|
2024 Retirements:
LW Nick Bonino (36)
C Jeff Carter (39)
RW Cal Cluttterbuck (36)
LD Mark Giordano (40)
RW Kyle Okposo (36)
RW Joe Pavelski (39)
RW David Perron (36)
RD Kevin Shattenkirk (35)
RD Ryan Ellis (33)
C Nolan Patrick (25)
LW Andrew Cogliano (37)
G Marc-Andre Fleury (39)
G James Reimer (36)
G Martin Jones (34)
G Anti Rantaa (35)
G Pavel Francouz (34)
G Magnus Hellberg (33)
RW Josh Doan (22)
The Pittsburgh Penguins make the announcement that Marc-Andre Fleury's number 29 will permanently hang from the rafters, and will be retired Tuesday December 3rd in their game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
2024 GM Changes:
At 81 years old, Lou Lamouriello has finally made the decision to retire. Having coached since the late 1960s, Lamouriello has contributed much to the game of hockey. Taking the New Jersey Devils to three cups in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Lamoriello's Islanders were unable reach the same achievement, but have put up strong seasons for many years. Craig Conroy, an assistant within the Calgary Flames organisation, who was tipped to be appointed the Flames GM instead of Castonguay, will be taking over the Rangers front office.
Capitals GM, Brian Maclellan, felt that with the team going into a rebuild, he was not the man to build the next generation in Washington. After 9 seasons as GM, including winning the Stanley Cup in 2018, he has stepped down as president of Hockey Operations. Joe Sakic will be making a move from the Avalanche to head up this new era in the Washington front office.
2024 Coaching Changes:
New Jersey make the announcement that Head Coach Lindy Ruff has made the decision to finish up his coaching career. Despite a respectable season with the Devils, Ruff said he felt that it was the right time to move on. Nashville assistant coach Rob Schederi will be taking over behind the benches in New Jersey. A coach known for working well with young players and defensemen, Schuderi is a good manager of players and should help the Devils young prospects find their feet in the NHL.
Philidelphia made a similar announcement, as Flyers coach John Tortorella also made the decision to retire. A long time fixture behind NHL benches Tortorella coached 5 different teams across 21 years. The highlight of his career as a coach was winning the 03/04 cup in Tampa Bay. After missing the playoffs twice with the Flyers speculation of his firing was brewing, and he made the decision to leave instead of being forced out. Former Jeff Halpern will take over, having one the cup twice as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
After a disappointing end of the season, Greg Cronin will also finish up behind the benches at Anaheim. An internal move was made here, with consultant Larry Barron being appointed Cronin's replacement. While many people do not thing Barron has what it takes to coach at this level, he be hoping to prove his doubters wrong.
Another long term NHL coach, Rick Bowness, also made the decision to retire. After leading teams to 5 playoff appearances over 14 seasons, Bowness also spent another almost 30 years in other coaching roles. After being fired from Colorado, Jared Bedar will be hoping to bring his success to Winnipeg, and end Canada's cupless streak.
Ownership Changes:
Boston, Colorado, Los Angeles and Vegas will all have new ownership for the 24/25 season.
Calgary make a few changes to team personnel.
The coaching staff will have two new faces. Former Tampa assistant Jeff Blashill will be mostly working with the Flames blue line. While Blashill's name has been thrown around a bit for head coaching roles, with no offers this offseason, he has made the decision to become part of Huska's team. He will be joined by Troy Jutting, who after many years as a college coach, will be making the move into an NHL staff.
Meanwhile in the scouting departments Kieran Ferns and Stefan Horvath will both be joining the Flames amateur scouting teams.
|