Pacific Notes: Flames, Lindholm, Oilers, Hughes
The Calgary Flames did more than just swap some players earlier today when they traded Dougie Hamilton, Micheal Ferland and prospect Adam Fox in exchange for Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin. The team finally made the changes it had said it would after a dismal second half of the season. Despite starting a solid 25-16-4 through Jan. 14, the team instead fell apart, putting up a 13-23-6 second half in which the team looked disinterested and forced the Flames to make changes.
The Calgary Sun’s Eric Francis suggests that this is just the beginning of changes for Calgary and suggests that moving Hamilton was the start of it. The scribe reports that Hamilton’s apathy was an issue in the clubhouse, so just moving on from him is a positive step in fixing the Flames’ issues. The Flames also rid themselves of Fox, currently playing for Harvard University and who was unlikely to sign with Calgary as they are deep in blueline prospects. Postmedia’s Kristen Anderson interviewed Flames GM Brad Treliving, who added that Ferland’s unrestricted free agent status next season was a key reason the team moved him. “Michael is a warrior and has one year left on his contract and will be a UFA. That always comes into consideration,” Treliving said.
- Sticking with the Flames, Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg reports that Lindholm is likely to be given a much bigger role than he had in Carolina as he is expected to start the season on the team’s first line playing the wing alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. The former fifth-overall pick in 2013 has put up solid numbers, but hasn’t had a breakout season yet. He finished last season with 16 goals and 44 points. Lindholm, who is a restricted free agent, along with Hanifin, both need to be signed as they rejected initial offers from Carolina, which prompted the trade.
- The Edmonton Oilers announced they have extended qualifying offers to restricted free agents Darnell Nurse, Ryan Strome and Anton Slepyshev. Not offering them a qualifying offer would allow them to become unrestricted free agents. Nurse was one of the few bright spots on Edmonton’s defense. He had a career year, averaging 22:15 of ice time and scored six goals and had 26 assists on the year. Strome, who came over from the New York Islanders last offseason, had a quiet year with his new team, putting up 13 goals and 34 points, while Slepyshev continued in his struggles to break out in the NHL as he potted just six goals in 50 games played. All three, however, still are considered promising players. The only restricted free agent who was not mentioned as receiving a qualifying offer was Iiro Pakarinen, who has already signed a deal to return to the KHL next season.
- Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Sun writes that there is belief around the Canucks that defenseman Quinn Hughes, the team’s first-round pick in the draft, might be ready to contribute to the Canucks immediately. The scribe writes that general manager Jim Benning feels that Hughes is close to ready now. “I just look at that world championship and he was playing against NHL players,” Benning said. “He didn’t look out of place at all. He’s never going to run guys over but he has a good stick. He understands angles.” Hughes, who might be the best skater to come out of this draft, is the perfect compliment to coach Travis Green‘s system, according to Botchford.
Red Wings Name Dan Bylsma Assistant Coach
The Red Wings have brought in a veteran behind their bench, announcing that they have named Dan Bylsma as an assistant coach. He replaces John Torchetti who was let go at the end of the season.
Head coach Jeff Blashill had the following to say about his newest assistant:
“I know that Dan will make a great impact on our team, and we’re excited to add him to the bench. His resume speaks for itself, including the Stanley Cup championship and Jack Adams Award. I also had the unique opportunity to work with Dan at this year’s World Championship, and that experience leaves no doubt that Dan will bring innovative ideas and tremendous attention to detail to our coaching staff.”
Bylsma has predominantly worked as a head coach in recent years. He spent parts of six seasons in that role with the Penguins, making the playoffs each time while winning the Stanley Cup back in his first year with the team in 2009. He also served as the bench boss in Buffalo in 2015-16 and 2016-17 but his teams posted a sub-.500 record in both years which resulted in him being let go along with GM Tim Murray last spring.
Worth noting is that Blashill is entering the final year of his contract. If the team struggles out of the gate, Detroit now has a veteran replacement on their bench that could step into the role at any time.
Barry Trotz Named Head Coach Of New York Islanders
1:30 PM: The Islanders have officially announced Trotz’s hiring.
