Year In Review 2021

2021 was certainly another eventful year, both on and off the rink.  Over the past few weeks, we’ve taken a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  We wrap things up with a look at December.

Changes In Vancouver: After a disappointing start to their season, the Canucks opted to clean house.  Head coach Travis Green was let go with veteran bench boss Bruce Boudreau taking over.  The hope was the change would give them a spark and it’s fair to say it did as they’re 10-3-1 since then.  Meanwhile, GM Jim Benning was also fired with Jim Rutherford joining Vancouver soon after.  However, he’s not in his usual GM role but is instead president of hockey operations.  Their search for Benning’s permanent replacement continues.

Fabbri Sticks Around: Red Wings winger Robby Fabbri could have been an intriguing trade candidate closer to the trade deadline as a rental player.  Instead, he’s off the market after inking a three-year, $12MM contract extension.  After struggling towards the end of his time with St. Louis, Fabbri has become a reliable secondary scorer for Detroit, reaching the double-digit goal mark in his first three seasons with the team and has a shot at hitting the 20-goal plateau this season, a target he has never reached.

Bishop’s Career Ends: After missing all of last season due to knee trouble, Stars goaltender Ben Bishop was hoping to return this year.  He practiced regularly with Dallas at the start of the season and got to the point where he was ready to test things out on a conditioning stint in the minors.  Unfortunately, that didn’t go well and soon after, it was revealed that Bishop’s playing days have come to an end as he’ll remain on LTIR for the duration of his contract which runs through next season.  His playing days end with 413 games played for five different teams while he was a three-time Vezina Trophy finalist and posted a 2.32 GAA along with a save percentage of .921 and 33 shutouts.

Coaching News: Vancouver wasn’t the only team to change coaches as the Flyers parted ways with veteran bench boss Alain Vigneault and assistant Michel Therrien after a slow start to their season.  Mike Yeo, who had been serving as an assistant, has taken over on an interim basis.  The Jets also made a coaching change although it was one initiated by Paul Maurice who surprisingly resigned partway through his ninth season with the team.  He had been the second-longest tenured coach in the NHL prior to his decision, one that was made as he felt a new voice was needed and that he had led Winnipeg as far as he could.  On the other end of the spectrum, Minnesota has been quite pleased with Dean Evason’s performance as head coach and he was rewarded for his efforts with a multi-year contract extension.  Now in his third season in that role, the Wild have played to a 65-30-8 record under his tutelage so far.

Out Of Olympics: The enthusiasm for NHL players going to the Olympics was short-lived when the league jointly announced with the NHLPA that they were officially withdrawing from Olympic participation.  The announcement came as little surprise as a result of the league having to postpone so many games due to COVID-19 positive tests and attendance restrictions so the drought of a true best-on-best tournament continues.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

2021 was certainly another eventful year, both on and off the rink.  Over the coming days, PHR will wrap up our look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  Next up is a look at November.

Coaching News: Interim Blackhawks Kyle Davidson wasted little time making a big splash as he fired head coach Jeremy Colliton.  Chicago posted a 87-92-26 record with the 36-year-old behind the bench, a record that didn’t really turn their fortunes around.  Their lone playoff appearance was in the bubble with the expanded format and despite the fact that former GM Stan Bowman made some big additions over the summer (defensemen Seth Jones and Jake McCabe plus goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury), they got off to a 1-9-2 start, prompting the change.  Derek King was named as interim head coach.

Meanwhile, while the Avalanche got off to a bit of a slow start themselves, GM Joe Sakic gave head coach Jared Bednar a vote of confidence with a two-year extension through the 2023-24 season.  He’s in his sixth season behind the bench in Colorado and the Avs have had four straight playoff appearances including three straight second-round trips.  However, that’s as far as they have gotten and expectations will certainly be high in the second half of the season as with many expiring contracts on the horizon, the team they bring back next season may not be as strong as this year’s edition.

Eichel Traded: While it took a lot longer than pretty much everyone would have hoped, Jack Eichel was finally on the move as he was traded to Vegas along with a 2023 third-round pick in exchange for winger Alex Tuch, center Peyton Krebs, a 2022 first-round pick, and a 2023 second-round selection.  There was no salary cap retention on any player involved in the swap.  Eichel underwent his desired disk replacement surgery soon after the swap and he is already back on the ice, working his way towards a return.  The Golden Knights now have a top center in the fold although they have some salary cap challenges ahead once their team is fully healthy as well.  Meanwhile, Krebs and Tuch represent longer-term building blocks for Buffalo who will be extending their rebuild for a while longer.

