montreal’s acting bench boss.  This is Letowski’s first experience running a team at the professional level although he has several seasons in that role from his days in the OHL.

Johansen’s Demotion Reversed: Earlier in the week, the NHL quietly reversed Philadelphia’s assignment of center Ryan Johansen to AHL Lehigh Valley.  The veteran was acquired for salary-matching purposes in a trade with Colorado earlier this month but was immediately waived and demoted when he cleared.  However, Johansen is dealing with a hip issue and since injured players can’t be waived, the 31-year-old won’t be permitted to rehab with the Phantoms.  There is no timetable for his recovery which is particularly noteworthy as injured players can’t be bought out.  With one year and $4MM left on his contract (more specifically, Philadelphia’s portion of his $8MM deal), if the injury lingers, they won’t be able to clear at least part of his contract off their books.

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The trade deadline has come and gone and as expected, it wound up being a busy few days across the league.  The full Friday activity is recapped here while several of the biggest swaps are specifically noted in our key stories.

Shakeup In Colorado: Heading into the trade deadline, the Avalanche were thought to be looking for center help and perhaps a backup goalie.  They wound up being quite active.  They picked up Sean Walker from Philadelphia in exchange for Ryan Johansen and Colorado’s 2025 first-round pick.  With an extra defender and a hole down the middle, they then moved blueliner Bowen Byram to Buffalo for Casey Mittelstadt in one of the biggest moves of the week.  Byram, a former top-four pick, is a big loss but Mittelstadt gives them a legitimate offensive threat to anchor the second line.  GM Chris MacFarland then shook up his bottom six group with a trio of moves, acquiring winger Yakov Trenin from Nashville and winger Brandon Duhaime from Minnesota while moving Ben Meyers to Anaheim to cap a busy few days.  All that and they wound up not getting the goalie.

Vegas Goes All In: It has been a rough go as of late for the Golden Knights who have slipped to a Wild Card spot in the West.  That didn’t stop GM Kelly McCrimmon from going for it.  First, he picked up winger Anthony Mantha (with 50% retention) from Washington for a second-round pick and a fourth-rounder.  The Golden Knights then added defenseman Noah Hanifin from Calgary for a 2025 first-round pick, a conditional 2025 third-rounder, and blueliner Daniil Miromanov, then flipped a 2024 fifth-rounder to Philadelphia to get Hanifin’s cost down to 25% of his AAV.  That gave them enough room to make the most surprising move of trade deadline day, acquiring center Tomas Hertl along with a pair of third-round picks from San Jose in exchange for center prospect David Edstrom and a 2025 first-round pick; San Jose retained 17.05% of Hertl’s AAV in the swap.  Hertl is out for a few more weeks at least but if Vegas is able to hold onto a playoff spot, they certainly have strengthened their lineup and could be a force in the West.

Devils Fire Ruff: The week wasn’t all about trade-related activity.  The Devils elected to make a coaching change, firing head coach Lindy Ruff while promoting Travis Green to the interim role.  Ruff, who had signed a multi-year extension back in October, was in his fourth season behind New Jersey’s bench with the team playing to a 128-125-28 record.  Last season, he helped lead the Devils to a 112-point campaign, their best in franchise history but this year, the team had underachieved and is on the outside looking in at a playoff spot which resulted in the change.  Green, meanwhile, was New Jersey’s associate coach this season and has head coaching experience from his time with Vancouver.  He’ll be in the role for the remainder of the season and GM Tom Fitzgerald will re-assess from there.

Extensions: At this time of year, there are often plenty of extension as players often find themselves in ’extend or be traded’ situations.  There were several of those as Nashville took center Thomas Novak off the market after signing him to a three-year, $10.5MM extension, a nice reward for a player who was a regular in the minors a year and a half ago.  The Flyers inked Nick Seeler to a four-year, $12.8MM extension, quite a raise for a player making the minimum on a two-way contract which helped pave the way for the Walker trade.  Seattle had one of the more tradable wingers on deadline day in Jordan Eberle but instead of moving him, they agreed to a two-year, $9.5MM extension, one that is a small pay cut but gives him full no-trade protection in return.

The extensions weren’t all just extend or be traded players, however.  The Capitals opted to not wait for the summer to work out a new deal with defenseman Rasmus Sandin, giving him a five-year, $23MM extension that buys them three extra years of club control.  Meanwhile, the Panthers took care of one of their key pending unrestricted free agents as they handed blueliner Gustav Forsling a max-term eight-year, $46MM extension.  Claimed off waivers in 2021, Forsling has gone from a depth defender to one of the anchors on the back end for Florida.

