Buffalo Sabres Sign J-J Peterka
The Buffalo Sabres have inked another one of their prospects, signing J-J Peterka to a three-year entry-level contract. The young forward split this season between the German and Austrian leagues, while also starring for Germany at the World Juniors.
Peterka, 19, was the 34th overall pick last year and certainly disappoint in his first post-draft season. The German forward scored 20 points in 30 games for Munich of the DEL, 16 points in 12 games for Salzburg in the Austrian league, and added ten points in five games for his country at the World Juniors. In September of last year, before that strong season, this is what Scott Wheeler of The Athletic had to say about the newest Sabres prospect:
Peterka’s one of those players that just screams “complementary third-line forward.” Early on this season, he was one of my favourite prospects in the draft for his ability to play with strength and pace all over the ice. He’s a middle-lane driver who shoots a lot and works to get to the front of the net to finish off plays. He’s just naturally athletic and it fits well with his up-tempo, north-south game. As the season progressed, though, he never really showed me he had the tools to be more than that. There are times when I want to see him slow down, or he needs to survey the ice and use his teammates better. His play, role and minutes all went cold late in the season. It can look like he’s playing on instinct out there. That works for some players. It works for J.J. too but it may limit his upside.
The idea of a complementary third-line player may not be very exciting for Sabres fans dying for some success, but this Peterka is exactly the kind of player that the team needs in order to build out the program. Without real tangible depth pieces behind star-level talent like Dylan Cozens, the team is always going to have a difficult time competing for the playoffs. That was the issue for several years behind Jack Eichel, as the Buffalo captain appeared to have to do everything himself.
If Paterka can become that third line, net-driving secondary scoring piece, he’ll be worth his high draft pick. That will still require some development though, and there is plenty of time. His three-year entry-level contract can still slide should he spend next season in Europe, or anywhere not in the Sabres lineup.
2021 Jack Adams Finalists Announced
The NHL continues to release the finalists for their major regular season award, this time naming the three men that are in contention for the Jack Adams Award, presented to the coach who has “contributed the most to his team’s success.” Last year’s winner was Bruce Cassidy of the Boston Bruins, but we’ll have a new name to engrave this time around.
The finalists for the 2020-21 season are Joel Quenneville of the Florida Panthers, Dean Evason of the Minnesota Wild and Rod Brind’Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes.
Quenneville, 62, certainly isn’t unfamiliar with the trophy but hasn’t held it in quite some time. The veteran NHL coach took home the award in 2000 with the St. Louis Blues and was the runner-up in 2013 with the Chicago Blackhawks. Just two finalist appearances is surprising for a man who is quickly closing in on 1,000 career wins. Quenneville sits second all-time behind only Scotty Bowman in the coaching ranks with 962 regular season wins and won the Stanley Cup three times in Chicago. He would be the Panthers’ first Jack Adams winner if he takes it home following the 37-14-5 season the team registered in 2020-21.
Evason will try to stand in his way despite having less than 82 games under his belt as an NHL head coach. The 56-year-old replaced Bruce Boudreau last season and now has a .669 winning percentage in his 68 games behind the Minnesota bench. While the addition of Kirill Kaprizov certainly helped, Evason turned the Wild into an exciting, competitive team that took the Vegas Golden Knights to seven games in the first round. Evason is only signed through next season but has quickly proven his worth as the answer in Minnesota.
Speaking of contracts, that’s all the buzz around Brind’Amour these days, even as he receives a nomination for the Jack Adams. The Hurricanes head coach isn’t signed for next season and this award is just another indication of how well he has done in his short tenure behind the Carolina bench. Since taking over in 2018, the Hurricanes have gone 120-66-20 in the regular season reached the playoffs all three years and the Conference Finals once. The 50-year-old is off to an outstanding start with his young group in Carolina and could be considered the favorite for this award.
Tuukka Rask Requires Surgery, Hopes To Return To Boston
The Boston Bruins met with the media today and several players explained that they were dealing with serious injuries as the playoffs wound down. Tuukka Rask in particular revealed that he has a torn labrum in his hip and will undergo surgery this month. The veteran goaltender will face a long recovery that is expected to keep him out until December or January, but that doesn’t mean his time in Boston is over if he has anything to say about it. Rask, an unrestricted free agent, hopes to return to play for the Bruins.
Even dealing with a hip injury all season–Rask said he first felt the injury during the playoff bubble last year–the 34-year-old netminder posted a .913 save percentage in 24 appearances. Those numbers actually improved in the playoffs, even if it was obvious that he was dealing with an injury of some sort in the Bruins second-round loss to the New York Islanders.
Both Rask and Jaroslav Halak are scheduled to become free agents this summer, but Rask explained that he only wants to play for the Bruins moving forward. What that means in terms of a contract extension isn’t clear, especially as the Boston front office considers a transition to young Jeremy Swayman as the team’s starting goaltender. Swayman had a .945 save percentage in ten games this season, but is obviously still an unproven commodity at the NHL level. The 22-year-old will be entering the second year of his entry-level contract in 2021-22, leaving plenty of cap room for the Bruins to insulate him with a veteran partner.
