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Head Coaches Potentially On The Hot Seat

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As we pass the halfway point of the 2016-17 schedule, teams will soon have to make the sometimes difficult decision as to whether they are going to act as a buyer or seller ahead of the March 1st trade deadline. Additionally, teams that have underachieved their internal preseason expectations will take the time to look in the mirror and assess what they can do to improve their on-ice fortunes, both for the remainder of the current campaign and into the future. Sometimes that assessment leads to coaching changes.

Though just one bench boss has been relieved of his duties so far this season, several more could soon join Gerard Gallant on the unemployment line. In this post we’ll examine the situations of several coaches who would appear to be on the hot seat at this point in the 2016-17 season.

Jack Capuano (New York Islanders) – The Islanders have been one of the biggest disappointments this season, just one year after making it to the second-round of the playoffs for the first time in more than two decades. Currently residing in last place in the Metro Division and tied for the lowest points total in the East, the Islanders under Garth Snow have generally exercised patience with their head coach. In five full seasons behind the Islanders bench, Capuano has missed the postseason twice and has two first-round playoff defeats on his record. Other teams might have already pulled the plug on the coach. It’s not necessarily fair to assign all of the blame for the team’s underachievment this year on Capuano as Snow allowed two key players – Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen – to leave via free agency this past summer, and the players he inked to help replace them – Andrew Ladd and Jason Chimera – haven’t played well. Capuano has also had the unenviable task of trying to manage a three-headed monster in goal for much of the season until Jaroslav Halak was reassigned to Bridgeport after clearing waivers. With franchise player John Tavares nearing unrestricted free agency, the pressure to turn in a deep playoff run to help convince their captain to sign on long term has to be growing.

[Update: Capuano has been relieved of his coaching duties by the team.]

Dave Tippett (Arizona Coyotes) – It seems unlikely that just a year after being given more power and some influence over player personnel that the Coyotes would move on from their longtime head coach. Yet nonetheless, the struggles in Arizona will assuredly mean some changes are made and it’s always possible ownership in Arizona reverses course and moves on from Tippett. After all, it seems likely some improvement over their 78-point 2015-16 campaign was expected and with just 32 points to date, those improvements simply haven’t been there.

Paul Maurice (Winnipeg Jets) – The Jets certainly have talent in the form of Mark Scheifele, Dustin Byfuglien and Blake Wheeler – among others – but the team has been maddeningly inconsistent this year. Some observers believe the Jets have a tough time sticking to their system and structure and that doesn’t speak well of Maurice. But, the absence of a true number one goaltender is another one of the issues stifling the team’s success and that’s not the fault of the head coach. Maurice has also integrated a number of younger players into the linuep during his tenure in Manitoba, allowing management to get a better sense as to the real quality of their yong talent. Ownership in Winnipeg has a reputation of being patient when it comes to making decisions and will likely give the veteran coach another season to see what he can do.

Claude Julien (Boston Bruins) – The Bruins are currently in second place in the Atlantic and if they end up qualifying for the postseason, it’s likely the team refrains from making a change behind the bench. But three teams – Florida, Ottawa and Toronto – are just three points behind Boston in the standings and all have games-in-hand, meaning there is a real possibility the Bruins could miss the postseason tournament for the third consecutive season.

Vancouver bench boss Willie Desjardins, who has been thought to be on the hot seat for much of the season, would seem to be safe for the time being with the Canucks in the mix for a playoff berth.

 

Central Division Snapshots: Blackhawks, Avalanche, Korpikoski

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The Chicago Blackhawks roster still boasts many of the key contributors who have led the team to three Stanley Cup championships since 2010. And as long as Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Corey Crawford are healthy, the Hawks will be on the short list of Western Conference contenders even as the front office constantly juggles the rest of the roster to augment that core while remaining compliant with the salary cap.

That doesn’t mean the Blackhawks aren’t in need of reinforcements as the March 1st trade deadline approaches, however. Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun Times argues Chicago desperately needs a top left wing in order to help pull Toews out of his season long scoring slump. For his career, Toews has averaged 0.86 points/game but so far this season he is nearly three-tenths-of-a-point behind that rate. Lazerus believes that the acquisition of a proven top-six winger would allow Vinnie Hinostroza to slot into the team’s bottom-six, further bolstering that group. In conjunction with the expected return of Marcus Kruger, the Blackhawks would be able to ice four solid and balanced lines in this scenario.

