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Archives for September 2020

Darcy Kuemper Drawing Trade Interest

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New Arizona Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong has plenty of work to do in the coming weeks, especially if the reports of slashing payroll are true. The Coyotes could be one of the team’s most affected by the current financial landscape in the NHL, meaning sweeping changes may come to their roster this offseason.

One player drawing plenty of interest is goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet has been asked about by the Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, and San Jose Sharks. Each of those teams has uncertainty in net for the 2020-21 season, or at least could use an upgrade at the position.

Kuemper, 30, has two years left on his contract with the Coyotes and carries a $4.5MM cap hit but has been one of the most dominant goaltenders in the league for the last several seasons. Since the start of 2017-18, Kuemper has posted a 55-38-15 record with 11 shutouts and a .924 save percentage in 113 appearances. He finished fifth in Vezina Trophy voting a year ago but ended up playing in just 29 regular season games this year due to injury.

In a recent column by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, James Reimer’s name is listed as a possible target for Arizona, given that almost his entire salary has already been paid out in the form of a signing bonus. Reimer has just $850K left to earn this year, and LeBrun also notes that Kuemper is a target for Carolina. Reimer and Petr Mrazek split the duties in Carolina this season and were just okay, a continuing theme for the Hurricanes goaltending situation over the last several years.

The Coyotes of course also have Adin Hill freshly inked to a new contract and ready to take on at least a backup role at the NHL level. They don’t necessarily need to bring a goaltender back in any Kuemper deal, leaving the netminding duties to Hill and Antti Raanta this season.

Kuemper also isn’t the only Arizona player being asked about. The Flames, Oilers and Boston Bruins have all “checked in” on Oliver Ekman-Larsson according to Friedman, while the Colorado Avalanche have asked about Niklas Hjalmarsson. If the team is really looking to cut payroll, captain Ekman-Larsson would obviously be an easy target, given the seven years and $58MM remaining on his huge extension signed in 2018. The 29-year-old defenseman does however have a no-movement clause, complicating any potential trade.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Toronto Maple Leafs Hire Manny Malhotra

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The Toronto Maple Leafs lost an assistant coach earlier this year when Paul McFarland decided to return to the OHL and take a job running the Kingston Frontenacs, but have found his replacement. The Maple Leafs have hired Manny Malhotra, who has spent the last few seasons working with the Vancouver Canucks. Head coach Sheldon Keefe released a statement on his new assistant:

The work ethic, character, intelligence and attention to detail that made Manny the ultimate teammate when he played are all assets that have translated to his coaching. That, combined with his charisma and communication skills, make us really excited to have him join the organization. On behalf of the Leafs, I’d like to thank Travis Green, Jim Benning and the Canucks organization for the opportunity to speak with Manny.

Malhotra, a veteran of more than 1,000 NHL games, is still relatively new to the coaching world having just retired from playing in 2016. The 40-year-old scored just 295 points in the NHL but was a hard-nosed checking center that was always among the leaders in faceoff percentage. He received votes for the Selke Trophy on many occasions, even finishing fifth in 2011.

He was hired by the Canucks in 2017 as a development coach, meaning his move to Toronto will actually be a step up and takes him a little closer to being an NHL head coach. It comes with the added benefit of a homecoming, given Malhotra is from Mississauga, just outside of Toronto.

David Singh of Sportsnet did a long feature on Malhotra earlier this summer, noting that “several people within the industry peg him as a rising star in the coaching ranks” but that he would also need some time behind the bench as an assistant at some point. That time appears to be now with the Maple Leafs.

Toronto had been linked to several other names around the league, including former Minnesota Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau, but according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic decided to go with Malhotra instead. Rocky Thompson, another coach they spoke with, is likely heading to the San Jose Sharks to join Bob Boughner’s staff.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet broke the news on Twitter. 

Arizona Coyotes Hire Bill Armstrong

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Thursday: The team has officially announced Armstrong as the new GM. Coyotes president and CEO Xavier Gutierrez released a statement on the hire:

We are very excited to welcome Bill to the Coyotes as our new General Manager. We were extremely impressed with his experience, vast hockey knowledge, great ability to assess talent, and his tremendous draft record. Bill is a proven winner who has a strong work ethic and is a good communicator. He is a man of integrity and we are confident that he’s the right person to build a winning culture here and lead our hockey operations department into the future.

Wednesday: The Arizona Coyotes have still been slowly working their way through their offseason work, with the latest move coming yesterday when they signed Adin Hill to a new one-year contract. Still, that work is being done without a full-time GM, as Steve Sullivan fills in while they look for a new front office leader.

