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NHL Reveals Coaches For Upcoming All-Star Game

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The NHL announced the coaches for the 2018 NHL All-Star game in Tampa Bay on Jan. 28, as Tampa Bay Lightning’s Jon Cooper, Vegas Golden Knights’ Gerard Gallant, Washington Capitals’ Barry Trotz and Nashville Predators’ Peter Laviolette will coach their respective divisions.

For the third straight season, the all-star game will feature a 3-on-3, three-game tournament, showcasing each division. Each divisional team will have six forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders. The coaching selections were based on the team that had the highest point percentage as of Jan. 6, the halfway point of the season.

Cooper earned his first trip to the all-star game in six years as an NHL coach. Tampa Bay has the best record in hockey at 29-9-3. Gallant has earned the invite by taking a first-year expansion team and given them the second-best record in hockey at 28-10-2. It is his second all-star selection in seven years of NHL coaching. Trotz will make his third NHL all-star appearance in 19 years of coaching. The Capitals boast a 25-13-3 record. Laviolette will make his second appearance in 16 seasons as a coach. The Predators have a 25-11-6 record, tied for second in the Central Division, but have a slightly higher points percentage than Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice, who has one more overtime loss.

Full all-star rosters will be released Wednesday. The all-star captains were already named by fan votes as Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (Pacific), Washington’s Alex Ovechkin (Metropolitan), Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos (Atlantic) and Nashville’s P.K. Subban (Central) were voted in.

 

Eastern Notes: Hoffman, Claesson, Duclair, Trotz, Burakovsky

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The Ottawa Senators may be struggling in the standings, but that didn’t stop the team from holding their annual skills competition at the Canadian Tire Center with forward Mike Hoffman and defenseman Fredrik Claesson each winning the key awards of the afternoon, according to Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch.

Hoffman captured the speed award with a time of 13.944 seconds, just short of his time a year ago (13.836) when he won the same event. Ryan Dzingel finished second in the competition at 14.016 and Thomas Chabot placing third at 14.229.

“I always did power skating as a kid and played inline hockey growing up, which can help on your skating as well,” Hoffman added.

Claesson won the hardest shot competition at 104.6 mph in the preliminary rounds and then beat fellow defenseman Johnny Oduya in the finals with a 103.7 shot. Oduya had a 98.0 mph shot.

  • Larry Brooks of the New York Post recommends that in the wake of the Chris Kreider injury and the fact he could be out for two months, the New York Rangers should look into the price of acquiring Arizona Coyotes forward Anthony Duclair, a perfect buy-low candidate. With few options in the AHL, a cheap player with NHL experience might be perfect for New York.
  • Pointing out a suggested trade for Duclair as well, Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith also likes the idea of the Tampa Bay Lightning kicking the tires on acquiring the 22-year-old winger. Smith writes he would be a perfect low-risk, high reward option as a top-nine player for a team to fill out its depth. However, the scribe does add the team might want to focus more on defensive depth first, such as Ottawa’s Codi Ceci.
  • With the Washington Capitals victory Saturday, head coach Barry Trotz recorded his 737th victory, making him the fifth winningest coach in NHL history. Trotz, who is in his 19th year as a head coach, has 180 victories with the Capitals. He had spent the previous 15 years in Nashville.
  • Tarik El-Bashir of NBC Sports writes that young winger Andre Burakovsky, who many felt might have a breakout year, will have a hard time getting back into the Capitals’ lineup as he is one of four players fighting for time on the fourth line. He missed time this year after undergoing thumb surgery and has struggled since his return. “There’s some things that I feel like I’m not really back to after my injury,” said Burakovsky via the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan. “I guess it’s been taking a little bit longer time than I was expecting.”

Eastern Notes: Cole, Vrana, Djoos, Lightning

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Tight up against the salary cap for the next few years, Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription required) answers a number of mailbag questions about the Pittsburgh Penguins present and future. Among the tidbits of information is the scribe’s opinion that the team is likely to allow defenseman Ian Cole to depart via free agency this offseason.

Yohe writes that Cole, who is one of the team’s better defenseman is more likely of all their unrestricted free agents next year to be wearing a different sweater in the 2018-19 season. As Pittsburgh is already loaded with four defensemen making at least $4MM per year next season, Cole would likely be the odd man out for the Penguins, especially since there will likely be many teams offering big money to the blueliner. The  27-year-old has been a solid defender and likely could play a major position on another team’s top-four if given the opportunity.

