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Alain Vigneault

Philadelphia Flyers Name Ian Laperriere As AHL Head Coach

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The Philadelphia Flyers have not wasted any time with finding a replacement for their AHL head coach vacancy. While many other teams continue to interview coaches for roles without any formal hires, the Flyers have made the first major coaching decision of the off-season. After parting ways with Scott Gordon less than three weeks ago, the team has announced that Ian Laperriere has been named the head coach of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Of course, this means the Flyers now have another position to fill. Laperriere has served as an assistant coach for the NHL club since 2013-14, working under Craig Berube, Dave Hakstol, and Alain Vigneault, as well as briefly under Gordon, the man he is now replacing. Before that, he was the director of player development for the organization, which ties into his new role overseeing the Flyers’ pro prospects. The move thus comes as no surprise, as Philadelphia decides to stay internal with a trusted name, but also allowing Vigneault to bring in a new face for his staff.

Laperriere, 47, transitioned directly from his playing career into his professional career with the Flyers, hanging up his skates in 2012 after playing his final three years in Philadelphia. However, complications from a concussion suffered during the 2010 postseason actually kept him from competing in those final two seasons. Instead, he stayed on in a support role to the organization and was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for his efforts. In total, Laperriere played over 1,000 games in the NHL as a fearsome enforcer and two-way forward. His experience both on and off the ice has him set up well to coach the Flyers’ AHL prospects, currently a deep and talented group.

East Notes: Vigneault, Hall, Pittsburgh Goalies

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With the Flyers going from finishing second in the Metropolitan Division a year ago (and then finishing first in the seeding games) to missing the playoffs this year, some wondered if head coach Alain Vigneault’s job may be in jeopardy.  GM Chuck Fletcher put an end to that speculation, telling Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription link) that the veteran bench boss and his staff will be back behind the bench for Philadelphia next season.  One element that Vigneault and his coaches will have to clean up is their defense as they went from being in the top ten in goals allowed a year ago to dead last this season as no team allowed more goals than the Flyers which, coupled with a mid-tier attack, made for a tough year on the ice.

More from the East Division:

  • Speaking with reporters on a Zoom call earlier this week (video link), Bruins president Cam Neely expressed a desire to retain winger Taylor Hall but indicated they will see how things go with the playoffs first. The veteran has been a nice addition for Boston who acquired him from Buffalo just before the trade deadline and he has been productive, picking up eight goals and six assists in 16 games down the stretch, the types of numbers he was hoping to put up when he signed with Buffalo last fall.  While a long-term deal at his current $8MM price tag isn’t likely in this environment, if he’s willing to accept something in line with their other top forwards (their highest-paid next year is Patrice Bergeron at $6.875MM), it would certainly make some sense to try to bring him back.
  • After Pittsburgh was without both Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith due to injuries at the end of the regular season, the Penguins got some good and bad news on the goalie front today.  Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Jarry is ready to go but DeSmith suffered a lower-body injury in practice and his status for their series opener against the Islanders is uncertain.  If he’s unable to dress, Maxime Lagace – who had a shutout in the season finale – would serve as Jarry’s backup.

Philadelphia Flyers To Scratch Travis Konecny

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The Philadelphia Flyers have won five of their first eight games and currently have the third-best record in the East Division. Apparently, that hasn’t stopped head coach Alain Vigneault from sending messages to his team though. Vigneault has confirmed to The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor that a healthy Travis Konecny will be scratched for the Flyers’ match-up with the New York Islanders on Saturday night.

