Ivan Miroshnichenko, a top prospect in the upcoming NHL draft, was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Miroshnichenko was told his diagnosis is the most common form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma - a cancer of the lymphatic system - and is curable.
The 18-year-old is currently receiving treatment in Germany and could miss all of next season.
Miroshnichenko was playing for the VHL's Omskie Krylia in Russia this campaign. He recorded 10 goals and six assists in 31 games with the club. Miroshnichenko captained Russia's U18 team to gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2021, managing nine points over five games.
Miroshnichenko has been projected to go near the top of the 2022 NHL Draft, rating as high as No. 2 on The Athletic's Corey Pronman's rankings and No. 6 on TSN's Bob McKenzie's rankings.
Welcome to the fifth edition of theScore's Norris Trophy Power Rankings.
These rankings focus on analytics and the all-around ability of defensemen rather than just points or reputation.
xGF% = the share of expected goals a team produces while a player is on the ice at five-on-five
xGA/60 = expected goals against per 60 minutes at five-on-five
5. Adam Fox, Rangers
Jared Silber / National Hockey League / Getty
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
51
7
46
24:26
50.2
Previous rank: 4th
Fox continues to slide on this list. He was first in December, third in January, fourth in February, and now fifth in March. If Charlie McAvoy hadn't had a down month himself, Fox may have found himself outside the top five.
This is not entirely Fox's fault - it's more indicative of the players ahead of him on this list. He's coming off a stellar month with six assists and a 55.9 xGF% in his last seven games.
The Rangers are one of the worst underlying squads in the league, especially as far as playoff teams go. They rank 27th in the NHL in xGF%, but that mark improves over six percentage points when Fox is on the ice compared to when he's off.
4. Roman Josi, Predators
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
52
14
41
25:17
52.1
Previous rank: N/A
Josi is appearing on this list for the first time since the opening month of the season when he found himself at No. 1 after a scorching-hot start. His play since then has been nothing to balk at, but there have been five defensemen consistently playing at an elite level in front of him.
We cannot ignore Josi any longer, though. The Predators captain has reeled off 11 points in his last eight games with a 51.7 xGF%. His defensive metrics are solid, too, as he ranks in the top 50 in xGA/60 among blue-liners.
What's most impressive about Josi's season is that he's doing it without his longtime partner Ryan Ellis, who was traded to Philadelphia in the offseason. He's been playing primarily with youngster Dante Fabbro, but it hasn't affected his performance one bit - the sign of a true No. 1 D-man.
3. Aaron Ekblad, Panthers
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
52
14
35
25:20
57.6
Previous rank: 3rd
The Panthers had some significant time off during what was supposed to be the Olympic break, so Ekblad's only played six games since the last edition of these rankings. He made the most of them, though, churning out four goals, four assists, and an xGF% of 60.7%.
Ekblad is firmly entrenched in the No. 3 spot right now. He's widened the gap between No. 4 and No. 5 but still has work to do to crack the top two.
2. Victor Hedman, Lightning
Bruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / Getty
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
52
11
40
25:25
57.7
Previous rank: 1st
It was a rather quiet month for Hedman. He only played six games, registering a goal, three assists, and a 54.7 xGF%. The reason he's dropped out of the top spot has more to do with the player ahead of him on our list rather than his own play. That says a lot about our No. 1, considering Hedman is having arguably the best season of his Hall of Fame career.
Hedman is still very much in this race and could easily find himself back at No. 1 next month. It should be a compelling finish between the 31-year-old veteran and the young, hotshot defenseman who holds the top spot.
1. Cale Makar, Avalanche
Bill Smith / National Hockey League / Getty
GP
G
A
ATOI
xGF%
50
18
40
25:11
57.2
Previous rank: 2nd
Makar owns our top spot in part because of his play since the last edition of these rankings. Although he was held goalless over his last 10 games, he still tallied 14 assists - 12 of them at even strength - and a 60.7 xGF%. While his torrid goal-scoring pace from early in the season is drying up, Makar is still impacting the game with his elite playmaking and defensive play.
Makar is still on pace for 90 points. He would be the first defenseman to reach the 90-point mark since Hall of Famer Ray Bourque recorded 91 in 1993-94.
The impact he has on his team can't be understated, as well. Colorado's xGF% increases by seven percentage points when he's on the ice compared to when he's off it. Tampa Bay's xGF% increases the same amount when Hedman hits the ice, too, but Makar's strong play of late gives him a slight edge in what's shaping up to be one of the most memorable Norris races ever.
Stalock was selected by the Sharks in the fourth round of the 2005 draft. He made 62 appearances in San Jose over the course of five seasons and authored a .911 save percentage in that span.
