Ray Shero Signed To Multi-Year Extension
The New Jersey Devils did not experience much success this season, but that won’t be laid entirely at the feet of GM Ray Shero. In fact, the team has rewarded him with a multi-year extension.
Shero, 56, was brought in to replace legendary front office executive Lou Lamoriello in 2015 and set about a slow rebuild for a once great franchise. The Devils had gone to the playoffs in 24 of 27 seasons between 1987-88 and 2011-12, winning three of the five Stanley Cup Finals appearances during that time. After missing for three consecutive seasons following the 2012 finals appearance, changes were made including the firing of head coach Peter DeBoer and hiring of Shero after the rival Pittsburgh Penguins had let him go.
Though he hasn’t brought about a ton of success, the Devils did shock the NHL by making the playoffs last season with a 44-29-9 record. The team was filled with young players like 2017 first-overall pick Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt and Will Butcher, while Taylor Hall finally broke out and won the Hart Trophy after scoring 39 goals and 93 points in just 76 games. This season saw the Devils revert to their previous struggles as Hall and others missed huge chunks of the season due to injury. The club finished closer to last place in the NHL than the playoffs at 31-41-10.
Still, there is reason to believe that Shero is building a winner. Hischier took another step forward as a legitimate first line option, and the team has six picks in the first three rounds at this June’s draft. That includes a first-round pick that could very well be first overall if they find some luck tomorrow night at the draft lottery. He’ll get the chance to see his plan through to the end, though there will certainly be higher stakes moving forward. The Devils have to try and find a way to convince Hall to re-sign before it is too late, as the star winger is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of next year. If they can find some success in 2019-20 it would certainly help the process.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Todd McLellan Linked To Buffalo Sabres
Though there had been plenty of chatter surrounding the Los Angeles Kings and former Edmonton Oilers head coach Todd McLellan, the two may not be getting together after all. Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic tweets that McLellan is “closing in” on a deal with the Buffalo Sabres to become the team’s next head coach, which could be announced as soon as tomorrow. The Sabres have not officially commented one way or the other.
The Kings did ask for permission to speak with McLellan, who is still technically under contract with the Oilers despite having been relieved of his coaching duties. Some believed they were even closing in on a deal, though there is nothing confirmed from the Kings or the Sabres at this point. At the very least we know that McLellan will be behind the bench somewhere next season, returning to a career that brought him plenty of NHL success before his stint in Edmonton.
McLellan took over as head coach of the San Jose Sharks in 2008 and led the team to seven straight winning seasons. The club posted a 311-163-66 record under his watch and missed the playoffs only in his final year. Unfortunately the Sharks weren’t able to ever make a Stanley Cup Finals appearance with McLellan behind the bench, something they did in Peter DeBoer‘s first year.
In Edmonton, things didn’t go nearly as well. McLellan was brought in to stabilize the franchise and guide it back to glory in 2015 just before they selected Connor McDavid first overall. Unfortunately even McDavid hasn’t been able to help right the ship, as in McLellan’s four years the team only went to the playoffs a single time. He finished his Oilers career with a 123-119-24 record, certainly not good enough when icing one of the best players in the world every night.
Bob McKenzie of TSN notes on Twitter that nothing seems to be completed between the Sabres and McLellan, though the coach was already scheduled to be in the area for the NCAA Frozen Four. We’ll have to wait to see if the Sabres can lock him up, or if the Kings come back with a better offer to sway things back in their favor.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Hitchcock, Skinner
The NHL has released their three stars of last week, and in the lead is a player who has had quite a roller coaster season. Vladimir Tarasenko had seven points in four games to help secure a Central Division playoff spot for the St. Louis Blues, just months after being one of the players rumored to be drawing interest in trade negotiations. The Blues went from a team considering blowing up its core to one that very well could contend for the Stanley Cup, and Tarasenko’s turnaround is one of the reasons why. The 27-year old sniper scored 46 points in his final 39 games and was a +23 during that time, finishing the year with his fifth consecutive season of 33 or more goals.
It’s not just the Blues who have hot players heading into the playoffs though, as Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators and Alexander Radulov of the Dallas Stars take home the other two stars this week. Rinne is proving once again that he is one of the most reliable goaltenders in the entire league and enters the playoffs as Nashville’s presumptive starter despite a strong push by backup Juuse Saros. Radulov meanwhile finished his season strong and crossed the point-per-game threshold for the first time in his career, ending with 72 in 70 games played.
- The Edmonton Oilers will let their next GM decide what to do with the coaching position, as CEO Bob Nicholson told reporters today that Ken Hitchcock‘s time behind the bench has come to an end for the time being. The legendary coach was only meant to be in that position for the rest of this season, and though Nicholson wouldn’t rule out the idea of him returning, said the new GM will be able to hire who he wants. Hitchcock will stay in the Oilers organization as an advisor, something the incoming front office will need as they try to turn things around for the organization.
