NHL Pacific

The NHL suspended Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse for one game Wednesday for headbutting Los Angeles Kings center Phillip Danault in Game 5 of their first-round series.

Nurse headbutted Danault late in the second period of the Kings' 5-4 victory.

The Oilers may be without Nurse for tomorrow's elimination game. https://t.co/miYGnarfkw

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 11, 2022

The NHL called the act "unacceptable" in its video release Wednesday.

Nurse's absence will be a critical blow for an Oilers team facing a 3-2 deficit. He led all players with 26:23 of on-ice time in Game 4 and has been Edmonton's most consistent defensive force.

The Kings have scored four or more goals in all three of their wins in this series and will see a gaping hole on Nurse's side of the ice in Game 6. 

Edmonton will need to ratchet up its own scoring Thursday night to avoid elimination.

San Jose Sharks legend Patrick Marleau, the NHL's all-time leader in regular-season games played, announced his retirement Tuesday.

Marleau, who didn't play during the 2021-22 season, confirmed the decision in a piece for the Players' Tribune entitled "Thank You, Hockey":

It's bittersweet for sure, but I have so much to look forward to. Who knows what the world has in store for me. If you would have told that kid on the frozen pond that he would break a games-played record held by none other than Gordie Howe, he would have thought you were crazy. It was never something I aimed for; it was just me loving this game so much that I never, ever wanted to hang up my skates. I am beyond lucky to have had the career I had, but I did not get here by myself.

Marleau, 42, was selected by the Sharks with the No. 2 pick in the 1997 NHL draft after a standout junior career with the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds.

The Canadian center spent the first 19 seasons of his 23-year career in San Jose. He owns numerous franchise records, including goals (522), points (1,111) and games played (1,607).

He left the Sharks in 2017 to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He came back to the Shark Tank in 2019 before getting traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for the 2020 playoff run. He then returned to San Jose one last time to finish his career.

"I can't stress this one enough: thank you to the people of San Jose and the Sharks franchise," Marleau wrote. "I came to San Jose as a 17-year-old boy. I had big dreams and you showed faith in me from day one. Thank you for allowing me to put that jersey on, year after year, decade after decade."

In all, the dynamic forward tallied 1,197 points (566 goals and 631 assists) across 1,779 games. He passed Howe, who'd owned the games-played record since 1961, in April 2021.

His career accolades also included three All-Star Game appearances and two Olympic gold medals while playing for Team Canada at the 2010 Vancouver and 2014 Sochi Games.

Along with the Sharks, Marleau thanked his parents, his wife and kids, several members of the San Jose organization, his teammates—including a shoutout to "Jumbo" Joe Thornton—and the other teams he suited up for over the past two-plus decades.

"And lastly...Thank you, hockey," he concluded. "For the lessons. The laughs. The tears. You let me live out my dreams."

Marleau should receive strong consideration for the Hockey Hall of Fame once his three-year waiting period is complete.

Edmonton Oilers star center Connor McDavid earned the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL scoring champion for the fourth time in his career, putting him in some elite company.

McDavid is just the seventh player ever to earn the scoring title four or more times, joining the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux.

Connor McDavid became the seventh player to claim the Art Ross Trophy at least four times, joining Wayne Gretzky (10x), Gordie Howe (6x), Mario Lemieux (6x), Phil Esposito (5x), Jagr (5x) and Stan Mikita (4x). #NHLAwards#NHLStats: https://t.co/7wTdgmQTsB pic.twitter.com/C2bI3Y94PX

— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) May 1, 2022

It's McDavid's second straight season taking home the Art Ross Trophy. Gretzky and Howe are the only other players to win it four or more times before their 26th birthday. McDavid was joined by Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, who also won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the NHL’s goal-scoring leader for the second consecutive year.

