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Central Notes: Dano, Kamenev, Blackhawks, Bouwmeester

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It’s been six days since winger Marko Dano was claimed by the Colorado Avalanche and the 23-year-old forward finally got an opportunity to practice with the team Sunday, but no one is quite sure when he may make his Avalanche debut, but it could come as early as Monday, according to NHL.com’s Callie Parmele.

Dano already has some familiarity with the team, especially with head coach Jared Bednar and assistant coach Nolan Pratt, who both were on the Springfield Falcons coaching staff during the 2013-14 season when Dano made his North American debut in the AHL for the team’s final 10 games. Bednar was promoted to head coach the following year where he had even more time with Dano.

“We had a good run in Springfield, and it’s always good when you know the coach,” Dano said of his relationship with Bednar. “We haven’t seen each other for a long time, and I am excited to work with him and I appreciate the chance they have given to me.”

  • Still with the Avalanche, the team likes what it sees in Vladislav Kamenev, who received the most ice time of his career on Thursday when he skated 12:36 against the New Jersey Devils. Although he hasn’t turned that extra time into offense (he has no points in five games this season), he is building trust in his head coach. “We feel like from watching him work in practice in that area, we can give him those minutes,” Bednar said Friday. “We trust him with those minutes. He’s done a nice job in the games so far. I think he’s getting better and better as he feels more comfortable and feels like he belongs, which is normal. I just want him to keep pushing himself and try and be a difference maker every night.”
  • While Chicago Blackhawks Stan Bowman hardly can admit victory in his offseason trade a year ago when he traded Artemi Panarin to Columbus for Brandon Saad and Anton Forsberg, he knew that the Panarin’s contract situation would be a problem for the Blackhawks too had they chosen to hold onto him, according to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic (subscription required), who analyzes who won last year’s trade. Saad has struggled in his return to Chicago and is struggling on the bottom-six, while Forsberg hasn’t fared any better in net for the team, but Bowman knew there were going to be problems with Panarin, who has shown little to no interest in signing an extension in Columbus and has put the team in a tough position as he plays out the final year of his contract while they are trying to compete for a playoff spot. “They’re in a tough spot now,” Bowman told The Athletic on Saturday night. “What do you do with him? I saw that coming as a challenge.”
  • Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that considering how well the St. Louis Blues defense played on Saturday, he doubts whether the team will put defenseman Jay Bouwmeester back on the ice for Monday’s game against Winnipeg. The veteran was scratched for the first time in his career Saturday as his play hasn’t been up to his usual standards. The Blues put forth one of the best games of the season, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1.

Central Notes: Crawford, Morrow, Greenway, Granlund, Zadorov

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The Chicago Blackhawks are hoping that goaltender Corey Crawford returns to action sooner than later after admitting that he’s been dealing with concussion issues when he went down last season. Still experiencing difficulties with concussions, head coach Joel Quenneville said the goal is to have the veteran goaltender out on the ice during practice as long as he can manage it, according to the Chicago Sun-Times Mark Lazerus.

“Good progress. Comparable over the last week and a half that when he’s on the ice, he’s better and he’s stronger and he’s feeling better. It’s all encouraging.”

The team desperately hopes that Crawford, upon return, will return to his elite form. He posted a 2.27 GAA and an impressive .929 save percentage in 28 games before going down. While it is unknown how much longer Crawford will be out, the Blackhawks are preparing to use Cam Ward as their primary starter if they have to.

