Year In Review 2019

2019 has been a very busy year throughout the hockey world.  There have been several big trades and free agent signings (including a record-setting contract), plenty of changes behind the bench, and much more.  Over the last few weeks, PHR has taken a look at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  Finally we get to December, which provided plenty of news after teams started to realize exactly where they stood for the 2019-20 season.

Coaching Changes: Both the San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars made changes behind the bench in December, firing Peter DeBoer and Jim Montgomery respectively. The moves came for very different reasons however, as DeBoer’s Sharks were vastly underperforming expectations while Montgomery was dismissed for “unprofessional conduct.” Assistant coaches took over in both situations, with Bob Boughner taking over in San Jose and Rick Bowness getting another head coaching shot in Dallas.

Calgary Gets A Rink: Though it had been expected for some time, the city of Calgary and the Flames officially signed an agreement to build a new taxpayer-funded arena. The rink is expected to be ready for the 2024-25 season, but there’s obviously no guarantee in that timeline so far out. The fight over a new arena was very contentious and public, but hopefully the Flames can gain some stability now that fight is behind them.

Andersson Wants Out: After being unable to secure a full-time role with the New York Rangers through his first few professional seasons, Lias Andersson requested a trade and left the organization. He was subsequently suspended, and it appears his time in the NHL is over until such a time when GM Jeff Gorton decides he wants to move on. The seventh overall pick in 2017, Andersson has just nine points in 66 career NHL games.

Kovalchuk Terminated Again: Speaking of players leaving their organization, Ilya Kovalchuk became a free agent once again after his final bonus payment was made. The Los Angeles Kings and Kovalchuk agreed to terminate the remaining year and a half on his contract after they removed him from the lineup in November. The enigmatic winger eventually signed in Montreal, though it would take a few weeks.

Hall & ’Yotes: The New Jersey Devils didn’t wait around the move their best trade asset, benching Taylor Hall for a few games and then trading him to the Arizona Coyotes in the middle of December. The former Hart Trophy winner secured the Devils several assets, though some critiqued the quality of each as Kevin Bahl—who was recently part of the gold medal-winning Canadian World Junior team—was really the best of the bunch.

#OskarStrong: The most devastating news of the month came when the Philadelphia Flyers announced young forward Oskar Lindblom was diagnosed with cancer. The entire hockey community came together to wish Lindblom the best and help raise awareness.

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2019 has been a very busy year throughout the hockey world.  There have been several big trades and free agent signings (including a record-setting contract), plenty of changes behind the bench, and much more.  Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  Next up is the month of November, one that was highlighted by some coaching changes around the league.

Fabbri To Detroit: After once again having a minimal role with St. Louis, the Blues decided to give Robby Fabbri a chance elsewhere, sending him to Detroit in exchange for Jacob de la Rose.  The change of scenery has worked wonders for Fabbri who has picked up nine goals and nine assists in 25 games since the trade while logging over 17 minutes a night and giving his career quite the shot in the arm in the process.  Meanwhile, de la Rose has played a regular role on the fourth line in St. Louis but hasn’t had anywhere near the same offensive impact as he has scored just once in 24 games with his new team.

Kovalchuk Removed From Kings Lineup: Ilya Kovalchuk’s tenure with Los Angeles took another turn for the bizarre when the team informed him following a game in Montreal that they would no longer be playing him but that he was still welcome to practice with the team.  He had gotten off to a decent start offensively with nine points in 17 games but the Kings preferred to give other players an extended look.  They took a similar approach near the end of last season but were prepared to play this one out over a much longer period of time.

Coaching Change In Toronto: With the Maple Leafs sputtering out of the gate, the team decided to make a change behind the bench, firing Mike Babcock while installing Sheldon Keefe as their new bench boss.  Babcock still has three more seasons on his record-breaking eight-year, $50MM contract he signed with them so he’ll still be collecting for a while (or at least until he catches on with another team down the road).  Keefe’s promotion from the Marlies of the AHL has provided instant dividends as the team is 15-4-1 since the change.  For comparison, they had gotten off to a 9-10-4 start to the season under Babcock.  As a result, they’ve gone from being out of a playoff spot to second in the Atlantic Division.