McDavid recorded 44 goals and 79 assists in 80 games to finish with a career-high 123 points. It's the second-highest point total recorded by an NHL player over the last 15 seasons. He finished way ahead of Calgary Flames left wing Johnny Gaudreau and Florida Panthers left wing Jonathan Huberdeau, who both notched 115 points this season.

A two-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner as the league's MVP, McDavid now has compiled 239 goals and 458 assists for 697 points through his first seven NHL seasons. His career average of 1.43 points per game that ranks fourth in league history behind only Gretzky (1.92), Lemieux (1.88) and Mike Bossy (1.50) among players with a minimum of 100 appearances.

With McDavid leading the way, the Oilers finished second in the Pacific Division with a 49-27-6 record. Edmonton will host the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series Monday.

Los Angeles Kings winger Dustin Brown will retire after the 2022 playoffs, he announced Thursday.

Brown will hold a press conference Friday to discuss his retirement. The 37-year-old has spent his entire 18-year NHL career with the Kings, a franchise record.

Eight years of Brown's tenure saw him serve as the Kings captain, winning Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014. While he made only one All-Star team, he was renowned around the NHL for his leadership skills, winning the Mark Messier Leadership Award during the 2013-14 season.

The Kings protected the Ithaca, New York, native during the expansion draft despite his playing time waning in recent seasons, likely to maintain his leadership in the locker room. 

Over the course of his career, Brown has put up 325 goals and 387 assists. He's compiled nine goals and 19 assists this season.

The Kings are set to play the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the playoffs.   

Johnny Hockey is back.

The Calgary Flames winger had back-to-back disappointing seasons in 2019-20 and 2020-21, dropping a then-career-low 58 points in 70 games in the former and somewhat recovering the next season with 49 points in 56 games. Those would be good numbers for most players.

But most players aren't Johnny Gaudreau, who entered the NHL with five straight All-Star Game appearances and finished fourth overall in Hart Trophy voting in 2019. Much more was expected from him. Entering this season in the final year of his contract, his apparent decline left a lot of questions about his future in Calgary.

Gaudreau has rediscovered his game. And then some. The American is putting the finishing touches on a career year, scoring 39 goals along with 72 assists (both career highs) for a total of 111 points. He's third in the league by points—only Connor McDavid and Jonathan Huberdeau have more. And per Evolving-Hockey, he ranks second among all skaters by goals above replacement. Naturally, he is in the Hart Trophy conversation.

It's no surprise that the 28-year-old did not lose his elite hockey abilities, but that's a dramatic resurgence. What changed this season? Some of it is tweaks in Gaudreau's game, but a lot of responsibility belongs to the structure around him.

                      

An Effective Line Change

Darryl Sutter, hired as head coach midseason in 2021, headed into this campaign with a full training camp to change the way the previously dull, toothless Calgary Flames played hockey. The Flames ranked 20th out of 31 NHL teams by goals scored over the prior two seasons.

One of the first, most crucial changes that Sutter made was to Calgary's line combinations. Center Sean Monahan had been practically glued to Gaudreau in previous seasons, and for some time that was justified. The former sixth overall pick had put up back-to-back 30-goal seasons before his 25th birthday.

That magic was lost in 2020, when Monahan struggled heavily. His production declined steeply, but more concerning was his 200-foot game. He was no longer driving possession for his line and, in fact, became something of an offensive black hole.

Sutter has instead grouped Gaudreau with center Elias Lindholm and winger Matthew Tkachuk, and the trio have been one of the top lines in hockey. Lindholm's goal-scoring ability is a perfect complement to Gaudreau's playmaking expertise, while Tkachuk is a complete player who has not only offensive instincts but also a major work ethic and physical edge that shows on the forecheck and in defensive-zone battles.

Monahan, meanwhile, struggled more than ever, registering just 23 points in 65 games before electing to undergo season-ending hip surgery. So much of Gaudreau's success this season is connected to the removal of a center who was holding him back and his linking up with linemates who fit his strengths and needs perfectly.

