As we approach the new year, let's review the biggest stories that summarized the NHL in 2022:
10. Senators go up for sale
It didn't come as a surprise that the Ottawa Senators were officially put up for sale in November. Longtime owner Eugene Melnyk died in April and left the team to his two daughters as part of a massive estate.
But what is surprising is the likely new face of the Senators: Ryan Reynolds. The Canadian-born actor is widely expected to buy a minority stake in the club along with whichever bidding ownership group purchases the franchise.
While Reynolds doesn't have deep enough pockets to buy the team himself, having one of the most prominent pop culture figures as part of the team can only be a good thing for the Senators and the NHL. If Ottawa can finally secure a plan for a new downtown arena, things will really be looking up for the club in 2023.
9. Kessel sets ironman record
Nice guy, tries hard, loves the game, NHL ironman. That's Phil Kessel for you.
Kessel, of all players, played in his 990th straight contest in October, passing Keith Yandle for the NHL's all-time consecutive games played record. He's still going, too, at 1,021 straight, including Saturday.
In a way, Kessel's dry humor, lack of commitment to off-ice training, and pedigree as a two-time Stanley Cup champion make him the perfect man to hold the ironman belt.
There really aren't any active threats to Kessel's crown, either. Brent Burns has played in 715 straight games, but he's two and a half years older.
8. Deprivation of international best-on-best continues
Hockey fans starved for an international best-on-best tournament will have to keep waiting to get their fix.
First, the NHL was supposed to take part in the 2022 Winter Olympics before COVID decided otherwise. Then, after plans for a February 2024 World Cup of Hockey began to take shape, the NHL postponed it until at least 2025 because of the "current environment." In translation, it's being pushed back due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
There hasn't been a best-on-best international hockey tournament since the 2016 World Cup. Sure, the circumstances have made things challenging, but it will be truly disappointing if hockey fans never get to see Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby as teammates.
Here's an idea: If it's too difficult for the NHL and NHLPA to get the whole world involved, why not try and organize a Canada-United States rivalry series to be played in September? That would be some first-class entertainment.
7. Josi flirts with 100 points
Roman Josi nearly pulled off the unthinkable in 2021-22: reaching 100 points as a defenseman. He ended up with 96, the most by a blue-liner since Phil Housley's 97 in 1992-93.
Only five defensemen have ever registered triple-digit points in a season: Bobby Orr, Denis Potvin, Paul Coffey, Al MacInnis, and Brian Leetch. The fact that Josi nearly joined them in an era that's so much more difficult to score in compared to the '70s, '80s, and early '90s is incredible.
6. Matthews hits 60-goal mark, joins 50-in-50 club
While Auston Matthews didn't enjoy the same postseason success as Cale Makar, he still deserves plenty of recognition for his efforts in 2022. The Toronto Maple Leafs superstar became the first player since Steven Stamkos in 2011-12 to score 60 goals in a season. He did it, remarkably, in just 73 games.
Matthews got off to a slow start after undergoing offseason wrist surgery, scoring just seven times in his first 17 games in 2021-22. But then he exploded, scoring 51 goals over his next 50 games. Accomplishing the feat midseason doesn't put him in the "official" 50-in-50 club, but it's still impressive nonetheless. He's just the 13th player ever to accomplish the feat and the first since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96.
5. Makar's sensational run leads Avs to Stanley Cup
Makar was a man possessed in 2022. There's a case to be made he was the best player of the calendar year.
First, he won the Norris Trophy after racking up 28 goals and 86 points in 77 regular-season games, including 60 points in 54 games once the calendar flipped to January. But he was even better in the playoffs, recording eight goals and 21 assists in 20 contests en route to winning the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP.
With the feat, Makar joined Bobby Orr and Nicklas Lidstrom as the only players ever to win the Norris and Conn Smythe in the same year. That's some elite company. To top it off, Makar become the fastest defenseman in league history to reach 200 career points back in November.
It was only a matter of time before the Avalanche won the Cup, but Makar was undoubtedly their most important player.
4. Shane Wright's draft slide
Shane Wright entered the 2021-22 campaign as the consensus No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 draft. After all, he took the OHL by storm as a 15-year-old in 2019-20 when he tallied 39 goals and 66 points in 58 games. The pandemic wiped out his 2020-21 campaign, and he just didn't dominate in his draft year the way many expected him to despite putting up 32 goals and 94 points in 63 games.
