The Calgary Flames and GM Brad Treliving parted ways Monday after nine years.

Treliving was without a contract heading into next season and boy, is there lots to break down. Over at Flamesnation, Ryan Pike did just that:

The Calgary Flames and general manager Brad Treliving have parted ways. And while the club’s official line is that the parting was mutual, comments from interim GM (and president of hockey operations) Don Maloney suggest that it was more Treliving’s doing than the club’s.

Speaking to the media at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Monday afternoon, Maloney said that “He left us for his reasons, but we move on.” According to Maloney, Treliving told him on Wednesday morning – the day of the club’s season finale against San Jose – that he didn’t think he would be returning, and informed team president and CEO John Bean of that following the game.

“After eight, nine years, he needs a break from what he was doing,” said Maloney.

Maloney confirmed that Treliving had been offered a new contract several times during the season, but the two sides weren’t able to come to an agreement. During the season, Maloney and Treliving met with Bean to discuss the future, including a potential expansion of Maloney’s role and the possibility of Treliving moving on after his contract. That led to Monday’s announcement of Maloney’s promotion and Treliving’s departure.

Maloney said he’s been tasked with doing a deep dive on the season and what went wrong. He declined to cite a timeline for hiring a new GM, as he’s working on his deep dive before delving into the hire. Maloney will be meeting with head coach Darryl Sutter on Tuesday or Wednesday, and when asked if Sutter would be returning as coach, noted that “I am reviewing everything.”

Bean pushed back on the notion of a rebuild, joking he isn’t allowed to use that word, but reiterated the strength of the pieces in place. Both Maloney and Bean characterized the Flames as a talented team that underachieved, with the goal now being to figure out why they underachieved and fix it.

“We’re going to work very, very hard to bring a championship team to Calgary, and that’s the goal,” said Maloney.

There’s more to the story, too, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Monday that a “deteriorating relationship” between Treliving and Sutter led to the former’s departure:

“Treliving and the Flames “mutually agreed to part ways” on Monday, five days after their last game of a disappointing 2022-23. Don Maloney, now President of Hockey Operations and interim GM, said Treliving first indicated last Wednesday he was leaving. It is believed a deteriorating relationship with Sutter played a major role in the GM’s decision, that the two could not continue working together and really hadn’t communicated well in some time. If Sutter didn’t have an extension, maybe the outcome is different.”

Bergeron out for game one

The Boston Bruins are without captain Patrice Bergeron for game one of their series against Florida Panthers. As reported earlier in the day, an illness has run rampant through the team in recent weeks.

Earlier in the day, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery called the illness, which is impacting multiple players, disconcerting.

“I’d love to come in here and tell you our exact lines, D-pairings and who’s starting in net,” he said Monday. “The luxury we have is we have incredible depth. Whoever ends up being healthy enough to go tonight, we know we’re going to have a good opportunity to have success if we play Bruins hockey. We know it’s going to be a great test no matter who’s in the lineup for us. Because we know how good the Florida Panthers are.”

The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa added that backup goaltender Jeremy Swayman has been sick, and the team had recalled Brandon Bussi from their AHL affiliate in Providence on an emergency basis. He added that David Pastrnak played through the illness on April 6th, Tomas Nosek didn’t play in the regular season finale because of it, and that Jakub Lauko lost eight pounds due to the illness.

Stone returns for Golden Knights

It’s official: the Vega Golden Knights will get Mark Stone back for game one of the playoffs.

Stone had been out of the Golden Knights’ lineup since Jan. 12 with a back injury. Here’s some of what Daily Faceoff’s Scott Maxwell wrote:

Stone missed over 40 games in 2021-22 due to a different back injury that required surgery in May. Stone had 17 goals and 38 points in 43 games while averaging 19:45 in ice time on Vegas’ top line.

During his five seasons with the Golden Knights, Stone has accumulated 73 goals and 203 points in 217 games. In March of 2019, Stone signed a monstrous eight-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $9,500,000.

The injury left the Golden Knights with a big hole up front, but the club still managed to finish second in the Pacific Division. The team has also been without Jack Eichel, Shea Theodore and Zach Whitecloud in recent weeks, with Eichel and Theodore recently returning. Stone skated on Chandler Stephenson and Mike Amadio on the team’s third line during practice with the club on Monday.