Vigneault’s issue with his team so far this season has been their five-on-five play and it seems Konecny will be the one to be made example of. O’Connor writes that Vigneault has been talking to team nearly every game about improving their even strength play in all three zones and has not seen any improvement from Konecny, among others. Vigneault spoke with Konecny, who he still calls one of their three best forwards, this morning and explained his decision to make him a healthy scratch. He explained the decision to O’Connor as well:

I’ve been talking to the players about it for some time, areas we need to be better at… I’ve addressed this with the group a couple of times. Not a couple of times, basically after every game, about our need to play better five-on-five, the need to do the right things, to play the right way… I came here to Philly to win a Stanley Cup, and to win a Stanley Cup, there’s a certain way that you have to play… (Konecny) is the one tonight who is not going to play. His five-on-five game needs to be better in the areas that he’s aware of.

So, Konecny will watch from the press box tonight as his coach hopes that he and his teammates finally get the message. Meanwhile, the Flyers will be without the player tied for the team lead in goals and plus/minus and among the top five in points and hits. The team only hopes that this move doesn’t come back to bite them against a good Islanders in a shortened, divisional season where every game matters that much more.

NHL Pulls Current Batch of “Tracking” Pucks

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The NHL and its coaches and players are unhappy with one of its newest innovations. Microchipped “tracking” pucks, first introduced in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, were intended to bring the league into a new age of technological analysis. However, the current batch of pucks is different than those used seamlessly in the postseason – and people can tell.

NBC Sports reports that a number of players and coaches have complained to the league about the new pucks, which were finished differently than the playoff batch. This included Philadelphia Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault, who claimed the pucks “didn’t slide as well”, and Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin, who commented the pucks were “bouncing everywhere.” As a result, the NHL has announced that the pucks have been pulled from gameplay, beginning with Tuesday night’s contests. Pucks from last season will be used for the time being.

Fortunately, the league does expect that new tracking pucks will be ready for action soon. The new batch will also undergo testing before being rolled out. Puck tracking information has long been desired in the NHL and they will work hard to make sure they can get that data back as soon as possible.

Injury Notes: Stamkos, Voracek, Blue Jackets

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The continued unavailability of Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Steven Stamkos continues to be one of the biggest background stories of the NHL re-start and it isn’t going away. Head coach Jon Cooper told TSN that Stamkos will not be available for the team’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers today, which decides the No. 1 seed and home ice in the Eastern Conference. However, he went one step further by stating that Stamkos is out “indefinitely”, which calls into question whether there is any timeline for Stamkos’ return. The scoring center has been skating and per Cooper is “working his tail off” but it might not be enough for him to be ready for the start of the first round. The Athletic’s Joe Smith details the struggles that some players have returning from core injuries, particularly core surgery, so Stamkos’ delayed recovery is not a total surprise even five months removed. However, Smith writes that the concern is not that Stamkos has far exceeded the six-to-eight week timeline from back in March, but that the player and team both seem to have no idea of when he might be ready to return. Especially after having months off to recover, the fact that Stamkos is not ready could mean that he might not make it back for this postseason period.

  • The Bolts’ opponent tonight, the Philadelphia Flyers, will also be missing one of their top forwards for the crucial seeding game. With a chance to go from fourth to first in the conference seeding, the Flyers will have to do so without Jakub Voracek. Head coach Alain Vigneault told NBC Sports Philadelphia that Voracek simply “is not available” for Saturday’s match-up and did not share any further details. Without any pre-existing injury and the agreement between the NHL and NHLPA not to disclose any medical information during these playoffs, this is the most that might be out there about Voracek. The star forward played a standard amount of ice time in the Flyers’ last game and did not appear to suffer an injury, but for one reason or another will not be in the lineup. Fortunately for the Flyers, the team’s depth up front is impressive, allowing promising rookie Joel Farabee to replace Voracek on the first line while veteran James van Riemsdyk returns to the lineup in his stead.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets hoped to shut the door on their qualifying round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday, but a last-minute three-goal collapse led to an overtime loss and a Game Five date on Sunday. It is not a coincidence that young standout defenseman Zach Werenski was not on the ice for any of the Leafs’ four goals against last night, as he missed the final nine minutes of regulation and all of overtime. Werenski appeared to suffer the injury while being tripped in the offensive zone, but then was seen having his neck examined and massaged on the Blue Jacket bench. Neither head coach John Tortorella nor GM Jarmo Kekalainen have had any update on Werenski’s condition or his availability for Sunday. The Athletic’s Alison Lukan points out that Ryan Murray, who is a constant injury risk, missed Game Four and the combination of both defensemen being out for Game Five would be a major hit to Columbus’ strongest position.

