Fisher originally announced his retirement last offseason following the Predators' run to the Stanley Cup Final, but returned in January with the hope of taking one last shot at a championship.
In all, Fisher appeared in 16 regular-season games, picking up two goals and two assists along the way. He finished the postseason with one goal in 12 appearances.
Fisher ends his 18-season career, split between the Predators and Ottawa Senators, with 278 goals and 311 assists in 1,104 games.
The 37-year-old left open the possibility of accepting an off-ice role with Nashville.
After marked improvement over the last two seasons, the next stage of the "Shanaplan" is upon the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Friday's official hiring of Kyle Dubas as the club's general manager signifies a new era and direction for the organization. Lou Lamoriello's three-year stint as head honcho is over, and it appears there may be a new project for him elsewhere.
The Maple Leafs had the luxury of choosing between two in-house replacement candidates in Dubas and former co-assistant GM Mark Hunter. Team president Brendan Shanahan said it was a difficult decision, but since prying Dubas out of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds organization in 2014, there was an overwhelming sense that he'd be the next guy in charge.
After marinating behind the scenes under Lamoriello's Fort Knox-esque operation, focusing primarily on player development and running the Toronto Marlies, the reins are now firmly in the 32-year-old's hands.
Dubas will be tasked with transforming a good roster into a great one, as simply qualifying for the playoffs again won't be enough for a market with grand expectations.
So, what does he have to do to ensure that happens? Here are some ideas on where to start:
1. Relationship with Babcock
It's paramount Dubas and Mike Babcock are on the same page in terms of how they want the team to play. Babcock has a reputation for being stubborn when it comes to his personnel, and certain lineup decisions over the course of the 2017-18 season certainly drew ire from media and fans alike.
Dubas doesn't necessarily see things that way, though.
"He's very open to ideas. He's very open to change. We'll sit and discuss the way we play. We have a lot of work to do," he said of his head coach Friday, according to The Athletic's Scott Wheeler.
Dubas has been characterized as a numbers-driven executive, but he's reached the point of running the biggest hockey team in the world, so he must be on to something other than simply understanding and utilizing data. He leans on analytics, to be sure, and based on his work over the years with the Marlies, it's clear he prefers skill and speed over safe and reliable on the ice.
The Leafs saw a stark improvement midseason when Babcock optimized the team's lines to fit that mold, and it's safe to assume that will be the mandate going forward.
2. Upgrade defense
Everybody knows the Leafs' weakness is their defensive corps, particularly the right side. It got heavily exposed in the postseason and was one of the main reasons they couldn't move past the Boston Bruins in Round 1.
Whether it's in free agency or a trade, Dubas has to find some reinforcements for the back end this summer.
3. Matthews extension
All the talk surrounding Auston Matthews lately has been regarding his alleged rift with Babcock, but whether it's true or not, there's a more pressing issue at hand: he's eligible for a contract extension July 1.
It's not mandatory he puts pen to paper right away, but considering fellow young stars Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel played the final year of their entry-level contracts with long-term security, the precedent has been set for the Leafs and their franchise cornerstone to work out a megadeal.
It's in Dubas' and the Maple Leafs' best interest to not only keep their best player happy but also avoid the inevitable incendiary speculation from the Toronto market on each day that passes without Matthews being locked down.
4. Draft
The Maple Leafs have one more season before serious salary cap restrictions hit, so it's of the utmost importance they find future NHLers in the draft.
Toronto will have to hit on several picks in all rounds over the next few years in order to fill out their future rosters with players they can afford. It's the key to staying competitive for years to come.
5. Nylander contract
While Matthews' next contract will garner more attention, his most dynamic linemate, William Nylander, needs a new deal before next season starts.
Nylander's been scrutinized for an apparent lack of commitment on defense, but 22-year-olds with two 60-plus point seasons aren't very common, so it's up to Dubas to find an appropriate contract for a key contributor. It'll be interesting to see if it's a bridge or a long-term deal.
It's also worth mentioning Mitch Marner is eligible for an extension this summer as well. Nylander didn't negotiate in the final year of his ELC, which may have been a Lamoriello-enforced rule, but the prospect of having each of the big three under contract for the future as soon as possible is intriguing for Dubas.
6. Supplement roster
Blue-line upgrades are the primary focus, but the Maple Leafs could lose multiple centers, as Tyler Bozak, Tomas Plekanec, and Dominic Moore are set to become unrestricted free agents.
Dubas will need to find some external replacements down the middle of the ice, and the potential loss of James van Riemsdyk and Leo Komarov will create some holes on the wing as well (Toronto has a plethora of internal options to fill those in, though).
