Blue Jackets Look To Fill Center Hole
When center William Karlsson was sacrificed to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Blue Jackets lost a potent two-way tool up the middle. For a team who scores as much by committee as Columbus did last season, the team was bound to lose a valuable roster player. Although he only scored 6 goals and 25 points, he logged tough minutes against tough competition. It should be noted that, for all his defensive starts (62%), his advanced stats have been persistently sub-par. While Karlsson easily passed the eye test, his Corsi For was a lousy 43% in 2016-17, and that isn’t far from his career average. It may be a situation where analytics don’t tell the entire story, but Karlsson was actually trending backwards last season when looking at relative possession. Regardless, someone will need to step up internally to fill that roster void at the the 3rd line center position, as noted in an article by Mark Scheig of the Hockey Writers.
Scheig of course notes the work of rookie Lukas Sedlak, who performed admirably in his fourth-line duties. Sedlak could be ready to step up, but a lot will depend on how he performs in camp. He showed a bit of offensive touch, with 7 goals in 62 NHL contests, and marginal point totals in his Junior days. However, Sedlak was injured down the stretch and will need to re-assert himself into the lineup. He won’t be nearly as sheltered as he was last season, either. Notably, he’ll be competing against Pierre-Luc Dubois, the #3 pick from last year’s draft. Dubois finished out his last year in the QJMHL with the Blanville-Boisbriand Armada after being traded min-season. In an injury shortened campaign, he only posted 55 points in 48 games, a sharp step down from his 99-point performance in 62 games during his draft year. Dubois arguably regressed more than any other 2016 top-10 pick, and it might be unreasonable to expect him to dominate in camp. Dubois still has a heavy shot, solid hockey IQ and uses his size effectively, but consistency at the NHL level may be a difficult ask from a 19 year old returning from a down year.
Internally, other players can slot to the position. Scheig mentions that Boone Jenner can fill in when needed, but it’s no permanent solution. Going the free agency route at this late stage seems rather unlikely, as well. That really leaves coach John Tortorella in a tough position if Dubois fails to make an impact and Sedlak remains what he is. The team does have a glut of defensive prospects, but considering that they went out of their way to protect them from Vegas’ expansion sights, they may not be willing to part with a major piece just yet. The Blue Jackets may simply need to ride out some of the season with a hole in their top-nine if training camp doesn’t crown a clear replacement for Karlsson. Unlike many of the Vegas selections, this one could impact a team’s makeup noticeably. In an incredibly competitive Metropolitan division, a solitary step back could mean the difference between eyeing a division title or fighting for a wild card berth. Still, after adding the dynamic Artemi Panarin this off-season and watching a talented young defense gain valuable playoff experience, Jackets’ fans will likely not be overly concerned just yet.
USA Olympic Team Announces Management, Coaching Staff
The 2018 Winter Olympics will be another chance for amateur hockey players from throughout North America to create some magic (some may even call it a Miracle) and show that they can compete at the highest level. The NHL will not be going, meaning players from the NCAA, junior and European leagues will make up the teams for the United States and Canada.
Today, USA Hockey announced the management and coaching staff for the upcoming Olympics:
- General Manager: Jim Johannson
- Director of Player Personnel: Ben Smith
- Head Coach: Tony Granato
- Assistant Coach: Keith Allain
- Assistant Coach: Chris Chelios
- Assistant Coach: Ron Rolston
- Assistant Coach: Scott Young
This group has a ton of international experience, led by Granato who has coached and played in the Olympics before. Now the head coach of the University of Wisconsin, Granato has long been considered one of the brightest hockey minds ever developed in the US. It is interesting that an NCAA coach has been selected, as he’ll have much more first hand experience with many of the players the team will have to rely on.
Johannson said in the press conference that the team will also look at some semi-retired NHL players to suit up for the team. Possibilities include Brian Gionta, Matt Cullen or even Drew Stafford if he can’t find a job around the NHL before the start of the season.
Most of the team though will come from the NCAA ranks, where players like Jordan Greenway could be asked to play big minutes. Greenway was part of the World Championship squad earlier this spring along with fellow college players Daniel Brickley and Cal Petersen. Petersen has since signed with the Los Angels Kings and will be ineligible, while Brickley may have a substantial role after heading back to Minnesota State University.
Luke Kunin, Granato’s star player last year at Wisconsin will be unable to play after signing with the Iowa Wild this spring following his sophomore year. Granato is surely going to pull from his own roster for other options.
