Top 10 NHL stories of 2019: A reckoning comes for the game

This year will undoubtedly be remembered as the one in which hockey's coaching fraternity first faced a reckoning for inappropriate conduct.

Though several former players only came forward relatively recently, the revelations they've shared have already had an immeasurable impact on hockey culture and will continue to resonate for years to come.

The year also featured its share of other major talking points both on and off the ice, from contract squabbles to shocking playoff results and more.

Here are the 10 biggest NHL stories of 2019:

10. Blackhawks suspend Crawford

In early December, after two NHL head coaches came under fire for inappropriate behavior, the Chicago Blackhawks launched a review of assistant coach Marc Crawford, citing "recent allegations ... made regarding his conduct with another organization."

The team took action after Sean Avery said Crawford kicked him during a game with the Los Angeles Kings in 2006 and after Brent Sopel's allegations of several instances of abuse by Crawford during his tenure with the Vancouver Canucks.

On Dec. 16, Chicago suspended Crawford until Jan. 2. The veteran bench boss admitted he'd "sometimes went too far" in using "unacceptable language and conduct toward players in hopes of motivating them," and revealed he'd been in counseling on a regular basis over the last decade.

9. Marner's contract saga and the slew of star RFAsKevin Sousa / National Hockey League / Getty

The last thing the Toronto Maple Leafs wanted was a repeat of William Nylander's holdout. Though Mitch Marner's contract negotiation didn't cost the player two months of the season, as Nylander's did, it was yet another prolonged impasse that threatened to derail the team's campaign.

From July 1 until he signed a new contract during the preseason, Marner's situation was a constant source of debate, especially after Nylander's drawn-out negotiations and his disappointing performance following that stalemate. Marner ultimately got his deal done without missing any regular-season games, agreeing to a six-year, $65.36-million pact on Sept. 13.

Though Marner's negotiations dominated headlines, he was just one of several high-profile restricted free agents in a group that also included Mikko Rantanen, Patrik Laine, Matthew Tkachuk, Brayden Point, and Brock Boeser. There was even an offer sheet, as underwhelming as the Montreal Canadiens' attempt to poach Sebastian Aho from the Hurricanes ultimately was. All of the young phenoms eventually re-signed with their respective clubs, but this RFA crop was the biggest subplot of the offseason.

8. Stars fire Montgomery for 'unprofessional conduct'

When the Dallas Stars dismissed head coach Jim Montgomery on Dec. 10 due to "unprofessional conduct," they provided few specifics beyond general manager Jim Nill's assurances that it didn't involve present or past players, Stars employees, or a criminal investigation. It also reportedly had nothing to with an awkward radio interview Montgomery gave five days earlier.

The lack of clarity left many wondering what Montgomery did to warrant the pink slip - and arguably made the situation worse than it would've been had the team disclosed its reasoning, even in general terms, at the outset.

7. 'Bunch of jerks'Karl DeBlaker / National Hockey League / Getty

Don Cherry wasn't the first pundit to criticize Carolina's unique "Storm Surge" celebrations, but the team embraced its new moniker when the then-"Coach's Corner" personality dubbed the Hurricanes "a bunch of jerks" in February. Turning the phrase into a rallying cry, they projected it onto their home ice, printed it on T-shirts, and adopted it as a nickname en route to an unexpected appearance in the Eastern Conference Final.

6. Leafs fire Babcock amid losing skid

It had become inevitable following six straight losses, but that didn't make the Maple Leafs' firing of Mike Babcock on Nov. 20 any less significant.

The former Team Canada bench boss had been the NHL's highest-paid head coach after Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan signed him to a mammoth eight-year, $50-million pact ($6.25 million annually) in the spring of 2015.

In retrospect, though, it was only a matter of time, as Babcock was hired before Kyle Dubas took over as general manager. Dubas' handpicked choice, Sheldon Keefe, was the obvious successor, having guided Toronto's AHL club to a championship in 2018 after working with Dubas in the OHL.

As it turned out, Babcock's name would resurface in the headlines before the year was out.

5. Babcock's treatment of playersGregory Shamus / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Days after the Maple Leafs fired Babcock, Marner and the former head coach both confirmed a report that Babcock had shamed the then-rookie in 2016-17, asking Marner to rank the club's players by work ethic before sharing the list with the team.

Further accounts of Babcock's poor behavior soon followed, dating back to his days behind the Detroit bench. Former Red Wings forward Johan Franzen called Babcock "the worst person I have ever met," and confirmed Chris Chelios' claim Babcock verbally abused Franzen in 2012.

4. Lightning come crashing down

Nobody expected the Tampa Bay Lightning to have any trouble dispatching the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after the Bolts put together one of the most dominant regular seasons in NHL history.

But the upstart Blue Jackets flipped the script. A Columbus team that had decided to keep multiple stars with expiring contracts and go all-in for a postseason run pulled off an utterly stunning sweep.

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper later lamented the fact that, in his view, his club didn't play much meaningful hockey ahead of the playoffs because it had been so far ahead of every other squad. But no matter the explanation, Tampa Bay's collapse was one of the most surprising developments of 2019.

3. Don Cherry's demise

Cherry had a long history of making inappropriate comments during broadcasts with both the CBC and Sportsnet, without being held accountable. But the latter network finally took action in November after the polarizing pundit gave an offensive rant about immigrants in Canada during a "Coach's Corner" segment ahead of Remembrance Day.

Sportsnet initially apologized for Cherry's comments without firing him, but it let him go one day later amid massive public uproar.

Allowed to remain on the air over the years despite previous improprieties including comments about women and Europeans, Cherry was removed after nearly four decades in his role.

2. Blues go worst to firstPatrick Smith / Getty Images Sport / Getty

In January, the St. Louis Blues had the worst record in the NHL. Then, they listened to "Gloria" at a Philadelphia bar, and the rest was history.

OK, it wasn't that simple. But St. Louis' midseason turnaround and eventual Stanley Cup triumph was nothing short of remarkable. Craig Berube's squad climbed out of the league's basement, qualified for the playoffs, and claimed hockey's ultimate prize thanks to a balanced roster and the emergence of steady rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington.

After suffering three final-round sweeps in their first three years of existence, the Blues won their first game in a Stanley Cup Final. They then secured the first championship in franchise history with a Game 7 victory over the Boston Bruins, who defeated St. Louis the last time the Blues reached the final in 1970.

1. Aliu sparks a reckoning

As impressive as the Blues' unexpected title was, another story transcended single-season results and was unquestionably the biggest hockey narrative of 2019.

In late November, former NHL player Akim Aliu, who was born in Nigeria, accused then-Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters of directing the N-word toward him multiple times when Peters coached Aliu with the ECHL's Rockford IceHogs in 2009-10. Two former teammates corroborated Aliu's allegations, and Peters resigned from his role with the Flames within days of Aliu publicizing the incident.

Aliu shared his story after Babcock's treatment of Marner came to light. His revelations, which preceded Crawford's and Montgomery's situations, brought heightened awareness to coaching abuse around the league and prompted others to come forward with their own accounts; former Hurricanes blue-liner Michal Jordan soon accused Peters of kicking him and punching another player in the head when Peters was behind the bench in Carolina.

The NHL later met with Aliu and has since announced new steps to address inappropriate conduct, underscoring the impact of Aliu's courageous admission and cementing him as the central figure in the league's ongoing efforts to create a more inclusive environment.

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