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Snapshots: Draft Rankings, Pilut, Matthews

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TSN has released a special top-15 ranking prior to tomorrow’s draft lottery, and Rasmus Dahlin remains the unanimous choice for first overall. Beyond that, the trio of forwards Andrei Svechnikov, Filip Zadina and Brady Tkachuk fill out 2-4 while four other defenseman land in the top ten.

There will undoubtedly be plenty of debate in the coming months, but one thing seems certain. Whoever wins the draft lottery tomorrow night will have Dahlin in their lineup come October. That may seem premature, but scouts seem to agree that he’ll be an impact player from day one. Make sure to tune in between the first and second periods of the Vegas Golden Knights-San Jose Sharks tomorrow night.

  • John Vogl of the Buffalo News reports on rumors that Lawrence Pilut has signed with the Buffalo Sabres, adding that a deal can’t be officially announced until the defenseman finishes his stint with the Swedish national team. Pilut, 22, registered 38 points for HV71 in the SHL this season, leading all defensemen. Undersized but talented, he would add some skill to a defense corps in Buffalo that has had trouble moving the puck in recent years.
  • Though there had been some rumors about a potential rift between Mike Babcock and Auston Matthews, both parties denied any problems when asked today during their season-ending media availability. Both men are obviously disappointed by the results of Wednesday’s game 7 against the Boston Bruins, but made it clear that nothing had changed in their relationship.

Edmonton To Make Several Coaching Changes

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1:40pm: The Oilers have confirmed the assignment for Woodcroft, and announced that Johnson and Ian Herbers would both not return to the team. McLellan will indeed remain head coach for the 2018-19 season. No word on who the new assistants will be so far.

8:30am: The Edmonton Oilers are expected to announce several changes to their coaching staff today, starting with the reassignment of Jay Woodcroft from NHL assistant to AHL head coach. Fellow assistant Jim Johnson will also not be back according to John Shannon of Sportsnet. The overwhelming belief is that recently fired Glen Gulutzan (Calgary Flames) and Trent Yawney (Anaheim Ducks) will be added to the NHL staff. If that happens, it likely means Todd McLellan would be staying on as head coach, though no one has confirmed his job yet.

It’s not clear exactly how everything will shake out in Edmonton, but there was clearly a need for some change after an incredibly disappointing season. The club was expected to be Stanley Cup contenders with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the way, but despite outstanding offensive performances from both players they found themselves near the bottom of the standings.

Gulutzan was replaced in Calgary after just two seasons, but is still well respected around the league. Working his way up from the ECHL, he’ll have to take a step backwards and wait for another head coaching opportunity to present itself. Yawney has a long history as a coach in the NHL, dating back to 1999-00 when he was an assistant with the Chicago Blackhawks. His contract wasn’t renewed by the Ducks, but it isn’t surprising to see him land on his feet quickly.

Latest On Carolina Coaching Search

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While the Carolina Hurricanes continue their search for a general manager, they also have to start looking for a head coach. Bill Peters exercised his out clause to go to the Calgary Flames, leaving the team without much in place for next season. One name that had been rumored to be a possibility was Jim Montgomery, but as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports, that “doesn’t appear to be a likely scenario” even after contact was made recently. Instead, Friedman lists Carolina assistant coach Rod Brind’Amour and Charlotte Checkers head coach Mike Vellucci as the most likely candidates.

Montgomery, the head coach of the University of Denver, has been connected to several coaching vacancies in the league the last few years. After winning at both the USHL and NCAA levels, he’s one of the hottest coaching prospects in North America and will likely earn a job somewhere in the NHL in the next few years. Though it doesn’t look like that’s in Carolina, keep him in mind for other vacancies as they appear.

Brind’Amour has been an assistant with the Hurricanes since almost immediately after his retirement from playing, and has long been considered a future head man. Dedicated to fitness and work ethic during his 1,484-game career, he might be able to instill the same kind of drive for a team under his control. Not to be undersold is his offensive mind though, after scoring 1,184 points in the NHL.

Vellucci is in his first year with the Checkers, but had a long history with the Plymouth Whalers in the OHL and has found immediate success in the AHL. Charlotte went 46-26-4 this season and is up 2-0 in their first round playoff series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (though as of this writing are tied 2-2 in Game 3).

Poll: Who Should Win Coach Of The Year?

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The Jack Adams is a tough trophy to award. Almost always based on team success relative to the prior year, or in the face of injury, it’s an award whose voters rarely have all of the pertinent information. No one can say for sure what is the best coaching method, or how one individual decision affected the results of an entire hockey team.

That said, the league seemed—from the outside at least—to have an excellent field of coaches to choose from this year. Three finalists were named in Gerard Gallant (Vegas), Jared Bednar (Colorado) and Bruce Cassidy (Boston), but other names like John Hynes (New Jersey), Paul Maurice (Winnipeg) and Peter Laviolette (Nashville) all could have found themselves in the race in any other year.