                   

Counterintuitive Tactical Fixes

While leading the Los Angeles Kings to two Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014, Sutter developed a reputation for making his teams heavy and physical. The belief, or hope, was that he could bring that style to Alberta. He has, and the Flames are indeed a forecheck-heavy team. And the effectiveness of Calgary's cycle offense has certainly contributed to Gaudreau's career year.

The irony is that this has allowed Gaudreau to lean into a run-and-gun style. The Flames, previously incapable of exiting the puck out of their zone, have relied on an improved Noah Hanifin and two emerging puck-movers in Oliver Kylington and Rasmus Andersson.

Because the Flames are so aggressive in pressuring the puck in the defensive zone, they create a lot of turnovers that leave the opposition vulnerable and allow for Gaudreau, an extremely fast skater, to fly the zone and look for transition rush opportunities.

Indeed, Gaudreau is among the top handful of players in the league when it comes to rush opportunities.

         

Shooting the Puck

The big change in Gaudreau's game individually is that he's shooting the puck more than he ever has. He will always be a playmaker primarily, as indicated by his assist total this season, but he has supplemented that with more eagerness to play selfishly. Per Evolving-Hockey, over the previous two seasons combined, Gaudreau ranked 106th among all NHL skaters by shots per 60 minutes. This season, he ranks 43rd. 

More specifically, it's the kinds of shots he's generating. Although he is still the line's primary puck-holder, the abilities of Lindholm and Tkachuk allow him to defer rather than always having to carry from the perimeter. He's getting into the slot areas, shooting from closer range on controlled possessions and also getting his stick on more rebounds. 

                      

Will He Re-Sign?

Both Gaudreau and Flames management seem comfortable making his expiring contract a problem for later. Calgary is the clear-cut second-best team in the West and is focused on making a serious run for the Stanley Cup.

Whenever their season ends, he will be weeks away from unrestricted free agency, and his future will become among the biggest storylines in hockey. The Flames will have roughly $27.2 million of cap space for 2022-23, but they will be losing a number of depth players and have a number of important players to re-sign, including wingers Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane, who will both command big raises. With Tyler Toffoli ($4.25 million cap hit), Blake Coleman ($4.9 million), and Milan Lucic ($5.25 million) already on the books for multiple seasons, the Flames are overly invested in the wings.

Gaudreau is probably going to demand a contract above $10 million, and he deserves it. The Flames will likely do anything within reason to retain their best player. Yet if it were as simple as that, wouldn't this be sorted out already?

If it came down to the Flames having only enough cap space for Gaudreau or Tkachuk, who is four years younger and has 101 points this season, it would be awfully hard to make the latter the sacrifice.

Gaudreau has spent his entire career in Calgary and is thriving on a contending team that gives him all the tools he needs to be at his best. He should have plenty of reasons to want to stick around, and that feeling will be mutual in general manager Brad Treliving's office.

At the end of the day, though, a contract still needs to be figured out. If Gaudreau opts to test the market, he will be the best player to hit free agency since Artemi Panarin in 2019.

The Edmonton Oilers clinched a spot in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs with an 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Friday at Rogers Place. 

🎶 YOU CAN PLAY LA BAMBA RIGHT INTO THE PLAYOFFS 🎶#LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/5EdhLUJPHq

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 23, 2022

THEY'RE IN‼️

Spread the news, the @EdmontonOilers are officially back in the #StanleyCup Playoffs! pic.twitter.com/IfyHeyGN6t

— NHL (@NHL) April 23, 2022

Edmonton improved to 46-26-6 with the win. This is the third straight season the Oilers have reached the playoffs, and the team is hoping to go farther than the first round for the first time since 2017. 

