Todd McLellan No Longer In Consideration For Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres conducted interviews with Todd McLellan this week as the coach was in town for the Frozen Four, but will not be hiring him to be their next head coach. Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that McLellan is no longer in consideration for the position and that the team never did formalize an offer for him. Instead, McLellan is expected to be hired by the Los Angeles Kings, though that has not been formally announced either. The Sabres will continue their search for a new head coach.
If McLellan does end up with Los Angeles, it would be his third Pacific Division team in five years after previously coaching with the San Jose Sharks and Edmonton Oilers. The Kings are looking for a coach to help turn around their franchise after a dreadful season, and informed interim coach Willie Desjardins that he would not be getting the job. The 51-year old McLellan was fired by Edmonton after going 9-10-1 through the first 20 games of this season, but has an overall coaching record of 434-282-90.
The Sabres meanwhile are looking to replace Phil Housley after just two seasons on the job. The Hall of Fame defenseman was considered an outstanding assistant coach with the Nashville Predators but failed to put together much success in his time in Buffalo. The Sabres rode a winning streak all the way to first place in the NHL early in the 2018-19 season, but ended up with an overall record of 33-39-10, a huge disappointment for GM Jason Botterill and his staff.
While Buffalo hasn’t had much success over the last several years, there are definitely parts of the roster that should appeal to any prospective head coach. Captain Jack Eichel set a career high with 82 points in 77 games this season while first-overall pick Rasmus Dahlin was as advertised and stepped into a top-pairing role almost immediately. The 18-year old defenseman—he’ll turn 19 tomorrow—recorded 44 points in 82 games while logging more than 21 minutes a night and should be in consideration for the Calder Trophy.
Still, there will be immense pressure on whoever the Sabres do bring in to replace Housley as the team hasn’t experienced a winning season since 2011-12 and hasn’t made the playoffs since 2010-11.
Ralph Krueger Leaves Southampton FC
In a somewhat surprising turn of events, Ralph Krueger has left his post as Chairman of the Southampton Football Club. His contract was set to expire at the end of June, and all parties decided it would not be extended. This comes less than two weeks after Krueger told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) that he may be interested in returning to the NHL in a front office role. Krueger of course has experience behind the bench in the NHL and abroad, but could potentially be a candidate for a higher position like President of Hockey Operations.
The Edmonton Oilers, who Krueger last coached in 2013, have said that they are not currently looking to install someone over the incoming general manager. The idea of hiring one wasn’t completely shut down by CEO Bob Nicholson at his end of year press conference, but it was definitely pushed aside as the focus was made the team’s next GM.
The Ottawa Senators though have been open about their search for a hockey operations executive to install next (or perhaps above) GM Pierre Dorion. The team has already reached out to several top names but were turned down each time. Krueger could now be an option, but it remains unclear what his plans are after leaving Southampton.
Kruger coached Team Europe in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and was praised nearly unanimously by his players. He has been working with Southampton for six years, and has also been given nothing but praise for his time there. He was apparently on the list of names that Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill considered for his last coaching search.
Snapshots: Worlds, McLellan, Hawkey
Team Canada got turned down by Carey Price for the upcoming IIHF World Championship, but still could have some pretty excellent goaltending for the tournament. Not only will young phenom Carter Hart be part of the team, but Craig Morgan of The Athletic has heard that Darcy Kuemper is also on the team’s radar. There could be several other candidates considered, especially since teams exiting the first round of the playoffs would make their players available.
If it is Hart and Kuemper, it would certainly not be tandem that was expected at the beginning of the season. The Philadelphia Flyers goaltender won’t turn 21 until August, but put together quite an NHL debut this season. In 31 games Hart put up a .917 save percentage and kept Philadelphia in the playoff hunt longer than many expected early in the year. The same could be said about Kuemper, who went from unheralded backup to potential Vezina candidate after posting a .925 in 55 appearances. The tournament begins on May 10th.
