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New York Rangers Part Ways With Gerard Gallant

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In an odd mix between being a surprising yet expected move, the New York Rangers have announced today that they have agreed to part ways with head coach Gerard Gallant. This will mark the end of his two-year stint in New York, and the Rangers now become a new player on the head coaching market this summer.

Gallant’s first stint in coaching came when he joined the Columbus Blue Jackets as an assistant coach for their inaugural season in the league. As the franchise got off to a slow start, as was typical for expansion franchises at the time, Gallant was promoted to head coach of the Blue Jackets halfway through the 2003-04 season. Getting off to a 5-9-1 start to the 2006-07 season, Gallant was fired by the Blue Jackets organization and finished his first head coaching stint with a 56-76-4-6 record.

Between 2008-2014, Gallant would spend time with the New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens, both in the assistant coach position. Between those two stops on his coaching journey, Gallant would spend three seasons in the QMJHL as head coach of the Saint John Sea Dogs. Finally, after moving on from the Canadiens, Gallant would get his next opportunity as a head coach in the NHL, joining the Florida Panthers before the 2014-15 season.

In Florida, Gallant had the benefit of joining a team that could seemingly only improve. In the 2013-14 season, Florida finished 29th in the league and would be awarded the number one overall selection in the 2014 NHL Draft, selecting Barrie Colts defenseman, Aaron Ekblad. In his first full season coaching Florida, the team improved better than expected, improving by 25 points in the standings year-on-year, and barely missing the playoffs.

In the 2015-16 season, the Panthers would finally make it back to the playoffs, finishing first in the Atlantic Division, but ultimately losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Islanders. After an 11-10-1 start to the 2016-17 season, Gallant was once again let go at the beginning of the season.

It would not take long for Gallant to find his new home, as he was hired by the newest expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights, before their first season in 2017-18. Accomplishing one of the most unexpected feats in NHL history, Gallant would lead the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their first season, losing to the Washington Capitals in five games. Taking a step back during the 2018-19 season, the Golden Knights would once again make the playoffs, but this time losing in the first round to the San Jose Sharks.

Just missing the 50-game mark of the 2019-20 season, Gallant would coach the Golden Knights to a 24-19-6 record and would be subsequently fired midseason once again in his head coaching career. He would finish his stint in Vegas with a 118-75-20 record over 213 games.

Finally, he once again found his way to the Big Apple, joining the Rangers as head coach starting in the 2021-22 season. In his two-year stint in New York as head coach, he would lead the Rangers to a 99-46-19 record, leading the team to the Eastern Conference Finals last year. Heading into the 2022-23 NHL offseason, the Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Blue Jackets, Capitals, and now the Rangers all have head coaching vacancies to fill.

West Notes: Jets, Mitchell, McCann

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Jets centers Mark Scheifele and Pierre-Luc Dubois enter this summer with one year of team control remaining for each of them.  Scheifele is under contract while Dubois has a final season of arbitration eligibility remaining.  While it’s possible both could play on expiring deals next season, allowing GM Kevin Cheveldayoff more time to assess the future of his core, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press suggests doing so would be tantamount to professional malpractice.  Instead, he argues that the risk of them being injured in their walk years would be too great so if the middlemen aren’t willing to sign long-term with Winnipeg, moving them this summer would be the right approach, allowing them to get strong returns for each of them in the coming months.