Evening Snapshots: Babcock, Matthews, Bridge Deals
Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock praised the performance of Auston Matthews, but believes there’s always room for improvement writes NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman. Matthews, who registered 40 goals and 69 points en route to a playoff appearance and Calder Award, will be expected to build on his performance last season as the Leafs look to take the next step in their rebuild. Babcock says that he isn’t one to “measure by points” but instead looks at how they “play” and “compete.” The young Leafs took a huge step forward, pushing the “painful rebuild” that Babcock once called it into a quicker ascent. But in true Babcockian form, he sprinkles praise while expecting more:
Obviously we have good young players,” Babcock said. “We have a lot of them. It’s kind of a group that’s growing up together. But it’s one year and one year doesn’t make a career. You have to do it again and again and again. We’re excited about our opportunities.
- Puck Daddy’s Ryan Lambert writes about how Ryan Johansen‘s deal certainly challenges the old guard way of thinking when it comes to bridge contracts. Rewarding Johansen with an eight-year deal instead of a one-two year contract. Lambert points out that going with the longer deal instead of a bridge and then the long deal seems like the better bet. The logic here would be getting the player through his prime instead of playing a “wait and see” game and then locking him up long after his prime has expired. There are a litany of examples of this in the NHL, but in an age of cost certainty and public outcry at what’s deemed a bad deal, general managers are often in a tight spot when it comes to choosing a bridge deal or a long-term contract.
Panthers Notes: Tippett, Tallon
Breathe easy, Panthers fans. Tenth overall pick Owen Tippett was hit hard (gif via Twitter) during today’s game against the United States during the World Junior Summer Showcase. NHL.com’s Mike Morreale tweeted that it didn’t look good after the hit, but Tippett was able to leave the ice under his own power. Morreale tweeted later that he observed Tippett with his teammates, going through exercises and appearing just fine. An injury scare for the high scoring winger would have been a difficult blow for Florida. Tippett has a chance to make the roster right out of training camp, and if the skills transfer over, can be a major contributor in the scoring column. The Sun-Sentinel’s Harvey Fialkov wrote about how general manager Dale Tallon believes Tippett to have the makeup of a player who is mature beyond his years. Today’s hit appears to be just a minor incident, and one that shouldn’t stunt Tippett’s chance at making the NHL roster.
- Tallon was featured in an Athletic article by Scott Powers, who wrote how Tallon holds a special place in his heart for Chicago. Tallon was responsible for the bulk of the drafting and free agent signings that turned the Blackhawks into a model franchise after being a league doormat for nearly a decade. Powers asked Tallon about his thoughts on the Panthers offseason, and he responded as such:
We had to rework it a little bit. We’re going younger, we’re going faster. We like what we’ve done. We’ve gotten quicker and faster, a little more depth. We added some grit, we added some speed and we added some skill. We got a lot of good young players that we still have coming in our organization that we really like, and we have a real strong core of young players that were injured last year. I think our team is going to be faster and younger and play with a little more energy than we did last year. The new coaches to our coaching staff are really good. I’m excited to work with them and get rolling here.
Tallon admitted that he wasn’t happy about last season and that it was a difficult decision not bringing Jaromir Jagr back, noting that he was great for leadership and exemplifying a strong work ethic. But like many executives in the NHL, Tallon felt it was time to get younger and faster.
East Notes: Bylsma, Guentzel, Rowney
The Athletic’s Craig Custance caught up with former Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma who had some thoughts on how the Detroit Red Wings should approach their roster. Ironically enough, Bylsma grew up a Detroit fan, since he was a Michigan resident. Custance quizzed Bylsma on a number of topics, including a Red Wings rebuild and his time with the Sabres. On the Red Wings, Bylsma admits that Detroit is no longer model franchise in the league and that fans will “never see” the team they once saw that featured bonafide stars like Luc Robitaille, Brett Hull, Steve Yzerman, and Sergei Fedorov, to name a few. The former bench boss guesses that the Red Wings roster will look dynamically different in three years as they’ll be forced to rebuild a team that has certainly struggled. He also believes fans are ready for a rebuild, preferring to see a competitive team that grows into playoff dominance instead of keeping the “streak” alive with aging players and early playoff exits. He doesn’t believe, however, that the Red Wings need a total teardown to win. Instead, he thinks that steady drafting can keep Detroit relevant without ripping out the foundation.
- When it came to talking about Buffalo, however, Bylsma was coy. When he arrived in Buffalo, the team was in the midst of a tear down and rebuilding with the likes of Jack Eichel, and other young, dynamic players. While there were some strides, last season was disastrous, costing both Bylsma and former general manager Tim Murray their jobs. Bylsma admits to Custance that he didn’t want to talk about what happened in Buffalo while explaining that Detroit hasn’t gutted things like Buffalo did. He also believes that a teardown-build up program takes several years, sometimes up to five. That’s understandable from his vantage point, given that he only had two years in Buffalo to try and win. It has to be said that Toronto’s resurgence couldn’t have helped matters, as the Leafs not only qualified for the playoffs, but gave Washington a scare in the first round.