Extensions In Boston: The Bruins reached an agreement on extensions with Charlie Coyle and Chris Wagner.  Coyle was acquired from Minnesota last season and has become an important secondary piece for Boston with the ability to shift between center and the wing.  He received a five-year deal with a $5.25MM AAV, a sizable jump over his current $3.2MM cap hit.  As for Wagner, his physicality has been a big factor on their fourth line and as a result, he was rewarded with a three-year deal at a $1.35MM AAV, a $100K raise on his current deal.

Peters Out In Calgary: Following claims of abuse and inappropriate racial slurs against former players, the Flames placed head coach Bill Peters on leave while investigating the situation.  In the end, Peters opted to tender his resignation which was accepted.  Geoff Ward has taken over on an interim basis.  What happened with Peters as well as Babcock (as some stories came out regarding some questionable motivational tactics) helped form the basis of discussion at the Board of Governors meetings as the league works with its stakeholders to form a new Code of Conduct.

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2019 has been a very busy year throughout the hockey world.  There have been several big trades and free agent signings (including a record-setting contract), plenty of changes behind the bench, and much more.  Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  Next up is the month of October which featured a lot of newsworthy headlines from the Central Division in particular.

DeBrincat Extension: Many teams have been wasting little time locking up their young stars to long-term contracts but Chicago decided to take a different path with winger Alex DeBrincat.  Instead of a deal that bought up some UFA years, they instead agreed to a three-year bridge contract.  The deal carries a reasonable $6.4MM AAV but is considerably backloaded with a $9MM salary in 2022-23.  That’s notable as it will represent his required qualifying offer that summer when he will be a year away from UFA eligibility.  As a result, while DeBrincat’s contract gives the Blackhawks a little bit more cap flexibility over the next three years, it’s going to cost them a lot more on his next deal.

Cap-Clearing Trades: With the Rangers looking to free up some cap room, they shipped winger Vladislav Namestnikov to Ottawa in exchange for minor league defenseman Nick Ebert and a 2021 fourth-round pick.  New York also retained 18.75% of his $4MM contract.  The deal has worked out relatively well for the Senators as the pending UFA has picked up 18 points in 36 games which could give him some trade value in advance of next month’s trade deadline.  Meanwhile, the Penguins were able to find a taker for Erik Gudbranson’s $4MM deal, sending the blueliner to Anaheim for veteran winger Andreas Martinsen and a 2021 seventh-round selection.  GM Jim Rutherford likes to be aggressive with his in-season movement and this deal gives him some funds to make something happen.

Josi Sticks Around: While it took a little longer than expected, the Predators and Roman Josi agreed to an eight-year extension that carries a $9.059MM AAV.  The deal will make the defenseman the third-highest-paid defenseman in the NHL when it kicks in next season.  It also contains a full no-move clause, a significant rarity for Nashville who seldom agrees to put any type of trade protection in a contract.  Josi has been one of the more productive blueliners around the league in recent seasons but has taken it to another level in 2019-20, averaging more than a point per game for the first time in his career.  GM David Poile still has some work to do when it comes to locking up the rest of his back end as Mattias Ekholm and Dante Fabbro are the only other regulars under contract for next season.

Key Injuries: Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko didn’t make it through ten full games before suffering a shoulder injury that required surgery and has his availability for the rest of the season in question.  It’s possible that he could return for the final few weeks but if that happens, St. Louis wouldn’t be able to make any key additions at the trade deadline as they’d have to get cap compliant before activating him off LTIR.  Meanwhile, Dustin Byfuglien’s confusing saga continued as it was revealed that he underwent ankle surgery that would keep him out for several months.  The Jets indicated that they were not involved in the decision-making process for the procedure and there are now questions regarding whether or not they should have been allowed to suspend him without pay for not reporting considering that Byfuglien was injured.

Schenn Signs: October didn’t just have bad news for the defending champions as they locked up a key part of their core with an eight-year, $52MM contract extension for center Brayden Schenn.  He was a key secondary scorer for them last season and chipped in with some timely goals and plenty of physicality over the postseason when he averaged more than three hits per game.  With Ryan O’Reilly signed through 2022-23, the Blues now have their top two centers locked up for at least the next three seasons putting them in good shape at that position for the foreseeable future.  St. Louis now will turn its focus to re-signing Alex Pietrangelo as their captain is also in line to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

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2019 has been a very busy year throughout the hockey world.  There have been several big trades and free agent signings (including a record-setting contract), plenty of changes behind the bench, and much more.  Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  Next up is the month of September which was extremely busy as training camps started to open across the league.

