Snapshots: Coyotes, Carey, Johansson
The Arizona Coyotes have interviewed a long list of head coaching candidates so far in their search to replace Rick Tocchet. Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider tweets that Syracuse Crunch coach Benoit Groulx has spoken to Arizona about the position and lists Mike Van Ryn, Todd Nelson, Jay Leach, and Andre Tourigny as others.
Last week, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic said on TSN radio that he believes the Coyotes will go with a first-time NHL head coach, which this list obviously suggests. Groulx, 53, has been behind the bench for Syracuse the last four season and signed a new deal with the organization earlier this season. That likely wouldn’t stop him from taking an NHL job, but shows how much the Lightning value him in the minors.
- Paul Carey is on his way overseas, signing with Djurgardens IF for the 2021-22 season. The minor league veteran served as captain for the Providence Bruins this season, scoring 14 points in 22 games. The 32-year-old has 100 NHL games under his belt including one during the 2019-20 season, but those days are likely behind him at this point in his long professional career.
- The Detroit Red Wings have loaned Albert Johansson to the SHL, giving him a chance to continue developing in Sweden. The 20-year-old defenseman scored 19 points in 44 games last season, his second full year with Farjestads. Selected 60th overall in 2019, he signed his entry-level deal last summer but it slid this season. That won’t be the case next year, meaning he will be scheduled for restricted free agency in 2024.
Boston Bruins Sign Jesper Froden
The Boston Bruins have dipped their toes into the European free agent market, signing Jesper Froden to a one-year contract. The deal will be worth $842,500 for the 2021-22 season, leaving Froden as an unrestricted free agent again next summer. GM Don Sweeney released a statement on the signing:
The Bruins are very pleased to be adding Jesper to our organization. We have tracked Jesper’s growth in the SHL where he has proven to be highly productive, competitive, and a smart, two-way player. Jesper is very excited to join a competitive team with the opportunity to compete for a roster spot.
Froden, 26, spent the last two seasons in the SHL, scoring 40 points in 52 games this season with Skelleftea AIK. His 22 goals were good for third in the league, while he was 10th overall in points.
Undrafted, Froden is another undersized forward that will try his hand at the North American game. There’s certainly no guarantee he makes the Boston roster, but it’s another lottery ticket that the Bruins organization can use to fill out the depth chart.
Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Gregory Hofmann
The Columbus Blue Jackets have officially signed Gregory Hofmann to a one-year contract after reports emerged last month that he was heading to North America. The deal will carry a cap hit of $900K according to CapFriendly and leaves Hofmann an unrestricted free agent after the 2021-22 season.
Acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes in February, Hofmann is already 28, but his draft rights never expired thanks to a lack of transfer agreement between the NHL and Switzerland’s National League. He had been picked 103rd overall way back in 2011 by the Hurricanes, but never signed, playing the last ten years overseas instead. Now, after his latest outstanding campaign for Zug EV, in which he recorded 41 points in 36 games, Hofmann is finally ready to test himself in North America.
Even if you’ve never watched a second of Swiss hockey, you’ve probably still seen Hofmann on the international stage. He has represented his country twice at the World Juniors, four times at the World Championships and once at the Olympics in 2018. In this most recent IIHF tournament, he scored six goals in eight games, tied for third behind Andrew Mangiapane and Liam Kirk. Offense is where he will make his money in the NHL, should he make it that far, as Hofmann is one of the most consistent scoring threats in Switzerland. In 2018-19 he reached a career-high of 30 goals in just 50 games, leading the entire league. No goal was more important than his final tally this season though, which clinched the league title for Zug.
On the surface, this is a move that has a chance to pay off quickly for the Blue Jackets. Hofmann has the potential to be a real contributor at the NHL level, especially on the powerplay, helping the team cure some of their goal-scoring ails. Still, there have been too many cases of European players coming and failing in North America to guarantee anything for the 5’10” forward, even if he has shown well against NHL talent internationally in the past.
