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Jeff Blashill

Snapshots: Gaudette, Lightning Penalty Kill, Lundkvist

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While the Toronto Maple Leafs are undoubtedly a team centered around star power, in recent years the organization hasn’t been afraid to give lesser-known players the chance to take the next steps in their careers. Last season, 26-year-old rookie Michael Bunting earned a spot next to Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, and played well enough to make the 2021-22 All-Rookie team. At this year’s training camp, it looks as though another under-the-radar player could get a massive opportunity in Toronto.

Per Jonas Siegel of The Athletic, the Maple Leafs have started camp with forward Adam Gaudette on a line with Marner and captain John Tavares. Additionally, Siegel notes that Gaudette will get looks on the team’s top power-play unit in the preseason. Gaudette, the 2017-18 Hobey Baker Award winner, has struggled in recent years to live up to the hype he had as a college hockey star. After a 2019-20 campaign that saw him post 33 points in 59 games, the holes in Gaudette’s all-around game led the Canucks to trade him to the Blackhawks. Gaudette played just 15 games in Chicago before heading to Ottawa as a waiver claim, and he had 12 points in 50 games as a Senator last season. He was not qualified by the team this summer, and then Gaudette signed a one-year, league-minimum deal in Toronto. At this point it, looks as though the Leafs will give Gaudette every chance to showcase his offensive talent and far outproduce what is typically expected from a player on a 750k cap hit.

Now, for some other notes from across the NHL:

  • The Detroit Red Wings parted ways with coach Jeff Blashill this summer, and hired former Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach Derek Lalonde to fill that vacated role. Now, it seems a similar situation is playing out in Tampa. Today, Lightning coach Jon Cooper said (as relayed by The Athletic’s Joe Smith) that Blashill has taken over Lalonde’s old role in Tampa running the team’s penalty kill. Cooper also notes that with the departures of Jan Rutta, Ryan McDonagh, players like Ian Cole and Cal Foote will see roles on the penalty kill this season.
  • Nils Lundkvist got his wish earlier this week, as the Dallas Stars traded two picks, including a first-rounder, to acquire him from the New York Rangers. Some questioned why the Stars would pay such a high price for a player with very little NHL experience, but it’s clear the Stars were undeterred by those concerns. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on the 32 Thoughts podcast today that the Stars had been attempting to acquire Lundkvist for “seven to eight months,” and Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek added that the Stars had a strong interest in Lundkvist going back to the 2018 draft. While the Stars’ longstanding interest in acquiring him won’t alone earn Lundkvist a top-four role in camp, it does speak to why the organization felt confident in sending those picks in order to acquire Lundkvist.

Tampa Bay Lightning Hire Jeff Blashill

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In what has basically become a coaching trade, Jeff Blashill will join the Tampa Bay Lightning as an assistant for next season. He takes the spot of Derek Lalonde, who was hired to replace him with the Detroit Red Wings this summer.

It will be something of a surprise to see Blashill back as an assistant, given how long he’s been the head man in one place or another. You have to go back to 2011-12 to find the last time he wasn’t running a bench, his first year in the NHL. Since then, he took over the head coaching duties with the Grand Rapids Griffins for three years (where he won a championship) and then was the head coach of the Red Wings for the last seven seasons.

Even before he came to the NHL he was the head coach at the USHL and NCAA levels, meaning assisting isn’t something Blashill is very familiar with.

As Joe Smith of The Athletic has profiled in the past, Blashill and Lightning head coach Jon Cooper have a strong relationship, so this move doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Still, it will be interesting to see what kind of effect it has on the Lightning, and how long Blashill is on the sidelines before pursuing another head coaching opportunity.

Snapshots: Flyers Head Coach Search, Sharks GM Search, Point, Kannok-Leipert

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According to Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff, the Philadelphia Flyers have reportedly narrowed down their list of candidates for their vacant Head Coach position (link). It appears the finalists for the position include, but may not be limited to, John Tortorella and Barry Trotz. The Flyers recently held their second interview of Torotrella in Philadelphia and have since told other candidates that they are no longer in the running for the position. In addition to Tortorella and Trotz, the Flyers have also interviewed the likes of Mike Velucci, Rick Tocchet, Jim Montgomery, Jeff Blashill, David Quinn, and likely others who have not been named. It’s unclear if any of these are also finalists in addition to Tortorella or Trotz.