RFA Dam Breaks: Finally, we got a conclusion to the restricted free agent stand-offs all over the NHL. Players like Kyle Connor (seven years, $50MM), Patrik Laine (two years, $13.5MM), Brayden Point (three years, $20.25MM) Matthew Tkachuk (three years, $21MM), Brock Boeser (three years, $17.625MM), Travis Konecny (six years, $33MM), Charlie McAvoy (three years, $14.7MM), Mitch Marner (six years, $65.36MM), Mikko Rantanen (six years, $55.5MM), Ivan Provorov (six years, $40.5MM) and Zach Werenski (three years, $15MM) all inked lucrative deals to be ready in time for the start of the season.

Not Doing This Again: After the league watched teams be held hostage by their restricted free agents all summer, many decided to start locking up their young players early. Thomas Chabot (eight years, $64MM), Josh Morrissey (eight years, $50MM) and Clayton Keller (eight years, $57.2MM) all signed huge deals a full season away from restricted free agency, making them part of their respective organizations for the foreseeable future.

Byfuglien Suspended: While the Jets got their big free agents signed, one of their biggest players didn’t show up for camp. Dustin Byfuglien didn’t show up thanks to an injury and unmade mind, leading to a suspension from the team. The big defenseman still isn’t back with the team yet, but did file a grievance through the NHLPA for his lost salary.

Lockout Averted (for now): Speaking of the NHLPA, both the player’s union and the league decided against using their opt-out clauses for the current CBA, extending labor peace for at least a few more years. The two sides will have to come to an agreement again at some point down the road, but for now hockey fans can feel secure that there will be pucks dropped until 2022.

Kronwall Hangs Them Up: The Detroit Red Wings have seen their organization turn the page on the old and focus on the new the last several years, and with Niklas Kronwall announcing his retirement as a player, the last real vestige of the dominant playoff-streak team is gone. Kronwall didn’t go far however, joining Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings’ front office immediately.

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2019 has been a very busy year throughout the hockey world.  There have been several big trades and free agent signings (including a record-setting contract), plenty of changes behind the bench, and much more.  Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  Next up is the month of August which was the quietest of the summer months but still featured some news of note including the first step towards labor piece.

The Waddell Saga: It’s extremely rare that a current NHL GM interviews for the same spot with another team but that’s what happened with Hurricanes GM Don Waddell who interviewed for Minnesota’s vacancy.   As it turns out, Waddell was working without a contract in Carolina and thus was technically a free agent and free to pursue other opportunities.  While owner Tom Dundon was content to keep it this way, the league requires a GM to be under contract so they eventually agreed to a multi-year deal.  Meanwhile, the Wild went in a different direction and hired Bill Guerin to replace Paul Fenton.

Shattenkirk Bought Out: Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk was a late entrant to the free agent market as the Rangers used a post-arbitration buyout on him.  While the move freed up more than $5MM in cap space for this season, the original front-loaded nature of the contract means that Shattenkirk will cost the Rangers just over $6MM on the cap in 2020-21 (yielding savings less than the league minimum salary).  He didn’t last on the open market for long though as he signed a one-year, $1.75MM deal with Tampa Bay.  He’s having a nice bounce-back campaign with the Lightning and already has 25 points on the year in 38 games after recording 28 points in 73 contests with New York last season.

Puljujarvi Signs In Finland: It turns out he wasn’t just posturing after all.  After requesting a trade earlier in the summer where his agent indicated he’d rather play overseas than return to Edmonton, Jesse Puljujarvi did just that, inking a one-year deal with Karpat of the Finnish SM-liiga.  The move did not affect his NHL rights as he remains a restricted free agent without salary arbitration rights.  Puljujarvi has made the most of his time in Finland as he sits in the top ten in league scoring with 13 goals and 17 through the first 32 games of his season.  The trade request remains in place and it will be interesting to see if his time overseas ultimately helps or hurts his trade value around the league.