That said, let's take a look at the updated Western Conference standings:

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Pacific Division

1. Calgary Flames: 48-20-10, 106 points
2. Edmonton Oilers: 46-26-6, 98 points
3. Los Angeles Kings: 42-27-10, 94 points

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Central Division

1. Colorado Avalanche: 55-17-6, 116 points
2. Minnesota Wild: 50-21-7, 107 points
3. St. Louis Blues: 47-20-11, 105 points

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Wild Card

1. Nashville Predators: 44-28-5, 93 points
2. Dallas Stars: 43-30-5, 91 points

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And here's a look at the Eastern Conference standings:

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Atlantic Division

1. Florida Panthers: 56-15-6, 118 points
2. Toronto Maple Leafs: 51-21-6, 108 points
3. Tampa Bay Lightning: 47-22-8, 102 points

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Metropolitan Division

1. Carolina Hurricanes: 50-20-8, 108 points
2. New York Rangers: 51-21-6, 108 points
3. Pittsburgh Penguins: 44-23-11, 99 points

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Wild Card

1. Boston Bruins: 47-25-5, 99 points
2. Washington Capitals: 43-23-11, 97 points

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The Oilers are paced offensively by superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. 

McDavid entered Friday's game with 43 goals and 70 assists for 113 points, while Draisaitl had 54 goals and 52 assists for 106 points. 

Aside from McDavid and Draisaitl, Edmonton has also received excellent performances offensively from Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi. 

Hyman entered Friday with 25 goals and 26 assists for 51 points; Nugent-Hopkins entered with 11 goals and 36 assists for 47 points; Yamamoto had 18 goals and 17 assists for 35 points; and Puljujarvi had 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points. 

The Oilers have also been anchored defensively by Evan Bouchard, Tyson Barrie and Darnell Nurse. Duncan Keith, Cody Ceci, Brett Kulak and Kris Russell have also been a part of that group. 

Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen have manned the crease this year. While neither has been particularly bad, the Oilers could use an upgrade in goal come next season.

With teams like the Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames and Minnesota Wild set to appear in the postseason, the Oilers will face an uphill battle to win the Stanley Cup.

The NHL is planning to play six games, including four regular-season matchups, as part of its Global Series in 2022. 

Per Dan Rosen of NHL.com, the league announced the Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets will take part in the Global Series next season. 

The Predators will take on SC Bern of the Swiss National League at PostFinance Arena in Switzerland on Oct. 3. The Sharks will play at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Germany against Deutsche Eishockey Liga team Eisbaren Berlin on Oct. 4. 

Nashville and San Jose will play each other to start the 2022-23 regular season at the O2 Arena in Prague on Oct. 7 and 8. 

Finland's Nokia Arena will host the Blue Jackets and Avalanche for games on Nov. 4 and 5. 

The NHL began its Global Series in 2017 with the Avalanche and Ottawa Senators playing two games in Sweden. 

Starting in 2018, the league added exhibition games against European teams to the schedule. This will mark the second time that SC Bern has played against an NHL club. Its first game was a 3-2 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils in October 2018. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHL Global Series hasn't taken place since 2019. Commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters during his All-Star weekend press conference in February the event would be returning next season. 

Before the debut of the Global Series, the international series was known as NHL Premiere. It was held on a semi-annual basis from 2000-2011. The league had a record six teams open the 2010-11 regular season in Europe. 

The Avalanche are the only team in the 2022 Global Series that has participated in this event before. They lost regular-season games against the Ottawa Senators in Stockholm, Sweden, in November 2017. 

Colorado is currently tied with the Florida Panthers for the most points in the NHL this season (116). It has clinched the best record in the Western Conference with five games remaining. 

The Predators are currently the No. 1 wild card in the Western Conference with 93 points. The Sharks and Blue Jackets have been eliminated from playoff contention.     

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are fast approaching. 

There is at least one Western Conference wild-card spot up for grabs, possibly even two. The Pacific Division has yet to be fully decided, and the Vegas Golden Knights are on the outside looking in for the first time in franchise history.

Things are significantly less exciting in the Eastern Conference, where we've known the playoff group for a few months already. The Tampa Bay Lightning look dominant again, though less so than its counterpart on the east coast of Florida, the Panthers. However, the Atlantic Division as a whole is a tough field, with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins also in the mix.

