Poll: Was Firing Claude Julien The Right Decision?
The Montreal Canadiens have made the first coaching change of the season, firing veteran bench boss Claude Julien and replacing him, at least for now, with Dominique Ducharme. Julien was hired by the Canadiens in 2017 after being let go by the Boston Bruins, inking a new expensive five-year deal with Montreal. He didn’t make it through that full contract (it has a year left), but his tenure there wasn’t actually all that unsuccessful. Sure, the Canadiens didn’t make it very deep in the postseason, but they did get there in two of his four chances.
Overall, the Canadiens were 129-113-35 under Julien this time around, but back-to-back losses against the Ottawa Senators eventually sealed his fate. General manager Marc Bergevin told reporters including Arpon Basu of The Athletic today that when the Canadiens had last week off between games, he gave Julien and his staff the benefit of the doubt that he would turn things around. Three straight losses out of the break obviously showed things hadn’t changed, so he made the move to give the younger Ducharme a chance.
The former CHL Coach of the Year has obviously been groomed for this role and will be given the rest of the 2020-21 season to make his case to continue as head coach into the future. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Bergevin won’t even be reaching out to other coaching candidates for the time being, giving Ducharme his chance instead. LeBrun also notes that Gerard Gallant, who has been thrown around as a potential replacement in Montreal, would not be willing to take an associate or assistant coach role–he’s waiting for a head coaching position.
Even though Julien’s recent history wasn’t great, it’s important to remember just how successful he’s been as a coach in the NHL. His overall record of 667-445-10-152 gives him a .587 points percentage, meaning his teams average over 96 points a season. He sits 13th on the all-time wins list and lifted the Stanley Cup as head coach of the Bruins in 2011.
Was it the right move for Montreal? Will this be able to turn their season around, given how readily available a playoff spot seems in the North Division? Is Ducharme the right coach to lead them moving forward? Vote on the poll below and make sure you leave your thoughts in the comment section.
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COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/24/21
Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here are today’s results:
NY Rangers – Kaapo Kakko, K’Andre Miller*
Ottawa – Ryan Dzingel
Philadelphia – Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom, Jakub Voracek
San Jose – Tomas Hertl*
As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:
(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol
Players removed today: Justin Braun, Philadelphia Flyers; Alexander Barabanov, Toronto Maple Leafs
The big news today is the addition of Hertl, after which the NHL immediately postponed tomorrow’s game between the Sharks and Golden Knights. Hopefully, the team can limit the spread or contact and get back to playing soon, but for now, their facilities have been shut down indefinitely.
Barabanov’s PCR test was inconclusive for the Maple Leafs, but then when retested came back negative. He was able to re-join the team at morning skate. Braun’s removal is another strong step in the right direction for the Flyers, who are getting closer to clearing their board.
*denotes new addition
League Notes: Draft, Fines, AHL
There’s been a lot of talk about the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and how it could be pushed back from this summer, but Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet examines just how difficult that would actually be in his latest 31 Thoughts column. Everyone agrees that it will be tough to properly assess players who haven’t had a chance to play much this season, but the draft has many other machinations that go along with it, including service time and rights retention.
There are real hurdles to overcome before the event is moved just like anything that needs to be negotiated between the NHL and NHLPA. For now, the draft is still scheduled to begin on July 23, just a few days after the Seattle Kraken enter as the league’s 32nd franchise and hold their expansion draft.
- Vancouver Canucks forward Antoine Roussel has been fined $5,000 for roughing Edmonton Oilers forward Jesse Puljujarvi last night, the maximum allowable under the CBA. After a whistle, Roussel started throwing punches at Puljujarvi without the Edmonton forward wanting to engage in a fight. Roussel was also assessed a two-minute minor penalty on the play.
- The AHL has postponed tonight’s game between the Iowa Wild and Texas Stars due to COVID-19 protocols affecting the Wild. The game has not been rescheduled yet. This postponement means that Texas will continue to wait for their next game after having last week’s match postponed due to inclement weather. The Stars haven’t played since February 13 and it is unclear if games on Friday and Saturday against Iowa will go ahead.
