05/06/2023 – Page 2 – CanucksBanter

Jonathan Lekkerimaki

By Canucks Communications @Canucks / Vancouver Canucks

May 6, 2023

Vancouver, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the club has signed forward Jonathan Lekkerimäki to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Jonathan Lekkerimäki is a 18 year old right wing who was born on July 24, 2004. He was drafted 15th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1st round of the 2022 entry draft. He has signed 1 contract worth a total value of $4,275,000. He will be a RFA at the end of the 2025-26 season when he is 21 years old.
Source: CapFriendly.com

“Jonathan had a good run in the playoffs and gained a lot of valuable experience but unfortunately his team fell short of its ultimate goal,” said Allvin.

“Each player’s development path is different and in Jonathan’s case, he had to deal with a lot of adversity this past year. But with each challenge he faced, he found a way to learn and grow. With the help of our staff, we will find the best path forward for him and we look forward to Jonathan joining our development camp in July.”

Lekkerimäki, 18, recently completed the 2022.23 season with Djurgårdens IF of HockeyAllsvenskan in Sweden, helping the team reach game seven of the league’s playoff finals.

In 15 playoff games, he produced at a point-per-game pace, registering 15 points (5-10-15) for a share of fourth in Allsvenskan playoff scoring and ranking third among Djurgårdens skaters, just one point shy of the team lead.

During the finals series against Modo Hockey, Lekkerimäki strung together a five-game point streak from games two through six, posting eight points (2-6-8) during that stretch. His streak included a four-assist performance in game four, the game-winning goal in game five, and an assist on the game-tying goal to in game six to force overtime and an eventual game seven.

The 5’11”, 172-pound winger also appeared in 29 regular season games with Djurgårdens, recording nine points (3-6-9) and four penalty minutes before suffering a regular season-ending injury in February.

Lekkerimäki previously split the 2021.22 season between the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and J20 Nationell league, both with Djurgårdens IF. He collected nine points (7-2-9) in SHL play and 35 points (20-15-35) with the J20 club, accumulating 26 regular season games played in each league.

A native of Tullinge, Sweden, Lekkerimäki helped guide his country to multiple medals in 2022, including gold at the U18 World Championship, where he led the tournament in scoring (5-10-15 in six games), and bronze at the World Junior Championships (1-3-4 in seven games).

Lekkerimäki was originally selected by Vancouver in the first round, 15th overall, at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

Source: nhl.com

2023

By Andrew Phillip Chernoff CanucksBanter

May 6, 2023

The NHL is in need of addressing the format for the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the eventual Stanley Cup Finals winner.

The league has achieved, for the most part, parity amongst its teams, allowing for pretty good regular season Division, Conference play, and Inter-Conference games.

With the abundance of American based teams, I believe the chance for a Canadian team to rise from a 30 year hibernation and win the prized championship trophy, last achieved by the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, may take a few more years, or still could be achieved this season: if the “upset” trend of the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs continues through to the Stanley Cup Final.

To hasten that possibility, at risk of upsetting my American neighbors, I would suggest a little tweak, which would benefit all teams, especially those rebuilding or retooling.

What would it involve? Warning, it’s radical:

*An Inter-Conference Round 3 of the NHL Playoffs with the top seeded team of the Western Conference playing the lowest seeded Eastern Conference team; the top seeded team of the Eastern Conference playing the lowest Western Conference seed.

*The winners of the Inter-Conference Round would play in the Stanley Cup Finals. Home ice advantage to be determined.

*The Inter-Conference Round Losers would play the best of 3-game series to determine 3rd place in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Background

Presently, regular season play results in:

Top three teams in each division of each conference advancing to the playoffs
Two additional top Wild Card teams from the remainder of the teams in each conference also advance to Stanley Cup Playoffs first round play.

There are seven NHL Canadian based teams in the National Hockey League. Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg in the Western Conference. Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto in the Eastern Conference.

For each season, there are any number of teams tweaking their rosters within a league imposed Cap, so from minor to major, based on each teams competitive circumstances, retooling, tweaking, and rebuilding does occur.

The two conferences play a large part in the ability of teams to successfully achieve winning the Stanley Cup. But that influence can be tweaked as well.

The Idea

Obviously, the regular season is long as it is, but historically the Eastern Conference divisions have faced considerable competition in vying for playoff spots, with some not making it, even though having better records then a Western Conference opponent.

I would like to see an Inter-Conference Round at Round 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs:

*The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs would begin with Round 1 and Round 2 as they do presently, but Round 3 would be an Inter-Conference Round: WC top seed plays EC lowest seed; EC top seed plays WC lowest seed. Top seeds would have home ice advantage.

*Inter-Conference Round winners would play in the Stanley Cup Finals. Home ice advantage to be determined.

*The Inter-Conference Round Losers would play the best of 3-game series to determine 3rd place in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The addition of an Inter- Conference Round would add a component that no other sports league has: Inter-Conference play to determine the final two teams for a league championship, and a short 3-game series to determine 3rd place in the playoffs.

Why? Besides reasons listed above……and…

To start with, to reward teams that have played well enough all season to compete for a shot at the Stanley Cup.

Also, Canadian NHL based teams need a helping hand to counter the 25 American based NHL teams.

If the NHL goes Global, with additional teams, the NHL Playoffs format would need tweaking, and my suggestion would start it off.

Never too late.

The ultimate prize in the NHL, the reason for a grueling regular season, is to not only to make the playoffs but benefit from one’s play, based on earned merit, such as seeding, but also Conference, Inter-Conference and League superiority, to take that playoff run for the Stanley Cup.

I would suggest no team in the NHL feels the ultimate goal is to win their Division, Conference, or Presidents Trophy. Those represent goals of achievement to an end, that end being holding the Stanley Cup as an NHL champion.

Too often in the NHL, teams that start the season with the endorsement of NHL writers, broadcasters, commentators, color analysts, and pundits —as the “favorites” to make the playoffs and win the Stanley Cup, are not always correct.

Teams that start the season well, don’t always finish as they begin. Others are “late bloomers” and finish strong, sometimes to make the “show”, other times 1, 2 or 3 points short of “making the dance”.

In conclusion, and in review, my suggestion is simple:

Top three teams in each division of each conference advancing to the playoffs, as it stands now
Two additional top Wild Card teams from the remainder of the teams in each conference also advance to Stanley Cup Playoffs 1rst round play.
The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs begin with Round 1 and Round 2 as they are presently, but Round 3 would be an Inter-Conference Round: WC top seed plays EC lowest seed; EC top seed plays WC lowest seed. Top seeds would have home ice advantage.
Inter-Conference Round winners would play in the Stanley Cup Finals. Home ice advantage to be determined.
The Inter-Conference Round Losers would play the best of 3-game series to determine 3rd place in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Just saying…..