- NBC Sports’ Adam Gretz writes that with Connor Sheary re-signed, the Pittsburgh Penguins will turn their attention to grabbing a third line center. He makes a couple suggestions, wondering if Jake Guentzel could move over to center line or if youngster Carter Rowney is ready for full time duty. The most realistic option, Gretz believes, is for Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford to explore trades to fill the vacancy and give the Pens a solid chance to win their third consecutive Cup.
Columbus Blue Jackets Extend John Tortorella
Not wanting him to be seen as a “lame duck” coach, the Columbus Blue Jackets have extended the reigning Jack Adams Award winner John Tortorella for an additional season. That means he’ll now be under contract through the 2018-19 season, and will likely remain one of the league’s top paid coaches. Tortorella took home the top coaching award for the second time in his career, following his 2004 win after claiming the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“Torts” as he’s affectionately referred to as has now coached 1,093 regular season games at the NHL level and will enter this season with a 530-432-131 record. He ranks 22nd all-time in wins and will likely climb into the top-20 this season, passing names like Marc Crawford and Dave Tippett who aren’t currently in charge of a club. The Blue Jackets, poised to have another big year have responded well under his fiery style, exploding to a 50-24-8 record last year in the best season in franchise history. They had to give up the #55 pick in this year’s draft as compensation for hiring him while he was still under contract (but not working) with the Vancouver Canucks, but it would be hard to find someone to complain about that price.
While details of the contract extension haven’t been released, Tortorella was making $2MM per season combined from Vancouver and Columbus and it would be hard to see him take a cut in 2018-19. Instead, he may even be inching closer to the salaries of Mike Babcock, Joel Quenneville and others which eclipse $5MM.
Boston Bruins Make Coaching Hires
The Boston Bruins have made several coaching hires to fill out their development ranks today, including bringing back Jay Leach as the head coach of the Providence Bruins in the AHL. Leach was an assistant coach with the team last year, but will take over from Kevin Dean as the boss behind the bench. Spencer Carbery has been hired as a replacement assistant coach, while Mike Dunham has been brought on as a goaltender development coach.
Many hockey fans may remember Leach as a fringe NHL defensemen known for his size more than anything else, who played 70 games in a career split between several franchises. Retiring in 2013, his first professional coaching job came in 2015-16 for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, where he started as an assistant but took over as interim head coach after Mike Sullivan moved up to the NHL club. He’s obviously well respected in the Bruins organization, as he’ll take over at just 37 years old with very little experience.
Carbery spent last season as the head coach of the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL, but has many years of experience running a professional franchise with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. He’s another young voice behind the bench at just 35, but has been involved in coaching since his playing career ended in 2010.
Early Notes: Offer Sheets, Bridge Deals, Matthews
One of the most exciting and simultaneously disappointing parts of the current offseason structure is the offer sheet. While fans and media alike speculate on who will get one each year, it’s almost never done. Interestingly, now we have a former management voice also speaking up about how he’d like offer sheets to play a bigger part in the NHL summer. Frank Provenzano, a former assistant general manager with the Washington Capitals and Dallas Stars, is now a writer for The Athletic, and penned an article today looking at why teams don’t give out many offer sheets. In it he talks about how he used to try and get his team to use them:
When I was in charge of negotiating NHL contracts, I pushed to find offer sheet candidates EVERY summer. And yet I never made a single one. I can tell you first hand it wasn’t because of some fear of pissing off another GM. It was because the offer sheet lever, as it’s currently constructed, simply doesn’t work.
It’s a fascinating look behind the curtain of NHL front offices, as Provenzano explains why the current compensation structure doesn’t allow offer sheets to be signed very often. The long-standing belief that teams just didn’t want to incite a run on their own restricted free agents is challenged, and from first hand knowledge. It’s definitely a worthwhile read, as is so much coming out of the Athletic these days.
- On the theme of contract structures, Puck Daddy’s Ryan Lambert examines bridge deals and their effect on eventual player salaries. Citing Ryan Johansen as the latest example, Lambert wonders why team’s aren’t more willing to “pay up” coming out of an entry-level contract instead of spending big on post-prime years. Johansen will be earning $8MM per year through his age-32 season, something that wouldn’t have happened had he signed a long-term deal in 2014 instead of a bridge deal. Interestingly, this is the approach the Oilers have taken with Connor McDavid, instead of perhaps saving some money on a shorter term deal that doesn’t buy out as many UFA years. Could it end up costing them when McDavid hits the open market at age-29?
