McKenna’s Musings: Keith Yandle deserved better

All good things must end, including Keith Yandle’s NHL ironman streak.

It saddens me that the Philadelphia Flyers chose to end Keith Yandle’s consecutive games played streak at 989. Flyers head coach Mike Yeo informed the veteran defenseman on Saturday morning that he would be a healthy scratch against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

I think a lot of people in hockey saw the healthy scratch coming, but it doesn’t change the fact that the timing of it is really disappointing. Yandle is just 11 games away from playing 1,000 in a row. Think about that. Most players dream of playing 1,000 NHL games. But to do it in a row? That’s unthinkable.

I’ve known Keith since we were teammates in 2014 with the Arizona Coyotes. I even wrote about our relationship earlier this year for Daily Faceoff. Yandle is universally loved in the locker room, so much so that players league-wide were rooting for him to make it to 1,000 games played in a row.

But it goes beyond that. Including Saturday night, the Flyers only had 15 games left. They’ve been terrible this year. And Yandle’s minus-39 rating hasn’t helped. But if Philadelphia isn’t making the playoffs, why not let him finish out the year?

I understand the sentiment of the Flyers – they want to evaluate some of their young talent. And with Yandle’s play in decline – he has one goal and 15 assists this season – it makes sense on the surface.

Yandle has been the ultimate pro, but the writing is on the wall. This might be it for him in the NHL. I’d be surprised if he was offered another contract. In my eyes, a player like Yandle deserves to go out on his terms. Not being a healthy scratch so close to the end of the season when a league-record streak is active.

Again, I get it. I just don’t like it.

I never expected to run into David Clarkson in Allen, Texas.

I’m down here coaching the Blues Warriors in the Lone Star Warriors Classic, a tournament featuring teams of disabled veterans from all over the United States. And I’m out at breakfast with some of our Blues players when a recognizable face walks in.

I knew who it was. But my mind couldn’t comprehend how it could possibly be him. Why was David Clarkson – my old teammate with the New Jersey Devils – standing 10 feet away from me? We hadn’t seen each other face-to-face since 2011. I had to Google him to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.

Sure enough, it was David. He’s in town coaching the Colorado Warriors. Which at first didn’t make sense to me. I assumed that David had retired to his hometown of Toronto or maybe Columbus, where his playing career finished in 2016 due to a chronic back injury. Turns out, Colorado is home for Clarkson.

It was really nice catching up. I have so much respect for David. He played the game hard and got far more out of hockey than anyone expected. Clarkson went undrafted, but then-Devils GM Lou Lamoriello gave him an opportunity and he ran with it. During the 2011-12 season, David scored 30 goals for the Devils while racking up 138 penalty minutes. He was the definition of a power forward.

And then injuries took over, and his career was done earlier than it should have been. David has found peace in coaching both youth hockey and the Colorado Warriors. He’s currently employed by the Florida Panthers, working in player development.

I won’t get too far into what we talked about, since David has always been a somewhat private person. Despite doing a ton of charity work and being active in the community during his playing days, it was never for attention. He’d rather fly under the radar.

But what I did find striking was how we both needed to find a sense of purpose once we retired. It’s something a lot of players struggle with. Even ones like myself that think they have everything lined up for their post-playing career. It’s not always easy.

We both love coaching the Warriors. And we’re both extremely grateful for everything hockey has given us. What an amazing random encounter in the middle of Texas.

Now it all makes sense with Sean Monahan.

After retiring three years ago I waded into the fantasy hockey world for the first time, and our team decided to take Sean Monahan early in the draft. He was coming off a big 2018-29 season – 82 points in 78 games – and seemed like a sure bet to produce for our club. 

It didn’t happen. Monahan struggled to retain fantasy value as his point production took a tumble. And by this season, he ended up on the Calgary Flames’ fourth line. It was shocking considering it wasn’t long ago that he was centering Johnny Gaudreau on Calgary’s top forward unit.

On Saturday, Calgary announced that Monahan will undergo hip surgery. Just like last season, his year will end prematurely.

When the Flames started adding forward depth at the NHL trade deadline, I didn’t wonder about the quality of the players they picked up. Tyler Toffoli has been amazing since coming over from the Montreal Canadiens. And the additions of Calle Jarnkrok and Ryan Carpenter both made sense. But I wasn’t really sure why Calgary needed both of them.

Now it’s clear why the Flames picked up two players capable of playing center. Tthey knew Monahan was hurt. It was just a question of if he could soldier through the pain.

Hopefully Monahan is able to recover in time for next season and be able to rekindle his offensive production. It’s not like he forgot how to play. But it’s pretty obvious Monahan’s body was conspiring against him.

Smart work by Flames GM Brad Treliving to grab depth when it was available. I think Jarnkrok and Carpenter both fit within Darryl Sutter’s uncompromising ethos and should be able to contribute down in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.