The Minnesota Wild signed their entire coaching staff to multi-year contract extensions, the team announced Thursday.
That includes head coach Dean Evason, assistant coaches Darby Hendrickson, Brett McLean, and Bob Woods, as well as goalie coach Frederic Chabot, and video coaches T.J. Jindra and Jonas Plumb.
Evason is in his third season as the club's bench boss. He's guided the squad to a 62-29-7 record in 98 regular-season games.
The Wild promoted the 57-year-old from assistant coach to interim head coach during the 2019-20 campaign after firing Bruce Boudreau. He became Minnesota's permanent head coach in July 2020.
Evason was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award last season after leading the Wild to a 35-16-5 record - the ninth-best in the NHL. He ultimately lost out to Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour.
The Flin Flon, Manitoba, native has the Wild off to another great start in 2021-22, as Minnesota leads the Western Conference with a .667 points percentage.
Smith started for the first time since Oct. 19 due to a lower-body injury. He was initially progressing toward a November return before suffering a setback. The 39-year-old veteran has been steady when healthy over the past two seasons, posting a .923 save percentage in 32 games a year ago and a .920 save percentage in three appearances this campaign before Wednesday's contest.
Goaltending has been an area of concern in Smith's absence. Mikko Koskinen has been inconsistent, posting a .902 save percentage in 18 games. Rookie Stuart Skinner, who the Oilers loaned to the AHL on Wednesday, has been more effective, owning a .916 save percentage in 10 contests.
Hyman, meanwhile, missed Edmonton's last three games due to an upper-body injury. He's been stellar in his first season with the Oilers, collecting 11 goals and eight assists in 27 contests.
Keith missed Edmonton's last matchup while in COVID-19 protocol. Another marquee offseason addition, the 38-year-old has recorded five points in 21 games during his first campaign in orange and blue.
The Blues defeated the Oilers 4-2 on Wednesday night.
The Ontario Hockey League will reinstate Montreal Canadiens prospect Logan Mailloux from his indefinite suspension, effective Jan. 1, 2022, the league announced Wednesday.
Mailloux, a defenseman for the London Knights, was suspended on Sept. 2, 2021, due to an incident that occurred in November 2020 while he was on loan to SK Lejon in Sweden. He was charged for invasion of privacy and defamation after taking an offensive photo of a woman without consent during a sexual encounter and distributing it.
"Since the time of suspension, with the support of the London Knights, Logan Mailloux has participated in therapy and counseling with Dr. Lindsey Forbes, and a personal development plan under the leadership of Wendy Glover. Ms. Glover is a London-based, experienced holistic athlete development practitioner, academic and personal development advisor, teacher, and member of the Ontario School Counsellors Association," the league said in a statement.
"After reviewing the program, speaking with the player and Ms. Glover, and receiving a commitment from the player to continue with his personal development program, the league is satisfied that Logan Mailloux has undertaken the necessary steps and will reinstate him, effective Jan. 1, 2022."
Mailloux announced prior to the 2021 NHL Draft he was withdrawing himself from the selection process because he hadn't "demonstrated strong enough maturity or character to earn that privilege."
The Canadiens drafted Mailloux with the 31st overall pick anyway.
We're still roughly three months away from the 2022 NHL trade deadline, but it’s never too early to look at who could be dealt. Below, we explore five high-profile players who could find themselves on the move.
Jakob Chychrun, Coyotes
Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Position: LD Cap hit: $4.6M Years left: 4
Chychrun is the only non-rental on this list. He's also just 23 years old and finished in the top-10 in Norris Trophy voting a year ago. This seems to be the type of player the Coyotes should try and build around rather than trade away.
However, that apparently hasn't stopped Arizona from gauging the market. Given that Chychrun is signed long term, the rebuilding Yotes should be in no rush to pull the trigger and only do so if they get a haul in return.
Chychrun is having a miserable season, too, so his trade value likely isn't at an all-time high. It's hard to blame him, considering how bad the team is. He's recorded just two goals and five assists in 26 games while logging 24:50 of ice time per contest. Plus/minus is a flawed stat, but his minus-29 rating is nearly double the second-worst in the league.
Nonetheless, nearly every team should be at least reaching out to Arizona for the asking price. He's a two-way defender with size and speed entering the prime of his career on a bargain contract - those don't grow on trees. It's also fair to assume he would flourish with a stronger supporting cast.
Best fits: Bruins, Flames, Hurricanes, Oilers, Panthers, Rangers, Blues, Maple Leafs, Canucks, Capitals
Tomas Hertl, Sharks
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Position: C Cap hit: $5.625M Years left: 1
The Sharks are in unfamiliar waters. After a two-decade run of competitiveness, they're on track to miss the playoffs for the third straight season for the first time in franchise history. They can't quite commit to a full teardown due to the veteran contingent that remains under contract long term, so they're trying to retool on the fly.
