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Evening Notes: Schenn, Quenneville, Senators

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CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reported today that pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Luke Schenn likely wants to remain with the Toronto Maple Leafs and he expects the rearguard to get a well-deserved raise in pay on his next contract. Dhaliwal said this today on Donnie & Dhali The Team and added that Schenn is seeking some term on his next contract as well as some no trade protection.

It makes sense that the soon to be 34-year-old would like some stability for himself and his young family as he has bounced around the league the past few seasons and played under several contracts that have been for near the NHL minimum. Schenn is coming off one of the finest seasons of his career having put up four goals and 18 assists in 70 games split between the Maple Leafs and the Vancouver Canucks and is trying to cash in on what could very well be his last big payday in the NHL.

In other evening notes:

  • Larry Brooks of the New York Post writes that he doesn’t believe the delay in the New York Rangers search for a new coach is tied to former Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville. Brooks lists several reasons for his thinking here including the fact that general manager Chris Drury is currently in Buffalo at the scouting combine. Brooks goes on to add that he can’t see NHL commissioner Gary Bettman meeting with Quenneville before the draft to discuss reinstatement and that the Rangers would like to have someone in place before free agency begins on July 1st.
  • The final stage in the sale of the Ottawa Senators has been going on for over three weeks and according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia there has been no indication of who will be awarded preferred bidder status. Garrioch writes that this may be a tactic being used to keep all the groups engaged in case they need fall back options should one of the bids fall through. The belief is that the final stage has been slowed by all the back and forth between the parties involved as they try to hammer down the final details in what should be the end of a very long process. Garrioch goes on to say that is does appear that this has become a three-horse race as it looks as though the Neko Sparks group is a long shot to win ownership of the club. They are having issues putting the financing in place, but at this time, they are still in the running.

Snapshots: Matthews, Bratt, DeAngelo

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David Pagnotta of the NHL Network is reporting that the Toronto Maple Leafs are focused right now on evaluating their coaching staff and don’t have urgency at this time to speak with star forward Auston Matthews. He adds that they do intend to meet with the 25-year-old and his agent later this month, at which time they will presumably begin to talk about a contract extension for the upcoming unrestricted free agent. Matthews is just a year away from being able to walk out the door for nothing and the direction of the franchise will likely be dictated by what happens in the Matthews talks.

It’s an interesting approach from newly anointed general manager Brad Treliving given that he cited talking to Matthews as his number one priority at his introductory press conference. It’s also curious because he just came from a franchise in which he lost two 100-point scorers in a matter of months just one year ago. One would have to assume he will be prudent in making sure that doesn’t happen again with Matthews who has a no-trade clause that kicks in on July 1st.

In other news from around the league:

  • Pagnotta also writes that talks between the New Jersey Devils and pending RFA Timo Meier have picked up this week, but he describes the situation with Jesper Bratt as status quo. Bratt and the Devils have a bit of a contentious relationship when it comes to negotiations as they have come up against each other in the past when it comes to money. This happened most notably last summer when they nearly went to arbitration but settled on a one-year deal just hours before they were set to square off.  Bratt posted a career high 32 goals last season while posting his second consecutive 73-point season. He has bet on himself in the past and with just a year left until he is an unrestricted free agent, this could be the Devils toughest negotiation yet.
  • Elliotte Friedman mentioned on The Jeff Marek Show today that he believes the Philadelphia Flyers are looking to move defenseman Tony DeAngelo. The 27-year-old continued to produce on the powerplay in his first season in Philadelphia but struggled at even strength and in his own defensive zone. The New Jersey native became a lightning rod for criticism, particularly from head coach John Tortorella who scratched DeAngelo multiple times last season. Philadelphia acquired DeAngelo last summer from Carolina for multiple draft picks and signed him to a two year $10MM contract. Many people questioned the move at the time and that continued into the season despite the defenseman’s offensive production. It’ll be curious to see if any teams bite on the gifted but limited rearguard.

Coaching Notes: Roy, Flames, Strand

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As the New York Rangers remain on the search for a new head coach, an interesting name appeared in rumors. Patrick Roy, who has been the head coach of the QMJHL Quebec Remparts for the last five seasons, recently winning the 2023 Memorial Cup, was thought to be a proper candidate to take over for the Rangers behind the bench.

