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Bruce Cassidy

Goaltending Notes: Halak, Korpisalo, Holtby

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The Boston Bruins will be without their top option in goal tonight when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers in the round-robin. Tuukka Rask has been ruled unfit to play by head coach Bruce Cassidy, meaning Jaroslav Halak will be in net for the Bruins.

Perhaps more than any other team in the playoffs, the Bruins have prepared for a situation like this all season. Halak is much more than a backup for Boston, playing in 31 games during the shortened regular season and posting a .919 save percentage. That’s a number most teams would be happy to get from their starter, but it still is a step down from Rask’s .929. One of the advantages of being a top seed in each conference is this round-robin structure, which will allow the team to get healthy without the risk of elimination for the first week.

  • One team not in quite as strong a situation is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who start a best-of-five series against the Toronto Maple Leafs later today. The Blue Jackets have two young excellent goaltenders of their own, but head coach John Tortorella has decided to go with Joonas Korpisalo in game one. While Elvis Merzlikins may have received more press this season due to it being his first in North America, it was easy to forget that Korpisalo was actually named to the All-Star game before suffering an injury. He posted a .911 save percentage on the season but has a strong history against the Maple Leafs and much more experience at the NHL level.
  • It may not come as much of a surprise, but Braden Holtby will be in net when the Washington Capitals start their own round-robin tomorrow afternoon. Holtby will start over Vitek Vanacek according to Samantha Pell of the Washington Post when the Capitals take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Once Ilya Samsonov was ruled out due to injury the obvious choice was Holtby given his experience, but it is also important to remember that he was far from his dominant self this season. In fact, Holtby posted an .897 save percentage on the season, putting him 52nd among NHL goaltenders who appeared in at least 20 games.

Morning Notes: Kase, Gibbons, Crosby

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The Boston Bruins still don’t have Ondrej Kase inside the bubble with them and even when he gets there he may find it difficult to get into the lineup. Speaking with reporters today including Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports, Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy explained that he may not necessarily insert Kase when he joins the team:

I don’t know the player right now. He’s only had a handful of games with us. Those are things we’ll decide down the road. Wouldn’t be automatic that I’d put Ondrej back in if one of the kids was playing well.

Kase of course arrived in Boston at the trade deadline, just a few days before the season was put on pause, but was expected to challenge for a role in the team’s top-six. In fact, it cost the Bruins their 2020 first-round pick to acquire him from the Anaheim Ducks—although one may argue that moving David Backes’ contract was the biggest part of that deal for the Bruins. Boston will have some time to figure out their lineup, as they play three round-robin games to determine playoff seeding.

  • Cory Conacher isn’t the only former NHL player headed to Switzerland, as Brian Gibbons has also signed with Lausanne HC for the 2020-21 season. Gibbons’ deal is only for one year, but means he won’t be returning to the Carolina Hurricanes organization where he played this season. Now 32, Gibbons played 15 games for the Hurricanes but failed to record a single point.
  • Sidney Crosby will be a game-time decision for the Pittsburgh Penguins when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers later today. Even if he doesn’t end up playing, that status should be encouraging for Penguins fans hoping to see their captain suit up in game one against the Montreal Canadiens. Crosby missed a chunk of training camp but returned to practice when the Penguins arrived at the Toronto bubble.

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.

David Pastrnak Held Out Of Bruins Practice Due To COVID Exposure

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League-leading goal-scorer David Pastrnak has missed his second straight day of practice with the Boston Bruins after missing the early part of the week due a league-mandated quarantine period for players returning from Europe. While Pastrnak himself has tested negative for COVID-19, as it turns out he is back in quarantine after coming into contact with an individual who had tested positive, according to The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa.

Pastrnak, as well as fellow European returner Ondrej Kase, missed Monday and Tuesday while in quarantine but returned Wednesday to re-join the team. However, head  coach Bruce Cassidy announced on Thursday that the duo had been labeled “unfit to participate” and would be out for an indeterminate amount of time. It has since been clarified that Pastrnak was not permitted to practice with the team due to contact with a positive COVID-19 individual. It is unclear whether Kase has been missing for the same reason.

