Preds Extend Head Coach Laviolette
Update (4:15pm): Vignan fills in some of the details, indicating the extension binds Laviolette to the club through the 2020-21 season. Evidently the current contract between the parties was set to expire following the 2018-19 campaign.
The Nashville Predators have extended the contract of head coach Peter Laviolette, adding another two years to his pact, according to a tweet from Adam Vingan, who covers the team for The Tennessean. It’s unclear how many years remained on the current deal, though perhaps it’s fair to assume he was entering the final season.
Laviolette was named head coach of the Predators in May of 2014 and in two seasons has posted a record of 88 – 52 – 24. The 200 points the club has accumulated during that time is the 10th highest team total in the NHL. He replaced longtime head coach Barry Trotz, who was hired by Washington upon his dismissal from Nashville. Laviolette is just the second man to serve in the capacity during the 17-year history of the franchise.
Prior to joining the Predators, Laviolette spent five seasons behind the bench in Philadelphia, leading the Flyers to three postseason berths, including a run to the Cup Final in 2009-10. He guided the Carolina Hurricanes to their only Stanley Cup Championship in 2005-06, though the club missed the postseason in each of Laviolette’s other four seasons at the helm. The former defenseman got his NHL head coaching start with the Islanders, spending two years in New York and leading the team to the playoffs in both seasons.
All told, Laviolette has a career head coaching record of 477 – 334 – 25 – 87, winning two division titles, a Stanley Cup and guiding his teams to eight playoff berths in parts of 14 seasons behind an NHL bench.
Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Eighth Overall Pick
Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.
We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?
Here are the results of our redraft so far:
1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
Now we move forward to the eighth pick, which was held by the San Jose Sharks.
To recap how this works:
- We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
- The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.
The Sharks selected Devin Setoguchi with the eighth overall pick and at the time, it looked like a solid pick. In 2008-09, Setoguchi had his best season with 65 points (31-34) and it looked like he would only go up from there. Unfortunately, he never came close. Instead, Setoguchi bounced around the league and recently signed a professional tryout with the Kings. In eight NHL seasons, Setoguchi has 249 points (127-122).
With the eighth pick of the 2005 NHL Draft, who should the San Jose Sharks select? Cast your vote below!
With the 8th overall pick, the San Jose Sharks select.....
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Marc-Edouard Vlasic 27% (97)
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Ben Bishop 18% (63)
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T.J. Oshie 16% (57)
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James Neal 14% (50)
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Keith Yandle 9% (31)
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Paul Stastny 4% (16)
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Marc Staal 3% (11)
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Jack Johnson 2% (6)
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Niklas Hjalmarsson 2% (6)
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Anton Stralman 1% (4)
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Justin Abdelkader 1% (3)
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Kris Russell 1% (3)
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Patric Hornqvist 1% (3)
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Benoit Pouliot 0% (1)
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Gilbert Brule 0% (1)
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Martin Hanzal 0% (1)
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Andrew Cogliano 0% (1)
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Matt Niskanen 0% (1)
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Ondrej Pavelec 0% (1)
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Mason Raymond 0% (1)
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Vladimir Sobotka 0% (1)
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Jack Skille 0% (0)
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Devin Setoguchi 0% (0)
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Jakub Kindl 0% (0)
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Steve Downie 0% (0)
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Cody Franson 0% (0)
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Jared Boll 0% (0)
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Darren Helm 0% (0)
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Nathan Gerbe 0% (0)
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Sergei Kostitsyn 0% (0)
Total votes: 358
Mobile Users click here to vote!
Snapshots: Tkachuk, Rinne, Red Wings
Matthew Tkachuk scored the game winning goal for the Flames in their 2-1 victory over Vancouver Friday night. But all of Calgary took a collective sigh of relief after Tkachuk looked to suffer an injury early in the second period. Pat Steinberg tweeted the reaction as soon as Tkachuk was rocked into the boards by defenseman Joseph Labate. What appeared to be a serious injury barely kept him off the ice. Tkachuk returned to score the game winner and the sixth overall draft pick of the 2016 has looked good early on a line with Sam Bennett and Troy Brouwer. Calgary bench boss Glen Gulutzan said this about Tkachuk:
“(Brouwer) certainly helps and Bennie, they’ve got a little chemistry, but Matthew, he fits right in. He’s always around the net so he’s always picking up loose change.”