  • With the loss of Toby Enstrom, who opted to leave the NHL after 11 years with the Winnipeg Jets, the Jets have an opening for a defenseman and that candidate is likely to be Joseph Morrow, according to Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. Morrow, who the team acquired at the trade deadline a year ago. The blueliner didn’t get a lot of playing time when he arrived in Winnipeg as his ATOI dropped from 17:47 in Montreal to 14:30 with the Jets. However, he now has a chance to crack a spot in the top four as he did fare well in limited time next to Dustin Byfuglien. “Yeah, that’s a dream to play with Big Buff and be able to match that guy’s personality,” Morrow said. “I got to play with him a bit last year and we were pretty successful together.”
  • The Minnesota Wild and head coach Bruce Boudreau have added a couple wrinkles into the early stages of camp as rookie Jordan Greenway has been playing the center position, while Mikael Granlund has been quarterbacking the first-unit power play, according to Mike Russo of The Athletic (subscription required). Greenway, normally a winger, was used at center during his junior year at Boston University by David Quinn. Boudreau wanted to keep him there as he led a line along with Joel Eriksson Ek and Charlie Coyle, which was a big success in their first scrimmage. Granlund also showed that he could handle the pressure of running a power play on the left wall and looked impressive in that role. “I thought the best testament was all the other forwards want to play the right half wall the way he was feeding them up there,” Boudreau said. “He can make that play. He can even put the behind-the-back pass to Suts. Granny has probably been our most skilled player. I don’t think I’m dissing anybody by saying that. When he’s got the puck, he’s pretty special.”
  • Unlike last year when Colorado Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov came into camp overweight and out of shape, this year, the bruising 23-year-old did just the opposite, according to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. He’s come into camp in good shape and has changed his diet to accommodate his conditioning. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound blueliner started in Jared Bednar’s doghouse for the early part of the season due to his conditioning, but slowly worked his way back into the rotation before finally settling in next to veteran Tyson Barrie and that hasn’t changed so far in training camp. Now, with the team much happier with his development, he has a chance to develop into a solid NHL defenseman.

Central Notes: Allen, Parayko, Jokiharju, Honka, Girard

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The St. Louis Blues got some good news today as goaltender Jake Allen, who has been out with back spasms and was expected to miss the first 10-14 days of training camp, said that he’s already feeling better and could return to the ice ahead of schedule, according to Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“It’s progressed way better than when it first happened,” he said. “It’s a lot better than I thought it was and I’m feeling really good right now. I’ve made some significant progress the last couple days. It looks like I’ll be on the ice earlier than that.”

The team needs a big season from the 28-year-old after a rough season last year. The veteran posted a career-low 2.75 GAA and a poor .906 save percentage as the Blues missed the playoffs. Allen changed his training routine this summer and was primed for a big year as the Blues redesigned their roster this offseason.

  • St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko has been a solid defenseman in St. Louis for years, but after agreeing to a five-year, $27.5MM contract a year ago, the team was hoping that he might have a breakout season last year. While that didn’t happen, Parayko might get that opportunity this year, according to Fox Sports’ Andy Strickland, who reports that Parayko has come to camp in great shape, finishing near the top in off-ice testing. If he’s in the best shape of his career, a big year could follow.
  • Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Henri Jokiharju has looked good early in training camp. The 2016 first-rounder played alongside veteran Duncan Keith and was both aggressive and helped create chances on offense. The team, desperately in need of defense, could get a huge boost if the 19-year-old proves that he’s indeed ready for the NHL. He scored 71 points in 63 games with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL last season.
  • Sean Shapiro of The Athletic writes that one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Stars’ addition of new head coach Jim Montgomery will likely be young defenseman Julius Honka. The 22-year-old has regained his confidence after losing last season and has already impressed his new head coach, who hopes the 2014 first-rounder might be ready to make a significant impact in the Stars’ defense.
  • BSN Denver’s AJ Haefele writes that Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said Saturday that he wants defenseman Samuel Girard to start this season with veteran Erik Johnson after the way Girard finished the season last year. The 20-year-old finished the season with four goals and 23 points between Nashville and Colorado and showed the ability to develop into a top-four defenseman. However, there is still a lot of time in camp before that decision becomes permanent.

Central Notes: Tarasenko, Kunin, Kamenev, Ranta

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When St. Louis Blues’ Vladimir Tarasenko separated his left shoulder on the final game of the season last year, he underwent surgery the following day and was expected to be out four to six months, which theoretically coincided with the start of the regular season if he needed the latter amount of time to recuperate.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Tom Timmermann writes that Tarasenko just hit the four-month date in his recovery and he expects to be ready for the start of training camp in a month. He was cleared to skate and began skating nearly a week ago, but he has yet to test his repaired shoulder.

