Coaching Notes: Stars, Maurice, Kings
The Stars didn’t waste any time making a coaching change when the season came to an end as they let Lindy Ruff go on Sunday and GM Jim Nill admitted to 1310 AM in Dallas that he did give consideration to making an in-season change before ultimately deciding against it (transcription via the Dallas Morning News):
“He (Ruff) deserved a chance to try to get this team into the playoffs. I’m not a big guy into making changes during the season unless there’s really something that’s standing out. There were no names out there, and I get back to I think Lindy deserved the chance to try and get this team in the playoffs.”
Ruff had a 165-122-41 record over his four seasons in Dallas and he now finds himself among the most experienced coaches on the market; he has been behind an NHL bench as a head coach every season since 1997-98. As for Nill, he noted back when Ruff was let go that the search for his replacement had already started and that he could move quickly to hire someone.
Other coaching notes from around the league:
- While some wondered if Jets head coach Paul Maurice would be among those let go throughout the NHL on Monday, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff told reporters, including Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun, that Maurice has his full support heading into next season. However, no talks regarding a potential contract extension have happened yet as the bench boss heads into the final year of his current deal. For his part, Maurice noted that he is “completely comfortable” heading into next season without an extension as he has been in that situation several times over the years.
- The Kings announced (Twitter link) that they’ve relieved assistant coach Davis Payne of his duties. Earlier in the day, general manager Rob Blake stated he had ha not yet decided whether or not the team would retain Payne or John Stevens, notes Helene Elliott of the LA Times. Payne had been with the Kings since 2012-13 under former head coach Darryl Sutter. He has some experience as an NHL head coach having spent time behind the bench with St. Louis for parts of three seasons.
Snapshots: Holland, Blashill, Dallas
The Detroit Red Wings missed the playoffs for the first time in a quarter century, and with it many fans were calling for the head of GM Ken Holland. While his recent history doesn’t sparkle with shrewd moves, the team feels as though he’s still the man to lead them back to the promised land. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports that Christopher Illitch—son of the late Mike Illitch, who owned the Red Wings from 1982 through his death earlier this year—still has “100% confidence” in Holland and still thinks he’s the man to bring another championship to Detroit.
While votes of confidence from owners don’t always mean anything, it does seem that Holland is safe in Detroit. Illitch also said that head coach Jeff Blashill’s tenure with the team would be up to Holland, who later said that Blashill would return as coach. The Red Wings will go into the summer with several question marks on their roster, including what to do in net and on the blue line. With Petr Mrazek not running away with the starting job like the Red Wings had hoped, they again have a controversy over what to do with Jimmy Howard and his $5.29MM cap hit.
- For now, Blashill will be heading to the World Championships where he will coach Team USA. In fact, the coach will be taking Howard with him according to Ansar Khan of MLive. Blashill was an assistant coach for Team USA at the World Juniors in 2009, but has not since represented his country on the international stage. The tournament begins for Team USA on May 5th in Germany when they will take on the host country.
- Both Darren Dreger of TSN and Mark Spector of Sportsnet believe that the Dallas Stars will be moving quickly on their next head coach, perhaps even hiring him by the end of the week. Spector believes that Ken Hitchcock, a former Stars coach who was fired by the St. Louis Blues midway through this season, is one of the finalists, while Dreger names Gerard Gallant and Willie Desjardins as other top candidates. For what it’s worth, Craig Custance of ESPN guessed this morning that it would be Hitchcock. The 65-year old Hitchcock has 781 career coaching wins, putting him behind only Scotty Bowman, Joel Quennville and Al Arbour all-time.
Morning Notes: Lombardi, Coaches, Rangers
Huge changes were laid down yesterday in Los Angeles, with the team firing both GM Dean Lombardi and coach Darryl Sutter. Lombardi had been with the team since 2006, and ushered in the first two Stanley Cups in Kings history in 2012 and 2014. The general manager was highly respected by his players, including those he drafted like Drew Doughty and others he brought in like Jeff Carter. It’s no surprise then that Gord Miller of TSN reported today that many Kings’ players showed up at his home last night to “console him”.
While the GM can certainly be critiqued for moves he made to try and keep the Kings relevant the last few years, Miller reminds us that most were due to loyalty for the players who took the team to the Stanley Cup. Whether that is an ideal way to run a franchise (it’s not), it is at least understandable from a man who found no such success with the San Jose Sharks in his previous stint as GM. He’ll definitely land on his feet somewhere, if only because of the loyalty and respect he’s earned over the years. The Kings though, are likely better off moving in a new direction.