Another Record-Breaker: Miro Heiskanen set a new record for the highest AAV given to a defenseman coming off an entry-level contract.  That lasted a few days until Cale Makar broke it.  And now, there’s a new mark to reach as Rangers defenseman Adam Fox signed a seven-year, $66.5MM extension.  The deal carries a $9.5MM AAV and has trade protection in each of the last four seasons, the only ones eligible since those are the only UFA-eligible years.  Fox was the Norris Trophy winner last season and is certainly going to be in the mix for the award again this year as he sits third in scoring among all NHL blueliners with 39 points in 39 games.

GM Departures: Long-time Ducks GM Bob Murray was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into professional conduct.  The next day, he tendered his resignation and indicated he’d enroll in an alcohol abuse program.  Murray had been Anaheim’s general manager since taking over partway through the 2008-09 season, making him one the longest-tenured in that role in the league.  Jeff Solomon is currently the interim GM although Anaheim is now starting the process of looking for a full-time replacement (with Solomon among those in consideration).

Late in the month, the Canadiens made a front office change as well, dismissing GM Marc Bergevin along with long-time top scout Trevor Timmins.  It was quite the change of fortunes for Bergevin who just months earlier had been engaged in talks on a contract extension following Montreal’s surprising run to the Stanley Cup Final last summer.  Former Rangers GM Jeff Gorton was brought in to head up a new-look front office.  Montreal operated without a GM for the past month and a half until today’s hiring of Kent Hughes.

Hughes Extension: The first two years of Jack Hughes’ career with New Jersey were fairly quiet as far as first-overall picks go.  However, that didn’t stop the Devils from pursuing a long-term extension with him and they were able to get a deal done, one that will pay the 20-year-old $64MM over the next eight seasons.  The deal will make him the highest-paid forward on the Devils and if he can get to the top-line level that he was projected to reach just a few years ago, this deal has an opportunity to become a team-friendly one towards the end.  The contract buys out four years of UFA eligibility with Hughes receiving a 10-team no-trade clause in each of those.  Hughes is averaging a point-per-game in his first 20 contests this season, a promising improvement over his first two seasons.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

2021 was certainly another eventful year, both on and off the rink.  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 October, a month that yielded a frenzy of signings as the regular season got underway.

Price Enters Assistance Program: While Canadiens goaltender Carey Price was expected to miss the start of the season as he worked his way back from offseason knee surgery, it was a big surprise when he revealed that he had voluntarily entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program.  While Price has since exited following the minimum 30-day period, he has yet to play this season and shut down on-ice workouts about a month ago while awaiting a meeting with his knee specialist to determine the next steps.

Crazy Eights: Eight was the magic number for a lot of teams when it came to signing their key players to contract extension.  Many of those deals were handed out with the majority of them being max-term contracts.  Up front, the Panthers stopped Aleksander Barkov from reaching the open market, inking him to an eight-year, $80MM deal.  The Rangers did the same with top center Mika Zibanejad, handing him $68MM over the next eight seasons.  Meanwhile, Montreal made sure to avoid the risk of another offer sheet as they quickly locked up Nick Suzuki to a deal that pays him $63MM over the next eight years.

The money was almost as big on the back end.  Charlie McAvoy is staying in Boston for the long haul as they bought out his final RFA year plus seven more with a $76MM contract.  Toronto is keeping their top blueliner in the fold for eight more years with a $60MM extension while the Islanders handed Ryan Pulock $49.2MM for eight seasons to keep him as the anchor on the back end.  Nashville also extended Mattias Ekholm but his extension was one of the few that bucked the trend in October as he received $25MM over four seasons.

Finally Signing: While it took a while, the three remaining restricted free agents put pen to paper on new contracts.  Ottawa held firm on their desire for winger Brady Tkachuk to sign a long-term contract and while they didn’t get a max-term deal, they came close as the two sides worked out a seven-year, $57.5MM contract, making him the highest-paid player on the Senators.  The deal also contains a no-move clause in the final three years of the contract, the only ones eligible for any form of trade protection.  Ottawa soon after gave Tkachuk the captaincy and they now have another long-term core piece locked up through his prime years.

Meanwhile, the Canucks had a pair of restricted free agents in defenseman Quinn Hughes and center Elias Pettersson.  While they didn’t have to sign at the same time, it was widely expected that they would considering they’re represented by the same agency and the length of one contract would affect the other since they didn’t have the cap room to sign both to long-term deals.  In the end, the duo basically signed together as Hughes received the long-term deal (six years, $47.1MM) while Pettersson settled for the bridge contract (three years, $22.05MM).  Hughes will be an unrestricted free agent when his deal is up while Pettersson will have one RFA year remaining with a qualifying offer of 120% of the AAV ($8.82MM).

