Hockey

The New Jersey Devils and interim general manager Tom Fitzgerald got a head start on the NHL trade deadline Sunday by offloading two players for a package of future assets.

In the first deal, completed Sunday afternoon, the Devils sent veteran defenseman and team captain Andy Greene to the New York Islanders in exchange for defensive prospect David Quenneville and the Islanders’ second-round pick in the 2021 draft. Later in the day, New Jersey sent Blake Coleman to the Tampa Bay Lightning for forward prospect Nolan Foote and a 2020 first-round pick that originally belonged to the Vancouver Canucks. 

Both deals signal the Devils waving a white flag on this season as they look to restructure their roster for a long-term vision. After coming into the season as playoff hopefuls following a promising offseason retool, it has been a trying season for New Jersey in which not much has gone right. The Devils currently sit last in the Metropolitan division with 52 points in the standings. 

By trading the 37-year-old Greene, who is in the final year of his current contract, the Devils are able to turn an expiring asset into a couple of future pieces. On the other side, the Isles get a veteran defenseman rental who they hope will help offset the loss of defenseman Adam Pelech, who was placed on injured reserve with an Achilles injury earlier this year. Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello has a strong prior relationship with Greene from Lamoriello’s days as boss of the Devils. 

After it was erroneously reported that Coleman had been traded to the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday afternoon, the Devils struck a deal with the Lightning to send the forward to an already stacked and explosive Tampa squad that has been arguably the best team in hockey over the past few months. 

Coleman, 28, is a talented and versatile contributor up front and he comes at bargain price ($1.8 million AAV) and an additional year of control beyond this season. In 57 games for the lowly Devils this season, Coleman was tied for the team-lead with 21 goals and also has three short-handed goals on the year. He’ll join a Lightning team that already ranks second in the league in goals per game. 

It’s a strong pickup for Tampa Bay — especially if you consider that the Boston Bruins, the team the Bolts are trying to catch in the Atlantic, were also in on Coleman — but it comes at a substantial cost. Foote,19, was taken with the 27th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and is considered to be a top-flight prospect. Foote plus a first-round pick (which Tampa Bay acquired from Vancouver in the J.T. Miller deal last summer) is a nice haul for New Jersey. The Devils didn’t necessarily have to trade Coleman considering his contract, but the bargain contract and the extra year of control allowed them to command a steep price.

It was a busy and productive day for the Devils on Sunday and their early efforts could help set the NHL deadline craziness in motion as other buyers scramble to counter. New Jersey may not be done just yet either, as they still have several players that they could look to move ahead of the February 24th cutoff — including Kyle Palmieri, Sami Vatanen, Nikita Gusev, Miles Wood and more.

Tuesday night’s game between the St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks was postponed following a scary incident in the first period. After completing a long shift, Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester collapsed on the St. Louis bench after reportedly suffering a “cardiac episode” during a TV timeout.

On Friday, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong announced that Bouwmeester underwent a successful Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) procedure in Anaheim, according to NHL.com. The device will bring Bouwmeester’s heart rhythm back to normal. Following his release from the hospital, Bouwmeester will fly back to St. Louis and continue to be monitored.

Earlier in the week, Armstrong revealed that Bouwmeeseter required a defibrillator to revive him after his collapse.

During the game on Tuesday, Blues teammates were seen frantically calling for help and eventually the bench area was evacuated as medical staff tended to Bouwmeester. The 36-year-old was eventually taken out on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance. Reports in the arena said Bouwmeester was awake and alert before being transported to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.

Warning: Video contains graphic content

Early Wednesday morning, the Blues offered an update on Bouwmeester’s status, saying he suffered a “cardiac episode” and was in stable condition.

“With 7:50 remaining in the first period of our game tonight, Jay Bouwmeester suffered a cardiac episode and collapsed on our bench after completing his shift,” said Blues GM Doug Armstrong. “Thankfully, with the quick response of our medical trainers, Anaheim medical trainers and their team physicians, they were able to stabilize Jay. He was alert and moving all of his extremities as he was transported to UC Irvine Medical Center. Currently, Jay is conscious and alert as he undergoes further testing by Anaheim’s physicians. We will update Jay’s condition on Wednesday morning.”

Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo revealed Wednesday that he and several teammates visited Bouwmeester in the hospital on Tuesday night.

“It made everybody feel a lot better knowing he was in good hands,” Pietrangelo said, via UPI. “He was in good spirits [Tuesday] night with us, typical Jay, so I think it certainly made us all feel a lot better today knowing we had the opportunity to talk to him.”

The Blues placed Bouwmeester on injured reserve Wednesday.

As the incident unfolded, players and coaches were visibly shaken up while the atmosphere in the arena was extremely tense and still. Even after Bouwmeester was taken away from the rink, the emotions and unease lingered. Ultimately, the Blues and Ducks elected to postpone the game. A make-up date will be scheduled later. 

With the physical nature of the sport, we’ve seen plenty of scary medical situations around NHL arenas over the years, but witnessing a player collapse on the bench during a break in play is one of the more unsettling incidents in recent years. 

Former Dallas Stars forward Rich Peverley was involved in a similar incident in 2014. He collapsed on the Stars’ bench in what was described as a “cardiac event.” It was revealed later that Peverley’s cardiac episode left him unconsciousness for approximately two minutes before defibrillator was used to regain consciousness. 

In attendance at Tuesday’s game in Anaheim was Bouwmeester’s father, as it was part of the team’s annual dad’s trip. 

