Morning Notes: Brouwer, Jodoin, Seguin
Eric Francis writes for the Calgary Herald that Troy Brouwer is expected to be one of the forwards exposed in the upcoming expansion draft for the Flames, and with it could be leaving the organization almost as soon as he joined it. Francis points out that Vegas GM George McPhee has traded for Brouwer once in the past, acquiring him for a first round pick from Chicago in the summer of 2011.
If you’d been following along, it was clear the Flames couldn’t protect Brouwer after acquiring Curtis Lazar at the deadline, giving them at least seven young forwards that would be ahead of him on the list. While it doesn’t mean for certain that the Flames will submit their protection list on June 17th with Brouwer exposed, it certainly looks that way right now. The 31-year old is coming off his worst point total of his career, but still would add a veteran presence to a weak Vegas squad should he be selected.
- The Montreal Canadiens announced today that Clement Jodoin has chosen to leave the organization after his latest stint. Jodoin has been an associate coach for the team for two different five-year periods, and also worked as the Hamilton Bulldogs’ head coach and in the Canadiens’ player development department over the years. New head coach Claude Julien will meet with his other assistants in the next few days to decide what’s next for the coaching staff.
- Tyler Seguin apparently was playing with a damaged labrum in his right shoulder for much of the season, and the team announced today that he underwent surgery yesterday to repair it. His recovery timeline is set at four months, meaning he’ll be lucky to be ready for the start of training camp next fall. Seguin was criticized for his play much of this season, but still ended up with 72 points despite the injury. He’ll be expected to take another step forward and help the Stars return to the playoffs next season, or there may be even bigger shakeups in Dallas next summer.
Boston Bruins Remove Interim Status From Bruce Cassidy
The Boston Bruins have named Bruce Cassidy head coach for the 2017-18 season, removing the interim status he had been working under since the firing of Claude Julien. Cassidy led the Bruins to an 18-8-1 record after the switch, getting them into the postseason but falling at the hands of the Ottawa Senators. The Bruins scoring woes under Julien disappeared, and Cassidy’s systems seemed to reinvigorate the team.
He’ll now be tasked with trying to rebuild relationships with certain players, as both Frank Vatrano and Ryan Spooner spoke out against their former head coach after his departure. While neither may represent a key player going forward, removing discontent from the locker room is always done one way or another. The Bruins will have to decide whether to commit long-term to some of their young restricted free agents, or move certain players for improvements elsewhere.
With the biggest task of the offseason being David Pastrnak‘s next contract, the Bruins will be hard-pressed to really free up any additional cap space. So much of their salary is tied up in the big-4 up front—David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Backes—and their no-longer-elite goaltender Tuukka Rask. While Marchand’s deal may be one of the best of last summer, Backes especially looks like he may be an anchor to the team’s cap structure for years to come.
Allen’s Latest: Playoff Surprises, Second Round Predictions
The USA Today’s Kevin Allen listed his playoff surprises as teams advanced into the second round. His biggest surprise is a take shared by many: the four game sweep of the Chicago Blackhawks. He wonders if they’ve “run out of magic” and comments that the team looked worn out. He also believes that Stan Bowman will be a man of his word and certainly look to tweak the roster. The house cleanings in Buffalo, and Los Angeles certainly caught Allen (and others) by surprise. He believes that the recently fired Dean Lombardi may be just what Buffalo needs to get over the hump. Allen underscores the importance of Jake Allen in the Blues’ first round triumph, and notes that Alexander Radulov should get a hefty payday after playing well with Montreal. Allen also sees Ryan Johansen as the #1 center the Predators envisioned him to be when they dealt for him last season.
- Allen mentions Johansen again when he points out the five reasons Nashville shocked Chicago in four games. Besides getting the best of Chicago defensively, he notes that Pekka Rinne rose to the occasion and was next to impossible to beat between the pipes. Rinne posted a staggering .976 save percentage and gave up just three goals in four games. Allen adds that the Predators were also a much deeper team than the one who faced Chicago back in 2015. Finally, strategic moves by head coach Peter Laviolette played a key role in Chicago’s inability to contain the Preds. Focusing on speed, by placing Harry Zolnierczyk and Pontus Aberg into the lineup made the Blackhawks lives miserable trying to keep up.
