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Lindy Ruff

Injury Notes: Zucker, Malkin, Hischier, Andersen

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have officially activated Jason Zucker from injured reserve and have listed him as a game-time decision for their contest tonight against the New York Islanders. Zucker is returning much quicker than many had anticipated when he went down with a lower-body injury in late-February but will be a welcome addition to the Penguins lineup.

Now 29, Zucker has just seven points in 17 games for Pittsburgh this season but is coming back at the perfect time. The team has moved Evgeni Malkin to long-term injured reserve retroactive to March 16 meaning he will miss at least six more games. Drew O’Connor and Jonathan Gruden have also been moved to the taxi squad.

  • Another East Division team got some good injury news, as Nico Hischier has resumed workouts and cardio activity after his recent sinus fracture. There is still no timetable for Hischier’s return, but Devils head coach Lindy Ruff expressed some optimism for the young forward, saying he is “progressing” in his recovery. Hischier underwent surgery to repair the fracture on March 15 and was given a three-week timeline, meaning he is still expected back early next month.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs will have Michael Hutchinson in net tonight as they try to limit the workload for Jack Campbell, who has taken over starting duties in Frederik Andersen’s absence. Toronto has been very tight-lipped when it comes to Andersen’s injury, but Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes that the team does not currently believe that it is season-ending. Of course, if it were to keep Andersen out the rest of the regular season, the Maple Leafs would have some added cap flexibility through long-term injured reserve. Friedman suspects the front office has “a move or two in his back pocket” for when the cap numbers work. Andersen hasn’t played since March 19.

New Jersey Devils Hire Mark Recchi

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The New Jersey Devils have added another big name to their coaching staff, this time hiring Mark Recchi as an assistant. Recchi joins Lindy Ruff’s staff after he was recently let go by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald released a statement on his new coach:

We are extremely excited to add Mark to our coaching staff, where his experience as a player, coach, and in development will be invaluable. His work with the power play and managing personnel in Pittsburgh are skills that will benefit our group moving forward. Mark’s leadership, communication abilities, patience, and presence will be integral for the growth of our young core.

There are few people with more NHL playing experience than Recchi, who sits sixth all-time in games played with 1,652 regular season contests. The Hall of Fame forward won three Stanley Cups, including one at the age of 42 with the Boston Bruins in 2011. A coach with the Penguins since 2014, he was let go with Sergei Gonchar and Jacques Martin earlier this summer when Pittsburgh GM Jim Rutherford made sweeping changes to the coaching staff.

In New Jersey, he’ll join Ruff in a new journey, trying to bring the Devils back to relevance in the Eastern Conference. Once a powerhouse that won three Stanley Cups in less than a decade, the Devils have gone to the playoffs just once in the past eight seasons.

Devils Hire Lindy Ruff As Head Coach, Remove Interim Tag From GM Tom Fitzgerald

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The Devils had been using their extended offseason to conduct a thorough search simultaneously for their new head coach and GM.  In the end, they’ve decided to change the coach and keep the team as the team announced in a pair of press releases that they have hired Lindy Ruff as their new head coach and removed the interim title from Tom Fitzgerald who now is their full-time general manager.

Managing partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer released the following statement about Fitzgerald’s promotion to the full-time role:

When Tom took over the role of GM in January, we were committed to moving the organization in a new direction. Having gone through the process of interviewing various candidates, including Tom, and reviewing his work in the interim, we feel that he is the best fit for the New Jersey Devils moving forward. Our decision was solidified by his ability to stabilize the organization, get solid returns at the trade deadline, make impressive plans for player development and hire a new coach in Lindy Ruff. We are very optimistic about our future and know we have great deal of talent, both on and off the ice. Together, we are excited to start a new chapter and are committed to becoming a consistent contender, which our fans deserve.

