Victor Hedman Still Out For Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are on the brink of elimination. After a season that saw them lose just 16 games in regulation, the team is down 3-0 in their series against the Columbus Blue Jackets and will need to win four straight to avoid a historic collapse. Unfortunately, they won’t have their best defenseman in the lineup to help out. Victor Hedman has been ruled out again by head coach Jon Cooper, who also notes that Anton Stralman will not play and Alex Killorn is a game-time decision.
Hedman was injured against the Washington Capitals on March 30th and missed the final few games of the regular season, but suited up in the first two games of the series. Even though he was on the ice the Norris-caliber defenseman was clearly not up to his lofty standards, and now could potentially watch his team get swept out of the first round without being able to help. The Blue Jackets have a chance to make history by knocking the Presidents Trophy winners out in four games, and will do it on home ice.
Luckily, if you can call it that, the Lightning will get some help back in the form of Nikita Kucherov. The potential Hart Trophy winner will be back after missing game three due to suspension, and will try to get his first points of the season and help Tampa Bay stave of elimination. Kucherov has been a solid playoff performer in the past, recording 58 points in his first 58 postseason games but now has just a single assist in his last six going back to last season.
Philadelphia Flyers Hire Alain Vigneault
The Philadelphia Flyers have hired Alain Vigneault as their new head coach, signing him to a multi-year contract. Vigneault is currently set to coach Team Canada at the upcoming IIHF World Championship but will be behind the bench for the Flyers in 2019-20. GM Chuck Fletcher released a statement about the hiring:
We are extremely excited to have Alain join this franchise and lead our team behind the bench for many years to come. He brings a tremendous amount of success over an extended period of time that will prove valuable to our team to take the next steps in returning the winning culture to the Philadelphia Flyers organization.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that Vigneault’s deal is worth $25MM over five years, making him one of the more expensive head coaches in the league. That may seem like a big commitment given Vigneault didn’t coach anywhere this season after being fired by the New York Rangers last year, but he does have an extensive resume of success. The 57-year old coach comes to Philadelphia with a career 648-435-35-98 regular season record which puts him 12th all-time in terms of wins. He was awarded the Jack Adams trophy as the league’s top bench boss in 2007, but unfortunately has failed to carry much of that success over to the postseason.
Vigneault actually has a losing record in 139 career playoff games and was defeated both times his team reached the Stanley Cup Final. Still, he should bring some stability to an organization that has used four coaches since the beginning of the 2013-14 season and failed to reach the playoffs in four of the past seven years. Scott Gordon, who took over after the team decided to fire Dave Hakstol earlier this season, ended up with a 25-22-4 record but will not be retained as the team’s head coach.
The Flyers are not in the process of a rebuild despite their solid farm system, and expect to compete for the playoffs again next season. Captain Claude Giroux is now 31 and has just three years remaining on his current contract, while other players like Jakub Voracek and James van Riemsdyk are also closing in on their thirties. With young Carter Hart expected to take over the full-time starting goaltending duties and other young prospects ready to make the jump to the NHL, the time is now for the Flyers to contend. The hiring of Vigneault is just another sign that they’re willing to spend to get there, though only time will tell if he can finally take that next step and lead his team to a championship.
Snapshots: Hedman, Ferland, Hamilton, McKenna, Simmonds
It looks like the Tampa Bay Lightning will be without another key player Sunday. Already without the suspended Nikita Kucherov, NHL.com’s Bryan Burns reports that star defenseman Victor Hedman will miss Game 3 with an unknown injury.
Head coach Jon Cooper said earlier today that Hedman would be a game-time decision, but now Braydon Coburn is on the ice, taking Hedman’s place. Hedman has been playing injured in the first two games of the playoffs.
- There won’t be any supplementary discipline from Saturday’s Game 2 between the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes despite a number of controversial hits. Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said that neither Micheal Ferland or Dougie Hamilton will receive any attention from the Department of Player Safety, according to News & Observer’s Luke DeCock. Ferland gave a big hit to Washington’s Nic Dowd, but the angle looks like Ferland hit through Dowd’s body and did not aim for the head. Hamilton’s elbow to Washington’s Evgeny Kuznetsov was also heavily criticized, but it wasn’t believed that the elbow had enough force for supplementary discipline.
- Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Mike McKenna sent out a tweet Sunday, saying he would have a “humongous big announcement” coming on Monday. While there no confirmation what it is about, speculation has risen that McKenna might be ready to announce his retirement. AHLcom’s Tony Androckitis wrote that the 36-year-old McKenna was leaning towards ending his career Saturday night after the Lehigh Valley Phantoms ended their AHL season. “I’m pragmatically saying I’m not sure,” said McKenna. “It’s going to take an awful lot to convince me to play again I think. In terms of what I need to have happen for my family, more so than me.” McKenna, who could be considered an AHL-lifer, made 11 NHL appearances this season — 10 with Ottawa and another one with the Philadelphia Flyers. He’s made 35 NHL appearances over the course of his career.