Poll: Who Should Win The 2020 Jack Adams Award?

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The finalists have been announced for all the major awards, but like every year there is much debate over who should take home each piece of hardware. In fact, with a shortened season and unorthodox playoff scenario, the views and reasoning behind each vote will perhaps vary even more wildly.

So as we get closer to the return of NHL hockey in Edmonton and Toronto, where 24 teams will try to chase the Stanley Cup, we’re going to ask you, the PHR faithful, to explain who you would vote for if given the chance.

After looking at the Calder Trophy finalists, let’s shift our focus to the Jack Adams Award, given to “the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.”  In recent years, teams with top records have been overlooked with ones overachieving relative to early-season expectations often getting the nod.

This year’s group of finalists features someone from both groups with Bruce Cassidy (Bruins), John Tortorella (Blue Jackets), and Alain Vigneault (Flyers) comprising the top three.

Cassidy helped lead Boston to the top record in this shortened season where the Bruins still managed to reach 100 points in just 70 games with a 44-14-12 record.  While they were expected to be a contender heading into the year featuring a strong attack and one of the stingiest goaltending tandems in the league, they were the class of the field for most of the season which certainly makes Cassidy deserving of the nomination.  He has never won this award in the past despite putting up a very quiet 161-66-34 record since going behind their bench.

After being gutted in free agency with the departures of Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene, and Sergei Bobrovsky (among others), expectations were low for Columbus heading into the season.  Instead, it was believed that they’d be in for a transition year, especially since they opted to go with the relatively unproven tandem of Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins between the pipes.  Instead, while they struggled as expected offensively, they became one of the stingiest defensive teams in the league and were in the mix for a playoff spot when the pandemic hit despite a litany of injuries to core players.  Tortorella is a two-time winner of the award after winning in 2004 with Tampa Bay and 2017 with Columbus.

As for Vigneault, he helped lead Philadelphia to their best points percentage in nearly a decade at .645 with a top-ten offense and defense.  In doing so, the Flyers went from a team that missed the playoffs to one that still has a chance at the top seed in the Eastern Conference as a 9-1 record in their final ten games allowed them to leapfrog Pittsburgh for the second spot in the Metropolitan Division; in doing so, they qualified for the round robin seeding games instead of the play-in round.  If he wins, it would Vigneault’s second Jack Adams Award as he also won in 2007 with Vancouver.

There’s a strong case to be made for each coach but which one should take home the prize?  Cast your vote below.

Mobile users, click here to vote.

NHL Announces Finalists For 2019-20 Jack Adams Award

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Just moments after announcing the finalists for the Calder Trophy, the league has given out three names that will battle for another prestigious regular season award. The Jack Adams Award, given to the head coach who has “contributed the most to his team’s success” comes down to three Eastern Conference bench bosses who have taken their teams to the playoffs.

The three finalists are: Bruce Cassidy (BOS), John Tortorella (CBJ), Alain Vigneault (PHI)

Cassidy has done nothing but win since returning to the NHL head coaching ring in 2017. In 261 regular season games running the Bruins’ bench, he’s amassed a 161-66-34 record. That .682 winning percentage would put him among the all-time great coaches in NHL history. Even when including his 47-47-9 record from when he coached the Washington Capitals, he ranks sixth all-time in winning percentage among coaches with at least 300 games. There is little doubt at this point that he is an effective leader and after taking the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Finals a year ago, he had them back positioned for another run as the league’s best regular season team.