Kane Suspended: The NHL came down hard on then-Sharks winger Evander Kane for a violation of COVID protocol, handing him a 21-game suspension for what was later reported to be the usage of a fake vaccination card.  It gave San Jose a short-term reprieve from having to decide if he was going to be around the team this season or not (and we all know what decision they eventually made).  At the same time of their announcement, the league revealed that the other investigation they were conducting into allegations of domestic abuse could not be substantiated.

Beach Fallout: Following the releasing of findings into an investigation into allegations of sexual assault by Brad Aldrich in 2010 on what was later revealed to be former Chicago forward Kyle Beach, Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman immediately stepped aside.  Bowman had been at the head of the Blackhawks since 2009 and admitted he made a mistake with how he handled things when he was made aware of the situation.  Meanwhile, two days later, Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville resigned.  He had been coaching Chicago at the time and also had been made aware of the situation back then.  He will have to meet with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman before being permitted to coach again in the NHL.  Andrew Brunette took over on an interim basis and still is running the bench in Florida.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

2021 was certainly another eventful year, both on and off the rink.  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 September, another busy month on the NHL calendar last year when training camps got underway.

Successful Offer Sheet: It turns out the one-year, $6.1MM offer sheet that Carolina tendered to RFA center Jesperi Kotkaniemi was too much for Montreal’s comfort as they declined to match, sending the 21-year-old to the Hurricanes with the Canadiens in exchange for a pair of 2022 draft picks (first and third-rounders).  They didn’t hold onto the first rounder for long, however, as about an hour later, they sent that pick along with a 2024 second-round selection to Arizona in exchange for Christian Dvorak who they hoped would help fill the vacancy from Kotkaniemi’s departure plus Phillip Danault leaving in free agency.  The early return hasn’t been great as Dvorak has just a dozen points in 29 games this season, four fewer than Kotkaniemi.

Extensions Abound: While the window for contract extensions for players on expiring contracts opened up in July, many of those deals were instead signed in the days leading up to training camp.  In goal, Elvis Merzlikins (five years, $27MM) ensured he’ll be the starter in Columbus for the foreseeable future while Calvin Petersen (three years, $15MM) intended to do the same with Los Angeles (although with Jonathan Quick turning back the clock this season, that hasn’t happened just yet).  On the back end, Colton Parayko (eight years, $52MM) decided not to test free agency and could instead play his entire career with the Blues.

There were plenty more extensions as well.  A pair of young wingers in Philadelphia’s Joel Farabee (six years, $30MM) and Ottawa’s Drake Batherson (six years, $29.85MM) bought out the rest of their RFA years and giving them a shot at hitting the open market still in their 20’s while giving their respective teams some extra control.  Even some general managers got in on the fun as Ottawa’s Pierre Dorion and Tampa Bay’s Julien BriseBois inked extensions while Toronto GM Kyle Dubas handed head coach Sheldon Keefe a two-year extension.

Kaprizov Signs: It wasn’t four years of waiting like it was for Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov to finally come to North America but it felt like his contract talks had dragged on for quite a while.  Eventually, the two sides were able to come to terms, agreeing to a five-year, $45MM contract.  It was quite the payday for Kaprizov considering his NHL experience to that point was limited to the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign where he took home the Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year.  The deal – which carries a no-move clause for the final two seasons – buys Minnesota two extra years of team control while allowing Kaprizov to get to unrestricted free agency at 29 when another long-term deal could still be feasible.

Bridge For Dahlin: After an up-and-down start to his NHL career, it was going to be interesting to see if Buffalo tried to work out a long-term contract with restricted free agent defenseman Rasmus Dahlin or opt for a bridge deal.  They chose the latter, signing the 2018 top pick to a three-year, $18MM deal.  The 21-year-old will still have one season of RFA eligibility remaining at that time and will be owed a qualifying offer of $7.2MM.  That gives both sides time to see if the blueliner can fill the lofty expectations he had when he first came into the league.

Olympic Participation: September was also a promising month when it came to Olympic participation with the NHL and NHLPA reaching an agreement to send NHL players to the games in China.  It was set to be the first best-on-best action since the 2016 World Cup.  There was an option for the league to withdraw if the COVID situation around the league became an issue.  Of course, that’s exactly what happened.  In the span of three months, things completely turned around on that front.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

2021 was certainly another eventful year, both on and off the rink.  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 August, an extremely busy month on the NHL calendar last year.