“I need to talk about it with the doctors more,” Tarasenko told the team’s website, “but I’m cleared to skate with the group, but only with some contact right now. But I can shoot. I feel great and I feel stronger. I’m ready for the season.”

Assuming there are no setbacks, Tarasenko should be ready. With a group of new additions to the Blues this offseason, they will need the 26-year-old to be ready to go if they want a chance to compete for a playoff spot this year. Tarasenko had a bit of a down year, posting 33 goals and 66 points.

  • NHL.com’s Dan Myers writes that Minnesota Wild forward Luke Kunin still is not 100 percent after tearing his ACL five months ago against the Detroit Red Wings and undergoing surgery four months ago to repair it. However, the 20-year-old has already been skating for three or four weeks now and feels that he should be ready for training camp in September. The team’s first-round pick in 2016 hopes to make the club out of camp after appearing in 19 games for the Minnesota Wild last season. “I try not to look too far ahead, just take it week-by-week, keep getting stronger and more comfortable on the ice and just get that confidence back,” Kunin said. “It was definitely nice to sort of check that off I guess, but it’s not a goal of mine to just be up and down. I want to be there full time, I want to be there for a long time and be an impact player that’s going to help the team win.”
  • NHL.com’s Maddie Karr takes a look back at the disappointing rookie campaign of Colorado Avalanche winger Vladislav Kamenev. Considering the haul that the Avalanche received in the Matt Duchene trade from the Ottawa Senators, many people forgot about Kamenev who has become an afterthought after the team received defenseman Samuel Girard and the Senators 2019 first-round pick, which could potentially be the No. 1 pick. However, Kamenev looked to be a key piece as the team recalled him from the AHL just nine days after the trade, but the high-scoring winger instead suffered a broken arm in that first game and missed 50 games. Despite just getting into three NHL games with the Avalanche, Kamenev still has a good chance to break with the team as a bottom-six forward if all goes well. “I know that he’s a trusted defensive player, but he has a great skillset,” Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said. “He has good hands, good feet, smart player, committed on the defensive side of the puck.”
  • Another Colorado Avalanche prospect, Sampo Ranta, the team’s third-round pick in this year’s draft who is expected to attend the University of Wisconsin, may not attend there after all, reports Providence Journal’s Mark Divver. The scribe writes that Ranta has hit an admission snag at Wisconsin and suggests the 6-foot-2 winger could find himself at Boston University.

Poll: Who Will Be The First Coach Fired In 2018-19?

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Not a single NHL head coach was fired during the 2017-18 season, though several changes have been made since. Barry Trotz and Bill Peters resigned their positions in Washington and Carolina, and were each hired to replace the outgoing bench bosses in New York and Calgary. Those two were Doug Weight and Glen Gulutzan, who both failed to get their teams to the playoffs in year two of their coaching history (Weight replaced Jack Capuano partway through the 2016-17 season). Assistant coaches moved up the ladder in Washington and Carolina, while the NCAA ranks were mined for new openings for the Dallas Stars and New York Rangers. Jim Montgomery and David Quinn took over for Ken Hitchcock and Alain Vingeault respectively, bringing new ideas and fresh faces to the NHL coaching circuit.

It’s not new for coaches to be fired in the offseason, but seeing no one sent packing during the year is a very rare occurrence. It was the first time it had happened since 1966-67, meaning the likelihood of it happening again in 2018-19 seems very low. So then, who will be the first to feel the seat burning underneath him? The last time we asked a question like this the readers correctly guessed that Vingeault was on his way out, but also listed Claude Julien in Montreal, Jeff Blashill in Detroit and Rick Tocchet in Arizona as possibilities.

Who will be the first coach fired in 2018-19? Will it happen at all? Cast your vote below and make sure to explain why in the comment section.

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Poll: Who Should Win Coach Of The Year?

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The Jack Adams is a tough trophy to award. Almost always based on team success relative to the prior year, or in the face of injury, it’s an award whose voters rarely have all of the pertinent information. No one can say for sure what is the best coaching method, or how one individual decision affected the results of an entire hockey team.