Sens Lock Up White: Following a career season that saw him pick up 41 points, the Senators decided to eschew a bridge deal for Colin White, instead signing him to a six-year deal that carries a $4.75MM AAV.  The deal seemed like a more than reasonable price tag for a recent first-round pick (21st overall in 2015) that figured to be a fixture in their top six for the foreseeable future but it hasn’t quite worked out as expected yet.  White has struggled under new head coach D.J. Smith and has just three goals in 33 games this season despite averaging more than 16 minutes a night.  There’s still plenty of time for the deal to pay dividends though.

Ward Retires: After being unable to find a contract in free agency, veteran goaltender Cam Ward decided to call it a career but only after signing a one-day contract to retire as a member of the Hurricanes.  Ward spent all but one season of his 14-year NHL career with Carolina so the decision to retire with them came as little surprise.  While he never was able to become one of the elite goalies like it looked like he’d be following his Conn Smythe-worthy performance in his rookie season to help lead the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup, he still carved out a solid career for himself, playing in 701 games between them and Chicago.  Ward is the franchise leader in several categories for goaltenders (including games played, wins, and saves to name a few) and will continue to hold those marks for a long time to come.

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2019 has been a very busy year throughout the hockey world. There have been several big trades and free agent signings (including a record-setting contract), plenty of changes behind the bench, and much more. Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis. Next up is the month of July, which of course is highlighted by unrestricted free agency.

Free Agent Frenzy: Millions and millions of dollars were spent on the UFA market, including huge deals for players like Artemi Panarin (seven years, $81.5MM), Sergei Bobrovsky (seven years, $70MM) and Matt Duchene (seven years, $56MM), who all happened to be leaving the Columbus Blue Jackets. July 1st saw the majority of money, with only the Anaheim Ducks sitting out day one of the frenzy.

Extension Season: It wasn’t just the unrestricted free agents getting big contracts however. Several players signed long-term deals with their current clubs, including Andrei Vasilevskiy (eight years, $76MM), Jacob Trouba (seven years, $56MM), and Samuel Girard (seven years, $35MM). Anders Lee actually became a UFA for a little while, before heading back to the New York Islanders on a seven-year deal of his own.

The Elusive Offer Sheet: We finally had an offer sheet again in the NHL, with the Montreal Canadiens trying to pry Sebastian Aho away from the Carolina Hurricanes. They didn’t really come close however, as the Hurricanes front office quickly announced they would match the five-year, $42.27MM deal. Aho turned out to be one of the few high profile restricted free agents to sign before training camp, not a bad outcome for the Hurricanes in the end.

Francis Hired, Fenton Fired: The Seattle expansion franchise got their first general manager, hiring former Carolina executive Ron Francis. The team already has plenty of hype around their future entrance into the league, and Francis has quite a bit of time to slowly build out the structure of the organization. That structure was something the Minnesota Wild lacked under their previous leadership, as Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required) laid out in great detail after the team fired Paul Fenton. After only 14 months on the job and just a few weeks after handing Mats Zuccarello a $30MM contract, Fenton was out.

Trade Winds Blowing: There were also several trades around the league, including big ones that saw names like Tyson Barrie, Nazem Kadri, Nikita Gusev and others swapping conferences. Perhaps the one that got the most attention though was between two provincial rivals. The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames swapped bad money when they completed a Milan Lucic–James Neal trade, players (or perhaps contracts) that had previously been deemed untradeable.

New Money In The Desert: The ownership of the Arizona Coyotes was officially transferred to Alex Meruelo, who purchased a majority stake in the team. Not only did the change stabilize the organization for the time being, but Meruelo’s influence has been felt all around the team as they attempt to involve the Hispanic market in the area. There is an increased buzz around the Coyotes this season, which has only fueled their strong play on the ice.

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2019 has been a very busy year throughout the hockey world.  There have been several big trades and free agent signings (including a record-setting contract), plenty of changes behind the bench, and much more.  Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  Next up is the month of June which saw plenty of headlines surrounding star players plus the annual NHL Entry Draft.

Defensemen On The Move: A pair of prominent blueliners found new homes.  With Nashville looking to reallocate some money up front, they dealt P.K. Subban to New Jersey for Steven Santini, prospect Jeremy Davies, and a pair of second-round picks.  More importantly for the Predators, the Devils absorbed Subban’s full $9MM AAV.  The deal hasn’t worked out too well yet for New Jersey as Subban has struggled considerably, collecting just seven points in 39 games.  Meanwhile, Winnipeg dealt defender Jacob Trouba to the Rangers for Neal Pionk and a first-round pick.  Thus far, the deal has arguably worked out better for the Jets as Pionk has out-produced Trouba with less than half the cap hit but Trouba has given New York a capable top-pairing defender, something they had been seeking for a while.

