Morning Notes: Pacioretty, Ducks, Couturier
The Montreal Canadiens had a terribly disappointing 2017-18 season, marred by constant trade speculation around their captain and star winger Max Pacioretty. The 29-year old forward escaped the trade deadline with the same address, but could still be on the move this summer. Arpon Basu of The Athletic (subscription required) examines the value Pacioretty holds on the trade market, and in a potential contract extension.
Interestingly, what happens to Pacioretty could be a domino of sorts for the Canadiens offseason. With the team unable to really begin a rebuild thanks to the huge contracts (and strong play when healthy) of Carey Price and Shea Weber, they are expected to be big players in free agency and could go after the top names this summer and next. If they do move their captain, expect a big splash to follow shortly after.
- The Anaheim Ducks are on the brink of elimination again, and Elliotte Friedman spoke with Sportsnet Radio in Vancouver about where they are headed if they face another early exit. Friedman opines that perhaps they’ll start looking at their core forwards and consider changing things up, though points out that all three of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Ryan Kesler have no-movement clauses. It would have seemed ridiculous to suggest the Ducks moving on from Perry a few seasons ago, but with him failing to hit the 20-goal plateau for two straight years, anything is possible.
- Sean Couturier was injured in practice yesterday when he collided with Radko Gudas, but Philadelphia Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol says he’s a game-time decision for tonight’s matchup. While this simply could be gamesmanship by Hakstol to hide the severity of the injury, it would be a huge boost for Philadelphia if Couturier has suffered only a minor injury. If he does miss the game, Claude Giroux could slide back to center, a role he played for nearly his whole career before moving to the wing this year.
Calgary Flames Fire Glen Gulutzan
The Calgary Flames have dropped the hammer after a disappointing season, firing head coach Glen Gulutzan and assistants Dave Cameron and Paul Jerrard. The team will be looking for a new coach once again, after hiring Gulutzan just two seasons ago.
The Flames were supposed to be Stanley Cup contenders this season, trading away several draft picks to acquire Travis Hamonic and Mike Smith to solidify their defense and goaltending. It seemed to have the opposite effect, as the Flames missed the playoffs entirely even while Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan put up excellent seasons. Too many nights the team was unable to control their opposition, something that will be laid at the feet of the coaching staff.
Gulutzan was hired in June of 2016 and was praised for his work with young players in the ECHL and AHL, but like his stint as head coach of the Dallas Stars it didn’t work out in Calgary. Even with an 82-68-14 record through his two seasons, a first-round sweep last season marked the beginning of the end. The Ducks walked right through Calgary, with Gulutzan’s decision to start—and then immediately pull—Brian Elliott in Game 4 coming under much criticism.
Candidates to replace Gulutzan haven’t been confirmed, but the spotlight immediately turns to Bill Peters in Carolina. Peters has been tenuously linked to Calgary over the last few weeks, and has until Friday to exercise an out clause in his current contract. If it’s not Peters, there are certainly several experienced coaches floating around the league—Willie Dejardins, Alain Vigneault and Lindy Ruff come to mind—that could be potential candidates.
Injury Notes: Hornqvist, Couturier, Jets
The Pittsburgh Penguins will have Kris Letang in the lineup despite missing practice as a “maintenance day” but won’t be as lucky with Patric Hornqvist. The high-energy winger is out for Game 4 against the Philadelphia Flyers and has been listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Hornqvist has three points in the first three games for the Penguins, and is an integral part of their powerplay unit as the net front presence. The team certainly has enough firepower to get by without him, but any loss to their forward group will test the depth of the lower lines.
- While Pittsburgh deals with an injury to Hornqvist, the Flyers might be missing an even more important player after Sean Couturier left practice following a collision with Radko Gudas (video from Jamie Apody of 6abc Sports). Head coach Dave Hakstol didn’t have an update after practice but said he’d have an answer at game time tomorrow. He did still list Michal Neuvirth as day-to-day, though the goaltender isn’t expected to start even when he is deemed healthy.