- After a disastrous season in Buffalo the Sabres fired their coach and held frustrated media availability today, but the focus will now turn to pending unrestricted free agent Jeff Skinner. The team has been in contact with Skinner’s representatives for some time, and the talented forward once again reiterated that he loves the city and organization and has “had a great time.” Skinner scored 40 goals for the first time in his career and could potentially be one of the very best forwards available this summer. The clock is ticking for the Sabres, as every day that passes makes the chance at free agency that much harder to resist.
Jay Bouwmeester Signs One-Year Extension
After being left for dead by fans in the early part of the season, Jay Bouwmeester has experienced a career revival in the second half and will be a key part of the St. Louis Blues playoff hopes. Today he was rewarded for that rebound season with a one-year extension worth $3.25MM taking him through the 2019-20 season.
Bouwmeester was set to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent this summer, but will now be back in St. Louis under an age-35+ contract. The left-handed defenseman will turn 36 in September, but was still able to suit up for 78 games this season and record 17 points. Once a premier minute-munching two-way defenseman, Bouwmeester has watched his ice time decline in recent seasons. Still, he finished the year averaging nearly 21 a night on a blue line that is relatively right-heavy. Colton Parayko and Alex Pietrangelo were the only two who logged more minutes at even strength.
He’ll be asked to do much of the same in the playoffs, where he actually doesn’t have a ton of experience. Though Bouwmeester has suited up 1,184 times in the regular season, he has just 49 playoff games under his belt, all of them coming since joining St. Louis in 2013. He has never scored a playoff goal and has just six point in those 49 postseason contests, a number that he’ll try to increase this time around.
The Blues have two other veteran defensemen coming off the books this season as Michael Del Zotto and Carl Gunnarsson approach free agency, meaning they’ll still have room for some younger players to take bigger roles. Bouwmeester is taking quite a pay cut to stay with the team—he carried a $5.4MM cap hit this season—meaning he very well could be fine with a reduced role as well. All of that will be decided in a few weeks though, as all the focus is now on the Winnipeg Jets and the first round of the postseason.
Cody Ceci Hopes To Sign Long-Term Contract
The Ottawa Senators traded away almost all of their important free agents this season, sending Erik Karlsson, Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel and Mark Stone out of town before having to deal with an offseason negotiation. Now the focus will turn from UFA to RFA, as several key players need new contracts before the 2019-20 season gets underway.
One of those names, Cody Ceci, is something of an enigma as the offseason begins. The 25-year old defenseman was awarded a $4.3MM contract in arbitration last summer, making him one of the most expensive players on the Senators rosters. In fact, Ceci’s salary is almost equal to the total of the other five defensemen—Mark Borowiecki, Dylan DeMelo, Thomas Chabot, Christian Jaros and Ben Harpur—that finished the year on the active roster. Another round in arbitration would likely give Ceci another raise, though it’s unclear where exactly that number would land.
It appears as though the defenseman wants to avoid that situation entirely, as he told reporters today including Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia that he has discussed a long-term deal with the Senators front office and wants to get something done before long. That could help them keep the cap hit down, and potentially secure a core player before unrestricted free agency hangs over their heads for another year. Though Ceci will only be 26 next summer, he will have already played seven seasons in the NHL and would qualify for UFA status.
The question is, whether Ceci should even be considered a core piece at all. Analytically-minded talent evaluators have pointed out for years that Ceci is deployed much more heavily than he should be, something that didn’t change even after Guy Boucher was relieved of his coaching duties partway through the season. In fact, Ceci logged more than 26 minutes in the final game of the season, and finished the year with an average of 22:34 per night. That huge amount of ice time resulted in him tying his career-high of 26 points, but also brought with it a -22 rating and a 44.1% CF%.
Still, there seems to be an appetite for Ceci in Ottawa and belief in him as a top-four defenseman. Perhaps with a better supporting cast and new coaching staff the team can coax the best out of him, especially given the extremely tough matchups that may have colored his statistics for the last few years. If a long-term deal can’t be achieved, the arbitration will only be able to award Ceci a one-year deal which would instantly make him a trade candidate on the rebuilding club.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
USA Hockey Announces World Championship Coaching Staff
The upcoming IIHF World Championship will feature a USA Hockey squad led by GM Chris Drury and a very experienced coaching staff. The team announced today that Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill will serve in that role at the upcoming tournament, while John Hynes (New Jersey Devils), Dan Bylsma (Red Wings) and Kevin Reiter (USNTDP). Blashill will be leading the team for the third consecutive year.
Team USA will have quite a few outstanding options for the tournament, and have already started contacting players to see if they would be willing to suit up. Colin White and Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators, Alec Martinez of the Los Angeles Kings and Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks have already all been invited, though some are still taking time to make a decision. It seems likely that Blashill will try to convince Red Wings star forward Dylan Larkin, who has played in the last four tournaments and wore an “A” as alternate captain in the most recent.
The team was able to capture a bronze medal last year but will be looking for a different color this time around. The tournament kicks off on May 10th for the USA squad, with a matchup against Slovakia.