- Adam Kimelman of NHL.com caught up with Mike Babcock at the World Junior Summer Showcase, where the Toronto Maple Leafs coach is presumably scratching his hockey itch by watching some of the best young players in the world. The conversation turned to Auston Matthews, who Babcock believes can be even better this season. After scoring 40 goals and 69 points as a rookie and almost unanimously taking home the Calder trophy, Babcock thinks the improvements to his defensive game and pace of play will allow him to have the puck even more and dominate play. Matthews turns 20 in September, and will be a big part of any return to the playoffs for the Maple Leafs in 2017-18.
- NBC has announced its nationally televised schedule for the upcoming season, which includes three games each from the aforementioned Matthews and McDavid. The first Vegas Golden Knights’ home game will also be on national television, when they face off against the Arizona Coyotes on October 10th.
NHL Snapshots: Dallas Stars, Zadorov, Butcher
As announced yesterday, the Dallas Stars will host the 2018 NHL Entry Draft at American Airlines Arena on June 22-23. One key reason they received the honor, according to NHL.com’s Sean Shapiro, is that 2018 will mark the team’s 25th anniversary in Dallas and NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the way the team has successfully built a hockey community is a main reason for get awarded with the draft.
“I think they’ve done a fabulous job over the 25 years they’ve been here,” Daly said. “The Stars organization has led the way in turning a non-traditional hockey market into a hockey market. Your involvement in promoting and supporting youth hockey in the greater Dallas area comes from rink initiatives and sponsoring youth hockey teams. It’s not only inspiring, but it’s a model that all NHL clubs in non-traditional markets aspire to.”
Stars CEO and president Jim Lites said it has been a two-year commitment to get the draft to come to Dallas. The team has worked hard this year to get back into the playoff picture after a down year for their 25th anniversary. They have hired coach Ken Hitchcock, traded for goaltender Ben Bishop and defenseman Marc Methot and signed several key free agents, including Alexander Radulov and Martin Hanzal.
- Adrian Dater of BSN Denver, writes that it is highly unlikely that Colorado Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov will return to the KHL next year when his contract is up. Dater writes that the defensive defenseman and Colorado are less and $1MM apart in negotations and believes the Avalanche wouldn’t let the future restricted free agent leave over that little money. Zadorov, who was the key piece in the Ryan O’Reilly trade two years ago, played 56 games last year for the Avalanche and had 10 assists.
- Joe Haggerty of CSNNE writes the Bruins, who are well-known for going after top college talent, should not consider signing Hobey Baker Award winner Will Butcher. The defenseman, who will become a free agent if he doesn’t sign with Colorado before Aug. 15, is likely to receive multiple offers. However, Haggerty writes that the team doesn’t need another undersized, unproven player on their defense since they already have Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy on the roster.
NHL Snapshots: Ennis, 2018 NHL Draft, Minor Signings
The Minnesota Wild didn’t make too many changes to a team that finished with 106 points in the Western Conference last season. However, one major move was to move defenseman Marco Scandella and veteran Jason Pominville to Buffalo for Marcus Foligno and Tyler Ennis. While the team has high hopes for the 25-year-old Foligno, still a restricted free agent, could have a breakout year and he has predicted a 20-goal season, the team is even more focused on Ennis returning to form.
Ennis, who has battled the injury bug for the last two years has only played in 74 games during that time. Last year, he missed time due to groin surgery and only played in 51 games. Before those injuries, the 27-year-old wing scored 41 goals in two seasons between 2013-15. However, since then, he has tallied just eight goals. NBC Sports Adam Gretz writes that Minnesota Wild coach Bruce Boudreau has high expectations for Ennis this year and believes that if Ennis can remain healthy, he expects to see a resurgence like the one that veteran Eric Staal did last year.
Staal scored 28 goals last year for the Wild a year after he was coming off a lackluster 13-goal season between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers. Yet Boudreau believes Ennis could duplicate that kind of comeback performance in Minnesota.
“Tyler Ennis, I’ve seen and talked to and met,” Boudreau said. “I don’t want to put pressure on him, but three years ago, he was a great player in this league. He’s missed 90 games in the last two years due to injury. If we can keep him healthy, I think he’s going to have a rebound year like Eric Staal had. I’m very excited about having him. In our top-9 forwards, I think we’re as strong as anybody in the league.”
Of course Ennis’ personal high is 21 goals, and while he has hit 20 goals three times in his career, it’s unlikely to see Staal-like numbers.
- The Dallas Stars tweeted they will host the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center next season on June 22-23. It was held this year in Las Vegas.
- The Tucson Roadrunners, the AHL team of the Arizona Coyotes, signed three more players along with the reported signing of Ryan Culkin earlier today. The minor league affiliate also inked goaltender Michael Houser and wingers Scott Allen and Trevor Cheek, according to SB Nation. Houser played most of last season with the ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones finishing with a 2.58 GAA in 41 games. Allen played 57 games for the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL and finished with eight goals and 11 assists, while Cheek split time between both the AHL and the ECHL.