More Big Moves: There were several other big moves across the league.  The league-leading Panthers made a notable acquisition up front, acquiring winger Vladimir Tarasenko for a 2025 third-round pick and a conditional 2024 fourth-rounder.  Tarasenko had full trade protection and made it known that he wanted to go to Florida which didn’t help Ottawa in terms of maximizing his value.  The Hurricanes, not a team that typically goes after prominent rentals, broke that trend as they added winger Jake Guentzel (who is nearing a return from his upper-body injury) along with blueliner Ty Smith from Pittsburgh for winger Michael Bunting, forward prospects Ville Koivunen, Vasiliy Ponomarev, and Cruz Lucius, a conditional 2024 first-round pick, and a conditional 2024 fifth-round pick.  The first-rounder becomes a second if Carolina doesn’t make the Stanley Cup Final while the fifth only moves if Carolina wins the Stanley Cup.

Some Western teams made key splashes as well.  Edmonton elected to add to their center depth by bringing in Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick from Anaheim in exchange for a 2024 first-round selection as well as a conditional 2025 fifth-round selection that becomes a fourth if the Oilers win the Stanley Cup.  In order to get a total of 75% retention on Henrique, the Oilers also flipped Tampa Bay a conditional 2025 fourth-rounder.  Winnipeg made one trade of note last month with the addition of Sean Monahan but made another one when they sent a 2025 second-round pick and a 2024 third-rounder to New Jersey for Tyler Toffoli.  All players acquired in this section by contenders are pending unrestricted free agents.

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The trade deadline is just days away.  We’ve seen a couple of moves so far which are included in our key stories along with some other notable news across the NHL.

Kuznetsov Returns, Gets Waived: Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov was cleared to resume practicing with the team as he reached the follow-up phase of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.  However, the team he’ll actually practice with is AHL Hershey after Washington waived him, sending him down after he cleared on Sunday.  The 31-year-old has struggled this season with just six goals and 11 assists in 43 games, hardly a good return on a $7.8MM contract that runs through 2024-25.  Now the highest-paid player on a regular AHL assignment in league history, the Capitals will continue to look to find ways to give him a chance at a fresh start with another organization.

Tanev To Dallas: Another big domino from Calgary came off the trade board as the Flames moved defenseman Chris Tanev to Dallas as part of a three-team trade that also saw New Jersey pick up a fourth-round pick for retaining 25% of Tanev’s salary.  Calgary, who retained 50% of Tanev’s $4.5MM price tag, picked up defense prospect Artyom Grushnikov, who was a 2021 second-round pick, along with Dallas’ 2024 second-round selection.  If Dallas wins the Stanley Cup, the Flames would also get their 2026 third-round choice.  Tanev, who is still dealing with visa issues, gives the Stars a quality shutdown defender who will undoubtedly log big minutes on the penalty kill and help bolster their top four in general while having a minimal effect on their cap at only a quarter of his actual price tag.

Eight For Pettersson: While Elias Pettersson’s original plan was to wait until the offseason to sign his next contract, it didn’t play out that way.  As speculation started to mount about his potential future with Vancouver, which even included trade discussions with Carolina, Pettersson opted to give the green light to his camp to work out a new deal now.  Those talks ended with an eight-year, $92.8MM extension, the richest contract in franchise history.  The deal contains no-move protection starting in 2025-26, the first year he’s eligible for it.  Pettersson has certainly earned the deal, becoming one of the top two-way centers in the league over the past couple of seasons while he has a shot at back-to-back 100-point seasons.  As things stand, he’s set to be the fifth-highest-paid player in the league next season with an AAV of $11.6MM.

Another Year For Quick: When the Rangers brought in Jonathan Quick as their backup last summer, there were some question marks as he was coming off a rough 2022-23 campaign.  However, things have gone quite well for him this season and he was rewarded for his efforts with a one-year, $1.275MM extension, one that carries a 20-team no-trade clause.  The 38-year-old has fared quite well this season, posting a 2.45 GAA along with a .916 SV% in 21 games so far.  If that holds, those would be his best numbers since the 2017-18 campaign with Los Angeles.  All told, it has been a nice bounce-back year and he’ll be staying in New York for a little while longer.

Back To Toronto: Two years ago, Ilya Lyubushkin had a good run down the stretch with Toronto before departing for Buffalo in free agency.  The Maple Leafs are hoping that history will repeat itself as they acquired the blueliner from Anaheim in a trade that also saw Carolina hold back 25% of his contract in exchange for a sixth-round pick.  The Ducks, meanwhile, retained the maximum of 50% of his $2.75MM price and received a 2025 third-round selection.  Lyubushkin has four assists along with 138 blocks and 116 in 56 games this season and gives Toronto a much-needed right-shot option.  However, he suffered an upper-body injury in his first contest with the Leafs on the weekend.