Seeing the Flyers narrow their field is an interesting development for the coaching market as a whole, as more positions, and candidates, have opened up as time has gone on, but few of those positions have been filled. Philadelphia making a decision, depending on when that decision comes and who is selected, could serve to get the ball rolling for the rest of the league. Philadelphia has struggled in recent seasons, culminating in trading franchise forward Claude Giroux to the Florida Panthers in March, however the organization has shown an unwillingness to commit to a true rebuild. Hiring either of Tortorella or Trotz would certainly help the organization get back to its winning ways, even as the team’s roster experiences some transition in personnel.

  • From one high-profile search to another, it appears the San Jose Sharks are also planning to narrow their list of candidates for their vacant General Manager position this week, says The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. It’s unclear who exactly would be on the Sharks’ shortlist, though LeBrun says the organization has had lengthy interviews of 4 to 6 hours each with a dozen candidates. The organization made clear after former GM Doug Wilson stepped down that they would take their time finding his replacement. Much like the Flyers, the organization has shown they are not interested in a lengthy rebuild and would like to find a GM who shares that vision (link).
  • After earlier reports that Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point could be a game-time decision for tonight’s Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals, it appears he is now considered doubtful, says Seravalli. Though it would be disappointing for Tampa to again be without one of their best players, Seravalli does add that Point is very likely to play in Tampa’s next game, whether that be in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Finals, or in Game One of the Stanley Cup Finals, depending on the result of tonight’s game. Point was injured during Game Seven of Tampa Bay’s first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs and has not played since. As crucial as Point has been to Tampa Bay’s recent playoff success, the team has managed to go 8-2 since he went down, including the game against Toronto, losing only the first two games of the conference final.
  • The Abbotsford Canucks, the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, announced they have signed defenseman Alex Kannok-Leipert to a one-year contract extension that covers the 2022-23 season. Originally a sixth-round draft pick of the Washington Capitals in 2018, Kannok-Leipert spent five years with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL, where he was team captain for two seasons before turning pro and signing with Abbotsford ahead of the 2021-22 season. The defenseman had a solid rookie campaign in the AHL, putting up five points to go with a plus-5 rating in 41 games. An interesting note on Kannok-Leipert is though a Regina, Saskatchewan native, he was born in Thailand and is the first Thailand-born player in AHL history and the first to be drafted in the NHL Entry Draft.

Coaching Notes: Blashill, Hiller, Savard

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Entering this season, the second-longest tenured coach in the league behind future Hall-of-Famer Jon Cooper was Detroit Red Wings bench boss Jeff Blashill. After just one playoff appearance (in his first year as coach), though, the rebuilding squad finally decided to move on as they try and begin their rise back toward contention. That makes the 48-year-old Blashill an experienced option on the open market, as he’s been in coaching roles since 1998 and coaching professionally since joining the Detroit organization in 2011. While he doesn’t have the shiniest resume, some of that can be attributed to the poor roster he was given in Detroit.

With a change potentially on the horizon in the Sunshine State behind the bench of the Florida Panthers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that he’s heard a connection between the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners and Blashill. It’s unclear at this point whether the Panthers will retain interim head coach Andrew Brunette, who was a nominee for the Jack Adams Award this past season after guiding Florida to a 122-point season. It would be a puzzling choice from the Panthers to move on from Brunette for someone like Blashill who hasn’t made any notable achievements at the NHL level, undoubtedly.

  • After getting fired by the New York Islanders today, Jim Hiller is on the radar of the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings (among other clubs) for their head coaching vacancies, reports ESPN’s Kevin Weekes. It would be a return to the Red Wings organization for Hiller, who got his first NHL job there as an assistant in 2014-15 after five seasons as the head coach of the WHL’s Tri-City Americans. He’s been with the Islanders since 2019-20 and has overseen their two back-to-back runs to the Eastern Conference Final in 2020 and 2021.
  • The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf today downplayed the link between the Dallas Stars and Marc Savard for their open spot behind the bench. While Yousuf didn’t rule out Savard as a candidate in the team’s search, he says that nothing from the team has indicated him as a frontrunner.