Today, Mollie Walker of the New York Post, reports that New York is not considering Roy for the role, and he will not be given an interview for the position. Although Roy has indicated this year will be his last in Quebec, it was unknown whether or not he was interested in the Rangers head coaching position. Aside from a three-year stretch as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche in the mid-2010s, Roy has been involved with the Remparts in some fashion since 1997.

Currently, the Rangers are only one of two teams without a head coach for the 2023-24 NHL season, joining the Calgary Flames. In recent reporting, it appears that New York has whittled their list down to two candidates, John Hynes, and Peter Laviolette. Up to this point, there have been no links drawn between Roy and Calgary, but they still remain in the early stages of their search compared to New York.

Other notes:

  • Continuing on with the Flames’ head coaching search, Ryan Pike of Flames Nation reports that Calgary is down to “4-5 candidates” and will begin the second round of interviews this week. With two major positions to fill this summer, it is not surprising that the Flames are taking a bit longer to fill their head coaching role, after naming former player Craig Conroy as General Manager late last month. Calgary appears to have a desire for a newer face in the league, likely eliminating names like Laviolette, Gerard Gallant, and Bruce Boudreau from contention.
  • Today, USA Hockey announced the head coach of their 2023 United States U18 Select Team, which will be competing in the 2023 Hlkina Gretzky Cup. Luke Strand, who was also recently named head coach of the Minnesota State University men’s team, replacing the void left by Mike Hastings, who took a job at the University of Wisconsin, will take over behind the bench. It has been quite the rise for Strand over the last several years. After having spent five seasons as the head coach of the Sioux City Musketeers in the USHL, he spent last season as an assistant coach for Ohio State University.

 

Anaheim Ducks Name Greg Cronin Head Coach

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The Anaheim Ducks have named veteran assistant Greg Cronin the team’s 11th head coach in franchise history, as announced Monday morning. At age 60, this is Cronin’s first role as an NHL head coach.

Cronin has held head coaching roles at the NCAA and AHL levels, including the past five seasons with the Colorado Eagles. With the hiring, the Colorado Avalanche are now in the market for an AHL head coach.

His previous NHL experience came with the New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs. Cronin’s first NHL work came with the Isles in 1998, hired as an assistant coach before being named the team’s director of player development (as well as head coach of the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers) in 2003. After the 2004-05 lockout, though, Cronin returned to the college ranks as the head coach of Northeastern University, a title he held six seasons. He won the Hockey East Coach of the Year award in 2008-09.

In 2011, Cronin returned to NHL coaching by taking an assistant job with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Three seasons later, he returned to the Islanders for a four-year stint on their bench before heading to the Eagles in 2018.

He replaces the outgoing Dallas Eakins, who the Ducks decided not to retain with his contract expiring this offseason. Eakins’ fourth season behind the Ducks bench ended in last place, with Anaheim allowing the most goals against per game of any team in the past 25 years.

Cronin’s hire is thinly veiled as a targeted approach to address their defense. While he could be described as a firebrand personality, he’s regarded as one of the more detail-oriented coaches at the minor league level and should focus on developing the all-around games of Anaheim’s young talent.

Anaheim general manager Pat Verbeek alluded to that in a statement:

While we did cast a wide net in searching for the next head coach, it became clear to me that Greg would be the ideal fit for the position. Being a young team, I felt we needed a teacher of the finer points of the game, and someone who has worked extensively over time with talented young players, helping them develop into successful NHL players. Greg has done all that and more, and we are excited to name him head coach of the Anaheim Ducks.

Cronin hasn’t had much to work with in terms of prospects during his time with the Eagles, so it’s unfair to judge him on his development of young players into NHL talents at the pro level. However, that’s the task he’ll have to take on as the Ducks look to gain some forward momentum in their rebuild.

Bettman Presser Notes: World Cup, Senators, Relocation, Nichushkin, Front Office

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Before the start of the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and the Vegas Golden Knights, Commissioner of the NHL, Gary Bettman, and Deputy Commissioner of the NHL, Bill Daly, gave their annual version of hockey’s “State of the Union” address to the media. The two spoke at length about a plethora of topics, and one of the more intriguing tidbits was that the NHL is looking into bringing back the World Cup of Hockey (Tweet Link).