Joel Quenneville Hired By Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers have hired the biggest name on the coaching market, bringing in Joel Quenneville to take over from the recently fired Bob Boughner. Panthers GM Dale Tallon has a long history with Quenneville from their days together with the Chicago Blackhawks, and released a lengthy statement about the hiring.
Joel is a three-time Stanley Cup champion head coach who will be a transformative leader for the Florida Panthers franchise. We’ve seized the opportunity to add one of the most successful head coaches in hockey history and we’re thrilled that Joel has agreed to take on the challenge of leading our promising young team. I’ve worked with Joel previously and have seen firsthand how his passion for the game, head coaching experience and leadership can impact an organization. Joel will accelerate our growth into a club that qualifies for the playoffs consistently and competes every year toward our goal of winning the Stanley Cup.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that Quenneville’s contract is a five-year deal worth more than $6MM per season depending on his bonuses. Quenneville had been making $6MM with the Blackhawks. This new deal will put him right back near the top of the heap in terms of coaching salary, a huge commitment from a franchise that is obviously sick of missing the playoffs.
Bringing in Quenneville is the first move of what should be a very exciting summer for the Panthers organization, as the team moved out quite a bit of salary at the deadline in order to be active players in free agency. Already there have been rumors of Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin being the top targets, and Quenneville’s familiarity with the Russian sniper can only help that chase. Florida has several top players already like Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck and Aaron Ekblad, but weren’t able to find much consistency under Boughner.
In Quenneville, they will now bring in one of the most successful—and consistent—coaches of all-time. In fact, the 2017-18 season is currently the only year that Quenneville has finished with a losing record, even coaching the Blackhawks to a .500 record (6-6-3) in the 15 games before being fired this year. Overall he will join Florida with a career .609 winning percentage and more wins than any coach not named Scotty Bowman. Three Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks solidifies him as one of the greatest, and will get him into the Hockey Hall of Fame at some point regardless of what this next chapter brings.
Nashville Predators Sign Brandon Fortunato
The Nashville Predators have brought in another college free agent, this time signing Brandon Fortunato to a two-year entry-level contract. Fortunato will join Lukas Craggs who signed earlier today in the organization as the Predators stock the cupboard with NCAA talent.
Fortunato, 22, won’t be joining the Milwaukee Admirals on an amateur tryout, since his season ended early with a major injury. The mobile defenseman suffered a broken fibula and ruptured ankle ligaments in Feburary, and is on a four-month recovery timetable. That’s just the latest in what has been a difficult college career, that included sitting out an entire season due to transfer rules. Fortunato started at Boston University in 2014-15, before transferring following his sophomore season.
It took him a while to get started at Quinnipiac, but this season he was one of the most dangerous offensive defensemen in the country with 28 points in just 26 games. The 5’9″ 170-lbs Fortunato will join a Nashville organization known for developing defensemen and will try to get his career back on track after this injury.
Philadelphia Flyers Recall Mark Friedman
The Philadelphia Flyers are set to debut another young defenseman, as the team recalled Mark Friedman today from the minor leagues. In his place Philippe Myers was returned to the AHL to help the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Friedman will wear #59 for the Flyers as they get ready for the final game of the season tomorrow night.
It’s been something of a pipeline of young talent on the blue line for Philadelphia in recent years, who already have players like Shayne Gostisbehere (25), Robert Hagg (24), Travis Sanheim (23), Samuel Morin (23) and Ivan Provorov (22) on the NHL roster. While Friedman obviously doesn’t come with as much hype as some of those other names, he has had a solid development path since being selected in the third round in 2014.
Attending Bowling Green State for three seasons, Friedman was named to the NCHC All-Rookie, Third and First All-Star Teams during his time there. He finished his college career in 2017 with 68 points in 121 games and jumped to the professional ranks with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. In two seasons there he has continued to develop his two-way game, recording 24 points in 71 games this year. For that hard work it appears as though he’ll be rewarded with a game at the NHL level, which will also give him a little extra salary for the last few days of the season.
With one year left on his entry-level contract it still seems unlikely that Friedman will spend much time in the NHL before he hits restricted free agency, but giving him a taste of what it’s like can only help his development going forward.
Arizona Coyotes Sign Erik Kallgren
The Arizona Coyotes have added another young goaltender to the organization, signing Erik Kallgren to a two-year entry-level contract. Kallgren played this season in Sweden’s second league, and needed to be signed by this summer or become an unrestricted free agent.
Originally selected in the seventh round of the 2015 draft, 22-year old Kallgren recorded a .920 save percentage in 32 starts for AIK before joining the Tucson Roadrunners on an amateur tryout recently. He’ll likely make the jump full time to North America next season, where he can continue to develop within the organization.
Interestingly, the Coyotes already have several young goaltenders in the system including Adin Hill who showed he may be ready for the NHL before long. Hunter Miska is a restricted free agent this summer, but Merrick Madsen is also under contract. With Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta locked into NHL spots for next season, it’s going to be a crowded goaltending pipeline in Arizona.