11:25 AM: Though nothing is official yet, multiple sources including Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Darren Dreger of TSN and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic have reported that the New York Islanders are closing in on a deal with Barry Trotz to become their next head coach. Friedman reports that a deal is likely to be for five years, and worth at least $4MM. That would go along with what Arthur Staple of The Athletic (subscription required) had heard, though he suggested it would be “in the neighborhood” of $5MM per season.
Trotz is coming off a Stanley Cup championship with the Washington Capitals, but resigned on Monday after the two sides weren’t able to work out a salary for a potential two-year extension. Trotz was out of work for just a few days, and snatched up by Lou Lamoriello and the Islanders to fill their vacancy at head coach. Lamoriello had relieved Doug Weight of his coaching duties earlier this offseason after taking control of the team, and was likely waiting to see what would happen with Trotz before making a move on anyone else. Lamoriello had this to say to Andrew Gross of Newsday:
Barry brings to the New York Islanders franchise a tremendous amount of knowledge, experience and success. He is and has been one of the top coaches in the National Hockey League. I am excited to have the opportunity to work with him.
The Islanders are currently in a key negotiation with superstar John Tavares as free agency approaches, and the stability that Lamoriello and now Trotz will bring to the organization can only be a positive for the team. Though Tavares has never said anything to suggest he wouldn’t want to re-sign in New York, he’s just days away from being allowed to speak with other teams and just over a week away from becoming an unrestricted free agent. Tavares would represent arguably the biggest free agent to hit the market in the salary cap era, and should command a massive long-term contract. The Islanders have the advantage of offering an eighth year, but only up until July 1st when they would be limited to seven seasons just like anyone else.
New York struggled last season keeping the puck out of their net, and after Tavares the goaltending situation is likely the biggest issue on the agenda for Lamoriello this summer. It’s now easy to make the connection between Trotz and Philipp Grubauer, the backup goaltender in Washington who is on the market after expressing that he wants a chance to start somewhere. It was Trotz who actually started the playoffs with Grubauer, believing in him as the Capitals’ best option in net ahead of a struggling Braden Holtby. While Holtby would eventually reclaim his starting role and lead the Capitals to a Stanley Cup win, Trotz obviously feels comfortable putting Grubauer out on a regular basis.
The Islanders do have a good nucleus to build around though, especially if Tavares returns for the next part of his career. Mathew Barzal showed that he can be an elite offensive producer in his first season, scoring 85 points while anchoring the second line and powerplay. The team has several solid options on the wing, and some good young defensemen in Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech. While there is certainly work to be done, Trotz is not walking into a disaster that needs a complete tear down.
The team has also secured a permanent home for the future, as they are expected to move into a new facility in Belmont Park for the 2021-22 season. While that is still a few years away, a summer where they bring in Lamoriello, Trotz and lock up Tavares would certainly be a step in the right direction for a franchise that has floundered without a real home or any stability for several years.
Morning Notes: Trotz, Predators, Saints
The future is still cloudy for reigning Stanley Cup Champion head coach Barry Trotz, as no one has a clear read on where he will go next. Trotz resigned from the Washington Capitals after the two sides couldn’t agree on a salary increase, and now there is rampant speculation that he will join the New York Islanders under Lou Lamoriello. Nothing under Lamoriello though is ever certain until a press release is given out—and even those can be misleading at times—which is why Arthur Staple of The Athletic (subscription required) can’t say for sure what’s about to happen.
Staple writes that some of his sources around the league believe Trotz has already agreed to come on board with the Islanders for what would likely be a five-year deal worth around $25MM, but knows Lamoriello well enough to not report any guarantees. Staple writes that there was “stony silence” on Wednesday from everyone involved. The Islanders fired head coach Doug Weight quickly after Lamoriello took control of the hockey operations, and are one of only two (including Washington) vacancies around the league.
*Moments after posting this, both Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Darren Dreger of TSN reported that the Islanders and Trotz were closing in on a deal.