Meanwhile, Fitzgerald said the following regarding his decision to hire Ruff:

We are proud and excited to have Lindy Ruff join our organization as Head Coach. He is one of the most successful and respected coaches in the NHL, not only today, but in League history. His personality, experience, knowledge, work-ethic and focus will provide a calm presence in our locker room. He is the right coach at the right time for our organization. Lindy has a proven track record of getting the absolute best out of his players across the board- stars, role players and everyone in between. His teaching ability, and communication skills will be well-suited for our team, especially our young, developing players. Throughout his career, his teams have been greater than the sum of their parts. I look forward to working together with Lindy as the organization moves forward.

Ruff takes over from Alain Nasreddine who had previously held the interim title behind the bench.  Unlike Nasdreddine, who was a first-time bench boss in the NHL, Ruff comes to the team with plenty of experience.  He spent parts of 15 seasons as the head coach of the Sabres from 1997-18 through 2013-14 before being replaced by Ron Rolston mid-season, a move that has sparked a flurry of coaching turnover in that organization since then.  Ruff didn’t wait too long before getting another job though as in 2013, as he was named the head coach of the Stars, a role he held for four seasons.

Since being let go from Dallas in 2017, the 60-year-old has served as an assistant coach with the Rangers, a division rival of New Jersey so he’ll have some familiarity with the Devils.  While it was first thought that Ruff would finish up his contract with New York as they’re set to participate in the play-in round against Carolina, that will not be the case.  Instead, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Gord Murphy, the associate coach at AHL Hartford, will join New York for their run and that Ruff’s departure is immediate.

Beyond Ruff and Nasreddine, three other veteran coaches were in consideration for the position.  Peter Laviolette, John Stevens, and Gerard Gallant were believed to be the other finalists.

As for Fitzgerald, it is hard to argue that the former player and veteran executive did not deserve the official GM role. A former Assistant GM for the Pittsburgh Penguins who has spent the past five years in the same role with the Devils, Fitzgerald was bumped to interim GM for New Jersey back in January went the team surprisingly parted ways with Ray Shero. In the weeks following, leading up to the trade deadline, Fitzgerald dealt impending free agents Sami Vatanen, Andy Greene, and Wayne Simmonds in separate deals for second-, fourth-, and fifth-round draft picks and prospect Janne Kuokkanen and in his biggest move landed prized prospect Nolan Foote and a 2020 first-round pick for forward Blake Coleman. Fitzgerald maximized the value of his expendable assets and showed he is a worthy deal-maker.

Whether Fitzgerald finds the same success with his first coaching hire however remains to be seen. There will be some that are critical of his choice to recycle Ruff, especially with the caliber of available coaches on the market, but judgement should be reserved until the product can be seen on the ice. Fortunately, Ruff, Fitzgerald, and company have a long offseason ahead of them and should be well-prepared by the time next season rolls around.

Kevin Weekes of the NHL Network was the first to report (via Twitter) the Ruff hiring and Fitzgerald’s promotion to the full-time role.

Zach Leach also contributed to this post.

Metropolitan Notes: Devils Coaching Search, Hurricanes, Ovechkin

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With several big-name coaches on their wish list, many people didn’t put much thought into a report that Lindy Ruff was a fifth candidate for the New Jersey Devils. After all, the Devils were also considering Peter Laviolette, Gerard Gallant, Mike Babcock, John Stevens, Bruce Boudreau and current interim head coach Alain Nasreddine. However, on his most recent 31 Thoughts column, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman writes that Ruff is hardly an afterthought and is a serious candidate for the team’s head coaching position.

What’s interesting about that statement is that New Jersey still doesn’t have a general manager in place and has been interviewing candidates for that position too. Friedman notes that many of those candidates have requested input in the team’s head coaching search, which would likely alter the team’s plans in hiring a head coach. However, the scribe notes that it looks like regardless on what the team decides, Ruff is highly favored within the organization.

Ruff served as head coach of the Buffalo Sabres from 1997 to 2013, while taking the same role in Dallas from 2013 to 2017 and has 736 coaching victories in the NHL.