Going Home: After announcing at the very end of July that he wouldn’t be returning to the Boston Bruins, David Krejci finalized a new contract with HC Olomouc in the Czech Extraliga, confirming his departure from the NHL. The veteran forward explained that he wanted his children to live in Czechia around his extended family, even if he still did have some hockey left in him. The 35-year-old left the NHL after 962 games, every single one of them with the Bruins. In 35 games overseas, he has 34 points.

Arbitration Season: More than two dozen players ended up filing for arbitration, creating deadlines for the ongoing negotiations. Every single one of them ended up settling with their respective teams before a hearing took place, with some like Neal Pionk and Juuse Saros even landing long-term deals. In a season without any salary cap growth, teams were obviously loath to leave final terms in the hands of an arbitrator.

Flat Cap Society: Speaking of the salary cap, in early August Daily Faceoff published a comprehensive report on the situation facing the league with regards to hockey-related revenue. That report accurately predicted that there would be a $1MM increase from 2021-22 to 2022-23, and suggested that substantial increases wouldn’t happen until 2026. With rebounding revenues in the early part of this season it appeared as though the escrow debt could be paid down a bit earlier, but recent attendance restrictions could very well move things back to the original timeline suggested in August.

Coots Is Rewarded: The Philadelphia Flyers weren’t going to wait around with Sean Couturier or get anywhere near unrestricted free agency. In late August the team locked up their two-way star by signing him to an eight-year extension that will keep him under contract until 2030. Things have gone downhill quickly in Philadelphia this season but Couturier remains a huge part of their future. It remains to be seen whether the same can be said about captain Claude Giroux, who has also been eligible for an extension since last summer and is now just a few months from unrestricted free agency.

Eichel Changes Reps: In a move that eventually did result in his departure from Buffalo, Jack Eichel changed representation by hiring superagent Pat Brisson of CAA Sports. The move immediately sparked talks between the two sides on how to get him off the Sabres roster, but it would still be several months before he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights and allowed to have his preferred surgery.

The College Experience: Despite being the first overall selection in 2021, Owen Power officially announced that he would be returning to the University of Michigan to try and experience what he’d missed as a freshman. The Wolverines had been removed from the NCAA tournament because of COVID issues in 2021 and with Matty Beniers, Kent Johnson, Brendan Brisson, Thomas Bordeleau, and others all returning, Power certainly couldn’t pass up a chance to compete for the national championship. He’ll be a Sabre before long, but Power’s decision ultimately could have an added benefit–he’s now also eligible to play for Canada at the Olympics.

Offer Sheet Revenge: Two years after the Montreal Canadiens signed Sebastian Aho to an offer sheet, the Carolina Hurricanes finally got their revenge. They agreed to a deal with RFA Jesperi Kotkaniemi, one that would ultimately bring him to Carolina when the Canadiens decided not to match. Manufactured for social media or not, the Hurricanes made it quite obvious that the Kotkaniemi contract was a direct response to the Aho signing. While he started slow, the 21-year-old Kotkaneimi has begun to find his game in Carolina and now has 16 points through 33 games.

Tragedy, Again: After the hockey world mourned the loss of Matiss Kivlenieks in July, more tragedy struck in August as Jimmy Hayes passed away unexpectedly at the age of 31. The older brother of Philadelphia Flyers forward Kevin Hayes and a veteran of more than 300 NHL games himself, Jimmy Hayes was a beloved teammate that received an outpouring of heartfelt memories from legions of friends, family, and fans all across the hockey landscape. Months later, Hayes’ family told The Boston Globe that fentanyl had contributed to his sudden death and hoped by sharing his story others can avoid his fate.

2021 was certainly another eventful year, both on and off the rink.  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 July, an extremely busy month on the NHL calendar last year.

Saying Goodbye: Ryan Suter and Zach Parise had been franchise fixtures since joining the Wild back in 2012 on identical 13-year, $98MM contracts.  Given the front-loaded nature of the deals, it seemed unlikely that they’d be bought out but that was indeed the case as Minnesota will pay each player $6.67MM spread out over the next eight years to not play for them after they were bought out.  However, the charged cap hit will be much, much higher as the combined dead cap money goes up to over $12MM in 2022-23 and over $14MM in 2023-24 and 2024-25.  Suter had still been at a top-four level on the back end while Parise had struggled in 2020-21 but GM Bill Guerin decided a fresh start was needed; the consequences of that decision will be felt over the next few seasons.