"The acquisition of Alex gives our club another goaltender with significant NHL experience," Sharks assistant general manager Joe Will said. "He is a player we are very familiar with and someone who is extremely well-liked by his teammates."
The 34-year-old missed the entirety of the 2020-21 campaign after being diagnosed with myocarditis - an inflammation of the heart - in November 2020.
He last played in 2019-20, suiting up for 38 regular-season contests with the Minnesota Wild. He registered a 20-11-4 record while posting a .910 save percentage. Stalock also started four playoff contests during the Wild's qualifying-round series against the Vancouver Canucks that season.
The Oilers claimed Stalock off waivers from the Wild in March 2021.
Stalock was initially expected to miss the entirety of the 2021-22 season with the heart condition, but the Oilers waived him in January with the intention of playing him in the AHL as he continued his NHL comeback.
During his stint with the Bakersfield Condors, Stalock logged an .862 save percentage across five showings.
The Sharks have been dealing with some injuries in the crease. Adin Hill has been sidelined since late January with a nagging lower-body injury, but he's expected to return soon; James Reimer exited Tuesday's contest against the Vegas Golden Knights with a lower-body ailment.
Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe didn't mince words after the Buffalo Sabres snapped a six-game losing streak by defeating his club 5-1 on Wednesday night.
“It was terrible from start to finish," the Leafs bench boss said, according to The Athletic's Joshua Kloke.
"In terms of how we played with the puck, we were really careless and didn’t have much happening," Keefe added, per the Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan. "Offensively, we were abysmal. All four lines."
The Leafs head coach had harsh criticism for the team's top line led by superstar Auston Matthews.
Keefe experimented with a defensive pairing of Morgan Rielly and Rasmus Sandin in the loss and said he will "probably not" keep the duo together in the future.
The Sabres only outshot the Maple Leafs by one (31-30), but Buffalo controlled 60% of the scoring chances at five-on-five and 55.27% of the expected goals in those situations, according to Natural Stat Trick. Sandin tied the game at 1-1 in the first period but the Sabres replied with four unanswered goals over the final two frames.
Toronto had won three consecutive contests before the loss.
With the Washington Capitals in a slump, general manager Brian MacLellan is thinking about switching up his approach to the March 21 trade deadline.
"I don't know that we're going to be as aggressive as we've been in the past," MacLellan told the media Wednesday. "Sometimes, just to add depth pieces, we might overpay a little bit because we felt, 'We have a good team, we're gonna go a long way, and we just need players.'
"I don't know that we're in that mode, but we'd still like to try and improve the team."
The Capitals were tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for first in the league Dec. 31 with a points percentage of .712. Washington has since gone 8-12-2.
"In the beginning of the year, I would say (we were) a legit contender. There's probably three, four teams that are at the next level, but we're not next level. (We were) at the high end of that next level of teams," MacLellan said. "Now, I'd say we're at the low level of that next level of teams. We need to improve. We need to get back to where we were."
MacLellan pointed to the Capitals' "inexperienced" goaltending duo of Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek as a potential area of improvement.
"The concerning thing for me is sometimes the goals, the timing of the goals, game-situation goals that some veteran guys would tighten it up and make that save," he said. "It's not the overall save percentage, it's when and how the goals happen."
Samsonov owns a .901 save percentage across 32 appearances this season while Vanecek has authored a .915 save percentage in 25 showings.
MacLellan said he's tested the goaltending market with less than one month to go before the deadline.
"We called around earlier. The difficult situation, I think, is it's gotta be an obvious upgrade for us for it to make sense, or otherwise, we go with our guys," he said. "Is this going to get us over a hump on the goaltending side? I don't know that there's that many guys out there that are that quality. There might be one or two."
The Capitals are fourth in the Metropolitan Division with a 28-18-9 record.
Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk pledged his support to Ukraine amid Russia's ongoing invasion in an open letter published Wednesday.
"I am a proud and patriotic Canadian, born and raised in this special country. I am also a proud Ukrainian, the son of parents who were both born in Ukraine," he wrote. "The steadfast will and determination that is my heritage has attracted the admiration and respect of people around the world. Today, we are all Ukrainian."
The 62-year-old outlined ways the Senators will show their support over the remainder of the season. The team will play the Ukrainian national anthem before every home game and find ways to use the Canadian Tire Centre as a drop-off point to collect donations of clothing and medical supplies.
"As an organization and a community, I am confident that our collective actions and contributions will make a significant difference in the lives of Ukrainians who are currently under siege," he said.
Melnyk took out a full-page ad in two Ottawa newspapers to promote his message.
