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Frustration Growing For Panthers’ Alex Petrovic

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It wasn’t long ago that the Florida Panthers were working toward a long-term extension with defenseman Alex Petrovic. Coming off the best season of his young career in 2015-16, the then-24-year-old looked like he was blossoming into an elite two-way defenseman. Injuries struck last season, but Petrovic nonetheless saw increased ice time and an uptick in both offensive and defensive per-game numbers. He was rewarded by being protected in this summer’s Expansion Draft.

Yet, today the team’s position on Petrovic has changed and he’s taking notice. While Petrovic and the Panthers avoided arbitration with a one-year extension this summer, he’s had to sit back and watch fellow blue liners with less time spent in Florida sign long-term deals in Mark Pysyk and Michael Matheson. Now he’s watching the likes of Ian McCoshen and MacKenzie Weegar take his ice time away too. Petrovic has been a healthy scratch in nine of the Panthers’ 20 games this season and, as he tells the Miami Sun-Sentinal’s Matthew DeFranks, he’s sick of it.

“I think (the coaches) just don’t have the confidence in me when I’m out there to keep (making me a healthy scratch) for some reason,” Petrovic said. “I couldn’t tell you why. It is what it is. I just got to keep proving myself every day.” DeFranks describes Petrovic’s scratches as unusual, as the determined defender tends to watch games from the ground level rather than the press box and works out during period breaks. No amount of effort or showing of dedication seems to make a differences though; Petrovic hasn’t suited up since November 9th and “lines of communication between him and the coaching staff have evaporated”, DeFranks writes.

New Florida head coach Bob Boughner has done his best to de-emphasize the issues between he and his staff and Petrovic, but sooner or later the Panthers are either going to have to start playing their homegrown product or trade him away. Petrovic has shown a commitment to being in the lineup and, when active, has the numbers to prove improvement of the past two seasons. Teams will line up to get a young, physical defenseman on an upward trend offensively and defensively. GM Dale Tallon simply needs to decide whether he wants to take advantage of that value or keep that asset to himself, and he needs to decide soon.

Afternoon Notes: Tippett, Griffith, Hunt

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Just as some predicted, the Florida Panthers will keep their 2017 first-round pick Owen Tippett on their roster. The team made their final three roster cuts this morning to put the team at 23 players, ready for the start of the season. Whether Tippett stays on the roster is another question as the team is allowed to play him nine games before it burns a year off his entry-level contract. They could choose to send him back to his junior team if he isn’t progressing after those nine games.

While Tippett making the team was not too surprising, he didn’t blow the team away offensively as he only picked up one assist in four preseason games. However, according to Matthew DeFranks of the Sun Sentinel, head coach Bob Boughner said the 18-year-old had little things to work such as how to play without the puck. Once, he figures that out, Boughner said his game will take off.

“Obviously, after nine games, it’s a big decision but we’re not looking at spreading his games out or anything like that,” Boughner said. “If he plays well, he’s going to stay in and he’s going to play.”

The team has made it clear this year they will be focusing on fast, young players and Tippett fulfills that notion. The team also kept 2014 first-rounder Jared McCann, who they picked up in a trade more than a year ago, 25-year-old Connor Brickley and 20-year-old Denis Malgin on their opening day roster.

  • Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News writes that Buffalo Sabres free agent signee Seth Griffith has not just made the team, but is currently practicing with Jack Eichel and Evander Kane on the first line. Whether that holds up is unknown, but the 24-year-old journeyman who played for three different teams last year, has impressed Buffalo management. “His attitude is infectious,” head coach Phil Housley said. “He’s got to play like he has been the last two games. He has to be up in the forecheck. I know he’s a smaller guy but he finds way to get pucks and win puck battles.”
  • As if the Vegas Golden Knights didn’t already have too many defensemen to worry about, they have another problem, as 29-year-old minor league veteran Brad Hunt has played impressively well and there is growing fear the team could lose him if they put him on waivers, according to David Schoen of The Las Vegas Review-Journal. Few believed that Hunt would make the Golden Knights’ roster, but he leads the team in points (one goal, five assists) and may force Vegas to make another critical decision. Hunt has played 33 NHL games for three different franchises (not including Vegas).

Columbus’ Tortorella Is Next Coach In Need of Payday

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The Columbus Blue Jackets may find themselves in some coaching trouble as head coach John Tortorella is entering the final year of his contract and if the team doesn’t ante up soon, he could walk at the end of the season next year. However, the problem is that coaches are making a lot more money than they used to and a team like Columbus has never paid a coach more than $1.5MM a year, which went to Ken Hitchcock. According to Yahoo Sports’ Greg Wyshynski, the team may be forced to offer up at least $3.5MM to keep the veteran coach in Columbus.

Wyshynski writes that in the last few years, teams have been spending when it comes to coaches with Toronto’s Mike Babcock starting the process after the Maple Leafs gave him a $6.25MM per year deal. From that point on, Joel Quenneville cashed in with the Blackhawks at $6MM and Montreal gave Claude Julien $5MM to take over the Canadiens. It could be this new trend that has also spilled over into many teams hiring first-time coaches like this offseason when the Arizona Coyotes (Rick Tocchet, Florida Panthers (Bob Boughner), Vancouver Canucks (Travis Green) and the Buffalo Sabres (Phil Housley) all grabbed young coaches that wouldn’t demand big paychecks.