But even on the day of the draft, it still felt there was a 50/50 chance the Montreal Canadiens would select him with the No. 1 pick. So, while it came as a surprise that the Habs passed on him, it wasn't completely unexpected. But when the New Jersey Devils and the Arizona Coyotes both went in different directions, it caught the entire hockey world off guard.
To make matters even juicier, Wright didn't hide his discontent with Montreal's decision. When he stepped up on stage after the Seattle Kraken drafted him fourth overall, he gave the Canadiens' draft table an intense staredown. Of course, it was only fitting when Wright scored his first NHL goal against the Habs in December.
3. The Mitchell Miller fiasco
The Boston Bruins created a self-inflicted, unmitigated public relations disaster when they signed Mitchell Miller to an entry-level contract in November. The Arizona Coyotes drafted Miller in the fourth round in 2020 even though he admitted in court in 2016 that he bullied a Black developmentally disabled classmate. Arizona renounced the pick shortly thereafter.
Miller frequently called Isaiah Meyer-Crothers the N-word and "brownie" during years of harassment while they grew up together in Ohio. In one incident, Miller and another classmate tricked Meyer-Crothers into eating a piece of candy they had wiped along the inside of a urinal. Meyer-Crothers had to be tested for hepatitis, HIV, and STDs.
Bruins president Cam Neely said he was under the impression it was just an isolated incident, but if the organization had done even a shred of research, it would've learned it was much more serious than that.
Firstly, the Bruins didn't consult the NHL. Shortly after the signing, Gary Bettman said Miller may never even be eligible to play in the league. Secondly, they didn't ask their own players about the decision; Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Nick Foligno, and others all condemned the move. And most importantly, the organization never spoke to Meyer-Crothers or his family before signing Miller.
If the Bruins had talked with the Meyer-Crothers family, they would've learned about Miller's lack of remorse for his actions. According to Isaiah's mother, Miller never said he was sorry to Isaiah outside of a court-mandated letter until the Bruins told him they wouldn't sign him unless he apologized. "It's empty," Isaiah's mother said. Isaiah himself detailed Miller's years of harassment in a harrowing statement of his own.
The Bruins parted with Miller just two days after signing him, although he's technically still under contract with the club.
But because they failed to do even the bare minimum research, Meyer-Crothers had to relive his trauma. The Bruins should be ashamed of themselves for that.
2. The Gr8 Chase
Alex Ovechkin's pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record is so historic that he even trademarked the catchphrase "THE GR8 CHASE." Breaking Gretzky's record - which was once thought as untouchable - is now a matter of when, not if.
Ovechkin began the calendar year with 754 career goals. He ended Saturday's clash with Montreal at 806, just 88 back of Gretzky after recording a hat trick against the Canadiens.
2024 seems to be the most likely year that Ovechkin will pass Gretzky, but the entire hockey world will be on notice to see much more ground he can make up in 2023.
1. Flames' offseason overhaul
The 2022 offseason was a roller coaster of emotions for Calgary Flames fans. First, Johnny Gaudreau left as an unrestricted free agent, stunning the entire hockey world by signing with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Then, Matthew Tkachuk - one year away from being a UFA - told the Flames he wouldn't sign a long-term extension.
General manager Brad Treliving essentially had two options: justifiably blow it up and start a rebuild, or say "screw it" and go all-in.
Treliving did the latter, and we applaud him for it. First, he traded Tkachuk for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar - as well as prospect Cole Schwindt and a first-rounder, to boot - from the Florida Panthers to keep the Stanley Cup window open. He also signed both centerpieces to eight-year extensions.
But Treliving wasn't done there. In an effort to upgrade the middle of the ice, he spent a first-round pick of his own to get rid of the final year of Sean Monahan's contract and used that newfound cap space to land the last big UFA in Stanley Cup champion Nazem Kadri.
On paper, it appeared Treliving might've made the Flames an improved team - a remarkable turn of events considering the hand he was dealt. But on the ice, they currently find themselves fighting for their playoff lives after winning the Pacific Division a season ago.
Treliving's offseason moves put the Flames squarely in win-now mode. But if they can't turn things around in 2023, the future in Calgary looks bleak.