Tuesday night’s Blues-Ducks game in Anaheim was postponed following a scary incident in the first period. After completing a long shift, Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester collapsed on the St. Louis bench after reportedly suffering a “cardiac episode” during a TV timeout. New information from a team executive reveals that the incident was a bit worse than originally speculated. 

General manager Doug Armstrong told reporters on Wednesday that Bouwmeeseter required a defibrillator to revive him after his collapse. The good news is that the defenseman is feeling a lot better, according to Armstrong.

Blues teammates were seen frantically calling for help and eventually the bench area was evacuated as medical staff tended to Bouwmeester. The 36-year-old was eventually taken out on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance. Reports in the arena said Bouwmeester was awake and alert before being transported to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.

Warning: Video contains graphic content

Early Wednesday morning, the Blues offered an update on Bouwmeester’s status, saying he suffered a “cardiac episode” and was in stable condition.

“With 7:50 remaining in the first period of our game tonight, Jay Bouwmeester suffered a cardiac episode and collapsed on our bench after completing his shift,” said Blues GM Doug Armstrong. “Thankfully, with the quick response of our medical trainers, Anaheim medical trainers and their team physicians, they were able to stabilize Jay. He was alert and moving all of his extremities as he was transported to UC Irvine Medical Center. Currently, Jay is conscious and alert as he undergoes further testing by Anaheim’s physicians. We will update Jay’s condition on Wednesday morning.”

Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo revealed Wednesday that he and several teammates visited Bouwmeester in the hospital on Tuesday night.

“It made everybody feel a lot better knowing he was in good hands,” Pietrangelo said, via UPI. “He was in good spirits [Tuesday] night with us, typical Jay, so I think it certainly made us all feel a lot better today knowing we had the opportunity to talk to him.”

The Blues placed Bouwmeester on injured reserve Wednesday.

As the incident unfolded, players and coaches were visibly shaken up while the atmosphere in the arena was extremely tense and still. Even after Bouwmeester was taken away from the rink, the emotions and unease lingered. Ultimately, the Blues and Ducks elected to postpone the game.

A make-up date will be scheduled later. 

With the physical nature of the sport, we’ve seen plenty of scary medical situations around NHL arenas over the years, but witnessing a player collapse on the bench during a break in play is one of the more unsettling incidents in recent years. 

Former Dallas Stars forward Rich Peverley was involved in a similar incident in 2014. He collapsed on the Stars’ bench in what was described as a “cardiac event.” It was revealed later that Peverley’s cardiac episode left him unconsciousness for approximately two minutes before defibrillator was used to regain consciousness. 

In attendance at Tuesday’s game in Anaheim was Bouwmeester’s father, as it was part of the team’s annual dad’s trip. 

The Penguins have been linked to Jason Zucker since last summer, when they tried to trade for the Minnesota Wild winger. On Monday night, they finally landed their guy. 

The Minnesota Wild agreed to trade Zucker to Pittsburgh in exchange for Alex Galchenyuk, prospect Calen Addison and a first-round pick in 2020. No money was retained in the deal.

As a result of the trade, the Penguins beef up their forward group with the addition of Zucker, who has scored 90 goals in the last three-and-a-half seasons with Minnesota. The 28-year-old winger is expected to slot into the Penguins’ top-six, where he’ll have a great opportunity to produce while playing alongside the likes of Sidney Crosby and/or Evgeni Malkin. He should be a welcome addition (and valuable insurance) to a Pens’ offense that has been dinged up by significant injuries throughout the season.

It’s also worth noting that Zucker is signed through the 2023 season with an annual cap hit of $5.5 million, which likely made it a little easier for Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford to part ways with a top pick and Addison (a 2018 second-round pick) as he looked to improve the team at this year’s trade deadline.

The addition of Galchenyuk makes the money work — he’s making $4.9 million on the cap in the final year of his current contract this year — but isn’t a big loss for the Penguins. Galchenyuk has struggled to stay in the lineup for the Penguins and is now heading to his fourth team in the last three seasons.

Meanwhile, the Wild get some future assets (and a low risk add in Galchenyuk) while shedding Zucker’s salary as they look to retool in Minnesota. New Wild general manager Bill Guerin hasn’t been shy about wanting to shake things up since taking the job this offseason, and now he’s taken a step in that direction by swinging a big deal with his former club.

Pittsburgh was first linked to Zucker over the summer when they attempted to trade Phil Kessel to Minnesota in exchange for Zucker. That deal fell through when Kessel utilized his no-trade clause and rejected the trade. Ultimately, the Penguins ended up dealing Kessel to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a package that centered around… Galchenyuk. Ironically, the main piece of the Kessel trade now goes to Minnesota for Zucker. 

It’s a strong play for Pittsburgh as they sit second in the Metro division, four points behind the Washington Capitals. Minnesota is four points back of the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.

The return of NHL players to the Winter Olympics may be closer than some have expected, according to a new report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation have apparently made solid progress in talks with the league to meet certain demands that would bring NHL players back to the quadrennial competition.

Among some of the needs that the NHL has asked for includes insurance costs, travel costs and ability to promote on own platforms, which address the previous concerns league executives had with Olympic participation. 

It’s important to note that the IOC and IIHF switching their position on this stuff is quite a departure from how things were perceived to be just 24 hours ago. Per Friedman, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly had said he wanted to make Olympic participation part of CBA talks. Daly did receive pushback from the NHLPA because the current CBA extends past 2022, the year of the next Winter Olympics.

The 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea marked the first time in 20 years that NHL players were absent from the competition’s hockey slate. If all goes as planned, that absence will not extend to a second consecutive Olympic Games, and professional NHL hockey players will be representing their country at the 2022 Olympics held in Beijing.