Dougie Hamilton Given Permission To Speak With Other Teams
Of those players set to reach unrestricted free agency this summer, Dougie Hamilton stands as one of the best. The Carolina Hurricanes defenseman is one of the league’s best offensive weapons from the back end, while also posting some of the NHL’s best possession numbers year in, year out. For some, he could be considered the top free agent available in 2021 and now he’ll get an early start on the market.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Hamilton has been given permission from the Hurricanes to speak to other teams, opening up the potential for a sign-and-trade. Remember, only the Hurricanes (and Seattle Kraken) can sign Hamilton to an eight-year contract, meaning an acquiring team could maximize his term by working through Carolina before free agency opens. Of course, sign-and-trades are discussed a lot more than they actually happen, as the player being moved has to watch his new team give up several assets. Hamilton could just wait a few weeks and sign with that team for nothing more than money, though he then would only be eligible for a seven-year deal.
As Friedman notes though, this also could be a simple way for the Hurricanes to prove to Hamilton that their offer is competitive. Let the 27-year-old defenseman check out the market value on his services, before returning to Carolina to eventually re-sign. There have been cases like this in the past, most notably Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 2016, Stamkos took meetings with several teams around the league before re-signing with the Lightning for eight years. Hurricanes fans will hope that scenario plays out with Hamilton, who has done nothing but produce since arriving in Carolina three years ago.
Over those three seasons, Hamilton has recorded 121 points in 184 games, including 42 goals, most among NHL defensemen. He finished 14th in Norris voting in 2018-19, seventh last season and very well could be even higher than that this time around. In 2020-21, he recorded 42 points in 55 games, once again posting outstanding possession numbers. Hamilton and Jaccob Slavin have developed an incredibly strong partnership, allowing each to use their best attributes effectively.
Of course, there are some who believe Hamilton is a little one-dimensional and would struggle without the support of the more defensive-minded Slavin. That belief could shrink his market, though it would not be surprising if more analytical-leaning front offices are falling over themselves to get a meeting with the defenseman. Either way, he’s now allowed to talk to whoever he wants.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Poll: Who Should Win The 2021 Jack Adams Award?
All of the finalists for the major regular season awards have been announced, meaning it’s time for the NHL to start naming winners. That will begin on Monday with the King Clancy Memorial Trophy awarded to one of Kurtis Gabriel, Pekka Rinne, and P.K. Subban.
It’s hard for fans to really know the nuances of each finalist for the first three awards that will be announced next week. The King Clancy and Masterton are given to players just as much because of their off-ice interactions and leadership as their performance during the season. The Willie O’Ree, which will be awarded on Wednesday, is given to a community hero.
So let’s look ahead a few days to Thursday and the Jack Adams Award to see what the PHR community thinks should happen. Does the honor belong to Rod Brind’Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes, Dean Evason of the Minnesota Wild, or Joel Quenneville of the Florida Panthers?
The year before Brind’Amour took over behind the bench in Carolina, the Hurricanes weren’t very good. Even though they had strong performances from young players like Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, and Jaccob Slavin, the team didn’t have the goaltending to compete in the tough Metropolitan Divison, which had five teams finish with at least 97 points. Carolina finished the year with a 36-35-11 record, missing the playoffs. Assistant Rod took over (along with several major trades to shake up the roster) and the team took off. Three years later and Brind’Amour is a Jack Adams finalist following a 36-12-8 regular season, good for third in the NHL.
Evason perhaps performed an even more impressive turnaround in Minnesota. Sure, the Wild made the playoffs six seasons in a row from 2012-2018, but the core that took them to many of those postseason appearances was either long gone or in a dramatic decline by the time he took over in 2020. He had just a taste during the 2019-20 season before COVID shut things down, but it was obviously a good move for the Wild to bring him back. A year after losing in four games to the Vancouver Canucks in the bubble qualification round, Minnesota was reborn under Evason into an exciting, must-watch hockey club. Kirill Kaprizov has a lot to do with that transformation, but so does the rookie head coach, who posted the best winning percentage in Wild history at .670 this season. Minnesota’s record of 35-16-5 tied them with Tampa Bay for eighth-best in the league, but they just were unlucky enough to run into the powerhouse Vegas Golden Knights in the first round (and pushed them to the limit to boot).