- The Nashville Predators have shuffled around some people in the organization, promoting Tom Nolan to Chief Amateur Scout in the wake of Jeff Kealty being bumped up from that position to Assistant General Manager. The team has also moved Stan Drulia from the coaching side of the Milwaukee Admirals to the scouting division within the Predators front office. All of these moves were caused by long-time AGM Paul Fenton accepting a role in Minnesota, allowing an opportunity to move everyone up a step on the executive ladder. Nolan has been credited with finding a ton of the Predators top players, with the team release naming Ryan Ellis, Kevin Fiala, Colton Sissons, Eeli Tolvanen, Viktor Arvidsson and Juuse Saros as players drafted as a direct result of his work. He’ll try again tomorrow night when the Predators will have to wait until the third round to make a selection.
- The Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL have been purchased by a group of former and current NHL players and coaches. Names like Johnny Gaudreau, Zemgus Girgensons, Dan Bylsma and Peter Luukko have surfaced from the sale, a move that several other former players have done in various junior leagues around the world. Gaudreau played one season for the Saints in 2010-11, scoring 72 points in 60 games and winning the league championship before heading to Boston College.
Darryl Sutter Announces Retirement From Coaching
He hasn’t been behind the bench for an NHL game in over a year, and now Darryl Sutter has decided he won’t be coming back. The Stanley Cup champion from a legendary hockey family has hung up his clipboard, and exchanged his suit and tie for a more comfortable life on his Alberta farm. According to Eric Francis of Sportsnet, Sutter won’t be considered for the new vacancy in Washington, and has decided to spend his days with his family instead of the grind of an NHL schedule.
Sutter, 59, won two Stanley Cups as the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings, a role he was relieved of last summer when the organization brought in new management. Many have speculated about his return, and his name has been linked to almost every coaching vacancy in the last year. His physical, defensive teams set a model in the Western Conference that has been replicated—to varying degrees of success—by almost the entire league at one point or another, and his hilariously low-key and tight lipped media appearances were always entertaining regardless of how the team was doing on the ice.
It’s important to note that he’s taken several years away from hockey in between jobs before, and with coaching nothing ever seems final. As the years go on there will likely be rumors about him coming out of retirement, but for now the plan seems to be set for Sutter. He’ll end his NHL coaching career with a 634-467-83 record with 101 ties, putting him 14th on the all-time list for coaching wins.
Snapshots: Trotz, Tavares, Salary Cap, Seattle
As soon as Barry Trotz announced his resignation from the Washington Capitals, the vast majority of speculation pointed to him joining the Metropolitan Division-rival New York Islanders, now under the control of famed executive Lou Lamoriello. Recent events will only add fuel to that fire. Newsday’s Andrew Gross believes that Lamoriello prefers to have a coach named before the beginning of the NHL Draft in Dallas on Friday. While Gross notes that Lamoriello will not rush if time doesn’t permit him to fully consider his choice, it seems likely that Lamoriello knows who he wants and simply wants to finalize terms ahead of a major roster-building event. Yet there have been no reports of any candidates formally interviewing for the Islanders’ head coach vacancy, though several names have been brought up so far. However, who was spotted at an airport in Newark yesterday but Trotz. As expected, it seems Trotz is likely on his way in to New York to meet with Lamoriello and the Islanders and, if all goes well, Lamoriello will make the call prior to the draft.
- Another important note for the pace of the Islanders’ head coach hiring is its impact on the John Tavares situation. With each day closer to the opening of free agency, the Isles lose control over their superstar player. If Lamoriello can land Trotz, one of the top coaches in the game, it could help to finalize an extension with Tavares. However, at this point it seems inevitable that Tavares will at least meet with interested teams. In fact, he and agent Pat Brisson have already whittled down the suitors. While no organizations have been specifically named, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that if Tavares entertains other offers, he will likely only meet with up to five other teams. This self-limited market could benefit the Islanders, but it could also indicate to each of the five teams that they have a legitimate chance of signing Tavares and could up the ante. Only time will tell as July 1st fast approaches.
- As teams get ready to spend this summer, there is still some question as to what limit they will have. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly estimated earlier this month that the salary cap ceiling for 2018-19 would rise to somewhere between $78-82MM from its current $75MM. This would present quite a jump, but still leaves teams with a $4MM window of possibility. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston states that clarification is coming soon. He expects an official announcement in the next day or two, likely prior to the start of the draft on Friday. Johnston estimates a narrower range of possibility, speculating that the cap limit will be somewhere on the lower end to midpoint of the original projection, between $79-80MM.
