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Evening Notes: Bowman, Quenneville, LTIR, Levshunov

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Touching on a variety of topics before the start of the Stanley Cup Final, Commissioner Gary Bettman spoke directly about the futures of executive Stan Bowman and head coach Joel Quenneville. With both rumored to be speaking reinstatement into the NHL, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports that neither will be back in the league next season.

Around this time last season, at the same press conference, Bettman confirmed that both were seeking individual appointments to consider reinstatement. As things would turn out, neither has returned to the NHL and may never be awarded reinstatement while Bettman is Commissioner.

Both Qunneville and Bowman resigned from their previous positions in 2021 after both were found partly responsible for “inadequate internal procedures and insufficient and untimely response in the handling of matters related to former video coach Brad Aldrich’s employment” according to the league’s investigation of the sexual assault allegations made by former-player Kyle Beach during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs. Despite rumored interest around the league over the last two years, it appears both will have to continue and wait for Bettman to consider reinstatement.

Other notes:

  •  According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, Deputy Commissioner of the NHL, Bill Daly, has begun taking calls from numerous General Managers across the league regarding LTIR usage around the salary cap in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Unlikely to be resolved before the end of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the NHLPA, it is most likely an issue that will be debated over the next rendition of the CBA. Over the last several years, teams such as the Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Vegas Golden Knights have allegedly kept players “hidden” on LTIR throughout the regular season, only to be activated for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs to avoid the need for salary cap compliance.
  • Even if the Blackhawks take Artyom Levshunov with the second-overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft according to their reported interest, he may not be playing for them next season. In an interview between Levshunov and Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago, Levshunov is undecided about playing in the NHL next or returning to Michigan State University for his sophomore season. If selected by Chicago, it is more than likely that Levshunov would have direct access to top-level minutes, which could be enticing for the 18-year-old Belarusian. However, if Levshunov slips to third overall and winds up in Anaheim, a loaded defensive pipeline may make Levshunov reconsider and push his rookie campaign a year or two down the road.

How Will The Blues Manage Their No-Trade Clauses?

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Even before the 2023-24 NHL season, the St. Louis Blues held slim hopes of cracking one of the top three spots in the NHL’s Central Division. The team was only a year removed from finishing 37-38-11, falling to sixth place in the division, and trading off the likes of Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly during that year’s trade deadline season.

Aside from moving out veteran rentals, the General Manager of the organization, Doug Armstrong, became adamant about shaking up the team’s defensive core last summer. In one of the biggest trades to not happen, the Blues had a deal in place to send struggling defenseman Torey Krug and his bloated contract to the Philadelphia Flyers. As things would turn out, Krug ultimately used the no-trade protection given to him in his current deal to block his inclusion in the trade, leading to a much smaller deal of Kevin Hayes being acquired for a sixth-round draft selection.

While largely bringing back the same defensive core into the 2023-24 season, the Blues performed much better but would end up on the outside looking in. As the best team to not make it into the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, St. Louis finished fifth in the Central Division with a 43-33-6 record. Although Jordan Binnington put together a solid year, the Blues’ downfall would again be their defensive core and lackluster play.

Heading into the summer, St. Louis will once again be looking to shake up their defensive core, which will require superb innovation from Armstrong. Krug, Justin Faulk, Colton Parayko, and Nick Leddy have full no-trade clauses built into their contracts until next summer, meaning Armstrong will need their full cooperation for any trade moving them out of the organization. However, even if Armstrong could convince one of the players to waive their protection, the return value would likely be subpar at best.

If one is not moved this offseason, the quartet will account for just under 27% of the Blues’ total cap space next season. Armstrong could look to move one in a classic hockey trade to address other organizational needs, or strictly go the route of a cost-saving technique. Leddy should represent the most likely to move out of the four given that his contract will end after the 2025-26 NHL season with a manageable $4MM AAV for the remaining years.

