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Atlantic Notes: Senators Coaching Search, Murray, Maroon

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The search for Ottawa’s next coach is well underway with D.J. Smith being let go back in mid-December and Jacques Martin serving in the interim role until the end of the season.  Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch suggests that long-time Senators center Chris Kelly is someone they may want to speak to.  Kelly, who spent parts of eight seasons in Ottawa and also served as a development coach with them, is currently an assistant in Boston.  Among the names speculated to also be under consideration are AHL Toronto’s Jon Gruden, recently-fired veteran bench bosses Todd McLellan, Dean Evason, and Craig Berube, along with Philadelphia associate coach Brad Shaw.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Sens wait until deeper into the offseason to see who else might also become available so it may take a while yet for them to find their next head coach.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray faced shots briefly before practice today as he continues to work his way back from hip surgery, notes TSN’s Mark Masters (Twitter link). The veteran has missed the entire season and when he had the procedure done in October, it came with a recovery timeline of six to eight months.  We’re five months into that timeline so Murray still has a long way to go before being cleared to play.  With Toronto’s cap situation, they wouldn’t be able to afford to activate him until the playoffs anyway.
  • Bruins winger Pat Maroon skated for the first time yesterday as he continues his rehab from back surgery, relays Steve Conroy of The Boston Globe. He underwent the procedure six weeks ago but is still a ways from returning; head coach Jim Montgomery termed Maroon as still being week-to-week.  Boston picked up the 35-year-old at the trade deadline from Minnesota after Maroon put up 16 points and 71 hits in 49 games before the surgery.

Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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The trade deadline has come and gone with some surprising moves made as teams looked to load up for the stretch run.  That stretch run now features several teams trying to jockey for a Wild Card spot or try to position themselves better in their respective divisions.

With that in mind, it’s a good time to open up the mailbag once again.  Our last mailbag was done in three segments.  The first focused solely on the Central Division and included discussions on who could afford Juuse Saros’ next contract and the asking price to get him plus thoughts on Winnipeg’s back end and if the time was right for Arizona to move Clayton Keller.  The second featured some thoughts on two proposed trade targets for New Jersey, the Rangers’ center situation, and plenty of trade deadline discussion.  Meanwhile, the third covered the idea of a coaching change in Washington, thoughts on a proposed rule change, and more trade deadline speculation.

You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below.  The mailbag will run on the weekend.

Snapshots: Brind’Amour, Sergachev, Fontaine, U Sports

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While most teams prefer not to have their head coach in the last year of their contract, the Hurricanes have now done so twice when it comes to Rod Brind’Amour who is once again on an expiring deal.  Despite that, GM Don Waddell told NHL.com’s Dan Rosen that a lot of the legwork might already be done, saying they’ve “agreed on everything”.  They sat down before the trade deadline but haven’t crossed paths much since then with Waddell on the road at one point and now Carolina is just wrapping up a road trip.  At this point, it’s a matter of when, not if, a new contract for Brind’Amour is completed.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev announced on Instagram that he has resumed skating as he works his way back from a leg injury sustained last month. After he underwent surgery, head coach Jon Cooper indicated that the blueliner was at least out for the rest of the regular season and likely a good chunk of the playoffs so Sergachev is still a long way from being able to return but the fact he’s back on the ice already is certainly an encouraging sign for Tampa Bay.
  • Predators prospect Gunnarwolfe Fontaine has entered the NCAA’s transfer portal, reports Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). The 23-year-old was a seventh-round pick by Nashville back in 2020 (202nd overall) and has been a capable producer in his four seasons at Northeastern, capped off by a 27-point showing this past season.  He’ll now try to beat that with another school for his fifth and final college campaign.
  • While we often talk about college free agents and undrafted CHL free agents at this time of year, there is another group of prospects that could sign deals in the coming days, from U Sports, Canada’s collegiate level. Edmonton was first out of the gate with their signing of Connor Ungar.  49 Sports’ Ben Steiner provides an overview of some of the players that could ink pro deals in the coming days and weeks including several players who were drafted but ultimately didn’t sign with the team that picked them.