In other NHL notes:
- Adam Vingan writes about Pekka Rinne and his approach to the game after playing for Team Finland in the World Cup of Hockey. The 33-year-old netminder has been fighting the perception that he is in decline and Vingan notes that Rinne was the rock of Nasvhille’s team for many years. Last season, Rinne had 66 starts, which was second in league for all goalies. Vingan points out, however, that Rinne led the league in starts with a save percentage less than 85 percent during eleven of those 66 starts. Regardless, the Preds don’t seem too concerned about Rinne’s performance. Captain Mike Fisher agreed with coach Peter Laviolette who said Rinne is capable of winning games for the Preds:
“We’re all excited to see him back. He’s a leader around here. Practices, games, he works so hard. He brings the level up by the way he competes.”
- The Red Wings have trimmed their roster and included veteran Dan Cleary who was signed to a professional tryout. Cleary will now report to Grand Rapids, and it appears that his days, or opportunities with the Red Wings are over. Since signing again with Detroit during the 2013-14 season, Cleary has been in steep decline and a lightning rod of criticism from fans who felt he took a spot from younger players to play.
Boston Offers Christian Ehrhoff Professional Tryout
According to Bob McKenzie via Twitter, the Boston Bruins have offered defenseman Christian Ehrhoff a professional tryout. After an impressive performance with Team Europe, Ehrhoff was given the chance to extend his NHL career with the Bruins. During the World Cup of Hockey, Ehrhoff had three assists in six games.
Last season, Ehrhoff signed a one-year, $1.5MM contract with the Kings but the move never panned out. Instead, he was dealt to Chicago for Rob Scuderi and played sparingly with the Blackhawks. In 40 games with the Kings, he had 10 points (2-8) while with Chicago he had 2 assists in 8 games. He did not appear in any playoff games during the Hawks’ seven game series loss to the Blues.
NBC’s Cam Tucker points out that while Ehrhoff is on the wrong side of 30, and has seen his skill set steadily decline, he has a chance to work in with a “seasoned” group of defenseman that include Zdeno Chara, and John-Michael Liles.
2016-17 Season Preview: Vancouver Canucks
We’re now less than two weeks away from the start of the 2016-17 regular season. PHR continues with our season preview series, moving on to the Vancouver Canucks.
Last Season: 31 – 38 – 13 (75 points); finished sixth in the Pacific Division and missed the playoffs.
Cap Space Remaining: $2.771MM, via Cap Friendly.
Key Newcomers: Loui Eriksson (free agent – Boston); Erik Gudbrnason (trade – Florida); Philip Larsen (free agent – KHL)
Key Departures: Radim Vrata (free agent – Arizona); Jared McCann (trade – Florida); Matt Bartkowski (free agent)
Player(s) To Watch: Bo Horvat and Ryan Miller: Horvat represents a key building block for the future whereas Miller can help the Canucks compete for a playoff spot and/or become a valuable trade deadline chip.
Horvat may have already established himself as the team’s second best center after Henrik Sedin following a 40-point sophomore season and depending on how Brandon Sutter rebounds from an injury-filled 2015-16 season. While 40 points is strong production for a 20-year-old, second-year player but Horvat still needs to work on his overall game. This past season he finished with a -30 plus-minus rating and he also struggled in the puck possession department ranking 212th out of 234 forwards who played at least 800 minutes at 5v5 in Corsi For % with a 45.8%.
The third-year pivot will not only be a key contributor for the Canucks in 2016-17 campaign but his further development is an instrumental part of the organization’s roster retooling. With many of the team’s best players nearing the end of their careers – either with Vancouver or in the NHL – Horvat will be counted on to help lead the next wave of stars and to help guide the team back to the postseason.
Miller has long been regarded as one of the better goalies in the league, even if his average numbers don’t necessarily concur with that reputation. Of the 28 netminders who have seen 5,000 5v5 minutes combined over the last three seasons, Miller ranks just 22nd in Save % at 92.2%. He rated better when facing high danger chances at same strength situations, placing 15th with a HDSv% of 81.05%.
Regardless, excellent goaltending can help overcome a roster devoid of prime talent and if Miller turns in one of his better career performances in 2016-17, he may be able to keep the Canucks playoff chances alive late into the campaign.