  • NBC Sports Tarik El-Bashir writes that Washington Capitals wing Jakub Vrana, who was a healthy scratch for the first time this year on Thursday, will return to the lineup today against the Minnesota Wild on the Capitals third line. He had just two points (both goals) in his previous 13 games. “I’m putting him back where he was … and I want to see him play really well tonight,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said.
  • El-Bashir adds that Washington Capitals defenseman Christian Djoos, who suffered an upper-body injury Tuesday against the Nashville Predators and missed Thursday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche, did not skate today. “I don’t know exactly when he’s going to skate yet,” Trotz said. “He’s still day-to-day with the trainers. Once they tell me he can skate, he’ll be out there.”
  • Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times writes that with the Tampa Bay Lightning off to their best start in team history as they lead the league with a 15-2-2 record and 32 points, the team has a number of players who are also leading the NHL, including Nikita Kucherov, who leads the NHL in goals scored with 17; Steven Stamkos, who leads the league in assists with 25 and points with 35; and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy leads the NHL in wins with 14.

Metropolitan Notes: Santini, Ho-Sang, Hunwick, Niskanen, Vesey

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The New Jersey Devils got back into the win column Saturday after failing to win their previous four games. Despite that fact, New Jersey remains in first place with a 10-4-2 record in a tough Metropolitan Division. Yet, the team’s 2-1 victory Saturday against the Florida Panthers was a defensive effort in which many players praised the play of unheralded defenseman Steven Santini, according to The Record’s Andrew Gross.

The physical 22-year-old defenseman only played in 38 games a year ago, but is a mainstay on the team’s defense this year. The former second-round pick from 2013, showed off his physicality against Florida with big hits, most notably a hit in which he dumped the Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov into his team’s own bench in the second period. Santini got plenty of ice time with 23:42, was credited with four hits and was smart enough to avoid a penalty when challenged by Panthers’ enforcer Micheal Haley in the third period.

  • New York Islanders Joshua Ho-Sang made the most of his emergency recall Saturday when he scored a goal against the St. Louis Blues last night, according to Arthur Staple of Newsday. Ho-Sang, the team’s first-round pick in 2014, had played six games with the Islanders to start the season, but was sent down to work on improving his in-game mentality — knowing when to drive to the net and when to dump the puck. Ho-Sang had put up two goals and four assists in six games during that span with the AHL Bridgeport Sound Tigers, but with Anthony Beauvillier day-to-day, Ho-Sang got his chance to redeem himself. He can stay up on an emergency basis for 30 days or 10 games, but the team could always officially recall him as well.
  • Jonathan Bombulie of The Trib Live writes that Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Matt Hunwick, who has already missed 12 games due to a concussion diagnosed on Oct. 17, has hit a plateau in his recovery and will be held off the ice for a few more days. “He’s been having a tough time getting over that last hurdle, and so they want to take a little bit of a different approach to try to get him over that last hump,” coach Mike Sullivan said.
  • NBC Sports Tarik El-Bashir writes that Washington Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen will travel on the team’s upcoming road trip to Nashville and Colorado, according to head coach Barry Trotz. Niskanen, who has been on LTIR since Oct. 14 due to an upper-body injury, will not suit up tonight against the Edmonton Oilers, but could be ready to suit up for one or both of the away games this week. The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan tweets that Niskanen has been cleared for contact, but is not “full go” and may or may not be ready for games this week. A key veteran defender, the team’s defense would get a big boost upon his return.
  • New York Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey went straight to the dentist after Saturday’s victory over the Edmonton Oilers, according to Newsday’s Steve Zipay. The 24-year-old wing took a Zack Kassian skate to the mouth in the second period. Two of Vesey’s teeth had to be removed from his lip. Despite the injury, Vesey returned for a shift in the third period and wore a protective plastic cage attached to the lower part of his helmet. He is day-to-day.

Eastern Notes: Smith-Pelly, Andersen, Fedun

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A few days ago, Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz hinted that bottom-six winger Devante Smith-Pelly might be nearing a promotion to a better line. Well, NBC Sports’ Tarik El-Bashir writes that tonight will be that promotion as the 25-year-old has been moved onto the team’s top line alongside Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov in their game against the Edmonton Oilers.

Smith-Pelly, who came to Washington this offseason, has had a very inconsistent career, starting when he was a highly-touted prospect and was drafted in the second round in 2010 by the Anaheim Ducks. Despite his junior success and his success at the AHL level, the winger had trouble figuring things out at the NHL level and quickly found himself bouncing around different teams. He signed a one-year, $650K deal with Washington this offseason after a one-year stint in New Jersey a year ago in which he tallied just nine points in 53 games.

Now, with the Capitals, he has started to show some of his skills and has earned the trust of Trotz. While he’s yet to score a goal, the belief is that his talents might be a perfect fit alongside Ovechkin and Kuznetsov. Smith-Pelly will replace Jakub Vrana, who moves to the team’s second line next to T.J. Oshie and Niklas Backstrom, who is returning after missing a game due to illness.

“He deserves it. He’s put in the work. His game is such that he needs to move up in the lineup,” Trotz said on Smith-Pelly’s promotion.