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 02/24/21
There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day.
West Division
- The Arizona Coyotes have recalled Michael Chaput from the taxi squad to the active roster and Frederik Gauthier from the AHL to the taxi squad. Gauthier, 25, played in 168 NHL games over parts of five seasons with the Maple Leafs but has yet to get into any action for the Coyotes.
- The Los Angeles Kings have recalled Austin Strand from the taxi squad, after placing Jaret Anderson-Dolan on injured reserve. Anderson-Dolan’s IR stint is retroactive to February 18 when he last played, meaning he can basically return as soon as he’s recovered. The young forward was off to quite the start with five points in his first six games this season.
- Once their game tomorrow was postponed, the Vegas Golden Knights assigned both Patrick Brown and Logan Thompson back to the AHL. Thompson had only been recalled to the taxi squad earlier today, but turns out won’t be needed as Vegas waits for Saturday to get back into game action.
- The Anaheim Ducks continued their daily roster shuffling, assigning David Backes to the taxi squad while recalling Andy Welinski and Vinni Lettieri from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
- The Avalanche made a series of roster moves, per CapFriendly. Logan O’Connor was recalled on an emergency loan with Brandon Saad unavailable with his wife expecting to give birth. Meanwhile, Hunter Miska and Jayson Megna were sent to AHL Colorado while Peyton Jones was recalled to the taxi squad to give the Avs three goalies.
- The Blues have recalled Austin Poganski and Jake Walman from the taxi squad while promoting Steven Santini to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. Poganski and Walman have played a handful of games for St. Louis this season while the addition of Santini to the taxi squad gives them another veteran with Carl Gunnarsson out for the season.
North Division
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled Artem Anisimov from the taxi squad after their game last night, while moving Erik Brannstrom and Micheal Haley down. Anisimov could come in for Derek Stepan, who was injured in last night’s game, though since the Senators are off for the day it might simply be a paper transaction for salary savings.
- The Calgary Flames had Oliver Kylington in their lineup against Toronto, meaning that the blueliner was recalled from the taxi squad. The 23-year-old has been up and down all season but had suited up just once before tonight’s game.
- The Montreal Canadiens sent Paul Byron and Nick Suzuki to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly, yielding some small cap savings. Both players will likely be recalled in time for their game tomorrow against Winnipeg.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs recalled Scott Sabourin on a roster emergency exception and assigned Nic Petan to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. Sabourin has yet to play since having his AHL deal converted to a two-way NHL contract while Petan has an assist in six games this season.
Central Division
- The Nashville Predators have reassigned Eeli Tolvanen and Ben Harpur to the taxi squad, the same move they do on nearly every off day. The Predators won last night and Tolvanen scored his second goal of the season, bringing his career total to three.
- Andrew Peeke is headed back to the minor leagues for now, assigned to the Cleveland Monsters by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Peeke has played in six NHL games with Columbus this season but looked a bit overmatched at times, so will get back on the ice in the AHL.
- The Detroit Red Wings have sent Kaden Fulcher back to the AHL from the taxi squad, though if he plays for the Grand Rapids Griffins it would be his first action at that level. The 22-year-old undrafted goaltender has an appearance in the NHL, but otherwise has only seen the ECHL as a professional. They also returned Danny DeKeyser and Mathias Brome to the taxi squad, extending DeKeyser’s waiver exemption and saving some salary on Brome.
- After clearing waivers, Tanner Kero has been assigned to the taxi squad by the Dallas Stars. In his place, Nicholas Caamano and Rhett Gardner have been recalled.
- After he cleared waivers earlier today, the Panthers assigned Tommy Cross to Providence of the AHL. Florida’s affiliate opted out of this season so Cross instead returns to a team he’s quite familiar with having spent parts of seven seasons with them from 2011-12 through 2017-18.
- The Carolina Hurricanes are back in action tonight and accordingly have recalled Alex Nedeljkovic, Jake Bean, and Steven Lorentz from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. In order to stay compliant with the minimum taxi squad size, Dave Gust was recalled to the taxi squad from AHL Chicago.