Approaching his 15th season in the NHL, Leddy just turned 33 years old and has continued to be a reliable puck-mover from the back end. Throughout the regular season, Leddy played in all 82 games for St. Louis and scored three goals while putting up 25 assists, 23 of which were at even strength. If Armstrong can convince the Eden Prairie, MN native to waive his no-trade protection this offseason, moving out Leddy would allow the Blues to save valuable cap space and open a spot for Scott Perunovich in the top four of the defensive core.

Ethan Bear To Be Activated From NHLPA Player Assistance Program

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Ethan Bear is expected to be activated from the NHLPA Player Assistance Program according to CapFriendly, although the Washington Capitals have yet to confirm the news. Bear originally went into the program on March 27th of this year, missing the last 18 games of the regular season for the Capitals and an additional four postseason contests.

It has been an interesting year and a half for Bear, who, after having injured his shoulder in last summer’s IIHF World Championships, was non-tendered by the Vancouver Canucks, allowing him to become a free agent. Since the injury took nearly six months to heal, Bear had to wait until late December before ultimately signing with a team.

At the time of his signing, reporting in early December suggested Bear was being monitored by three teams — the Toronto Maple Leafs, Canucks, and his eventual landing spot, the Capitals. On December 28th, Washington signed Bear to a two-year, $4.125MM contract, eventually enticing the defenseman with an extra year on the contract.

Unfortunately for Bear, he was used sporadically by the Capitals, playing in 24 games while managing just under 15 minutes of ice time. Coupled with the lengthy layoff from the shoulder injury, Bear did not look like the same defenseman from only a season ago.

Now that Bear is fully out of the Player Assistance Program, he will have a second opportunity to prove his worth in Washington. However, with notable right-handed shot defensemen already signed for the 2024-25 season, Bear may ask for a change of scenery this offseason.

Rangers Notes: Fox, Trouba, Vesey, Wheeler, Wennberg

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With any team’s end-of-season media availability, especially after a long run in the Stanley Cup playoffs, a slew of injuries are typically revealed to the public. During the media availability for the New York Rangers, injuries were reported for defensemen Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba, while the injury keeping Jimmy Vesey out of the Eastern Conference Finals was brought to light.

In the team’s Round One series against the Washington Capitals, Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today reports Fox reaggravated his knee injury during a knee-on-knee collision with Capitals’ defenseman Nick Jensen. After only one month into the 2023-24 NHL season, Fox was placed on the Rangers’ long-term injured reserve due to a knee injury, keeping him out of the lineup from November 2nd to November 29th. The change in play was noticeable, as Fox only tallied six assists in 12 games following the series against Washington, a stark dropoff compared to his previous postseason play.

Staying on the blue line, Arthur Staple of The Athletic reported that defenseman and captain Jacob Trouba dealt with a broken ankle. However, later reports suggested that the fractured ankle fully healed by the end of March, and Trouba was largely healthy for New York’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Still, Trouba set a career-high in postseason points with seven in 16 games but still led the team with 22 PIMs during the playoffs.

Lastly, Dan Rosen of the NHL mentions that Vesey was dealing with a separated shoulder during the penultimate series which would keep him out of the lineup. Thankfully, the report suggests that Vesey will not require surgery to repair his shoulder, and should return after a few weeks of rehab.

Other Rangers notes:

  • Playing on a team not named the Winnipeg Jets for the first time in 12 years, the 2023-24 NHL season may have been the last for forward Blake Wheeler. Mercogliano of USA Today relayed that a decision regarding his future has not been made, but he will talk it through with his family this summer. It would not be surprising to see Wheeler hang up his skates, as the soon-to-be 38-year-old veteran suffered a gruesome leg injury on February 15th against the Montreal Canadiens — an injury that would keep him off the ice for nearly four months.
  • Peter Baugh of The Athletic reported that Alexander Wennberg would like to return to the team this offseason after being acquired by the Rangers at this year’s trade deadline. Wennberg was originally acquired from the Seattle Kraken for New York’s second-round pick in 2024 and Dallas’ fourth-round pick in 2025. Brought in to fill the void in the team’s third-line center position, Wennberg put up two points in 16 postseason games for the Rangers while averaging nearly 16 and a half minutes of ice time.