More from the West:

  • Things haven’t gone as planned for Blackhawks defenseman Ian Mitchell. He has shown some promise in spurts but hasn’t been able to produce consistently and has dealt with some injury trouble, resulting in him frequently being out of the lineup.  Despite that, John Dietz of the Daily Herald argues that Chicago should give one more chance to the 24-year-old pending restricted free agent.  Even with other blueline prospects looking like they could be ready for a bigger role next season, there isn’t much risk to giving Mitchell a one-year, two-way deal.  If things don’t pan out, they can waive him and try to get him back to Rockford but if he’s able to lock down a spot in Chicago, he’ll be worth the low price tag he’ll ultimately cost.  His qualifying offer checks in at just under $875K but he could take less than that in exchange for a higher AHL salary.
  • Kraken center Jared McCann skated today for the first time since being injured in the fourth game of their series against Colorado. However, head coach Dave Hakstol told reporters, including NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika that it’s very unlikely that the 26-year-old will be available tomorrow against Dallas.  McCann was on the ice in a non-contact jersey so until he’s cleared by doctors for contact, it’s doubtful that Seattle will have their 40-goal scorer available to them.

Offseason Checklist: Arizona Coyotes

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The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs plus those that were eliminated early.  It’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Arizona.

It was an interesting year for the Coyotes.  A team that looked like it was built to bottom out, Arizona actually had a winning record on home ice and even a late-season struggle didn’t drop them into the bottom five of the standings.  While there is still a long way to go in their rebuild, there is cause for optimism moving forward.  That is, assuming one major item gets checked off their checklist later this month.

Crank Up The Marketing

Generally speaking, a team’s promotion of something wouldn’t be classified as newsworthy.  But later this month, Tempe voters will vote on the proposed Tempe Entertainment District.  Voters have to vote on three propositions, one to amend the general plan for the property which is currently a landfill, one to approve the rezoning for the project, and one to enter into a contract with the development company.  If any one of those three propositions is defeated, the project will fall through and Arizona’s arena search will be dealt a serious blow.

The full project is expected to cost roughly $2.1BB and covers the construction of a new arena, along with high-end retail, upscale restaurants, boutique hotels, and more than 1,900 luxury residential units in the city.  While city council is on board with the project, there has been some vocal opposition to it as well, making it far from a foregone conclusion that it’s approved.

Accordingly, the Coyotes are likely to pick up the push to generate some positive momentum for voting which closes on May 16th.  A yes vote on all three propositions could help secure their future in the desert, a boon for a franchise that has basically been chasing its financial tail for more than a decade now.  Meanwhile, a no vote would call their long-term future into question as there is no financially viable way for them to stay in a college arena, even if it’s one that they’ve enjoyed some early success at.

Shop Schmaltz

Over the past few years, there has been a significant exodus of players from the Coyotes but one player who has lasted so far is Nick Schmaltz.  The way his contract is structured has seen Arizona realize considerable savings in his salary relative to his cap hit, $6.9MM over the first four years of the deal.  The pendulum is set to swing the other way as he’s owed over $24MM in salary in the remaining three seasons.  For a budget-conscious team like Arizona, this is particularly noteworthy.

Their financial situation aside, there’s a hockey-related reason to look into moving the 27-year-old.  GM Bill Armstrong admitted back in March that he feels Arizona is nearing the halfway point of its rebuild.  (For context, they’ve missed the playoffs three straight years after qualifying for them in the bubble.)  With 47 draft picks over the next four years, it stands to reason that they’re still several more seasons away from truly contending.  With that in mind, does it make sense to hold onto a player who isn’t likely to be part of their core once they get to the point of trying to contend?

Schmaltz has strung together two straight strong, albeit injury-riddled campaigns.  After picking up 23 goals and 36 assists in 63 games in 2021-22, he followed that up with 22 tallies and 36 helpers in 36 contests this season.  At a minimum, that’s strong second-line production and a $5.85MM AAV for a capable second middleman is more than reasonable.  Of course, his salary could very well deter some other budget-conscious franchises but that shouldn’t stop the Coyotes from generating a strong market for Schmaltz, especially with three years left at that cap hit.

No, Arizona doesn’t have to move Schmaltz now.  They could easily hold onto him and revisit things closer to the trade deadline.  But if they’re looking to keep payroll costs down as much as possible to offset a lack of ticket revenue (which has played a role in them trading for multiple LTIR players to capitalize on only paying the uninsured portions of their salaries), moving Schmaltz before the puck drops on the 2023-24 campaign would certainly help on that front.

