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Archives for June 2022

Coaching Notes: Engel-Natzke, Nasreddine, Jets

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The Washington Capitals have made history with the promotion of Emily Engel-Natzke to video coordinator, making her the first woman to hold a full-time coaching role in the NHL. Engel-Natzke served as the video coach of the Hershey Bears for the past two seasons. General manager Brian MacLellan released a statement:

We are extremely pleased to name Emily as our new video coordinator. Emily’s work ethic, skill set, and passion were displayed in her tenure with the Hershey Bears, and we feel she is ready and deserving of this opportunity. She will be a tremendous asset to our coaching staff.

Prior to working with the Bears, Engel-Natzke served as video coordinator for the University of Wisconsin (men’s and women’s teams), and USA Hockey. More from around the coaching world:

  • Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports is reporting that Alain Nasredding will be joining the Dallas Stars as an assistant coach. He leaves the New Jersey Devils after seven seasons, including the 2019-20 campaign when he stepped in as interim head coach for a time. The Stars will have a brand new look behind the bench after hiring former New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer earlier this month. Interestingly enough, Nasreddine only joined the Devils the season after DeBoer was fired as head coach, meaning this will be the first time they work together on an NHL bench.
  • The Winnipeg Jets are down to five candidates for their own head coaching position, according to Kevin Weekes of ESPN. Scott Arniel, Rick Tocchet, Jim Montgomery, Jeff Blashill, and Pascal Vincent are the finalists according to Weekes, though Andrew Brunette has also been linked previously. Montgomery, a top candidate for several jobs, also has been listed as a finalist for the Boston Bruins job, though there have been no official announcements yet from either team.

Ottawa Senators Promote Trent Mann; Hire Ryan Bowness

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After losing assistant general manager Peter MacTavish to the agent world earlier this month, and parting ways with Pierre McGuire, the Ottawa Senators had some vacancies in the front office. They’ve filled two of them today, by promoting chief amateur scout Trent Mann and hiring Ryan Bowness. Both men will take on assistant general manager titles, effective tomorrow.

GM Pierre Dorion released the following:

Trent’s promotion and Ryan’s hiring represent two significant additions of our front office staff. On top of the success they have achieved in NHL, both are excellent hockey minds, hard workers and quality leaders. Trent has shown to be one of the top evaluators of amateur talent in the industry and has progressed to become an invaluable resource to the entire organization. Ryan is a critical thinker whose experience will allow him to contribute to a wide variety of areas. His success in professional scouting along with his ability to communicate in detail makes him an ideal complement to our hockey group.

Mann, 48, has been with the team since 2010 and quickly climbed up the organizational chart. In the press release for his promotion, the team indicates that he will still serve in the same scouting role while adding “greater player developmental responsibilities.” A former goaltender, he has been an integral part of the Senators draft decisions over the last several years and will continue to lead their team when they make five selections in the first three rounds next month.

Bowness comes with a surname that many will recognize, as the son of long-time NHL coach Rick Bowness. The 38-year-old executive has been with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the last six years, serving most recently as the director of professional scouting. With his new team, he will serve as general manager of the Belleville Senators while also overseeing “contractual-related items.”

It’s a homecoming of sorts, as his father was the first head coach in Senators franchise history when they came into the NHL in 1992. Ryan Bowness was just nine years old at the time and played minor hockey in the area before moving on to the Brampton Battalion of the OHL.

Toronto Willing To Trade Ilya Mikheyev’s Rights

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It never did look like the Toronto Maple Leafs were going to be able to afford Ilya Mikheyev this summer and now they’ve basically made it clear that an extension is off the table. Both Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic are reporting that the Maple Leafs’ front office has made it clear to teams around the league that Mikheyev’s rights are available for trade if they want to try and sign him before he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 13.

The 27-year-old winger had a strong season for Toronto, scoring 21 goals in just 53 games including four short-handed tallies. The 6’3″ Mikheyev has blinding speed and a long reach, making him a perfect penalty-killing option that is dangerous on the counterattack. His offensive skill sometimes leaves something to be desired, as Maple Leafs fans will tell you he can’t always finish on his chances but there is still a valuable player to be had this summer.

In fact, a recent report suggested that Mikheyev is looking for somewhere between $4-5MM per season, something that the cap-strapped Maple Leafs just wouldn’t be able to afford. If they can get back an asset–any asset–before he hits the open market in two weeks, it would seem a win for Toronto.

Alternatively, getting Mikheyev before he gets a chance to talk to the whole league might also save a team some cap space, especially if it comes with a long-term deal. The undrafted winger carried a cap hit of just $1.645MM in each of the last two seasons and will be looking to cash in on his strong season.

There has been the suggestion that the Maple Leafs could do the same thing with Jack Campbell, given a similar contractual impasse. The netminder will likely be too expensive for Toronto to retain, meaning getting an asset for him by trading him before free agency might be the best option they have at the moment.

Montreal Canadiens Looking For Additional Top-10 Pick

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The Montreal Canadiens already have the first-overall selection in next week’s draft but it appears as though they’re trying to provide even more entertainment for the crowd at the Bell Centre. Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that the Canadiens have called every team in the top ten trying to get a second high pick.

