Snapshots: Edmonton Coaching, Escrow, Hoffman, Batherson

There has yet to be a coaching change this season which is quite rare considering the last time there hadn’t been a change by the holiday break was back in 1998.  Matt Larkin of The Hockey News suggests that it may be time for Edmonton to change that, advocating that they could benefit from more of a disciplinarian behind the bench than Todd McLellan is.  While history suggests those types of bench bosses wear thin on a team fairly quickly, the short-term benefits of a change like that might be enough to get the Oilers at least closer to the form they were expected to be at this season.

Other notes from around the league:

• The final escrow numbers for 2015-16 are in and the results aren’t pretty for the players. BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater reports that the players received just 3% back out of the 17% that had been withheld from each pay.  Unsurprisingly, the NHLPA hasn’t used the full 5% cap inflator each year since then in an effort to get the withholdings lower.  Escrow is currently set at 11.9% this season, Dater adds.  Even at that, it’s safe to suggest that this will be a big topic in the next round of CBA negotiations.
• Marcus White of NBC Sports Bay Area believes that Senators winger Mike Hoffman could be a good fit with the Sharks. San Jose never replaced Patrick Marleau when he signed with Toronto which has left a void in their top-six since then.  Youngsters such as Kevin Labanc and Timo Meier have taken strides this season but they’re best served to be more as complementary pieces at this stage of their careers.  San Jose also has the room to absorb Hoffman’s $5.1875MM cap charge for not only this season but beyond, something that can’t be said for a lot of teams that are looking to buy right now.
• With the World Juniors now over, CHL players that were participating in the tournament are now eligible to have their junior rights officially traded. With the trade deadlines in each league less than a week away, some prominent prospects are about to have a new home.  Winger Drake Batherson, who finished tied for second in goals in the tourney with seven, is one of them.  His former team in Cape Breton announced that the Senators prospect has been dealt to Blainville-Boisbriand of the QMJHL in exchange for three younger players and a 2020 second-round pick.