Coaching Notes: Richardson, Flyers, Samuelsson

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When Dominique Ducharme was unavailable due to a positive COVID-19 result in the 2021 playoff run, assistant Luke Richardson stepped in without missing a beat. The long-time NHL defenseman, who played more than 1,400 games in the league, had some head coaching experience with the Belleville Senators previously and had no trouble taking the reins in Montreal. The team played well, and Richardson was suddenly being looked at as a future NHL coach.

Now, with openings all over the league, Richardson’s name has emerged again. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that the Chicago Blackhawks have asked permission to interview Richardson for their head coaching vacancy, and Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports confirms that he is a candidate. Chicago has also requested permission to interview Vancouver Canucks assistant Brad Shaw.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers have not yet started their second round of interviews, according to Seravalli, but did speak with Jeff Blashill during the first round. Bruce Cassidy and David Quinn are also expected to be on their list (with Quinn also linked to the Detroit Red Wings), and John Tortorella will be a part of the second round, whenever that occurs. It’s quite a carousel this offseason with such a deep pool of qualified candidates available.
  • Even if Shaw doesn’t leave the Canucks, the team is looking for another assistant coach. Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV tweets that Ulf Samuelsson could be a candidate, as he is no longer with the Florida Panthers. Samuelsson had been with Florida for two years but there could be more changes coming for the Panthers, who have yet to announce whether Jack Adams finalist Andrew Brunette will return as head coach.

Red Wings Will Not Bring Back Jeff Blashill Next Season

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Jeff Blashill’s contract as head coach of the Red Wings was set to expire at the end of this season and he will not be receiving another one.  The team announced that Blashill’s deal will not be renewed while Detroit is also parting ways with assistant coach Doug Houda and goaltending coach Jeff Salajko.

It’s the end of an era in Detroit as Blashill had been with the organization for more than a decade after joining them as an assistant coach back in 2011.  After a season in that role, he became the head coach at AHL Grand Rapids for three years before taking over as bench boss of the Red Wings back in 2015 following the departure of Mike Babcock to Toronto.

Blashill’s tenure behind the bench in Detroit got off to a good start as the Red Wings made the playoffs in his first season although they were ousted in five games in the opening round.  In the six seasons since then, however, they’ve yet to return to the postseason and have finished no higher than fifth in the division.  This season, the Red Wings posted a 32-40-10 record, good for sixth in the Atlantic Division but on a points percentage basis (.451), that was actually an improvement on his overall numbers at the helm of the franchise (204-261-72 for a .447 points percentage).  While rookies Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond both flourished in their first NHL season, their progress wasn’t enough for Blashill to keep his job.

There are no shortage of coaches out there for GM Steve Yzerman to consider.  If he wants a veteran bench boss, John Tortorella, Claude Julien, and Rick Tocchet could be considered.  Ben Simon, the current head coach in Grand Rapids, will likely garner consideration as well.  Meanwhile, Lane Lambert and Spencer Carbury are viewed as up-and-coming head coaches and could be options for Detroit, who will undoubtedly have other candidates in mind as well.

As for the departing assistant coaches, Houda had spent the past six seasons in that role with Detroit after serving as an assistant in Boston for ten seasons before that.  Salajko, meanwhile, also had been in his role for the last six years after being the goalie coach with the Griffins for three years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

USA Hockey Announces 2022 World Championship Coaching Staff

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The IIHF World Championship will begin next month in Finland, and former New York Rangers head coach David Quinn is set to lead the U.S. squad. Today, his staff has been announced, with Jeff Blashill of the Detroit Red Wings, Don Granato of the Buffalo Sabres, and Mike Hastings from Minnesota State University joining as assistants.

Blashill, head coach of the Red Wings for the last seven years, was actually head coach of the men’s national team at three previous World Championships. He also has experience with USA Hockey at the U18 and U20 levels and stops in both the AHL and NCAA. Several players that he is familiar with, including most prominently Dylan Larkin, could be in play for the U.S. at the event, as the Red Wings are set to miss the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

Granato, who took over as the head coach of the Sabres last season, has received many accolades for his work turning the team around. While they won’t reach the playoffs this year, huge developmental steps have been taken from several players. One of those is Tage Thompson, who could play a significant role if selected for the U.S. squad, along with several of his Sabres teammates.