- As for Sutter, he joins the rest of the recently fired coaches that will be looking for new employment this offseason. Craig Custance of ESPN took a shot at predicting who will fill the other four vacancies, with Ken Hitchcock (Dallas), Travis Green (Vancouver), Dallas Eakins (Florida) and Jack Capuano (Vegas) getting the nods. He also mentions coaches like Jim Montgomery of the University of Denver, David Quinn from Boston University, and Todd Nelson of the Grand Rapids Griffins as names to watch this summer for the vacancies. All three are considered excellent up-and-coming options, who should find their way into the NHL eventually if they so choose.
- The Rangers have made their playoff cuts, sending Taylor Beck and Magnus Hellberg back down to the Hartford Wolfpack for the last few games. Hartford has been the worst team in the AHL this season and will end their season in a few days with an ugly record. While that’s not neccessarily emblematic of a poor farm system, the Rangers haven’t selected in the first round since 2012 and it is obviously hurting their pipeline. They don’t have their second, third or fourth picks this year, but when they missed out on Kevin Shattenkirk at the deadline, they kept that first-rounder for the time being.
Kings Fire Head Coach Darryl Sutter And GM Dean Lombardi
In a massive overhaul of their front office, Los Angeles Kings ownership group AEG announced that head coach Darryl Sutter and General Manager Dean Lombardi have been relieved of their positions. A pair of former players and current executives have been promoted with Luc Robitaille named President and Rob Blake named the new General Manager and Vice President. The duo will oversee all of hockey operations which now includes finding a new coach. The Kings will hold an official press conference tomorrow to introduce Robitaille and Blake in their new capacities.
The sweeping changes come after a disappointing season that saw the perennial contenders miss the playoffs entirely. Despite a long-term injury to starting goalie Jonathan Quick, it was instead the offense that struggled for much of the season. Anemic at times, the offense finished 24th in the league with 2.4 goals per game behind poor production from Anze Kopitar, Marian Gaborik, and Dustin Brown and a step backward in development for Tyler Toffoli. Much of the blame for the goal-scoring struggles fell on Sutter’s dated style and slow-paced structure and Lomdardi’s inability to add scoring via trade. Lombardi likely sealed his fate with a strange deadline deal to acquire Tampa Bay Lightning starting goaltender Ben Bishop in exchange for expectation-shattering veteran backup Peter Budaj and other pieces just as Quick had finally gotten healthy. The move did little to help the Kings down the stretch, whereas those same pieces or others could have been used to acquire a scorer instead. Los Angeles finished in tenth in the Western Conference, eight points behind the Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames for a playoff berth.
AEG CEO Dan Beckerman called the move “an extremely difficult decision… made with an enormous amount of consideration”, but in the end they felt that it was the best for the team. Beckerman expressed his gratitude to both Sutter and Lombardi in the company’s statement, as the pair did build and operate a Kings team that won two Stanley Cups in a five-year span, but simply felt it was time to move on. Sutter joins a growing list of highly decorated veteran coaches available on the open market, but only time will tell if his old-school style is appealing to one of the teams in the hunt for a new bench boss. Sutter is a Hall of Famer, but his NHL future is currently in doubt. Lombardi meanwhile is not long removed from being considered a top team builder in the NHL. Lombardi built a winner in L.A., but simply forgot to keep building. Nevertheless, he will find a job in a front office sooner rather than later. The new team of Robitaille and Blake have their work cut out for them this off-season, as the Kings faces a difficult Expansion Draft scenario, likely a middling first-round pick unable to contribute next season, several contracts that should be shed if possible, and, of course, a desperate need for scoring help up front.
Vancouver Canucks Fire Willie Desjardins
It’s that time of year, and another team has decided to fire their head coach after a disappointing season. The Vancouver Canucks have fired Willie Desjardins along with assistants Doug Lidster and Perry Pearn. The team finished last in the Pacific Division with a 30-43-9 record and will miss the playoffs for a second consecutive season.