Lazerus lists Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog, who have both been frequently mentioned in trade rumors of late, as two potential options. Though given the team’s current salary cap situation – $65.7MM in commitments to just 14 players – it’s far more likely that Chicago will stick to shopping in the rental bin as opposed to adding a player with term remaining beyond this season.

James van Riemsdyk was also listed by Lazerus as a possibility though Toronto would likely hold onto the winger as long as they remain in the hunt for a playoff spot. He also has one more year remaining on his deal, representing an additional sticking point in this scenario. Jarome Iginla is undoubtedly available but at 39 and with just five goals through 41 games this season, Chicago would probably exhaust other alternatives before pivoting in this direction.

If Dallas decides to sell at the deadline, former Blackhawk Patrick Sharp could represent an interesting option, though that is just my speculation. Sharp has missed time this season on two separate occasions with concussions and has just two goals on the season but tallied 20 last year for the Stars. He’s in the final year of his contract with a cap hit of $5.9MM and given Chicago will only have roughly $3.3MM of available space at the deadline, the Stars will either have to retain salary or take back a contract to facilitate a trade.

Elsewhere in the Central Division:

  • The Colorado Avalanche, in the midst of a second straight dismal season, appear to be on the verge of a major shakeup, whether that occurs at the trade deadline or during the summer. Multiple high-profile players could be shipped elsewhere as management attempts to fix what ails the roster. The Denver Post’s Terry Frei compiled a comprehensive listing of the moves the team has made since Joe Sakic took over as the organization’s top decision-maker and the results are as you would expect given the current state of the team. Like many teams, the Avalanche have blundered when it comes to the term offered to unrestricted free agents. Among the players acquired either as a free agent or via trade and then subsequently extended were Brad Stuart, Jarome Iginla, Francois Beachemin, and Carl Soderberg. All were at least 30 when added to the Avalanche roster and only Soderberg was younger than 34. Needless to say, those deals haven’t worked out as the team had anticipated.
  • A late free agent addition that has panned out far better than expected was the Dallas Stars October signing of forward Lauri Korpikoski, as Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News writes. The Finnish forward had been bought out of the final year of his deal with Edmonton and was later released from his PTO with Calgary. In need of forward depth following the loss of Ales Hemsky and Mattias Janmark, the team inked Korpikoski to a one-year, $1M deal. While he hasn’t exactly lit up the score sheet, the nine-year veteran has contributed six goals and 15 points in 43 games. That’s solid production for a bottom-six winger and a relative bargain given the minimal investment the Stars undertook. Additionally, Stars head coach Lindy Ruff appreciates Korpikoski’s all-around game, saying: “He’s a solid contributor who is good on both sides of the puck. You’ve got a guy who is pretty diligent and plays the game the right way.” With five of his fellow forwards also set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, it’s at least possible Dallas considers an extension with Korpikoski.

 

Ranger Injury Updates: Raanta, Staal, Puempel

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Like many teams in the NHL this season, the New York Rangers have had their fair share of injuries. Star sniper Rick Nash has missed 12 games with a troublesome groin issue. Key offseason acquisition Mika Zibanejad has missed the last 25 games due to a broken fibula. And just last Saturday, goaltender Antti Raanta was forced to leave after the first period of the Rangers 5 – 4 loss to Montreal with what was called a lower-body injury.

Fortunately for the Rangers, Raanta is expected to only be out sometime between seven and 10 days, as the team announced today via their official Twitter account. Raanta has had an excellent season as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup winning 10 of his 14 decisions, while posting a GAA of 2.24 and a S% of 0.923. With 17 appearances already this season, the four-year veteran is well on his way towards besting his previous career high of 25, accomplished both last year and in his rookie campaign in 2013-14.

Meanwhile, in Raanta’s absence, the Rangers have recalled Magnus Hellberg from the Hartford Wolf Pack. Hellberg, who has yet to appear for the Blue Shirts this season has just two games of NHL experience, both coming in relief. In 25 games with the Wolf Pack, the 25-year-old goalie has a 10-9-1 record, a GAA of 2.91 and a S% of 0.905.

The loss of Raanta likely means the Rangers will rely primarily on Henrik Lundqvist in the interim, and that might not be a bad thing. Lundqvist has traditionally been at his best when given a heavy workload and with Raanta seeing more time than usual between the pipes this year, The King has not performed up to his admittedly lofty standards. Perhaps increased use leading up to the All Star game will allow Lundqvist to find his rhythm and get back on track.