Goaltending Decisions

From the moment that Karel Vejmelka established himself as a viable NHL netminder, there have been questions about his long-term future with the Coyotes.  Even after he signed an extension a little more than a year ago, that didn’t do much to quash trade speculation.  With two years remaining at a team-friendly $2.75MM AAV, there would be considerable interest in the 26-year-old and this deal would be expiring before Armstrong’s stated intended emergence from the rebuild.

By that logic, it could be inferred that Vejmelka is a strong candidate to be moved this summer.  But for all the prospects that Arizona has (and they have a lot of them before even considering the 17 picks in the first two rounds in the next four years), they don’t have a goalie of the future.  Accordingly, they might be better off holding onto him and trying to extend him next summer.  Armstrong will need to decide what the plan is for his top puck-stopper.

Meanwhile, a decision has to be made on Connor Ingram as well.  His first full NHL campaign was a decent one as he posted a .907 SV% in 27 games this season behind a team that wasn’t exactly strong in its own end.  He’s a restricted free agent in July and considering his qualifying offer is barely above the minimum salary, he’d seemingly be a no-brainer to be tendered.  However, the 26-year-old is arbitration-eligible and with the going rate for a capable backup goalie going up considerably in recent years, it’s possible that the award, should it get to a hearing, might be higher than Arizona is comfortable paying.  As a result, Armstrong will likely look into trying to move Ingram’s rights this summer if Ingram’s ask in contract discussions is too high for his liking.

One possible pressure point to factor into these decisions is Ivan Prosvetov’s waiver eligibility next season.  While the 24-year-old has been inconsistent in his brief NHL tenure, they feel he could be a legitimate NHL netminder.  Will they want to open up a spot for him next season over either carrying three goalies or running the risk of losing him on waivers?  If so, that will play a hand in one of Vejmelka or Ingram being moved.

Re-Sign Maccelli

While winger Matias Maccelli didn’t qualify as one of the three Calder Trophy finalists, it doesn’t take away from what was a strong (and surprising) rookie year.  A season after recording just a goal and five assists in 23 games, the 22-year-old became an important part of Arizona’s attack, finishing third on the team in scoring with 49 points in 64 contests while leading all NHL freshmen in assists with 38.

Maccelli is set to become a restricted free agent this summer as his entry-level contract comes to an end.  He doesn’t have arbitration eligibility and is owed a qualifying offer of just over $874K.  It’s safe to say he’ll land a fair bit more than that on his second deal.

In the past, the Coyotes haven’t shied away from signing their core young players to long-term agreements.  If they feel Maccelli is going to play at this level or better moving forward, they’d be wise to try to lock him up now.  However, with barely one full season’s worth of NHL games under his belt, the safer play would certainly be a bridge agreement.  Chances are that’s the path Armstrong will take with Maccelli in the coming months.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Canucks Sign Jonathan Lekkerimaki

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The Canucks have signed one of their top prospects, announcing that they’ve inked winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the deal has a cap hit of $950K and an AAV of $1.425MM per season after factoring in $475K in ’A’ bonuses in each year.  GM Patrik Allvin released the following statement about the signing:

Jonathan had a good run in the playoffs and gained a lot of valuable experience but unfortunately his team fell short of its ultimate goal. Each player’s development path is different and in Jonathan’s case, he had to deal with a lot of adversity this past year. But with each challenge he faced, he found a way to learn and grow. With the help of our staff, we will find the best path forward for him and we look forward to Jonathan joining our development camp in July.

The 18-year-old was the 15th overall pick at the draft last summer after a strong showing in Sweden’s junior league while also more than holding his own with seven goals in 26 games with Djurgardens of the SHL.  However, his club team was relegated down a division to the Allsvenskan in 2022-23 but it didn’t result in a big jump in output for Lekkerimaki.  Instead, he wound up with just three goals and six assists in 29 regular season games while picking up four points in seven contests for Sweden at the World Juniors.