Tragically, there was another goodbye in July as Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks passed away at the age of 24 due to chest trauma due to a fireworks mortar blast at a holiday party in Columbus.  Teammate Elvis Merzlikins also attended the party and revealed at the memorial service that Kivlenieks saved many lives including his own at the time.  Merzlikins has paid tribute to his former teammate with a mask designed in his honor while his then-unborn son’s middle name is Matiss.

Two Straight: The Lightning entered last season as one of the perceived Stanley Cup contenders for good reason.  Despite missing Nikita Kucherov for the entire season, they were still one of the top teams in the East and overcame a good challenge from the Islanders in the third round to make it to the Final for the second straight year.  From there, they took out Montreal in five games to become repeat champions.  Rookie Ross Colton had the Cup-winning goal in a 1-0 shutout in the final contest while Andrei Vasilevskiy was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner for the playoff MVP.

Free Agent Frenzy: There was plenty of activity in the opening day of free agency as usual with most of the top names coming off the board within the first few hours, further proving that removing the legal interview period did nothing to stop the discussions from happening.  The biggest deal of the day came from a team that hasn’t been able to swim in the deep end of the UFA pool in quite some time as the Devils signed defenseman Dougie Hamilton to a seven-year, $63MM contract, giving them a top blueliner to build around as they continue to reshape their roster.  A full rundown of the hundreds of millions spent in the early hours of the market opening up can be found here.

Records Are Meant To Be Broken: Miro Heiskanen was shaping up to be an interesting restricted free agent case but it never got that far.  Instead, he and the Stars agreed to a max-term eight-year, $67.6MM contract, buying out four UFA years in the process.  The 22-year-old has been a franchise cornerstone and one of the top blueliners in the league in Dallas, making it understandable that he received the highest AAV either for a defenseman coming off his entry-level contract.

However, that record didn’t last too long – only a week, in fact, as Colorado and Cale Makar worked out a six-year, $54MM contract, making his $9MM AAV the new benchmark for post-ELC rearguards.  Makar has quickly become one of the most dynamic defensemen in the league and was the Norris Trophy runner-up last season.  Unlike Heiskanen though, the Avalanche didn’t gain a lot of team control for their money as with his first playoff appearance being exempted from counting towards service time, the six-year term only bought them a single extra season of control.

Seattle Has A Team: All eyes were on Seattle before the free agent frenzy began as they got to select their inaugural team in expansion.  While there were some prominent veterans made available – including Carey Price (Montreal), Vladimir Tarasenko (St. Louis), and Jakub Voracek (Philadelphia) – GM Ron Francis instead opted for a more modest roster, one that barely met the minimum spending threshold, allowing them to have some cap flexibility and spend in free agency.  The early results haven’t been great as they’re near the bottom of the Western Conference but that’s usually the case for expansion teams with Vegas being a significant exception back in 2017-18.

The Eichel Saga Continues: Frustrated with the fact that Jack Eichel hadn’t been traded yet, his now-former agents released a statement saying that the “process is not working”.  Buffalo had hoped a rehab approach would work for Eichel’s neck injury but that didn’t happen and the team still wasn’t relenting on his desired surgery.  It’s likely the statement was intended to help move the trade process along but that didn’t exactly happen although it provided more insight into how much of a divide there was between the two sides.

Big Draft Day Trades: Trade activity around the draft typically hasn’t lived up to the hype in recent years but this last draft was an exception.  First, the Canucks surprised many by taking a big swing, acquiring defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (with 12% salary retention) and winger Conor Garland from Arizona for a package headlined by the ninth-overall pick (Dylan Guenther) and several salary dumps to make the money work.  Garland has fit in quite well with his new squad so far while Ekman-Larsson hasn’t rebounded to being the top-pairing player he was in his prime.  With five more years left on his deal, this swap carried some significant risk for now-former GM Jim Benning.

Meanwhile, while Seth Jones wouldn’t extend with Columbus, he would with Chicago so the Blackhawks acquired the blueliner from the Blue Jackets in exchange for Adam Boqvist and a pair of first-round picks (including the one that turned into Kent Johnson); there was also a swap of second-rounders in the deal.  Adding to the high cost paid for Jones, Chicago quickly worked out an eight-year, $76MM contract extension, one that carries a full no-move clause and ensures he’ll be the focal point of their back end for the better part of a decade.

