Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa will miss the entire 2017-18 NHL season due to a progressive skin disorder and the side effects of the medications used to treat it, the Blackhawks and Hossa announced Wednesday in a joint statement.
"Over the course of the last few years, under the supervision of the Blackhawks medical staff, I have been privately undergoing treatment for a progressive skin disorder and the side effects of the medications involved to treat the disorder," Hossa said. "Due to the severe side effects associated with those medications, playing hockey is not possible for me during the upcoming 2017-18 season. While I am disappointed that I will not be able to play, I have to consider the severity of my condition and how the treatments have impacted my life both on and off the ice."
Despite his health struggles, Hossa still played in 73 of the team's 82 games last season, contributing 26 goals - good enough for third on the team - and another 19 assists.
"This is extremely difficult for us because we all know the incredible person and player that Marian Hossa is - competitive, loyal, and humble," Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said. "He has played a major role in the success our franchise has experienced in recent years, which makes his departure from our lineup a significant loss.
"His teammates and coaches know he battled through some very tough physical difficulties but never complained or missed games despite the challenges he faced. The organization will continue to provide him every resource he needs to maintain his health."
Team physician Dr. Michael Terry "strongly supports" Hossa's decision to sit out next season, calling it "the appropriate approach for Marian in order to keep him functional and healthy in the short term and throughout his life."
The 2017-18 campaign marks the ninth year of Hossa's 12-year, $63.3-million contract, leaving three more seasons after that with a cap hit of $5.275 million.
While much of the excitement out of Las Vegas this week is yet to come (we hope), the NHL gave its fans something to chew on as the league congregates to welcome a new era in Sin City: new uniforms.
The league joined Adidas, its new jersey supplier, in debuting its new threads Tuesday night, with some teams undergoing more significant changes than others.
Below, we outline what's changed and provide an overall grade for the teams that will rock a significantly new look to start the 2017-18 season.
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 21, 2017
What's changed: Technically, nothing, but Vegas' debut uniforms introduce a fresh look. The Golden Knights are the lone NHL franchise to don gray as its primary color, and it blends nicely with black and gold accents. The red is a unique touch, and should pop on the ice.
If you look closely at the gold on the sleeves, you'll also notice added intricate details.
Grade: A
Wild
What's changed: Minnesota's made the permanent switch to forest green, and the white horizontal stripe is a terrific change to make the logo stick out. The thin red piping on the sleeve ties it all together, giving the Wild a strong case for best redesign.
What's changed: The Avs revived their glory-days sweater by bringing back the mountain range design. Given their overall performance last season, reminiscing on the franchise's peak years might be a good thing.
That said, the retro look is a little dull for such a unique color scheme.
What's changed: Edmonton already announced it will sport orange at home next season, but the Oilers made another change, darkening the shade of blue to navy. Additionally, the club thinned out the stripes at the bottom to complete the look.
The Oilers already had some of the nicest uniforms in the league, so the changes, though subtle, are underwhelming.
Grade: B-
Predators
What's changed: The Western Conference champions got even more yellow. Nashville eliminated piping that ran up the torso and across the shoulders, which was the right call, but the Preds still managed to make things worse, creating a terribly bland look.
What's changed: Carolina integrated more black into its new get-ups, and also brought back the checkered warning flag pattern along the bottom to add some personality. Neat and clean. A solid improvement.
What's changed: For the first time since switching their secondary color from green to black in 1992, the Devils have a different design. New Jersey ditched its stripes on the bottom and squared up the shoulders, resulting in a resounding "meh."
Grade: D
The new home get-ups for all 31 teams can be found here.
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 21, 2017
The Golden Knights will be the only team in recent memory with grey as the color of their primary home jersey. The gold, as it should, really stands out. Yet, undoubtedly the most questionable decision of the uniform design is pairing white gloves with the dark jersey.
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 21, 2017
The Golden Knights weren't the only team to disclose a new jersey design. Several clubs made significant changes to their get-ups, with the most notable uniform alterations made by the following teams:
Carolina Hurricanes: The Canes added a significant amount of black trim and brought back the warning flag pattern along the bottom of the jersey.
New Jersey Devils: The Devils have worn pretty much the exact same uniforms since 1992, but finally added a new wrinkle. The sleeve stripes are now bold and the bottom stripes are gone.
Edmonton Oilers: The Oilers will commit to orange home jerseys full time. The biggest changes include what is seemingly a darker shade of blue, the sleeve number has been removed outside of the blue shoulders, and the stripes along the sleeves and bottom are noticeably thinner and more spread out.
Minnesota Wild forward Erik Haula could find his way to Vegas before the expansion draft is finalized, as his agent, Jay Grossman, and Golden Knights general manager George McPhee are engaged in ongoing talks regarding a contract for the restricted free agent, reports Michael Russo of The Minnesota Tribune.