However, Lekkerimaki was able to finish up strong, picking up a point per game in the playoffs in 15 contests but Djurgardens fell in the finals, preventing them from returning to the top level next season.  Accordingly, the winger had recently been linked to Leksands for next season in a report from Aftonbladet in Sweden.  This contract doesn’t preclude Lekkerimaki from playing overseas next season with Leksands or elsewhere; to that end, Lekkerimaki told Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic (Twitter link) that he is in discussions with SHL teams for next season.  If Lekkerimaki doesn’t play in ten games with the Canucks next season (an outcome that seems likely at this point), his contract will slide a year and still have three seasons remaining on it at this point next year.

Mattias Janmark Out Indefinitely

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It has been a tough postseason so far, to say the least for Oilers winger Mattias Janmark.  He played in their playoff opener against Los Angeles but suffered a lower-body injury after blocking a shot in the opening period.  He returned to kick off their second-round series against Vegas but after hitting his head off the boards in that game, Postmedia’s Robert Tychkowski relays that Janmark hasn’t skated since then and there is no timetable for his return.

Janmark signed with Edmonton this summer as an unrestricted free agent but didn’t make the team out of training camp, instead clearing waivers in early October.  However, he was recalled after playing just four games with AHL Bakersfield and was with the Oilers to stay the rest of the way.

The 30-year-old wound up getting into 66 games with Edmonton during the regular season, notching 10 goals and 15 assists, continuing his consistent level of production.  Over the last three seasons, Janmark’s lowest point total was 24 with his highest being 25, a mark he has now exactly hit three times in his seven-season career.  Depth scoring has been a question mark for Edmonton in the playoffs but one of their better depth scorers in Janmark will be out for a little while once again.

Snapshots: Hofer, Middleton, Senators, Korpisalo

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After revealing their initial roster yesterday for the upcoming World Championship, Hockey Canada announced (Twitter link) that Blues goaltender Joel Hofer and Wild defenseman Jacob Middleton have been added to the roster.  Hofer spent most of the season with AHL Springfield but didn’t look out of place in six games with St. Louis where he posted a .905 SV%.  He’s expected to be the backup for the Blues next season and will compete for playing time in this event with Buffalo’s Devon Levi and Montreal’s Samuel Montembeault.

As for Middleton, the 27-year-old played in 79 games for the Wild this season, picking up 15 points and 155 blocks while logging over 19 minutes a night, all career bests.  He also picked up a pair of assists and 24 blocked shots in Minnesota’s opening-round exit to Dallas.  It will be his first time representing Canada internationally.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Another celebrity has joined in on the bidding for the Senators as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that The Weeknd has joined the Kimel bid, one of the seven groups believed to still be in the race for the team. This comes on the heels of Snoop Dogg partnering up with Neko Sparks’ bid in recent days while Ryan Reynolds and the Remington Group are known to be putting together a competitive bid.  The rough deadline for final offers is the middle of May.
  • When he met with the media earlier this week including Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider, Kings goaltender Joonas Korpisalo indicated that there hasn’t been much in the way of discussions on a possible contract extension. The 29-year-old was quite impressive for Los Angeles down the stretch, posting a 2.13 GAA with a .921 SV% in 11 games, helping him earn the starting role for the playoffs.  Korpisalo is finishing a one-year, $1.3MM deal that was signed on the heels of an injury-riddled season but now, he’ll enter the open market as one of the top netminders available which could more than triple that rate on his next contract.

Ryan Reaves And Wild Have Mutual Interest In Contract Extension

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The Wild acquired veteran winger Ryan Reaves back in November, and it appears that they don’t want his addition to just be a short-term one.  Instead, it’s believed that there is mutual interest in signing the pending UFA to a contract extension, report Joe Smith, Michael Russo, and Shayna Goldman of The Athletic (subscription link).

