The Detroit Red Wings signed forwardJohn Leonard to a one-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 27-year-old Leonard led Grand Rapids with 32 goals and 53 points and was named to the AHL Second All-Star Team for the second straight season.
He appeared in 11 games with the Red Wings with four points (2+2=4) and a minus-3 rating.
He made his Detroit debut on Dec. 16 against the New York Islanders and recorded a three-game point streak from Dec. 17-21 (2+1=3).
In six AHL seasons since 2020-21, Leonard has 224 points (115+109=224) and a minus-5 rating in 295 regular-season games with the Charlotte Checkers and Griffins.
Blue Jackets’ Bowness agrees to extension
Former Red Wing Rick Bowness agreed to a contract extension to return as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2026-27, the team announced Thursday.
Bowness, 71, replaced Dean Evason on Jan. 12 and guided Columbus to a 21-11-5 record.
“Rick has done an outstanding job since his arrival and it was obvious to all of us that he is the right person to lead our club as head coach,” general manager Don Waddell said. “Rick developed strong relationships with our players who will continue to benefit greatly from his leadership as we look to learn from the hard lessons of this season and work towards our goal of competing for a Stanley Cup.”
Bowness is 331-419-42 with 48 ties in 840 career games with eight different teams.
“I have really enjoyed my time with this organization and absolutely love being part of it and working with these players,” Bowness said. “We’re all very disappointed by how our season ended and we have a lot of work to do, but we will do what’s necessary to be the type of team we want to be and that our great fans expect us to be.
“I’m excited about continuing the work we started here, and I appreciate the confidence in me shown by Don, (team president) Mike Priest and our ownership group led by the McConnell family.”
Thursday’s extension comes just two days after Bowness blasted his team for missing the playoffs following a 2-7-1 collapse in its final 10 games.
“These guys, they don’t care. Losing is not important enough to them. It doesn’t bother them. How can you go out and play like that? I should have done this a month ago. But this is why we are where we are,” Bowness said after Columbus dropped a 2-1 decision Tuesday night to the Washington Capitals.
“This is why we’re out of the playoffs. That kind of effort. You have to hate losing. I don’t care if it’s a meaningless game. I don’t care. Show up and compete.”
Bowness led Dallas to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020 as interim head coach, with the Stars losing to Tampa Bay in six games. He has also coached the Winnipeg Jets (both editions of the franchise), Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders and then-Phoenix Coyotes.
As a forward, Bowness recorded 55 points (18 goals, 37 assists) in 173 NHL games from 1975-81 with the then-Atlanta Flames, Red Wings, St. Louis Blues and Jets.
Auston Matthews: ‘Can’t predict the future’
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews told reporters Thursday that he wasn’t willing to speculate on his long-term future with the team.
Matthews was confident he will be fully healthy after undergoing surgery to repair the torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee last month. The star forward, however, had a less-than-concrete answer in regard to his future with the team after his four-year, $53 million contract expires following the 2027-28 season.
“I mean, I can’t predict the future,” he said Thursday. “Obviously, there’s steps that kind of have to take place. They’re going to hire new leadership in management and stuff like that. So, you know, I don’t really know.
“I think that’s kind of like I said, I can’t really predict the future.”
The Maple Leafs are in need of a new general manager after they fired Brad Treliving on March 30.
Matthews said Thursday that he’s intent on letting that situation play itself out.
“We’re not even at that point yet. Obviously, we’re still in the searching phase, I guess you can say, for them,” he said. “So, I think when those conversations come and when the time comes, those conversations will just happen organically.”
Matthews, 28, was injured after absorbing a knee-on-knee hit from Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas during the second period of a game on March 12. Gudas was suspended five games for the hit, marking the fifth suspension of his career.
Matthews finished the season with 53 points (27 goals, 26 assists) in 60 games.
Although the Maple Leafs posted the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference and missed the playoffs, Matthews reiterated that he believes the team can win a Stanley Cup title.
“I do,” Matthews said. “I believe in the guys in the room and the people we have here … we’re all hopeful this is kind of a one-off.”
The 2021-22 Hart Memorial Trophy winner as league MVP, Matthews has recorded 780 points (428 goals, 352 assists) in 689 regular-season games over 10 seasons with Toronto. He also won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2016-17.
Sunny Mehta returns to Devils as GM
Sunny Mehta, who once served as director of hockey analytics for the Devils, was hired by New Jersey on Thursday to be its new general manager.
Mehta, 48, had worked with the Florida Panthers since 2020 as an assistant general manager and head of analytics, helping them win the past two Stanley Cups.
Per ESPN, Mehta will be in charge of all hockey operations. Head coach Sheldon Keefe and his coaching staff will be evaluated after the Devils missed the postseason for the second time in three seasons.
“This is a dream come true for a New Jersey kid, who grew up watching Devils’ practices just 20 minutes away in Totowa,” Mehta said. “New Jersey has a tremendous young core that will be looking to get back to being a contender, a complement of young assets and draft picks, and a passionate fan base hungry for success. I was fortunate enough to watch the New Jersey Devils raise three Stanley Cups and am excited to get to work to return to that level.”
Mehta grew up in New Jersey and played high school hockey there, then worked as a musician, professional poker player and derivatives trader before working for the Devils from 2014-18.
Metha fills the vacancy left by the dismissal of Tom Fitzgerald earlier this month. Fitzgerald, 57, is in the running for the same role with the Nashville Predators.
Led by Olympic hero Jack Hughes, along with Jesper Bratt, Simon Nemec and Hughes’ brother Luke, the Devils face a July 1 deadline on whether to offer captain Nico Hischier a contract extension. Hischier has one year left on his seven-year, $50.75 million deal. Per PuckPedia, the Devils will have $12.18 million in projected salary cap space this summer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Hockey recap: Griffins top scorer John Leonard signs extension with Wings
Reporting by Detroit News staff and wires / The Detroit News
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