It’s also quite likely that the team will shop Miller, who is entering the final year of his contract, ahead of the trade deadline in an effort to add futures to help speed up the rebuild. Even if no playoff contenders are in dire need of a starting goalie, an experienced option like Miller would still carry value as a backup. Since the Canucks probably would have little interest in re-signing the 13-year veteran, they might consider trading him – even for a second-round pick or less – a better option than losing him for nothing after the season.
Key Storyline: Will the Canucks fully buy in to a rebuild or continue to pretend they can be a playoff team at the same time they inject youth into the lineup? The harsh reality is the Canucks would need too many things to go right for them to make the postseason in 2016-17. Ryan Miller and Jacob Markstrom would have to provide top-notch play between the pipes. The Sedin twins will have to continue to stave off Father Time and perform at an elite level. Several of the team’s younger players – like Horvat – will need to improve further. And even if all of that goes their way it still probably wouldn’t be enough in a division that sent three teams to the postseason in 2015-16 and saw every other non-playoff squad make significant moves to improve their rosters.
Vancouver probably should have embraced the rebuild last year when they potentially could have moved some veteran assets for futures. But they shouldn’t be afraid to do so now, particularly if they don’t get off to a hot start to the season. It’s important that the organization adopts and implements a strategy that’s going to ensure on-ice success for the organization in the future as opposed to simply treading in the waters of mediocrity as they seem to be doing now.
Pacific Division Roster Battle Notes: Setoguchi, Dell, Hamilton, Jones, Booth
A 30-goal scorer in the NHL at the age of 22, Devin Setoguchi was well on his way to stardom once upon a time. But a steady decline in his on-ice performance coupled with a well-documented problem with alcohol derailed his once promising hockey career. Now completely sober, Setoguchi is in camp with the L.A. Kings and according to Elliot Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News, the 29-year-old forward is taking full advantage of what well could be his last opportunity to make an NHL roster.
Steoguchi, who the Kings signed to a PTO earlier this month, has impressed the Kings coaching staff with the “energy and effectiveness” that is reminiscent of his early days playing for the Sharks, opines Teaford. And while the Kings may not expect Setoguchi to again score 20 or more goals in a single season at this level, there is a real opportunity for him to make the roster and contribute. The Kings lost LW Milan Lucic to free agency while Marian Gaborik injured his foot at the World Cup and is set to miss the start of the 2016-17 season. Even if it’s in a bottom-six role, Setoguchi can add quality depth to the Kings lineup if he continues to play with energy.
Kings assistant coach John Stevens had this to say about Setoguchi:
“You have to give him a lot of credit.” He was out of the league for a little bit and I didn’t know what to expect, but to his credit he came here in a very good condition and was ready to go and wanted to put his best foot forward to win a position on the squad. I think for me it’s exciting to see that, just coming in here prepared.”
“He’s going to give himself a good chance to perform well, so it’s good to see.”
Whether Setoguchi will make an impact with the Kings in 2016-17 and possibly jump start his NHL career remains to be seen. But at the very least, it appears as if he has his life in order again.
Elsewhere regarding position battles in the Pacific Division:
- When James Reimer signed lucrative contract this summer to become the Florida Panthers new backup goalie, the Sharks were left searching for his replacement. As Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News writes, it appears as if 27-year-old journeyman netminder Aaron Dell is the front-runner to earn the #2 position behind incumbent starter Martin Jones. Dell, who played collegiate hockey for the University of North Dakota, suited up for five different professional teams prior to signing with the Sharks organization in March of 2015. He finished with 17 wins, a GAA of 2.42 and a save % of 92.2 in 40 appearances for the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL during the 2015-16 season. Troy Grosenick represents Dell’s competition for the position. The two shared duties with the Barracuda a year ago with Grosenick’s numbers – 3.16 GAA, 89.4% Save % – inferior to those posted by Dell. Of the pair, Grosenick is the only goalie with any NHL experience, albeit with just two appearances with the Sharks in 2014-15.