Montreal of course already has the 26th pick as well, one that came from the Calgary Flames in the Tyler Toffoli trade. They also have two seconds, three thirds, and three fourths, meaning they’ll be infusing their system with a huge amount of talent either way. Those mid-round picks, which remember include the first choice in each round (33rd, 66th, and 98th), could be leveraged in a deal to move up to the top ten, should they find a taker.

Philadelphia Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher, who sits at No. 5, spoke about the potential of a trade-down scenario yesterday, and while he wouldn’t rule it out, explained how rare it is to move a pick that high. The New Jersey Devils have openly stated that they would consider moving the second-overall, though again it seems they are not actively pursuing it and would need to be blown away by an offer.

The Arizona Coyotes, Seattle Kraken, Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, and Anaheim Ducks are the other teams in the top ten.

Senators Will Not Qualify Adam Gaudette

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It wasn’t so long ago that Adam Gaudette was a top prospect, leaving Northeastern University with the Hobey Baker and a ton of NHL momentum. In his second season, he scored 12 goals and 33 points in 59 games, suggesting that he could be a reliable top-six contributor down the road.

Now, just a few years later, he won’t be receiving a qualifying offer from the Ottawa Senators, making him an unrestricted free agent again at age 25. Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that the Senators have already told Gaudette of their plan to leave him unqualified.

This is nothing new for the young forward. He failed to receive a qualifying offer last year either, though eventually agreed to a new contract with the Chicago Blackhawks for the same amount anyway. The team then put him on waivers in November, leading him to Ottawa, where he played 50 games in the second half of the year.

It doesn’t appear as though a contract is coming from the Senators this time, meaning Gaudette will have to find a new NHL home. With just 25 points since the start of the 2020-21 season (across 98 games and three teams), it’s unclear what exactly he can bring to the table at this point.

For Ottawa, who have plenty of young talents pushing for looks in camp and a tight budget, the risk of salary arbitration was likely too much. Though he hasn’t done much recently, that 33-point season would still likely mean a contract above $1MM through the arbitration process, while his play can be replaced by another candidate for the Senators.

Ryan Murphy Signs In KHL

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After a season with the Detroit Red Wings that failed to result in any NHL action, Ryan Murphy is going back to Russia. The veteran defenseman has signed a new one-year contract with Salavat Yulaev Ufa for the 2022-23 season.

Murphy, 29, was the 12th overall pick back in 2011 but failed to ever really establish himself as a full-time NHL player. The offensive defenseman managed 175 games, most recently with the New Jersey Devils in 2019, but left for the KHL that year to try his hand overseas. On his return in 2021, he wore an “A” as an alternate captain with the Henderson Silver Knights and won the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s best defenseman.

Now just a year later and he’s headed back to the KHL to continue his career. With Ufa, he’ll get a chance to play under someone who has plenty of NHL experience of his own in Viktor Kozlov. He has been promoted to head coach for this season, after previously serving as an assistant.

While it has been a somewhat disappointing career so far for the former top prospect, there’s no doubt that Murphy can be a difference-maker at the KHL level. He’s also still young enough that there could be another NHL contract in his future, even if the AHL is more likely his stomping ground moving forward.

Buffalo Sabres Extend Craig Anderson

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The Buffalo Sabres drew Craig Anderson out of retirement last offseason and after a strong performance, he’s coming back for another go-round. Anderson has signed a new one-year deal with the Sabres, this time worth $1.5MM, twice what he made in 2021-22.

Since the end of the season, Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has done nothing but speak highly of the 41-year-old netminder, explaining that he was a huge part of the leadership group in Buffalo this year, helping the young team take positive steps. “He gave us a chance to win,” said Adams earlier this week.

Still, though Anderson did play better than expected, his overall numbers were still well below league average. Partly due to the Sabres play in front of him, and partly because of a late-season swoon, Anderson ended the year with an .897 save percentage in 31 appearances.

Different from last year though is that Anderson likely isn’t going to be expected to carry the lion’s share of the goaltending load. Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News still expects the team to acquire a proven NHL goaltender one way or another to pair with the veteran, allowing prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to start in the AHL once again.

Clearly, there is a desire from Buffalo to be more competitive in 2022-23, but it remains to be seen whether Anderson–who could be the oldest player in the league this season, depending on Zdeno Chara’s decision–can actually continue to give them that status.

He will get a chance to climb even higher on the all-time lists though. Anderson is currently tied with Pekka Rinne for 32nd in games played and could become just the 31st goaltender in history to crack the 700-game mark with 17 more appearances.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Tampa Bay Lightning Extend Darren Raddysh

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June 30: The Lightning have officially announced the contract, confirming the details.

June 29: While one Raddysh brother departed the Tampa Bay Lightning organization earlier this year, the other will be sticking around. Per CapFriendly, the team has extended defenseman Darren Raddysh on a two-year, two-way deal that carries a cap hit of $762,500. The 26-year-old older brother of now-Chicago Blackhawk Taylor Raddysh was a pending Group VI unrestricted free agent.

