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2021 Hart Trophy Finalists Announced

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It’s time for the big one. The NHL has announced the finalists for the Hart Trophy, given annually to the “player judged most valuable to his team.” Last year’s winner, Leon Draisaitl, also took home the Ted Lindsay and the Art Ross in an impressive trifecta.

This year’s finalists are Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche.

McDavid could complete the same trifecta his teammate did a year ago, after completing one of the most impressive regular seasons in recent history. The Oilers captain scored 105 points in 56 games, a scoring rate that put him in rare company. Since 1980-81, 40 years ago, only Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Bernie Nicholls, and Adam Oates have finished with a higher point/game rate over a full season. Each of the last three names on that list only did it once, and each were just barely ahead of the best offensive player in today’s game. There was absolutely no doubt that McDavid would be a finalist for the third time in his career. He previously took home the Hart in 2016-17, his sophomore year.

Matthews is a first-time finalist after winning the Rocket Richard trophy as the league’s top goal scorer. Amazingly, he had an eight-goal lead over second-place McDavid despite playing in four fewer games. Matthews was a scoring marvel this season, totaling 41 in 52 games for the Maple Leafs continuing to develop his strong defensive game. He was actually tied for fifth in points, but still 39 behind McDavid’s 105.

MacKinnon, the oldest of the three at age-25, is a Hart finalist for the third time in his career. Always a bridesmaid though, the Avalanche star has finished second in his first two runs at the award. Unfortunately–for MacKinnon and hockey fans–he played in just 48 games this season so his point total of 65 put him in the eighth spot league-wide. On a per-game basis though he trailed only McDavid, Draisaitl, and New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin. Even if MacKinnon becomes a runner-up again, it would be hard to find someone who disagreed with his placement as one of the very best players in the entire world.

Oilers Re-Sign Devin Shore

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The Oilers have taken care of one of their pending restricted free agents as they announced the re-signing of forward Devin Shore to a two-year contract.  The deal carries an AAV of $850K with CapFriendly clarifying (Twitter link) that he will make the league minimum of $750K next season and $950K in 2022-23.

The 26-year-old was non-tendered last fall by Columbus and had to settle for a PTO deal with Edmonton in late December, one that he was able to convert to a two-way contract.  Shore wound up spending most of the season with the Oilers, getting into 38 games where he had five goals and four assists.  While he did clear waivers a couple of times as Edmonton shuffled several veterans back and forth from their taxi squad, he clearly made enough of an impression to stick around, earning himself a one-way deal in the process.

Shore spent most of this past season in a depth role, often playing on the fourth line when he was in the lineup and it stands to reason that he’ll have a similar role throughout this contract.  The Oilers, like many teams, will be relying on cheap depth to free up a little bit of wiggle room on the salary cap and that will allow Shore to stick around for a couple more years.

GM Ken Holland still has plenty of work to get to before free agency begins.  He has a trio of other restricted free agents to re-sign while 11 others will soon see their contracts expire as pending unrestricted free agents so there should be several signings to come over the coming weeks.

2021 Ted Lindsay Award Finalists Announced

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This week, the NHL has started to release the finalists for all the major regular season awards. After the Vezina Trophy came out yesterday, the Ted Lindsay Award, given to “the most outstanding player in the NHL” as voted on by members of the NHLPA is up.

The three finalists this year are Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers.

Crosby, 33, is the veteran of the group and has been here several times before. The legendary Penguins center has taken home the Lindsay (which used to be called the Pearson) three times and could match Mario Lemieux for second behind Wayne Gretzky’s five should he win another this year. He hasn’t taken home the award since leading the league in scoring in 2013-14, but there’s little doubt of his impact on Pittsburgh’s season. Crosby scored 24 goals and 62 points in 55 games, finishing tenth in league scoring. The Penguins were carried by their captain all year as they dealt with injuries to everyone from Brandon Tanev to Evgeni Malkin.

Matthews, 23, is the youngest of the group and is a finalist for the first time after his outstanding season with the Maple Leafs. He would become just the second American-born player to win the award, joining Patrick Kane in the 2016 season. Though he missed four games due to injury, Matthews still won the Rocket Richard trophy for the league’s top goal scorer, leading the field by eight tallies. His 41 in 52 is a pace that would have him score 65 in a full 82-game schedule, a number that has only been reached by 12 players in the history of the NHL and none since Alex Ovechkin did it in 2007-08. It wasn’t only goals though, as Matthews finished tied for fifth in league scoring with 66 points.

Still, it’s going to be difficult for either of the first two finalists to topple McDavid, who recorded 105 points in a 56-game season. He was 21 points ahead of the second-place scorer, who happened to be his teammate and reigning Ted Lindsay winner Leon Draisaitl. McDavid was 36 points ahead of the next non-Oilers player, an absolutely incredible stat in any season, let alone a shortened one. McDavid’s point pace would have given him 154 in a full 82-game season, something that has only ever been done by Gretzky, Lemieux, and Steve Yzerman. The scoring he accomplished this season was truly historic, and it seems likely to give him his third Lindsay already in a young career. Should he win it, he’ll tie Crosby, Ovechkin, Jaromir Jagr, and Guy Lafleur with three wins.