San Jose would probably like to keep Hertl around, but it'd be smart to move on. At 28 years old, Hertl's likely going to command a lucrative long-term contract (Evolving-Hockey projects he inks a seven-year deal with an $8.14-million cap hit). The Sharks already have four players (Logan Couture, Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic) on the wrong side of 30 signed through at least 2024-25 making at minimum $7-million per season.
Instead of committing to another pact that could go sideways, the Sharks are better off attempting to trade Hertl for a bundle of assets that can help the team get younger.
There is one significant obstacle in this plan: Hertl's contract contains a three-team trade list. If Hertl wants, he could leverage this to make it nearly impossible to trade him. The Sharks need to hope he's willing to help facilitate a deal to a contender. Otherwise, they could see him walk for nothing at the season's end.
There will be no shortage of interest. Hertl is a big, strong, skilled, two-way center who could be the missing piece for center-needy teams vying for a Stanley Cup. He's recorded 14 goals and eight assists in 30 games this season. The Czech pivot also has a stellar playoff resume with 24 goals and 18 helpers in 62 career postseason contests.
Best fits: Bruins,Wild, Rangers, Penguins
Marc-Andre Fleury, Blackhawks
Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Position: G Cap hit: $7M Years left: 1
The Blackhawks' splashy offseason has not paid immediate dividends, as the club sits seventh in the Central Division and 14th in the Western Conference. It's been no fault of Fleury's, who owns a respectable .913 save percentage in 20 appearances.
Given that the 37-year-old pondered retirement this past offseason, Chicago would be smart to get whatever assets it can for the pending UFA. The Blackhawks can maximize their return for Fleury if they're willing to retain half his salary, too.
Fleury does have a 10-team no-trade list in his contract, which could complicate things considering very few contenders have a need between the pipes. For the teams that do, targeting the three-time Stanley Cup champion should be a no-brainer.
Best fits: Oilers, Capitals
Mark Giordano, Kraken
Steph Chambers / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Position: LD Cap hit: $6.75M Years left: 1
It appears there will be no inaugural season miracle for the Kraken. They've performed more like a typical expansion team, sitting last in the Pacific Divison and second-last in the Western Conference.
This makes Giordano a near-lock to be traded. While he is the team's captain, he's also 38 years old, so an extension is unlikely. His contract does contain a 19-team no-trade list, but Giordano's never won a Cup and likely wants to chase a ring.
Giordano's basic stats suggest a decline. He's recorded just eight points in 24 games, putting him on pace for his worst offensive season in nearly a decade. His minus-11 rating is also a career low.
The underlying numbers remain strong. His 53.7% expected goals share is the best among Seattle's regular blue-liners, and his 1.94 expected goals against per 60 minutes would stand as his best since 2010-11. He could still adequately serve as a second-pairing defenseman on a contending team.
Best fits: Bruins,Flames, Blues, Maple Leafs, Capitals
Claude Giroux, Flyers
Mitchell Leff / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Position: C/LW/RW Cap hit: $8.275M Years left: 1
This is more of a wild card, but it's something to watch for. Giroux has been with the Flyers for his entire 15-year career and it would only be fitting for him to retire in Philly. However, the team is in the midst of a disastrous season relative to preseason expectations. They sit sixth in the Metropolitan Division and are bound to be deadline sellers.
Giroux's contract contains a full no-movement clause, so his future is in his own hands. It seems more likely that he inks an extension to stay, but if he did approve a trade, the Flyers could get a nice return (especially if they retain 50% of his salary), and he could always come back in the offseason.
The 33-year-old is a better fit on the wing at this point in his career, but he can still play center in a pinch. He's remained productive this season, tallying 25 points in 29 games so far. He's also won 61.6% of his faceoffs.
We're not yet at the halfway point of the 2021-22 NHL campaign, but this break presents a good time to reflect. Below, we dive into the five biggest surprises of the season thus far.
Ducks flying ahead of schedule
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Show us someone who seriously thought the Anaheim Ducks would make the playoffs, and we'll show you a liar.
While there's still plenty of hockey left to play, the Ducks are sitting pretty. They're third in the Pacific Division and seventh in the Western Conference with a .625 points percentage. They have a sizable lead over teams currently outside the postseason spots, such as the Dallas Stars (.552), Winnipeg Jets (.550), and Los Angeles Kings (.550).
In August, Anaheim's odds of making the playoffs were +1500 - tied with the Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, and Ottawa Senators as the biggest long shots.
While the Ducks have attempted to rebuild on the fly over the past few years, they haven't finished above sixth in the Pacific since 2018-19. Fans had every reason for pessimism considering captain Ryan Getzlaf is 36 and coming off his worst year and the team's next wave of young talent is still, well, really young.