Stars Sticking Around: Jeff Skinner’s first season in Buffalo was an unqualified success and it led to a huge payday for the winger.  He decided to forego testing free agency and instead signed an eight-year, $72MM extension that contains a full no-move clause.  Skinner has struggled through the first half of this season though; after scoring 40 goals a year ago, he’s barely on pace for half that total this season.  Meanwhile, despite some speculation that he’d be hitting the open market, Erik Karlsson decided to stick around in San Jose.  He received plenty of incentive to do so, signing the richest contract ever given to a defenseman worth $92MM ($11.5MM AAV) over eight years.  The early returns haven’t been great as the veteran has been one of many that have struggled through the first half of this season.

Luongo Retires: The last couple of years had been tough for Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo.  He had trouble staying healthy and wasn’t playing like he was in the prime of his career.  As a result, he decided to call it a career despite having three years left on his contract.  The future Hall-of-Famer spent 19 seasons in the league between the Panthers and Canucks (plus a short stint with the Islanders who drafted him fourth overall in 1997).  His 489 career wins put him third all-time behind Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy while he sits ninth in shutouts.  While he isn’t playing anymore, he will still have an impact on both Florida and Vancouver for a while yet though.  His back-diving contract (now illegal) was subject to cap recapture which means he’ll be on their books through the 2021-22 season.

Kessel To Arizona: In an effort to bolster their attack, the Coyotes made a big splash on the trade front, acquiring Phil Kessel (plus minor leaguer Dane Birks and a fourth-round pick) from Pittsburgh in exchange for Alex Galchenyuk and 2017 first-rounder Pierre-Olivier Joseph.  Kessel was supposed to give them a legitimate top line scoring threat but he has been fairly quiet in the desert, scoring just eight goals through the first 41 games this season.  However, the deal hasn’t been great for Pittsburgh either.  While Galchenyuk was expected to flourish in Pittsburgh, the exact opposite has happened and his value has dipped considerably as a result.  Joseph has some upside but is still a year or two away from being ready for NHL duty.

Eakins Takes Over In Anaheim: While there had been a head coaching vacancy for a while in Anaheim following their midseason firing of Randy Carlyle, it took a while for the Ducks to make what many expected official with Dallas Eakins taking over behind the bench.  Part of the reason for the delay was Eakins helping lead their AHL affiliate through a lengthy playoff run and GM Bob Murray didn’t want to interrupt that to do the coaching search.  While they’re sitting outside of a playoff spot, they have played better this season while integrating several young players into their lineup.  That wasn’t the only notable move from them in June as the team decided to part ways with long-time veteran Corey Perry as they bought out the final two years of his contract.

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2019 has been a very busy year throughout the hockey world.  There have been several big trades and free agent signings (including a record-setting contract), plenty of changes behind the bench, and much more.  Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  Next up is the month of April which featured plenty of activity when it came to the coaching carousel.

Quenneville To Panthers: Following a disappointing season, Florida decided to make a change behind the bench and fired head coach Bob Boughner.  However, while other teams that were making changes embarked on searches for a new bench boss, GM Dale Tallon turned to someone he was quite familiar with from their time in Chicago and quickly hired Joel Quenneville as their new bench boss.  He will earn $5.25MM per season for five years on the deal and with Mike Babcock now out of work, it’s believed that Quenneville is the highest-paid active coach in the league.  This only marked the beginning of what was a very aggressive offseason for the Panthers as they look to quickly get back to the postseason.

Draft Lottery Movement: It wasn’t that long ago where there was minimal movement in the annual Draft Lottery but that has changed in recent years and this one was no exception.  Colorado, who held the top odds of the first pick thanks to their Matt Duchene traded with Ottawa one season earlier, dropped out of the top three.  The Devils jumped up two spots to get the first selection while the Rangers moved up four spots to get the second pick.  The biggest move was for the third overall pick as the Blackhawks, who were originally slated to pick 12th, jumped up nine spots which was a big win for them even if they didn’t wind up with the top selection.