Rangers Among Teams Interested In Collin Graf

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Quinnipiac winger Collin Graf attracted interest from NHL teams last year but opted to return to college for his junior season.  Once that campaign comes to an end, he’ll be highly coveted once again.  It appears the Rangers will be among them as Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports that New York is interested in signing Graf.

The 21-year-old put up 21 goals and 38 assists in 41 games at Quinnipiac last season and has produced at a similar level this year.  However, injuries cost him a few games earlier in the year so Graf’s point total won’t be quite as high this season.  That said, Graf sits tenth in NCAA scoring this year, collecting 22 goals along with 26 helpers through 31 games so far.

Graf won’t officially become available to sign until his season with the Bobcats comes to an end which could still be the better part of a month away depending on how far they go in the Frozen Four tournament.  Worth noting, he has attended development camps previously with Nashville and Florida; it stands to reason that those two teams will also be in on him if he decides to turn pro and eschew playing his senior year.

West Notes: Myers, Lekkerimaki, Markstrom, Bjugstad

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Defenseman Tyler Myers is one of several Canucks veterans that are set to hit the open market in July and the team won’t be able to afford to keep all of them.  CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reports (audio link) that the veteran has told his agent that he’d like to remain with Vancouver.  The 34-year-old is in his fifth season with the Canucks and while his $6MM price point is above market value, he’s still logging important minutes, especially on the penalty kill where he ranks second in shorthanded ATOI.  While a $6MM contract isn’t likely coming his way this summer, Myers should still command interest from several teams on a multi-year deal which should help land him a contract somewhat close to that price tag.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Still with Vancouver, while Canucks fans were likely hoping that top prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki would join AHL Abbotsford for the stretch run, that might not be the case. In an interview with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription link), GM Patrik Allvin indicated that there is a possibility that the 19-year-old could play for Sweden at the Worlds in May.  In that case, they’d likely not bring Lekkerimaki to North America and let him vie for a spot on that team.  The 15th overall pick in 2022 had 31 points in 46 games with SHL Orebro this season.
  • Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom has missed the last week with a lower-body injury but it appears he won’t be out much longer. Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg relays (Twitter link) that the veteran netminder has resumed skating and a return to the lineup on Saturday versus Vancouver is possible.  The 34-year-old was featured prominently in trade speculation at the trade deadline thanks to a strong season that has seen him put up a 2.68 GAA and a .910 SV% in 41 games so far.
  • Coyotes center Nick Bjugstad is listed as day-to-day and his availability for Wednesday’s game against Dallas is uncertain, notes team reporter Patrick Brown (Twitter link). The 31-year-old has done well in his second stint in Arizona this season, collecting 17 goals along with 20 assists in 67 games so far.  The uncertainty over his availability is what resulted in Nathan Smith’s recall earlier today.

Devils Assign Nico Daws And Tyler Wotherspoon To AHL

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The Devils were active at the trade deadline when it came to goaltenders, picking up Jake Allen from Montreal and Kaapo Kahkonen from San Jose.  However, they kept Nico Daws up in New Jersey as well.  They’ve now decided that’s not the best course of action as the team announced today that Daws along with defenseman Tyler Wotherspoon have been assigned to AHL Utica.

Daws started the year on season-opening injured reserve and was activated in early December.  Just weeks later, he was up with New Jersey and, aside from the holiday roster freeze, has been with the Devils since then.

Early on, the 23-year-old did well, posting a .912 SV% in his first dozen appearances, well above the team average of .894.  However, Daws has struggled in recent weeks with that mark dropping all the way down to .859, resulting in this move.  On the season, he has a 3.15 GAA and a .894 SV%.

Now, he’ll split time with Akira Schmid with the Comets, giving them a leg up in their battle for a playoff spot in the North Division.  Daws was eligible to return to Utica as he was papered down before the trade deadline with New Jersey using one of their four post-deadline recalls to bring him back up.  Barring an injury to Allen or Kahkonen, recalling Daws later on would burn another one of those allowable recalls.