Meanwhile, the two worked out together privately at a local rink Friday. The team certainly hopes that the pair will be at full speed by the time they depart for Toronto to begin round robin play, whether they are able to resume group practice soon or  not. Pastrnak is obviously one of the more dangerous scoring forwards in the league and a crucial part of Boston’s offensive attack, while Kase was acquired from the Anaheim ahead of the trade deadline for a hefty price and is expected to be a key piece moving forward. Kase was quiet through six games with the Bruins before the league suspended play, but the hope is that he will be the fit at right wing alongside David Krejci that the team has been searching for.

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.

East Notes: Capitals Defense, Montreal Offer Sheet, Debrusk

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The Washington Capitals may be considered one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, but they have their work cut out for them. The team struggled in the last two months before play was suspended with a mediocre 8-9-3 over their past 20 games. Much of their struggle is due to the team’s poor defense where head coach Todd Reirden was seen experimenting with different defensive combinations over that stretch, which included removing veteran Radko Gudas from the rotation altogether.

In a panel of writers, The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir (subscription required) writes that a new training camp couldn’t come at the right time for the Capitals who now have a second chance to find the right pairings and fix their leaky blueline. Much will depend on the players and how they perform at training camp, but there is hope that defenseman Michal Kempny might have more confidence now in his surgically repaired hamstring. The team will also hope Gudas can bounce back and push his way back into the lineup. The team might also get a boost from trade deadline acquisition Brenden Dillon, who will get a training camp to adjust to his new team. El-Bashir also notes the team could look to prospect Martin Fehervary, who will also be on the Capitals’ roster.

  • In a recent mailbag column, The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription requires) responds to a question about offer sheets and St. Louis Blues defenseman Vince Dunn. Basu wonders whether the Montreal Canadiens might be an interesting destination for the 23-year-old blue liner since St. Louis is currently cap-strapped and have to deal with the contract of Alex Pietrangelo as well as the future contracts of Jaden Schwartz and Jordan Binnington. A significant offer sheet at around $4.2MM AAV would be very challenging for the Blues to match and would bring quite a few questions on whether Dunn is worth that much since. especially since he’s not even eligible for arbitration. That offer would only cost the Canadiens a second-round pick in compensation as well. Montreal is also the most recent team to use an offer sheet, having tried to pry away Carolina’s Sebastian Aho last offseason to no avail.
  • The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont writes that head coach Bruce Cassidy is stuck once again with answering the question, ’Who will play alongside David Krejci?’ on the team’s second line. The scribe writes that while Jake Debrusk would seem to be a solid candidate to take that role, training camp could open up the possibilities of moving Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase into those roles where chemistry might not be that big of an issue with time to acclimate with Krejci. That would not be good for Debrusk’s stock as he will be a restricted free agent at the end of the year and finding himself on the third line wouldn’t help is value.

Snapshots: Kings, Moore, Honka

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Los Angeles Kings prospects Rasmus Kupari and Tobias Bjornfot were both named to their respective country’s World Junior rosters last week, but seeing as both are under contract and playing in the AHL, the duo had to officially be loaned by the Kings to participate. That permission officially came down today, as L.A. announced that Kupari would play for Finland and Bjornfot would play for Sweden in the upcoming WJC tournament. Bjornfot, a first-round pick back in June, played in three games with the Kings earlier this season and has eight points in 20 games with the Ontario Reign. The athletic defenseman joins an impressive unit on the blue line for Sweden at the WJC. Kupari, L.A.’s top pick two years ago, played for the Gold Medal-winning Finnish entry in last year’s WJC, recording five points in seven games, and overall enjoyed a strong season in his native country. However, his first season in North America has gotten off to a slow start, with just seven points in 24 AHL games for the talented forward. While there was no indication in the Kings’ release, Kupari could be a candidate to remain overseas following the tournament. But first he will join another star-studded Finnish roster in pursuit of a repeat title.

  • With the Boston Bruins playing the Washington Capitals tonight in the first of a back-to-back set that includes a match-up with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night, Connor Clifton has drawn back into the lineup. The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont reports that John Moore, who just recently made his season debut following off-season shoulder surgery, will be eased back into regular action, according to head coach Bruce Cassidy. Splitting back-to-backs or occasional nights off could become commonplace for the veteran defender. The Bruins are more cognizant than most when it comes to the value of healthy defense, as they struggled with continuous injury issues on the back end last season and are still waiting on the return of Kevan Miller. Cassidy recently stated that the Bruins are a better team with Moore active, even though it causes a surplus of lefties in the lineup, but that could mean he prioritizes keeping Moore healthy long-term rather than playing him in every game and risking re-injury to his damaged shoulder. Fortunately, the team has the luxury of young Clifton, who played well in Moore’s stead to begin the year and is more than deserving of spot starts.
  • Before the calendar flipped to December, making him ineligible to play in the NHL this season, it seems the trade market for unsigned Dallas Stars RFA defenseman Julius Honka was not as dead as it seemed. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman writes that the Carolina Hurricanes were the team with the most interest in the enigmatic rearguard and were in heavy pursuit. However, the team ultimately decided that they were not willing to meet the Stars’ demand of draft picks or young, unsigned prospects rather than a fellow AHL prospect. Ironically, the Hurricanes drafted Honka’s younger brother, Anttoni, in the third round this past year, which could keep them interested in the elder Honka this off-season.

