"Happily going into retirement now from hockey," the 37-year-old said Thursday, per TSN1040 Vancouver. "Feel real at peace with it."
The 6-foot-1 veteran said he made the decision in February to either play one year in Europe for the family experience or retire, and the COVID-19 pandemic took the former option off the table.
Hamhuis was drafted by the Predators in 2001 and spent his first six NHL seasons with the club. He then played six seasons for the Vancouver Canucks and two for the Dallas Stars before returning to Nashville on a two-year deal ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.
The British Columbia native tallied eight assists over 60 games with the Predators this season. He ranks seventh all time in games played (600) for the franchise.
Over 1,148 NHL contests, Hamhuis racked up 59 goals and 356 points while averaging 21:21 of ice time per game.
"It was a late hit on a player who wasn't expecting it," Reirden said, according to The Washington Post's Samantha Pell. "It was predatory."
Lee caught Backstrom with a hard hit just minutes into the game and was immediately met by Capitals rearguard John Carlson. Lee was handed a minor for interference, while he and Carlson were both assessed roughing penalties in addition.
Carlson also voiced his displeasure with the hit following the contest: “It looked real dirty to me," he said, per Pell.
Islanders bench boss Barry Trotz, who coached Backstrom and the Capitals from 2014-18, came to the defense of his captain.
"Anders is making a hockey play," he said, per The Athletic's Arthur Staple. "I don't know if Nick was ready or not. Anders is a strong guy, the hit was made and they responded, he and Wilson fought and that was probably the end of it. We'll see."
The Islanders netted four unanswered goals - including three in the third period - to win the series opener 4-2.
Game 1 between the two sides has been postponed until Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET due to the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets needing five overtimes to settle their opening-round contest.
The thriller between the Blue Jackets and Lightning was the first game since 2003 to go into a fifth overtime period, and ended as the fourth longest game in NHL history.
The Bruins and Hurricanes are set to meet in the postseason for the second straight year. Boston swept Carolina in the Eastern Conference finals in 2019.
Game 1 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday was one for the ages. Brayden Point scored on the Lightning's 88th shot of the contest in the fifth overtime period to end the fourth-longest game in NHL history.
There was no shortage of reaction following the game, with media, fans, and even players chiming in on the madness.
The Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes were scheduled to play at Scotiabank arena at 8 p.m. ET, but that contest got delayed until Wednesday thanks to the thriller between the Lightning and Blue Jackets.
Cassidy: "Players were just waiting around, wondering what was happening, watching the game ... encouraging both teams to shoot, get the game over with."
Edmonton Oilers stars Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid may have finished atop the league in regular-season scoring, but general manager Ken Holland is challenging them to do more defensively.
"The answer would be, yes," Holland said when asked if the Oilers need the duo's defensive leadership more than their offensive influence, according to Sportsnet's Mark Spector.
"They are getting better," Holland said. "But in this playoff series (against the Blackhawks), we were playing against battle-tested players (who) had won three Stanley Cups."
McDavid led all skaters in the qualifying round with five goals and nine points, while Draisaitl contributed six points in the series. However, the No. 12-seeded Blackhawks still upset the Oilers in four games.
Edmonton allowed three-plus goals in each contest and 16 during the series. Holland acknowledged the Oilers' defensive improvement this season, but he knows there are still steps ahead to become an elite team.
“We went from 25th to 17th (in goals against), but we need to make more strides,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to defend. You can’t just outscore your opponents. I don’t think that’s totally a reflection on the defencemen. It’s a reflection on the whole team, and their commitment to keeping the puck out of the net.”
With the series loss to Chicago, Edmonton failed to secure a spot in the round of 16 for the third consecutive campaign.
2020 NHL Draft Lottery, Phase 2 When: Monday, Aug. 10, 6 p.m. ET How to watch: NHL Network, NBSCN, Sportsnet, TVAS
Phase 1 of the draft lottery in June marked the first NHL event since play was suspended March 12. With the hockey world watching with anticipation to find out which team would land the top pick at the 2020 draft, the evening ended without an answer.
Against the odds, one of the eight losing teams from the play-in round won, leading us to a second and unprecedented phase in the draft lottery process.
Teams involved
For the first time in history, a team without one of the league's worst seven records will nab the first overall pick at the draft, per Sportsnet stats. That means a playoff-caliber club - and possibly even a Stanley Cup contender - could end up adding consensus No. 1 prospect and QMJHL sensation Alexis Lafreniere to its roster.