Tortorella meanwhile comes with a much longer head coaching history and one that has certainly had its ups and downs. Even though he can eventually wear out his welcome, the fiery motivator has had only three seasons with a sub-.500 record. This season has been perhaps his most challenging after losing names like Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene and Sergei Bobrovsky to free agency and Seth Jones to a season-ending injury. The fact that the Blue Jackets still have a fighting chance in the playoffs is a credit to the work “Torts” has done with an underwhelming roster and puts him squarely in as a potential favorite for the award this season.

Vigneault will try to take away however after a triumphant return to the NHL. After spending a year on the sidelines following his dismissal from the New York Rangers, the veteran coach was back in the Metropolitan Division taking the Flyers to a 41-21-7 record. Philadelphia was playing perhaps their best hockey in a decade when the season was cut short and looked like a real contender for the Stanley Cup. The question has always been about whether Vigneault can hack it in the playoffs, but as this is a regular season award the Flyers .645 winning percentage speaks for itself.

Trade Rumors: Connor, Gostisbehere, Center Market

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With the Winnipeg Jets continuing to slide further and further from playoff contention this season, the team will have to begin entertaining trade offers. While impending free agents like Dmitry Kulikov, Luca Sbisa, and Gabriel Bourque could be the most likely trade casualties, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press writes that the team is receiving considerable interest in top line winger Kyle Connor. Normally, a player like Connor, who is skating more than 20 minutes per night and leading the team in goal scoring at the age of 23, would be untouchable. However, the Jets are deep up front and in desperate need of a new cornerstone on defense and the possibility of landing an elite young player or prospect who could fill that void may have them at least listening to offers for Connor. The division rival Colorado Avalanche are reportedly leading the hunt, with 2019 No. 4 overall pick Bowen Byram being the core piece that would head to the Jets. A young defenseman of Byram’s caliber would be a huge addition to the Winnipeg pipeline, but would not be able to play a top-pair role for a few years still to come. Is that enough to part with a player like Connor? McIntyre is skeptical and reiterates that in no way are the Jets shopping their young star. After all, they just signed Connor to a seven-year, $50MM extension back in September. However, given their disappointing season and bleak outlook on the blue line, it cannot be ruled out that the right price – Byram or otherwise – could entice the Jets to move Connor.

  • A difficult season for Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere continued not only in his last game, but in his last practice as well. Gostisbehere, who has missed 13 games this season due to injury and has struggled even when healthy, drew back into the Flyers’ lineup on Thursday night. The team proceeded to drop an embarrassing 5-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils, in which the pairing of Gostisbehere and Justin Braun were of little help. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Ed Barkowitz recounts that Gostisbehere’s frustration boiled over in practice on Friday. The blue liner whiffed on a shot late in practice and responded by hurling his stick over the glass and storming off the ice. While Barkowitz makes no mention of any possible discipline for Gostisbehere as a result of this incident, there is a strong chance that he will take a seat for Saturday’s match-up against the Washington Capitals. While it may seem like Gostisbehere is wearing out his welcome in Philly with lacking results and now visible distress, head coach Alain Vigneault did acknowledge to Barkowitz that the team likely erred in rushing Gostisbehere back from his knee surgery rather than allowing him to serve a rehab stint in the AHL. But with the deed done, both sides have to live with the current situation. Or do they? Gostisbehere remains a hot name on the trade market and with the Flyers fighting for a playoff spot and needing help up front, a trade seems like a strong possibility. Gostisbehere is only 26 and has three years remaining on his current contract, but this seems like a situation where both sides might benefit from a fresh start. With each of their next five games coming against an Eastern Conference team currently in playoff position, a crucial stretch for the Flyers’ own postseason hopes, perhaps a Gostisbehere deal will come sooner rather than later.
  • The Flyers are one of a number of teams who could benefit from bringing in a center at the deadline. However, TSN’s Frank Seravalli points out that this is the weakest position in the current trade market. The top available option is Ottawa’s Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who some believe the team would rather re-sign than deal. Beyond that, the only other two centers on TSN’s Trade Bait List are Nashville’s Kyle Turris, and his remaining four years and $24MM, and Detroit’s veteran pivot Valtteri Filppula. Beyond that, Seravalli lists impending UFA’s Derek Grant of Anaheim and Nate Thompson of Montreal and younger players like San Jose’s Barclay Goodrow and Ottawa’s Chris Tierney as the top options. Once Pageau is off the board – or worse, if he isn’t traded at all – it is slim pickings down the middle on the trade market. Seravalli lists the Oilers, Capitals, and Jets as teams joining Philadelphia in the pursuit of a center, but not all of these teams will leave the deadline happy.

