Wild’s Kaprizov out 3-4 weeks, Flyers fire Chuck Fletcher, and more: Around the League
18 days ago
Welcome back to Around the League — the series here at CanucksArmy where we examine news and notes from around the National Hockey League, oftentimes through a Canucks-tinted lens!
A GM firing following the trade deadline? A team in the playoff hunt losing their best player for a month? We say that calls for a new edition of Around the League!
Wild’s Kaprizov out 3-4 weeks
The Minnesota Wild announced Thursday that forward Kirill Kaprizov will be out 3-4 weeks with a lower body injury.
Kaprizov left the Wild’s game on Wednesday night following an awkward collision with Winnipeg Jets defenceman Logan Stanley in the third period.
Kaprizov is having yet another stellar season, with 39 goals, 35 assists, and 74 points in 65 games. While he’s not quite on pace to eclipse his career-high in points from last season, he is tied for sixth in goals and 16th in points in the league at the time of this writing.
A fifth round pick of the Wild in 2015, Kaprizov spent six seasons in the KHL before finally playing in the NHL with the Wild in 2020-21. He’s in the second year of a five-year contract with a $9 million cap hit.
Flyers fire Chuck Fletcher
On Friday morning, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have released president of hockey operations and general manager Chuck Fletcher. Danny Briere, currently serving as special assistant to the general manager, has been named interim general manager while the organization begins the process of permanently filling two separate positions: a president of hockey operations and a general manager.
Dave Scott, Chairman of Comcast Spectacor and Governor of the Philadelphia Flyers, issued the following statement:“The Philadelphia Flyers organization has always been defined by grit, determination, and a standard of excellence. Over the past several seasons, our team simply has not lived up to that standard, so today, we will begin to chart a new path forward under a new leadership structure for Hockey Operations.“This morning, we released Chuck Fletcher from his President and General Manager responsibilities. We are grateful for his hard work and dedication to this organization, and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward. Chuck faced significant challenges during his time as President and General Manager, including some that were outside of his control, but we have reached a point at which we must move in a different direction and look to the future under new leadership.“Flyers fans deserve a better team than what they’ve seen on the ice over the past few seasons, and a clear plan to return this team to Stanley Cup contention. We know that this will be a multi-year process, and we are committed to doing it right, because we want to put this franchise on a path toward winning the Stanley Cup, period.“In the coming days, we will begin the process of re-structuring our Hockey Operations Department by separating the President and General Manager positions. We view this as a critical opportunity to not only re-establish the standard of excellence that our fans expect, but also to bring new energy, accountability, and strategic vision to our organization.“As Interim General Manager, Danny Brière will oversee Hockey Operations. He is ideally suited for this role, having served as Special Assistant to the General Manager of the Flyers for the past year in addition to his more than 25 years in professional hockey as a player and in management. He will ensure a smooth transition following Chuck’s departure and support the team and Head Coach John Tortorella through the remainder of the season and into the offseason.”
Fletcher and the Flyers have been under much scrutiny for the way their season has gone, and the organization’s failure to move James Van Riemsdyk at the trade deadline appears to have been the final straw.
Fletcher joined the Flyers organization in Dec. 2018. Under his command, the club went 141-145-48. In 2019-20, the Flyers put up a 41-21-7 record and were one game away from reaching the Eastern Conference Final.
Tyler Seguin departs after skate cut
Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin exited Thursday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres with a lower-body injury.
The injury came halfway through the first period after Seguin got tangled up with Buffalo Sabres forward Jordan Greenway and was left bloody with what appears to be a skate cut.
Seguin was clearly in pain and blood was present on the ice as he hobbled off and made his way down to the locker room. He logged 3:21 of ice time, one shot and one hit.
The Stars have yet to provide an update on Seguin’s condition as of 9:30 AM Friday morning.
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