The first full week past the trade deadline featured some headlines both on and off the ice. Unfortunately, they weren’t all happy ones.
Landeskog’s Season Done: Colorado’s hopes of getting back into a Wild Card spot took a huge blow with the announcement that captain Gabriel Landeskog will miss the next four-to-six weeks with an upper-body injury, essentially ending his regular season barring a faster than expected recovery. The 26-year-old was in the midst of a career year with 69 points in 68 games and was a big part of the success of their vaunted top line. Trade deadline acquisition Derick Brassard will get to see some time on the top line in Landeskog’s absence, giving him a chance to potentially restore some value heading into free agency.
Exceptional Status For Wright: It had been a while since the OHL granted an exceptional player status to someone but they did so for forward Shane Wright, paving the way for him to join play at the Major Junior level at the age of 15. The last OHL player to get the status was Rangers blueline prospect Sean Day for 2013-14 while the last CHL player to get the nod was Red Wings center Joe Veleno for the 2015-16 campaign. Wright isn’t eligible to be drafted until 2022 but will certainly be an early contender to be the top pick for that draft class.
Stone’s Extension Official: It took a little longer than many expected given that it was agreed on in principle back at the trade deadline but the Golden Knights officially inked winger Mark Stone to an eight-year, $76MM extension. The deal contains $48MM in signing bonuses plus a full no-movement clause, elements that GM George McPhee had suggested in the past that he didn’t want to hand out. However, the deal ensures they’re locking up what would have been one of the top forwards (if not the best) to hit the open market while getting a cornerstone piece for their top line. The 26-year-old has already beaten his career high in goals with 29 and points with 66.
Recommended Rule Changes: While some were hoping that the playoff format would be on the agenda at the GM meetings, that wasn’t the case. Instead, the recommendations were to make some minor tweaks. Their preference is to see the league adopt the international rule that says if a player loses his helmet during the play, he must immediately return to the bench. On top of that, a pair of faceoff changes were suggested with teams getting the choice as to which side of the ice to start a power play and the location of the draw to start a power play following an icing. The preseason experiment with clocks in the boards also drew approval. The Competition Committee will decide whether to forward these to the Board of Governors who would then vote on them in June.
Lindsay Passes Away: Red Wings legend Ted Lindsay passed away at the age of 93. Despite being just 5’8, he never backed down physically which helped him earn the nickname ‘Terrible Ted’. He was a nine-time All-Star and led the league in scoring back in 1950 while being named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966. However, that’s only part of the impact he had on the game as he was an instrumental figure in helping the NHLPA get off the ground which helped secure higher pay and better working conditions for the players. For his efforts, the NHLPA renamed the Lester B. Pearson Award (most outstanding player as voted by the players) as the Ted Lindsay Award back in 2010.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.