- With Tyler Myers already ruled out, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun reports that Toby Enstrom was also still missing from practice today and isn’t expected to play. That means Tucker Poolman will make his playoff debut, in his first professional season. The Jets were also without Adam Lowry and Matthieu Perreault at practice, though Wiebe expects Lowry to be in the lineup when they take on the Minnesota Wild tonight.
John Torchetti Will Not Return To Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings have already made their decision on bringing head coach Jeff Blashill back for another year, but he won’t be coming with the same group of assistants. John Torchetti, who has served as an assistant coach since 2016, will not return according to Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required).
Torchetti, 53, has a long history of coaching in the NHL, serving briefly as head coach of Florida, Los Angeles and Minnesota during transition periods for the three organizations. He also has experience as a head coach in the AHL and CHL, and even a year behind the bench of CSKA Moscow in the KHL.
Under Torchetti, the Detroit powerplay sat 24th in the league this season at just over 17% and the club struggled to score enough goals on a regular basis. The Red Wings finished 28th in goals for, and clearly needed a change to their offensive identity. For better or worse, that change will come as a new assistant for Blashill’s group, who will likely be tasked with improving their efficiency with the man advantage next season.
Injury Notes: Burakovsky, Myers, Komarov
The Washington Capitals are down 2-0 in their first round series after two heartbreaking overtime losses on home ice, and now they have injury trouble to deal with as well. Andre Burakovsky will be out at least two games with an upper-body injury and is not travelling with the team to Columbus.
Burakovsky didn’t take the step forward that many had hoped for this season, registering just 25 points in 56 games while dealing with injury. The 23-year old first-round pick has now failed to crack 20 goals or 40 points in each of his first four seasons, while suiting up for just 252 games. Washington will have to try and climb out of the hole without him, a tough task as they head on the road to an arena that smells blood.
- The Winnipeg Jets wouldn’t offer a real update on Tyler Myers‘ status after leaving yesterday’s game with an apparently lower-body injury. Head coach Paul Maurice instead deferred to Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun for an update, who jokingly announced Myers to be day-to-day. Maurice disagrees with the decision that Marcus Foligno‘s hit on Myers isn’t worth supplementary discipline, but wouldn’t go further on his thoughts regarding it. If Myers is forced from the lineup, Tucker Poolman could draw in for the Jets as they look to bounce back from a 6-2 loss.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs will go without Leo Komarov in tonight’s matchup with the Boston Bruins, after the veteran forward suffered a lower-body injury in Game 2. That means, when combined with the absence of Nazem Kadri who is still serving his three-game suspension, that Tomas Plekanec will suddenly be promoted to the second line. Plekanec will center Patrick Marleau and Mitch Marner in an attempt to slow down the Boston offense, which has scored 12 goals in two games and dominated the Maple Leafs in scoring chances. Komarov could be back for Thursday’s tilt, but head coach Mike Babcock couldn’t confirm his status either way.
Bill Peters’ Out Clause Expires Friday
It’s been widely reported that Carolina Hurricanes coach Bill Peters has an out clause in his current contract, that could allow him to take another coaching job around the league instead of returning for the final year of his deal. The details of the clause though were unclear until now. Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer reports that Peters has until Friday to make a decision, and that he currently has a $1.6MM salary.
Though Peters has the clause and could remove himself from the situation in Carolina, new Hurricanes owner Thomas Dundon was also non-committal while talking about his coach’s future and acting GM Don Waddell told Alexander that his boss “has options too.” Teams have already been calling to interview the bench boss, though Alexander gives no answer for whether the Hurricanes have allowed it.
Carolina is still in the midst of a GM search, one that Waddell claims he is not a candidate for despite his interim title. The team had several high profile candidates remove their name from consideration, though since the search seems to be drifting into the offseason, one could expect several of them to resurface. The team is building a new organizational structure, and it’s unclear if Peters wishes to be a part of it going forward.
Playoff Notes: Zaitsev, Muzzin, Letang, Beagle, Kempny
With the Boston Bruins dominating their playoff series with the Toronto Maple Leafs so far, it’s quite obvious the team needs to shore up their defense quite a bit more if they want to get back into the series. With the team’s defense having been a sticking point all season, it has been exposed even more by the Bruins.