- Now that the draft lottery is over all eyes in Los Angeles will be waiting for the result of the Kings’ coaching search, which appears to still have some work to do. Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times tweets that as of earlier today nothing was imminent for the Kings, though they are still in the “sweepstakes” for Todd McLellan. McLellan has also been meeting with the Buffalo Sabres this week as he also takes in the NCAA Frozen Four, and reports have seemingly come from both sides that they were close to signing the coach. Wherever McLellan does end up, it seems as though the other team will quickly have to move on to their next candidate—unless another team moves on him first.
- Speaking of the Frozen Four, Minnesota-Duluth won their semi-final game earlier today and eliminated the Providence Friars. That marks the end of several NCAA careers for Providence including goaltender Hayden Hawkey, who will now have to make a decision on whether to sign right away or wait for unrestricted free agency this summer. The Montreal Canadiens traded Hawkey’s rights last summer in exchange for a fifth-round pick, likely to avoid this situation since they already have a full depth chart of goaltenders. The 24-year old posted a .920 save percentage for Providence this season, his third as the team’s starter. He’ll become a free agent in August if the Oilers don’t get him under contract.
Canadiens Notes: Drouin, Okulov, Free Agency
One of the underlying reasons why the Montreal Canadiens were unable to hold on to a wild card spot down the stretch was the poor play of one of their best players, Jonathan Drouin. Speaking with Alexis Belanger-Champagne of La Presse, Drouin acknowledged that his play suffered when it matter most in the final games of the season. He even owned his decreased ice time, understanding that head coach Claude Julien needed productive, confident players on the ice and he was playing frustrated and failing to find results. Drouin finished the season with 53 points in 81 games, but only contributed one goal and two assists in Montreal’s final 18 games. Yet, for all of his late-season struggles, Drouin does not expect to be shopped this off-season. The 24-year-old forward did match a career-high in points this year and early in the season was on pace to shatter all previous personal marks. Drouin knows that he dropped the ball, but tells Belanger-Champagne that he is happy with the Canadiens and knows he can be a difference-maker once again next season and beyond. GM Marc Bergevin seems to agree. Bergevin told La Presse that Drouin showed maturity with how he handled his poor play and that he understands his role on the team. Bergevin expects the young scorer to “take another step forward next year.” At $5.5MM for four more years, Drouin can still be a bargain for the Habs and certainly a dependable top-six forward. Bergevin is not one to overreact, so expect Drouin to be back in the bleu, blanc, et rougue next year.
- Drouin’s return doesn’t mean that the Canadiens won’t try to address their offense this summer. In fact, the team already has their sights set on an import out of Russia. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Montreal is “high” on KHL forward Konstantin Okulov. Okulov, 24, is currently playing in the Gagarin Cup Final with CSKA Moscow and his breakout regular season has extended into the postseason. The skilled forward has 12 points in 15 playoff games following a career-high 20 goals and 31 points in 48 regular season games. The Habs would like to see if his high-powered game can translate to the NHL. Unfortunately, Friedman also notes that Okulov is under contract for one more year with CSKA and may not be available to Montreal this off-season. Unless he both wants and is granted a release from his contract, the Canadiens may need to keep scouting for another year.
- As for attracting free agents already in the NHL, The Montreal Gazette’s Pat Hickey opines that the Canadiens may have a tough time luring top names to Montreal this summer despite ample cap space. It doesn’t have anything to do with team personnel, either. Hickey notes that taxes and cost of living are among the negatives of making the move to Montreal and claims that has deterred free agents in recent years. However, Hickey adds that this might not be a bad things, as Bergevin’s track record of late has been better with trades than it has been with signings. The Habs will undoubtedly still add a few free agents, but in need of a veteran backup goalie, a top-four defenseman, and a top-six forward, the team will likely have to tackle the trade market to address at least one of those holes.
Hockey Canada Names World Championship Coaching Staff
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.
Bruce Boudreau To Return As Minnesota Head Coach
The Minnesota Wild made some big changes in the front office recently, but won’t be doing the same behind the bench. GM Paul Fenton spoke with reporters today and made it very clear that Bruce Boudreau will be back next season despite missing the playoffs this year. Fenton also explained that he will try to “fix this on the fly” instead of trying a full rebuild, and noted that players like Matt Dumba, Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise will be ready for training camp.