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While the trade deadline is now less than two weeks away, activity around the NHL was quite limited over the past seven days.  Nevertheless, there was still some news of note which is recapped in our key stories.

Brodzinski Gets Rewarded: One of the nice feel-good stories of the season has been Rangers center Jonny Brodzinski.  The 30-year-old had ranged from being a full-time minor leaguer to a serviceable recall option in his first eight professional years and even started this season in the minors.  Since being recalled in late November, however, Brodzinski has been a regular in New York’s lineup and he was rewarded for his efforts with a two-year, $1.575MM one-way extension.  Only one of his contract years before this one saw him receive a one-way salary so this gives Brodzinski some much-desired job and financial security while the Rangers get a good cap hit for a bottom-six forward.

Vegas Injuries: The Golden Knights had some good and bad news on the injury front.  First, they got defenseman Shea Theodore back as he was activated off LTIR after missing nearly three months with an upper-body injury.  The 28-year-old has put up five assists since returning to bring him up to the point-per-game mark on the season.  However, it wasn’t all good news as winger Mark Stone has landed on IR due to what has been reported as a lacerated spleen and is set to be out for a while.  The captain leads Vegas in scoring with 53 points in 56 games so his loss is a significant one.  It will need to be determined if he’ll be able to return before the regular season ends.  If not, he can go on LTIR, freeing up $9.5MM in extra spending flexibility for the Golden Knights.

Four For Rasmussen: Red Wings center Michael Rasmussen has worked his way into becoming a capable secondary contributor and he was rewarded for his efforts as Detroit signed him to a four-year, $12.8MM contract extension.  The deal comes in a little less than double what his qualifying offer would have been ($1.752MM) while giving the Red Wings two extra years of club control.  The 24-year-old was the ninth overall pick back in 2017 and while he hasn’t emerged as a top contributor that his draft slot might suggest, he has become a capable two-way player who can play both center and the wing.  This price point for that type of versatile middle-six option is decent value for the Red Wings.  Detroit still has two prominent RFAs to re-sign this summer, winger Lucas Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider.

Fleury Doesn’t Want To Move: The future of Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has been speculated about in recent weeks with Minnesota struggling until late in the standings; would he want another chance at a possible Stanley Cup run?  However, the 39-year-old has indicated that his preference is to stay with the Wild and try to help them make the postseason.  Fleury is on an expiring contract and could be of interest to a few contenders for a depth role but with a full no-move clause, he controls his short-term future.  If Fleury ultimately chooses to stay, that will take one goaltending option off the market before the March 8th trade deadline.

Houston Looking For NHL Team: Tilman Fertitta, owner of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, revealed that he is in talks with the NHL about adding a team in Houston.  The market already has NBA, NFL, MLB, and MLS franchises since at least 2005 but is big enough that another prominent sports team should still work.  The Toyota Center (where the Rockets play) recently underwent renovations that would make it suitable should the city get an NHL franchise.  Fertitta noted that he has had talks with the NHL since 2017 but that those discussions have picked up lately.  With the future of the Coyotes looking uncertain, Houston could join Salt Lake City as a possible spot for relocation if their latest arena plans fall apart.

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We’re in the calm before the potential storm when it comes to the March 8th trade deadline.  Despite that, there was still some notable news throughout the NHL over the past seven days which is recapped in our key stories.

Kekalainen Fired: After 11 seasons as general manager, Jarmo Kekalainen is no longer with the Blue Jackets after being relieved of his duties.  Columbus made five playoff appearances with Kekalainen at the helm but only made it to the second round once back in 2019.  But over the last three years, the Blue Jackets haven’t finished higher than sixth in the Metropolitan Division, a streak that is quite certain to be extended to four this season.  Between their declining performance and a failed head coaching hire in Mike Babcock who had to leave the team before ever coaching a game, the time was right to make a change.  That said, the Blue Jackets have several promising core youngsters so there is certainly some hope for the future.

Kessel Gets A Chance: If Phil Kessel is going to play an 18th NHL season, it might wind up being with the Canucks.  The veteran has joined their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford to work out with the team and if things go well, he could eventually join Vancouver in the coming weeks.  The NHL’s reigning Ironman, Kessel had 36 points last season for Vegas but wasn’t able to land a guaranteed deal in the preseason or through the first half of the year.  However, for what would certainly be low-cost injury insurance, Kessel could be a worthwhile depth pickup for the stretch run if his workouts in the AHL go well.

Five For Rielly: The Department of Player Safety handed down a five-game suspension to Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly for his cross-check on Ottawa forward Ridly Greig following an empty-netter late in last Saturday’s game.  The suspension conceivably could have been longer considering the league offered an in-person hearing, allowing for a suspension of six games or longer.  An appeal on the ruling was quickly filed and was heard by Commissioner Gary Bettman on Friday whose ruling is expected in the next day or two.  As the suspension wasn’t six games or longer, there is no secondary appeal option to a neutral arbitrator.  He has already served the first three games and is eligible to return to Toronto’s lineup on Thursday.