What Toronto needs is to get defenseman Nikita Zaitsev to play like they need him to do, according to The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel (subscription required). The blueliner was not just on the ice Saturday for each of the Bruins’ four goals in the first period, but was part of each of the plays. Now in his second season, Zaitsev is still trying to prove that he is worthy of the seven year, $31.5MM deal he signed last summer. While he had a promising rookie campaign of four goals and 32 assists last year, his assists took a nosedive as he had just eight assists this year and a total of 13 points. And while his plus/minus rating has improved from a -22 to a +8 this year, his defensive play has not helped helped him in the playoffs. If the team has any chance of coming back, it must start with Zaitsev.
- The Los Angeles Kings not only get back defenseman Drew Doughty from suspension tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights, but the team also got the good news that defenseman Jake Muzzin will be back as well, according to Fox Sports Jon Rosen. Muzzin, who has missed the past seven games with an upper-body injury, is a key part to the team’s defense as the team attempts to fight back from an 0-2 deficit to Vegas.
- While Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, who took a hit from Philadelphi’s Claude Giroux Friday in Game 2, is considered a game-time decision for today’s game. Pittsbugh Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey writes coach Mike Sullivan revealed that Letang did not have to go through concussion protocol Friday when he was injured during the game. The veteran defenseman missed all of the playoffs last year on the Penguins’ Stanley Cup run.
- Tarik El-Bashir of NBC Sports writes that center Jay Beagle and defenseman Michal Kempny are both expected to play Sunday. Both players have played key roles behind the scenes in Washington who hopes to even their series with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Beagle, a faceoff specialist, was badly missed in Game 1 after the Capitals lost 10-of-11 draws in the third period. He has missed four straight games with an upper-body injury. Kempny was hit from behind by Columbus’ Josh Anderson in Game 1, but did not suffer a concussion.
Atlantic Notes: Bergevin & Canadiens, Boucher, Okposo
While the Montreal Canadiens season didn’t go as planned, the team must now figure out what went wrong as general manager Marc Bergevin attempts to right the ship after a disappointing season. To that point, Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette hands out grades for the Montreal Canadiens disappointing season. As can be expected there were more D’s and F’s than top marks, starting with the performance of Bergevin, who received an F for multiple questionable moves, including his “first come, first served” contract offers to winger Alexander Radulov and long-time Canadien Andrei Markov, in which both opted to leave and the team failed to find replacements for either.
The scribe was quick to throw a D towards most of the team’s star players, including goaltender Carey Price, whose eight-year, $84MM extension begins next season. While the team’s defense wasn’t there to support him, he’s supposed to be the team’s best player and he wasn’t even close after putting up a 3.11 GAA and a .900 save percentage in 49 games. Bad grades followed to Alex Galchenyuk, Jonathan Drouin, Jordie Benn, Max Pacioretty and the scouting department for thinking that Karl Alzner was worth a five year, 23MM contract in the offseason.
- Ottawa Senators’ Guy Boucher‘s status as coach has not been decided yet as general manager Pierre Dorion is focused on scouting before evaluating the coaching staff. However, if the head coach loses his job, much of that might have to do with the team’s practice schedule or lack thereof, according to Chris Stevenson of The Athletic (subscription required). After Dorion was critical of Boucher’s option to often rest his players, rather than practice, the scribe looked into some of the reasons why the coach opted to rest his players, pointing to special events like the trip to Sweden, the outdoor game and multiple team functions as well as the Senators were tied for the most back-to-back games this year with 19. Add in a 17-day span in which they did not play at home in December and the team had a exhausting schedule. However, the lack of practices didn’t help a squad who truly struggled this year under the head coach.
- Jon Vogl of the Buffalo News writes that despite Buffalo Sabres’ Kyle Okposo‘s poor season, the one positive is that a year ago, he had just been released from the neuro-intensive care unit and wasn’t even sure if he would play hockey again. With little time to train last summer, Okposo put up just 15 goals this season, his lowest since the strike shortened 2012-13 season. With five years remaining on his seven-year, $42MM deal he signed two years ago, the 29-year-0ld believes that he will get himself into elite shape this summer as he is finally healthy and ready to show the Sabres that the deal wasn’t a mistake.