 

Snapshots: LeBreton Flats, Backes, Gelinas

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It has been a refreshing change of pace lately to see the Ottawa Senators performing well, winning seven of their last ten games and reaching .500 on the year – a mark they never hit again last year after the sixth game of the season. Their success on the ice is not only a shift from the results over the past year plus, but also serves as a distraction from the continued concern over the team’s ownership issues and fiscal future. A new report today though will bring those problems back into focus.

The Kanata-based club has long desired a downtown Ottawa location for a new arena. The Senators rank dead last in the NHL so far this year in capacity percentage attendance, as they did in 2018-19 as well, and only part of that can be attributed to their play, while their inconvenient location also play a key role. The closest the team has come to finding a new home has been the LeBreton Flats development, an urban development project under the oversight of the National Capital Commission (NCC). At one point, the NCC was working closely with the RendezVous LeBreton Group, led by Senators owner Eugene Melnyk. However, last December the NCC terminated their relationship with the RendezVous LeBreton Group amidst legal turmoil between Melnyk and his business partners and in February confirmed that their bid would not be considered. Yet, the NCC maintained that their plans for the project would be whatever best served the people of Ottawa, leaving open the possibility that an NHL arena could remain in the plans as a rental opportunity for the Senators. However, CTV Ottawa reports today that the LeBreton Flats development plan has finally been made public, and an NHL arena is not currently planned. There is space for a “sports complex” at the LeBreton Place location, but the likelihood of the Senators moving to the area looks doubtful at best at this point in time. This comes as another setback for the organization and yet another blow for a fan base with a growing resentment for ownership and management.

  • The Boston Bruins plan to take their time with getting veteran forward David Backes back on the ice for game action. Per WEEI’s Matt Kalman, head coach Bruce Cassidy was happy to see Backes take part in morning skate on Saturday for the first time in several weeks, but wanted to temper expectations of an upcoming return. “Once you’ve had a few head injuries, you got to be really careful,” Cassidy stated, “we don’t need to rush anybody back right now, no matter who it is, especially in this situation. So, yes we’re being as careful as we need to be.” Backes, who has a history of concussions over his long NHL career, suffered yet another in a collision with Ottawa Senators forward Scott Sabourin earlier this month. Until now, he had only been training off-ice and skating by himself before or after practice and, as Cassidy warned, his non-contact participation in morning skate today does not indicate that he is ready to jump right back into the mix. Backes was only a part-time player for the Bruins even prior to his injury, so they will continue to be patient with the 35-year-old and wait for the proper time to bring him back.
  • Eric Gelinas’ days in the NHL are likely over, but his hockey career continues overseas. The 28-year-old defenseman last played in the league in 2016-17 and left North America ahead of the 2018-19 campaign. After beginning last season with HC Slovan Bratislava of the KHL, Gelinas jumped over to Rogle BK of the SHL to finish the year, signing a contract through this season. However, with things going well in Sweden, Rogle announced that they have extended Gelinas through the 2021-22 season. With eight points in 15 games, Gelinas is doing well for himself offensively, even if he is only third among Rogle defensemen in scoring. More so, the team values his aggressive style and defensive ability and leadership. The former Devil and Avalanche defender has found a nice fit in the SHL and will continue to star in the league into his early thirties and possibly longer.