Playoff Usage For Devin Shore Could Suggest Edmonton's Preference For Keeping Him

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  • The usage of Devin Shore in their final two postseason games suggests that the Oilers will try to retain him this summer, suggests Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal. While Shore has arbitration eligibility, he also cleared waivers twice in the year and managed just nine points in 39 games so it’s unlikely he’d command much more than the $735K qualifying offer that he’s owed to stick around.  Edmonton will need some cheap depth for next season and he could fit in that role for another year.

Negotiations Break Down Between Oilers, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

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After a stunning first-round sweep at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets, the bad could soon get worse for the Edmonton Oilers. Appearing on Sportsnet 960 in Calgary today, insider Elliotte Friedman dropped a bomb: “That’s a negotiation that went sideways… It fell apart.” He’s of course referring to the Oilers’ negotiations with impending free agent Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, easily the third-best forward on a top-heavy Edmonton roster. After a decade of consistent production, the Oilers could now potentially watch the 2011 first overall pick walk out the door.

According to Friedman, the two sides were close to terms of an extension early in the season. He is unsure when or how things starting to break down, but Friedman adds that whatever imminent deal was once on the table is no longer there. ” I believe it was always the plan that Nugent-Hopkins was going to stay and they wanted to keep him,” Friedman stated, “And now I don’t know… it got mangled.”

While the Oilers could certainly use the added cap flexibility that an RNH departure would afford them, they would have a hard time making up his production, even with multiple additions. A career .73 per-game scorer, Nugent-Hopkins has notched 60+ point seasons in two of the past three years and in an 82-game season this year would have surpassed 50 points for the sixth time in his ten-year career. That kind of production, especially to a team that sees Nugent-Hopkins as a center rather than wing, could be invaluable this off-season. Among impending UFA forwards, RNH ranked sixth this season in points per game and many of those players around him – Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog, Washington’s Alex Ovechkin, Toronto’s Zach Hyman, and Boston’s David Krejci and Taylor Hall – are expected by most to re-sign with their current squads. Nugent-Hopkins could realistically enter the open market as the most coveted forward available. If the Oilers allow RNH to test the market, the odds that they will be able to afford to re-sign him diminish greatly.

Talks will certainly continue between the two sides. Friedman notes that there have been attempts to rebuild a mutually acceptable offer, but it obviously hasn’t happened yet. Edmonton’s early playoff exit may have changed the mindset of the player or the team, but assuming there is still interest in an extension, negotiations will probably come down to the last minute. However, generally when a deal is in place and then breaks down to this extent, it doesn’t bode well for a continued relationship. Will the 2021 free agent market become the summer of RNH?

Oilers’ Joakim Nygard Signs In Sweden

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May 28: Now that the Oilers have been eliminated, swept out of the first round by the Winnipeg Jets, Nygard can go home. Farjestad has announced that he will return and that it is a record-breaking six-year deal. The 28-year-old will likely never suit up in the NHL again, given the length of the contract.

May 24: The Edmonton Oilers are on the brink of elimination, but are technically still alive in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, that hasn’t stopped Joakim Nygard (or at least his camp) from looking ahead. Swedish news source Afton Bladet reports that Nygard, an impending unrestricted free agent, has received a “super contract” offer from his former SHL club, Farjestad BK. It is believed that the offer carries a five- or six-year term, all but ending the 28-year-old’s NHL career if he accepts.

Although Farjestad GM Peter Jakobsson would not confirm that Nygard had accepted an offer, seeing as he remains under contract with Edmonton, he did confirm the concrete interest and stated that they “obviously want” Nygard back. The forward spent eight years with the club before jumping to North America in 2019 and even returned briefly on loan early this season while awaiting the start of the delayed NHL season. With such tight ties to the club, it makes sense that Afton Bladet reports he has spurned other offers from around Europe and remains interested only in Farjestad or remaining in the NHL.

After the season that Nygard has had, all odds point to a return to Sweden. The quick winger enjoyed a nice start to his NHL career last season with nine points in 33 games, but the Oilers seemingly did not feel that he was worthy of an extended look in his second season. Nygard skated in just nine games with Edmonton and was held scoreless. He spent the remainder of the campaign watching from the press box, even as the team struggled with secondary scoring, and has yet to appear in the postseason. Without having proved much in the league, and having cleared waivers as well, there likely won’t be much interest in Nygard this off-season. With a substantial offer on the table back home, it seems like a no-brainer for Nygard barring an unexpected and mindset-shifting offer from someone else.

Edmonton Oilers Hope To Re-Sign Mike Smith

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The Edmonton Oilers were swept out of the first round of the playoffs, but it wasn’t because of goaltending. The 39-year-old Mike Smith posted a solid .912 save percentage in the four games, good enough to keep every game close between the Oilers and Winnipeg Jets. At his end-of-year media availability, Edmonton GM Ken Holland said plainly that he wants to re-sign Smith after the strong season he experienced.