As for Wotherspoon, he was recalled back on Thursday, his first NHL promotion of the season.  His recall was on an emergency basis so he didn’t count against the limit of four.  However, the 31-year-old didn’t see any game action.  Wotherspoon has 19 points in 54 games with the Comets so far this season.

Five Key Stories: 3/11/24 – 3/17/24

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With the trade deadline now behind us, activity around the NHL was much quieter as expected.  However, there was still some news of note which is recapped in our key stories.

Third Time’s A Charm? There has been plenty of speculation about NHL expansion or potential relocation with a handful of markets emerging as potential places.  One of those is a market that has had an NHL team twice before as former NHL player Anson Carter is leading a group that wants to bring a franchise back to Atlanta.  That market was home to the Flames from 1972 through 1980 while they also had the Thrashers, an expansion franchise, from 1999 through 2011 before the team relocated to Winnipeg to become the second iteration of the Jets.  The group has apparently been in talks with the league about this since 2019 but with no expansion on the immediate horizon (yet, at least), they’ll likely be waiting a while longer before trying to garner serious consideration.

Third Time’s A Charm? (Part Two): Senators center Josh Norris has had a hard time staying healthy with lingering shoulder issues.  He missed the beginning of the season while still recovering from the second surgery on his left shoulder and that same shoulder will cause him to miss the rest of the season as a third surgery is required.  Norris is an important part of Ottawa’s young core and is signed through the 2029-30 campaign at $7.95MM per year.  However, between this season and last, he only was able to play in 58 of 164 games.  There was no immediate word on how long the recovery will be from this procedure and if it will roll over into training camp in the fall.

Vilardi Out Indefinitely: When healthy, Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi has been quite an impactful player.  However, staying healthy has been a challenge.  Now, already on the shelf due to an upper-body injury, the team learned that the 24-year-old has an enlarged spleen.  Accordingly, his status has now been changed to out indefinitely.  Vilardi was arguably the centerpiece of the offseason trade that saw Pierre-Luc Dubois go to Los Angeles and he has made an impact when he’s in the lineup, collecting 30 points in just 38 games.  But now, Winnipeg will be without a key performer for the foreseeable future as they continue their tough three-way battle with Colorado and Dallas for the top spot in the Central Division.

St. Louis Takes A Leave: Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis has taken a leave of absence from the team for family reasons.  He’s in his third season behind Montreal’s bench with the team playing to a 70-94-21 record in his 185 games at the helm.  There is no word on when he’ll be able to return.  In the meantime, assistant coach Trevor Letowski is serving as Montreal’s acting bench boss.  This is Letowski’s first experience running a team at the professional level although he has several seasons in that role from his days in the OHL.

Johansen’s Demotion Reversed: Earlier in the week, the NHL quietly reversed Philadelphia’s assignment of center Ryan Johansen to AHL Lehigh Valley.  The veteran was acquired for salary-matching purposes in a trade with Colorado earlier this month but was immediately waived and demoted when he cleared.  However, Johansen is dealing with a hip issue and since injured players can’t be waived, the 31-year-old won’t be permitted to rehab with the Phantoms.  There is no timetable for his recovery which is particularly noteworthy as injured players can’t be bought out.  With one year and $4MM left on his contract (more specifically, Philadelphia’s portion of his $8MM deal), if the injury lingers, they won’t be able to clear at least part of his contract off their books.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Red Wings, Lohrei, Jiricek