Could Tortorella be the next coach to break the bank? Currently, according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch, Tortorella makes $2MM per year, but the Blue Jackets only pay $750,000 of that as he is still receiving money from his one-year stint in Vancouver. However, the two-time Jack Adams Awards winner, which goes to the NHL’s best coach, deserves a major raise and if the Blue Jackets don’t offer that, they could lose him.

Coaching Notes: Woods, McFarland, Desjardins, Weight

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Yesterday, while 217 individuals took their first step toward fulfilling their dreams of being NHL players one day, two others took a major step toward becoming NHL head coaches:

The Minnesota Wild announced that they have hired Bob Woods as an assistant coach for the 2017-18 season. Woods was an assistant for the Buffalo Sabres under Dan Bylsma in 2016-17, but was not retained by the Sabres after Bylsma and GM Tim Murray were fired and replaced with Phil Housley and Jason Botterill respectively. Buffalo was not Woods’ first NHL experience; he previously worked for the Anaheim Ducks and Washington Capitals as an assistant, both under current Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau. Woods also worked for Boudreau in the AHL, replacing him as head coach of the Hersey Bears when Boudreau was promoted to the Capitals open position. Woods led the Bears to Calder Cup championships in 2006 and 2009, before being called up to Washington himself. In the brief time after working alongside Boudreau for nine years and being hired by Buffalo, Woods was also the head coach and general manager of the Saskatoon Blade of the WHL. Equipped with years of experience coaching at all levels, as well as a prolific playing resume in the minor leagues – Woods is an ECHL Hall of Famer and holds the record for most career goals by a defenseman – Woods is a great addition for the Wild and should fit in perfectly alongside his long-time friend and mentor.

Not long after Minnesota tabbed their new assistant, the Florida Panthers named Paul McFarland as a new member of their coaching staff. On the other end of the spectrum to a guy like Woods, McFarland is relatively new to the coaching game. The 31-year-old was once an OHL prospect with dreams of being an NHL player, but upon realizing that his playing aspirations were a long shot, instead attended Acadia University, continued to play and study the game, and got into coaching after graduating in 2010. McFarland returned to the OHL served as an assistant coach for the Oshawa Generals for three years and then spent the past three seasons as the head coach of the Kingston Frontenacs. McFarland led the junior club to a 111-71-22 record, qualified for the playoffs all three years, and helped to develop highly-regarded prospects Lawson Crouse, Roland McKeown and Warren Foegele, as well as two second-round selections yesterday, Jason Robertson and Eemeli Rasanen. Panthers’ coach Bob Boughner, a rookie NHL head coach himself, is reportedly very excited about bringing McFarland aboard and his ability to assist with the development of young players in Florida.

  • Willie Desjardins might not be a head coach in the NHL for a while after being fired by the Vancouver Canucks back in April, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have an important team to lead. Desjardins has been tabbed as the head coach for Team Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics, a great honor regardless of the fact that the NHL won’t be participating in the Games. Desjardins will be looked upon to lead a talented, young Canadian team against a similarly young and talented American team as well as several different European squads that will have veteran professionals on their rosters. However, Desjardins has had major success at the junior and AHL level and is a strong pick for the position. He likely left NHL assistant offers on the table to take the job, but his name will certainly be back up for NHL head coach consideration if he can get it done on the big stage come this winter.
  • New York Islanders’ coach Doug Weight made an exciting announcement today, as his son, 16-year-old Danny Weight, committed to powerhouse college hockey program Boston College. The Eagles will get Weight’s services beginning in 2019-20, after he plays for the U.S. National Development Program for the next two seasons. At 6’0″, 170-lbs. already, Weight projects to be a power forward just like his dad, but will have an edge in development at BC versus his father’s time at Lake Superior State University in the early 90’s.

Panthers Hire Bob Boughner As Head Coach

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Monday: As McKenzie expected, the hiring was made official on Monday morning. Boughner will join the team on a four-year contract.

Saturday: The Florida Panthers are closing in on a deal to name Bob Boughner as their new head coach, reports TSN’s Bob McKenzie (Twitter link).  In a separate tweet, McKenzie adds that the hiring should be made official on Monday.  The team had requested permission to interview him back in early May.

The 46 year old Boughner has spent the last two seasons as an assistant in San Jose.  His only other previous NHL coaching experience came as an assistant with Columbus back in 2010-11.  He does, however, have experience as a head coach at the junior level as the bench boss for Windsor of the OHL for eight seasons (2006-07 to 2009-10 and 2011-12 to 2014-15).

Boughner was a long-time stay-at-home defenseman over parts of 12 NHL seasons, recording 15 goals and 57 assists along with 1,382 penalty minutes in 630 games with Buffalo, Calgary, Carolina, Colorado, Nashville, and Pittsburgh.

The coaching situation in Florida has been in flux since early this past season when Gerard Gallant was let go by then-GM Tom Rowe who put himself behind the bench.  That didn’t work out as intended as the team posted a .475 points percentage under Rowe which was actually worse than the .548 they had under Gallant while they wound up sixth in the Atlantic Division.  Accordingly, Rowe was reassigned following the season with team president Dale Tallon re-assuming managerial duties.  Now it will fall on Boughner’s shoulders to get this team back to where they were two seasons ago when they surprised many with a first place finish in the Atlantic..

McKenzie adds (via Twitter) that the Panthers also had interest in Nashville assistant Phil Housley but that clearly isn’t the case now.  TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweets that Buffalo, who also is on the market for a head coach, had interviewed Boughner as well.

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