The 2020 and 2021 editions were scrapped due to COVID-19.
A roster of Russian players and All-Star teams representing the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League typically compete in the event. The Russian team plays two games against each league's squad. In 2019, the CHL won the tournament.
The IIHF barred Russia and Belarus from international hockey Monday until further notice. Belarus was included in the ban because it's allowed Russia to station troops and launch military attacks in its territory.
Additionally, Hockey Canada banned Russia and Belarus from participating in events held in Canada that don't fall under the IIHF's jurisdiction.
The CHL added that the format and date for the 2022 import draft are still to be determined. Although no announcement has been made, player agent Dan Milstein tweeted earlier Wednesday that the CHL would ban Russian and Belarusian skaters from the draft.
The Hart Trophy has been handed out 16 times in the salary-cap era. Eleven of those winners also won the Art Ross in the same year.
It may seem elementary, but it's true: The player who collects the most points is often crowned the most valuable player in the NHL. Connor McDavid putting up an absurd 105 points in 56 games last season is a prime example.
All of that said, the 2021-22 Hart race feels … different. The list of legitimate contenders is long and diverse enough that the current leader in points - McDavid, who else - is certainly in the conversation but, if ballots were cast this week, he wouldn't be a shoo-in to win his third MVP award.
On Friday, theScore will publish its monthly Hart power rankings.
Here, we're focusing on one player from each position who's enjoying a Hart-caliber season and laying out the cases for and against them winning MVP.
Auston Matthews
Kevin Sousa / Getty Images
Case for: Where to start? Matthews, the sport's best pure goal-scorer, is tied for the NHL lead in goals with 37 in 50 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs. No one has bagged more than 53 in a single season since 2011-12, and Matthews is on pace for 58, which would smash his career high of 47.
Goal-scoring is undeniably the most important and difficult offensive skill in hockey. Super sniper Alex Ovechkin has claimed the Hart three times for this reason, and right now it's the foundation of Matthews' MVP case.
Thanks to 31 assists - 18 primary, 13 secondary - Matthews also ranks in the top five in points; his 68 trail only McDavid (77), Leon Draisaitl (76), and Jonathan Huberdeau (75). Those primary helpers are key, as nobody collects primary points at a rate higher than Matthews' 1.10 per game. (Johnny Gaudreau and Draisaitl, at 1.08 and 1.07 per game, aren't far behind.)
Remarkably, Matthews' oversized value in the offensive zone is being paired with prowess in less glamorous areas of the ice. His two-way dominance - a relatively new development for the 24-year-old center - has vaulted him to the top of Evolving Hockey's Goals Above Replacement leaderboard.
GAR is a catch-all metric "that attempts to assign a total value to each player" by factoring a variety of offensive and defensive inputs. This year, Matthews (21.3), Mikko Rantanen (21.0), Nazem Kadri (18.8), Gaudreau (18.7), McDavid (18.6), and Michael Bunting (18.0), Matthews' linemate, are top of the class.
Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images
Additionally, the case for Matthews features six game-winning goals, 59 takeaways, a faceoff win percentage of 58.2, and a five-on-five on-ice expected goals for percentage of 62.0. He currently ranks in the top 10 in all four categories. Also of note, Toronto has rung up a 92-48 advantage in goals when Matthews is on the ice, which translates to a 65% share.
Matthews, to lay it out in simpler fashion, is a game-breaking talent enjoying both a viscerally and intellectually impressive season. And the fact that he logs 20 minutes a night for a Maple Leafs team that boasts the best points percentage in franchise history only strengthens his case for MVP.
Case against: There are a couple of important points to relay here. The first is admittedly a glass-half-empty look ahead, while the second is relevant today.
If Matthews doesn't win the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy (Draisaitl, Chris Kreider, Kyle Connor, and Ovechkin are also already 30-goal men), his candidacy takes a hit - even if he manages to finish in the neighborhood of 50 goals. Because - fair or not - leading the league in something is important to voters.
Matthews' candidacy also takes a hit if his assist rate sags and he ends up sliding down the points leaderboard. (Currently, he's tied with Kadri, one up on Gaudreau, and three up on Rantanen.) Excluding goalie Carey Price, Taylor Hall's 2017-18 Hart is the only instance in the salary-cap era of a player claiming the award despite finishing outside the top five in points.
Of course, it's possible Matthews' elite two-way game makes the above points moot. After all, Hall won the Hart largely due to an otherworldly performance down the stretch, where he willed the New Jersey Devils to a playoff berth. A sensational personal narrative can seduce voters, too.
