NHL Metropolitan

Columbus Blue Jackets assistant coach Sylvain Lefebvre has been replaced on the staff after choosing not to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, the team announced Monday. 

"While we are disappointed, we respect that this decision is a personal one for Sylvain and wish him well," general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said in a statement.

The NHL announced in August it will require full vaccinations for anyone whose duties require them to be within 12 feet of team personnel.

"Per NHL protocol, he is unable to do the job we hired him for," Kekalainen told Greg Wyshynski of ESPN.

Steve McCarthy was hired to replace Lefebvre on the staff after spending the past five years as an assistant with the Cleveland Monsters.

Lefebvre was heading into his first season with the team after being hired as an assistant in June. 

The 53-year-old spent 14 years in the NHL as a player, appearing in 945 games for four different organizations. He helped the Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup title in 1996.

After retiring in 2003, the former defenseman began his coaching career in the AHL in 2007 before rejoining Colorado as an assistant from 2009-12. He also served as a head coach in the AHL for three different organizations before getting the opportunity to return to the NHL this season.

According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, the Blue Jackets have known about Lefebvre's refusal to get a vaccine for a while, and he informed the club of his decision shortly after the NHL announced its policy. 

Portzline reported that "all or most of the players" on Columbus have been vaccinated.

The latest news comes after San Jose Sharks assistant Rocky Thompson stepped down earlier this month because of a medical exemption that prevents him from taking the COVID-19 vaccine.  

Restricted free agent Jesperi Kotkaniemi has agreed to an offer sheet with the Carolina Hurricanes, the team announced Saturday. 

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

The Montreal Canadiens will have seven days to decide if they want to match Carolina's offer. 

Kotkaniemi has spent the past three seasons with the Canadiens. He was originally selected third overall in the 2018 NHL draft by the team. 

Montreal announced on July 26 that Kotkaniemi was among six players who received a qualifying offer. 

Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said in a statement released about Kotkaniemi's offer sheet that the 21-year-old "wants to come to Carolina."

"He sees the core we've built here, and he wants to be a part of that," Waddell added. "We're proud, but there's still a waiting period. When you make an offer like that, we saw a vulnerable position."

There's no indication at this point about what the Canadiens will do. The club will receive a first- and third-round draft pick from Carolina in 2022 as compensation if they decide not to match Kotkaniemi's offer. 

Kotkaniemi has scored 62 points in 171 regular-season games in three seasons. The Finnish center had five goals and three assists in 19 playoff games to help the Canadiens reach the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. 

The Hurricanes won their first division title last season since the 2005-06 season. They lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Tampa Bay Lightning.    

The Carolina Hurricanes have announced a new eight-year deal with Andrei Svechnikov that will pay him an average of $7.75 million per year. 

"Andrei is one of the cornerstones of this organization, and we are thrilled to reach a long-term commitment to keep him here," Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said in a statement. "He is one of the brightest rising stars in our sport and will play a key role in our efforts to bring the Stanley Cup to the Triangle this decade."

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NHL draft, Svechnikov made an immediate impact for Carolina and already has 140 points in 205 career games. The 21-year-old finished last season with 15 goals and 27 assists in 55 appearances.

The right wing showed his ability to step up against top competition, totaling a goal and four assists in the second-round playoff loss against the eventual Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning.

He played over 30 minutes in a double-overtime loss to the Nashville Predators during the first round.

Svechnikov has proved to be a reliable player who can help at both ends, finishing second on the team with 114 hits last season.

The young Russian was clearly set to become a key part of the franchise going forward, and Carolina responded by keeping him under team control through 2028-29.

The new annual salary will rank Svechnikov seventh among right wings in the NHL, per Spotrac.   

Longtime New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist announced his retirement from the NHL on Friday.

Lundqvist signed with the Washington Capitals last October but missed the entire 2020-21 season after undergoing open-heart surgery.

The 39-year-old Sweden native won the 2011-12 Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender with the Rangers and led his home country to a gold medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Lundqvist was selected by the Rangers in the seventh round of the 2000 NHL draft, 137 picks after the Dallas Stars took his twin brother, forward Joel Lundqvist, in the third round.

The netminder spent the next five seasons playing for Frolunda in the Swedish Elite League, where he'd started as a youth player, winning the Honken Trophy as the SEL's top goalie three times and leading the franchise to championships in 2003 and 2005.

His long-awaited arrival to the Rangers finally happened for the 2005-06 campaign, and he wasted no time establishing himself as one of the NHL's top goalies with a 2.24 goals-against average and .922 save percentage as a rookie to finish third in Vezina voting.

Lundqvist spent a total of 15 years in the New York crease. He earned five All-Star selections and was named to the NHL's All-Decade Team for the 2010s.

The future Hockey Hall of Famer told Larry Brooks of the New York Post he entered the offseason with hope his career could continue, but he suffered "some setbacks" in his recovery from the heart surgery, which extended the timetable for his potential return.

"I was hoping I would be 100 percent by this time," Lundqvist said. "But I was told that inflammation takes a long time to correct and with medication I might be out of the woods, but it could be another full year before I would be 100 percent."

In turn, he concluded with his family there were "too many unknowns and too much risk" to continue his playing career.

"It's all still fresh," Lundqvist told Brooks. "I decided only a few days ago. But I am at peace. I look back at my career, and all I have is gratitude and pride. I am just so grateful."

He finishes his career with a 459-310-96 record, 2.43 GAA and .918 save percentage across 887 NHL appearances, all for the Rangers. He also posted a 2.30 GAA and .921 save percentage in 130 playoff games.