New Jersey Devils Willing To Trade First-Round Pick

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After hiring Sheldon Keefe to take over head coaching duties for the New Jersey Devils, the General Manager, Tom Fitzgerald is now moving on to the next item on his docket for the offseason. Earlier today, Josh Gold-Smith of TheScore reported that Fitzgerald is entertaining moving on from the team’s 10th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft to acquire a top-tier goaltender.

Speaking with Mike G. Morreale of the NHL on Monday, Fitzgerald was quoted, “If we feel it helps us now and in the foreseeable future, then, yes, I’m listening. I haven’t gotten anything yet, but the more I talk to teams, I say ’Listen, I’m open to moving No. 10, but it’s going to have to be something (significant)“. If the Devils do end up trading the 10th overall pick it should be a high enough return to acquire the likes of Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames, Juuse Saros from the Nashville Predators, or Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins, assuming the Devils can sign one of the latter two to an extension this summer.

Specifically in New Jersey, there is precedent from the organization in trading a top-10 pick for an established goaltender. After making it to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, the Devils cratered in the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season, earning the ninth overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft. To soften the blow of the eventual departure of franchise legend Martin Brodeur, New Jersey traded the ninth overall pick (which would be used to select Bo Horvat) to the Vancouver Canucks to acquire Cory Schneider.

Although the Devils only made the playoffs once during Schneider’s seven-year run in the Garden State, the team acquired a 26-year goaltender coming off a .927 save percentage over 30 games in the prior year for a top-10 selection. Factoring in trades for goaltenders over the last several years, the 10th overall pick should satisfy the desired return for all three goaltenders listed.

Joe Pavelski Expected To Retire

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Speaking to members of the Dallas Stars in their end-of-season media availability, radio host of the Stars, Owen Newkirk, reports that Joe Pavelski is likely done with his career in the National Hockey League. Although Pavelski was adamant that it was not an official announcement of retiring, he mentioned that he had expected this to be his last season.

If Pavelski has ultimately played his last game, it will mark the end of a career that spanned almost two decades. Drafted in the seventh round of the ever-famous 2003 NHL Draft, Pavelski has not only beat the odds of making it to the NHL but will now be regarded as one of the most consistent American-born players in league history.

One of the major reasons Pavelski was able to procure such lasting power in the NHL is his hand-eye coordination. With most current All-Stars combining elite skill and speed, Pavelski never brought the same kind of mobility as the rest of his peers and instead became a menace in front of the opposing team’s nets.

For the first 13 years of his career, Pavelski became a staple of the San Jose Sharks organization, missing the playoffs in only one season. Pavelski played in 963 games for the Sharks, scoring 355 goals and 761 points, with 121 of those goals coming on an elite powerplay. Finishing the last four years of his tenure in San Jose as the team’s captain, Pavelski also helped the team to four division titles, four Conference Finals appearances, one President’s Trophy, and one appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals.

With the Sharks entering a rebuilding phase towards the end of Pavelski’s career with the organization, he left for greener pastures in the 2019-20 offseason. Over the summer, Pavelski signed a three-year, $21MM contract with the Stars, marking an end to his tenure in San Jose.

If anything, Pavelski almost became a more effective player in Dallas, scoring on a nearly point-per-game pace from his age 35 to age 39 season. Pavelski added another 121 goals and 307 points to his career totals while playing 369 regular season games in the Lone Star State.

During his first year with the Stars organization, Pavelski would get another crack at the Stanley Cup, this time losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Despite scoring 74 goals and 143 points in 201 combined postseason games with the Sharks and the Stars, Pavelski was unable to capture the elusive trophy throughout his career.