The question is should they have been in the race this year? Should someone else, like Jon Cooper or Peter DeBoer have been considered? What exactly determines the “coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success” in your mind? While Gallant may be the expected winner by many around the league, should he be?

Vote below on not who you think will win, but who you think should win the Jack Adams trophy. Our similar poll for the Calder resulted in different finalists, while our readership picked the same top three for the Norris. Remember this is based on regular season results, not the first round of the playoffs. Explain your choice in the comment section below.

Who should win Coach of the Year?
Gerard Gallant (VGK) 62.76% (487 votes)
Bruce Cassidy (BOS) 14.18% (110 votes)
Jared Bednar (COL) 9.28% (72 votes)
Other (leave in comments) 4.51% (35 votes)
Paul Maurice (WPG) 4.12% (32 votes)
John Hynes (NJD) 3.09% (24 votes)
Peter Laviolette (NSH) 2.06% (16 votes)
Total Votes: 776

[Mobile users click here to vote!]

NHL Announces Jack Adams Award Finalists

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There won’t be much debate about the nominees for this award. The finalists for the Jack Adams Award, given each year to the NHL’s best head coach, have been released by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association. Reported first by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the 2018 finalists are the Boston Bruins’ Bruce Cassidy, the Colorado Avalanche’s Jared Bednar, and the Vegas Golden Knights’ Gerard Gallant. 

With all due respect to Cassidy and Bednar, the Jack Adams this season has been a foregone conclusion for some time, with only a race for second-place ongoing. The work that Gallant has done in the inaugural season for the expansion Golden Knights has been nothing short of miraculous. Gallant took a hotchpot of cast-off players from around the league who had never played together before and turned them into the most successful expansion team in North American sports history. Vegas’ roster is the definition of a sum greater than its parts, as no one could have predicted the success that this team would have based on the past performances of its players. That has a lot to do with Gallant, who has gotten his players to buy in to the system and it had rewarded them in turn.

Cassidy and Bednar rightfully deserve the recognition, though. Cassidy’s nomination feels like a continuation of his success to close out the 2016-17 season as well; the Bruins are 68-38-13 since Cassidy took over for Claude Julien last February. Under his guidance, rookies like Charlie McAvoy, Jake DeBrusk, and Danton Heinen have flourished and the Bruins have transformed into one of the best teams in the league. No one could have seen that coming this season. Even more unlikely was a return to the playoffs for the Avalanche, however. Bednar worked his magic on a young, inexperienced, and somewhat incomplete lineup, helping Nathan MacKinnon to an MVP-caliber season and leading the team to nearly double the success from a historically bad 2016-17 campaign, going from 48 points to 95 points.

While Gallant may be the overwhelming favorite for the award this season, this is a class of Jack Adams finalists that will be looked back on as one of the best and most deserving of all time, with three head coaches who truly “contributed to his team’s success”.

Front Office Updates: Hurricanes, Wild, Islanders

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When last the Carolina Hurricanes’ GM search was updated, it was a distressing situation with several candidates reporting that they were not interested in the position. At least one initial candidate has remained in conversation with new owner Tom Dundon, though. Buffalo Sabres Assistant GM Steve Greeley will be in Raleigh again tomorrow, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger. Greeley will have his follow-up interview for the ’Canes GM job, which right now puts him two interviews ahead of most other potential candidates. Since his last interview, Carolina has added finding a new head coach to the top of the list of duties for whoever fills their GM role. Bill Peters opted out of his position as Carolina’s coach last week, leaving the team with two major vacancies to fill. Despite a strong and eclectic resume – in addition to the Sabres’ AGM, Greeley has been the New York Rangers’ Assistant Director of Player Personnel, an associate head coach at Boston University, and a pro scout for the Los Angeles Kings – hiring a coach is something Greeley does not have experience with. Although, neither does Dundon, so perhaps Greeley’s lack of background in that one area won’t affect his candidacy.

  • One of the first people to back out of Carolina’s search last month was Nashville Predators Assistant GM Paul Fenton. It now appears that Fenton simply wasn’t interested in that particular job, as he is clearly focused on another opening. Earlier today, Fenton was tabbed as one of the favorites for the newly-open Minnesota Wild GM job. Now it had been confirmed (subscription required) by The Athletic’s Michael Russo that Fenton was actually in Minneapolis all day today to have his initial interview for the Wild position. Per Russo, Fenton spent the day with Wild owner Craig Leipold and team president Matt Majka. By all accounts, this is the first interview for Minnesota’s GM vacancy, which firmly places Fenton as the leading candidate.
  • The man who Fenton would be replacing is Chuck Fletcher, whose successful albeit unspectacular run in Minnesota came to end on Monday. However, Fletcher did build a perennial playoff team and is well-respected across the league. For that reason, it would be a surprise to see him unemployed for very long. One possible fit is with the New York Islanders, who are seeking a “top executive” to work with Garth Snow. Fenton was considered a candidate for this job as well, but now that Fletcher is available, he could be the top option. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal even thinks that Fletcher is a strong enough hockey mind to not only assist Snow, but supplant him.

