With the playoffs now just days away, there was plenty of news of note around the hockey world. We recap the biggest news from the past seven days in our key stories.
Coyotes To Salt Lake City? Early in the week, it came out that an alternate schedule was being drafted that had the Coyotes playing out of Salt Lake City. Soon after, momentum increased toward a full relocation and while it hasn’t officially been announced yet (that should come as soon as this week), things are trending in that direction with players reportedly being told that the move is happening. With an uncertain arena situation in Arizona, this is an outcome that the league and NHLPA will both likely be pleased with. However, this might not be the end of NHL hockey in Arizona. Outgoing owner Alex Meruelo is believed to have a five-year window to trigger an expansion franchise, giving him ample time to secure a new arena, whether it’s by winning the current auction that will end in June or on another site altogether.
Golden Knights Get Stronger: Vegas got a big boost to their lineup early in the week when they activated center Tomas Hertl off LTIR. One of their key deadline pickups, Hertl will give the Golden Knights another impact center and some more firepower. When they acquired him, it was expected that Hertl would be available for the stretch run, allowing him to get some games in before the playoffs. Meanwhile, captain Mark Stone has been cleared to return to practice as he works his way back from a lacerated spleen. Vegas used Stone’s LTIR savings to make their trade deadline additions so they won’t be able to activate him now as they did for Hertl. However, with a full week next week of practice, the winger might be available when the playoffs get underway.
Sticking Around: One of the other players Vegas added at the deadline using Stone’s LTIR placement is defenseman Noah Hanifin. He won’t be a short-term rental after all, however, as he signed an eight-year, $58.8MM contract extension. The $7.35MM AAV will make the 27-year-old the second-highest-paid blueliner on the Golden Knights behind Alex Pietrangelo ($8.8MM). Hanifin has seen his offensive output increase in recent years while remaining a strong defensive blueliner, making him a relatively safe bet for this long of an extension. Worth noting is that Vegas now has over $85MM in commitments for next season already, per CapFriendly. While Robin Lehner’s $5MM will likely stay on LTIR giving them a bit more wiggle room, Jonathan Marchessault, Anthony Mantha, and Chandler Stephenson are among the players who need new deals and it will be near-impossible to keep all of them around.
Not Sticking Around: When the buzzer sounds at the end of the game on Thursday against Vegas, Ducks winger Jakob Silfverberg’s NHL career will come to an end as he announced he plans to retire from the NHL. The 33-year-old started his career with Ottawa but was moved to Anaheim the following season and has stayed there ever since, spanning 11 seasons. In his prime, he was an impactful two-way player with a stretch of four 20-goal seasons in five years. Since then, he has become more of a depth piece and rather than search for a new contract in free agency, Silfverberg will instead return to play back home in Sweden.
Injury News: The Devils have been without their star center for the last few games as Jack Hughes underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. The 22-year-old ends his campaign with 74 points in just 62 games, his third straight year of averaging more than a point per game. Hughes is expected to make a full recovery in time for training camp in the fall. Meanwhile, their state rival got some good news on the injury front as center Filip Chytil was cleared to start skating with the Rangers. He has missed the majority of the season after sustaining what’s believed to be two concussions with the team shutting him down for the year back in January. Now, while he’ll undoubtedly be ramped up slowly, the 24-year-old could potentially return at some point in the playoffs which would certainly be a big boost to their lineup.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.