This one came out of left field. Paul Maurice, who was in his ninth season as head coach of the Jets, suddenly announced his resignation Friday.
"This is a good team, I'm a good coach. ... But sometimes you can only push so far," Maurice said. "Sometimes a team needs a new voice. They haven't quit on me but need a different voice. It's the right time for it, and I know that."
He might be correct. The Jets made some much-needed additions to their blue line this offseason, bringing in Brenden Dillon and Nate Schmidt. That seemed to shore up the club's last remaining key weakness, yet Winnipeg currently sits outside the playoff picture.
Maurice, 54, gives incredibly thoughtful, candid, and witty answers in his press conferences, making him one of the league's most likable coaches. We applaud him for leaving on his own terms after a stellar run in which he brought the Jets to the playoffs five times, including a trip to the conference finals in 2018. If Maurice wants another NHL head coaching job, he'll surely get one.
Canadiens come crashing down
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On the heels of their miracle run to the Stanley Cup Final, the Montreal Canadiens find themselves dead last in the Eastern Conference. No NHL team has finished last in its conference the season after reaching the final since the 2002-03 Carolina Hurricanes, who were the league's worst team.
The Habs crashing down to earth shouldn't come as a surprise. After all, they weren't good in the regular season last year, either - they just happened to get hot at the right time. They lost their No. 1 center Phillip Danault (signed with the Kings), No. 1 defenseman Shea Weber (potentially career-ending injury), and No. 1 goalie Carey Price (player assistance program). Few teams could handle three absences of that magnitude.
However, it's still surprising just how bad this team is. Nobody expected the Canadiens to be worse than the Sabres, who appear to be actively trying to tank. The Habs are even worse than the Senators, who remain bottom-feeders.
Heck, even the Coyotes - who are icing arguably the worst roster of the salary-cap era - are just two games back of Montreal. Nobody saw that coming.
Kadri cashing in
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It's never too late for a career year, right? Just ask 31-year-old Nazem Kadri. The Colorado Avalanche center is in his 13th NHL season yet playing the best hockey of his life.
Kadri has taken the league by storm, ranking fourth with 38 points in 24 games and third in points per game at 1.58. His career-high point total was 61 in 2016-17. His career-high points per game was 0.92 during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign.
While Kadri may level off a bit, his 11 goals aren't a fluke. He's only shooting 14.7% - the fourth-highest mark of his career and a mere 3.3% higher than his average.
Kadri's 27 assists appear slightly less sustainable, as his 16.01 on-ice shooting percentage is his best ever. The helpers shouldn't disappear altogether, though. He has a career-high 4.19 on-ice expected goals per 60 minutes, averages a career-high 18:27 per game, and he's surrounded by an excellent, offensive-minded supporting cast with the Avs.
The London, Ontario, native is in the final season of a bargain six-year contract that pays him $4.5 million annually. Given how coveted centers are and how infrequently they hit the open market, Kadri is bound to cash in this summer.
Boudreau returns triumphantly
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Bruce Boudreau was working as an analyst for NHL Network when the season began. Now, he's becoming a favorite for the Jack Adams Award.
However, the Canucks are a perfect 6-0-0 under Boudreau weeks after the season looked like a lost cause. Now, the team's within striking distance of a playoff spot.
During his stops with the Washington Capitals, Ducks, and Minnesota Wild, Boudreau always seemed to get the most out of his star players, so it shouldn't come as a surprise he's doing the same in Vancouver. The team adopted an up-tempo, aggressive style of play, which suits its personnel far better than what Green was preaching.
While the blue line is still a major cause for concern, if Boudreau can somehow will the Canucks to the postseason, he'll be a lock for his second Jack Adams.
The Calgary Flames are pulling the plug on a project that would've brought the city a new NHL arena.
On Tuesday, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek announced on Twitter that Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation's primary shareholder Murray Edwards informed her of the franchise's intention to terminate the new arena deal.
Gondek added that the Flames are backing out of the deal due to an additional fee of about $9.7 million concerning climate mitigation and road/sidewalk right-of-way issues.
"On a project worth over $650 million, to have one party walk away for 1.5% of the value of the deal is staggering," Gondek wrote, adding that she's "disappointed."
CSEC and the city originally struck a deal in July 2019 for an arena that would cost $550 million split equally between the two parties. The city was also to provide additional funds, including covering 90% of the cost to demolish the Scotiabank Saddledome. Gondek, who wasn't elected mayor until October 2021, says she supported the initial deal.
The project hit some snags from there. In April 2021, it was put on hold by the City council over budget concerns. A new deal was agreed to in July, with the cost increasing by over $50 million. Gondek, however, says she didn't support this.