In 1996, what was formerly known as the Canada Cup, the World Cup of Hockey was born, and it took place at the then-new Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, and also the then-new Bell Centre in Montreal. The United States was the eventual champion, beating Canada in three games.

The tournament took a short break, continuing again in 2004, where Canada became the eventual winner against Finland. The last time the tournament was held was back in 2016 when Canada beat the European team in two games.

In the 2016 rendition, the World Cup of Hockey featured new teams such as Europe and North America. The European team featured countries that were not represented by their own national teams, including players from countries such as Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, etc. The North American, which ended up being one of the most fun teams to watch during the tournament, featured players from Canada and the United States that were under the age of 23.

Other notes:

  • As the Ottawa Senators look to find a new owner, Bettman states that the process could still take a couple more weeks (Tweet Link). The last time the Senators went through a sale was back in 2003 when the late Eugene Melnyk purchased the team for a reported sum of $92MM. Melnyk oversaw the Senators team that made it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2007, and the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017. Having passed in the spring of 2022, the team residing in Canada’s capital should have a new owner by the end of the month.
  • After the announcement that the city of Tempe would not be housing the Arizona Coyotes, rumors immediately sprung about a possible relocation. In the press conference, Bettman reported that Ryan Smith, the current owner of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, has expressed interest in relocating the Coyotes to Salt Lake City (Tweet Link). Although this is considerable news, especially coming from the Commissioner, Bettman did express a strong desire for the Coyotes to remain in Arizona and says that the NHL is helping the franchise find locations in Phoenix.
  • Early in the 2023 NHL Playoffs, it was reported that forward Valeri Nichushkin of the Colorado Avalanche would be sent home for the remainder of the playoffs. Asked about this during their press conference, especially in light of the police body came footage being released, Daly reports that Nichushkin is not under investigation, and is free to play during the 2023-24 NHL season (Tweet Link). Although it was never reported otherwise, it is positive news for Colorado, after recently receiving news that captain Gabriel Landeskog would miss the entirety of next season.
  • As eliminated teams are looking to fill both General Manager and head coach vacancies, it appears that two names could be officially coming to the market. Bettman reports that longtime NHL head coach, Joel Quenneville, and former General Manager, Stan Bowman, have both requested interviews to be reinstated in the league (Tweet Link). Both have been prohibited from working in the NHL ever since the sexual assault exposure from former player, Kyle Beach, came out during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs.

 

East Notes: Killorn, Orlov, Rangers

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The Lightning are believed to have made a long-term, low AAV offer to pending unrestricted free agent winger Alex Killorn, notes Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in his latest 32 Thoughts column.  The 33-year-old is coming off a career year that saw him put up 27 goals and 37 assists in 82 games and has the most points of any player set to hit the open market.  After playing on a $4.45MM AAV deal that has been team-friendly the last couple of seasons, Killorn will have a chance at a sizable increase in free agency.  Tampa Bay would undoubtedly love to keep him in the fold but with minimal cap space to work with this summer, they can’t afford to pay market value.  Accordingly, their most realistic chance to keep him is a long-term agreement that would almost certainly be an overpayment by the time it expires but a low enough AAV that they can squeak him in under the Upper Limit.  Even so, that will be a tough sell.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • While the Bruins would likely want to keep defenseman Dmitry Orlov in the fold if they could free up enough cap space to do so, the veteran told Sport-Express’ Alexey Shevchenko that he’s looking forward to seeing what’s available in free agency. The 31-year-old is coming off another strong season, notching 36 points in 66 games between Washington and Boston while logging 22:33 per night, the second-highest ATOI of his career.  Orlov, who also indicated that he’s not planning to sign in the KHL, is coming off a contract that carries a $5.1MM AAV and is likely to get a fair bit more than that on the open market with a long-term agreement.
  • The Rangers have not yet interviewed Patrick Roy for their coaching vacancy, reports Larry Brooks of the New York Post. However, it’s worth noting that Roy is still coaching with his QMJHL team, Quebec, set to play the final game of the Memorial Cup on Sunday so perhaps at that time, GM Chris Drury might reach out to his former teammate.  Roy has some NHL experience under his belt having spent three seasons behind the bench in Colorado before abruptly resigning in 2016.  Among coaches still available New York has already interviewed Peter Laviolette and Jay Leach and the team is set to do so soon with John Hynes if they haven’t already done so.