- In terms of who will advance to the conference finals, Allen is the only one of his staff who sees the Penguins getting past the Capitals. He believes the Penguins speed will cause matchup problems for Washington, and result in yet another Washington-Pittsburgh tilt that sees the Penguins triumph. Allen has the Rangers meeting the Penguins in the Eastern Conference Final, dispatching the Senators in six games. Over in the West, Allen forecasts an Anaheim-Nashville Western Conference Final, though he thinks both matchups will see seven games, writing that the Nashville-St. Louis series is most likely a toss up.
Central Notes: McDonough, Seguin, Nashville – St. Louis
Chicago Blackhawks president and CEO John McDonough is blunt in his assessment of the Blackhawks to the Chicago Sun-Times Mark Lazerus: they were steamrolled. Said to be “steaming” at their quick demise, McDonough is confident that general manager Stan Bowman can improve upon the latest first round exit for the only franchise in the salary cap era to win three Stanley Cups. Though happy with what Bowman and coach Joel Quenneville have done in the past, he tasks the Blackhawk bosses with building upon the talent that’s already there. Blackhawk fans can take solace in the fact that McDonough sees a lot of gas in the tank for a team many think may be worn out, but McDonough says that the organization is reviewing everything to make sure the Hawks fortunes are on an upward trend.
- The Dallas Morning-News’ Mike Heika answers fans by indicating that the Stars won’t consider trading Tyler Seguin–unless they believe he’s not the right match with Jamie Benn. Heika believes that the Stars are hoping for new bench boss Ken Hitchcock to have a role in making Seguin a dominant two-way center. With an expensive contract, but still only 25 years of age, the Stars aren’t about to give up on the center. He also believes that Seguin will be motivated to take the next step as a player and sees Seguin being “very determined” to improve after fighting through injury the past few seasons.
- It’s the battle of goaltenders when the Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues meet up in the second round of the playoffs. NHL.com’s Shawn Roarke writes that the goaltending is just one of many storylines as the two Central division foes meet for the first time in playoff action. Roarke sees lead time as another factor, as both teams enjoyed leading their respective first round opponent for long stretches of time. The Tennessean’s Joe Rexrode believes the Predators should win the series, but is far from issuing a guarantee about it. Rexrode sees St. Louis’ staunch defense giving the Preds some problems while he openly wonders if the inconsistent Predators during the regular season could return for a playoff encore, disappearing just as quickly as they appeared to remind fans why they were preseason favorites. Meanwhile, St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Jeff Gordon echoes a number of Rexrode’s insights, adding that the return of Colin Wilson for the Preds and matching Nashville’s depth serves as some difficulties St. Louis might encounter.
Coaching Notes: Baumgartner, Vegas, Quinn
Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun is reporting that Nolan Baumgartner is expected to join the newly-hired Travis Green behind the Vancouver bench. Baumgartner was an assistant coach of Green’s in Utica, and is the epitome of a professional hockey journeyman. Playing for seven different NHL franchises, but only getting into 143 games, Baumgartner is considered a solid coaching prospect that has a good insight for the game. This will be his first opportunity behind an NHL bench.
The Canucks will announce their new staff tomorrow afternoon, and will begin to work on their roster for next season. As MacIntyre writes, Green and the new staff will be expected to just develop the younger players coming up for the immediate future, with no pressure to compete for the playoffs right away. If the Canucks do in fact stay the course with a rebuild, Green will try to slowly shepherd the team back towards a competitive culture during his four-year contract.
- Gerard Gallant won’t start his assistant coach search until after he’s done his work at the World Championships, but he already has an initial list of names to potentially join him on the Vegas bench. Though he’s set to help Jon Cooper coach Team Canada at the Worlds, he hopes to have the search completed in about six weeks. “When it’s a good job, a lot of people want the job,” he told Dan Marrazza of NHL.com who also reports that GM George McPhee and AGM Kelly McCrimmon will have to sign off on his staff.
- Among the many staffing notes in Elliotte Friedman’s latest “30 Thoughts” column for Sportsnet, is one about David Quinn and the potential job in Buffalo. Obviously, Quinn—who currently coaches at Boston University—would be a solid fit with a young team looking to take the next step but it is his connection to Jack Eichel that now makes it a bit awkward. The report that Eichel wouldn’t sign an extension with Dan Byslma as coach was thoroughly dismissed by both sides, but it did precede Bylsma’s firing by just a day. The optics of Eichel being a “coach-killer” would get pumped up even further if the replacement was his old college coach, even if the report was incorrect. Terry Pegula likely doesn’t want to pour any more gasoline on that Eichel fire, after working so hard to put it out immediately.