Last night, Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider reported that the team had made an offer to Bill Armstrong to become their next GM. Armstrong currently serves as AGM with the St. Louis Blues. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (among others) confirmed that Armstrong is the leading candidate and could get the job “over the next day or so.” Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet are both reporting that the deal is done with Armstrong to become the team’s next GM. The expectation is he will be signing a five-year contract with the team, worth more than $1MM per season.

If you were a fan of the Hershey Bears or Providence Bruins in the early nineties, you may remember Armstrong as the massive, old-school defenseman that was more than willing to drop the gloves at a moment’s notice. A third-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1990, the 6’5″ Armstrong would never make the NHL, instead settling for 1,169 penalty minutes in 439 AHL contests. Soon after his retirement from playing in 1998 he joined the P-Bruins as an assistant coach, before taking over the head coaching duties a few years later.

Eventually, Armstrong found his way to the Blues in 2004 as a scout and has been with the organization ever since. In 2018 he became an assistant GM for Doug Armstrong—to which there is no relation—after Martin Brodeur left the organization.

The Coyotes are looking for a new GM after John Chayka’s ugly public divorce from the team earlier this summer. Formerly the youngest GM in the league, Chayka had served in the role since 2016 but terminated his contract with the team in July.

IIHF Announces 2021 World Juniors To Be Held In Bubble

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The IIHF has announced that the 2021 World Junior Championship, originally scheduled to be held in Red Deer and Edmonton, Alberta, will now be a single-venue tournament held in just Edmonton. It will use the “bubble” protocols that the NHL has pioneered for their 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs and will be held without spectators. The tournament schedule will be revised and released at a later date.

Because of the changes to this year’s tournament, the IIHF has also made a swap down the line. The 2022 event will no longer be held in Gothenburg, Sweden, but is now scheduled for the original hosts of Red Deer and Edmonton with spectators. Sweden will now host the 2024 tournament instead.

The governing body has also canceled the lower division 2021 tournaments, meaning there will be no promotion or relegation this year. The relegation round for the World Juniors will no longer take place.

Washington Capitals Re-Sign Brian Pinho

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The Washington Capitals have reached an agreement with another one of their restricted free agents, this time re-signing Brian Pinho to a two-year contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $725K in the NHL, but is two-way in 2020-21 and one-way 2021-22.

Pinho, 25, actually made his NHL debut in these playoffs for the Capitals, suiting up twice against the New York Islanders (but receiving just 18 total shifts). The 2013 sixth-round pick finally made it all the way to the show after four years at Providence College and two full seasons in the AHL. While Pinho didn’t find any success in 2018-19 with the Hershey Bears, he broke out this year by scoring 20 goals in just 62 games.

It’s hard to imagine a way for Pinho to make a real impact on the NHL team, but the extension certainly puts him in a position to compete for a roster spot. Notably, he is still waiver-exempt for one more season meaning he can be sent to the minor leagues and held there as depth.

Snapshots: Galchenyuk, Shinkaruk, Costantini

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While it should not come as much of a surprise, seeing as he was viewed as a throw-in rental in the trade that brought him to Minnesota rather than a core, long-term piece of the return, Alex Galchenyuk is not expected to return to the Wild next season. GM Bill Guerin told the media this evening, including the Star Tribune’s Sarah McClellan, that the impending free agent forward is unlikely to return to Minnesota this off-season. Galchenyuk was acquired by the Wild from the Pittsburgh Penguins in February – his third trade in two years – alongside prospect defenseman Calen Addison and a first-round pick in exchange for veteran forward Jason Zucker. Although Galchenyuk, a 26-year-old with two 50+ point seasons on his resume, was far from a useless addition for the Wild, it was Addison and the first-rounder that were the real prizes for the club. Given Galchenyuk’s expiring contract and the downward trajectory of his career, few expected Galchenyuk to stick long-term in Minnesota. Galchenyuk seemingly peaked early in his career, setting career highs in goals and points in 2015-16 and points per game in 2016-17, at the ages of 21 and 22 respectively, with the Montreal Canadiens. In each year since,  his final season in Montreal and stops with the Arizona Coyotes and Penguins, his per-game scoring has dropped off, reaching a career-low this year. Although his seven points in 14 games with the Wild was better than his overall rate for the year, it wasn’t enough to convince the club that he was worthy of an extension. Galchenyuk will hit the open market as an intriguing player, one of the younger UFA’s and certainly the most accomplished for his age, but also stuck in a downward spiral for the past few seasons. He needs a fresh start and would benefit from some long-term security, if he can find it. If Galchenyk can return to 50-point form, he could be one of the best bargains available this off-season.

