The playoffs are well underway and while there has been some notable news from on the ice, there has also been some key news off it. We recap the most prominent ones in our key stories.
More Changes In Calgary: Last summer, the Flames were quite busy reshaping their roster following the departures of Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk. However, they came up short of reaching the playoffs and now, it’ll be up to a new GM to reshape their roster this summer following the departure of GM Brad Treliving. Officially, it’s being termed as a mutual departure although there has been speculation that it was Treliving’s choice to go. He had been at the helm in Calgary for the past nine seasons with the team making five trips to the playoffs although they were never able to get past the second round. Don Maloney will serve as Calgary’s interim GM until a permanent replacement is found.
Three For Bunting: It didn’t take long for there to be a suspension in the playoffs as Maple Leafs winger Michael Bunting received a three-game ban for his hit on Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak in the opening game of the series. It’s the first suspension of his career and it certainly didn’t come at an opportune time as the 27-year-old has been part of Toronto’s top six all season long. Bunting also happens to be an unrestricted free agent this summer and will be hoping for some positive playoff moments before testing the open market.
Stone Activated: The Golden Knights welcomed back a key part of their attack prior to their series opener against Winnipeg when they activated winger Mark Stone off LTIR. The veteran had missed more than three months with a back injury that required surgery. Vegas wasn’t in a financial position to be able to activate him late in the season as they used his LTIR-created cap space to add Ivan Barbashev, Teddy Blueger, and Jonathan Quick at the trade deadline but since there’s no salary cap in the playoffs, they were able to activate Stone without having to do any roster juggling. The captain has certainly made an early impact in the series, picking up two goals and two assists through the first three games.
Texier Returns: After missing the entire 2022-23 campaign citing personal issues and a desire to be closer to his family, Blue Jackets winger Alexandre Texier will return to the NHL next season. The 23-year-old has 123 career NHL games under his belt over parts of four years and has shown flashes of being…
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