Now 15 years into his NHL career, Smith posted an outstanding .923 save percentage during the regular season, essentially becoming the only netminder the Oilers could rely on. Despite costing just a third of the cap hit Mikko Koskinen carries, Smith was the unquestioned starter by the end of the season and played every minute of the team’s playoff series, including a back-to-back in games three and four.

Koskinen meanwhile could be on the chopping block after posting a brutal .899 save percentage in 26 games for the team. Holland explained that buyouts are very possible for his club this summer in order to free up additional cap space, and the 32-year-old Koskinen is a prime candidate. Not only was he signed by Holland’s predecessor, but he also would cost just $1.5MM against the cap for the next two seasons. If Smith can be brought back on a reasonable deal, that would free up a good chunk for the team to invest elsewhere.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that Smith can recreate the season he just had. His two previous were poor, posting a .900 save percentage over 81 appearances for the Oilers and Calgary Flames, and he very well could be the oldest netminder in the league in 2021-22. The team does have veteran backup Alex Stalock in the organization now after claiming him in March, but there isn’t yet a prospect pushing for NHL playing time. If Smith is retained and Koskinen bought out, it could still be worthwhile to examine the rest of the goaltending market in case the veteran fails to repeat his excellent 2020-21 performance.

Wayne Gretzky Steps Down As Oilers Vice Chairman, Joins TNT

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May 26: Turner Sports has officially announced a multi-year agreement with Gretzky to become the lead studio analyst. Kenny Albert and Eddie Olczyk will be the main commentators for the network.

May 25: The Edmonton Oilers were eliminated from Stanley Cup contention last night in a grueling triple overtime game and now an offseason of change is upon them. Beginning that change is the departure of the team’s greatest icon, as Wayne Gretzky will step down as Vice Chairman of the team. Gretzky released a statement on Twitter:

With great appreciation, I wanted to let everyone know that I have decided to step away as Vice Chairman of the Edmonton Oilers effective today.

The Oilers, their fans, and the city of Edmonton have meant the world to me and my family for over four decades–and that will never end. Given the pandemic and other life changes, I realize I will not be able to dedicate the time nor effort needed to support this world-class organization.

I want to thank Daryl & Renee Katz, their family, and entire team for all the support and friendship these last several years, and wish them nothing but success. 

There has been speculation for weeks that Gretzky could be headed for a role with one of the new NHL broadcasting partners, but David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period also tweets that more changes are expected at the top of the Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG) which owns the Oilers and operates Rogers Place. Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reports that it will be TNT that will get the legendary hockey icon, with a contract that will pay him “in the neighborhood” of $3MM per season to be a lead studio analyst.

Gretzky joined OEG in 2016, becoming a minority owner of the franchise that started his NHL career. At the time, it was announced that he would work on the commercial side of the business while also being a sounding board for the front office staff. Just having the “Great One” associated with the organization after leaving it so many years ago was a win, but that new era will end up lasting less than five years.

Josh Archibald Receives One-Game Suspension

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The decision needed to be made quickly with Winnipeg and Edmonton playing again tonight and the ruling is in.  Oilers winger Josh Archibald has received a one-game suspension for his hit on Jets defenseman Logan Stanley on Sunday night, the Department of Player Safety announced (video link).

With 8:49 left in the third period, Archibald was called for tripping on a low-bridge hit on Stanley.  In the league’s announcement, they determined that it met the criteria to be called clipping, calling Archibald’s hit “excessively low” while it is illegal to dip at or below knee level to deliver a hit.  To make matters worse, the Jets scored on the man advantage to make it 4-2, then added two more to tie up before overtime where Nikolaj Ehlers potted the winner to give Winnipeg a 3-0 series lead.

This is the second suspension of Archibald’s career as he also received a two-game ban back in 2018 for a hit to the head on Ryan Hartman who was with Nashville at the time.  Meanwhile, Edmonton will likely turn to one of James Neal Alex Chiasson, or Dominik Kahun to take Archibald’s place in the lineup; both were healthy scratches on Sunday night after playing the first two games of the series.

Josh Archibald To Have Disciplinary Hearing

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Oilers winger Josh Archibald made a costly mistake on Sunday night that played a large role in them blowing the lead and there could be more consequences as the Department of Player Safety announced that he will have a disciplinary hearing on Monday.

With 8:49 left in Sunday’s game, Archibald was called for tripping on a low-bridge hit on Winnipeg’s Logan Stanley; the league called it clipping in their press release.  The Jets scored on the ensuing man advantage and added two more shortly thereafter to eliminate a 4-1 deficit before Nikolaj Ehlers scored the winner in overtime.

A decision will need to be made fairly quickly on whether or not the hit is suspendable.  With the North Division starting their playoffs later than everyone else, each first-round series has a back-to-back set of games in it.  Edmonton and Winnipeg’s is tonight so there won’t be much time for George Parros to decide Archibald’s fate.

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