Poll: Which Head Coach Has The Hottest Seat Entering 2019-20?

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Every game has a winner and a loser and not every team can meet or exceed expectations each year. Even entering a new season in which every team has a clean slate, it’s not incorrect to state that some NHL teams will struggle in 2019-20. And when that happens, the head coach is usually the first one to go. There are 31 head coaches in the league and one of them will inevitably be the first one fired this season. Who has the best chance of earning that unfortunate title?

Several names can likely be ruled out immediately – although anything can happen. Anaheim’s Dallas Eakins, Buffalo’s Ralph Krueger, Edmonton’s Dave Tippett, Florida’s Joel Quenneville, L.A.’s Todd McClellan, Ottawa’s D.J. Smith, and Philadelphia’s Alain Vigneault are all beginning their first season with a new team. In most cases, that affords them at least one year of job security before their seat can start warming up. However, in the event of a massive collapse or poor locker room dynamics, it’s not unheard of in hockey for a coach to be one and done.

It was a strong season for rookie head coaches last year though. Calgary’s Bill Peters, Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour, Chicago’s Jeremy Colliton, Dallas’ Jim Montgomery, Washington’s Todd Reirden, and of course, reigning Jack Adams Award-winner Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders all excelled in their first year on the job. It’s hard to imagine any of the group having a hot seat, barring a major disappointment against expectations. The New York Rangers’ David Quinn had a much tougher task for a team that internally had an eye on moving assets and developing young players, but the former top college coach will likely be given another year to work with a revamped lineup.

Other names whose seats are probably very cold: Stanley Cup combatants Craig Berube of the St. Louis Blues and Bruce Cassidy of the Boston Bruins. Both exceeded expectations last year and were rewarded with multi-year extensions in the off-season. Gerard Gallant, whose Golden Knights made a magical run to the Cup Final two years ago in their inaugural season, is likely safe as well.

Who does that leave as a candidate for the hottest of seats? Despite a record-breaking regular season, all eyes will be on Jon Cooper and the Lightning as they look to bounce back from a shocking first-round sweep. Cooper is the NHL’s longest-tenured head coach, but he could lose that mantle if Tampa Bay isn’t a top-ten team all season and at least an Eastern Conference finalist. Similarly, Toronto and Mike Babcock had a strong regular season, but again could not fight their way past Boston in the first round. Babcock may to avoid any regular season struggles to even get back to a likely postseason re-match with the Bruins, as many feel his seat has warmed considerably. John Tortorella got his franchise their first ever playoff series win last year, but the Blue Jackets watched a ton of talent walk away this summer and Tortorella faces the tough task of getting the team back to the postseason. Winnipeg’s Paul Maurice, the second-longest tenured coach behind Cooper, faces the same difficulty of leading a team whose Stanley Cup hopes have been shaken this summer. Jared Bednar’s Avalanche were a surprise in the playoffs as well, but moved in the opposite direction this off-season and are a popular dark horse pick to win it all this year. High expectations demand results and Bednar’s job could hang in the balance if Colorado cannot take a step forward this year. The Devils’ John Hynes is certainly under a lot of pressure as well, as New Jersey missed the playoffs – by a wide margin – last year and responded with arguably the most impressive off-season in the league. Many will expect the Devils not only to make the playoffs, but to be competitive. Other coaches whose teams need to take a step forward via playoff success are Nashville’s Peter Laviolette, San Jose’s Peter Deboer, and perhaps even Pittsburgh’s Mike Sullivan. Coaches whose jobs could depend on making the playoffs include Arizona’s Rick Tocchet, Minnesota’s Bruce Boudreau, and Montreal’s Claude Julien.