Yzerman Hired By Detroit: When then-Lightning GM Steve Yzerman suddenly resigned just before the start of training camp citing that he wanted to spend more time with his family, speculation became rampant that he’d eventually find his way to the Red Wings organization.  That is indeed what happened as Yzerman was hired as their new GM with Ken Holland transitioning to more of an advisory role (which ultimately didn’t last very long).  Yzerman spent his entire 22-year Hall of Fame career as a player with Detroit and then transitioned to the front office with them, spending four years as Vice President of Hockey Operations before taking over as GM with Tampa Bay in 2010.  Although the Red Wings struggled last season, they opted to not make a coaching change and instead handed Jeff Blashill a two-year extension.

Voynov Suspended: Russian defenseman Slava Voynov has been seeking re-entry into the NHL over the last couple of years after having his contract terminated following a domestic violence incident back in 2014.  One step towards accomplishing that objective was getting reinstated by the league.  They did so, but fired handed him a suspension for the entire 2019-20 season plus the postseason with a plan to officially make him eligible to sign as of July 1st, 2020; his rights are still held by Los Angeles.  The suspension was ultimately appealed by the NHLPA and was later reduced to half the season but he wound up signing in the KHL for this season and will once again seek an NHL deal next summer.

Interim Coaches Replaced: A pair of teams that made in-season coaching changes with interim replacements decided to go in different directions.  Willie Desjardins didn’t have a lot of success with Los Angeles and was replaced by Todd McLellan (who Edmonton let go earlier in the year).  Meanwhile, although Philadelphia had some success under Scott Gordon (54 points in 51 games), the Flyers opted to hire Alain Vigneault instead.  Unlike Desjardins though, Gordon remains with Philadelphia’s organization as he agreed to return to their AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley for this season.  Those weren’t the only other coaching changes made either as the Sabres let go of Phil Housley after two seasons with him behind their bench.

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2019 has been a very busy year throughout the hockey world.  There have been several big trades and free agent signings (including a record-setting contract), plenty of changes behind the bench, and much more.  Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  Next up is the month of March, one that featured plenty of news, even if the trade deadline had passed.

Ottawa Fires Guy Boucher: On the first day of March the Senators decided to take another drastic step in their rebuild, firing head coach Guy Boucher and replacing him with Marc Crawford for the last few days of the season. Boucher defensive system had taken the Senators all the way to the Eastern Conference Final in 2017 but hadn’t clicked with the new group of players. The Senators would continue to overhaul their roster and bring in rookie head coach D.J. Smith in the offseason.

Ted Lindsay Dies At 93: A few days later, the entire hockey world was in mourning as it said farewell to one of the giants of the sport. Ted Lindsay, a builder of the game on and off the ice, passed away at the age of 93. Even though he is gone, his career as a player and the work he did to form the NHLPA will never be forgotten.

Wright Given Exceptional Status: Just a few months after turning 15, Shane Wright was granted exceptional status by the OHL allowing him to enter the draft a year early. Wright was picked first overall by the Kingston Frontenacs and he has already started to dominate the league, scoring 29 points in his first 28 games in junior. He won’t turn 16 until next Sunday, and is eligible for selection in the 2022 NHL draft.

Stone Inks Huge Extension: It took a week before the Vegas Golden Knights could officially announce it, but Mark Stone eventually got his huge payday. The pending unrestricted free agent signed an eight-year, $76MM contract extension with the Golden Knights after arriving there in a deadline trade from Ottawa. The 26-year old immediately became one of the highest-paid wingers in the game and showed just how dominant he could be with an outstanding postseason performance. Now in the first year of the deal, Stone is on pace for another 70-point season and is trailing only Max Pacioretty in team scoring.

Quinn Leaves College: After two years at the University of Michigan, Quinn Hughes decided to turn pro and sign with the Vancouver Canucks. The young defenseman got into five games down the stretch for the Canucks, burning the first season of his three-year entry-level contract and getting him closer to restricted free agency where he will command quite a bit of salary. The smooth-skating Hughes has been outstanding this year for the Canucks and will be in contention for the Calder Trophy as one of the league’s best rookies. With 27 points in 37 games, there is already talk of a Norris push at some point in the future.

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