If this is indeed the end for Pavelski, he will have finished his 18-year career with 1,332 games played while scoring 476 goals and 1,068 points. Compared to other American-born players throughout league history, Pavelski would finish his career seventh in games played, sixth in goals, 12th in assists, and sixth in points.

Ottawa Senators Round Out Coaching Staff

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Having already committed to Travis Green as head coach for the next four years, the Ottawa Senators rounded out their coaching staff this morning with a pair of hires. According to a team announcement, the team has hired Mike Yeo and Nolan Baumgartner as assistant coaches for the 2024-25 NHL season.

Coming over from the Vancouver Canucks in a lateral move, Yeo brings over two decades of coaching experience to the Senators’ bench. Yeo started his professional coaching before the 2000-01 AHL season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as an assistant coach before taking the same role with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2005-10. After being a part of a successful run with the Penguins, Yeo spent one season as the head coach of the Houston Aeros in the AHL before taking over the head coach position with the Minnesota Wild after the organization fired head coach Todd Richards after the 2010-11 regular season.

In four and a half seasons with the Wild, Yeo coached the team to a 173-132-44 record over 349 games but failed to take the team beyond the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Minnesota moved on from Yeo during the 2015-16 season which led the coach to an assistant coaching role with the St. Louis Blues for the 2016-17 season. Since then, Yeo briefly served as the head coach of the Blues for two seasons and spent time with the Philadelphia Flyers as an assistant coach before finally landing with the Canucks organization in his most recent role.

Focusing primarily on Vancouver’s penalty kill throughout his tenure with the organization, Yeo helped raise the team’s success percentage from 71.60% in the 2022-23 season to 79.13% this past year. For the Senators, after finishing last year with the 29th-ranked penalty kill across the league, Yeo will likely once again be tasked with elevating the team’s play during a man disadvantage.

On the other hand, Baumgartner’s only coaching experience at the NHL level came during a five-season run as an assistant coach in Vancouver from 2017-22. In a fascinating twist, once Baumgartner was eventually let go by the Canucks, the opening created a vacancy that Yeo would ultimately fill. In a short gap, Baumgartner spent two years as an assistant coach for the Manitoba Moose, the top affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets.

In the same announcement, Ottawa also relayed the team would be retaining franchise legend Daniel Alfredsson while also bringing back Ben Sexton as an assistant coach, Justin Peters as the goaltending coach, Mike King as the video coach, as well as keeping Jacques Martin as a Senior Advisor to the coaching staff.

Canadiens Sign Connor Hughes To One-Year Deal

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Carving an unexpected path to the National Hockey League, goaltender Connor Hughes has signed a one-year deal with the Montreal Canadiens according to a team announcement. Already carrying sufficient depth for next season at the NHL level, Hughes should start next season with Montreal’s AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket.

Failing to make it out of the Junior A level in Canada by the team he became 18 years old, Hughes continued his professional career in the National League over in Switzerland. In his initial three years, Hughes did not play any games in the NL, as he primarily played in the relegated Swiss League for HCB Ticino Rockets. Eventually, Hughes would make his NL debut during the 2020-21 season, suiting up in seven games for HC Fribourg-Gottéron.

Bouncing around different organizations throughout his tenure, Hughes finally landed with Lausanne HC for the 2023-24 season. In his best professional season, Hughes produced a 10-6-1 record in 19 games while also carrying a .940 save percentage and 1.73 goals against average. Hughes kept that momentum for the 2024 National League playoffs, leading his team to Game 7 of the Championship series on the backs of a .933 SV% and 1.91 GAA in 18 postseason contests.

Due to his superb season overseas, the Canadiens were more than willing to take a flyer on the now 27-year-old undrafted free agent. Hughes should enter as the backup to goaltender Jakub Dobes next season, and could even take a share of the starts if the quality of his play continues to improve.