- NHL.com’s Robby Stanley reports that Brian Boyle remains “ill” and is day-to-day for Monday’s Game 3 matchup with the Dallas Stars. Boyle missed Game 2 with the flu. The scribe adds that there still isn’t an update on the status of Wayne Simmonds. Simmonds left Saturday’s game after taking a puck to the knee. A update is expected on Monday.
Central Notes: Blues’ Defense, Perreault, Girard, Makar
The St. Louis Blues have had quite a bit going right for them and while much of the team’s success could easily be handed to goaltender Jordan Binnington, one key reason the team won both games in Winnipeg is the play of their top defensive pair, Colton Parayko and Jay Bouwmeester, according to The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required).
The pair are being used to stop the Jets’ top line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Blake Wheeler and have played more than 25 minutes matched up against that line in 5-on-5 play. Wheeler does have one goal on four shots in that span, but both Scheifele and Connor have each tallied just two shots combined in those situations.
“Fairly well,” Bouwmeester said when asked how the Blues have defended the group. “We had some breakdowns, and they had some chances. There were some odd-man rushes and things like that. They’ve got skilled guys and guys who don’t need a lot of room to get good chances. Bottom line is I think whoever’s going to control the puck and control the play is going to control what they give up.”
- Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun reports that there will be just one change in the Winnipeg Jets’ lineup for Sunday’s Game 3 in St. Louis against the Blues. The Jets will bring Mathieu Perreault back into the lineup after the veteran missed Game 2 with an undisclosed injury and Par Lindholm will become a healthy scratch. Perreault hadn’t missed a game this season until Friday. “We’re going to need more of that (secondary scoring) if we want to have any kind of chance of coming back in this series,” said Perreault. “Whoever I’m playing with today, our line, the third and fourth line, we’ve got to find a way to make sure we don’t get scored on, and then chip in a goal here and there to try and help the team win.”
- A.J. Haefele of BSN Denver reports that Colorado Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard is still being evaluated after leaving Saturday night’s game against Calgary in overtime after taking a hit from Sam Bennett. However, the scribe reports that he is a possibility to play. Girard played 22:05 of ice time in Game 2 and would be a huge loss if he wasn’t able to go.
- Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports that recently signed defenseman Cale Makar is expected to be at the team’s morning practice Saturday and could get into the lineup immediately. Dater adds that he gets the impression that Makar will be in the lineup even though head coach Jared Bednar has not made any announcements. The team’s first-rounder in 2017 will have to be protected for the Seattle expansion draft if he even plays one playoff game this season. However, it looks as if the Avalanche are willing to do that.
Pacific Notes: Vlasic, Eakin, Anderson
With the series hitting Vegas and both teams deadlocked at one, the San Jose Sharks already have hit a road bump as The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reports that the head coach Peter DeBoer said the team will be inserting reserve defenseman Tim Heed into the lineup and Marc-Edouard Vlasic will miss Game 3 with an undisclosed injury.
Vlasic left Friday’s game during the second period after replays look like he blocked a shot from Shea Theodore with his arm, although Kurz wonders whether the shot may have gone off his head. DeBoer declined to reveal where the puck hit Vlasic. While the 32-year-old’s point totals have dropped this season, he still is the team’s third-best defenseman on the team behind Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson and averaged 21:07 of ATOI this season, which will be a big loss for a Sharks’ team that will want to win one of the next two games to regain home-ice advantage.
The loss of Vlasic will likely mean even more minutes for both Burns and Karlsson. Burns has averaged more than 28 minutes in the first two games of the series, while Karlsson broke 29 minutes in Game 2. Heed will likely be paired with Justin Braun. The team also has recalled defenseman Jacob Middleton from the San Jose Barracuda, according to CapFriendly.
- Vegas Golden Knights third-line center Cody Eakin will be ready to go after suffering an injury to his face during Friday’s game on a hit from Timo Meier, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen. Eakin was seen on the ice this morning with a jaw protector attached to his helmet. The 27-year-old Eakin finished the season with a career-high 22 goals this season.
- ESPN’s Chris Peters reports that Los Angeles Kings defenseman Michael Anderson has likely played his last collegiate game after the University of Minnesota-Duluth blueliner won his second-straight NCAA championship Saturday. Expect the Kings to sign the 19-year-old sophomore to an entry-level contract soon. Anderson, the team’s fourth-round pick in 2017, is considered to be a solid shutdown defender with impressive leadership skills.