Along with the future call from the Hall of Fame, Lundqvist will also likely have his No. 30 jersey number retired by the Rangers.

It only took one year for the New York Rangers to find a replacement in net for Henrik Lundqvist. Now the franchise is making sure that solution is locked in for the next few years. 

According to The Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli, Igor Shesterkin is re-upping with the Rangers for four years, $22.67 million—a record deal for a goaltender's second contract. 

Shesterkin signed a two-year entry-level deal with New York in 2019 and quickly outplayed his contract. In 35 games last season, the Russian allowed 2.62 goals per game with a 91.6 save percentage. Still just 25 years old, there's plenty of reason to believe Shesterkin will continue to improve over the duration of his new deal as the Rangers continue to rebuild.

For the Rangers to find their goaltender of the future so quickly after the departure of Lundqvist will certainly help speed that process up. 

Lundqvist manned the crease in Madison Square Garden for 15 years, winning the Vezina Trophy for the 2011-12 season and making the All-Star Game five times. He left the Rangers with a career 91.8 save percentage and 2.43 goals-against average. 

Now Shesterkin gets a chance to make his own mark on Broadway. 

The Rangers have not advanced past the first round of the postseason since 2016-17—a streak that could come to an end rather quickly as the franchise locks up its new core. Chris Kreider and Barclay Goodrow are under contract through 2027, Artemi Panarin is signed through 2026 alongside Jacob Trouba and the No. 1 overall pick in 2020, Alexis Lafreniere, is still on a rookie deal until he becomes a restricted free agent in 2023. 

In a Metropolitan Division that features other rebuilding clubs like the New Jersey Devils, Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers, that may be more than enough to contend for a postseason spot in the near future. 

All that's left for Shesterkin to prove is that he can be the playoff goaltender who leads the Rangers to a Stanley Cup for the first time since 1994—something Lundqvist was unable to do over his 15 years in New York. 

Dougie Hamilton is moving on from the Carolina Hurricanes, agreeing to a seven-year, $63 million deal with the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

The defenseman's departure from Carolina was anticipated after he and the Hurricanes were unable to reach agreement on a new contract during the season.

Hamilton was granted permission to seek a sign-and-trade elsewhere after the team was eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round of the playoffs. 

It didn't take long before interest in the 28-year-old around the league began to surge, as Chris Johnston of Sportsnet noted on June 19: 

"It sounds like there's been a lot of conversations between Hamilton's agent, J.P. Barry, and teams around the league. You get the feeling here that this isn't necessarily gonna resolve itself quickly. He has the ability to agree to terms with a team that could work out a sign and trade with Carolina. The business of the league is slowly getting up and going again. I don't think we'll see something here for a few weeks, much closer to that free agency date on July 28."

Carolina acquired the Toronto native along with Michael Ferland and Adam Fox for Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin in June 2018. Over the following three seasons, Hamilton notched 121 points (42 goals, 79 assists) in 184 games while averaging 21:30 time on ice per night. His career-best 50 points in a season came with the Calgary Flames in 2016-17.

The Bruins' 2011 first-rounder scored a career-high 18 goals over a full 82 games in 2018-19, but the coronavirus pandemic shortened the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, limiting his ability to match that number. 

With a full 82-game season expected in 2021-22, Hamilton moves onto his fourth NHL team looking to set career marks once again. 

The New York Rangers have already made some notable moves this offseason. And with free agency set to begin Wednesday at noon ET, there may be even more changes to the team's roster on the horizon.

It appears the Rangers have already lined up one free-agent deal. On Tuesday, Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported that the team is expected to sign defenseman Patrik Nemeth when free agency opens. The deal will "likely be for two or three years, worth between $2.25 million-$2.75 million per season," per Brooks.

The 29-year-old has played for three teams over eight NHL seasons. He spent his first four seasons with the Dallas Stars, then played for the Colorado Avalanche for two seasons. After signing a free-agent deal with the Detroit Red Wings prior to the 2019-20 season, he was traded back to Colorado earlier this year.

This past season, Nemeth had three goals, seven assists and a plus-minus rating of plus-five over 52 games (39 with Detroit and 13 with Colorado). The Avalanche gave other teams permission to negotiate with him prior to the start of free agency, per Brooks, which is how the Rangers have already worked out a deal.

The Swede is likely going to provide a boost to the Rangers' defense. Now, perhaps they'll look to add an offensive player, especially after they traded forward Pavel Buchnevich to the St. Louis Blues last Friday.

Apparently, that move was one that may not have been popular with New York players, though. The Athletic's Rick Carpiniello reported forward Artemi Panarin and goaltender Igor Shesterkin are "livid" about the Buchnevich trade. And they may not be the only ones.

"It’s tough to imagine there aren't at least a few other players who feel the same way," Carpiniello wrote.

Buchnevich was a restricted free agent, so the Rangers could have re-signed him. Instead, the 26-year-old is now in St. Louis, marking the first time he's switched teams after spending his first five NHL seasons with New York.

On Tuesday, the Blues announced they had signed the Russian to a four-year, $23.2 million deal. So he won't be hitting free agency anytime soon, either.

Buchnevich has tallied at least 38 points in each of the past four seasons. He had a career-high 48 points (20 goals and 28 assists) in 54 games for the Rangers during the 2020-21 campaign.

There were rumors earlier in the offseason that New York may be in the mix to trade for Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel. But Carpiniello reported that Sabres owner Terry Pegula would prefer the 24-year-old to be dealt to a Western Conference team. So it's possible the Rangers won't pull off a trade there.

Perhaps New York will acquire another offensive player, though, in order to replace some of the production it lost when trading away Buchnevich.