Earlier today, Blue Shirts bench boss Alain Vigneault indicated that Zibanejad would be back in the Rangers lineup tomorrow when the team hosts the Dallas Stars. The 23-year-old pivot, acquired in the offseason from Ottawa in exchange for Derick Brassard, was off to a terrific start on Manhattan, tallying 15 points in his first 19 games. His return will naturally push someone to the press box and if today’s practice is any indication, it appears Oscar Lindberg will be the one to come out of the lineup.

Additionally, Marc Staal and Matt Puempel, both of whom are in the NHL’s concussion protocol, skated this morning prior to the team’s practice. This suggests both players are progressing in their respective recoveries though of course it doesn’t provide any clarity on a timeline for their return.

Atlantic Division Notes: Ennis, O’Reilly, McIlrath, Smith

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After missing 30 games due to groin surgery, Buffalo Sabres winger Tyler Ennis returned to the team’s lineup this afternoon and it didn’t take long to make a good impression. Ennis scored just 19 seconds into Buffalo’s matinee contest against Dallas today to give the Sabres an early lead. Prior to the injury, the 27-year-old Ennis had tallied just a single goal and an assist in 12 appearances.

Ennis, a three-time 20-goal scorer, has been a spectator much of the past two seasons, seeing action in just 23 contests a year ago and now missing 30 games this season. A healthy Ennis would provide a big boost to the Sabres lineup, both for the balance of this campaign and beyond.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Sticking with the Sabres, the team has also recalled center Cal O’Reilly from Rochester of the AHL in advance of today’s game, according to John Vogl of the Buffalo News. O’Reilly, 30, has 34 points in 36 minor league games and has also made four appearances with the Sabres, failing to register a point. In 137 career NHL games the 30-year-old pivot has scored 16 goals and 48 points.
  • The Florida Panthers have recalled defenseman Dylan McIlrath from a conditioning assignment with Springfield in the AHL, the team announced via Twitter. McIlrath appeared in six games with the Thunderbirds, tallying a goal and an assist while accumulating 13 minutes in penalties. Florida acquired the physical blue liner in a trade earlier this season from the New York Rangers in exchange for fellow defenseman Steven Kampfer and a draft choice.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ben Smith is nearing a return to the club, reports James Mirtle of TSN. Mirtle adds that Smith will have the pins removed from his broken hand later in the week. Smith was claimed by the Leafs off of waivers from Colorado earlier this season and has scored two goals and one assist while primarily playing on the team’s fourth line and serving as a key penalty killer.

 

 

Snapshots: NHL Three Stars, Toews, Bickell, Maple Leafs

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Nicklas Backstrom, Brad Marchand, and Brock McGinn have been named the NHL’s Three Stars of the Week.

Backstrom had three goals and 10 points in four games as the Capitals continued their nine-game winning streak. He has 13 points on that winning streak, and is currently on a six-game point streak. Backstrom is 10th in NHL scoring with 42 points in 43 games.

Marchand had the second-most points in the last week (behind only the aforementioned first star of the week) with 4-4-8 in three games. He had a three-point game in the Bruins’ win over the Blues before being held pointless in a loss to Nashville. He finished off the week with a career-high five-point night in a 6-3 win over Philadelphia. Marchand is seventh in NHL scoring with 43 points in 46 games.

McGinn had seven points in three games as the Hurricanes continued their four-game winning streak. Carolina is now one point out of a wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. McGinn has 12 points on the season in 28 games this season, with seven coming in the last week.

  • Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews may want to remember the old Mark Twain quote which says that “reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated.” On his morning appearance on TSN 1260, Bob McKenzie talked about Toews’ struggles and suggested that “a lot of people are writing obituaries on Toews’ career right now,” which McKenzie believes is “real premature.” Toews has 21 points in 37 games this season, which puts him on pace for 41 points in 73 games. That would be a career-low at a time when offensive players ought to be in their prime; even in the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season, Toews scored 48 points in 47 games. Prior to this season, Toews has scored at 0.88 PPG. That’s fallen year-over-year since 12-13, and is now at 0.57. If the Blackhawks want to capitalize on the final year of a cheap Artemi Panarin, they’ll need their captain to kick it into a higher gear.
  • Some very good news out of Carolina on Monday, as veteran winger Bryan Bickell practiced for the second time in the last week, according to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer. Bickell has not played since the end of October, when he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Bickell was acquired by the Hurricanes in the summer in a salary-dump trade from Chicago, where he won three Stanley Cups.
  • Over at Maple Leafs practice, Martin Marincin and Frankie Corrado are both on the ice. Marincin is wearing a red non-contact jersey as he returns to practice one month after suffering an injury that was expected to keep him out of the lineup between 4-6 weeks. Meanwhile, Corrado returns to the NHL after a two-week conditioning stint with the Toronto Marlies where he had three assists in seven games. He’s appeared in just one NHL game this season.