- Looking further ahead, Don Muret of the Oak View Group relayed information today from recently named CEO and President of the Seattle expansion team Tod Leiweke. Leiweke, the younger brother of Oak View CEO and part owner in the venture Tim Leiweke, has clarified the timeline of the expansion process somewhat over the next year or so. Leiweke stated that both the NHL Board of Governors and the city of Seattle will have their final vote in early September. Assuming the team is moving forward, they will break ground on a new stadium in October. Leiweke expects that construction will be a two-year project, likely meaning that Seattle’s inaugural season will be 2020-21. Regardless, Leiweke and company expect to reveal a name for the future team in the first quarter of 2019. This process is moving a bit slower than it did with the Vegas Golden Knights, but still seems to be full steam ahead.
Dan Bylsma Expected To Return To NHL Coaching Role
Stanley Cup-winning head coach Dan Bylsma didn’t have a job in the NHL in 2017-18 after being fired by the Buffalo Sabres, but could be back behind a bench for next season. Bob McKenzie of TSN tweets that Bylsma could be hired this week as an assistant, with the Detroit Red Wings being the most likely destination. Bylsma recently coached with Detroit head coach Jeff Blashill at the World Championships.
Bylsma won a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009 after taking over from Michel Therrien, and took the club to five straight playoff appearances thereafter. Unable to get them back to the Finals though, Bylsma was replaced by Mike Johnston and a year later took a job with the Buffalo Sabres, where he recorded a sub-.500 record in two seasons. Fired along with GM Tim Murray last spring, Bylsma spent the year as a broadcaster for NHL Network but was always a candidate to be hired eventualy.
The Red Wings let John Torchetti go at the end of the year, and recently lost AHL head coach Todd Nelson to the Dallas Stars. Bylsma joining Blashill’s staff would certainly give the group some more experience, and put a Jack Adams award winner behind the bench once again in Detroit.
Barry Trotz Will Not Return As Head Coach Of Washington Capitals
Huge news today for the Washington Capitals, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that head coach Barry Trotz will be stepping down. Trotz was no longer in the final year of his contract as many believed. Friedman reports that winning the Stanley Cup had triggered a potential two-year extension for Trotz, but the two sides could not come to an agreement on salary. The Capitals will allow Trotz to immediately begin talking to other teams, essentially making him a free agent right away. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that the two-year extension would have come with just a $300K salary boost, which would have kept him vastly underpaid at just $1.8MM per season. The team released a statement moments after Friedman’s report:
Barry Trotz informed the organization today of his decision to resign as head coach of the Washington Capitals. We are obviously disappointed by Barry’s decision, but would like to thank Barry for all his efforts the past four years and for helping bring the Stanley Cup to Washington. Barry is a man of high character and integrity and we are grateful for his leadership and for all that he has done for our franchise.
The only current other opening in the NHL for a head coach is with the New York Islanders, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Trotz is headed to work with Lou Lamoriello. As we’ve seen in the past, teams are willing to fire their current coach when an elite option comes available, and Trotz certainly qualifies. In four seasons as head coach of the Capitals, Trotz compiled a 205-89-34 record and won more games than he lost in the playoffs even before this season’s championship run. In fifteen years with the Nashville Predators, Trotz went 557-479-100 with 60 ties. He now ranks fifth all-time in coaching wins, behind just Scotty Bowman, Joel Quenneville, Ken Hitchcock and Al Arbour.
A dozen or more teams could potentially move to hire Trotz, though it’s not clear yet who would actually fire their current coach for the chance. The Islanders obviously present the most obvious opportunity, and it could be another move to try and impress John Tavares before his upcoming free agency. Lamoriello fired head coach Doug Weight quickly after taking over, and has worked with high-price coaches before, most notably with Mike Babcock recently in Toronto. Babcock and Quenneville are the highest paid coaches in the league, a list Trotz will likely hope to add his name to in the coming days.
For Washington, this is obviously huge news but may not come as much of a surprise. As recently as last summer the team was reported to be seriously considering moving on from him, after being thrown out of the playoffs by the Pittsburgh Penguins once again. Heading into the season on his final year—championship clause not withstanding—there was always a real possibility that the two teams would part ways. The fact that it comes after the team lifted their first Stanley Cup in franchise history is shocking, but is understandable if the team was unwilling to offer a large increase in salary.