Free Agency Notes: Raymond, Perron, Kane, Zamula, Chinakhov

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With plenty of news coverage surrounding free agency this time of year, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (Subscription Required) spoke to a trio of players expected to hit free agency in the upcoming weeks for the Detroit Red Wings and where things currently stand with each. LeBrun notes that all three of Lucas Raymond, David Perron, Patrick Kane, and their respective agents are set to meet with General Manager of the Red Wings, Steve Yzerman, at some point this week.

As the only restricted free agent of the players mentioned, Raymond does not have the same bargaining rights as Perron and Kane, as he is still unable to file for arbitration, let alone hit the open market. Having managed a 14-goal and 13-assist jump on his scoring from the 2022-23 NHL season, Raymond could have earned himself a long-term deal with Detroit this summer. However, considering how the contract negotiations played out between Yzerman and captain Dylan Larkin last year, the savvy General Manager will stay prudent with his available cap space. Regardless of Raymond taking a bridge or max-term contract, his cap hit should take a decent chunk out of the Red Wings’ cap for next season.

In Perron and Kane, the former has demonstrated more of a public desire to keep his career going in the Motor City. As LeBrun mentions in the article, Yzerman may want Raymond’s contract settled before pivoting to Perron. On the other hand, Kane has been much more vague about continuing his career in Detroit and may look for a multi-year deal after an impressive rebound season with a team closer to top-tier contention.

Other free agency notes:

  • Late last night, the agency group for defenseman Yegor Zamula of the Philadelphia Flyers, Shumi Babaev Agency, indicated that the player and team would commence contract negotiation talks shortly. Zamula, hitting restricted free agency for the second time in his career, has earned arbitration rights this summer, giving him and his agency more leverage in negotiating salary. Furthermore, Zamula’s play over the 2023-24 NHL season has also increased the defenseman’s leverage this summer, scoring five goals and 21 points over 66 games, which is far and away the best production of his career up to this point.
  • In the same announcement from the Shumi Babaev Agency — the Columbus Blue Jackets are expected to begin contract talks with forward Yegor Chinakhov. Unlike Zamula, Chinakhov has not yet earned arbitration rights but is coming off a 16-goal campaign, good for fourth on the team in goal-scoring. Chinakhov’s production from this past season could be an outlier, as he saw his average time on ice jump nearly two minutes under current head coach Pascal Vincent. Nevertheless, with the Blue Jackets being desperate for offensive production, there should be plenty of motivation for a new deal on both sides of the negotiation.

Benoît Allaire To Remain With Rangers As Director Of Goaltending

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Last night, Kevin Weekes of ESPN reported that Director of Goaltending of the New York Rangers, Benoît Allaire, would be scaling back his role with the organization after 20 years of service with the organization. However, this morning, Vince Mercogliano of USA Today reported that Allaire will continue to serve as the team’s Director of Goaltending moving forward, but he will be helping the team find his replacement.

Allaire originally took over as the Rangers’ goaltending coach for the 2004-05 season, but would not truly begin his tenure until the 2005-06 season due to the lockout that took place in 2005. Before his role in the Big Apple, Allaire served as the goaltending coach for the Phoenix Coyotes from 1997 to 2004, helping develop a then 24-year-old Nikolai Khabibulin.

In Allaire’s first true season as goaltending coach for the Rangers organization, he had a major hand in developing one of the best goaltenders in franchise history. Making his debut in the 2005-06 NHL season, former seventh-round pick, Henrik Lundqvist would make his debut and would spend the next 14 years in New York.

Allaire and Lundqvist created a bond that would span over the latter’s entire career, as it would take Lundqvist 11 years in the NHL to finally not receive a vote for the Vezina Trophy. After Lundqvist left the team after the 2019-20 season, Allaire helped with the rise of current Rangers starter, Igor Shesterkin, who was a fourth-round pick of the organization back in the 2014 NHL Draft.

Thanks to Allaire, New York has not had to worry about goaltending for the last two decades. Allaire has coached back-to-back organizational stalwarts in net to Vezina Trophy victories in 2012 and 2022. Allaire, and the Rangers organization, will have a difficult time filling his skates as he eventually transitions into retirement.

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