Mike Babcock Expected To Be Named Blue Jackets Head Coach

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It was expected by now that the Blue Jackets would officially have their head coach in place by now.  However, earlier today, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported (Twitter link) that the delay isn’t tied to their own deliberations but rather that something and/or someone was holding up the process.

TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that the someone in question is Mike Babcock and the something pertains to his old contract in Toronto.  Dreger reports that Babcock is expected to become the new bench boss in Columbus but the hold-up in making the move official is due to his former deal with the Maple Leafs which doesn’t expire until the end of June.  Speculatively, based on this, it would seem like the Blue Jackets are waiting for the final month of his eight-year, $50MM contract from back in 2015 to end so that they won’t have to be responsible for paying for part of that.  (Babcock will receive that money no matter what, either all from Toronto or partially from Columbus with the Maple Leafs covering the difference.)

Babcock last coached in the NHL back in the 2019-20 campaign before being let go by Toronto after a sluggish 9-10-4 start to their season.  His tenure in Toronto wasn’t the greatest overall but it came on the heels of a successful ten-year run behind the bench in Detroit, anchored by a Stanley Cup title in 2008.  Overall, the 60-year-old has a 700-418-183 record over parts of 17 seasons between Anaheim, Detroit, and Toronto but word surfaced following his departure from the Maple Leafs about a toxic playing environment with both the Red Wings and Maple Leafs.  Internationally, he is the only member of the ’Triple Gold’ club among coaches (Olympics, World Championships, and a Stanley Cup).

Babcock was briefly behind the bench again in 2021-22, working with the University of Saskatchewan on a volunteer basis, receiving a two-year deal.  However, he stepped aside last summer, indicating at the time that he was retiring from coaching although he could change his mind if the right situation came up.  It appears that he feels the Blue Jackets are the right situation.

Columbus was active last summer, making a big splash on the free agent market in Johnny Gaudreau while working out a multi-year deal with Patrik Laine to give their attack a strong one-two punch.  However, it didn’t materialize in the form of victories as the Blue Jackets finished dead last in the Eastern Conference with just 59 points, a sizable drop from the 81 they had the year before.  That resulted in Brad Larsen being let go at the end of the season.

Babcock will now be tasked with trying to turn things around in Columbus, a team that has some quality youngsters in the organization already while they’re set to add another with the third-overall pick later this month, a selection that could yield the future top center they’ve long been seeking.  It’s a surprising turn of events for someone who hadn’t really been considered much in recent years for NHL coaching opportunities but if he’s able to get the Blue Jackets back into the playoff mix relatively quickly, he’ll have a chance at finishing his coaching career on a better note than it would have ended otherwise.

Assuming this hire is made official – though it might take a few more weeks – there are now three remaining head coaching vacancies in the NHL – the Ducks, Flames, and Rangers.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Senators, Penguins, Luostarinen

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Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reported today that the talk amongst the bidders for ownership of the Ottawa Senators is that Toronto billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos is the current favorite to purchase the franchise. Apostolopoulos was one of four bidders with the other three being Los Angeles-based producer Neko Sparks, Michael and Jeffrey Kimel of Harlo Capital, and Toronto’s Michael Andlauer. Garrioch goes on to say that Apostolopoulos, who missed out on purchasing the NFL’s Washington Commanders is in the driver’s seat as he had the highest bid at $1 billion.

Garrioch adds that it is far from a done deal as there has been talk that the other ownership groups have been making moves to improve their bids and add additional people to their groups. Sources have told Garrioch that Andlauer is confident he will get the team and he believes his position with the Montreal Canadiens as an alternate member of the NHL’s board of governors will give him the inside track to the Senators ownership. There was talk earlier in the week that Andlauer and the Kimel’s might form a collective group, but those talks have apparently stopped after not getting very far.

It’ll be interesting to see where the Senator’s ownership saga goes in the upcoming weeks. Gary Bettman doesn’t generally like to have other teams making announcements during the Stanley Cup finals, and with game 1 set for Saturday night it might be well into June when there is an official announcement about who will be the next owner of the Senators.

