The past week was one of the busiest — if not the busiest — week of the NHL season thus far. A lot of important moves and decisions were made, and we are going to look at the ones with the biggest implications.
The team that encompassed most of the news hockey fans were paying attention to this past week was the New York Rangers. On Friday, the Rangers traded their captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks. Ever since the summer, there has been speculation about the Rangers wanting to trade him, and it became an ugly situation when it went public. The Rangers were looking to get his massive contract off of their payroll and to create opportunities for other defensemen to play in their lineup. On Friday, Trouba criticized the way the Rangers handled the situation from the summer on, essentially stating that he did not like how his discussions with the team went public and that he was forced to waive his no-trade clause or else he would be waived.
Shortly after, it was announced that the Rangers signed franchise goaltender Igor Shesterkin to an eight-year contract extension worth a total of $92 million, or an average annual value of $11.5 million. This contract makes him the highest-paid NHL goalie and represents the significant commitment the Rangers and Shesterkin have now made to each other. There was some speculation over the past few months about if and when he would sign an extension, and if he would force the Rangers into an absurdly high payday. However, this contract seems very reasonable and fair to both sides. The Rangers have officially locked up one of the best, if not the best, goalie in the NHL.
From one big city to another, a key piece of news from over the past week was that the Chicago Blackhawks have fired head coach Luke Richardson following a very disappointing start to the season. Granted, the club is in the midst of a rebuild and did not have very high expectations to begin with. However, the team feels that there should be some improvement from last season given their roster is a bit better, but as things currently stand, the Blackhawks have the worst record in the NHL with just 18 points. In addition, franchise cornerstone Connor Bedard’s slow start to the season could have contributed to Richardson’s firing. It is entirely possible that the front office was not satisfied with how Richardson was developing Bedard, and given that he is the Blackhawks’ future, they might have felt that a change was needed with respect to this as well.
Clearly, this was an extremely active week from around the NHL. As we approach the midpoint of the season, there are going to be many more moves made. For now, it will be interesting to observe how the moves from this week impact the respective teams and the NHL as a whole.