The 36-year-old was more productive than usual with Minnesota, potting five goals and ten assists in 61 games following the swap, matching the second-highest point output of his career.  Of course, Reaves is best known for his physicality as he added 152 hits, giving their fourth line a much tougher look.  Reaves also suited up in all six playoff games, picking up 21 hits and 14 penalty minutes.

Even though there appears to be interest in an extension, it’s far from a guarantee that they’ll be able to come to one.  Reaves’ expiring deal carries a $1.75MM cap charge and while the Wild were able to afford that this season, they won’t be able to next year.

The dead cap charges for the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter increase by $1MM each next season while extensions to Matt Boldy, Frederick Gaudreau, and Marcus Johansson are adding nearly $8MM more to their payroll.  As things stand, they have a little over $8MM in cap room, per CapFriendly, with six or seven roster spots to fill including a new deal for pending RFA netminder Filip Gustavsson.

Accordingly, paying a high premium for a fourth liner, or any premium at all, really, is a luxury that Minnesota can’t afford as things stand.  Meanwhile, there’s a very good chance that will be Reaves’ last contract so he’ll likely be looking for as much money as possible and perhaps a second year on the deal.  With that in mind, it certainly looks like the Wild will need to create some cap space before realistically trying to keep the veteran in the fold.

Atlantic Notes: Lomberg, Ostlund, Lodin

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Panthers winger Ryan Lomberg has resumed skating as he works his way back from an upper-body injury, relays David Dwork of WPLG Local 10 (Twitter link).  The 28-year-old was injured in the playoff opener against Boston but suited up in three more games before being shut down for the fifth game of that series.  Lomberg, who had a career year during the regular season with 12 goals and 20 points in 82 games, is still listed as week-to-week so it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to suit up during their second-round series against Toronto.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • While Sabres prospect Noah Ostlund was recently re-assigned to AHL Rochester, he won’t be suiting up for them in the playoffs due to a foot injury, notes Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. The 19-year-old was the 16th overall pick last year and had a good season with Djurgardens of the Swedish Allsvenskan, collecting 26 points in 37 games.  Lysowski adds that Buffalo would like Ostlund to play with the Americans next year but are open to the idea of him playing at home for one more season if that’s his preference.
  • Viktor Lodin’s recently rumored deal with Oskarshamn in Sweden is now official, per a team release. The Senators prospect had 15 points in 28 games with AHL Belleville this season while making his NHL debut at the end of the 2021-22 campaign.  It’s a two-year agreement for the 23-year-old, meaning he’ll still be RFA-eligible at its expiration.  Accordingly, it’s likely that Ottawa will still tender the forward a qualifying offer next month, allowing them to retain his NHL rights in case Lodin’s production takes off in the SHL.

Latest On Matt Dumba

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The Minnesota Wild’s 2022-23 season ended with yet another first-round playoff loss last week, beginning the offseason work of general manager Bill Guerin. Guerin has a tall task ahead of him, as his mandate is to build a Stanley Cup contender around superstar Kirill Kaprizov but he must do so with the cap penalties charged for the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts set to rise to nearly $15MM combined.

One of the first cap casualties the Wild are anticipated to face due to the cost of those buyouts regards longtime Wild blueline staple Matt Dumba. The five-year, $6MM AAV contract Dumba signed in 2018 is set to expire, leaving his future in Minnesota in uncertain territory. Yesterday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on the 32 Thoughts podcast that it is “much more likely than not [Dumba] tests the market” when the new league year begins in the summer.

While Dumba may not reach the $6MM on his next contract that he earned on his last, it seems as though the Wild simply will not have the financial bandwidth to offer Dumba a market-rate contract. Friedman did add that the Wild are not yet closing the door on finding a way to retain Dumba, due to how much they respect and appreciate the player, but that his return has to be considered highly unlikely.