Guentzel To LTIR: The Penguins are still within striking distance of a Wild Card spot but getting there just got tougher as it was announced that winger Jake Guentzel has landed on LTIR due to an upper-body injury.  The injury isn’t a season-ender but he will be out until around the March 8th trade deadline.  The 29-year-old sits second on Pittsburgh in team scoring with 52 points in 50 games, the fourth time in the last five seasons that his scoring average is above the point-per-game mark.  A pending unrestricted free agent, it’s also possible that Guentzel will be traded by the deadline if the Penguins are out of the race.  If that’s the route they ultimately go, they’ll be hoping the injury won’t impact the offers they’ll receive.

More Injuries: Guentzel’s injury wasn’t the only one of note around the NHL.  Sharks forward Tomas Hertl underwent knee surgery and while his season isn’t necessarily over, it looks like he’ll be out for a good chunk of the remainder of the year, costing San Jose its top scorer.  In Philadelphia, blueliner Rasmus Ristolainen was a speculative trade candidate but any trade talk is likely on hold now as the veteran is out for a few weeks after having an upper-body procedure.  It stands to reason that moving someone with the contract he has (three more years after this season at $5.1MM) may be more of a summer move anyway.  Meanwhile, Rangers winger Blake Wheeler’s season has come to an early end due to a lower-body injury.  A return in the playoffs hasn’t been ruled out while New York will now be able to add his $800K base salary to its LTIR pool.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

The first full week of February is in the books.  While there wasn’t any activity on the trade market (compared to two notable swaps last week), there was still some notable news around the NHL which is recapped in our key stories.

Kings Hire Smith: With Jim Hiller taking over as interim head coach, the Kings elected to bring in an experienced assistant, hiring D.J. Smith.  Smith began the season with Ottawa as their head coach but was let go a little under two months ago after the team got off to a sluggish start.  Smith spent parts of five seasons behind the bench with the Sens but his time in this role with Los Angeles could be short-lived as the contract is only for the rest of the season.  Smith could be considered for other head coaching positions this summer or perhaps even the top job with the Kings if it’s decided that Hiller won’t be the full-time bench boss.

Kuznetsov Takes A Leave: Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov has taken a leave of absence from the team and has entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.  This is the second time he has been in the program with the first one coming back in 2019.  The 31-year-old has struggled on the ice this season, averaging just 0.40 points per game, the lowest rate of his career.  There is no timeline for his return and while he is away from the team, his $7.8MM AAV will not count against Washington’s salary cap.

Injured Again: In his first game back after recovering from a left leg injury, Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev suffered another long-term injury, fracturing his fibula and tibia in that same left leg.  He underwent surgery the next day.  While no official timetable for his return was released, head coach Jon Cooper indicated that the blueliner would miss the rest of the regular season at a minimum.  Sergachev is a big part of Tampa Bay’s back end, logging over 22 minutes a night while being a key contributor so he will definitely be missed.  The Lightning now will be able to go over the cap by an additional $8.5MM once they place him on LTIR, giving them some extra flexibility heading into the trade deadline, albeit at a key cost with Sergachev out long-term.

Edmundson On The Block: In the weeks leading up to the March 8th trade deadline, buyers will be looking to add some extra depth on their back end.  One of the players they’ll be considering is Joel Edmundson as the Capitals are believed to be shopping the veteran.  The 30-year-old was acquired at the start of free agency for a pair of draft picks with Montreal retaining half of his $3.5MM cap hit.  However, Edmundson has underachieved with Washington, logging just over 16 minutes a night, well below his career average while chipping in with just three points in 34 games.  However, he has two deep playoff runs under his belt (2019 with St. Louis and 2021 with Montreal) and was effective in both of those which should help generate some interest in him as a proven postseason performer.

Suspensions: The Department of Player Safety handed out a pair of suspensions to defensemen this week.  First, Jets blueliner Brenden Dillon received a three-game ban for an illegal check to the head on Pittsburgh’s Noel Acciari, keeping him out of their lineup until this coming Saturday against Vancouver.  Speaking of those Canucks, rearguard Nikita Zadorov was handed a two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head on Detroit’s Lucas Raymond.  He’ll be eligible to return on Thursday in a rematch against the Red Wings.  Meanwhile, another defender is likely to receive a suspension as Toronto’s Morgan Rielly will have an in-person hearing on Tuesday for his cross-check on Ottawa’s Ridly Greig following a late goal on Saturday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.