Raddysh’s deal earns him a guaranteed $350,000 each season. He made his NHL debut this season while the Lightning had some health issues on defense, going pointless in four NHL contests.

After winning the OHL championship in 2017 with the Erie Otters and being named the league’s defenseman of the year, it hasn’t been the smoothest professional career for Raddysh. He showed positive steps in the New York Rangers organization, notching 15 points in 24 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack during the 2020-21 season, but his numbers took a step back again in Syracuse in 2022.

In 61 games, he had 25 points, but his defensive play was decent enough to work himself up the recall list for the Lightning. He’ll remain high on their minor-league depth chart for the time being.

Saint John Sea Dogs Win 2022 Memorial Cup

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For the first time since 2019, the CHL’s Memorial Cup has been awarded, this time to the tournament-host Saint John Sea Dogs, who defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs by a score of 6-3 this evening to win the 2022 Memorial Cup. Saint John’s run was one of the more interesting ones, the team taking an impressive 44-17-4 regular season record into the playoffs, falling to the Rimouski Oceanic in the first round. As the host, Saint John was nonetheless awarded a spot in the final four of the Memorial Cup, along with the OHL Champion Hamilton Bulldogs, the QMJHL Champion Shawinigan Cataractes, and the WHL Champion Edmonton Oil Kings.

However, after the impressive season, Saint John and GM Trevor Georgie made the decision to fire Head Coach Gordie Dwyer, hiring University of New Brunswick coach Gardiner MacDougall. That choice, met with some question marks, ended up paying dividends for Saint John, who have taken the CHL’s ultimate prize, the first host team to win the tournament since the Windsor Spitfires did so in 2017.

The Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy for the tournament’s Most Valuable Player was awarded to Saint John’s William Dufour, who’s seven goals lead the tournament and was one shy for most all-time in a single tournament. This wasn’t Dufour’s first MVP this season, having won the QMJHL’s MVP award for the 2021-22 regular season as well after putting up an incredible 56 goals and 60 assists in just 66 games. A fifth-round pick of the New York Islanders in 2020, Dufour has elevated his prospect status this season and could be destined for a pro debut in the Islanders organization next season after signing his ELC in April.

Offseason Notes: Kadri, Flyers, Fleury

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Earlier today, Stanley Cup champion and pending UFA Nazem Kadri joined hosts Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne on the “Real Kyper and Bourne” podcast on Sportsnet, where he was asked about his upcoming free agency and his desire to stay with the Colorado Avalanche. When asked if Colorado was his number one choice, Kadri responded, “How could it not be? The Kroenke’s have been great supporters of mine and made it clear to me that they’d like me to stay also, but we understand that there’s a business aspect involved. We’re going to try to work together.” As Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now points out, having the Kroenke’s, Avalanche ownership, express the desire to have Kadri stay is a good sign that it could happen, but that doesn’t mean it will be cheap.

Kadri is coming off of a career-year where he scored 87 points in 71 games, adding an additional 15 points in 16 playoff games en route to a Stanley Cup championship. Colorado projects to have just under $25.7MM in salary cap space this offseason, however the team does have pending UFAs in Andre Burakovsky, Valeri Nichushkin, Josh Manson, and Darcy Kuemper, amongst others, to contend with, on top of a large raise to Nathan MacKinnon next offseason. Though it of course won’t be cheap, Kadri showing this level of interest in remaining with Colorado could give the organization some leverage to work out a contract that is not only fair to Kadri, but would play into their needs as well. This wouldn’t necessarily have to be a hometown discount, but could be a small concession in salary or term, perhaps even in exchange for more of the other, depending on what makes the most sense for both sides.

  • Speaking to the media today, including Philly Hockey Now’s Sam Carchidi, Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher said that it was more likely the team would move down in the draft than move up. Fletcher added that he had been discussing the pick with other teams to gauge its value and would only move it for a player that could help the team win now and in the future. Assistant GM Brent Flahr, who also runs the team’s draft board, added that the team could simply move down in the draft depending on what happens, if they believe they can get the player they want later on. Philadelphia is in an interesting position with its pick, the fifth overall selection being a rather valuable pick that almost always fetches a highly-regarded prospect, but this year’s draft appears to have a fairly uniform top-three players in Shane Wright, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Logan Cooley, with the pool opening up a bit after.
  • The Minnesota Wild kicked off the offseason blockbusters with a trade of Kevin Fiala earlier today, but that didn’t stop GM Bill Guerin from receiving questions on another of the offseason’s prime targets: goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. As The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports, when asked about Fleury, Guerin told the media that he doesn’t have an answer yet on the goaltender, but does hope to re-sign him. Re-signing Fleury will be a challenge for the Wild due in part to the cap issues that necessitated the trade of Fiala, but also given Fleury’s preferences. When reflecting on his future after being traded from the Vegas Golden Knights to the Chicago Blackhawks last summer, then as a trade chip at this year’s trade deadline, Fleury made it clear if he was going to continue to play, he wanted to be in a competitive situation. Today’s events don’t necessarily mean that the Wild aren’t going to compete next year, but it does appear to be a step in the opposite direction of what Fleury is looking for, and at a time when every other team as well as retirement could compete for him.

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