Blues Waive Brad Hunt

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The St. Louis Blues have placed defenseman Brad Hunt on waivers, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie on Twitter this morning.

Hunt has an excellent track record of scoring at the AHL level, which has translated to the NHL level for the first time in his career. The 5’9 offensive defenseman has scored five points in nine games with the Blues this season, and has 29 points in 23 games with the Chicago Wolves.

The Blues signed Hunt to a one-year contract on July 2, 2016. He had spent the previous three seasons in the Edmonton Oilers’ system, scoring three points in 21 games with the big club and 142 points in 185 games with their farm club.

In other waiver-related moves, Marek Hrivík has cleared waivers. The Rangers have assigned the winger to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. Hrivík had two assists in 16 NHL games this season.

Penguins Place Kris Letang On IR

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Five days ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins were riding high with a five-game winning streak. Now, they’ve lost three games in a row and will be without their best defenseman for the foreseeable future.

The team placed Kris Letang on Injured Reserve (IR) on Monday morning; Letang left Saturday night’s loss in Detroit after just two minutes of ice-time, in which he scored a goal. The injury came exactly one month after his last injury, which was also a lower-body injury.

In a following move, the Penguins recalled winger Jake Guentzel and defenseman Chad Ruhwedel from the Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Penguins. Guentzel has 42 points in 31 AHL games, with three goals and an assist in five games at the NHL level. Ruhwedel has 16 points in 28 games in the AHL, and has a goal and assist in five NHL games.

According to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, these were the lines when the Penguins skated on Monday morning:

Sheary-Crosby-Rust
Guentzel-Malkin-Hornqvist
Hagelin-Bonino-Kessel
Kunitz-Cullen-Wilson

Maatta-Daley
Cole-Schultz
Warsofsky-Ruhwedel-Oleksy

Cap Friendly reports that the Long-Term Injury Reserve (LTIR) savings from Pascal Dupuis and Brian Dumoulin are enough for the Penguins to make the recalls, meaning Letang won’t be out long enough to warrant being placed on LTIR.

Letang has only played a full season once, back in 2010-11. Since then, he’s played just 293 of a possible 452 regular season games. Despite his injury history, Letang has 246 points in those 293 games.

Replacing Letang’s offense will fall to the rest of the Penguins’ defense core; most notably Justin Schultz will need to continue his renaissance season. Schultz has 26 points in 42 games this season, which represents the best offensive pace of his NHL career after several poor years which got him traded out of Edmonton.

Five Key Stories: 1/9/17 – 1/15/17

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With the trade deadline now just six weeks away, we’re starting to see a bit more roster movement.  Those moves are among the five key stories for the week that was.

Jan 14, 2017; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Curtis McElhinney (35) looks on from the ice in the third period during a stoppage in play against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Maple Leafs won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports1) Toronto Changes Backups – With Toronto not wanting to have youngster Antoine Bibeau as their second goalie, they claimed veteran netminder Curtis McElhinney off waivers from Columbus (and subsequently sent Bibeau to the AHL).  Their backup goaltender to start the season, Jhonas Enroth (who cleared waivers earlier this season), was then dealt to Anaheim for a 2018 seventh round draft choice.

2) Predators Acquire McLeod – Nashville added some grit to their lineup, acquiring winger Cody McLeod from Colorado in exchange for prospect center Felix Girard.  The Avs are retaining 40% of McLeod’s $1.33MM cap hit on their books for this season and next.  Coincidentally, McLeod’s first game in a Predators uniform was against Colorado and he made an early impression, scoring against his former team.

3) All-Star Rosters Announced – The league named the full rosters for the upcoming All-Star Game later this month in Los Angeles.  All 30 teams have at least one representative while Chicago leads the way with four.  Interestingly enough, one of those picks, center Jonathan Toews, admitted that he was a bit confused by his nomination, arguing that some of his teammates were much more deserving of the spot.

4) Wickenheiser Retires – One of the pioneers in women’s hockey hung up her skates as Hayley Wickenheiser retired at the age of 38.  A five time medallist at the Olympic level with nine more medals at the World Championships, she also was the first female to play men’s professional hockey, spending time both in Finland and in Sweden.