- After not getting picked up off waivers, the Lightning loaned Luke Schenn to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. Not much will change for him as he’ll likely continue to go back and forth until he plays in ten more games with Tampa Bay and becomes waiver-eligible again. Meanwhile, Callan Foote and Ross Colton were recalled from the taxi squad.
East Division
- The Buffalo Sabres have sent Dustin Tokarski back to the AHL, where the Rochester Americans will be back in action on Friday night. The team is 4-1 through the early part of the minor league season and Tokarski has posted a .932 save percentage in his two appearances. They also assigned Casey Mittelstadt, Rasmus Asplund, and Jacob Bryson to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
- The Washington Capitals moved Ilya Samsonov to the minor leagues earlier today, where he is expected to play for the Hershey Bears against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this afternoon.
- The New York Rangers made another long list of moves, per CapFriendly. Igor Shesterkin, Libor Hajek, Colin Blackwell, Anthony Bitetto, and Jonny Brodzinski were all brought up from the taxi squad while Keith Kinkaid was sent back to the taxi squad. To stay compliant with roster rules for the taxi squad, Ty Ronning and Patrick Newell were recalled from AHL Hartford.
- The Philadelphia Flyers recalled Samuel Morin on an emergency exception as well as Carsen Twarynski on an emergency loan, per CapFriendly. Morin has been back and forth all season while Twarynski will make his season debut after playing in 15 games last season.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins returned both Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Drew O’Connor to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. Joseph has stepped into a regular role with the Pens, logging nearly 18 minutes per night in 13 games so far this season while O’Connor has played in eight games, primarily on the fourth line.
Pittsburgh Penguins Claim Mark Friedman
We finally have some skater movement on waivers. Today, the Pittsburgh Penguins have claimed defenseman Mark Friedman from the Philadelphia Flyers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
The easy connection to make here is straight from Friedman (the player) to Ron Hextall, who recently took over as Penguins GM. It was Hextall who drafted Friedman 86th overall in 2014 just a month after he was promoted to Flyers GM. It was also Hextall who would have seen Friedman at his best, a dominant all-situations force for the Bowling Green State University team.
The 25-year-old defenseman hasn’t made that kind of impact in the NHL yet, playing just 11 games to this point. Just four of those have come this season, but perhaps he’ll receive a bigger opportunity once he gets to Pittsburgh. The Penguins have dealt with injuries to their defense corps all season and still have two regulars on long-term injured reserve. Defense, in particular, will be an interesting test of Hextall’s new philosophy with the Penguins, given they had previously been invested in reclamation projects like Mike Matheson and Cody Ceci.
Friedman becomes the first skater to be claimed off waivers since before the season started. The other three players on waivers with him yesterday—Tanner Kero, Tommy Cross and Luke Schenn—all cleared.
Four Players Placed On Waivers
Feb 24: Friedman has been claimed on waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The other three have cleared and can now be assigned to the taxi squad or minor leagues.
Feb 23: The Philadelphia Flyers have placed Mark Friedman on waivers, a move that would allow them to send him to the taxi squad or minor leagues. The Flyers are expected to get several players back from the COVID Protocol list in the coming days, including Claude Giroux today as he re-joined the team for practice.
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, three other players–Tanner Kero, Tommy Cross and Luke Schenn–have also been placed on waivers today.
Friedman (the player, not the scribe), has played in four games for the Flyers this season, including their outdoor match at Lake Tahoe. He was forced to play both forward and defense in that game thanks to the large number of regulars out of the lineup, but that just shows how far down he is on the defensive depth chart at this point. His placement on waivers shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given how easily players have passed through this season.
Kero is much of the same story, having already cleared waivers earlier this year. The 28-year-old center has played in nine games and has two points, but usually shuffles between the active roster and taxi squad for the Dallas Stars and isn’t expected to be claimed. Kero has two points and 24 total in his 81-game NHL career. Cross meanwhile has just three games under his belt at the NHL level and none since the 2015-16 season. The 31-year-old put up 21 points in 50 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds last season.
