Where Are They Now? Part VI

The 2014-15 NHL season is well underway and there has been no shortage of excitement. Fans are loving their new-look teams and the entertaining games. There are also a lot of new faces this season, meaning that many players from last year left. Whether they retired, went oversees, or got demoted, let’s catch up with a few of these players that many of us seem to have forgotten about this season.

Rostislav Klesla

“Rusty” was a reliable defensive defenseman for the Blue Jackets and Coyotes for most of his NHL career. However, after reaching his thirties, his play started to slow down because of injuries and eventually got traded to the lowly Sabres last season before the trade deadline. After getting traded, Rusty opted not to play the rest of the season, effectively retiring from the NHL. However, he signed a two-year deal with HC Ocelari Trinec of his native Czech Republic and is leading the team to much success so far this season.

Ryan Whitney

Whitney, who struggled to sign with an NHL club this offseason, was invited to the St. Louis Blues’ training camp in the preseason. However, after still failing to sign an NHL contract for the season, the 2010 Olympian went to the KHL to sign with one of its newest teams, HC Sochi. The 31-year-old was a promising young defenseman for the Pittsburgh Penguins after going 5th overall in 2002. However, a chronic foot injury in 2008, in hindsight, hurt is career. He was later traded twice and was placed on waivers last season by the Florida Panthers (!). However, Whitney is looking to lead the expansion HC Sochi club to success along with former NHLer Cory Emmerton.

Scott Gomez

Everyone knows the story of how Gomez’s production fell off the cliff after signing that albatross of a contract with the New York Rangers in 2007. However, not many people know that Gomez is still fighting for an NHL job. After a great career with teh New Jersey Devils in the early 2000s, Gomez attended their training camp this preseason. Despite a solid preseason, Gomez has not been given a contract yet, but rumours say that the Devils may still offer him one. Gomez likely has a career in television waiting for him, but the fact that he hasn’t retired yet means there is still hope we could see Gomez play in the NHL this season.

Dan Bylsma

There was so much talk that an NHL team will hire Dan Bylsma as their head coach after the Pittsburgh Penguins fired him last offseason. However, no team did, and many find that very surprising. Maybe teams are figuring out that Bylsma should have done more with a team that included two of the top five players in the world and a solid supporting cast. However, Bylsma will likely be a head coach in NHL again simply because of what he accomplished. He won a Stanley Cup in his first season of coaching and was the youngest coach ever (38 years old). He also has a Jack Adams trophy and is the fastest coach to win 250 games in NHL history.

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