Long-Term Extensions: A trio of eight-year extensions were also handed out.  Colorado narrowly avoided their captain Gabriel Landeskog hitting the open market as the two sides eventually reached a max-term contract that carries a cap hit of $7MM.  Tampa Bay wasted little time working out a max-term deal with center Brayden Point as mere hours after the calendar flipped to the start of the 2021-22 year (when extensions could be made official), they inked Brayden Point that will carry a $9.5MM AAV from 2022-23 through 2029-30.  Meanwhile, earlier in the month, Minnesota avoided having Joel Eriksson Ek go through arbitration, instead signing their top pivot to a deal that carries a $5.25MM price tag, a move that already looks like a team-friendly pact.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

2021 was certainly another eventful year, both on and off the rink.  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 June.

Good Month For Brind’Amour: June was a good month for Hurricanes bench boss Rod Brind’Amour.  First, he took home the Jack Adams Award for Coach of the Year for the first time in his career.  Then, he landed a three-year contract to stick around as head coach in Carolina.  It’s a process that curiously took a long time to play out with Brind’Amour stating he wanted to ensure his staff remained as well which resulted in him delaying until those deals were done before signing his.  While the exact price of the contract wasn’t disclosed, it was widely suggested that Brind’Amour accepted a deal that was considerably below market value for someone considered as one of the top coaches in the league.

Internal Promotions: A pair of teams decided to promote from within to fill their head coaching vacancies.  With Columbus set to embark on a rebuild, they decided against going after a veteran head coach, instead handing things over to Brad Larsen.  Larsen has plenty of familiarity with the franchise having served as an assistant with them since the 2014-15 season.  Just before the end of the month, Buffalo’s extensive coaching search came to an end with nothing changing; instead of looking elsewhere, they opted to lift the interim tag off Don Granato who had taken over down the stretch following the firing of Ralph Krueger.  Buffalo was better over the final few weeks of the season, giving them some cause for optimism that Granato would be a good fit in the full-time role.

Sticking Around: The future of Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had been speculated about for a while with the team being unlikely to be able to afford to pay him market value to stick around.  In the end, they reached a compromise, agreeing on an eight-year, $41MM contract.  The $5.125MM AAV is certainly below what he could have landed on the open market but at the same time, the eight-year commitment gives him plenty of security while Edmonton actually has him on their books at a cheaper price than his previous contract.  The top pick back in the 2011 draft has spent his entire 11-year NHL career with the Oilers, picking up 504 points in 686 games.

More Coaching News: Two other teams also filled their coaching vacancies but looked outside the organization to find their new bench boss.  The Rangers had been linked to Gerard Gallant as soon as David Quinn was dismissed and they were able to get their guy, signing him to a four-year deal worth roughly $3.5MM per season.  Gallant has had success recently with both Florida and Vegas but curiously didn’t last too long with either organization, being dismissed in his third season with each squad.  Meanwhile, Seattle hired their inaugural head coach and it was one that largely flew under the radar in Dave Hakstol.  While there were several candidates discussed as likely fits for the Kraken, the former Flyers head coach wasn’t really one of them.  Nevertheless, GM Ron Francis felt that Hakstol – who had been with Toronto as an assistant – was the right fit for the expansion squad.

Sabres Win: Buffalo didn’t win a whole lot in 2020-21 – just 15 times in 56 games, in fact – but they picked up a key victory when they won the draft lottery.  It marked the second time in four years that the lottery balls fell their way and after picking Rasmus Dahlin the first time, they went with a defenseman again, selecting Owen Power in July as expected.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

2021 was certainly another eventful year, both on and off the rink.  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 May.

Plenty Of Drama In New York: There was plenty of news around the Rangers in May.  First, following the Department of Player Safety declining to suspend Tom Wilson for an incident involving Pavel Buchnevich, they took the unprecedented step of calling for George Parros’ dismissal, one that resulted in nothing but a $250K fine.  The next day, GM Jeff Gorton and president John Davidson were both suddenly fired with Chris Drury taking over as their new GM, Davidson quickly resurfaced in Columbus.  One week after those dismissals, Drury decided to make a change behind the bench as head coach David Quinn was relieved of his duties.  All of that came in less than a week and a half.

Disgruntled Stars: Then-Sabres center Jack Eichel voiced his frustration with the organization over their unwillingness to let him have his desired artificial disk replacement surgery on his neck.  He had been out since early March and this situation certainly took a while before it eventually was resolved.  Meanwhile, defenseman Seth Jones informed the Blue Jackets he wasn’t interested in discussing a contract extension and was intent on testing unrestricted free agency.  That was a tough blow for Columbus who has had to deal with an exodus of star players in recent years and eventually resulted in him joining that group.

