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Year In Review 2017

2017 Year In Review: March

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2017 has been quite a busy year in the hockey world. There have been several big trades, the first expansion team in over 15 years, and much more. Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  Next up is a look at March.

Deadline Dealings: For all of the hype going into the trade deadline, most of the big deals were made in the days leading up to it which made for a quieter deadline day.  A total of 20 trades were made in total with the most prominent names on the move being wingers Jannik Hansen (to SJ), Jarome Iginla (to LA), and Thomas Vanek (to FLA) plus center Valtteri Filppula (to PHI).  For a full run-down of the deals made, here are our breakdowns by division.

Atlantic Division
Central Division
Metropolitan Division
Pacific Division

Jan 28, 2015; Newark, NJ, USA; New Jersey Devils left wing Patrik Elias (26) celebrates his game deciding goal during the shootout at Prudential Center. The Devils defeated the Maple Leafs 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY SportsElias Retires: Long-time Devils winger Patrik Elias had been hoping to come back and suit up at some point last season and had been skating with the team in case he was needed.  That wasn’t required after all so Elias hung up his skates.  He retired as New Jersey’s all-time leader in goals (408), assists (617), and points (1,025) while ranking third in games played with 1,240.  That point total places him second all-time among Czech-born players (behind only Jaromir Jagr).  Unsurprisingly, the team is wasting little time in retiring his #26 with the ceremony to be held two months from now on February 24th, 2018.

Arizona Arena Situation: Just when it looked like Arizona was on track for a new arena, a previously-announced deal that would have seen the team partner with Arizona State University to put an arena in Tempe fell through.  Commissioner Gary Bettman then weighed in, sending a letter to the Arizona Senate and House of Representatives to not only encourage them to vote on a bill that would provide public funding for a new arena (which didn’t happen) but to tell them that the Coyotes “cannot and will not remain in Glendale”.  Unlike the arena situation for the Islanders which was resolved earlier this week, this one just won’t go away.

USNWT Ends Lengthy Boycott: Nearly two weeks after announcing that they would boycott the World Championships, the US Women’s Team reached an agreement with USA Hockey on a four-year deal that would provide a much higher level of financial support than they were receiving previously.  The agreement came on the heels of the NHLPA publicly supporting the women as well as rumblings that American NHL players would consider boycotting the Worlds themselves as a show of solidarity.

Canucks Sign Boeser: Vancouver surprised many when they opted to sign 2015 first-round pick Brock Boeser and burn the first year of his entry-level contract a year early.  It’s safe to say that he has put any questions about his NHL readiness to rest as he leads all rookies in goals with 20 this season, a total that puts him fifth overall league-wide.  Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see if the team pursues an extension with Boeser this coming summer or if they wait to see how he fares in his sophomore season.  Certainly, things are looking up for Boeser who is positioning himself well for a big payday in the near future.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

2017 Year In Review: February

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2017 has been quite a busy year in the hockey world.  There have been several big trades, the first expansion team in over 15 years, and much more.  Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis. We already looked back at January yesterday.

Blues Fire Ken Hitchcock: After a slow start to the season (24-21) and his contract being up anyway at the end of the year, the St. Louis Blues decided to rid themselves of Hitchcock after six years with the franchise. Hitchcock had won 248 games with the Blues and took the team to the playoffs in each of the five years he coached the team, but only reached the conference finals once, in the 2015-16 season. He was immediately replaced by now-current head coach Mike Yeo, who was an assistant coach and was being groomed to replace Hitchcock after the veteran coaches’ deal expired. The move seemed to work as the team went 22-8-2 under Yeo and the team eventually lost in the second-round of the playoffs.

Robbi Fabbri’s Lower-Body Injury Begins His Demise: St. Louis Blues’ Robby Fabbri suffered what was described as a lower-body injury on Feb. 3 after sustaining a hit from Pittsburgh’s Carter Rowney, just three days after the team’s coaching change, and the young, talented stud prospect hasn’t played a game since. Two days later, he was listed as out for the season with a torn ACL, requiring surgery. Life only got worse for the Blues and Fabbri during training camp when he re-aggravated his knee and it was announced that he will miss all of the 2017-18 season as well to undergo a second surgery. The promising prospect will have missed more than a year and a half due to his knee injury as players with multiple knee injuries often have trouble returning to form.

Julien Fired By Bruins, Hired By Montreal: The Boston Bruins let go of head coach Claude Julien after 10 years with the franchise as the team was struggling with a 26-23-8 record on the season and didn’t look to be going anywhere in the playoff race. He had won 393 games with Boston in that span and was replaced by assistant and now-head coach Bruce Cassidy, who took Boston to the playoffs. However, just one week after being fired, Julien found employment again after the Montreal Canadiens fired Michel Therrien during his second-tenure with the team. Therrien had been coaching the team for five years (eight total), but Montreal was looking for a change after the team lost 10 of its previous 13 games and found Julien’s availability too good to pass up. Ironically, it was the second time that Julien replaced Therrien as the Canadiens’ head coach. He took over for him back in 2002 as well.