  • With many teams having shutdown voluntary skating in their facilities recently due to a number of positive tests for COVID-19, the Carolina Hurricanes announced they will open up PNC Arena to players who wish to begin voluntary small-group training, starting on Tuesday, June 30. The team is expecting 16 players to be ready to go on that date, with that group to be split in half during on-ice workouts. So far, no word on what players will hit the ice in Carolina.
  • Speaking of teams that have been on the ice for some time, the Washington Capitals, who have been skating at MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, VA since June 8, got a familiar face on the ice as star forward Alex Ovechkin skated with some teammates Saturday. The 34-year-old, who tallied 48 goals in just 68 games last season, has been training in Florida before now. He was joined by Evgeny Kuznetsov, Lars Eller, Garnet Hathaway, John Carlson and Braden Holtby.

Lindy Ruff Under Consideration For Devils Head Coach

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Earlier this month, it had been reported that New Jersey’s coaching search had been narrowed to four candidates with former Nashville bench boss Peter Laviolette believed to be the frontrunner.  However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (via Twitter) has added a fifth coach to the mix, reporting that Rangers assistant coach Lindy Ruff is also under consideration for the job.

Ruff has plenty of experience behind the bench, serving as Buffalo’s head coach from 1997 through 2013 while filling the same role in Dallas from 2013-17.  He has been an assistant coach with New York since then and also spent time as an assistant in Florida from 1993-97 before getting the Buffalo job.  His 736 career head coaching wins in the NHL sit sixth in league history.

Other coaches still in consideration for the position are Gerard Gallant, John Stevens, and current interim head coach Alain Nasreddine.

With New Jersey not among the 24 teams that will be returning to action this summer, there is plenty of time to make this decision as the official ‘offseason’ won’t likely begin until mid-October.  However, the decision maker isn’t also necessarily in place either.  Tom Fitzgerald is the interim GM and has been conducting the coaching search but ownership has also been in talks with prospective GM candidates.  Accordingly, a decision on Fitzgerald’s fate may need to happen before a head coaching hire can be finalized.

Hockey Canada Names World Championship Coaching Staff

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Hockey Canada has named their full coaching staff for the upcoming IIHF World Championship, a group that will be led by Alain Vigneault. The former New York Rangers bench boss will be joined by assistants Dave Hakstol, Lindy Ruff and Kirk Muller.

The entire staff has quite a bit of NHL experience under their belt, and were all employed recently if not this season. The group will be commanding a Canadian team that is expected to have quite a bit of talent, although some big names have already dropped out. Connor McDavid was injured in his last game of the season and won’t be able to attend, and Carey Price has already ruled himself out as well. Price’s teammate Shea Weber also is unlikely to go, instead looking forward to a full offseason of rest and training instead of rehab from injury.

Still, Canada always puts together a solid roster and should serve as a chance for Vigneault and others to show what they can do with a talented group. The former Rangers coach has been connected to various vacancies already, though one of those spots has already been filled with the hiring of Joel Quenneville in Florida.

The tournament runs May 10-26 in Slovakia and Canada’s contingent will be put together by a management group including Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill, and former GMs Ron Francis and Ron Hextall.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Dallas Stars

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With the holiday season in full swing, PHR will look at what teams are thankful for so far this year. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We take a look at what’s gone well in the first few months and what could improve as the season rolls on. So far we’ve covered the following teams:

Atlantic: BOS, BUF, DET, FLA, TOR, MTL, OTT
Metropolitan: CAR, CBJ, NJD, NYI, NYR, PHI, PIT, WSH
Central: CHI, COL, MIN, NSH, STL
Pacific: ANA, ARZ, CGY, EDM, LAK, SJS, VAN, VGK

What are the Dallas Stars most thankful for?

The draft lottery.

2016-17 was a huge disappointment for the Stars. After finishing first in the Western Conference and advancing to the second round a year earlier, Dallas got off to a brutal start last season and couldn’t overcome it to sneak their way into the playoffs. Finishing with 79 points and third-last in the West, it cost head coach Lindy Ruff his job and several players their role on the club.