That said, the league seemed—from the outside at least—to have an excellent field of coaches to choose from this year. Three finalists were named in Gerard Gallant (Vegas), Jared Bednar (Colorado) and Bruce Cassidy (Boston), but other names like John Hynes (New Jersey), Paul Maurice (Winnipeg) and Peter Laviolette (Nashville) all could have found themselves in the race in any other year.

The question is should they have been in the race this year? Should someone else, like Jon Cooper or Peter DeBoer have been considered? What exactly determines the “coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success” in your mind? While Gallant may be the expected winner by many around the league, should he be?

Vote below on not who you think will win, but who you think should win the Jack Adams trophy. Our similar poll for the Calder resulted in different finalists, while our readership picked the same top three for the Norris. Remember this is based on regular season results, not the first round of the playoffs. Explain your choice in the comment section below.

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NHL Announces Jack Adams Award Finalists

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There won’t be much debate about the nominees for this award. The finalists for the Jack Adams Award, given each year to the NHL’s best head coach, have been released by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association. Reported first by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the 2018 finalists are the Boston Bruins’ Bruce Cassidy, the Colorado Avalanche’s Jared Bednar, and the Vegas Golden Knights’ Gerard Gallant. 

With all due respect to Cassidy and Bednar, the Jack Adams this season has been a foregone conclusion for some time, with only a race for second-place ongoing. The work that Gallant has done in the inaugural season for the expansion Golden Knights has been nothing short of miraculous. Gallant took a hotchpot of cast-off players from around the league who had never played together before and turned them into the most successful expansion team in North American sports history. Vegas’ roster is the definition of a sum greater than its parts, as no one could have predicted the success that this team would have based on the past performances of its players. That has a lot to do with Gallant, who has gotten his players to buy in to the system and it had rewarded them in turn.

Cassidy and Bednar rightfully deserve the recognition, though. Cassidy’s nomination feels like a continuation of his success to close out the 2016-17 season as well; the Bruins are 68-38-13 since Cassidy took over for Claude Julien last February. Under his guidance, rookies like Charlie McAvoy, Jake DeBrusk, and Danton Heinen have flourished and the Bruins have transformed into one of the best teams in the league. No one could have seen that coming this season. Even more unlikely was a return to the playoffs for the Avalanche, however. Bednar worked his magic on a young, inexperienced, and somewhat incomplete lineup, helping Nathan MacKinnon to an MVP-caliber season and leading the team to nearly double the success from a historically bad 2016-17 campaign, going from 48 points to 95 points.

While Gallant may be the overwhelming favorite for the award this season, this is a class of Jack Adams finalists that will be looked back on as one of the best and most deserving of all time, with three head coaches who truly “contributed to his team’s success”.

Colorado Avalanche Sign Head Coach Jared Bednar To One-Year Extension

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Rather than have him enter next season with the pressure of performing in his final season under contract, the Colorado Avalanche have extended Jared Bednar’s deal for another year. That means the head coach, who originally signed a three-year deal in 2016, is now under contract through the 2019-20 season.

Bednar and the Avalanche have been one of the best stories of the year, after posting a historically bad season in 2016-17. The then-rookie head coach led Colorado to a 22-56-4 season and was the target of ridicule for much of the offseason. While GM Joe Sakic dealt with the ongoing Matt Duchene trade request distraction, Bednar was brought back for another chance with the young group. After Duchene was dealt, something in the Avalanche clicked and they rolled all the way to a postseason berth.

Though they were eliminated in the first round by the Nashville Predators, many see this as a hugely successful season for the Avalanche. Nathan MacKinnon is a legitimate candidate for the Hart Trophy as league MVP after scoring 97 points in just 74 games, and 21-year old Mikko Rantanen exploded for 84 points of his own. The team’s incredibly fast-paced attack would relentlessly grind down opponent’s defenses, and despite a relatively shallow roster—especially on defense—the Avalanche would finish 10th in goals for.