After taking the Canucks to the playoffs in his first year in Vancouver, Desjardins has seen both the performance on the ice and his popularity in the city plummet recently. The former Calder Cup and WHL Champion has found success at every level of coaching until now, and will be considered for open jobs around the league again very shortly. Though his teams haven’t performed well the last two years, some may point to their construction more than his tactics as there have been very few success stories coming out of free agency or the trade market for the Canucks recently. Whether it is signing Loui Eriksson long-term, or drafting Jake Virtanen and then bouncing him up and down between leagues, there have been quite a few questionable moves from management in recent years.
Desjardins nonetheless hasn’t gotten the best out of this group and will pay the price for it. The Canucks will be in another prime lottery position, finishing second last in the league thanks to an eight-game losing streak to end the year. With new leadership behind the bench, and another high draft pick perhaps the franchise will buy into a real rebuild. At the deadline, they did well to acquire Nikolay Goldobin and Jonathan Dahlen for expiring contracts and will now attempt to find a new voice to lead the new direction. With just one year remaining on the contracts of the Sedin twins, the Canucks have a huge amount of salary coming off the books for 2018-19 and could be in fine shape in two year’s time.
Bob McKenzie of TSN was first to break the news that Desjardins had been relieved of his coaching duties.
Snapshots: Waivers, Panthers Coaching Candidates, Budaj
It’s not a regular occurrence to see someone on waivers at this time of the season but that’s the case with Tampa Bay center Gabriel Dumont who hit the wire today, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The move is required as the 26 year old has been up with the team for more than a month since last clearing waivers on trade deadline day.
Assuming he clears again this time around, Dumont will be eligible to participate for their farm team, the Syracuse Crunch, in the upcoming AHL playoffs. He’s only the second player to go on waivers since the trade deadline, the other being Vancouver’s Drew Shore, who needed waivers in order to join the team last month.
This season, Dumont played in a career high 38 games with the Lightning, collecting two goals and two assists along with 29 penalty minutes while averaging 9:35 of ice time per contest. He has been a more productive player at the minor league level, picking up five goals and five helpers in just 19 games. He’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent in July.
Elsewhere around the league:
- The Panthers are likely to interview University of Denver head coach Jim Montgomery and San Diego (AHL) bench boss Dallas Eakins for their soon-to-be-vacated coaching job, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (video link). Montgomery led the Pioneers to the NCAA title last night and has a 102-47-18 record over four years at the school and was named Coach of the Year this season. However, he has never coached at the professional level. As for Eakins, he coached parts of two seasons with the Oilers where his teams struggled to a 36-63-14 mark. He has had more success in the AHL though, posting a .589 points percentage over six seasons.
- Although goaltender Peter Budaj didn’t see much action after being acquired by Tampa Bay as part of the Ben Bishop trade leading up to the trade deadline, he noted to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times that he would be interested in signing a new deal with the team this offseason. Budaj played in only seven games after the trade but was instrumental in keeping the Kings afloat when Jonathan Quick went down early in the season. On the year, he has played in a career high 60 games, posting a strong 2.18 GAA with a .915 SV% and should be able to land a guaranteed NHL spot for next season in free agency this summer after opening 2016-17 as a third stringer.
Lindy Ruff Out As Dallas Stars’ Coach
The Dallas Stars’ General Manager Jim Nill announced today that coach Lindy Ruff will not return as head coach for the 2017-18 season on their website.
Red Wings Notes: Rebuilding, Routines At The Joe, Sheahan
ESPN’s Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun give their opinions on how the Red Wings should proceed as they miss the playoffs for the first time since 1990. Burnside takes the approach that the talent in the system isn’t what it used to be and is curious to see if the likes of Andreas Athanasiou and Anthony Mantha are truly the real deal. LeBrun points out that the Wings extension of the playoff streak hurt their stock as they missed out on drafting premier talent should they have embraced changing instead of making the playoffs and getting bounced quickly. Both agree it will be a long road back, instead of a quick fix like general manager Ken Holland believes it can be.
- The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James talked to a number of players and staff about their routines at the Joe. For Holland, he drives between home and the arena during playoff games out of nerves, and looks forward to an office where he will have windows. His current digs are “in the bowels” of the arena whereas his new one will overlook the Fox Theater and Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers. Head coach Jeff Blashill spends his time at the Joe scouting and working out–so he doesn’t yell at the refs “too much.” His days are also filled with meetings–everything from watching tape to fixing the power play. Forward Justin Abdelkader spends his time eating, in meetings, and then going to lunch with teammates. A mid-afternoon nap gets wedged into day before Abdelkader returns for meetings and a game.