More Coaching Changes: The end of the regular season usually brings about a few coaching changes and this pandemic-shortened campaign was no exception.  Joining Quinn as those leaving head coaching roles were John Tortorella who parted ways with Columbus.  He is the winningest coach in franchise history with the team posting a 227-166-54 record during his six seasons with the Blue Jackets and sits 12th all-time in games coached in the NHL.  Meanwhile, Arizona also opted for a change, deciding to not renew Rick Tocchet’s contract.  The Coyotes didn’t have a lot of success under Tocchet, posting a 125-131-34 record over four seasons with their only playoff appearance coming in the expanded 2020 postseason.

Eight For Kadri: Nazem Kadri has had a fairly lengthy suspension history in both the regular season and playoffs with the latter playing a role in his eventual trade to Colorado.  He added to his postseason suspension totals after he received an eight-game ban for a hit on Blues defenseman Justin Faulk. Colorado got out of that first-round series with a sweep before falling to Vegas in six games, meaning that Kadri didn’t get back into the lineup at all.  His history is going to loom large as he approaches unrestricted free agency in July although the fact that he’s off to a career-best start could help offset that somewhat.

Coaches Staying: May didn’t only feature coaches leaving but a pair stuck around as well.  First, the Red Wings decided to keep Jeff Blashill in the fold, inking him to a contract extension (the term of the deal was not disclosed).  Blashill has been at the helm in Detroit since 2015, making him the second-longest-tenured coach in the NHL behind only Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper.  Meanwhile, three days later, the Canucks were able to agree to terms on a two-year extension with Travis Green to remain behind their bench.  The deal represented a short-term vote of confidence while not being long enough to dissuade them from making a change if it was deemed necessary (and as it turns out, it was).

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2021 has certainly been another eventful year, both on and off the rink.  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 April.

Pre-Deadline Trades: As is usually the case, there were some notable trades made in the days leading up to the trade deadline.  The Islanders quickly utilized their LTIR room with Anders Lee out for the season, adding winger Kyle Palmieri and center Travis Zajac from the Devils in exchange for a 2021 first-round pick, a conditional 2022 fourth-rounder, and minor leaguers A.J. Greer and Mason Jobst.  To make the money work, New Jersey retained the maximum 50% on each of Palmieri and Zajac’s deals.

With minimal salary cap space, Tampa Bay had to get creative if they wanted to add to their roster.  They were able to do just that, acquiring David Savard as part of a three-team trade that also involved Columbus and Detroit.  With the Blue Jackets retaining half of Savard’s deal, they then moved him to the Red Wings who retained another 50% of the remainder, allowing the Lightning to add the veteran blueliner at only 25% of his AAV.  The cost was a bit higher to do so – it cost three draft picks (a first, second, and a fourth) but it enabled them to add another impact defender on their way to their second straight Stanley Cup title.

The Maple Leafs also decided to strike early and made a similar, picking up winger Nick Foligno as part of a three-team swap with the Sharks this time picking up a chunk of the contract after the Blue Jackets retained 50%.  That allowed Toronto to get the veteran at 25% of his AAV, enabling them to squeak him in under the cap.  Again, the acquisition cost was higher with Toronto parting with a first-round pick plus two fourth-rounders while also adding winger Stefan Noesen from San Jose.  Foligno was unable to score with the Maple Leafs while injuries limited him to just 11 games between the regular season and playoffs.

Extensions: Trade Deadline Day featured plenty of movement but also saw three players stay put, taking themselves out of any trade talk in the process.  Alex Iafallo inked a four-year, $16MM extension, ensuring he’ll be staying with the Kings after receiving considerable trade interest.  Scott Laughton was the next to sign, accepting a five-year, $15MM extension to make sure that he’ll remain with the Flyers for the foreseeable future.  Lastly, the Jets signed center Adam Lowry to a five-year, $16.25MM extension, taking what would have one of the more intriguing UFA pivots off the free agent list in the process.

Breaking The Record: While April will be remembered for the trades (more on those shortly), there was another notable event when Sharks forward Patrick Marleau broke the record for all-time NHL games played, surpassing Gordie Howe’s mark of 1,767.  The old record stood for 50 years but if Joe Thornton and Zdeno Chara hang around a little longer, they could have a shot at besting Marleau’s total of 1,779.  Thornton is at 1,698 and would need to play next season to have a chance to beat it while Chara has a much lesser chance, sitting at 1,632 and would to play at least two more years to get there.  Meanwhile, Marleau isn’t playing anywhere this season but has not yet announced his retirement.