It’s Schenn that is the interesting name here, even if he too is unlikely to be claimed. The 31-year-old defenseman has nearly 800 games of NHL experience and a recent Stanley Cup on his resume with the Tampa Bay Lightning. For just an $800K salary that’s a ton of experience that could be useful to a banged-up team. In 14 games this season Schenn has just one point, but that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. He has just 149 points in his long career and hasn’t scored more than 16 since the 2011-12 season.
Jeremy Lauzon Out With Fractured Hand
The Boston Bruins have announced that Jeremy Lauzon underwent surgery to repair a fractured left hand today, and he will not be reevaluated for the next four weeks. The defenseman was just starting to find his way in the NHL, receiving regular playing time as part of the team’s youth movement on the blueline.
Lauzon, 23, even played on the top pairing alongside Charlie McAvoy at times this season and logged at least 20 minutes of ice time in seven of his first 16 games. He had three points on the year, but actually led the Bruins in hits and had more shots on goal than any defenseman not named McAvoy. A key part of the team’s early success, he’ll have to work his way back after at least a month off.
Because of the condensed schedule, missing four weeks means missing at least 14 games, a quarter of the season. The question now becomes whether or not the Bruins use this injury as a catalyst to make a trade deadline acquisition, or rely on an internal replacement like Urho Vaakanainen. The depth chart is getting awfully thin with Lauzon, Matt Grzelcyk, and Jakub Zboril all now on or headed to injured reserve. Just yesterday, a report emerged that the Buffalo Sabres are willing to trade Brandon Montour, while speculation on Mattias Ekholm has led to the Bruins being a potential destination.
Luckily for Lauzon, he has another year on his current contract and won’t have to be going into arbitration with a limited amount of games. If healthy, he should return to the lineup later on this year and be given a chance to re-establish himself as a core piece on the back end.
Claude Julien Fired By Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens have made a change behind the bench, relieving head coach Claude Julien and associate coach Kirk Muller of their duties. Dominique Ducharme, who had been serving as an assistant, will serve as interim head coach, while Alexandre Burrows has joined the coaching staff. Luke Richardson and Stephane Waite will retain their respective duties with the staff.
GM Marc Bergevin released a statement:
I would like to sincerely thank Claude and Kirk for their contributions to our team over the past five years during which we worked together. I have great respect for these two men whom I hold in high regard. In Dominique Ducharme, we see a very promising coach who will bring new life and new energy to our group. We feel that our team can achieve high standards and the time had come for a change.
Earlier in the season, the Canadiens appeared ready to challenge for the top spot in the North Division, with a high-powered offense led by newcomers Tyler Toffoli and Josh Anderson. Unfortunately, some of that offense has dried up and the team has come apart at the seams, losing back-to-back games against the Ottawa Senators. Those two losses certainly punctuate a drop in play, but it was obvious for some time that the Canadiens weren’t as good as their early-season results.
They had the Vancouver Canucks number especially, but against non-Vancouver teams, the Canadiens had just a 5-5-3 record on the year. Recently, the coach had made drastic moves to try and spark the team like scratching Tomas Tatar, the team’s 2019-20 scoring leader. When that didn’t work, the hammer had to come down on someone and it turned out to be Julien.
It’s not like Ducharme has no experience running a bench though. The interim coach was an incredibly successful junior coach, winning the CHL Coach of the Year award in 2013. He has been the head coach of Canada’s World Junior team twice, winning gold in 2018. This will be, however, his first time as a head coach in the NHL. Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports that there is not another change expected before the end of the season.
For Julien, the term “relieved of duties” was used because he has one more year on his contract at $5MM, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. That means any team hoping to hire Julien will need to approach the Canadiens and negotiate a deal to pay at least some of that remaining salary. Otherwise, Montreal will pay him to stay at home for the next year.