Maple Leafs Notes: Babcock, Boyle, Nylander
The Maple Leafs met with the media today after cleaning out their lockers, and Mike Babcock spoke about several things including his immediate future. The head coach will be heading to the World Championships not behind the bench, but in the stands to scout players of interest according to James Mirtle of The Athletic. While he obviously didn’t clarify which players those would be, there are several names that would be of interest to teams around the league.
Daniel Brickley will be suiting up for Team USA before heading back for another season with Minnesota State. The 22-year old defenseman will be a free agent next spring should he decide to turn pro, and would likely be on Toronto’s radar. Vadim Shipchyov and Evgeny Dadonov, both rumored to be heading to the NHL this summer will also be suiting up for the Russian team, likely who you’ll find Babcock watcing most often.
- Brian Boyle told reporters that he’d be open to returning to the Maple Leafs, emphasizing how much fun he had since coming over from Tampa Bay at the deadline. Boyle is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and will be a sought after free agent for his leadership and success in a bottom-six role. He earned $2MM this season, but might even see a slight raise on a short-term deal.
- Surprisingly, Babcock relayed that William Nylander will not be moved to center next year despite earlier reports that he would. Nylander found a ton of success with Auston Matthews throughout the season but was expected to move back to his natural position next year. It will be interesting to see what that means for the rest of the Maple Leaf forwards, as they already had a backlog of wingers before this decision. It also means that Tyler Bozak perhaps is safe for another season, after setting a career-high in points. Bozak will be entering the final season of his current contract, and will be a UFA in the summer of 2018.
Vancouver Canucks To Hire Travis Green As Next Head Coach
The Vancouver Canucks have hired Travis Green to become their next head coach. The deal extends through the next four seasons. The team fired Willie Desjardins earlier this month after another disappointing season, and have looked internally for their next bench boss. Green had been coaching the Canucks’ AHL affiliate Utica Comets for the past four seasons, turning in a winning record in each of them.
Green played 970 games in the NHL for six different teams, scoring 455 points including a career-high 70 in 1995-96. A three-time 20-goal scorer, he was celebrated more for his checking ability and faceoff acumen than offensive game. His first coaching opportunity came with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL, which he led to a championship after taking over as head coach midway through the 2012-13 season.
He’ll now take the reins of a team looking to get younger and start a real rebuild, despite still having some money tied up in several aging players. At the trade deadline, the Canucks started accumulating assets, dealing off Jannik Hansen and Alex Burrows for prospects. They’ll now look forward to this Saturday where they’ll find out which slot they will be drafting in come June. Regardless of where they fall at the top of the draft, they’ll be adding another blue chip prospect to go along with Olli Juolevi from last year’s draft.
Bob McKenzie of TSN was the first to report the deal on Twitter, while Dan Murphy of Sportsnet reports it will be for four years.
Chicago Blackhawks Fire Assistant Coach Mike Kitchen
4:55pm: Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune is reporting that Quenneville is “upset and surprised” by the firing, implying that it was not his decision. He also writes that the two are “best friends”. Hine points to the 2012 incident between Quenneville and Bowman over director of player personnel Barry Smith’s presence at practices as a similar example of perceived dysfunction in the Chicago organization. It will be interesting to see what other changes are instituted by the front office in the coming weeks.
11:53pm: After being swept in the first round of the playoffs, Blackhawks’ GM Stan Bowman promised there would be changes in Chicago and the first decision has come down. The team has fired Assistant Coach Mike Kitchen, and released this statement:
We believe this decision is best for our organization moving forward. We appreciate his many contributions.
Kitchen has been with the team since 2010 and goes all the way back to 1998 with head coach Joel Quenneville when they were both behind the bench in St. Louis. Kitchen actually replaced Quenneville as head coach of the Blues when he was fired in 2004, and remained with the club after the lockout until being fired himself during the 2006-07 season. Even before that, the two played together from 1979 through 1983 with the Colorado Rockies and New Jersey Devils.