‘Quenneville was lucky enough to have one of the best young cores in the league, anyone could have won those Cups with Chicago’ said many of his detractors when he signed a massive contract with the Panthers in 2019. Maybe that young Blackhawks core was lucky to have him, too. The legendary head coach had another outstanding year behind the bench, capitalizing on some savvy front office moves from Bill Zito to take the Panthers to the fourth-best record in the NHL. Incredibly, the .705 points percentage that Florida managed this season is the second-highest of Quenneville’s Hall of Fame career, only trailing the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season (which happened to end pretty well).
Of course, these weren’t the only strong head coaching performances this season. The New York Islanders’ recent playoff run would likely make Barry Trotz the favorite, but it is of course a regular season award. Mike Sullivan of the Pittsburgh Penguins navigated injuries to nearly his entire roster and had his club in a position to do some damage in the postseason. Even someone like Rick Bowness in Dallas should get some credit for managing a winning record in a year that nearly everything went wrong for the Stars (just imagine if a handful of those 14 overtime/shootout losses had gone their way).
So, PHR faithful, we ask you who you would give the Jack Adams to this season. Is it one of the finalists, or another one of the league’s head coaches? Cast your vote and make sure to explain it in the comments!
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Atlantic Notes: Ristolainen, Bergevin, Bruins
When the Stanley Cup Playoffs conclude later this summer, hockey fans everywhere will say goodbye to this season’s divisional structure. In 2021-22 the NHL will be going back to the Pacific, Central, Metropolitan, and Atlantic, albeit with a couple of tweaks. That means the Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins will be divisional rivals once again, so let’s check in on some notes from around the old-new Atlantic.
- Even the new divisions weren’t enough to help the Sabres, who have now missed the playoffs in ten straight seasons and face an offseason of change. Jack Eichel dominates the headlines coming out of Buffalo, but there are other players on the roster to keep an eye on this summer. In his latest mailbag, Buffalo News writer Lance Lysowski explains that he believes a Rasmus Ristolainen trade is “inevitable” at this point and it would make sense to do it before the upcoming expansion draft. The 26-year-old Ristolainen has just one year left on his contract before becoming an unrestricted free agent, so if Buffalo is going to try to turn him into any future assets, now is the time to do it.
- The Montreal Canadiens may not be very excited about going back to the Atlantic, given they just waltzed through the North en route to the third round. That playoff success has certainly turned some critics into champions of GM Marc Bergevin and as Eric Engels of Sportsnet writes, it seems to have reinvigorated the front office executive. In examining the future of Bergevin, who is under contract for just one more season in Montreal, Engels writes that he was recently offered a “lucrative, three-year deal.” Obviously, the focus right now is on the Canadiens’ quest for the Stanley Cup, but the Bergevin situation will need to be resolved at some point.
- When the Bruins come back to the Atlantic they could be a very different looking team, with names like Tuukka Rask, David Krejci, and Taylor Hall all scheduled for unrestricted free agency. In making a decision to re-sign those free agents or not, GM Don Sweeney has a little less cap space to work with. PuckPedia reports that because the Bruins decided to split their 2019-20 performance bonus overage and had another $1.05MM overage this season, they face a $2.02MM carryover penalty for the 2021-22 season. That’s certainly not a surprise to the Bruins front office, who would have been working with this knowledge all season, but it does tighten things even further in a flat cap world.
Teams “Hungry” For Blue Jackets’ First-Round Picks
The Columbus Blue Jackets decided they were in need of a reset this season and decided to sell off their expiring assets. Rentals David Savard and Nick Foligno both brought back first-round picks (and more) through some savvy cap manipulation, while injured Riley Nash even landed them a sixth. Now, as the draft approaches and Columbus sit with three first-round selections, teams around the league are showing interest. At today’s press conference introducing new head coach Brad Larsen, Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen spoke about the upcoming offseason:
As a management staff we’re going to have a busy summer. We have draft meetings coming up soon. We have three first-round picks, nine picks altogether that we can do a lot of different things with. I’ve already talked to several of the general managers in the league that have protection problems in the expansion draft, and they’re eyeing those picks like–they’re very hungry for our first-round picks I can tell you that. We could do a lot of things with them, if we think it makes sense for us now and into the future. We’re not going to trade them for a 35-year-old player that can help us next season, no matter how good that player would be.
