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Around the NHL: De Haan calls out Rangers, Jets win Presidents’ Trophy, Avs’ Landeskog returns to action
New York Rangers defenceman Calvin de Haan.
Photo credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Jeremy Tingly
Apr 14, 2025, 08:45 EDTUpdated: Apr 14, 2025, 08:38 EDT
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The 2024-25 NHL season has reached its final week, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs are upon us. It’s been a very entertaining season both on and off the ice, and there certainly hasn’t been a lack of storylines to follow around the league.
This week is no different, even with the season winding down. While the Maple Leafs are heating up at the right time, here’s the very latest from around the NHL:

Calvin De Haan calls out Rangers over treatment

Defenceman Calvin de Haan isn’t mincing his words when it comes to how he’s been treated by the New York Rangers since the team acquired him on March 1.
De Haan spoke to New York Post Sports’ Mollie Walker over the weekend and opened up about how he’s feeling with his new team, and needless to say, things haven’t been ideal for the veteran blueliner in the Big Apple. “How about the way I’ve been treated here? It’s f—-d.”
The Rangers have scratched de Haan for the past 18 games. After being acquired from the Colorado Avalanche, the defenceman has only dressed in three games, after appearing in 44 games with the Avs earlier in the year.
“I said what I said because I am frustrated, and any competitor who says that they would be happy in this position would be lying to you,” de Haan wrote on X. “After playing three games for the team and going 2-0-1, I thought I maybe would have got an opportunity to jump into the lineup and help win some games.”
“Did I help win those games I played, maybe? Maybe not? But we still won and collected some crucial points to climb the standings. I understand the youth movement in the NHL, and I’m getting older in hockey years, and I may not play every single night…I feel like I can still keep up and help a team in certain facets of the game.”
“I’m not trying to be the villain or gain attention or throw shade on the organization. I would have preferred a scrum setting to chat about how my time with the Rangers has gone. As a player, you have to respect the lineup decisions, whether you like them or not. It’s just been frustrating not being able to compete and do what I love to do. I hope everyone understands.”
De Haan hits the open market this season as an unrestricted free agent, and it’s become quite obvious that he has no future with the Rangers.

Winnipeg Jets claim 1st Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history

Here’s something nobody saw coming at the start of this season: The Winnipeg Jets have won the Presidents’ Trophy.
Winnipeg are 55-24-2 on the season and clinched the NHL’s top seed with the Washington Capitals losing to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday. Winnipeg now secures home-ice advantage for the entirety of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Jets have been led by goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who has an outside chance at not only winning the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender but also the Hart Trophy for the most valuable player.
Hellebuyck is 46-12-3 on the year, with a .924 save percentage and eight shutouts. For what it’s worth, the Chicago Blackhawks were the last team to win the Presidents’ Trophy and win the Stanley Cup in the same season, back in 2013.

Gabriel Landeskog plays in 1st pro games since 2022

In one of the biggest comebacks in hockey history, Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog returned to the ice over the weekend, appearing in two games for the Colorado Eagles of the AHL.
Landeskog scored on Saturday night, his first professional goal in almost three years.
The last time Landeskog scored was game three of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. Landeskog has been recovering from knee surgery after winning the Cup and has been battling through a variety of setbacks ever since. There is no word yet on his availability for the Avalanche’s Cup run this season.

Quick hits from around the NHL:

  • The battle for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference continues, as the Columbus Blue Jackets trail the Montreal Canadiens by three points, with just two games remaining.
  • In the West, the Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues, and Calgary Flames are battling for the final two wild-card spots, separated by three points, with the Flames having a game in hand with two games remaining.
  • The San Jose Sharks have clinched the worst record in the NHL and are 20-49-11 through 80 games.
  • New Jersey Devils’ forward Paul Cotter will have a hearing with the NHL over his high hit on New York Islanders’ Adam Pelech.
  • Oilers’ goaltender Stuart Skinner returned to action late last week, his first game in eight, and it appears Skinner will be ready for Game 1 against the Los Angeles Kings.
  • Speaking of the Oilers, they’ve signed undrafted free agent Quinn Hutson, Cole and Lane’s brother.
  • Three-time Stanley Cup champion Alec Martinez announced his retirement.
  • Panthers’ defenceman Aaron Ekblad continues to serve his 20-game PED suspension and has called the break a ‘tough lesson’ and ‘second training camp. ‘ Ekblad admitted his body hasn’t felt this good in a long time.
  • Michigan State’s Isaac Howard took home the Hobey Baker Award for the NCAA’s top player.
  • Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov leads Avs’ Nathan MacKinnon by three points, sitting at 119 on the year.
  • Avs’ Cale Makar leads NHL d-men in points with 92, 14 clear of Blue Jackets’ blueliner Zach Werenski.
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