Lightning Trade Bishop To Los Angeles Kings: With the expectation that young prospect goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy would become the team’s future in the net, the Tampa Bay Lightning shipped veteran goaltender Ben Bishop off to the Los Angeles Kings for Peter Budaj, defensive prospect Erik Cernak, and and a 2017 seventh-round pick. A second pick was conditional on the Kings making the playoffs, which they didn’t. Bishop, who had been stellar for Tampa Bay in his tenure there, was just average with Tampa Bay last year with a 2.55 GAA in 32 games. He put up similar numbers with Los Angeles but only won two games for the franchise. Bishop was nothing more than a rental as he would be a free agent at the end of the season. The trade was especially confusing since the team had just gotten starter goaltender Jonathan Quick back from injury the day before the trade after he had missed all but one game due to injury. The trade was panned as many believed that the Kings needed a scorer, not more goalie support.

Blues Send Shattenkirk To Washington Capitals: While there were many interesting deals made at the trade deadline, none was more intriguing that the rumors that surrounded defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk and his expiring contract. It was strange to see a playoff caliber team that was playing well under Yeo, to trade their top defenseman, but the team didn’t want to lose the veteran for nothing. Instead, the team traded Shattenkirk to the dominant Washington Capitals in their quest for a Stanley Cup (didn’t happen) as they got back prospect Zachary Sanford, veteran Brad Malone, a first-round pick in 2017 (which they packaged to Philadelphia for Brayden Schenn) and a second-round pick in 2019. Shattenkirk joined a dominant group of defenders in Washington, but struggled along with the rest of the team in the playoffs before the team was bounced by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

2017 Year In Review: January

at CDT | by 2 Comments

2017 has been quite a busy year in the hockey world.  There have been several big trades, the first expansion team in over 15 years, and much more.  Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  We begin with a look back at January.

Greiss Re-Ups With The Islanders: After Thomas Greiss took over the starting job with the Islanders, the team didn’t waste much time by locking him up to a three-year, $10MM extension.  The deal more than doubled his cap hit from last season ($1.5MM) while it’s the longest NHL contract he had ever signed.  Unfortunately for the Isles, Greiss has yet to reward them for that extra job security.  He has gotten off to a really rough start to his season, posting a 3.83 GAA and a .883 SV% through 18 appearances.  If New York wants to move up in the Metropolitan, they’ll need him to rebound considerably.

Wickenheiser Retires: One of the pioneers of women’s hockey called it a career as Hayley Wickenheiser announced her retirement.  She won five Olympic medals and 13 more at the World Championships.  Wickenheiser also famously signed with a men’s team in Finland in 2003 while also spending time in a Swedish men’s league, becoming the first female player to do so.  She will undoubtedly be a sure-fire Hall-of-Famer after being a generational talent and an inspiration for many female hockey players around the world.

Mar 28, 2017; San Jose, CA, USA; New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault watches the game against the San Jose Sharks in the third period at SAP Center at San Jose. The Sharks won 5-4 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY SportsVigneault Signs Two-Year Extension: Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault has been no stranger to speculation regarding his future in New York.  However, the team signed him to a two-year extension that commences following the 2017-18 season.  The recent trend of head coaches signing for significantly more money continued with this contract as not only will he receive $8.25MM over the two years, his original salary for $2MM in 2017-18 was doubled as well.  Vigneault currently ranks third in franchise history in wins for a head coach and if he lasts for the full duration of the contract, he should be comfortably in second place.

Capuano Fired: After spending 482 games behind the bench, the Islanders fired Jack Capuano with the team sitting dead last in the Eastern Conference.  Capuano had been the fourth longest-tenured coach in the league before being let go while he ranks second on the team in all-time games coached.  Doug Weight took over on an interim basis and New York made an improbable second-half push for a playoff spot, ultimately falling short by one point.  Unsurprisingly, the Isles lifted the interim tag off Weight in the offseason, installing him as the full-time bench boss.

Four Years For Smith: In the midst of what would turn out to be his second straight season with at least 15 goals, the Senators inked center Zack Smith to a four-year, $13MM extension to avoid him hitting the open market as an unrestricted free agent.  Smith has improved from being a physical fourth liner to someone that Ottawa has come to rely on for consistent secondary production over the years.  However, he has struggled to produce so far this season, scoring just twice in 24 games despite averaging a career-high 16:34 in ice time.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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