Boudreau, 64, has been with the Wild for three seasons and failed to get them past the first round of the playoffs in each of the first two. Missing completely led some to believe that he may be on his way out, given he wasn’t even hired by Fenton, but there are few with his history of success available. The former Washington and Anaheim bench boss trails only Scott Bowman and Jon Cooper in winning percentage among coaches with at least 500 games, and has still never had a season under .500 in his career. His resume also includes championships at both the ECHL and AHL level, and this season marks just the second time his NHL club has missed the playoffs. He won the Jack Adams award as Coach of the Year in 2008.
Even with all of that, the seat is certainly still hot in Minnesota. The team won’t be tearing down the walls to rebuild a roster that hasn’t been able to eclipse mediocrity, and if they don’t find success soon there will have to be changes. Fenton did already alter the look of the core group of players by trading away Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle and Mikael Granlund, and will likely have some more moves coming this summer. Boudreau’s task will now be putting all those new pieces together and getting back in the race in the Western Conference, and will do it on the last year of his current contract.
Perhaps some luck will come Boudreau’s way this evening when the draft lottery results are announced, and he’ll have a new star to set into his line up. Even if it doesn’t, he’ll have to find a way to get more production out of young forwards like Luke Kunin, Joel Eriksson Ek and Jordan Greenway.
Minnesota Wild Start Front Office Changes
If you though the changes in Minnesota were over following the big trades they made this season, you were wrong. Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required) reports that the team have fired former assistant general managers Andrew Brunette and Shep Harder along with lead hockey researcher Andrew C. Thomas. Russo adds that Chris O’Hearn could potentially be brought in as a replacement AGM, and Bruce Boudreau is expected to return as head coach.
All three of the people the Wild let go would’ve seen their contracts come to an end this summer, but that doesn’t change the fact that they were looking for a shakeup in the front office. After years of making the playoffs but failing to progress, the team brought in GM Paul Fenton to enact drastic change on the organization. The roster looks much different after veterans like Nino Niederreiter, Mikael Granlund and Charlie Coyle were all sent packing, and now the front office will have several new voices as well.
Brunette especially was a well known member of the Wild, going back to his playing days with the team. The veteran of 1,110 NHL games spent several seasons in Minnesota over two stints with the team, and re-joined the organization after retirement in 2012. Harder too had been with the team for more than a decade, starting as an intern.
The Wild missed the playoffs this year for the first time since 2012, but made a commitment to get younger by acquiring pieces like Victor Rask, Ryan Donato and Kevin Fiala. The team also signed top college free agent Nico Sturm, and will have a chance tomorrow at winning the draft lottery to move up in the first round. Still, there are big decisions to be made on what direction the team takes this summer. Veteran defenseman Jared Spurgeon will be entering the final year of his current contract and is eligible for an extension on July 1st. So too is Mikko Koivu, though his future depends much more on how his 36-year old body responds to a major knee injury.
There’s also plenty of work to be done, as Sturm, Donato, Fiala, Joel Eriksson Ek, Pontus Aberg are all restricted free agents that need new contracts. If all five of those players are back with full-time roles, there may not be enough room for the rest of the veteran group including Jason Zucker, who was close to being traded to the Calgary Flames at the deadline and could be a candidate to be moved this summer.
Todd McLellan Linked To Buffalo Sabres
Though there had been plenty of chatter surrounding the Los Angeles Kings and former Edmonton Oilers head coach Todd McLellan, the two may not be getting together after all. Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic tweets that McLellan is “closing in” on a deal with the Buffalo Sabres to become the team’s next head coach, which could be announced as soon as tomorrow. The Sabres have not officially commented one way or the other.
The Kings did ask for permission to speak with McLellan, who is still technically under contract with the Oilers despite having been relieved of his coaching duties. Some believed they were even closing in on a deal, though there is nothing confirmed from the Kings or the Sabres at this point. At the very least we know that McLellan will be behind the bench somewhere next season, returning to a career that brought him plenty of NHL success before his stint in Edmonton.
