The week around the hockey world ended in tragedy, with former Penguins center Adam Johnson passing away. Meanwhile, it was a busy week across the NHL which is recapped in our key stories.
Draft Changes: A majority of teams have told the league that they would like to decentralize the draft, meaning teams would no longer send large contingents to the draft city and that it would work more like the drafts of the other major league sports. With that, the NHL’s intention is now to switch formats no later than 2025 with 2024 not being ruled out either. In our current reader poll, it’s fair to say that this change is not exactly a popular one.
Lots Of Injuries: It has been a tough week on the injury front across the league. Blackhawks winger Taylor Hall’s shoulder injury isn’t getting better so he’s now on IR and listed as week-to-week. That’s the same designation for Coyotes winger Jason Zucker who is dealing with a lower-body issue. At one point, it seemed like Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce was going to be out long-term. While that’s not the case, he underwent surgery on a lower-body injury and will miss two to four weeks. Meanwhile, Canadiens blueliner David Savard and Senators rearguard Thomas Chabot both sustained fractured hands that will likely keep them out of their respective lineups until sometime in December.
Pinto Suspension: The bad news in Ottawa didn’t stop with Chabot as the NHL announced that unsigned center Shane Pinto has received a 41-game suspension for activities relating to sports wagering, to quote its press release. The exact nature of the violation was not revealed publicly with the league noting that Pinto did not bet on NHL games. The Sens have since rescinded all of their previous contract offers to Pinto, who is now almost certain to sign a low-cost, one-year deal once he is cleared to return in mid-January. While there is a December 1st deadline for unsigned restricted free agents to sign deals, that rule will be waived for Pinto and the Sens. Instead of Ottawa potentially getting him back in a week or two, it’ll now be a few more months before that happens.
Retirements: A trio of long-time NHL forwards hung up their skates. First, after failing to catch on with Anaheim in training camp, winger Zack Kassian retired at the age of 32. The 13th pick in 2009 played in 661 games over parts of a dozen seasons, collecting 203 points, 913 penalty minutes, and 1,360 hits. Long-time Montreal center Tomas Plekanec was next to retire; he had been playing for his hometown team in Czechia but suffered an early injury that ended his season prematurely. The 40-year-old played in 1,001 NHL games, all but 17 of which came with the Canadiens. Lastly, Joe Thornton officially called it a career at the age of 44. The top pick back in 1997 last played in 2021-22 and he amassed over 1,500 points in 1,714 games over parts of 24 NHL seasons. He currently sits 12th in league history in points and sixth in games played.
Bowness Steps Away: The Jets are currently without head coach Rick Bowness as he has taken a leave of absence to be with his wife who suffered a seizure and was hospitalized earlier in the week. Bowness is in his second season behind the bench in Winnipeg and obviously, there is no timetable for his return. Associate coach Scott Arniel, who has head coaching experience from his time with Columbus a little more than a decade ago, is currently serving as their interim bench boss.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.