The New Jersey Devils have signed head coach John Hynes to a multi-year contract extension, the team announced Thursday.
Hynes is in the last year of his current contract and fourth season with the Devils. He surpassed Peter DeBoer to become the second-winningest coach in franchise history earlier this season, trailing only Jacques Lemaire.
"John's leadership has been instrumental in building both culture and systems that are focused on the development of our players," Devils general manager Ray Shero said in a statement. "He has cultivated a group of veteran leaders while helping our young players develop and gain experience.
"John is to be commended for the progress the team has made under his direction and this commitment shows that we are confident in the role he will play in our future success."
Last season, Hynes led the Devils to their first playoff appearance in six years after the team finished with 97 regular-season points for their highest total since the 2011-2012 campaign. They were dispatched in the first round of the postseason in five games by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
New Jersey has taken a step back this year, currently sitting 13th in the Eastern Conference and 10 points out of the final wild-card spot.
Atop every goaltender's list of hopeful changes is to win more games, but the elite netminders of the league will also set their sights on adding some hardware in 2019.
Here are five goalies poised to make a run at the Vezina Trophy over the final three months of the season.
5. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights
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The Golden Knights have quietly climbed up the Western Conference standings and now trail only the Calgary Flames by a mere two points. The club has gone 6-1-3 in its last 10 games and Fleury has played a vital role in that run.
He leads the league with 23 wins - on pace for a career-high 43 - and six shutouts. After a shaky October, Fleury's gone 18-6-3 with a .916 save percentage, 2.48 goals-against average, and looks to have Vegas in line for a second straight playoff run.
4. Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators
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Rinne and the Predators have endured a recent tough stretch, but the reigning Vezina Trophy winner is still in the running to repeat this year.
The 36-year-old boasts the second-best goals-against average (2.25) among those to play at least 15 games, to go along with a .920 save percentage.
His .905 high-danger save percentage ranks second and he's fourth in goals saved above average.
3. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
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He's back!
Vasilevskiy returned from a foot injury that caused him to miss a month and subsequently jumped back into the running for the Vezina Trophy.
He's made numerous highlight-reel saves, ranks among the league leaders in all major goaltending categories, and has helped the Lightning retain their status as the team to be feared.
The 24-year-old is rocking an absurd 15-3-2 record, and with the club's offense running as hot as it is, he's sure to keep piling up the wins.
2. Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
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Outside of the Lightning, the Maple Leafs have arguably been the most dominant club in the East, and while the team's offense has been stellar, so, too, has its netminding.
Andersen sits second in wins, fifth in shots faced, second in goals saved above average at five-on-five, and sixth in save percentage and eighth in goals-against average among goalies to play at least 15 games.
The Leafs might be stacked up front, but it's quite clear their most valuable player is the man between the pipes.
1. John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks
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It's astonishing that the Ducks remain in a playoff spot, but that's just a testament to how great Gibson has been this season.
The Ducks average the fewest shots per game, allow the second most, and average the second-fewest goals per game, and still sit in the second wild-card spot in the West.
Gibson is keeping the Ducks above water, which is nothing short of spectacular.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are dealing with some major complications in the crease.
Starter Frederik Andersen was placed on injured reserve Thursday, retroactive to Dec. 23, as he deals with a nagging groin injury. His backup Garret Sparks is also out of action for precautionary reasons after going through concussion protocol following Wednesday's practice, the team announced.
With both regulars out, the Maple Leafs recalled recent trade acquisition Michael Hutchinson, as well as Kasimir Kaskisuo from the AHL's Toronto Marlies on an emergency basis to carry the load versus the Minnesota Wild on Thursday afternoon.
Hutchinson made four starts with the Florida Panthers in 2018-19 before the Leafs traded for him on Dec. 29. Kaskisuo has appeared in 11 games with the Marlies, going 3-5-1 with an .866 save percentage.
Finland stunned Canada in the quarterfinals at the world juniors on Wednesday, defeating the defending champions 2-1 in overtime after tying the game in the dying seconds of the third period.
Canada's Ian Mitchell opened the scoring early in the second period and goaltender Michael DiPietro held the door shut until late in the contest.
However, the game began to slip away from the host country when Finland's Eeli Tolvanen banked the puck off Aleksi Heponiemi's leg from behind the goal line, and it snuck past DiPietro with 47 seconds left to force overtime.
Canada was awarded a penalty shot during the extra frame, but captain Maxime Comtois failed to convert. Then, Noah Dobson was gifted a wide-open net, but his stick broke on a one-timer, generating a turnover that led to Finland's game-winning goal.
With their quarterfinal elimination, Canada will fail to medal in the World Junior Championship for the first time ever on home soil, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli.
Finland will play Switzerland - the team that upset Sweden to advance - in the semifinal on Friday.
After the rosters for the 2019 NHL All-Star tournament were announced, the players eligible to grab the final spot on each team's lineup through a fan vote were unveiled.
Voting opens on Jan. 3 at 12:00 p.m. ET at NHL.com/Vote.
Here are the players included in the "Last Man In" vote:
It's yet another instance where Sweden has dominated throughout the preliminary round of the tournament before underwhelming in the medal rounds.
Since 2008, Sweden has gone a stunning 48-0 during the WHJC prelims, only to stumble to a 13-15 record in medal round games, according to Gord Miller of TSN.
Yannick Bruschweiler opened the scoring for Switzerland in the first period, and Luca Wyss followed it up with an insurance marker partway through the second.
Switzerland will play the winner of Wednesday night's game between Canada and Finland in the semifinals.
The good news for the Canadiens is that Price noted he could have played had the two contests been playoff games.
Price said after practice he is feeling well enough to play Thursday against the Vancouver Canucks, but head coach Claude Julien didn't want to commit to a starter.
The Canadiens sent goaltender Michael McNiven back to the AHL's Laval Rocket on Wednesday afternoon, according to Sportsnet's Eric Engels, meaning Price will likely back up Antti Niemi even if he doesn't start.