- Last season, Freddie Hamilton assisted on a goal by his brother, Dougie, becoming the first set of siblings to appear on the same line on the score sheet. As Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun writes, Freddie would like that to be the first time of many for the brothers. While Dougie is a big-ticket player for the Flames and assured of a spot among Calgary’s top four blue liners, Freddie will have to earn regular ice time as a forward. The elder Hamilton brother recently inked a two-year, one-way contract with the club but as GM Brad Treliving noted, “Last year, we had players on one-way contracts that were making good money that went to the minors. I think all the players know that there is still the make-the-team portion of this, and that’s no different for Freddie or anybody.” Hamilton appeared in just four games with the Flames in 2015-16 and has only 33 career games of NHL experience. Hamilton’s chances of making the club could hinge largely on whether the team elects to keep Matthew Tkachuk on the roster or return the 2016 first-round pick to juniors. If Tkachuk makes the team it would likely push more accomplished players down the depth chart and leave little room for Hamilton.
- The Anaheim Ducks may be deep on defense but they have a couple of openings up front with plenty of competition for those spots. As Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register writes, veteran forwards David Booth, David Jones and Sean Bergenheim are in camp with Anaheim, trying to convert a PTO into a guaranteed deal. All three have achieved a fair amount of success in this league but have struggled in recent seasons, with Booth and Bergenheim each failing to land an NHL job in 2015-16. Jones, on the other hand, scored 11 goals in 75 games between Calgary and Minnesota.
Blackhawks Notes: Forsling, Pokka, Schmaltz, Darling
The Chicago Sun-Times Mark Lazerus writes that defenseman Gustav Forsling could be sticking around with the Hawks for a little bit longer. The 20-year-old was paired with Brian Campbell during the Hawks’ 2-0 loss against Pittsburgh, and might be a great fill-in should Duncan Keith not be able to play when Chicago expects him to. Lazerus notes that head coach Joel Quenneville has carried as many as eight defensemen in the past, so holding onto the “kid” might not be far fetched. Assistant coach Kevin Dineen says that the Blackhawks are a “performance based organization” that will give the job to the most deserving player. Scott Powers argues that Forsling still won’t see the time he could have due to Campbell signing on the cheap, and Michal Kempny choosing the Hawks. Forsling, he writes, is most likely headed back to Sweden, despite the Hawks sounding like they might be making a place for him. Powers adds that Forsling is certainly NHL ready but that sending him back to Sweden to push his next contract off a year might be incentive enough to keep his off the roster.
In other Hawks news:
- Powers continues his defensive analysis by writing that Ville Pokka is also not too far away from being a mainstay on the blue line. Though he’s a bit slower in stride and not as gifted athletically as other d-men, Powers believes that his acumen and hockey IQ will more than compensate for an eventual shot with the Hawks. He will have a chance in Chicago–it’s just a matter of when.
- Chicago is high on Nick Schmaltz for obvious reasons, and Powers writes that his work with fellow rookie Vinnie Hinostroza and Richard Panik certainly garnered attention. The three drove possession and were the “best line” on the ice during the Hawks’ preseason loss. He continues by writing that Schmaltz and Hinostroza stand the best chance of making the roster among bubble players.
- According to Powers, Scott Darling could be a #1 goalie in the NHL when he’s “at his best.” Where Darling needs to improve, writes Powers, is his consistency. Darling is set for free agency after this season, and if he is interested in playing the role of a starter, Powers notes that he will have to be better between the pipes after having considerable time between starts. During Wednesday’s game, Darling had 33 saves on 35 shots and dazzled during the second period with 23 saves. Should his game continue to be as impressive, Darling could expect a lot of phone calls next summer.
2016-17 Season Preview: Detroit Red Wings
With the NHL preseason underway, PHR continues to look at every team prior to the regular season. Today, we look at the Detroit Red Wings.
Last season: 41-30-11 (93 points); Finished 3rd in the Atlantic; Lost 4-1 to Tampa Bay in the first round.
Cap Space Remaining: -$4.24MM via CapFriendly.
Key Newcomers: F Thomas Vanek (signed as free agent); F Frans Nielsen (signed as free agent from New York Islanders); F Steve Ott (signed as free agent from St. Louis), F Dylan Sadowy (acquired from San Jose).
Key Departures: D Kyle Quincey (signed with New Jersey).
Player to Watch: Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar: Both saw their numbers fall last season, but a lot of that, after looking at advanced stats and ice time, show a difference in terms of how the two were utilized. Not having two players on the ice who have a knack to score goals is detrimental to their development, confidence, and ultimately, the team’s success. Both Tatar and Nyquist were supposed to have the baton handed to them as Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk slowed. But head coach Jeff Blashill, who admitted his own culpability in their regression, has to be better in deploying the two goal scorers. Nyquist and Tatar, should they see the ice time they were afforded in the past, should return to their true form. Blashill has promised more minutes and a greater insistence on them.