  • One young player who won’t be returning to the NHL altogether next season is Hunter Shinkaruk. Another former Canadien, although best remembered as a long-time prospect of the Calgary Flames, Shinkaruk has opted to re-sign with the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star for another year, the league announced. After he was not qualified by Montreal last summer, Shinkaruk did not find another NHL home and eventually signed with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. However, he left the team mid-season to join Kunlun. He recorded nine points in 19 games, which was among the team leaders in per-game production. Playing on a Red Star roster that is loaded with NHL and AHL veterans, Shinkaruk can play a greater role than he would likely find in North America, while continuing to play a familiar style with peers from whom he can learn. While Shinkaruk, 25, can no longer qualify as an NHL prospect, he has a better chance than most to find his way back to the league one day given his age and ability.
  • One legitimate NHL prospect who is headed to a new home is forward Matteo Costantini. A 2020 NHL Draft prospect gearing up to hear his name called in a few weeks, Costantini has also revealed where he will be headed in 2021-22 and beyond. Costantini, who is committed to the BCHL’s Penticton Vees for the coming season, will then take his talents to the University of North Dakota, the Vees announced Tuesday. Constantini, who hails from Ontario but has been playing with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres for the past few years, has appeared on a number of draft boards this year. Most notably, Constantini was given a third-round draft grade by TSN’s Craig Button, who has him ranked No. 77 in his final draft board. The goal-scoring center will be a nice addition for North Dakota, a top NCAA program with several current and future NHL prospects on their roster right now and committed for next year.

Montreal Canadiens Sign Joel Edmundson

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The Montreal Canadiens took a chance when they traded a fifth-round pick for the negotiating rights of Joel Edmundson, but it has worked out the way they hoped. Today, the Canadiens have signed Edmundson to a four-year contract that will carry a $3.5MM average annual value. Edmunson will also receive a 10-team no-trade clause in the deal, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.

Edmundson, 27, is coming off the best offensive season of his career, scoring 20 points in 68 games with the Carolina Hurricanes. That followed his arrival from the St. Louis Blues as part of the package that landed Justin Faulk, just a few months after Edmundson won the Stanley Cup. While he certainly should not be considered an offensive defenseman, he has logged big minutes in the past and was a big contributor to Carolina’s penalty kill. That defensive acumen was obviously coveted enough by Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin for him to go out and use an asset to acquire Edmundson before he hit the open market, while also handing out a long-term contract.

Montreal of course has star defensemen Shea Weber and Jeff Petry manning the blueline, but the latter is heading into his final year under contract. The team has now shored up the group with another capable defender, though it’s unclear exactly how the playing time will now shake out. Alexander Romanov was expected to challenge for a spot on the NHL roster immediately, but Edmundson’s addition actually gives the Canadiens a glut of left-handed options. Still, having defensive depth was always going to be required for the Canadiens to compete in the Eastern Conference and the team had plenty of cap space to work with this offseason.

For Edmundson, this contract represents the first real long-term stability he has had in his NHL career. He’d previously been playing on short-term deals, including just a one-year $3.1MM contract awarded through arbitration in 2019-20. While this doesn’t represent much of a salary increase on his last two contracts, he does get some financial security and is now locked in through the 2023-24 season.

Buffalo Sabres Acquire Eric Staal

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The Buffalo Sabres have traded Marcus Johansson to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Eric Staal. No salary will be retained by either team. Though both players hold partial no-trade clauses, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that neither one had their new team blocked.

This deal represents a swap of two players scheduled for free agency in 2021, though Johansson is nearly six years younger than Staal. The former Buffalo forward heads to Minnesota after experiencing arguably the worst offensive season of his career, scoring just nine goals and 30 points in 60 games. Johansson never really found his footing in Buffalo and couldn’t manage the move back to center ice, a position he hadn’t routinely played since his second season in the NHL. If he stays in Minnesota, it will be interesting to see where he fits into the lineup since the Wild have made it clear they are looking for an upgrade down the middle. They recently acquired Nick Bjugstad who can also play center, though he wasn’t used there full-time in Pittsburgh.

For Staal, this trade apparently took him by surprise. Russo tweets that the veteran forward is “stunned” though he’ll have some familiar faces in Buffalo to greet him. Kevyn Adams, who will mark his first trade as Sabres GM with this deal, was a teammate of Staal’s with the Carolina Hurricanes, winning a Stanley Cup together in 2006. Perhaps more notably though is the connection with Sabres forward Jeff Skinner, who played several years with Staal in Carolina and is coming off a dreadful 23-point season after signing a huge $72MM extension.