McLellan took over as head coach of the San Jose Sharks in 2008 and led the team to seven straight winning seasons. The club posted a 311-163-66 record under his watch and missed the playoffs only in his final year. Unfortunately the Sharks weren’t able to ever make a Stanley Cup Finals appearance with McLellan behind the bench, something they did in Peter DeBoer‘s first year.
In Edmonton, things didn’t go nearly as well. McLellan was brought in to stabilize the franchise and guide it back to glory in 2015 just before they selected Connor McDavid first overall. Unfortunately even McDavid hasn’t been able to help right the ship, as in McLellan’s four years the team only went to the playoffs a single time. He finished his Oilers career with a 123-119-24 record, certainly not good enough when icing one of the best players in the world every night.
Bob McKenzie of TSN notes on Twitter that nothing seems to be completed between the Sabres and McLellan, though the coach was already scheduled to be in the area for the NCAA Frozen Four. We’ll have to wait to see if the Sabres can lock him up, or if the Kings come back with a better offer to sway things back in their favor.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Hitchcock, Skinner
The NHL has released their three stars of last week, and in the lead is a player who has had quite a roller coaster season. Vladimir Tarasenko had seven points in four games to help secure a Central Division playoff spot for the St. Louis Blues, just months after being one of the players rumored to be drawing interest in trade negotiations. The Blues went from a team considering blowing up its core to one that very well could contend for the Stanley Cup, and Tarasenko’s turnaround is one of the reasons why. The 27-year old sniper scored 46 points in his final 39 games and was a +23 during that time, finishing the year with his fifth consecutive season of 33 or more goals.
It’s not just the Blues who have hot players heading into the playoffs though, as Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators and Alexander Radulov of the Dallas Stars take home the other two stars this week. Rinne is proving once again that he is one of the most reliable goaltenders in the entire league and enters the playoffs as Nashville’s presumptive starter despite a strong push by backup Juuse Saros. Radulov meanwhile finished his season strong and crossed the point-per-game threshold for the first time in his career, ending with 72 in 70 games played.
- The Edmonton Oilers will let their next GM decide what to do with the coaching position, as CEO Bob Nicholson told reporters today that Ken Hitchcock‘s time behind the bench has come to an end for the time being. The legendary coach was only meant to be in that position for the rest of this season, and though Nicholson wouldn’t rule out the idea of him returning, said the new GM will be able to hire who he wants. Hitchcock will stay in the Oilers organization as an advisor, something the incoming front office will need as they try to turn things around for the organization.
- After a disastrous season in Buffalo the Sabres fired their coach and held frustrated media availability today, but the focus will now turn to pending unrestricted free agent Jeff Skinner. The team has been in contact with Skinner’s representatives for some time, and the talented forward once again reiterated that he loves the city and organization and has “had a great time.” Skinner scored 40 goals for the first time in his career and could potentially be one of the very best forwards available this summer. The clock is ticking for the Sabres, as every day that passes makes the chance at free agency that much harder to resist.
USA Hockey Announces World Championship Coaching Staff
The upcoming IIHF World Championship will feature a USA Hockey squad led by GM Chris Drury and a very experienced coaching staff. The team announced today that Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill will serve in that role at the upcoming tournament, while John Hynes (New Jersey Devils), Dan Bylsma (Red Wings) and Kevin Reiter (USNTDP). Blashill will be leading the team for the third consecutive year.
Team USA will have quite a few outstanding options for the tournament, and have already started contacting players to see if they would be willing to suit up. Colin White and Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators, Alec Martinez of the Los Angeles Kings and Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks have already all been invited, though some are still taking time to make a decision. It seems likely that Blashill will try to convince Red Wings star forward Dylan Larkin, who has played in the last four tournaments and wore an “A” as alternate captain in the most recent.
The team was able to capture a bronze medal last year but will be looking for a different color this time around. The tournament kicks off on May 10th for the USA squad, with a matchup against Slovakia.