Though Rask’s season didn’t end the way he hoped, there’s no question how much he means to the Bruins franchise. Over a 14-year career he has posted a 306-163-66 record, registered a .921 save percentage, won the Vezina, the Jennings, and was even part of the team’s 2011 Stanley Cup team (though he did not play in the postseason). That .921 mark puts him third all-time behind only Dominik Hasek and Johnny Bower, while his win total ranks 32nd.
Coming off an eight-year, $56MM contract, Rask will obviously have to settle for a pay cut on his next deal. Still, if he can get healthy enough to contribute and wants to return to Boston, an extension makes sense for both sides.
PHR Live Chat Transcript: 06/10/21
Click here to read a transcript of this week’s live chat with PHR’s Gavin Lee.
Columbus Blue Jackets Hire Brad Larsen As Head Coach
The Columbus Blue Jackets conducted multiple interviews with both Gerard Gallant and Rick Tocchet as they looked for John Tortorella‘s replacement as head coach, but in the end, the job went to someone they are much more familiar with. Brad Larsen, an assistant with the Blue Jackets since 2014-15, has officially been named head coach, receiving a three-year contract. GM Jarmo Kekalainen released a statement on the hire:
We underwent an exhaustive process in which we looked very closely at a number of outstanding candidates to be the next coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets and the one individual we kept coming back to throughout was Brad Larsen. Brad was one of the top young coaches in the American Hockey League when he joined our club as an assistant coach and over the past seven years has earned the respect of our players, staff and organization with his work ethic, hockey acumen and the way he treats people, and we couldn’t be more pleased to introduce him as our next head coach.
Even before he joined the Blue Jackets bench, Larsen was part of the Columbus organization. He served as an assistant and then head coach of the Springfield Falcons almost immediately after his playing career ended. His final season on the ice was as captain of the Portland Pirates, playing alongside current NHL talents like Tyler Ennis, Paul Byron, and even current Blue Jacket Nathan Gerbe. Before he ended up wearing a “C” in Portland though, Larsen played more than 300 total games in the NHL, even winning the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001 (though he did not suit up in the playoffs that season).
It is interesting to note that one of the other assistants on Tortorella’s staff, Brad Shaw, has a much longer track record in the NHL but parted ways and took a similar role with the Vancouver Canucks instead of interviewing for the Columbus job.
The Blue Jackets are facing a difficult offseason after it has become clear that Seth Jones will not sign an extension with the team at this point. Kekalainen may have to consider trading the star defenseman this summer or risk losing him for nothing at the end of next season when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Patrik Laine, the team’s big acquisition this year, is also in need of a new contract as a restricted free agent. Max Domi, last summer’s big name, has just one year left before he reaches UFA status as well, and will miss several months following recent surgery. Both Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo will hit the open market in a year, and Zach Werenski also needs a new contract after 2021-22.
With all that in mind, combined with the fact that the Blue Jackets just finished last in the division, it very well could be a rebuild for the Blue Jackets. If that’s the case, Larsen–who made the best impression between his previous time with the team and his two interviews–will have a difficult task ahead of him to turn things around.
Aaron Portzline of The Athletic was the first to peg Larson as the frontrunner for the job earlier in the day.
Casey DeSmith Undergoes Surgery
The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that backup goaltender Casey DeSmith has undergone bilateral core muscle surgery today. The procedure comes with a recovery period of six to eight weeks, meaning DeSmith should be ready for training camp next season.
The 29-year-old DeSmith played in 20 games for the Penguins this season, posting a strong .912 save percentage and two shutouts. Unfortunately, his injury made him unable to help Pittsburgh in their first-round match against the New York Islanders as Tristan Jarry struggled immensely. Even in the deciding sixth game, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan was forced to stay with Jarry even after allowing five goals through the first two periods, the last three coming in quick succession and essentially ending any hope of a comeback.
In DeSmith, the Penguins have a reliable backup signed for just $1.25MM through 2021-22. If he can return from this injury at full strength and no other changes are made in the crease, it will be interesting to see if he gets even more opportunity next season. Core surgery is notorious for affecting a player’s performance for much longer than the original recovery period, so hopefully, DeSmith can get back up to speed by the time the regular season schedule begins.
Snapshots: Svechnikov, Marincin, Devane
The Carolina Hurricanes may be focused on an extension for head coach Rod Brind’Amour and his staff, but there’s another big-ticket item to work on this summer. Andrei Svechnikov is scheduled for restricted free agency and will be looking for a huge raise coming off another successful season.
If you are a Hurricanes fan hoping for a painless negotiation, you might just get your wish, as Svechnikov told reporters including Sara Civian of The Athletic that he would love to stay in Carolina “forever.” Svechnikov scored 15 goals and 42 points in 55 games with the Hurricanes this season and is an integral part of the young leadership group they have upfront.