The seven teams that don't win the top pick will be assigned 2020 NHL Draft picks 9-15 in inverse order of their points percentages when the regular season was suspended.
In June, we broke down what it would mean for each play-in team in the East and West to earn the first overall selection.
How we got here
When the season hit pause, every component of the NHL's calendar - including the draft lottery - became uncertain. The lottery order is typically established based on the final standings after the 82-game season, but with the halted campaign, teams had played an unequal amount of games with just under one month remaining on the schedule.
As a solution, the seven clubs that did not qualify for the 24-team play-in round, along with the eight losing teams in the qualifying round, were entered into Phase 1 of the draft lottery using traditional lottery odds. The unknown teams were enlisted as "Placeholder teams A-through-H."
Despite the Ottawa Senators owning a 25% chance of landing the top pick, and the last-place Detroit Red Wings owning a 18.5% chance, "Placeholder team E" miraculously prevailed with just a 2% chance of winning the lottery.
So, who exactly is that placeholder team? That's what we'll find out Monday night.
Draft order so far
Pick
Team
1
Placeholder team
2
Los Angeles Kings
3
Ottawa Senators
4
Detroit Red Wings
5
Ottawa Senators
6
Anaheim Ducks
7
New Jersey Devils
8
Buffalo Sabres
Although they missed out on the top selection, the Red Wings will make their highest pick of the draft since 1990.
The Kings will select second for the first time since 2008, when they drafted blue-chip defenseman Drew Doughty.
The Senators own three first-round selections, highlighted by picks No. 3 and No. 5, while the Devils also own a trio of picks in the opening round.
After going 3-0-0 in round-robin play, the Vegas Golden Knights are welcoming back their top scorer.
Max Pacioretty has joined the club in the Edmonton bubble, and head coach Pete DeBoer anticipates the winger to be ready for Game 1 against the Chicago Blackhawks in the round of 16, according to The Athletic's Jesse Granger.
The 31-year-old suffered a minor injury during training camp and did not travel with the team for the beginning of Phase 4 of the league's return-to-play plan.
Pacioretty led the Golden Knights in goals (32) and points (66) while averaging 17:55 of ice time through 71 games this season.
He contributed an impressive five goals and 11 points in seven contests during his first playoff run with Vegas in 2019.
Head coach Barry Trotz is looking forward to competing against his old team as his New York Islanders prepare for a clash with the Washington Capitals in the round of 16.
"I think it will be a hell of a series," Trotz said Sunday, according to The Athletic's Tarik El-Bashir. "Both teams are well-equipped to go at each other."
Trotz spent four seasons (2014-2018) as Washington's bench boss and led the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup in his final campaign with them.
The 58-year-old also coached the Capitals to back-to-back Presidents' Trophies in 2016 and 2017, and he earned the Jack Adams Award as the league's top bench boss in the former season.
Trotz won his second Jack Adams Award after his first season in Long Island in 2018-19. Under his tutelage, the Islanders have reached the round of 16 in consecutive campaigns for just the second time in the post-lockout era.
New York owns an 83-50-17 regular-season record over two campaigns with Trotz at the helm.
The Islanders won their play-in series against the Florida Panthers in four games to advance.
The 6-foot-2 blue-liner played 21:24 during Friday's Game 4 overtime loss but exited midway through the third period and did not play in the extra frame. The cause of his injury is unclear.
Werenski has logged 26:42 of ice time per game in the series and has matched up primarily against the Maple Leafs' top talents. He's also contributed one assist while posting a Corsi For of 52.33% at five-on-five.
The 23-year-old was the only NHL defenseman to record 20 goals in 2019-20 and the first rearguard in Blue Jackets history to hit that single-season mark.
A pair of trades - including conditional draft picks contingent on postseason outcomes - have officially been sorted, with the Arizona Coyotes and New York Islanders each advancing to the round of 16 on Friday.
The Ottawa Senators now own the Islanders' first-round pick in 2020 as part of the swap that sent forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau to New York at the trade deadline. If the Islanders had instead been eliminated and won the draft lottery, the pick, which was top-three protected, would have been Ottawa's in 2021.
Ottawa now owns three first-round selections at the 2020 draft and an additional four picks in round two.
The New Jersey Devils now own the Arizona Coyotes' first-round pick as a result of the Taylor Hall trade. The conditions on that pick were identical to those in the Pageau deal.
The Devils could add an additional first-rounder in 2020 if the Vancouver Canucks eliminate the Minnesota Wild in their play-in series. New Jersey received the pick when it traded forward Blake Coleman in February to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who owned the Canucks' pick from a previous trade.