If the old hockey adage of “show me a good coach and I’ll show you a good goalie” is true, perhaps it is the opposite that has cost Julien his job. Although Carey Price has looked rejuvenated at times this season, the simple fact is that he’s not stopping the puck enough for the Canadiens to contend each night. Price has just an .893 save percentage on the season and though some of that can be attributed to the play in front of him, his numbers have been trending down for several seasons now—not to mention Jake Allen‘s .932 behind the same team. If Ducharme is to turn the Canadiens around this season (or in any of the next five), that performance has to improve.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
AHL Announces Full 2020-21 Schedule For Canadian Clubs
Over a month since the AHL released the regular season schedules for its American teams and more than three weeks since those same teams started playing, the league has finally announced a full season schedule for its Canadian contingent. Of course, the clubs already began play over the course of the past week, but were operating on a limited schedule of just a few games. They now have a full slate to look forward to.
Like their American counterparts, the Canadian teams will all wrap up their regular seasons in mid-May. While the previously-released schedule ended on May 14, this new schedule has games up through May 16. Unlike the American teams, the Canadian clubs will all play the same amount of games. Though home and away splits differ, the Belleville Senators, Laval Rocket, Manitoba Moose, and Toronto Marlies will each play 36 games apiece.
The exception to all of this is the odd duck team of this AHL season: the Stockton Heat, an American team displaced for this year by a move to Calgary, the home of their parent club. The Heat, who were the final Canadian team to get started this season, will play a much different slate than any other team in the league due to their location away from American competition but also far from their fellow Canadian teams. “Stockton” will only play 30 games, broken up into long road trips and home stands. Their regular season schedule will also come to an end on April 29, more than two weeks before the rest of the league. The Calgary Flames knew there would be negative repercussions for relocating their farm team just before the season started, but felt the transactional benefits for the NHL club outweighed the limitations to their AHL club.
Minor Transactions: 02/23/21
During a year in which there is a unique and unprecedented mix of leagues at different points in their respective seasons, there are always moves to be made. While the NHL has seen internal transactions made at a newfound rapid pace this season, there continue to be other notable moves made across the hockey world every day. Keep up with those transactions here:
- While most European leagues are nearing the ends of their regular seasons, Germany’s DEL started up around the same time as the NHL and are less than 20 games into their campaign. With plenty of hockey left to play, teams are still scouring for talent. This has allowed former NHLer Simon Despres to find a home this season. Despres, 29, had a promising NHL career derailed by injury and, other than a brief AHL comeback attempt early in the 2018-19 season, has spent the past three seasons in Europe. He has found moderate success overseas and had his best season last year with Sweden’s IK Oskarshamn. Now, he is returning to Germany for a second stint, as Eisbaren Berlin has announced a contract with Despres for the remainder of the season. Despres has a great chance to play a key role in a long season for Berlin, who currently sit in second place in the DEL and have the scoring depth and goaltending to contend for a title. The team has not received much production from its defense thus far, but that is where Despres can step in and be a difference-maker.
- It has been a whirlwind couple of days for former RIT standout Adam Brubacher. The defenseman was released from his AHL contract with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, only to immediately land a PTO with the Manitoba Moose, per a team release. While RIT nor their conference, Atlantic Hockey, are among the elite in the NCAA, Brubacher’s accomplishments over the past four years remain impressive. A member of an all-conference team in three of his four seasons and Atlantic Hockey’s Rookie of the Year in 2016-17, Brubacher was among the most productive defensemen in the NCAA over his collegiate career with 106 point in 148 games. While he was released by Bridgeport before ever playing a game, if he is given an opportunity by Manitoba to show that his ability translates to the pros, he could become a nice piece on the back end for the club.
- Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Wyatt Schingoethe has made his college commitment. The 18-year-old center has announced that he will join Western Michigan University next season. A seventh-round pick in 2020, Schingoethe has excelled down the middle for the USHL’s Waterloo Blackhawks over the past few years, playing a fast and aggressive high-energy style that produces points, turnovers, and defensive support. While draft rankings differ greatly further into the draft, there were at least some sources that expected Schingoethe to go a round or two earlier than he did. He hopes to begin showing that he is a legitimate prospect for the Leafs when he arrives at WMU next year. The Broncos are a strong program, but currently count Philadelphia’s Ronnie Attard as their only NHL prospect. Schingoethe will be a major boost.