McPhee and the Golden Knights hold exclusive rights to negotiate contracts with both unrestricted and restricted free agents before they submit their official expansion roster Wednesday.
If Haula winds up signing a deal in Sin City, it would help the Wild dodge a big bullet, as Vegas wouldn't be able to claim the likes of Eric Staal, Matt Dumba, and Marco Scandella, who Minnesota left exposed.
Haula, 26, netted a career-high 15 goals last season in 72 games with the wild, totaling 26 points.
While the bulk of the NHL Awards won't be revealed until Wednesday night, the NHL Humanitarian Awards have come and gone, and Nick Foligno might need to invest in a bigger trophy case.
The Columbus Blue Jackets' captain was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy as the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy contribution in his community.
Foligno also took home the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award as the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team on and off the ice during the regular season.
On the ice, Foligno scored 26 goals, added 25 assists, and led the Blue Jackets to a franchise-best 108 points after they finished with the fourth-worst record in the NHL the year prior.
Away from the rink, Foligno is involved in countless amounts of charity work. Perhaps most notably, he donated $1 million to the two hospitals that saved his daughter's life after she was diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition.
With the NHL's new Adidas jerseys set to be officially unveiled Tuesday night in Las Vegas, the Western Conference champions went ahead and posted a clear preview of their new home look.
The nature of the deal is not known; some teams seem set on paying a premium to retain players exposed for expansion draft purposes, while others could be working out a deal for a selected player to be flipped.
McPhee has confirmed that some of the picks revealed Wednesday will be officially traded Thursday, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.
With all the excitement surrounding the NHL's expansion and entry drafts this week, it's understandable the league's award ceremony is being slightly overlooked, but there's still some hardware to be handed out.
Most fans may be tuning in Wednesday night to witness the league's 31st franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights, name its roster. But some will also take the opportunity to throw down some loot on predicting who will take home the league's top honors.
Here's a look at the nominees, and we break down each category's likely winner so you can adjust your bet accordingly. The awards are hosted in Vegas, after all.
Matthews put the league on notice from the jump with a quartet of tallies in his first game and finished with 69 points. He was also the best all-around rookie last season. Carrying Toronto to the playoffs by leading the team in goals and points, Matthews proved that he was worth being drafted with the first overall pick ahead of Laine.
There is obviously zero value in taking Matthews here, even though he deserves the award. Sprinkle a small wager on Laine at 6.50-1 and hope that his 36 goals in 73 games - nine fewer contests than Matthews - are enough to put him in contention.
Winner: Auston Matthews
Jack Adams Award
Nominee (Team)
Odds to Win
Mike Babcock (Maple Leafs)
1.74-1
John Tortorella (Blue Jackets)
3.25-1
Todd McLellan (Oilers)
3.65-1
Taking a club from dead last in the league to a playoff position a year later requires Jack Adams-level coaching, and that's exactly what Babcock did with his Leafs this season.
Sure, the Oilers were only one point ahead of Toronto in 2015-16 and followed it up by finishing second in the Pacific Division this year. But, with all due respect to Matthews, Connor McDavid makes McLellan's job too easy for this award.
At 1.74-1, Babcock won't win you a mortgage payment, but if you parlay it with another pick - or two - your payout should be worth a wager.
Finishing the season with the league's best goals-against average (2.06) and save percentage (.931) should present a strong enough case for Bobrovsky to take home his second Vezina in four years.
However, Holtby also had a stellar year, and led the NHL in two important categories - his nine shutouts and 42 wins both paced the league. It must be taken into consideration that Holtby played behind the best team in the East, but remember the Blue Jackets are no longer bottom-feeders.
That makes this perhaps the toughest choice on the board. The edge goes to Bob for playing behind a younger, less experienced squad while still pushing his team to a 100-plus-point season.
Here's the first opportunity to take someone other than the favorite and actually have a good shot at cashing out. Burns had an unreal season, finishing ninth in league scoring, but this is a defensive honor, and few play the position better than Karlsson.
If the playoffs counted for this trophy, predicting the winner would be easier than scoring against the Dallas Stars. But the postseason isn't a factor, so Karlsson's amazing Cup run won't be considered, and the Norris is still Burns' to lose.
Regardless, at 3.50-1, Karlsson is just way too good to not sprinkle a wager on him.
As is the case with Matthews and the Calder, there's no value in picking the favorite to win the league MVP.
McDavid paced the league in assists and points with 70 and 100, respectively, earning the right to be the favorite. But never count out Crosby, who led the NHL with 44 goals and registered 89 points while playing seven fewer games than McDavid. At 5-1, Sid's definitely worth a couple bucks.
Apologies to Bobrovsky, but this award comes down to the two best players on the planet. McDavid will have plenty of time to win this award once Crosby retires, so chalk up another Hart for No. 87.