Atlantic Notes: Hedman, Johansson, Debrusk, Krug
With the Tampa Bay Lightning in a “must-win” sitatuion being down 2-0 to the Columbus Blue Jackets and already without their best forward in Nikita Kucherov, the status of their top defenseman Victor Hedman is also up in the air. In fact, Tampa Bay Times reporter Bryan Burns reports that Hedman will be a game-time decision for Game 3 Sunday in Columbus, according to head coach Jon Cooper.
Hedman, who suffered an undisclosed injury at the end of the regular season and was again banged up after Game 2, did not take the ice this morning for the team’s optional skate. While he did play in the first two playoff games, Cooper said that Hedman hasn’t been able to play his usual physical style of game, which could be the reason why he’s questionable, according to The Athletic’s Joe Smith.
- The Boston Bruins won Saturday despite not having forward Marcus Johansson on hand. The trade-deadline acquisition was out with the flu. However, the team might be without him even longer as The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa reports that Johansson is still sick and will not be traveling with the team on their road trip to Toronto. That doesn’t mean he won’t eventually travel on his own and be present for Game 3 on Monday, but this illness has knocked out Johansson harder than the team initially thought.
- Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy also announced that forward Jake Debrusk and defenseman Torey Krug are both “doing better” and are day-to-day. Debrusk was cross-checked in the head by Nazem Kadri late in the game, which is being looked at by the Department of Player Safety. Krug suffered a head injury (possible concussion) in Game 2 after taking a hit on the boards from Toronto’s Jake Muzzin. Connor Clifton is also day-to-day with an upper-body injury after a hit in Game 2.
Pacific Notes: Gusev, McDavid, Utica Comets
The Vegas Golden Knights continue to get closer and closer to signing the KHL’s best player, Nikita Gusev. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Gusev is expected to arrive in Las Vegas tonight and could sign his one-year, entry-level deal as soon as tomorrow and should be ready to play not long after that. The Golden Knights are then expected to sign the then-restricted free agent to a long-term deal this summer.
In fact, The Athletic’s Jesse Granger (subscription required) analyzes what kind of impact the 26-year-old might have on the Vegas lineup, especially considering the star winger has little experience playing on North American hockey rinks and considering Vegas’ depth, there is no guarantee that head coach Gerard Gallant would play him when every game is so critical. Gallant said as much:
“I don’t know much about him. George (McPhee) mentioned it today. There are some reports out there. If he can join us then we’ll see what’s going to happen, but I don’t know the player well enough. Hopefully he does join us and he gets some practice time in with us, but I have no idea if that’s going to happen. It was first mentioned this morning to me.”
Granger suggests that Gusev could find himself eventually on the Golden Knights’ third line alongside Cody Eakin and Alex Tuch, but even as the team knows it will bring the great KHLer aboard, there is still quite a mystery surrounding him.
- The Edmonton Oilers got some good news on star center Connor McDavid who suffered what looked to be a significant injury in their final regular season game last week. While he did suffer a small PCL tear in his knee, the injury will not require surgery and the superstar is expected to be ready for training camp, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Sportsnet’s John Shannon added that the injury will require three months of rehabilitation. The 22-year-old still had a career-high in points as he finished with 116, second in the league.
- Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre wonders whether the Vancouver Canucks might make some changes at the AHL level this offseason. The Utica Comets were considered to be a fascinating team to keep an eye on this season as the franchise was loaded in young talent. However, few of those young players actually showed any improvement and two of them found their way out of the organization as prospect Petrus Palmu opted to return home, while Jonathan Dahlen forced a trade to San Jose. Both were unhappy with the playing time under Utica head coach Trent Cull. In fact a number of prospects struggled under Cull, including 2017 second-rounders Kole Lind (three goals) and Jonah Gadjovich (four goals). That could force general manager Jim Benning to look into the situation in Utica a little closer.
Central Notes: Makar, Seabrook, Boyle
While the Colorado Avalanche face off against the Calgary Flames tonight, management may be looking in another direction for a short while as the team’s top prospect, University of Massachussetts defenseman Cale Makar, will finish his college season tonight after the NCAA National Championship concludes.
In that manner, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post writes that the Avalanche intend to sign Makar to a entry-level contract the moment the game ends with the idea of burning his first year this season. However, whether that will make him available for Game 3 of the Avalanche’s playoff series on Monday is another question. Head coach Jared Bednar shared that he too is still in the dark:
“Right now I’m worried about the guys in the room and the game tonight. Yeah, I’m sure it’s a possibility (Makar joins the team Sunday). I don’t know. But that’s a better question for (general manager) Joe (Sakic).”
Another possibility is the team signs him, but opts against playing Makar to preserve the first year of that entry-level contract as the team is already quite deep on defense and there are questions of how quickly Makar can adjust to the team’s system in just one or two days. Although much of that speculation will come after Makar has practiced with the team, maybe as early as Sunday.