Calgary Municipal Land Corporation was removed as the development manager as part of the new deal. Both the city and the NHL franchise added $12.5 million for cost overruns, plus an additional $10 million from the city in event management costs. The two parties set a target date of early 2022 for construction to begin prior to this most recent complication.
Before Gondek was elected mayor, she served as a city councilor and a member of the city's planning commission. Former Mayor Naheed Nenshi was in office during the original negotiation of the deal.
Scotiabank Saddledome has been the home of the Flames since 1983. Excluding the Seattle Kraken's Climate Pledge Arena, which underwent extensive renovations before the club debuted this year, the Saddledome is the second-oldest building in the NHL, trailing only Madison Square Garden.
Connolly hammered Kero into the boards even though the Stars forward never touched the puck. Connolly was handed an interference major and a game misconduct on the play.
Kero had to be stretchered off the ice. He was conscious, alert, and responsive afterward. Kero was hospitalized as a precaution.
This marks the first time Connolly has been suspended or fined in his 11-year NHL career.
Stars veteran Joe Pavelski got emotional postgame speaking about his injured teammate.
With 25 seconds left in the game and the Golden Knights leading 5-3, Devils head coach Lindy Ruff lined up 6-foot-4, 227-pound defenseman Mason Geertsen at forward for the ensuing faceoff.
Here's what went down:
Geertsen and Vegas captain Alex Pietrangelo started the skirmish, leading to lots of pushing, shoving, and grabbing. Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner swung his stick at a New Jersey player who appeared ready to scrap. Lehner, Pietrangelo, and Geertsen were all handed 10-minute misconducts.
"I think it was some bullshit. (Ruff) was probably just mad that Jack Hughes got hit there and nothing happened in the moment," Marchessault said, referring to Zach Whitecloud's open-ice hit on the Devils phenom earlier in the contest:
"At the end of the day (Geertsen) is the one who gave up that fourth goal, so I think it's kind of gutless," Marchessault said. "You put a defenseman, a tough guy, to line up at forward when there's 25 seconds left. That's shitty, but that's what those older, veteran coaches do sometimes."
Geersten took himself out of position to make a hit on Pietrangelo earlier in the game, leading to Nicolas Roy's game-winning goal.
The blue-liner entered Thursday with zero points and 41 PIMs in nine career NHL games. Geersten's recorded three AHL seasons of 100-plus PIMs and only one with double-digit points.
Even at just 29 years old, Tyler Seguin is aware he isn't the same player he used to be.
The Dallas Stars center was limited to just three games last season after undergoing a hip arthroscopy and labral repair in November 2020 and a knee scope one month later. He said in May that he basically had to rebuild his entire quad muscle.
The injuries appear to have caught up to Seguin, as he's recorded just seven goals and four assists in 26 games this year. The 34-point pace would mark his worst NHL campaign since he was a 19-year-old rookie with the Boston Bruins in 2010-11.
"Sometimes, you get a little frustrated not having the same kind of game I have in the past," Seguin said, according to The Dallas Morning News' Matthew DeFranks. "Some things that used to click in my head and the opportunities I would get, I haven’t really seen this year."
Seguin isn't generating the chances he used to, with his shots and individual expected goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five both plummeting to career lows, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Knowing his limitations, the veteran forward is trying to find new ways to be productive.
"That’s all I know how to do, is when things aren’t going a certain way, it’s 'Okay, let’s grease it up. Let things go off you. Go to those dirty areas,'" he said. "I’m still trying to find that balance of muck-and-grinder and finding that fluid style to my game that I’ve had."
The grind mentality should be music to the ears of head coach Rick Bowness, who was highly critical of some of his players during Tuesday's loss to the St. Louis Blues.
Bowness understands Seguin is still getting back up to speed.
"Through time, it’ll come back to where it was," Bowness said. "It’s not there yet. He just has to keep working hard in the gym and he has to keep pushing his pace in practice."
The injuries' impact has served as a harsh reality check for Seguin.
"I’ve had people close to me tell me it could take a little bit just to get it all back," he said. "I didn’t believe them, and I still haven’t fully until the last week or two."
Seguin is Dallas' highest-paid player, and he's signed through 2026-27 with an annual cap hit of $9.85 million, according to CapFriendly.
Count Nashville Predators forward Nick Cousins among those in favor of pausing the NHL season until after Christmas amid a league-wide COVID-19 outbreak.
Over 65 NHL players are currently in COVID protocol. The Calgary Flames have been hit the hardest, with 18 players and multiple staff members currently on the COVID list. The league has postponed all of Calgary's games through Saturday.
Cousins is one of seven Predators players in protocol. The team also has five members of its coaching staff on the COVID list. The NHL has not postponed any of Nashville's games as of yet.
The league reintroduced enhanced COVID-19 protocols on Wednesday to help combat the spread of the virus.