The Blue Jackets’ own pick will be fifth overall, while the one they acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs will be 25th (though it will be the 24th player selected since Arizona forfeited their first-round pick this season for scouting violations). The one they received from the Tampa Bay Lightning could be anywhere from 29-32 depending on how far they go from here.
It’s hard to know exactly why teams that face issues in the expansion draft would be after the Blue Jackets’ picks, but part of it could simply be because they will have to give their own up to the Seattle Kraken in order to protect extra players. That situation should be familiar to Kekalainen, given he traded a first (and a second) to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017 along with David Clarkson‘s contract to protect Josh Anderson, Joonas Korpisalo, and Jack Johnson. The Golden Knights eventually picked William Karlsson from the Blue Jackets, who scored 43 goals in his first season in Vegas.
Not only will Kekalainen have learned from that mistake, but he also should have a good grasp on the desperation that will face some of the other managers around the league as the draft approaches. For instance, if a team believes a player is ripe for selection by Seattle and doesn’t want to lose them for nothing, why not flip them to the Blue Jackets for a relatively high pick instead? Columbus has some extra space to protect incoming players, especially if they were to move the likes of Seth Jones or Patrik Laine in the coming weeks.
One of the interesting questions when it comes to first-round picks this season however is how teams feel about the incoming draft class. Many of the players that will be selected this year haven’t been scouted in person since early 2020, with many others not even getting much game experience in the year since. How that will affect the value of a late-first is still to be determined, but Columbus and Kekalainen could be a test case to watch over the next little while.
Owen Power Leaning Toward Return To Michigan
One of the biggest questions when selecting a player from the college ranks in the NHL entry draft is whether you will be able to sign them. The draw to play for a top university is legitimate for many prospects, especially if they are going to have to wait several years for a chance at the NHL level anyway. But what about for a player that is supposed to go at the very top of the draft?
Owen Power, the projected first-overall pick in this year’s draft and a sophomore at the University of Michigan, was on NHL Network to discuss his plans for next season:
I think right now I’m leaning more toward going back to school. It’s something I’d like to do, try and get the true experience of playing college hockey. At the end of the day it obviously depends on what the team wants and what everyone around me thinks is best. I don’t think there is really a bad option, but I would say I’m probably leaning a bit more toward going back to school right now.
Power, 18, like all of the college freshman that started their NCAA athletic careers this season, has still not really gotten a chance to see what the atmosphere can be like thanks to COVID restrictions. In fact, the Michigan hockey team didn’t even get a chance to play in the NCAA championship tournament because of COVID protocols, removed just before they were set to take on Minnesota-Duluth. While Power had a chance to play at the IIHF World Championship for Canada, taking home the gold medal, he missed out on a lot of what likely drew him to Michigan in the first place.
The Wolverines are also set to be quite the squad next season, with several players expected to go in the top half of the first round and Luke Hughes set to join them as a freshman. Should Power return, he is coming back to a program that will be in contention for the national championship.
Of course, there is also the draw of the NHL. Should the Buffalo Sabres use the first-overall pick on the 6’5″ defenseman, there will almost certainly be an opportunity for him to step directly into their lineup for the 2021-22 season. Not only would that get him on a fast track to a bigger payday after his entry-level contract expires, but it would also give him a chance to test himself against the best players in the world every night. While the talent level in college hockey has improved dramatically over the past few decades, it is still nothing like the skill Power would face as a regular in the Buffalo lineup.
Though these comments may remind Sabres fans of players like Jimmy Vesey and Calvin Petersen, who decided not to sign with them and test the free agent market following their college careers, Power’s situation is much different. Even though he may be leaning to returning for his sophomore year, the chance that a player picked as high as him waits for his draft rights to expire is very low. There’s simply no reason for him to spend all four years at Michigan if he wants to continue his development, so it would likely mean waiting just a single year before he signs his entry-level deal. In fact, once the Wolverines season is complete, he could likely play in a few games at the end of 2021-22 for whichever NHL team drafts him anyway.