- The Daily Herald’s John Dietz writes that one interesting comment that came from general manager Stan Bowman a few days ago was his belief that veteran defenseman Brent Seabrook needs to make some changes to his off-season conditioning program. Seabrook who saw his playing time dramatically drop towards the end of the season, might want to make changes much like Jonathan Toews did last offseason that sparked his impressive season this year, according to Bowman. Seabrook, however, didn’t seem interested in making major changes this summer. “I’m not going to shake anything up, no,” Seabrook said. “I lost my trainer … so last year was my first summer with (the Blackhawks’) Paul Goodman and I thought it went real good, and (I) felt good coming into this season. Continue doing that.”
- The Nashville Predators are without forward Brian Boyle in Saturday’s Game 2 against the Dallas Stars due to illness, according to the Tennsessean’s Erik Bacharach. Boyle is day-to-day, but will be missed as he is known for his hits, including a big hit against Stars’ forward Jason Dickinson early in Game 1. The Predators replaced him in the lineup with Rocco Grimaldi.
Flyers To Interview Alain Vigneault For Their Head Coaching Position
One name that hasn’t come up too frequently in the various head coaching searches around the league is veteran bench boss Alain Vigneault. However, he appears to be on the radar for at least one team as the Flyers have asked for (and been granted) permission from the Rangers to speak to Vigneault, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).
Philadelphia had to seek permission as Vigneault has one year left on his existing deal with New York and actually will see his pay increase from $4MM to $4.25MM for the 2019-20 season. The Flyers would likely need to assume at least a significant portion of that if they ultimately pick him to take over from interim head coach Scott Gordon.
The 57-year-old would certainly be a step in the opposite direction compared to their recent hires as their last two full-time head coaches (Dave Hakstol and Craig Berube) were both in that role for the first time. That wouldn’t be the case for Vigneault who has 1,216 career games behind an NHL bench with the Canadiens, Canucks, and the Rangers with his teams posting a 648-435-133 record in that span. He’s reached the Stanley Cup Final twice, once with Vancouver in 2010-11 and again with New York in 2013-14.
Vigneault was not behind an NHL bench at all this season after David Quinn took over for him with New York. However, he will lead Team Canada at the upcoming World Championships so if he’s deemed to be GM Chuck Fletcher’s preference, it wouldn’t be surprising if they tried to get a deal done before his duties with Canada get underway in the not-too-distant future.
NCAA All-American Selections Announced
The college hockey season is wrapping up, beginning with Thursday night’s Frozen Four semifinal games, tonight’s end of the year awards banquet, and finally tomorrow’s National Championship game. Many awards were handed out tonight, including the Hobey Baker Award, but the NCAA also announced this year’s All-American rosters, as voted on by the American Hockey Coaches Association. The teams are as follows:
First-Team All-Americans – East
G Cayden Primeau, Northeastern University (MTL)
D Adam Fox, Harvard University (CAR)
D Cale Makar, University of Massachusetts (COL)
F Mitchell Chaffee, University of Massachusetts
F Ryan Kuffner, Princeton University (DET)
F Nico Sturm, Clarkson University (MIN)
First-Team All-Americans – West
G Hunter Shepard, University of Minnesota – Duluth
D Quinn Hughes, University of Michigan (VAN)
D Jimmy Schuldt, St. Cloud State University (VGK)
F Taro Hirose, Michigan State University (DET)
F Patrick Newell, St. Cloud State University (NYR)
F Rem Pitlick, University of Minnesota (NSH)
Second-Team All-Americans – East
G Andrew Shortridge, Quinnipiac University (SJS)
D Jeremy Davies, Northeastern University (NJD)
D Joseph Duszak, Mercyhurst University (TOR)
F Blake Christensen, American International College
F David Cotton, Boston College (CAR)
F Josh Wilkins, Providence College
Second-Team All-Americans – West
G Joey Daccord, Arizona State University (OTT)
D Jack Ahcan, St. Cloud State University
D Bobby Nardella, University of Notre Dame (WAS)
D Scott Perunovich, University of Minnesota – Duluth (STL)
F Mason Jobst, Ohio State University (NYI)
F Blake Lizotte, St. Cloud State University (LAK)
F Troy Loggins, Northern Michigan University
The St. Cloud Huskies led the way with four All-American selections, which is little surprise from a team that was ranked No. 1 in the country for much of the year. Yet, St. Cloud won’t be playing in the National Championship game this year. Instead, it will be the UMass Minutemen and UMD Bulldogs. UMass, the only other team with two first-team selections, features the Hobey Baker winner Makar, while Duluth includes two All-Americans as well. Northeastern goalie Primeau was also named the Mike Richter Award winner as the best goalie in the country and was one of two selections from the Huskies. While not included among the All-Americans, Boston University forward Joel Farabee (PHI) was named the Tim Taylor Award recipient as rookie of the year.