The playoffs are well underway and while there has been some notable news from on the ice, there has also been some key news off it. We recap the most prominent ones in our key stories.
More Changes In Calgary: Last summer, the Flames were quite busy reshaping their roster following the departures of Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk. However, they came up short of reaching the playoffs and now, it’ll be up to a new GM to reshape their roster this summer following the departure of GM Brad Treliving. Officially, it’s being termed as a mutual departure although there has been speculation that it was Treliving’s choice to go. He had been at the helm in Calgary for the past nine seasons with the team making five trips to the playoffs although they were never able to get past the second round. Don Maloney will serve as Calgary’s interim GM until a permanent replacement is found.
Three For Bunting: It didn’t take long for there to be a suspension in the playoffs as Maple Leafs winger Michael Bunting received a three-game ban for his hit on Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak in the opening game of the series. It’s the first suspension of his career and it certainly didn’t come at an opportune time as the 27-year-old has been part of Toronto’s top six all season long. Bunting also happens to be an unrestricted free agent this summer and will be hoping for some positive playoff moments before testing the open market.
Stone Activated: The Golden Knights welcomed back a key part of their attack prior to their series opener against Winnipeg when they activated winger Mark Stone off LTIR. The veteran had missed more than three months with a back injury that required surgery. Vegas wasn’t in a financial position to be able to activate him late in the season as they used his LTIR-created cap space to add Ivan Barbashev, Teddy Blueger, and Jonathan Quick at the trade deadline but since there’s no salary cap in the playoffs, they were able to activate Stone without having to do any roster juggling. The captain has certainly made an early impact in the series, picking up two goals and two assists through the first three games.
Texier Returns: After missing the entire 2022-23 campaign citing personal issues and a desire to be closer to his family, Blue Jackets winger Alexandre Texier will return to the NHL next season. The 23-year-old has 123 career NHL games under his belt over parts of four years and has shown flashes of being a potential top-six forward down the road. He had a productive season with Zurich of the Swiss NLA, picking up 13 goals and 22 assists in 46 games to finish third on the Lions in scoring. Texier had one year left on his deal heading into this season and that will still be the case next year as the contract, which carries a $1.525MM AAV, will toll and roll over to 2023-24.
Playoff Injuries: A pair of key players are already out for the rest of their respective first-round series, if not longer. Hurricanes winger Teuvo Teravainen suffered a broken hand and has already undergone surgery. There’s no word for how long he’ll be out but Carolina will likely need a long postseason run for him to be able to return. Teravainen was a key part of their playoff run last year, picking up 11 points to tie for the team lead in scoring. Meanwhile, the Jets will have to try to come back against the Golden Knights without their top defenseman as Josh Morrissey suffered a lower-body injury and has been ruled out for the rest of the series. The 28-year-old had a breakout year, picking up 76 points in 78 games to finish tied for second in the NHL for points by a defenseman.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
“Vegas wasn’t in a financial position to be able to activate him late in the season as they used his LTIR-created cap space to add Ivan Barbashev, Teddy Blueger, and Jonathan Quick at the trade deadline but since there’s no salary cap in the playoffs, they were able to activate Stone without having to do any roster juggling.”
The fix to this is so easy and obvious…
Let teams have rosters that are over the cap during the playoffs, but NOT lineups. Each 20 man lineup sheet submitted for playoff games should still have to fit under the cap.