Still, it wasn’t all bad. After the season, the Stars lost Cody Eakin to the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft, and couldn’t have been that upset about it. The centerman has put up a better season for Vegas than he had in 2016-17, but is still not the 20-goal, 50-point man many had hoped he would develop into. The fact that the Stars no longer have to worry about the two years at $3.85MM that Eakin is still owed on his current deal is actually probably worth more than having him on the team.

Then came the draft, where Dallas won the right to select third-overall and were able to take home exactly what they were after. Though some casual North American observers may have forgotten about Miro Heiskanen as he continues to develop in Finland, the Stars sure haven’t. Heiskanen is playing excellent in the Finnish Liiga, scoring nine goals and 14 points in 20 games while controlling games from the blueline. He is an absolute prototype when it comes to the new era of NHL defensemen, able to play well at both ends of the rink.

Fans should get a good look at his potential when he skates for Finland at the upcoming World Junior Championships, where he’ll remind everyone why he was taken third-overall. The idea of the Finnish duo of Julius Honka and Heiskanen playing long-term together should have Dallas fans salivating.

Who are the Stars most thankful for?

Jamie BennJamie Benn.

Benn continues to be one of the greatest stories in the NHL, going from a fifth-round pick out of the BCHL to a legitimate All-World captain and winger. His 30 points lead the Stars again this season, while his possession numbers and all-around play remain high. He’s the type of player every team around the league would be after if there was a chance, but as he starts his new contract extension it looks like he’ll be in Dallas for a long time.

With a $9.5MM cap hit for another seven years, there is definitely some risk involved in Benn’s deal. Who can know what kind of player he’ll be in his mid-thirties, but at this point he’s still the best chance the team has to compete for the Stanley Cup. With Tyler Seguin set to hit free agency in the summer of 2019, it will be interesting if the team decides to keep the dynamic duo together long-term, for what would be a huge chunk of the salary cap.

What would the Stars be even more thankful for?

Healthy and effective goaltending.

The Stars went out and got the starting goaltender they wanted in the offseason, buying out Antti Niemi and bringing in Ben Bishop to handle the load. Unfortunately, Bishop has battled a sore back this season and looked average even when he is in the net. Kari Lehtonen has bounced back from a dreadful 2016-17, but only to about the same level Bishop is playing, which is not good enough.

Bishop and Lehtonen have .908 and .907 save percentages respectively, and the Stars need more than that to get back to being a contender in the league. Especially when you factor in that Ken Hitchcock’s system usually increases save percentages in the first few years, the goaltending simply hasn’t been good enough. There are several issues with this team, but getting Bishop—who signed a six-year, $29.5MM contract with the team—back to playing like the Vezina contender he’s been in the past, could make up for them all.

What should be on the Stars’ Holiday Wish List?

Some more help up front.

Beyond the trio of Benn, Seguin and Alexander Radulov (who’ve been spread out recently to try and spark some more offense) the Stars don’t have enough firepower at forward. Young forward Radek Faksa has done his part, but veterans like Martin Hanzal, Jason Spezza and Antoine Roussel have been almost invisible when in the lineup.

The Stars are still 18-14-3 on the season and within striking distance of the top teams in the Central Division, but to really compete they’ll need a deeper offensive attack. The depth of their forwards pales in comparison to clubs like Nashville, Winnipeg and St. Louis, something that would become even more prominent in a seven-game series.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Draft Day Notes: Ruff, Markov, Phaneuf

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While the New York Rangers continue to select the next wave of talent in the NHL draft, the front office is also busy working on the NHL coaching staff. Larry Brooks of the New York Post is reporting that Lindy Ruff will join the team as an assistant coach, replacing Jeff Beukeboom who will move into a scouting role with the club.

Ruff of course has decades of experience as a head coach in the league, with his latest stint ending in Dallas at the end of the year. This will be the first time he takes an assistant role since 1997, and will be mostly in charge of the defense group.