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The Red Wings were quiet at the trade deadline which came as a surprise to many with Detroit being in a playoff spot at the time.  Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports that there were a couple of reasons for that.  GM Steve Yzerman felt that the asking prices were way too high for his liking while he was reluctant to part with any of his prospects.  Even if Detroit is able to lock down the final Wild Card spot and end their seven-year playoff drought, they’re still in the process of building up their roster.  It appears that Yzerman had no interest in taking any shortcuts when it comes to their long-term plan.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • While the Bruins papered Mason Lohrei back to AHL Providence to keep him eligible to play down there for the stretch run, that may not happen. Head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters including Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald that he feels the young blueliner will be up for the rest of the season.  The 23-year-old has done well in his first pro campaign, getting into 39 games with Boston so far where he has a dozen points along with 61 blocks while averaging nearly 17 minutes a night.
  • With the Blue Jackets playing out the stretch and their back end being a bit thinned out due to injuries and the Andrew Peeke trade, the fact they haven’t recalled David Jiricek has been a surprise to some. Head coach Pascal Vincent told Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link) that they’re prioritizing him playing big minutes with AHL Cleveland, a team that has been hit hard as of late due to recalls.  Jiricek has played in 36 NHL games this season; he’d accrue a season toward UFA eligibility if he gets to 40.  Speculatively, that could be playing a role in them holding him down there as well.

Injury News: Lindgren, Johnson, Murphy, Carlsson

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Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren left today’s game with a lower-body injury, relays Ethan Sears of the New York Post.  The injury occurred in the second period and he was helped off the ice without being able to put weight on his left leg.  Head coach Peter Laviolette didn’t have an update following the game, noting Lindgren was still being evaluated.  The 26-year-old came into today logging over 19 minutes a night on their second pairing but it appears they’ll need to shake things up again after redoing the pairings following Jacob Trouba’s injury.  Chad Ruhwedel was acquired at the trade deadline but has yet to play so far, he’d likely draw in if Lindgren isn’t able to suit up on Tuesday against Winnipeg.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Blackhawks winger Reese Johnson (concussion) is doing better but won’t accompany the team on their three-game road trip, reports Mark Lazerus of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 25-year-old was injured back on Tuesday.  Johnson has played in 42 games so far this season, picking up five points along with 109 hits while averaging just under 11 minutes a night.
  • Still with the Blackhawks, blueliner Connor Murphy visited a specialist as he continues to be out with a groin injury, notes Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link). Murphy has been listed as week-to-week for two months now and head coach Luke Richardson indicated that this is still the case.  At this point, it’s unknown if Murphy will return this season.
  • The Ducks announced (Twitter link) that center Leo Carlsson was cleared to return from his concussion tonight against St. Louis. The rookie had missed eight straight games because of it.  Between injuries and early-season load management, Carlsson has been limited to just 40 games so far this season but he has played well, picking up nine goals and 14 assists in those contests.

Panthers Assign Evan Cormier To Minors

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March 17: Cormier has been returned to the minors after backing up Sergei Bobrovsky in yesterday’s 5-3 loss to the Lightning, per CapFriendly. The move suggests Stolarz will be healthy enough to at least back up Bobrovsky for the Panthers’ next game, which isn’t until Thursday against the Predators.

March 16: Signed to an NHL deal earlier this month, goaltender Evan Cormier will now get at least a brief look with Florida.  The team announced (Twitter link)  that the netminder has been recalled from ECHL Florida to serve as the backup goaltender tonight with Anthony Stolarz unavailable due to illness.

The 26-year-old had been playing on a minor league deal but for the second straight season, that contract was converted to an NHL one just before the trade deadline, allowing him to be recalled for a situation just like this one.  Cormier has played in 19 ECHL games with the Everblades this season, posting a 2.88 GAA and a .906 SV%.  He also has six AHL appearances with Charlotte but has struggled, putting up a 3.64 GAA with a .868 SV%.

He’ll be covering for Stolarz who has been a bright spot for Florida’s goaltending this season.  Signed to a low-cost one-year deal in the summer, the 30-year-old has thrived, compiling a 2.02 GAA and a .925 SV% through 21 games so far.  A pending unrestricted free agent, Stolarz is certainly well-positioned to earn a sizable raise on his $1.1MM price tag.

While Florida has Spencer Knight in the minors as well, they can’t afford to call him up.  They’re using one of their cap-exempt emergency goalie recalls to add Cormier to the roster but cap-exempt recalls have limitations on who is eligible based on their salary.  At $4.5MM, Knight is well above that threshold, taking him out of the mix this time around.

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