The final full week in March is in the books and it was an eventful one around the NHL with a pair of big events drawing plenty of attention. Those are among the headlines in our key stories.
Done For The Year: This hasn’t been a great year for Wild blueliner David Jiricek. Mired in a limited role in Columbus, he was acquired by Minnesota at the end of November and the thought was that he’d be up with the big club after that. Instead, he wound up being a frequent scratch with the Wild sending him down recently to get some more playing time. However, those plans are out the window as the 21-year-old suffered a lacerated spleen upon his return, ending his season prematurely. He finished up the year with just a dozen NHL appearances split between Columbus and Minnesota while he struggled in Iowa, notching just seven assists in 27 games with them. All in all, a tough finish to a tough season for the prospect.
Back In The Lineup: The Golden Knights welcomed back a key part of their back end when they activated defenseman Shea Theodore off LTIR. Theodore was expected to be a key player for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off but his tournament action was short-lived as he suffered an arm injury in the opener, causing him to miss more than a month of games. Despite missing 15 games this season, Theodore still sits in the top ten for points by a defenseman, tallying seven goals and 44 assists through 58 appearances while logging nearly 22 minutes a night. Returning now gives him plenty of time to get back into top form heading into the playoffs.
Big Change In Philadelphia: The Flyers were in the midst of their worst stretch of the season, losing 11 of 12 games since early March with some frustration happening behind the scenes as well. That resulted in GM Daniel Briere electing to make a coaching change, dismissing John Tortorella while elevating associate coach Brad Shaw to the interim head coaching role for the rest of the season. Tortorella was in his 23rd season running an NHL bench and his third with Philadelphia; he had one year left on his contract. Teams looking for an experienced head coach this spring may look his way or Tortorella might opt to call it a career. Meanwhile, this is Shaw’s second time stewarding an NHL team as he previously served as an interim head coach for 40 games with the Islanders back in 2005-06 when he took over for Steve Stirling.
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