With several key departures on deck, and a small window before potentially being pushed to the brink of salary cap restrictions, Dubas and the Leafs have one summer to do some serious spending on supplementing (or maximizing) their roster.
7. Establishing his culture
Lamoriello was brought in in 2015 to help implement a culture of winning for a team that hadn't done so in a long, long time. Along with his veteran expertise came a range of strictly enforced rules: no beards, no high jersey numbers, and limited media availability for young players and assistant coaches.
Whether Dubas holds onto the guidelines established by his mentor is largely inconsequential to the success of the Maple Leafs' season, but it's his team now, and he can do what he pleases. Though he may want to take care of the other items on this list first.
It's time for the conference finals, and to get you prepared for the Western showdown between the Winnipeg Jets and Vegas Golden Knights, we've prepared a statistical breakdown to set the table. (Advanced stats at 5-on-5 courtesy: Corsica)
Jets 2C vs. Golden Knights 1P
Jets
Stat
Golden Knights
8-4
Playoff Record
8-2
15
Goal Differential
12
53.02% (3rd)
5-on-5 Corsi
51.47% (5th)
7.45% (11th)
Shooting Percentage
7.69% (10th)
.942 (4th)
Save Percentage
.965 (1st)
101.61 (4th)
PDO
104.2 (1st)
Mark Scheifele (15)
Leading Scorer
Reilly Smith & Jonathan Marchessault (11)
If the Cinderella season is to continue for the Vegas Golden Knights, it will need to go through Canada's last standing team, the Winnipeg Jets.
The two sides will meet in the conference finals after knocking out playoff heavyweights in the semifinals, with Game 1 set for Saturday in Winnipeg. It marks just the fourth time the two teams have linked up this season, as the Golden Knights took two of three regular-season contests against the Jets.
Key to a series win for Winnipeg will be continued dominance of their high-powered offense, led by the likes of Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, and Patrik Laine. But in order to do so, they'll need to solve Golden Knights netminder Marc-Andre Fleury, who boasts a remarkable .951 save percentage through two rounds of postseason action.
The Lightning fell behind 2-0 in the first period after having a Nikita Kucherov goal disallowed thanks to a too-many-men penalty, then found themselves trailing 4-0 in the second intermission before showing signs of life that came too little, too late in the third.
Washington outshot Tampa Bay 9-2 in the first period and 25-10 through 40 minutes, as they put the game out of reach.
"You could tell right away, you look up at the clock, we had a lot of zone time and we didn't have a shot on goal," Cooper said, according to Bryan Burns of the Lightning's official website. "That kind of summed up the way our night was about to go."
For the record, the Lightning won Game 38 handily, shutting out the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-0 on New Year's Eve.
The Capitals' lone road loss of the playoffs came in Game 4 of the second round against the Pittsburgh Penguins. In all, Washington has now outscored the opposition 24-15 in road games.
Meanwhile, the Capitals have gone 3-3 at home this postseason where they've outscored the opposition 23-18. Suffice to say, they haven't been pushovers on home ice either, so the Lightning will certainly be in tough the rest of this series.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Alex Ovechkin had a power-play goal and an assist in his Eastern Conference finals debut, leading the Washington Capitals to a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night.
Braden Holtby stopped 19 shots and Michal Kempny, Jay Beagle and Lars Eller also scored for the Caps, who are alive beyond the second round of the playoffs for the first time in Ovechkin's brilliant 13-year career.
Steven Stamkos and Ondrej Palat scored for Tampa Bay, which trailed 4-0 heading into the third period.
Game 2 is Sunday night at Amalie Arena, where Tampa Bay also lost Game 1 in the second round against Boston.
Vasilevskiy had played every minute in the Lightning crease this postseason prior to being pulled.
Domingue has no NHL postseason experience, but he managed to post a .914 save percentage and a 2.89 goals-against average with the Lightning this year after a midseason trade from the Arizona Coyotes.
Sources insisted to The Athletic's Arthur Staple on Thursday that Lamoriello has no intention of staying on with the Leafs in a senior advisor position as originally planned.
Kyle Dubas was promoted to the Maple Leafs' GM role Friday, less than two weeks after team president Brendan Shanahan revealed Lamoriello would not continue in that capacity.
The 75-year-old had been Toronto's GM since 2015.
Lamoriello's son, Chris, is the Islanders' assistant general manager, and the elder Lamoriello served as president and GM of the Devils for nearly 30 years.