Hall To Boston: Back to the trades.  Taylor Hall to Boston had been speculated for a while and with the veteran having trade protection, he was able to ensure he was indeed dealt to the Bruins along with center Curtis Lazar.  Going the other way were Anders Bjork and a 2021 second-round pick while the Sabres also retained half of his remaining salary and cap hit.  Hall had just two goals in 37 games with Buffalo which didn’t give them a lot of leverage in the trade.  He went on to be more productive with Boston, picking up 14 points in 16 regular season games down the stretch, making a good case for him to eventually re-sign with them.

Carter To Pittsburgh: The new management team in Pittsburgh made a surprising splash when they picked up center Jeff Carter from Los Angeles for a pair of conditional mid-round picks; the Kings also retained half of Carter’s contract which runs through the end of this season.  Carter had been speculated to not be interested in a move with a suggestion that he’d consider retiring if it happened.  However, the Penguins were able to make a compelling case for Carter and the move worked out well for them.  He had nine goals down the stretch for them and is off to a good start this season with 17 points in 27 games.

Mantha To Capitals: With minimal cap space, Washington was expected to be quiet at the trade deadline.  That turned out to not be the case as they made the biggest swap of deadline day, acquiring winger Anthony Mantha from Detroit in exchange for wingers Jakub Vrana and Richard Panik, a 2021 first-round pick, and a 2022 second-rounder.  Part of the draft capital moved in the swap was to clear out the rest of Panik’s $2.75MM AAV that runs through the end of next season but the Capitals paid a premium to go from Vrana to Mantha, a big winger with a good scoring touch but a history of inconsistency and injury trouble.  This season, Mantha has been limited to just ten games while Vrana has yet to play after undergoing shoulder surgery late in the preseason.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

2021 has certainly been another eventful year, both on and off the rink.  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.

New TV Partner: After a lengthy run with NBC that dated back to 2004, the primary television rights holder in the United States changed following the announcement of a seven-year rights agreement with ESPN.  The deal is believed to be worth around $400MM per year which is double what they were receiving on their last contract (and that’s not even factoring in the secondary rights which were announced later on).  The increased revenue is subject to HRR calculations (which set the salary cap) and will go a long way towards stabilizing league-wide revenues which have been reduced during the pandemic.

Seabrook Hangs Them Up: Then-Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook had attempted to come back at the beginning of the 2020-21 season from hip and shoulder injuries but was unable to do so.  In the end, after consulting with doctors, he announced the end of his playing career, a way of retiring without formally filing the paperwork as he’s under contract through the 2023-24 season with a $6.875MM AAV.  Seabrook’s career ended with 1,114 career games (all with Chicago) with 464 points and three Stanley Cup championships.  He was traded to Tampa Bay in the offseason and will sit on LTIR with them for the duration of his contract.

Binnington Extension: The Blues didn’t let their starting goalie test unrestricted free agency in the summer as they agreed to a six-year, $36MM contract extension with Jordan Binnington.  The $6MM AAV is a small raise on the $4.4MM AAV he had on his bridge deal and ties him for the eighth-highest cap hit in the league among goaltenders.  Binnington was a significant part of St. Louis’ Stanley Cup run in 2019 and while he hasn’t been able to quite back to that level of performance since then, posting a .911 SV% with a 2.64 GAA (including games from this season), numbers that are around the league average for starters.  However, the deal gives them some certainty on the cap front and ensures that an important position is locked up for years to come.

Coaching Changes: With March representing close to the midway point of the abbreviated regular season, a pair of teams opted to shake up their coaching staffs.  First, Calgary fired Geoff Ward, a move that had been speculated as a possibility for a while so it may not have come as a big surprise.  On the other hand, his replacement was a big surprise as Darryl Sutter was brought on as their new bench boss.  It’s Sutter’s second stint in Calgary after coaching there from 2002 through 2006 and as he had last worked in the NHL back in 2017 with Los Angeles, his name wasn’t really on the radar as a potential coaching candidate.

Meanwhile, not even two weeks later, Buffalo shook things up as well, dismissing Ralph Krueger with the team mired in a 12-game losing streak.  Assistant coach Don Granato took over on an interim basis for the rest of the season.  While that losing streak lasted another six games, the Sabres were much more competitive with Granato running things with the team hovering close to a .500 points percentage after that streak came to an end.

Peel Out: Following a ‘hot-mic’ incident that had referee Tim Peel caught indicating he had wanted to assess a make-up penalty to Nashville, the league announced that he would “no longer will be working NHL games now or in the future”.  Peel worked over 1,400 games between the regular season and the playoffs in a career that spanned more than 20 years and was in his final season before retirement.  However, this incident meant that his career came to an end a little sooner than he planned.

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