The two outliers of the group: the Red Wings’ Jeff Blashill and the Canucks’ Travis Green. Neither team is expected to be a legitimate playoff contender, but at the same time both men need to show a marked improvement in their teams. Blashill has been in Detroit for four years but has little to show for it. Green enters his third season in Vancouver having fallen short of ownership and management’s lofty expectations in the previous two. It’s hard to set benchmarks for what would either save or end both coaches’ jobs.

All 31 coaches have a seat to start the year. Whose is hottest and in the most danger of being lost before the others?

Mobile users, click here to vote.

Metropolitan Notes: Konecny, Kuznetsov, Rust, Van Riemsdyk

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There was some hope that after Ivan Provorov signed, the Philadelphia Flyers would put all their attention to their other unsigned restricted free agent, Travis Konecny with the hopes of getting him to training camp as quickly as possible. Instead, that hasn’t happened yet with Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi reporting today that no progress was made between the two sides on Saturday.

Philadelphia Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault expressed his disappointment that Konecny isn’t in camp yet as he will be missing valuable time learning the new coach’s system.

“I’m very disappointed that T.K. is not here,” Vigneault said after his first practice leading the Flyers (via NBC Sports’ Jordan Hall). “It’s the start of a new era, a new group, I felt that it was very important for everybody to be here.  With my time in the NHL, my experience, anybody that falls behind — whether it’s injury or in T.K.’s situation not coming to camp — usually it takes them a little bit of time to get back at it, especially at this time with a new coaching staff and new way of doing things. It’s unfortunate, but I’m going to work with the players that are here and going to work extremely hard with those players.”

Konecny could also find himself sliding down the lineup if he can’t get back to camp quickly. On day two of training camp, Vigneault used rookie Joel Farabee (in place of Konecny) with first-liners Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux, with the rookie faring quite well and getting praise from Vigneault.

“He showed that he belonged there,” said Vigneault.

  • With a three-game suspension hanging over Evgeny Kuznetsov to start the season for inappropriate behavior, Washington Capitals head coach Todd Reirden suggested that Kuznetsov is likely to get a lot of exhibition action during the preseason to make up for the three suspended games, according to Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan. NHL.com’s Tom Gulliti adds that Kuznetsov’s $7.8MM AAV will not against the Washington Capitals salary cap during the suspension, which could be a benefit to the team, which is currently over the cap.
  • The Athletic’s Josh Yohe (subscription required) writes in his most recent mailbag column that the Pittsburgh Penguins most valuable and likely trade chip is forward Bryan Rust. The 27-year-old scored 18 goals and 35 points last season and is a key depth option, but at $3.5MM per season, Rust is the perfect candidate to solve some of the team’s cap issues, although the Penguins’ preference is to find a team that would be willing to take on Jack Johnson and his four years at $3.25MM AAV contract.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes revealed that they don’t expect defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk to be ready for the start of the season, according to NHL.com’s Michael Smith. The 28-year-old van Riemsdyk underwent surgery on his left shoulder in May and has been cleared to begin skating without contact after team practices. “I don’t expect him to be ready for the start of the season,” Hurricanes President and General Manager Don Waddell said. “It just depends on how things go for him. There’s no reason to rush him back in game one or game two. It’s a long season. If we’re going to go deep, we’re going to need him. We’ll be very patient.”

 

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