Key Storylines: Will the Red Wings entrust this team to younger, faster, and hungrier players? Looking at teams who have seen success by allowing their younger players to play, the Red Wings are at a critical juncture in the salary cap era. Ken Holland is being scrutinized by fans and analysts for his summer of “the same” where he brought back familiar faces at much higher prices–Darren Helm immediately comes to mind. This makes some fans leery as Holland promised big changes–though he did add Vanek, and Nielsen, players who should improve the scoring woes. Reports from Darren Dreger cite that Holland balked at the asking price for Jacob Trouba and while it can be speculated that either Anthony Mantha or Dylan Larkin were asked for, Holland felt comfortable enough with his defense, though others aren’t as sure. Much was written about the Wings’ need for defense, but Holland apparently is happy with what already sits in the pipeline.
The mindset for the Wings brass seems to be one that is fine limping into the playoffs only to be bounced early. It’s a team that has for too long, relied on veterans in a league that favors the younger, speedier player. Training camp will reveal clues early should Andreas Athanasiou and Mantha both be sent down, or be healthy scratches while Drew Miller, Luke Glendening and Steve Ott play on the fourth line. Will this team learn from the sins of season’s past? Or will the organization still continue its “just do enough” strategy to make the playoffs instead of looking ahead to what could be a very painful future?
Snapshots: Cowen, Werenski, Heatherington
The long and contentious Jared Cowen saga seems to finally have an end date put in place, as the arbitration hearing has been set to determine whether the Toronto Maple Leafs were actually able to buy out the defenseman. Toronto successfully bought Cowen out earlier this summer, but the NHLPA has filed a grievance and contends that they were not allowed to do so, due to Cowen’s continuing injured status.
On October 19th, according to Bob McKenzie, an arbitrator will decide whether to uphold or reverse the buyout. If Cowen wins, he would be due his $4.5MM salary, where as if the buyout was upheld, he’d earn just $750K this season and next.
For the Maple Leafs, that $3.75MM in savings would help the rebuild even further, as they’ve used their financial power to gain assets (or, usually, rid themselves of burdens) over the past few seasons. Cowen underwent hip surgery this summer and won’t be ready for any kind of hockey until February at the earliest.
- For the Blue Jackets, this season holds a lot of promise. One of the biggest stories will be the debut of Zach Werenski, the team’s top prospect (outside of perhaps Pierre-Luc Dubois). As Werenski gets ready to make his preseason debut on Thursday, he wrote a piece for NHL.com describing the journey he’s taken so far. “I’m trying to make the NHL. It’s a little nerve-wracking, I won’t lie, but I feel confident that I can make it happen,” he writes, being honest with himself and the reader instead of spouting bravado. Werenski certainly seems ready; he joined the Lake Erie Monsters late last season, and led them with 14 points in the playoffs en route to a Calder Cup victory.
- Still with Columbus, Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch reports that Dillon Heatherington has suffered a fractured wrist and will be out 6-8 weeks. A second-round pick in 2013, he was set to continue his development at the AHL level this season. Aaron Portzline, also of the Dispatch, adds that fellow prospect Keegan Kolesar has undergone hernia surgery and will be out at least six weeks. Kolesar scored 61 points in 64 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL last season, and will head back for one more year.
Nashville Predators Sign Samuel Girard To ELC
According to Adam Vingan of the Tennessean, the Nashville Predators have signed their 2016 second-round pick Samuel Girard to a three-year, entry level contract.
Girard, 18, has played the past two seasons for Shawinigan of the QMJHL, turning in one of the finest offensive seasons from a blueliner in recent history last year. With 74 points in 67 games, Girard led all defensemen in the league and was 15 points ahead of the second highest scoring d-man.
Also adding a whopping 22 points in the playoffs, Girard is an elite puck-moving defender who is undersized and needs to work on his positioning in the defensive end. Weighing in at only 160 pounds last season, the left-handed shooter needs to bulk up considerably before making a push for the NHL.
His offense however, could lend itself to early professional success, as we’ve seen other undersized players flourish at the AHL level. If Girard can continue to put up points 5 on 5, the new analytical approach that is dominating front offices around the game might see him as a net-win, even at the highest level.