The Capitals now will have to search elsewhere for their head coaching job, but may not have to look very far. Todd Reirden, named associate coach of the team two years ago, has been blocked from interviewing with other teams in the past and is an obvious candidate to replace Trotz for the 2018-19 season. Some teams prefer to not promote assistants because of their different relationships with the players, but in this case there might not be a better option. Reirden was a head coach in the AHL briefly before joining the Pittsburgh Penguins’ coaching staff in 2010.
Potential Seattle Ownership Group Hires Dave Tippett
As we get closer and close to an NHL franchise in Seattle, the group of investors trying to bring hockey to the Pacific Northwest has brought in an interesting name. Dave Tippett, former head coach of the Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars and Los Angeles Kings, has been hired as a senior advisor according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
Tippett will have several responsibilities in the organization including the building of a training facility and acquiring a potential AHL affiliate. Obviously this will draw speculation that Tippett is in line to be the organization’s first head coach, though Baker couldn’t confirm that with anyone at this point. The 56-year old coach was fired by the Coyotes in the summer of 2017 after nearly a decade behind the team’s bench.
As Craig Morgan of AZ Sports adds on Twitter, Tippett already has family ties to the area, making it a good fit for the out of work coach. That and the fact that any expansion team needs experienced voices in the front office and coaching staff right away made him a good candidate, and unsurprisingly hired this early.
Seattle isn’t even guaranteed a team yet, though all signs point to one being awarded before long. The investing group led by Tim and Tod Leiweke have now brought in a key piece of their organization, though there is still a long way to go before we see an NHL game in the city.
Arizona’s Moves Continue To Improve Coyotes Team
With the recent acquisition of Alex Galchenyuk, the Arizona Coyotes are well on their way to taking another step towards building a winning team in the desert. If you add the players Arizona acquired last year at this time, a full year under the belt of coach Rick Tocchet and the continued development of their young players, the team seems to be heading in the right direction and the team is starting to get excited.
Throw in franchise defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson as someone who sees the changes. Many thought Ekman-Larsson might spurn the struggling franchise, yet he agreed to sign an eight-year, $66MM extension last week. Just last year, the team went out and traded their first-round pick (seventh overall) to the New York Rangers and picked up two key pieces to their team in center Derek Stepan and goaltender Antti Raanta. Stepan has continued his solid play, while Raanta put up a solid second half of the season after an injury-plagued first half, putting up a 2.24 GAA and a .930 save percentage in 47 games. He has also been rewarded with a three-year, $12.75MM extension, which kicks in this year. Chayka also went out and traded for veteran defensemen Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jason Demers in separate deals last year.
While many people felt that after a flurry of moves a year ago, the Coyotes would make a huge jump in the standings, that didn’t happen, especially after starting the season with an 11-game losing streak. However, their second half showed more of that improvement as the team had a stretch towards the end of the season in which it went 17-8-3.
Regardless, there seems to be a lot going right for the Coyotes right now, according to NBC Sports’ James O’Brien. The scribe points out some key facts, including the initial reaction to the Galchenyuk deal has been positive. While it’s too early to tell, Galchenyuk’s chances of becoming a solid player is quite a bit higher than Max Domi, who the Coyotes sent back to Montreal. Assuming that Galchenyuk can make the conversion to center, that would relieve some stress from the team’s lack of depth at that position. Now if the team wants to move Dylan Strome or Christian Dvorak to the wing position, there won’t be extra pressure to keep him at center due to their lack of depth.
One other key factor is the team still has an enormous amount of young players who could be ready to take that next step. Clayton Keller scored 23 goals in his rookie year and could improve on that exponentially. Other players like Dvorak, Jakob Chychrun, Strome, Brendan Perlini and Christian Fischer could also take that next step. And don’t forget the sixth pick in next week’s draft.
The team also still has plenty of cap space available with more than $18MM in space waiting for them to use. They could dip into the free agency market or continuing to add players through trade. However, with the way Chayka is constantly tweaking this team, there are likely more changes to come.