In other snapshots from around the NHL:

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins got to work today in the first day with Kyle Dubas at the helm. Dubas took over as president of hockey operations and interim general manager from Brian Burke and Ron Hextall and was quick to make moves to dismiss some members of the old guard. Josh Yohe of The Athletic reported that director of pro scouting Kerry Huffman, director of hockey operations and salary cap management Alec Schall, and senior VP of integrated performance Teena Murray were all let go with at least one year remaining on their contracts. All three were hired by Hextall and will not be part of the new management group in Pittsburgh as they rebuild their hockey ops after a disappointing season in which they missed the playoffs for the first time in 17 years.
  • Tom Gulitti of NHL.com writes that Florida Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen is practicing with the team in Vegas ahead of game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals tomorrow night. Luostarinen was paired back up with his usual linemates Sam Reinhart and Anton Lundell. The 24-year-old was injured in game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Carolina Hurricanes but has yet to miss a game. Paul Maurice was quoted in The Hockey News on Monday saying that he expected Luostarinen to be ready for game 1 and things appear to be trending that way. Luostarinen has been a big part of the Panthers third line in this postseason putting up two goals and three assists in 16 games.

Snapshots: Hjorth, Trotz, Blue Jackets

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As the deadline to sign players with expiring draft rights is tomorrow, the Columbus Blue Jackets will at least lose one player in the process. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that the Blue Jacket’s fourth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, Eric Hjorth, will not be signed by tomorrow’s deadline.

For the most part, Hjorth has spent most of his playing time since his draft year in the Swedish minor leagues. Most recently, playing in the HockeyAllsvenskan for the HC Vita Hasten, Hjorth scored three goals and six assists in 43 games played this year.

Although most teams are hoping for NHL-bound talent even into the later rounds, it does not appear that Columbus is missing out on a player that is ready for professional hockey in North America. Fortunately for the Blue Jackets, Hjorth is the only player in the organization that had expiring draft rights this season.

Other snapshots:

  • In an interview with the press today, Barry Trotz partly explained the draft plan for the Nashville Predators this year. Alex Daugherty of PenaltyBoxRadio, reports that Trotz has told his scouts to “take some swings” and be aggressive in this month’s draft. Although coaching his teams to a relatively “boring” style of hockey, it appears that Trotz may employ a much different tactic as General Manager of the Predators.
  • Earlier this week, it was reported that the Blue Jackets were on the edge of hiring the next head coach of the team. Unfortunately, Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch reports that the expectation is the team will not name a new head coach tonight, or at any point tomorrow. The Blue Jackets are still close to making a decision, but it appears that the front office has not yet come to a fully unanimous agreement.

 

East Notes: Rangers, Holl, Maple Leafs

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Already a day after his removal as the head coach of the Nashville Predators, John Hynes has plenty of interest from teams around the NHL. Per Mollie Walker of the New York Post, it appears that the New York Rangers have been given permission to interview Hynes for their head coaching vacancy.

The Rangers have already been heavily linked to Peter Laviolette, but with another veteran head coach now on the open market, it is only natural that the Rangers continue to do their due diligence. Having been a head coach in the NHL for the last nine seasons, Hynes fits the mold of an established coach that the Rangers appear to be after in their search.

In his first five years behind the bench of an NHL team, Hynes took the New Jersey Devils to a 150-159-45 record, appearing in the playoffs once during the 2017-18 season, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. After his ouster in New Jersey, Hynes was hired by the Predators prior to the 2019-20 season.

In his four seasons in Nashville, Hynes coached the Predators to the playoffs three times, losing in the first round each year. After all was said and done in Nashville, Hynes held a 134-95-18 record with the Predators.

Other notes:

  • In a report today from the Toronto Star, Kevin McGran reports that Justin Holl would like to return to the Toronto Maple Leafs next season. However, Holl’s agent, Brian Bartlett, recognizes that significant turnover is likely coming to the Maple Leafs’ roster this summer, and Holl could very well be an odd man out. Although providing good physical energy to Toronto’s bottom-four defensemen highlighted by his 139 blocks and 151 hits, Holl lacked mightily in the possession game with 28 takeaways compared to 56 giveaways.
  • Confirming last week that the General Manager of the St.Louis Blues, Doug Armstrong, did not have an out clause in his contract to join the Maple Leafs as General Manager, Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest reports that Toronto never asked the Blues for permission to speak with Armstrong. Today, the Maple Leafs found their head of the front office by hiring Brad Treliving.

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