As is often the case in the off days leading up to the start of the Stanley Cup Final, there was a fair bit of notable news around the league. Here are the top stories from the past week.
Rangers Hire Quinn: It took some time but the Rangers now have their new head coach as they announced the hiring of David Quinn from Boston University. This comes on the heels of them failing to land Jim Montgomery, another college coach who wound up going to Dallas earlier this offseason. While Quinn has one year of NHL experience as an assistant under his belt, this will be his first chance at being the bench boss in the pros. He’ll be tasked with navigating New York through the rebuilding stage that began back before the trade deadline so his experience working with younger players will certainly be helpful.
Kane Stays In San Jose: Following their elimination from the playoffs, Sharks winger Evander Kane said that he was open to remaining in San Jose and he was true to his word as he inked a seven-year, $49MM contract. The deal also gives him plenty of no-trade protection as he is only required to submit a three-team list that he can be dealt to. Kane fit in quite well in his limited time with the Sharks after being acquired from Buffalo at the trade deadline and now he slots in a core forward for them for the long-haul. The Sabres also benefit from this decision as the conditional 2019 second-round pick they received back at the trade deadline is now upgraded to a first-round selection.
Fenton To Minnesota: The Wild filled a big vacancy in their front office as they hired long-time Nashville assistant Paul Fenton as their new general manager. He replaces Chuck Fletcher who was relieved of his duties following their first-round elimination last month. This will be Fenton’s first opportunity as a GM and he will have a pair of prominent restricted free agents to re-sign in the months to come in defenseman Mathew Dumba and winger Jason Zucker. However, they won’t have much flexibility on the cap beyond that as the team already has more than $67MM tied up for next season per CapFriendly so one of his other tasks early on will likely be to try to free up some more financial wiggle room.
Lamoriello To Long Island: Although Lou Lamoriello had publicly stated his intention to fulfill his role as an advisor with Toronto, many expected him to look for opportunities elsewhere. That’s exactly what happened as he has joined the Islanders as their new president of hockey operations. He will have the final say in all personnel decisions which calls into question what GM Garth Snow’s role with the team will be in the new hierarchy. He wasted little time getting started on his top priority as he has already met with captain and unrestricted free agent John Tavares, doing so before his hiring was even officially announced.
Kesler’s Season In Jeopardy? The Ducks didn’t have center Ryan Kesler in their lineup for a big chunk of this past season as he played in just 44 games after undergoing hip surgery last summer. The pain continues to persist and Kesler is now giving consideration to an aggressive rehab regimen that could wind up resulting in him missing all of the 2018-19 campaign. He would be eligible to be placed on long-term injured reserve in that instance which would Anaheim some flexibility to try to replace him. Adam Henrique was added in a midseason trade but if Kesler is going to be out long-term again, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to add some more depth down the middle this summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.