The Washington Capitals are the weak link in the Metropolitan Division with inconsistent goaltending, but that may not matter during the postseason when a player like Alexander Ovechkin can be a difference-maker. The Carolina Hurricanes look like a true contender, but the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers appear strong as well.

The postseason begins in three weeks. Let’s explore some of the early developing storylines as the regular season starts to wind down. 

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Legacies on the Line 

Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews are two of the best players in the world, yet they have relatively little playoff success.

Whether or not the Maple Leafs make it out of the first round will likely be the biggest playoff storyline for a few reasons. There will naturally be a lot of pressure on a historic Original Six team playing in the hockey capital of the world. The media spotlight burns brightest in Toronto, and there is a level of prestige that comes with wearing the Maple Leaf.

It can be tough to play for the Leafs, and it's even tougher when the expectation is that the team is built for championships, but the narrative is that the team can't win when it matters.

The franchise hasn't made it out of the first round since 2004, and its epic collapse in last year's seven-game series against the Montreal Canadiens has not been forgotten.

In Edmonton, McDavid's legacy has been tarnished by mismanagement. The club has yet to truly build a contender around McDavid and Leon Draistaitl. Interim head coach Jay Woodcroft has had much better results behind the bench than Dave Tippett did, and his team is a near-lock to make the postseason.

But how far are they capable of going? All of those first-round picks have led to little more than first- and second-round exits. 

Matthews, McDavid and Draisaitl will all be in the Hall of Fame someday, but anything less than a Cup Final would be considered a disappointment.

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Will the Tampa Bay Lightning Create a Dynasty with a Third Straight Championship?

Here's the thing no one tells you about winning Cups: It can be exhausting. It's obviously worth it, but there is a reason you don't see teams winning three in a row anymore.

Playing four rounds of four to seven games is a lot. It's two months of injuries, adrenaline, long overtimes and travel with tight turnarounds. It can put a lot of mileage on the skaters and take a toll on the goalies.

Training staffs often adjust their offseason plans to give players an adequate amount of rest, but it's a tough balancing act because the players don't want to be behind physically to start the next season.

The Lightning have played a lot of playoff hockey over the last few years. This is a dominant team that knows how to win, but they also might be mentally and physically burnt out. The team is third in the Atlantic Division, and the quality of play has not slipped this year, though, so there is nothing to indicate that this is the case.

But this isn’t exactly unheard of.

The Los Angeles Kings won Cups in 2012 and 2014, with a trip to the Western Conference Final in between. In the latter championship run, the Kings won three series that went into seven games to become the first team to advance to a Final having won 21 games. They looked unbeatable and had nearly all of their top players returning in 2015.

And then Los Angeles failed to make the postseason in 2015. They admitted to being drained. 

Tampa Bay has played in 45 playoff games over the past two seasons. If you add in the round-robin games from the bubble in 2020, that's 48 games.

Maybe this is the year we see Florida or Colorado take the crown from Tampa Bay. Those two teams have loaded up with the intent to knock out the Lightning. Or maybe the window is still open for Patrice Bergeron and the Boston Bruins.

Of course, the mental toughness may come into play here and the Lightning could become the first team to threepeat since the New York Islanders won four straight Stanley Cup championships from 1980-1984, and the first in the salary cap era. 

With goalie Andrei Vaseilveskiy you have to like their chances, which brings us to the next storyline…

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Do Teams Have Good Enough Goaltending? 

Most of the top teams have questionable goaltending. The Lightning, the New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, Colorado Avalanche and Calgary Flames are pretty set in net with solid No. 1 goalies, which is quite a luxury in the postseason.

In Edmonton, Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen don't inspire much confidence. The Maple Leafs don't seem to trust Jack Campbell. The Washington Capitals have been hamstrung by bad goaltending all season.

