With the end of the year upon us, it is time to reflect on which events in the world of hockey were the most impactful in 2015.
5. The Surprising Canadian Playoff Teams – The Eastern and Western Conference each had Canadian teams that unexpectedly made the post-season. The Ottawa Senators rallied in the second half after firing head coach Paul MacLean behind the Cinderella story of goalie Andrew “Hamburglar… Hammond, who won 20 of 23 games before the club ran out of gas in a first round loss to the Montreal Canadiens. The Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets both exceeded expectations in the West.
The Flames got great performances out of youngsters Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and TJ Brodie and veterans Mark Giordano and Jiri Hudler and throughout the season showed an uncanny ability to rally late in games to earn victories or points that helped them keep pace.
The Jets relied on a strong core group in Blake Wheeler, Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd and were aided by a mid-season trade with Buffalo that brought Tyler Myers and Drew Stafford. Calgary got by Vancouver in the first round but befell the same fate as the Jets, losing to the dominant Anaheim Ducks.
4. Phil Kessel Traded To Pittsburgh – After a complete collapse that resulted in the firing of GM Dave Nonis, head coaches Randy Carlyle and Peter Horachek, the Toronto Maple Leafs under Team President Brendan Shanahan recognized that changes to the club’s core group had to be made and the first player to go was leading scorer Phil Kessel.
The 28-year-old had seven years remaining on an eight-year, $64 Million contract and was not considered the type of player that Shanahan wanted to rebuild his team around.
Following the NHL Draft, Kessel was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for their 2014 first rounder Kapseri Kapanen, defenseman Scott Harrington, forward Nick Spaling and a conditional first-round pick.
3. Chicago Wins Another Cup – The Chicago Blackhawks could claim themselves a dynasty after winning their third Stanley Cup in six seasons. Chicago were challenged in the first round by Nashville, swept Minnesota and survived a seven-game war with Anaheim before beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.
The difference was once again the Hawks core group of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Corey Crawford and Conn Smythe Trophy winner Duncan Keith.
2. Mike Babcock Leaves Detroit To Coach Maple Leafs – Amid constant rumors of having interest in head coach Mike Babcock away, it appeared that the Detroit Red Wings head coach was bound for the Buffalo Sabres, who were far ahead of the Maple Leafs in their organizational rebuild. Babcock instead chose Toronto, who offered the highest contract for a coach in the history of the league (eight years, $50 Million).
1. Edmonton Wins NHL Draft Lottery – Selecting first overall and picking a potential superstar in Connor McDavid made the NHL Draft Lottery on April 18th the most consequential event of the hockey season.
Toronto prospect Dmytro Timashov assisted on Alexander Nylander’s first period goal in Sweden’s 5-2 victory over Team Canada on Thursday. The Leafs 2015 fifth rounder finished second for Sweden in team scoring with five points(2 goals, 3 assists), trailing the younger Nylander who finished with eight points.
Leafs 2015 top pick Mitch Marner scored a goal in the loss, giving the 18-year-old two goals and two assists in four games. Canada with the loss finishes in third place in Group ‘A’ with a record of 2-2 and will play Finland in their quarterfinal match on Saturday.
The Finns were 3-1 in Group ‘B’ and have the tournament’s top three scorers, Sebastian Aho and 2016 draft eligibles Jesse Pulujarvi and Patrik Laine.
Mitch Marner, Maple Leafs savior, in more ways than one pic.twitter.com/giYhbBiFNE
— Faizal Khamisa (@SNFaizalKhamisa) December 31, 2015Here ya go: Marner's hit
https://t.co/a3X72eZjyc pic.twitter.com/g6QOzWC2du
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 31, 2015More intrigue regarding the status of Leafs prospect William Nylander. A press conference that was to include Swedish team doctors and the 2014 first rounder was cancelled at the last minute on Thursday. Team officials have indicated this week that Nylander has shown no ill effects after being blindsided by Swiss forward Chris Egli on Saturday.
According to reporter Henrik Sjoberg of Expressen, the media availability was cancelled after Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello spoke to Nylander and Team Sweden’s management, moments before they were to step to the podium.
Hope everyone has a Happy and Safe New Year!!!
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