Evening Notes: Cholowski, Maple Leafs, Kadri
One of the young players who Ken Holland spoke of at his recent press conference will be a step closer to breaking into the Red Wings future. Defenseman Dennis Cholowski will join the Grand Rapids Griffins, writes the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James, as his Portland Winterhawks were eliminated from the second round of the WHL playoffs. Cholowski has been tied to much of the criticism Red Wings fans have about Holland, being that the former was considered a “reach” by many draft analysts while Detroit traded out of a chance to grab Jakob Chychrun, who already has 118 NHL games to his name. The development of Cholowski will be watched closely by fans and Detroit’s brass. A solid year with both Prince George and Portland has seen his stock rise. St. James writes that Cholowski is expected to report to Grand Rapids as early as Tuesday.
- Sportsnet’s Sean McIndoe believes that the Maple Leafs-Bruins tilt tonight will be a better offering than what was seen during Thursday’s 5-1 game. McIndoe writes that a game two loss won’t spell doom for the Leafs, but it would certainly make for a tough hole to climb out of, needing to win four out of five against a tough Boston squad. With regards to losing Nazem Kadri, McIndoe wonders if Auston Matthews, William Nylander and James van Riemsdyk will compensate for his loss, as the Leafs forwards had a “quiet night.”
- McIndoe’s colleague Chris Johnston agrees with the Kadri analysis, writing that the loss of Kadri for three games was a “significant blow.” Johnston reports that the Leafs can still without him and compares it to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who played without Kris Letang, and even lost Sidney Crosby for a few games en route to their second consecutive Cup. The key, Johnston adds, is for the Maple Leafs to embrace the challenge instead of rueing it. He quotes bench boss Mike Babcock, who said: “(so) Let’s just get on with it. We went without a number of centers this year. Let’s play.” Known for his background in psychology, it benefits Toronto even more to have Babcock there to focus on the sunnier side of their predicament.
Injury Notes: Wennberg, Beagle, Nash, Wingels
The Columbus Blue Jackets are likely to be without center Alexander Wennberg Sunday when they play their second-round matchup with the Washington Capitals. Wennberg is listed as doubtful, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (subscription required) and did not practice today. He was victim of a hit to the head from Washington’s Tom Wilson in Friday’s 5-4 overtime victory in Game 1. Despite the impact of the hit, the league ruled that they were not going to punish Wilson as the league could not determine whether Wennberg’s head was the main point of impact.
The injury will force the Blue Jackets to adjust their lines as Brandon Dubinsky will move up to the third line to replace Wennberg. It likely means the return of rookie Sonny Milano to the team’s lineup. The 21-year-old has 14 goals this season.
- The Washington Capitals could be getting a little help as the team hopes to get back bottom-line center Jay Beagle back for Game 2 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, according to the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan. Beagle has been day-to-day with an upper-body injury and has missed four games. While he only has 22 points this season, the 32-year-old is one of the team’s top faceoff specialists as he has won 58.5 percent of faceoffs this year, a career high. “Jay is one of those guys that you don’t probably value him as much until you don’t have him,” said Washington coach Barry Trotz via Khurshudyan. A final decision will be made tomorrow, says NBC Sports Tarik El-Bashir, but Beagle said it will be up to coaches and team doctors. The team also expects that T.J. Oshie and defenseman Michal Kempny are both expected back Sunday despite lingering injury issues.
- The Boston Bruins announced that Riley Nash will miss Game 2 today. The veteran has missed five straight games, including Game 1 of their playoff series against Toronto. The 28-year-old had 41 points this season, but suffered an ear injury when he took a puck to ear and needed 40 stitches.
- In the same tweet, the Bruins added that Tommy Wingels is listed as a game-time decision for Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Wingels was hit in the head on a hit by Toronto’s Nazem Kadri, who was suspended three games for the incident. “Feel better than I did yesterday and I’ll come to the game tonight and see how I feel. Decide from there,” Wingels said via the Bruins. If Wingels doesn’t play, rookie Ryan Donato will get the call for Boston.