Some teams could not address their goaltending needs at the trade deadline because of the high prices for goalies and salary cap issues. There wasn't enough Marc-Andre Fleury to go around.

Then, there are the teams with tandems. Tandem usage is effective in the regular season, but it can become a problem in the postseason if a No. 1 goalie is not named. It creates divisions and uncertainty, which isn't what you want for a locker room in win-or-go-home scenarios.

Jonathan Quick won the Conn Smythe a decade ago during Los Angeles' first run and outdueled Henrik Lundqvist during the second run two years later, but he's 36. Quick has been the preferred goalie over Cal Petersen this season, but they've split a lot of the workload.

The Minnesota Wild won the Fleury sweepstakes, so it would seem that they would prefer a three-time Stanley Cup winner, but Cam Talbot was signed to be the No. 1.

The Bruins have to choose between Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark. 

You could maybe even say that Tristan Jarry—who struggled in the playoffs last year—is a question mark for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Goaltending can make or break a team in the postseason, so it’s fascinating to see so many good teams with question marks in net. 

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Is This the Last Stand for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Veteran Core?

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang have accomplished a lot together. Even some of Pittsburgh's important role players like Bryan Rust, Jake Guentzel and Brian Dumoulin have helped the team stay exceptionally prosperous during Crosby and Malkin's prime years.

But Malkin is coming up on free agency this summer, as are Rust and Letang. There may be a changing of the guard of sorts since the club is tight on cap space and will have to start ramping up the planning for a post-Crosby and Malkin era. The prospect pool isn't exceptionally deep because, as a perennial contender, assets are consistently traded to maintain competitiveness.

As long as Crosby is around, the club will try and contend, and the Penguins will have to find ways to retool, reload and get younger in the coming years. But for now, the trip will get a shot to capture their fourth Stanley Cup.

How good are those chances? Their plus-38 goal differential would say they're somewhat good. Winger Rickard Rakell has been a fantastic addition to the lineup, working well with Crosby in limited action and even setting up the goal that gave Crosby his 1,400th NHL point. Coach Mike Sullivan said Rakell might see more time on Crosby's line since they know Rust can play with Malkin. 

At the start of the season, people predicted a slide for the Penguins this season, myself included. But Pittsburgh has maintained a strong level of play with Sid and Geno still leading the way. 

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Will There Be a Surprise Team to Make a Run?

After two seasons of altered playoff formats, the NHL is back to using the same format before COVID-19: Three teams from each division and two wild-card winners from each conference.

In 2017, the Nashville Predators made it to the Stanley Cup Final as a wild-card team, and they're still the only team to have ever done so. In 2012, the Kings won the Stanley Cup as the No. 8 seed (pairings were reseeded after the first round, and the wild-card format had not been instituted).

The 2021 Montreal Canadiens may not have even made the playoffs had it not been for the all-Canadian North Division created because of border restrictions during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In 2019, John Tortorella guided the Columbus Blue Jackets to a sweep of the heavily favored Lightning in the first round, a team he previously led to a Stanley Cup back in 2004. Columbus failed to advance past the Eastern Conference semifinal round, but it was quite possibly the most memorable series of the entire postseason.

The Predators might be the wild-card team with the best chance to advance. Roman Josi has 87 points this season and has a chance to reach the century mark with 10 games left. Matt Duchene is having a career year at age 31, the club opted to keep Filip Forsberg at the deadline, and rookie Tanner Jeannot has proven to be quite the throwback of a power forward, providing offense and toughness.

Of course, it also helps to have an outstanding goalie, and Juuse Saros has been one of the best in the Western Conference this season.

The Preds are exceptionally tough to play against, which is exactly what coach John Hynes wants. 

Of course, few would be surprised to see a team like the Boston Bruins run through the Eastern Conference bracket. They appeared in the Final in 2019 with much of the same core intact.

Everyone likes an underdog story, and it's no different in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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Will COVID-19 Play a Role? 

