NHL Trade Talk Recap: Oilers Lose Star, Player Safety, Team Canada

A huge loss for the Edmonton Oilers, a podcaster taking shots at the head of player safety, and a frontrunner to take over as GM of Team Canada are headlines in the News.

The Oilers will lose Leon Draisaitl for the remainder of the season. Sid Seixeiro takes aim at George Parros and his inherent “bias” when setting the punishment for Radko Gudas’ hit on Auston Matthews. Doug Armstrong has decided to step down as Team Canada’s general manager, and a couple of front-runners have emerged to replace him.

Oilers Lose Leon For Regular Season

Edmonton will have to go the rest of the season without one of its big stars (maybe longer), with Leon Draisaitl suffering an injury on Sunday. The lower-body injury will keep him out for the remainder of the regular season, the team said in a statement.

“Leon Draisaitl is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season after sustaining a lower-body injury in the first period of the team’s game versus Nashville on March 15.”

Draisaitl left the March 15 game early after being hit by Ozzy Wiesblatt along the boards. Wiesblatt faced much retaliation in the form of big runs taken by many Oilers players from the blue for the remainder of the game.

Oilers Lose Leon Draisaitl Remainder of the NHL Regular Season
Leon Draisaitl Leaves Game vs Predators with Injury

Parros Still Taking Heat Regarding Matthews

George Parros is still in the spotlight for the wrong reasons following his ruling of a five-game suspension for the Ducks’ Radko Gudas’ hit on Maple Leafs Captain Auston Matthews. Fans and, most recently, Sid Seixeiro ranted on Monday about Parros spending 75% of his career with the Anaheim Ducks.

Seixeiro questioned whether his former allegiance might have clouded his judgment on this particular punishment. With many out there saying five games were not enough, given Gudas’ history. He also added that it might be time to appoint a neutral arbitrator to make the decisions, one who has not played the game at a professional level.

Host: Parros ‘Clearly Had it Out for the Leafs’ in Biased Gudas Suspension

Stevey Y, The Next Team Canada GM?

Doug Armstrong has called it a career as Team Canada’s General Manager following a decorated career running the red and white. After many years of success and the upcoming consistency of best-on-best tournaments, the long-time Canada GM decided it might be time for a new face in the front office.

Armstrong helped build many of the gold medal-winning teams in 2010 and 2016, and was the lead on the 2016 World Cup of Hockey championship squad. Despite finishing with silver at this past Olympics, the team was still very much a contender and, to most, the best in the tournament. Many Point to the former Canada and current Red Wings GM, Steve Yzerman, as the frontrunner for the new opening. But no matter who gets the job, Canada can now continue to evolve with the times and stay at the top or near the top of the hockey world.

Frontrunner to Replace Armstrong as Team Canada GM

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