The regular season has come to an end which has resulted in some notable news from both on and off the ice which is highlighted in our key stories of the week.
Changes For The NHLPA: Late Friday, the NHLPA quietly put out a news release that indicated they have started the process to find a new Executive Director. Don Fehr has been in that role for more than a decade and has headed up the last two CBA negotiations which yielded sizable increases to the minimum salary and the recreation of the World Cup of Hockey, among other things. He will stay on for the time being until the search committee – which consists of Ian Cole, Justin Faulk, Sam Gagner, Zach Hyman, Kyle Okposo, Nate Schmidt, and Kevin Shattenkirk – determines who his successor will be.
Blashill Out In Detroit: The Red Wings were the first team to make a coaching change as they announced that Jeff Blashill’s contract would not be renewed for next season, ending his tenure behind the bench. Blashill had been with Detroit’s organization for over a decade going back to his time with AHL Grand Rapids and had spent the last seven seasons leading the Red Wings. They missed the playoffs in each of the last six seasons and while some young players had strong years including Calder contenders Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond, GM Steve Yzerman determined a change was needed. Blashill’s tenure ends with a 204-271-72 record.
Price’s Future Uncertain: Canadiens goaltender Carey Price missed the majority of this season due to a knee injury and while he was able to suit up for five games down the stretch, the injury remains. Speaking at his end-of-season media conference, the veteran indicated that his playing future is uncertain, stating that if things didn’t improve, he didn’t think he’d be able to continue playing; he even indicated that he prepared for Friday’s game as if it could be his last in the NHL. Price has been the franchise goalie for Montreal for most of his 15-year career and still has four years remaining on his contract with a $10.5MM AAV. If he’s unable to return, the Canadiens could put him on LTIR and then would need to either find a new starter by trade or in free agency.
Saros Injured: In order to get to the playoffs, the Predators had to lean hard on Juuse Saros as he led the NHL in games played this season. Now that they’re there, they may not have his services after he suffered a lower-body injury in the final week of the regular season. While the exact length of his injury wasn’t disclosed (as is basically an automatic at this time of year), missing Saros for any games would make an already difficult task considerably harder as Nashville gets set to take on Colorado in the opening round. Connor Ingram and David Rittich are the tandem if Saros isn’t able to return.
From MLB To The NHL: When Chicago was conducting its GM search, one of the finalists was Jeff Greenberg, someone who had plenty of front office experience but not in the NHL. Ultimately, the spot went to then-interim GM Kyle Davidson but the Blackhawks were able to land Greenberg as well, hiring him as an associate GM. Greenberg had been with the Chicago Cubs since 2012 but will now change sports and look to help the Blackhawks work through what appears to be a fairly sizable rebuilding process.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.