Injury Notes: Bruins, Sabourin, Juolevi

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When the Boston Bruins placed Torey Krug on injured reserve earlier today, it was more a reflection of their injury-riddled lineup than it was the extent of his injury and timeline for recovery. While Krug is expected to miss at least a couple more games with an upper-body injury, the Bruins could not afford to wait that long to bring up reinforcements. Yet, the team had already recalled rookie Urho Vaakanainen to sub in for Krug, so it was veteran forward Paul Carey getting the all from AHL Providence. As it turns out, that move was made in response to Patrice Bergeron needing to take a seat tonight, as Boston hosts the Washington Capitals. Head coach Bruce Cassidy spoke to the media about the situation, indicating that Bergeron is dealing with a nagging lower-body injury, a frequent issue for the star center over the past few seasons, and the team feels that giving him the night off in the second game of a back-to-back may help to prevent the injury from lingering. Bergeron is considered day-to-day, but this is likely a case of load management and he could return to the lineup as soon as the team’s next game on Tuesday.

In more encouraging news for the injury-plagued Bruins, Cassidy noted that Krug skated this morning, as did forwards Jake DeBrusk and Brett Ritchie and defenseman John Moore, who has yet to play this season. Cassidy stated that Ritchie is the closest to returning and could be in play for Tuesday as well. The potential returns of Ritchie, DeBrusk, and Moore sooner rather than later would allow the Bruins to return to some state of normalcy, as they currently are lining up with an entire line – Carey, Par Lindholm, and Trent Frederic – of players who were not expected to have a regular role in Boston this season. The Bruins have done relatively well for themselves to not allow injuries to slow them down too much this season, but the team has struggled this past week or so and improved health would help to get them back on track.

  • Among the Bruins not yet ready to resume skating are Kevan Miller, Karson Kuhlman, Zach Senyshyn, and David Backes. Backes has been out since early November following a violent collision with Ottawa Senators forward Scott Sabourin, which left the latter hospitalized. There is no time table for Backes’ return, and the same goes for Sabourin. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the journeyman grinder has finally resumed working out, but exclusively off the ice. Sabourin has not been cleared to resume skating and the Senators have not released any details on when to expect him to return to play. While Backes’ history with head injuries it what is keeping him off the ice, it was very evident from the collision that it was Sabourin who received the more serious hit to the head and is likely dealing with a severe concussion.
  • Another season, another setback for Vancouver Canucks’ defensive prospect Olli Juolevi. Canucks GM Jim Benning announced that Juolevi has been removed from the roster of the AHL’s Utica Comets and is on his way to Vancouver to undergo medical testing. Although all reports out of Utica were that Juolevi’s recent absences from practice were precautionary, the status quo has clearly changed, as he is now expected to miss considerable time. This is purportedly a new lower-body injury plaguing Juolevi, unrelated to the issue that cost him all but 18 AHL games last year. The 2016 No. 5 overall pick seems as far away from making his NHL debut as ever before and it’s fair to begin wondering if he will ever be an impact player in Vancouver.

Atlantic Notes: Mete, Trocheck, Krejci, Miller

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The Montreal Canadiens don’t have a lot on their plate this offseason when it comes to their own free agents. However, that isn’t stopping the franchise from trying to sign defenseman Victor Mete, who is playing in the final year of his entry-level contract. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the Canadiens have already begun negotiations with the 21-year-old.

Mete surprised a few people several years ago when he made the roster out of training camp at 19 years old and his fast skating and defensive-first abilities might complement veteran Shea Weber. However, Weber got injured and Mete struggled, playing 49 games, but was often scratched due to the fact that he wasn’t ready. He settled in last season, playing 71 games and has been a solid defensive presence since then. Mete finally scored his first NHL goal last week after going scoreless in 126 straight games.

The Canadiens’ only other significant off-season contract that it will need to deal with other than Mete’s will be that of Max Domi, who will also be a restricted free agent next summer.

  • NHL.com’s Jameson Olive reports that Florida Panthers forward Vincent Trocheck, who hasn’t played since Oct. 19 with an lower-body injury, was practicing with the team today in a yellow non-contact jersey. Trocheck who has a foot/ankle injury is travelling with the team and is listed as day-to-day. After a down season last year while dealing with a broken ankle, the team needs Trocheck to put up a big season. The 26-year-old has a goal and five assists in eight games.
  • NBC Sports’ Joe Haggerty writes that Boston Bruins center David Krejci, who is out with an upper-body injury, is expected to miss both games this weekend. However, the scribe adds that Krejci is close and should be able to return at some point next week with a likely date of Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks, although head coach Bruce Cassidy said a decision on that won’t be made until Monday. Haggerty also writes that defenseman Kevan Miller should be ready to practice at some point next week. Miller has been out with a fractured kneecap.

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