Another set of unfortunate news has hit the Montreal Canadiens team: their head coach shed tears as four of his star players made the decision to…
The Montreal Canadiens are going through a terrible phase right now, and their game against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night didn’t go well.
During the first period, Jesperi Kotkaniemi of Montreal attempted a conventional offensive move in an attempt to set up Artturi Lehkonen in front of the net. But Nikita Zadorov of Colorado had other ideas, as he laid Kotkaniemi out with a very dubious hit.
With a thud, Kotkaniemi fell to the ice and was out of the game right away. Montreal declared him out of the game with an upper-body injury.
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Following the match, Montreal made it known that Kotkaniemi would not be traveling with the squad before the New York Rangers game on Friday.
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Was someone slewfooting? Although we firmly believe so, you and the NHL Department of Player Safety will have the final say.
Arpon Basu of The Athletic reports that Canadiens head coach Claude Julien stated, “To me, that’s a dirty hit,” following the game.
Julien said that he thought Zadorov should be suspended for the play, as did the senior administration of Montreal.
Kotkaniemi, who was selected third overall in 2018, is a crucial component of Montreal’s current and future squads. In 21 games this season, he has three goals and five points.
For Montreal, everything that might go wrong is happening.
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Press CanadienneAs free agency gets underway, the Canadian Press Jets lose four players, including defenseman Dillon.
WINNIPEG On the first day of NHL free agency, the Winnipeg Jets lost four players to the open market.
On Monday, unrestricted free agents Brenden Dillon, goaltender Laurent Brossoit, and forwards Tyler Toffoli and Sean Monahan signed with other teams.
Dillon signed a US$12 million, three-year contract with the New Jersey Devils.
The six-foot-four, 225-pound defenseman played in Winnipeg for the previous three seasons. With a plus-20 rating and 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 77 games played last season, he was quite active.
The 33-year-old, a muscular presence on the blue line, led the Jets with 241 hits and 92 RBI.
last season’s penalty minutes.
Brossoit agreed to a $6.6 million, two-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Last season, the 31-year-old from Port Alberni, British Columbia, recorded a 15-2-2 record while supporting standout goaltender Connor Hellebuyck with a 2.00 goals-against average and a 927 save percentage. It was Brossoit’s second season with the Jets.
Both Monahan and Toffoli were acquired before to the trade deadline of the previous season. Monahan inked a five-year, $27.5 million contract with Columbus, while Toffoli got a four-year, $24 million contract with San Jose.
Toronto native Toffoli led Winnipeg in regular-season play with seven goals and four assists. In postseason action, he scored two more goals in five games.
The Brampton, Ontario, native Monahan finished 34 games with Winnipeg with 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists), plus an additional assist in the playoffs as the Jets lost to the Colorado Avalanche in five games during the first round.
Following Brossoit’s departure, the Jets signed goalies Eric Comrie and Kaapo Kahkonen to bolster their goaltending.
Kahkonen agreed to a one-year contract worth $1 million, while Comrie inked a two-year deal, paying an average of $825,000 annually.
This is the Edmonton native’s third tenure with the Jets at the age of 28.
He spent the previous two seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, where he finished with a 2-7-0 record, 3.69 goals against, and a.874% save percentage in 10 games in the previous campaign.
In the 2013 NHL draft, Winnipeg originally selected Comrie with the 59th overall pick in the second round.
His record is 24-26-2, 3.38 GAA, and.893.In his 57 NHL games with Winnipeg, Detroit, New Jersey, and Buffalo, Comrie has also recorded the most games played (203), wins (86), and saves (5,683) with Winnipeg’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.
Kahkonen, 27, played 37 games for the New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks last season, posting a 7-24-3 record with a shutout, a 3.64 goals-against average, and a.898 save percentage.
The goalie from Helsinki, Finland, has played 139 career NHL games for New Jersey, San Jose, and the Minnesota Wild, recording a 49-67-15 record with four shutouts, a 3.33 GAA, and a.899 save percentage. He was selected by Minnesota in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL draft. Hellebuyck, who recently won his second Vezina Trophy as the best goaltender in the NHL, will probably take on the majority of the goaltending responsibilities in Winnipeg next season.
Additionally, a two-year contract for an average of $1.5 million per year was agreed upon between the Jets and defenseman Colin Miller. Last season, Miller, 31, played in 46 games for the Jets and New Jersey Devils and finished with eight points.