There’s no doubt that Staal represents an upgrade down the middle for the Sabres, as even at the age of 35 he was still effective this season. In 66 regular season games with Minnesota, he recorded 47 points, a total that would have put him third on the Sabres behind only Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart. The fact that he comes at a discount—Staal is owed just $3MM and carries a cap hit of $3.25MM for next season, compared to $4MM and $4.5MM for Johansson—makes this seem like an easy win for the Sabres, as long as his play doesn’t drop off a cliff next year.

Still, there is a chance that Johansson can find his “MoJo” in Minnesota. Remember that this is a player who scored 24 goals and 58 points as recently as 2016-17 and will only turn 30 next month. He also played quite well for the Boston Bruins in last year’s playoffs, scoring 11 points in 22 games as a depth option. That postseason performance is exactly what earned him the two-year $9MM deal with the Sabres last summer.

For the Wild, the acquisitions of Johansson and Bjugstad over the last few days have added a pair of players on expiring deals that will both be looking to rebuild their value before free agency. Either one could be potential trade chips at the deadline should the 2020-21 season go sideways, or potential extension candidates if they can get back on track. For Buffalo on the other hand, Staal’s acquisition is much more about starting to turn the team in the right direction and providing some backup for Eichel upfront. Saving $1MM in salary may also be important for a team that has been rumored to be looking at an internal budget this season due to reduced revenues.

Darren Dreger of TSN was first to break that Johansson had been traded from Buffalo, while Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported it is a one-for-one deal. 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

St. Louis Blues Hire Jim Montgomery

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The St. Louis Blues have added a former Central Division rival to their coaching staff, hiring former Dallas Stars head coach Jim Montgomery as an assistant for the 2020-21 season. Montgomery has signed a two-year contract with the Blues to join head coach Craig Berube’s staff, replacing the outgoing Marc Savard who recently stepped away from the coaching ranks.

Montgomery was fired by the Stars in December 2019 for “unprofessional conduct” and later issued a public apology and entered an inpatient residential program for alcohol abuse. He was replaced by interim coach Rick Bowness, who now has the Stars in the Stanley Cup Finals and is likely looking at an extension with the team if he decides to return as head coach.

A much-celebrated head coach at the University of Denver, Montgomery entered the NHL as the new bench boss of the Stars in 2018 and led them to a 43-32-7 record in his first year. The Stars actually came within a goal of the Western Conference Finals that season, losing in overtime to the eventual champion Blues.

That second-round series isn’t his only interaction with the St. Louis organization though. In fact, Montgomery started his NHL playing career with the Blues in 1993 and played 67 of his 122 career games for the team. He’ll now join them to try and get his coaching career back on track.

Snapshots: Palm Springs, Boughner, Engelland

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When the Seattle Kraken enter the league for the 2021-22 season, they likely won’t have a primary AHL affiliate yet. That’s because the new Palm Springs franchise announced today that instead of a downtown arena they will now be building a location in the Coachella Valley which is scheduled to be ready for the 2022-23 season. For 2021-22, since the team will not have the full complement of minor leaguers, the most likely scenario will be finding places for them elsewhere.

The unnamed AHL franchise will play in a privately funded building owned by the Oak View Group and The H.N. & Frances C. Berger Foundation. Construction is set to break ground in 2021 and it will be a 10,000-plus seat venue.

  • The San Jose Sharks are expected to remove the interim tag from head coach Bob Boughner in the coming days, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Boughner led the Sharks to just a 14-20-3 record after replacing Peter DeBoer this season, but has a strong history with the front office from his multiple stints as an assistant coach. Boughner has plenty of experience behind the bench, having coached the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL for years and spending two seasons as head coach of the Florida Panthers.
  • Vegas Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon didn’t have a lot of answers regarding the goaltending situation for his team this summer and whether they would bring back Robin Lehner on a multi-year contract, but did shed some light on a different trade deadline discussion. Deryk Engelland, who has been a leader in Vegas since the franchise first joined the league, was offered a deal at the deadline to go to a team that wanted him. Engelland declined the opportunity, even though his lineup spot had disappeared and he wouldn’t be suiting up in the playoffs. McCrimmon told reporters including Nick Cotsonika of NHL.com that Engelland felt the Golden Knights had a real shot at winning the Stanley Cup and he accepted his role down the stretch. The 38-year-old defenseman played in 49 regular season games and is an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

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