Today at the season-ending press conference, Sakic admitted that he likely will try to get even younger next season, not bring in a group of veterans to help MacKinnon and company compete next season. In a league that is skewing younger and younger each season, that seems like a sound strategy from a GM who was criticized endlessly last offseason.

The Avalanche do have several young prospects close to providing some NHL impact, though Cale Makar—perhaps the best of the bunch—will return to college next season. Bednar will be tasked with implementing them into the roster, without disrupting the chemistry he built this season.

Poll: Which Coach Is Least Likely To Be Back Next Season?

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The NHL has gone almost the entire season without seeing a head coach fired, something that hasn’t happened in more than fifty years. Even with that said, it seems unlikely that all 31 head coaches will be back next season, either through expiration of their contract or termination by a frustrated GM.

Barry Trotz, for instance, is on the last year of his current contract and seems tied to the Washington Capitals playoff success this year. Though Washington GM Brian MacLellan was given a contract extension recently, there has been no word on Trotz, who has never advanced past the second round in his 19-year NHL coaching career.

There has been some talk of even the great Joel Quenneville being let go from Chicago, after the disappointing season the Blackhawks have suffered through. Quenneville is one of the greatest of all time, but even he might have to pay the price for underperforming stars and an aging core.

Who do you think is least likely to be brought back by their current team? Which coach won’t be wearing the same colors next season? Make sure to explain your vote in the comment section below.

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Injury Notes: Marchand, Duclair, Vatrano, Klefbom, Smith, Avalanche, Seeler

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Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand could miss some time — not due to injury — but after another incident in which the forward collided with Chicago Blackhawks winger Anthony Duclair in Saturday’s game. You can see the video here. While on the surface it does look as if Marchand was attempting to avoid Duclair, one has to wonder how the Department of Player Safety will treat the incident after numerous incidents this season. A repeat offender, Marchand served a five-game suspension back in January for concussing New Jersey Devils forward Marcus Johansson.

Marchand was given a two-minute interference penalty on the play, but Duclair was forced to exit the game as he suffered a knee injury. The Blackhawks later announced that he will not return for the rest of the game and Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that he will miss one-to-two weeks.

  • Matthew DeFranks of the SunSentinel writes the Florida Panthers have activated forward Frank Vatrano and will make his Panthers debut Saturday night. Vatrano, who was acquired a week before the trade deadline from the Boston Bruins for a third-round pick, will attempt to find his game with the rising Panthers despite missing some time with a high ankle sprain. He is slated to appear on the team’s second line alongside Vincent Trocheck and Jonathan Huberdeau as the team hopes Vatrano could be a valuable addition to their core. After putting up 39 goals in 45 career AHL games, he has struggled in the NHL. With Boston, the 23-year-old had just two goals in 25 games this year and often found himself scratched.
  • Edmonton Oilers head coach Todd MacLellan said defenseman Oscar Klefbom will miss the next two games to undergo a “minor procedure.” With rumors that Klefbom was been playing injured for much of the year, the eventual question will be whether the team should shut him down in the near future.
  • Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Steve Carp writes that center Reilly Smith was sent back to Las Vegas after he sustained an upper body injury during Tuesday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He is not playing today and is not expected to be ready for Monday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Smith is having a career year with 22 goals and 38 assists in his first year with Vegas.
  • Kyle Fredrickson of the Denver Post writes that the team intends to start Jonathan Bernier today after Bernier has missed the past 10 games with a head injury. Starter Semyon Varlamov has struggled recently having allowed 11 goals in the past three games. The scribe also writes that defenseman Erik Johnson skated Friday in a non-contact jersey. He hasn’t played in a game since Feb. 18. There is no timeline for Johnson, according to head coach Jared Bednar. Forward Vladislav Kamenev, who broke his arm in November after being acquired from Nashville, practiced Friday and is likely to be sent to the AHL for a couple of games on a conditioning stint.
  • Sarah McLellan of the StarTribune writes that defenseman Nick Seeler, who has been dealing with a right bicep strain and the flu, is improving, but did not travel with the team to Vancouver and would only join the team in Edmonton if there is an injury on defense before then.

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