For the third season in a row, COVID-19 has impacted the NHL. Games were postponed and rescheduled at such a high frequency that the league prevented players from participating in the Winter Olympics.

The holiday break was extended. It took the New York Islanders months to catch up to other teams in games played, and it's probably one of the reasons a heavy favorite in the East will be sitting out this summer.

The NHL managed to get nearly every player in the NHL vaccinated, and things have calmed down considerably since the Omicron variant rapidly spread in December and January.

Canadian teams played in empty buildings once again. Protocols were tightened, and testing ramped up, but as the case numbers went down, the protocols were relaxed once again, and the league stopped testing asymptomatic players.

At the moment, transmission does not seem to be a problem. But it continues to be in the background as the season ends, and it will remain there during the postseason as well.

San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson, who has been on a medical leave of absence since Nov. 26, announced Thursday that he is stepping down from his post to focus on his health.

Wilson released a statement, which closed as follows.

Finally, I want to thank everyone who has reached out during my leave of absence. While I have made great progress over the last several months, I feel it is in the best interest of the organization and myself to step down from my current duties and focus on my health and full recovery. I look forward to continuing my career in the NHL in the future.

Joe Will, who has been serving as the interim general manager, will continue in that role until a full-time GM is found.

The Athletic reported the following on Wilson's health when the medical leave of absence was announced.

"Wilson has been dealing with a persistent cough since the Sharks’ rookie camp in Scottsdale, Ariz., in mid-September. It is not believed to be COVID-related. He is expected to remain at his home in Arizona while he recovers."

Per Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News, Wilson stayed in contact with both Will and Sharks Sports & Entertainment president Jonathan Becher during his leave.

An "extensive, external search" will now take place to find Wilson's replacement.

That person will have big shoes to fill. The 64-year-old Wilson guided the Sharks to 14 playoff appearances in his first 15 seasons. San Jose made the conference finals five times and reached the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, where it fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Sharks also won 51 or more regular-season games four times.

The Sharks have missed the playoffs each of the last two seasons and will almost certainly fail to make the postseason this year; there's work to be done for the next GM.

However, Wilson's legacy is one of remarkable success. San Jose had never made the conference finals in 12 seasons before Wilson's arrival, and the team was coming off a 73-point season when he arrived.

Wilson changed the narrative quickly, with the Sharks improving to 104 points and making the 2004 Western Conference Finals. Thanks to him, San Jose was a powerhouse for a decade-plus.

Anaheim Ducks veteran Ryan Getzlaf announced Tuesday he will retire at the end of the 2021-22 season. 

Getzlaf spent his entire 17-year NHL career with the Ducks, captaining the team for the past 12 seasons.

"It's been an honor to play in the NHL and spend my entire professional career with one organization," Getzlaf said in a statement. "None of this would have been possible without my family, who offered unwavering love and support each step of the way. Thank you to our owners, Henry and Susan Samueli, for leading an organization committed to success on the ice, but more importantly, to making a positive impact in our community and to those in need."

The Ducks have an uphill battle to make the playoffs with just 68 points in 71 games, which likely leaves just 11 regular-season games in Getzlaf's career.

Getzlaf took part in three All-Star games during his career and currently ranks 51st in NHL history with 731 assists. He has 1,013 points in 1,150 career regular-season games, which is ninth among active players. 

The 36-year-old has been especially important for the Ducks, appearing in more than half of the franchise's 28 seasons. He is the all-time leader in games played, assists and points while ranking fourth in goals.

In 2006-07, he helped Anaheim win its only Stanley Cup title while leading the team with 17 points in 21 postseason games.

Over 125 playoff games in his career, Getzlaf tallied 120 points.

The Canadian also found plenty of success at the international level, winning gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics and 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He is one of only 13 players to win two Olympics golds and a Stanley Cup.

The center will look to end his final season on a high note after totaling just three goals and 28 assists in 49 games in 2021-22.