Another busy week of NHL action has come and gone, as we’ve seen some incredible things happen both on and off the ice. With that said, it hasn’t been all good for some teams, as they’re facing some adversity in the postseason. In this piece, we have NHL news from the Stanley Cup playoffs, which of course includes John Tavares suffering his knee injury and concussion.
Unfortunately for the Toronto Maple Leafs, John Tavares is set to miss at least two weeks due to injury. In Game 1 of Toronto’s postseason series going up against the Montreal Canadiens, Tavares was taken off on a stretcher after a scary collision with Montreal’s Ben Chiarot. On the play, Tavares’ head was whacked with an incredible amount of force. He was down on the ice for a while before being helped off.
It’s since been announced that Tavares suffered a concussion in that incident. On top of that, he’s dealing with a knee injury that will keep him out of action for at least two weeks. This of course is terrible news for Toronto, as they’re hoping to take down Montreal in their series to try and advance to the next round. Things just got even more complicated for them without Tavares being available.
“The knee injury you can give a timeline on, but the head injury and concussion, it’s very difficult to place a timeline on when someone’s going to return from that. We handle those conservatively and sensitively. We will follow those protocols to a T with that,” Toronto GM Kyle Dubas told reporters. “We have to be very careful and keep in mind that he’s got a young family and there’s an onus on us to protect him and his future.”
From Dubas’ comments, you can tell that Toronto is in zero rush whatsoever to try and get Tavares back in uniform. While he’s an outstanding player, concussions are nothing to mess around with. The very last thing the team would want to do would be to get back in skates before he’s ready. Unfortunately, there’s a strong possibility we may not see Tavares again in the 2021 NHL playoffs.
The future in Vancouver was up in the air, but the Canucks reached a multi-year extension with coach Travis Green late last week. This of course was massive news for the Canadian team, as Green coached this past season with no new deal on the table for the following season. No one knew what was going to happen with Green, and there were reports flying that he wouldn’t return.
However, the Canucks and Green were able to agree to a two-year extension, keeping him in Vancouver for at least the next two seasons. Green is surely betting on himself here, as it will be on him to try and help the Canucks get back to the postseason next campaign. With the team watching the NHL playoffs this year from home, fans are hoping he can change that next spring.
“It got down to the wire. Ultimately, I wanted to be here. I’m just thankful that we did get it done,” Green said via ESPN. “I wouldn’t have signed back here if I didn’t believe in what we’re doing and where we’re going. I want to win, and that’s why I signed back here. I didn’t sign back here just to get two more years of coaching in the NHL.”
Green was first hired by Vancouver in April of 2017. Since then, he’s posted a 125-132-32 record in the regular season. Last year, Green helped Vancouver get to the conference semifinals, but followed that up with a last-place finish in the North Division. Come next season, he’ll look to prove all of his doubters wrong and help his team get back to the playoffs where they belong. Maybe even one day get them to the NHL Stanley Cup glory.
Exciting news has come out of the Pacific Northwest, as Luke Henman is the first player in Seattle Kraken history, with the team announcing things earlier this month. The Kraken are getting ready for their inaugural season in the NHL, as the expansion team is ready to make plenty of noise in Seattle. Slowly but surely, the roster is going to take shape, which has fans across the league quite jacked up. Henman is certainly happy for the future with the team.
“I am super excited and honored,” Henman said in a press release from the Seattle Kraken. “I have a belief in my game. My main focus will be to put in the work to get better. I can’t thank them (the Kraken) enough for believing in me. Now it’s up to me to prove I belong.”
It’s quite the honor to be the first player for a new franchise, and Henman knows there will be some pressure on him to live up to the hype down the road. The 21-year-old forward is already dreaming of scoring goals for his new team. Seattle supporters can’t wait for him to make those dreams a reality.