  • Though it’s been clear there is interest between Andrei Markov and the Montreal Canadiens, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports is reporting that Markov now wants a two-year contract. That could be too long for the Canadiens, who are set to give Carey Price a huge raise next summer and have to make sure they spend every dollar appropriately. That’s not even mentioning that Markov will turn 39 this season, and at any point could fall off a cliff in terms of production. The cap hit would have to be very reasonable for the long-time Montreal defender to get those two years.
  • Before the Travis Hamonic deal went down, Bob McKenzie of TSN tweeted out some details about Dion Phaneuf continuing to draw trade interest from teams that aren’t on his approved list. Remember that Phaneuf would not waive his no-movement clause for the expansion draft, and though Pierre Dorion has had chats with his representation, there is no movement on the trade list as of yet.

James Patrick Leaves NHL To Coach WHL’s Kootenay Ice

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Over the past decade, James Patrick has been the right hand man of one of the NHL’s most well-known coaches, Lindy Ruff. However, Ruff’s future is in doubt after the Dallas Stars declined to extend both he and Patrick. Patrick has embraced the unknown and decided to strike out on his own. The Kootenay Ice of the major junior Western Hockey League announced today that they have hired Patrick as their new head coach. It is a three-year contract for Patrick, as he looks to turn around the team that finished dead last in the WHL in 2016-17.

Patrick is long overdue for a head coaching job. Patrick finished up his long 21-year NHL career after the 2003-04 season with the Buffalo Sabres. He re-joined his former team to work for his former head coach not long after, joining the Buffalo staff ahead of the 2006-07 season. Patrick spent seven seasons in Buffalo under Ruff and then followed him to Dallas for four more campaigns. In addition to his coaching career, Patrick recorded 639 points in 1280 NHL games with the New York Rangers, Hartford Whalers, Calgary Flames and Sabres and was also an NCAA champion at the University of North Dakota in 1982.

While Patrick’s hire is big news, it certainly won’t be the biggest announcement in the Patrick family this June, as his nephew, Nolan Patrick, is one of the upcoming NHL Draft’s top picks and could very easily be picked first overall by the New Jersey Devils. Should Patrick find success as the head coach in Kootenay, he could one day end up coaching his nephew (or against him) at the NHL level.

Dallas Stars Hire Ken Hitchcock As Head Coach

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Thursday: The Stars have made it official, naming Hitchcock as head coach. He has a multi-year deal that will transition into a consulting role thereafter.

Wednesday: After firing Lindy Ruff just a few days ago, the Dallas Stars have acted quickly, and according to multiple reports (including Tim Cowlishaw of ESPN) are set to hire Ken Hitchcock as their next head coach. The Stars are coming off a dreadful season that saw them finish with just a 34-37-11 record, a 30 point fall from their division leading 2015-16 season. Ken Hitchcock

Hitchcock of course was fired from his latest job mid-season, when the St. Louis Blues let him go early and installed Mike Yeo as the bench boss. At the time Hitchcock was said to be considering retirement, though many around the league doubted that he would ever be able to stay away from the game should an opportunity present itself. Well, now one has in one of his old stomping grounds. The eventual hall-of-fame coach spent the first seven seasons of his coaching career in Dallas, winning a Stanley Cup in 1999 and returning to the Western Conference Finals the following year. His team finished first in the division five straight seasons, and only had a losing record in his first year.

Hitchcock is known for his bristly nature with players, but also for some unconventional tactics that often pay dividends. He is currently number four on the all-time coaching list, and will surpass Al Arbour for third with just two wins next year. His .606 career winning percentage also ranks among the leaders.

The Stars will have to do more than just change coaches in order to climb back up the standings, but this at least provides them with a picture of what the team’s leadership will look like before they start working on the roster. Goaltending is still one of the biggest issues in Dallas, as they ranked last in save percentage despite paying over $10MM to the duo of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi. Each will become an unrestricted free agent after next year, so Hitchcock and the Stars will need to prepare for the next chapter in net.

Hitchcock has been regarded as something of a defensive coach in the past, introducing systems that limit high quality shot attempts. It will be interesting to see whether this group can accomplish those systems, as they don’t have the established defensive core that some of his previous teams did. What they do have, is a young group that can grow under his tutelage and perhaps change the “high-flying” reputation.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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