Thursday brought the surprising and sad news that future Hall of Fame goalie Henrik Lundqvist will not be able to play in the forthcoming 2020-21 season due to a heart condition.
Lundqvist, 38, is sixth on the NHL’s all-time wins list and we ranked him as the No. 1 goalie of the 2010s in our decade-closing list last year. After spending 15 years with the New York Rangers organization, Lundqvist was bought out of the final season of his contract this September, and then signed a one-year, $1.5-million deal with the Washington Capitals.
In Washington, he figured to be part of a tandem with 23-year-old Ilya Samsonov, who played 26 games as a rookie, posted a .913 save percentage, but then couldn’t join the Caps in the playoff bubble after sustaining an injury. After Braden Holtby left for Vancouver via free agency, the Caps added Lundqvist to support Samsonov with a veteran they could feel confident starting.
Samsonov was always going to have the inside track on the starter’s job, but Lundqvist could have earned more playing time if he was the better performer. And, in what’s expected to be a condensed schedule, teams with the best tandems might be in a better situation to deal with it. Lundqvist was more than just a backup.
“I see it as we have a good young goalie and we have a great experienced goalie,” Caps GM Brian MacLellan said of Lundqvist’s role after the signing. “Our goal as a team and as an organization is to win games this year and compete for a championship. I would expect him to come in and compete as hard as he can. Coaches will make decisions based on how guys are playing, us winning games, and what’s best for our team.”
Now that Lundqvist is not available, the Caps are left with Samsonov and uncertainty. The free-agent pool is largely picked through, though there are still some veterans out there if experience is desired. Trading for a proven replacement will be difficult at this time, especially considering Washington has so little cap room. So what options are now on the table for the Caps, in their system or in free agency? Here’s a brief overview.
WHAT’S IN THE ORGANIZATION?
Pheonix Copley: From North Pole, Alaska, ’tis the season for Copley? He’s not a prospect at 28 years old, but he’s also not tremendously experienced in the NHL with 29 career games played, 27 of which came in 2018-19. In that season, Copley posted a .905 save percentage and 2.90 GAA. When Samsonov was ready to go in 2019-20, Copley was put on waivers and sent to the AHL, where he posted a .905 save percentage in 31 games last season.
Vitek Vanecek: He doesn’t check off the veteran box, but 24-year-old Vanecek is maybe the best internal option to replace Lundqvist. Washington’s second-round pick in 2014, Vanecek has spent the past four years in the AHL, splitting time with both Samsonov (in 2018-19) and Copley (in 2019-20). In the most recent season, Vanecek had .917 and 2.26 numbers, both better than Copley. Vanecek has yet to play in a single meaningful NHL game, though he did get a taste in this summer’s Return To Play exhibition, stopping 13 of 14 shots he faced in 20 minutes of action against the Carolina Hurricanes. If Washington doesn’t prefer another veteran signing off the remaining list of UFAs, Vanecek may be the best bet to backup Samsonov.
WHAT’S LEFT IN FREE AGENCY?
Craig Anderson: At 39 years old, Anderson may very well be finished in the NHL after the Senators let him go this off-season. Behind that rebuilding team, Anderson had a .902 save percentage and 3.25 GAA last season, and he posted similar numbers in the two preceding seasons as well. Could he perform better behind a better team? It is worth noting that Anderson’s .918 save percentage at 5-on-5 last season was 35th among all goalies with 700 minutes played, and better than Lundqvist, David Rittich, Marc-Andre Fleury, Frederik Andersen, Sergei Bobrovsky, among others. His .827 high-danger save percentage at 5-on-5 ranked 29th.
Ryan Miller: The 40-year-old may be the best mixture of veteran experience and on-ice performance in the UFA market. And he’s played the backup role to a younger goalie (John Gibson) in Anaheim for the past three years. Miller ended 2019-20 with a .907 save percentage and 3.10 GAA on a Ducks team that finished only five points ahead of Ottawa. His 5-on-5 save percentage (.924) and his high-danger save rate (.836) were both top 20 in the league, and better than Anderson’s. But how motivated is he to return right now, and move back to the East coast?
Cory Schneider: This one would seem unlikely because injuries have severely hampered his performance in recent seasons. He ended up playing most of his 2019-20 games in the AHL, and then his contract was bought out by the Devils in October. The 34-year-old does have plenty of experience and was once a high-end player at the position, though it’s been four years since that’s been the case. His recent injury history just might make this move too risky for the Caps.
Jimmy Howard: At 36, Howard is coming off a disastrous season behind the NHL’s worst team, finishing with a 2-23-2 record, .882 save percentage and 4.20 GAA with the Detroit Red Wings. His 5-on-5 save percentage and 5-on-5 high-danger save percentage were both 58th of 59 qualifying goalies.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