The upcoming class of free agent right-shot defensemen isn’t exactly overflowing with talent, and Dumba fits in as one of the top names set to be available, next to teammate John Klingberg and New Jersey Devils rearguard Damon Severson. While Dumba’s play has definitely declined since his 50-point peak in 2017-18, and his offensive production hit career-lows this past season, the 28-year-old still gave head coach Dean Evason over 21 minutes a night, including nearly two minutes short-handed.

21 minutes a night is, to be fair, a noticeable decline from the past few years as Dumba hadn’t averaged below 22 nightly minutes since he was in his first few seasons as an NHL regular. As a result, this decline in tangible returns for Dumba’s play (the decrease in ice time, points production) has left the 28-year-old’s ultimate value in a relatively nebulous place.

Is he still the dynamic, at times game-changing blueliner he was in the past? Can he still reach that point on his next contract?

Or is he a defense-only blueliner at this point in his career, and if that’s the case how much value in his own end will he bring?

Those are the questions teams will have to answer for themselves when they ponder extending Dumba a contract offer in the offseason.

It’s unclear at the current moment the level of wider leaguewide interest there is in Dumba, though it’s worth noting that all it really takes is one “believer” for Dumba to get a nice payday on his next deal.

Based on the fact that the Wild remain passionate supporters of Dumba’s overall value, and the fact that the team is still reportedly holding out hope they can find a way to retain him despite their dire cap situation, it’s entirely possible that another front office holds Dumba in a similarly high regard. If that’s the case, though, then his time in Minnesota (which has thus far lasted nearly 600 games played) is likely over.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

2023 Jack Adams Award Finalists Announced

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The 2023 finalists for the Jack Adams Award, presented to the coach who has “contributed the most to his team’s success” and voted on by the NHL Broadcasters Association, were announced tonight.

The finalists are Dave Hakstol of the Seattle Kraken, Lindy Ruff of the New Jersey Devils, and Jim Montgomery of the Boston Bruins.

Of the three finalists, only Ruff has already won the award earlier in his career. Ruff won it in 2006 on the back of an impressive 52-win campaign. In his third season as the Devils’ bench boss, Ruff has guided a young team out of their rebuilding phase and into Stanley Cup contention. Under his guidance, Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier have emerged as superstar talents and the Devils won their first playoff series since their 2011-12 run to the Stanley Cup Final.

Hakstol, a longtime college hockey coach at the University of North Dakota, is a finalist thanks to a stellar second season behind the bench of the expansion Seattle Kraken.

While Seattle did not enjoy the type of instant success the Vegas Golden Knights had in their first season, 2022-23 has been more kind to Hakstol’s squad.

The former Philadelphia Flyers coach has overseen the rise of one of the NHL’s deepest teams and led them to an upset victory over the defending Stanley Cup champions in their first-ever playoff series.

New York Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant won the Jack Adams for his work managing the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, and one of the most important factors leading to his win was to just how many players reached new heights in their careers with Gallant as head coach.

Hakstol has overseen similar career elevations in Seattle, with players such as Jared McCann, Vince Dunn, Daniel Sprong, and Eeli Tolvanen authoring career-best years in 2022-23. Now, with a chance to win a Stanley Cup for Seattle, Hakstol has a chance to take home some individual hardware as well.

Although Ruff and Hakstol are both exceptionally qualified candidates for the award, the favorite has to be Montgomery, the Bruins’ head coach. Despite the disappointment of the Bruins’ first-round playoff exit, Montgomery’s work with the Bruins is undeniably worthy of recognition. He managed the veteran team to the winningest regular season in NHL history, breaking numerous records en route to the Presidents’ Trophy.

Making that success even more impressive is the fact that this year was Montgomery’s first behind the bench in Boston. He took on the challenge of filling 2020 Jack Adams Award winner Bruce Cassidy’s shoes and delivered an all-time great regular season.

Although a Stanley Cup would undoubtedly have been the more desirable reward for his efforts this season, Montgomery nonetheless is in a prime position to take home one of the highest individual honors an NHL coach can receive.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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