Hastings meanwhile is the lone assistant from outside of the NHL, coming to the Worlds after leading his Minnesota State Mavericks all the way to the national championship game this year. Hastings has been with the program for a decade and helped turn it into one of the most dominant teams in the NCAA, posting winning percentages above .800 in each of the last three years. Nathan Smith, the Mavericks standout who recently debuted with the Arizona Coyotes seems a likely candidate for the team if they so choose, after his outstanding junior season. Dryden McKay, winner of the Hobey Baker and a Mavericks legend, could also be in the mix, depending on the team’s goaltending situation.

The tournament begins on May 13 in Tampere and Helsinki.

Red Wings Place Three Players And Two Coaches In COVID Protocol

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With the recent increase in COVID cases around the league, the last few days have had plenty of news about players and staff members entering COVID protocol and it appears today will continue that trend.  The Red Wings announced (Twitter link) that goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, winger Carter Rowney and Givani Smith, head coach Jeff Blashill, and assistant coach Alex Tanguay have all been placed in protocol and will be unavailable for tonight’s game against New Jersey.

Detroit has been hit relatively hard by COVID-related absences this season as Tyler Bertuzzi, Marc Staal, and Danny DeKeyser have all missed time recently while Robby Fabbri and Michael Rasmussen are currently in protocol as well.  The Red Wings have recalled winger Riley Barber and goaltender Calvin Pickard from Grand Rapids of the AHL in corresponding moves to be able to dress a full lineup against the Devils.

As for their coaching situation, the team announced in a follow-up tweet that assistant coach Doug Houda will be joined by a pair of coaches from AHL Grand Rapids – head coach Ben Simon and assistant coach Todd Krygier.  As is the case with all other COVID protocol placements, each individual will need to miss at least ten days if follow-up testing confirms that they have indeed tested positive.

Jakub Vrana To Undergo Surgery

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The Detroit Red Wings received some bad news before the season even begins, as head coach Jeff Blashill announced that Jakub Vrana will require shoulder surgery and be out a minimum of four months.

Vrana, 25, just signed a new three-year, $15.75MM contract with the Red Wings last month after going on a tear down the stretch. Acquired from the Washington Capitals as part of the return for Anthony Mantha, the young forward had eight goals and 11 points in 11 games for the Red Wings. With the team still turning the corner on their rebuild, Vrana was one of the team’s most dangerous offensive weapons and will leave a huge hole in the lineup as he recovers from this surgery.

In fact, for a team that was just hoping to be competitive, losing Vrana could very well put them in the running for the 2022 Draft Lottery once again. It’s not that he’s the only effective player on the roster, but it’s hard to see how the Red Wings are going to be dangerous enough offensively to compete most nights without their second-highest paid forward. His absence of course will open the door for another young player to step up, but this is about as bad as it gets for the Red Wings.

There will be no need to move Vrana to long-term injured reserve, as the Red Wings are nowhere near the salary cap upper limit. He’ll move to regular IR as he works through this recovery, hopefully returning before the end of the season. Four months from today would be the end of January, though coach Blashill said it would be at least that long.

Snapshots: Vrana, Voracek, Augustana

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Hockey is back as the preseason enters its second day. While teams continue to announce roster moves and training camp cuts, there’s a variety of news and notes from around the league and sport that have come through the wire. The most notable takes us to the Detroit Red Wings, where head coach Jeff Blashill reports that forward Jakub Vrana will see a specialist on Monday for a shoulder injury suffered this week. After yesterday’s report from Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen that Vrana would be reevaluated later, this is a quick turnaround from such an uncertain timeline. Any absence would be a huge blow to Detroit, for whom Vrana scored at a point-per-game pace last season.

Some other news from around the hockey world:

  • The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline notes the discrepancy in the role that Jakub Voracek will carry during his second tenure with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Voracek’s last season in Columbus came in 2010-11 at the age of 21, playing 10 seasons and 727 games in Philadelphia after a trade. Dealt back to Columbus this offseason in exchange for Cam Atkinson, Voracek now returns as the oldest player on the Columbus roster. He’ll be tasked with being a strong voice in terms of leadership to help gel a rebuilding squad. It’s something that Voracek says he’s “ready to fill” due to his experience in Philadelphia.
  • After announcing a move to create a Division I hockey program back in June, South Dakota’s Augustana University will announce the program officially on October 5. Including the groundbreaking of the team’s new arena, the event will mark history for hockey in South Dakota. It continues a recent tradition of lesser-known schools breaking into the Division I scene.

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