- Martin Marincin may be finally moving on from the Toronto Maple Leafs, as a report out of Europe has him expected to sign with HC Ocelari Trinec in the Czech Republic. Marincin has been with the Maple Leafs since 2015, getting more opportunities at the NHL level than many fans hoped he would. The 29-year-old didn’t play a single NHL game this season though and looks like he’ll be heading overseas to continue his career.
- Not so for minor league forward Jamie Devane, who has signed an AHL contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the 2021-22 season. Devane, 30, is known much more for his physicality and size than offensive performance, racking up 712 penalty minutes in his 366-game AHL career.
Jared Bednar Held From Morning Skate With COVID Testing “Irregularity”
3:30pm: After further testing, Bednar has been cleared to coach tonight according to Baugh.
12:10pm: The Colorado Avalanche are trying to fight off elimination at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights this evening, but they may have to do it without their head coach. Jared Bednar is absent from the morning skate thanks to “irregularity in his COVID-19 test results” the team tells Peter Baugh of The Athletic.
In terms of players, everyone that took part in the last game is at the morning skate, save for J.T. Compher, who had missed previous practices are he nurses an injury. Hopefully, that means that none of the roster has been affected by the testing and there will be no one held out of tonight’s game. If Bednar’s irregularity is not resolved, the team could potentially reach out to someone like Greg Cronin, head coach of the Colorado Eagles to help assistants Ray Bennett and Nolan Pratt.
This is certainly not an ideal situation for the Avalanche, who have lost three games in a row after going up 2-0 in the series against the Golden Knights. Mark Stone was the overtime hero on Tuesday night, scoring the winner and also helping shut down the Nathan MacKinnon line. After scoring 13 points in the first six games of the playoffs, MacKinnon has been held pointless in each of the last three.
Calgary Flames Hire Kirk Muller, Cail MacLean
The Calgary Flames have added an experienced name to the bench for next season, hiring Kirk Muller as an associate coach. Cail MacLean, who served as head coach of the Stockton Heat for the past three seasons, will also be joining the Flames as an assistant. Muller was let go earlier this season by the Montreal Canadiens when the team parted ways with Claude Julien, but didn’t take long to find his next NHL stop. Ray Edwards and Martin Gelinas will not be returning as assistant coaches but are not leaving the organization. Instead, they’ll transfer to the player development department for the Flames.
Muller, 55, has a long history in the NHL, going back to his selection second overall by the New Jersey Devils in 1984. He played parts of 19 seasons in the NHL, suiting up for 1,349 regular season games and taking home the Stanley Cup in 1993. As a coach, he joined the Canadiens for the first time in 2006 before taking a head coaching job with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2011. He went exactly .500 during his three-year tenure with the Hurricanes, before going to St. Louis and then back to Montreal. Though he doesn’t have a ton of head coaching experience, the Flames may well see him as a replacement for Darryl Sutter in a few years.
MacLean meanwhile is getting his first taste of the NHL at age-44 but is an up-and-coming head coaching prospect in his own right. The former minor league player has been in charge of ECHL and AHL teams previously, taking the slow necessary steps to establish himself as a future NHL head coach. During his time with the Heat, they posted a 72-65-16 record.
The two men will join a coaching staff that also includes assistant coach Ryan Huska (who was the Stockton coach prior to MacLean), goaltending coach Jason LaBarbera, and video coach Jamie Pringle.
Latest On Jack Eichel
The Buffalo Sabres and Jack Eichel appear to be headed toward a split, even though things have quieted down since the team’s year-end media availability. At that point, Eichel was telling reporters that there was a “disconnect” between his camp and GM Kevyn Adams‘ front office regarding his neck injury and it seemed like he already had one foot out the door. Well, that may still be the case, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet spoke to WGR 550 in Buffalo today and explained:
That’s the poker game we’re playing right now. Other teams are saying ‘you’ve got an unhappy player who doesn’t want to come back’ and the Sabres I really think at the end of the day want to move on. They don’t want him back, they want to move on. The teams are going to play Buffalo’s “desperation” at that. The Sabres have to play a game that says ‘okay, you guys can play that game, but somebody is going to get him. If you play it too cool or you play us too hardline, it won’t be you.’
Friedman also noted that some teams are even calling him to see what he knows about Eichel’s injury, given how little information the Sabres have released publicly to this point. The neck injury is a huge sticking point in the trade market, given the uncertainty over whether he will still require surgery and miss part of next season.
Of course, there is also the factor of a long-term contract that carries a cap hit of $10MM. That’s not an easy deal to swallow for any team, even if they can technically fit it at the moment. If Eichel can’t return to the player that scored 36 goals and 78 points in 2019-20, his contract quickly becomes an anchor. A trade will require a team that believes that he can get back to that level, and has the assets the Sabres will want in return. Even if Buffalo wants to move on, Adams will need to maximize the return as much as he can for a player who was seen as a franchise icon to this point.