The question for the Sabres now is does that potential wait change his draft stock at all. Buffalo is desperately searching for a way out of the basement, but there’s really no rush beyond the ongoing frustration of the fan base. The team is not close to competing for the Stanley Cup, meaning if they believe Power is the best player in the draft, another year in Michigan shouldn’t stop them from picking him.
Josh Currie, Philippe Maillet Sign In KHL
Two more players that saw NHL action this season are headed overseas, as both Josh Currie and Philippe Maillet have signed with Mettalurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL. Each was scheduled for unrestricted free agency this summer and spent most of the 2020-21 season in the minor leagues.
Currie, 28, was on a one-year, two-way deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins and suited up just once for the NHL squad. A veteran minor league performer, he added 23 points in 24 games and served as captain for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The former Edmonton Oilers prospect now has 22 NHL games to his name, but will continue his playing career overseas where a new opportunity is waiting.
Maillet, 29, has a very interesting hockey story to this point. Undrafted out of the QMJHL, he signed with the Ontario Reign in 2017 after spending several years at the University of New Brunswick and earned himself an NHL contract with the Capitals in 2019. That two-year, two-way deal is set to expire with just two NHL games played for the minor league forward. Another successful AHL scorer, Maillet recorded 21 points in 16 games for the Hershey Bears this season but failed to register an NHL point in his two appearances with Washington. He’ll also be headed overseas to continue a career that has already been one of determination and perseverance.
Taylor Hall, David Krejci Not Looking To Maximize Salary On Next Deals
When the Boston Bruins held their end-of-season media interviews today, a few things stood out. First, several players including Tuukka Rask were dealing with serious injuries, but perhaps, more importantly, was the idea that many pending free agents hope to return to Boston. Taylor Hall was asked about his future and was quite clear he’d like to stay a part of the Bruins organization:
I see a fit. Hopefully they feel the same…hopefully we can make that happen.
I don’t even know what my value is at this point, I feel like I had two different seasons. I’m not looking to absolutely maximize my value at this point in my career. I’ve been fortunate enough to make some good money in this league and at this point it’s about more of a fit for me than money or a long-term thing. We want to find a home for the next few years here.
Hall was an excellent pickup for the Bruins at the deadline, acquired from the Buffalo Sabres after his dreadful first half. In 16 games down the stretch in Boston he had eight goals and 14 points, while adding another five points in 11 playoff matches. Coming off a one-year, $8MM contract from last summer, Hall has been clear in all of his interviews that he sees Boston as a good fit for the next part of his career. Whether the two sides can come together on a deal is still to be seen, but he is obviously willing to hear them out.
During his interview, Hall noted that there are some other players on the Bruins that have been around the team longer and will have to be sorted out first. One of those is his linemate David Krejci, who is coming off a six-year, $43.5MM deal with the team and is also a pending free agent. The difference perhaps is that Krejci is now 35, meaning a long-term deal is certainly out of the question. Similar to Hall though, the veteran forward isn’t looking to maximize his salary, explaining that his next deal “is not going to be based on money.” Krejci said he can’t see himself playing for another team, but also admitted he hasn’t made a firm decision on his future at this point.
Even though he is now in his mid-thirties, Krejci’s offensive production hasn’t really slowed down. He registered 44 points in 51 games this season and added another nine in 11 playoff games. The 35-year-old’s hands are still as silky as ever, even though his skating may not be quite as powerful as it once was. There’s a milestone to be had in Boston should he return, as Krejci is just 38 games away from 1,000 in his career, to this point entirely spent in a Bruins uniform.
As much as Hall, Krejci and Rask have all indicated they would be open to a return, Bruins GM Don Sweeney has made difficult decisions before when it comes to an aging free agent. Just last season he parted ways with franchise icon and longtime captain Zdeno Chara when it was clear the big defenseman’s role would be drastically diminished. With Charlie McAvoy and Patrice Bergeron needing new contracts after next season and David Pastrnak scheduled for unrestricted free agency a year after that, Sweeney and the Bruins front office will have to delicately balance the transition from the current core to the new one. It might come with some difficult decisions.