5) Prospects On The Move – The CHL’s trade deadline came and went and several notable NHL prospects will be finishing their junior seasons elsewhere.  Among the players moved were Jeremy Bracco (Toronto), Mitchell Stephens and Anthony Cirelli (Tampa Bay), as well as Mitchell Vande Sompel (NY Islanders).  While the trades don’t affect their NHL rights, it likely means that they will be playing much deeper into the postseason.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Ryan Callahan Out Four Weeks

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Tampa Bay Lightning right winger Ryan Callahan has had nothing but bad luck when it comes to hip issues this year and that trend will continue as he will miss the next four weeks as the problems linger, the team announced (Twitter link).  He has already missed the last three games because of the soreness.

This isn’t the first time this season that Callahan has missed time due to hip problems as he underwent surgery in the offseason which caused him to miss the first few weeks of the year.  Callahan noted he played with hip pain during the second half of the 2015-16 season.  He also missed 15 games this year while resting the hip from late November into early January.

Callahan has played in just 18 games for the Lightning this season, scoring twice while adding a pair of assists.  He’s signed for three more seasons beyond this one with a cap hit of $5.75MM and while Tampa Bay will be looking to shed some salary this summer, Callahan’s contract and injury problems will make him extremely difficult to move.

The 31 year old is one of four Tampa forwards out of the lineup although Brayden Point is nearing a return to action from his upper body injury.  Steven Stamkos remains out long-term as he recovers from knee surgery while J.T. Brown is hoping to return by the end of the month from an upper body issue.

Garrioch’s Latest: Coyotes, Snow, Devils, Bishop, Van Riemsdyk

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Things aren’t going so rosy in Arizona right now.  Not only do they find themselves miles out of a playoff spot, the frustration is spreading to within the dressing room as well, reports Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun in his latest Insider Trading column.  The decision to go to a more analytics-based decision making process hasn’t worked (so far, at least) and Garrioch adds that it’s not yet known what the fate of head coach Dave Tippett will be when the season comes to an end.

In the meantime, the focus will shift to who they can move prior to the trade deadline, particularly where it comes to the rental players.  We took a closer look at their situation earlier today.  The recent mention that Shane Doan could be willing to consider a trade in the right situation is drawing some attention; Garrioch notes that San Jose is a team that has shown some interest in the 40 year old over the last couple of years but obviously nothing came to fruition.

Garrioch also tackles several other topics from around the league.  Here are some of the highlights, though the full column is worth a read:

  • With the New York Islanders scuffling through the first half, he suggests that GM Garth Snow’s job may be in jeopardy. His decision to allow right winger Kyle Okposo and center Frans Nielsen to depart in free agency hasn’t exactly panned out with both players being named All-Stars earlier this week.  Left winger Andrew Ladd (signed to replace Okposo) hasn’t panned out and with six more years left on his contract with a cap hit of $5.5MM, that’s a near-impossible contract to move right now while John Tavares heading into his walk year is something that will need to be addressed sooner than later as well.  Accordingly, the team will have to make a decision as to whether he’s the right manager to try to fix things up and get Tavares locked up.
  • The Devils haven’t thrown in the towel on trying to make the playoffs yet but if they do, they could be a team to watch for. Only two teams have more cap space than New Jersey does which sets up the possibility of them becoming a clearinghouse for contending teams to free up some cap space.  GM Ray Shero could be open to doing so, provided he picks up some quality draft picks and/or prospects for doing so.
  • Dallas has inquired about the availability of pending UFA goalie Ben Bishop. Bishop, who ranked fifth in our UFA Power Rankings this week, isn’t expected to return to Tampa Bay next season with Andrei Vasilevskiy expected to take over as the starter.  The Stars already have the highest goalie cap hit in the league but have not received much bang for their buck so far.  However, GM Steve Yzerman’s asking price is quite high as it’s certainly quite possible that the Lightning will want to keep him around for their postseason push as well.
  • Toronto’s recent success may make their decision regarding left winger James van Riemsdyk that much more difficult. Garrioch reports that the team is fielding inquiries on him but he is a key piece in the Leafs’ lineup and if they plan to make a run at a playoff spot, they’ll likely want to keep him in their lineup.  The 27 year old has one year left after this season at a manageable cap hit of $4.25MM so it’s not a typical rental player situation while it’s also worth noting that van Riemsdyk has a modified no-trade clause.

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