Forward Derick Brassard announced his retirement from professional hockey on Sunday, following a 16-season career. Brassard, the former sixth overall pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2006, played for ten teams in his career, most notably for the New York Rangers.
NHL head coaches have to hire good assistants. They have to set an overarching philosophy, juggle lineup configurations, and do the kind of “man management” that is impossible to track statistically.
In an interview with Quebec media outlet La Presse, NHL veteran and former Philadelphia Flyers forward Derick Brassard announced that he is retiring from hockey after 16 years in the NHL, including a brief stop with the Flyers in the 2021-22 season.
In a wild and whacky first round, the Eastern Conference competitors spent long shifts and more overtimes than we could count trying to tear each other to pieces.
And then there were eight: the crop of NHL teams that survived the bloodbath that was Round 1 in order to advance to the conference semifinals. Today, we take a look at the four still standing in the Eastern Conference.