Chicago ranked in the bottom half of the league in both powerplay and penalty kill this year, the latter of which Kitchen was responsible for. While they weren’t the only reason for their early exit, special teams did play a role in the Blackhawks not living up to expectations. Even in 2015-16 the Hawks’ PK had dropped to 22nd in the league, and someone eventually had to pay the price.
The ‘Hawks now find themselves in a troubling cap situation once again, this time without the elation of a long playoff run to fuel their offseason. They’ll have to look long and hard at the core of this team and see if it is good enough to compete in the playoffs going forward, despite once again holding the top seed going in. Four games can do a lot of damage to the psyche of a franchise, and this is the first signal that the expected changes are coming fast.
Los Angeles Kings Will Not Buy Marian Gaborik Out Of Current Contract
With four years left on his current contract and rumors swirling that he was on the trade block at the deadline, Marian Gaborik was an early candidate for a possible buyout to help the Los Angeles Kings cap situation—until today. In a press conference to introduce new head coach John Stevens, GM Rob Blake announced (via Helene Elliott of the LA Times) that Gaborik will not be bought out this summer. Instead, Blake explained that Gaborik had been playing hurt and has already undergone a procedure to fix whatever ailment was keeping him from being 100%.
While the injury may have been causing his struggles this year, the fact remains that Gaborik is now coming off back-to-back seasons with less than 25 points. The 35-year old has looked slow relative to his peers for two seasons, and it looks like the three-time 40-goal scorer is a thing of the (distant) past. At $4.875MM per season, he isn’t coming anywhere close to the production expected.
Because Gaborik’s deal is front-loaded, a buyout becomes more and more unattractive as the years go on. As the actual salary decreases, so does the amount of cap-hit you can save by buying him out, making it almost pointless. Next summer would be the last chance to really get any valuable relief out of a buyout, meaning Gaborik likely will be expected to play out the contract and try to provide at least some value to the Kings. The team made a similar decision last summer with regards to Dustin Brown, who remains a buyout candidate this summer to free up some space.
Blake and the Kings need to sort out their finances before next summer when the conversation will turn to a possible extension for Drew Doughty. Under control for two more seasons, the reigning Norris winner will need a Brent Burns-like extension in 2019 and the team will have to be able to sell him on their ability to compete in the near future. With both Brown and Gaborik on the books until 2022 and 2021 respectively, the team may need to look at a cap-eating team like Arizona or the newly constructed Vegas team for some relief.
Marc Bergevin Hopes To Extend Carey Price July 1st
With Carey Price entering the final year of his contract this summer, the Montreal Canadiens can officially sign him to an extension as of July 1st. That’s what GM Marc Bergevin intends to do, leaving little time for speculation on the all-world goaltender’s future. Price himself said today to John Lu of TSN tin that he wants to stay in Montreal, and is motivated to re-sign under new coach Claude Julien. Bergevin also said that he would not trade Price for anyone. 
In 2017-18 Price will be in the last season of a six-year $39MM extension he signed as a restricted free agent in the summer of 2012, and an extension may result in the highest cap-hit among goaltenders in the league. That record is currently held by the goaltender that just eliminated Price and the Habs, with Henrik Lundqvist holding an $8.5MM cap hit this season. Lundqvist was 32 when his current seven-year extension came into effect, while Price will be just 31. With both goaltenders never winning a Stanley Cup but leading their respective countries to Olympic gold, they are an apt comparison as the Canadiens enter negotiations.
Price and Lundqvist both hold a career .920 save percentage in the regular season and have each won a single Vezina trophy. While it may be argued that Lundqvist has shown more consistency throughout his career, Price broke in at a much younger age and is still in prime goaltending years. Lundqvist on the other hand may be showing signs of decline—though not in these playoffs—as he enters his mid-thirties. Price’s extension will assume the same risk, as he’ll undoubtedly be locked up for at least seven years.
After this morning hearing that both Alexander Radulov and Andrei Markov would like to return to the Canadiens, it would seem as though this summer is as much about locking up the current team as adding new parts for Bergevin. He needs to address the center position among other things, but will first look to maintain the status quo with some of this year’s best performers. It will be interesting to see just how much money he hands to the trio (if all three re-sign), and how much he looks towards the future after a disappointing first round exit.
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