Washington Capitals Will Not Bring Back AHL Coaching Staff

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The Washington Capitals were expected to make sweeping changes if they didn’t perform well in another playoff run, with Barry Trotz’ coaching staff feeling the heat of perennial postseason disappointment. Those changes have begun in the AHL, as the organization announced it would not renew the contract for Hershey Bears head coach Troy Mann or assistant coach Ryan Murphy.

The Bears failed to reach the postseason this year, finishing last in the Atlantic Division with a 30-37-9 record. Interestingly, that was the team’s first playoff miss under Mann, who assumed head coaching duties in 2014 after previously serving as an assistant with the club. In his previous three seasons the team had progressed to the second round each year, including reaching the Calder Cup Finals in his second year as head coach.

Mann likely won’t be out of work for long, but it will be interesting to see how long it takes the Capitals to replace him. The AHL replacement should be one that can work well with his NHL counterpart, using similar systems and player development. If the team is still entertaining thoughts of removing Trotz from his position behind the bench, his replacement should likely be in place before an AHL coach is hired.

Patrick Roy To Return To Quebec Remparts

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Patrick Roy’s exit from the Colorado Avalanche was anything but smooth, resigning his post as head coach less than two months before the 2016-17 season began. The club moved on to Jared Bednar, who eventually turned them around in year two and took them to the playoffs.

Now, Roy will return to coaching in an old stomping ground. Mikael Lalancette of TVA Sports is reporting that the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL will announced Roy’s return as head coach tomorrow. The Remparts recently lost their head coach when Philippe Boucher resigned after five seasons with the team. Roy had coached the team for parts of eight seasons previous to his time in Colorado.

Roy had a 349-159-37 record during his first stint with the team, taking them to the QMJHL playoffs every season. They didn’t take home a league championship during that time, but will try again with the legendary goaltender at the helm.

West Notes: Koskinen, Wild, Gulutzan

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With the Oilers believed to be the frontrunners to sign goaltender Mikko Koskinen, Postmedia’s Jim Matheson speculates that the deal could be one of the richer ones for a backup, suggesting that it could be in the range of $2MM per season.  While on the surface, that may seem pricey for someone with next to no track record in the NHL (just four underwhelming appearances with the Islanders in 2010-11), it’s still somewhat understandable as he has been one of the top KHL netminders in recent years and would undoubtedly command a sizable contract if he were to remain there.  However, if the final deal winds up being around that cap hit, that will further whittle away at Edmonton’s somewhat limited cap room heading into 2018-19.

More from the West:

  • Zach Parise wasn’t the only notable Wild player dealing with an injury. Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune notes that center Joel Eriksson Ek played through the postseason with an injury that prevented him from taking many faceoffs while head coach Bruce Boudreau acknowledged that center Charlie Coyle was playing through a couple of injuries as well.  Neither of those players, nor Zach Parise (sternum) and Ryan Suter (ankle), will require surgery.
  • Given his track record of working with younger players, Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma suggests that recently-fired coach Glen Gulutzan could be a fit once again in Vancouver. He had worked with the Canucks for three years as an assistant before taking the head coaching job with Calgary.  GM Jim Benning stated that the team is still figuring out the plan for their assistants heading into 2018-19 but if they want to bring Gulutzan back in his old role, they may have to move quickly as Kuzma reports that two other rebuilding teams have already reached out to him to gauge his interest in a similar spot to work with their young players.

Snapshots: Sweden, Voynov, Yawney

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Sweden released their preliminary roster for the upcoming World Championships, and it is loaded with NHL talent. John Klingberg, Adam Larsson, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Erik Gustafsson, Adrian Kempe, Mikael Backlund, Johan Larsson, Mattias Janmark, Lias Andersson, Jacob de La Rose, Magnus Paajarvi and Mika Zibanejad will all be heading to the tournament for the Swedes.

Though obviously this group is missing some of their top options like Erik Karlsson and Henrik Zetterberg, it will also have some very interesting young players filling the gaps. Vegas Golden Knights draft pick Erik Brannstrom will be among the defense corps, and Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 in Vancouver expects Elias Pettersson will be added soon.

  • There have been some conflicting reports on Slava Voynov’s potential return to the NHL, but Arthur Staple of The Athletic can make one thing very clear. The New York Islanders have not reached out to anyone connected to the former NHL player, and have “zero interest” in bringing him aboard. Whether or not any team will actually sign the 28-year old defenseman is still unclear.
  • The Anaheim Ducks will not bring back assistant coach Trent Yawney next season, choosing not to renew his contract. Yawney has been with the Ducks organization for seven seasons, first as head coach of their AHL affiliate (Syracuse, then Norfolk) and the last four seasons as an assistant to Bruce Boudreau and Randy Carlyle in the NHL.

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