 

Tom Wilson Suspended For Two Preseason Games

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2:44 PM: Wilson has been suspended for two preseason games, the Department of Player Safety announced.

11:17 AM: To the surprise of many, including head coach Barry Trotz, Washington Capital’s grinder Tom Wilson will have a hearing regarding an interference call in last night’s preseason game against the St. Louis Blues. In a quick turnaround, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced their appointment with Wilson this morning for a hearing later today. It is a fast response, with the potential to be forceful as well, when it comes to Wilson, who is starting to get a reputation as one of the league’s biggest thugs.

The hit in question, as you can see, was a hard check on St. Louis 2017 first-round pick Robert Thomas. Thomas was chasing the puck, which drew the interference call, when Wilson swung in an hit him with a shoulder to the upper body. Wilson leaves his feet to make contact, which Player Safety will surely call attention to. Thomas was not injured on the play and Wilson quickly fought Dmitrij Jaskin and then served his penalty and with the pace of the game, no one gave much of a second thought to the ordeal. The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan even reports that Trotz had planned to use Wilson in tonight’s game. However, the league, and new Head of Player Safety and former enforcer himself George Parros, would like to take a closer look at Wilson’s most recent incident.

Amazingly, if Wilson is suspended for the hit, it will be the first suspension of his NHL career. Wilson has had his fair share of hearing, two ending in substantial fines, but has never missed any time. However, the timing of this hearing could mean that his lucky streak is about to end. With the main focus of the NHL this season clearly being a desire to clean up play and reduce injuries, a statement suspension for a guy too often on the wrong side of dirty plays would seem to fit the narrative.

Snapshots: Tanev, Cullen, Williams, Trotz

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The Dallas Stars have expressed interest in acquiring Canucks defenseman Chris Tanev, reports TSN’s Frank Seravalli.  There’s no word on how far those talks progressed but reports from earlier this week suggested that Vancouver would need to be blown away by an offer if they were to consider trading the 27 year old blueliner away.

Tanev has three years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $4.45MM and is viewed league-wide as a strong shutdown defender.  With the Stars adding a defensive-oriented coach in Ken Hitchcock this offseason, it’s no surprise that they would be targeting a defensively-sound player like Tanev.  Seravalli notes that Tanev’s modified no-trade clause kicks in on July 1st which allows him to block a trade to eight different teams.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • While Penguins center Matt Cullen has said he won’t make a decision on his playing future until sometime in the offseason, he acknowledged to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune that “It’s pretty likely that this will be the end” of his career. The 19 year veteran continues to play an important bottom six role in Pittsburgh, logging over 14 minutes a game in the postseason while chipping in nine points through 24 games.  He has been one of the better bargains since joining the Pens and had a cap hit of just $1MM this past season.
  • Winger Justin Williams has met with Capitals GM Brian MacLellan to discuss a new contract, notes CSN Mid-Atlantic’s JJ Regan (Twitter links). While no agreement has been reached, another meeting has already been scheduled.  The 35 year old is coming off his second straight strong season with Washington, collecting 24 goals and 24 assists in 80 regular season games while adding nine points in 13 postseason contests.  He carried a cap hit of $3.25MM and given the lack of top six scoring on the open market, Williams could find himself in line for a raise if he makes it to free agency.
  • Still with the Capitals, MacLellan doesn’t anticipate the fact that head coach Barry Trotz is heading into the final year of his contract will be any sort of distraction, notes Matthew Paras of the Washington Times. The GM added that they’ll discuss an extension once there is evidence of improvement from the team which suggests that Trotz is likely to at least start the season without any more job security.  Paras adds that Washington goalie coach Mitch Korn is contemplating retirement.  He has been coaching for the past 26 years, the last three of which were with the Capitals.

Capitals GM Undertaking “Thorough Review”

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The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan reported today that Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan is undergoing a “thorough review” of the entire organization after yet another second-round playoff exit. Most importantly is that Barry Trotz’s tenure with the club could be in jeopardy.

Like the last two decades of Capitals teams (h/t reader Daniel Sumerlin for pointing this out), Trotz has never made it past the second round. And with the Capitals championship window slow closing, MacLellan may want to bring in new blood. Trotz will be entering his final year of a four-year contract, and whether he receives an extension will dictate how much confidence the club has in Trotz leading the team to a Finals berth.

Most notably, however, is that Trotz was never MacLellan’s guy. Both were hired by Owner Ted Leonsis and President Dick Patrick around the same time. MacLellan may want the opportunity to bring in his own coach before making drastic roster moves.

Even if Trotz remains, he’ll no doubt be on a short leash like Claude Julien and Ken Hitchcock this year. MacLellan may hold off on a coaching change given the dearth of options right now, but may make a move next season if a quality candidate arises.

 

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