As for the second important point … well, as detailed below, Igor Shesterkin has arguably been more valuable to the Rangers than Matthews to the Leafs.
Igor Shesterkin
Jared Silber / Getty Images
Case for: Generally speaking, the New York Rangers are trending in the right direction on the ice. However, as a middling defensive team that doesn't generate a ton of goals, New York isn't quite ready to contend for a Stanley Cup.
That's a quick summary of the Rangers - if Shesterkin were excluded from the conversation. The reality is, Shesterkin's supreme goaltending has steered New York into a Metropolitan Division playoff spot. The Rangers aren't holding on for dear life, either - their .670 points percentage ranks ninth in the NHL.
Shesterkin, a world-class goalie at just 26, has a fairly comfortable lead in all-situations save percentage (.941), even-strength save percentage (.942), and quality starts percentage (.818). Some context: A goalie has finished with an all-situations save percentage of .940 or higher only three times since the league began tracking the stat in 1955 - Jacques Plante in 1968-69 and 1970-71 and Brian Elliott in 2011-12.
Amazingly, Shesterkin has consistently papered over the Rangers' suspect defense. Evolving Hockey lists Shesterkin as having already saved 34.6 goals above average and 31.0 goals above expected - which is a numerical way of expressing how regularly he's been able to turn should-be goals into saves.
Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
Shesterkin's traditional stats are also noteworthy. He has an outstanding 25-6-3 record and a laughably low 1.95 goals-against average.
While Ville Husso has been a nice story out of St. Louis, the Vezina Trophy is Shesterkin's to lose, and his eye-popping numbers are fueling a compelling Hart case. The trophy's supposed to reward the season's "most valuable" player, and Shesterkin's been immensely valuable to the Rangers.
Case against: 2014-15 Hart winner Price is the lone goalie to win the award in the cap era, and Jose Theodore's 2001-02 run - also in a Montreal Canadiens uniform - is the only other time it happened this century.
The Vezina is considered by many in the hockey world to be the position's MVP award, so goalies rarely garner legitimate Hart buzz, let alone finalist nods. It's ironic, given how integral solid goaltending is to winning hockey games at any level of the sport.
Shesterkin's getting plenty of buzz this time around. If it's a coin-flip scenario between him and a skater, though, most voters would probably be biased toward the skater.
Crease time could also affect Shesterkin's case. He's appeared in 34 of 53 Rangers games thus far, starting 33. That isn't a light workload, but labeling Shesterkin a workhorse would be a stretch when 10 of his peers have played between 250 and 670 minutes more in 2021-22.
To be clear, this isn't a Shesterkin issue - the starter workload has been in decline across the league for several years - but it's a variable in the "most valuable" discussion. He provides no value sitting on the bench for full games.
Cale Makar
Michael Martin / Getty Images
Case for: Stacked up against stunning seasons from Matthews and Shesterkin, Makar may seem out of place. The force-of-nature defenseman is a long shot for the Hart, not a frontrunner. Heck, even his candidacy for the Norris Trophy - while strong - isn't bulletproof (see: Hedman, Victor).
Yet there are two unique angles to consider with Makar and the Hart.
First, the Colorado Avalanche blue-liner leads all defensemen in goals (18, on pace for 28). If he keeps this rate, he would have a chance to join an exclusive club - only 17 times in history has a defenseman scored 30 (Mike Green in 2008-09 was the last). He also leads all defensemen in points (58, on pace for 90). At that pace, he could join another exclusive club - only 26 times has a D-man put up 90 (Ray Bourque in 1993-94 was the last).
Voters love rewarding players who hit rare milestones, and what an accomplishment 30 goals or 90 points - or both - would be for the 23-year-old. (As an aside, the Avs have outscored their opposition 109-47 with Makar on the ice. The shot attempt share is almost as lopsided: 1,530-960.)
The second angle is tied to the Avs being Stanley Cup favorites. Do voters gravitate to the best player on the NHL's best team? The Avs, owners of a .778 points percentage, aren't showing any sign of slowing down. If Colorado wins the Presidents' Trophy in convincing fashion, surely its best regular-season performer will get a bump in Hart votes. Makar could be that guy.
Case against: While Makar currently has the strongest Hart case among NHL defensemen, he's climbing an uphill battle versus a handful of forwards (Matthews, McDavid, and Huberdeau to start) and Shesterkin.
Similar to the Vezina and goalies, the Norris is seen as the de facto MVP for defensemen. The most recent Hart winner was Chris Pronger in 1999-00.
The biggest challenge for Makar might be internal competition - Rantanen and Kadri have been equally as impressive in 2021-22. All three could conceivably receive votes for the Hart, splitting the vote.
John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).