- In a preview for the Wings-Habs tilt, MLive’s Brendan Savage writes that the final two games of the season are big ones for Riley Sheahan. The Detroit forward is still searching for his first goal of the season. He holds the dubious honor of most shots on goal without scoring, and Savage calls it “baffling” after Sheahan posted double-digit goals in 2015-16 (14), and 2014-15 (13).
Should The Panthers Put Dale Tallon Back in Charge?
Sun-Sentinel reporter Dave Hyde wonders if the Florida Panthers higher ups will come to their senses and allow Dale Tallon to finish the job he started. After a disastrous season that followed an extremely successful 2015-16 season, Tallon was given the new title of President of Hockey Operations while ceding the general manager’s chair to Tom Rowe. The results? A fired coach, a collapse to the end of the season, and more questions than answers. Fans are protesting the retention of Rowe in any capacity as he will not return to the bench next season. Hyde writes that putting Tallon back in charge of everything seems to be the best choice for the franchise’s future. Hyde adds that firing other key front office staff like Scott Luce and losing scouts who left the team has been attrition the Panthers couldn’t afford.
The move, when it was made, was seen as one that was a nod to analytics and more progressive viewpoints as the Panthers were barely a month removed from the best regular season in franchise history Rowe’s moves did more than just tinker with a roster that was so successful–many of them were significant. The move to get Keith Yandle, who regressed from his 46 points (5-41) last season. Hyde also believes that the loss of Erik Gudbranson was felt and that the grand plan Rowe and others laid out never came close to fruition.
Of course, would Tallon actually want it? After all, the team apparently restructured the power only to say that nothing had changed back in December. Not to mention the unceremonious way he was asked to leave the general manager’s gig.
Then there’s the handling of Gerard Gallant, who was inexplicably fired following a Panthers loss to Carolina in Raleigh. The news, which came before photos of Gallant hailing a cab to leave the stadium, which reflected poorly on the organization. Though it was reported later that Gallant refused help from the team, the image was already seared into the minds of hockey folk aghast at the move and the purported treatment of the reining Jack Adams Trophy winner. Gallant denied later that he was let go due to a lack of embracing analytics.
Regardless, something must be done in Miami. Last year at this time, the Panthers were up and coming. Now they’re in a purgatory, unsure of what move to make. If Hyde were the man making the decisions, Dale Tallon would get his seat back in the general manager’s chair.
All that remains to be asked if he would still actually want it.
Saturday Snapshots: Final Saturday Of The Regular Season
8:48pm: The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3, clinching a playoff spot for the first time since 2013. Despite losing goaltender Frederik Andersen, the Leafs rallied for three goals in the third to punch their ticket to the playoffs. TSN’s Bob McKenzie sums up the seedings with tomorrow’s results. If Toronto gets one point tomorrow, they will take on Ottawa in the first round while Boston faces off against Washington. Should they lose, they draw Washington and the Bruins get Ottawa.
2:54 pm: Today is the second last day of the regular season, and as such, there’s a lot going on around the National Hockey League. The entire playoff bracket can be finalized this evening, stars will be healthy scratched, and milestones hit.
Playoff Matchups:
- Two Eastern Conference matchups have already been set: Canadiens vs Rangers and Penguins vs Blue Jackets. Another could be set tonight, if Toronto, Ottawa, and Boston all win. That would mean Capitals vs Maple Leafs. Should the Maple Leafs lose while the other two win, then that would guarantee Senators vs Bruins.
- Wild vs Blues is clinched by a St. Louis win or a Nashville loss.
- Oilers vs Sharks would be clinched by:
- An Oilers extra-time loss vs the Canucks tonight, OR
- An Oilers regulation loss and a Sharks loss in any fashion.
- Blackhawks vs Predators happens if:
- The Predators lose in regulation, OR
- The Flames win and the Blues get a single point, OR
- The Flames and Predators both lose in OT.
- The Flames would take on the Ducks if:
- The Oilers lose, the Blues get a point, and the Flames win, OR
- The Oilers lose, and both the Flames and Predators lose in OT, OR
- The Oilers lose, and the Predators lose in regulation.
- The Flames would take on the Blackhawks if Calgary loses and the Predators win.
- The Ducks would take on the Predators if:
- Both Edmonton and Calgary lose, and the Predators win, OR
- Nashville gets a point, while Edmonton loses and Calgary loses in regulation.
Other clinching scenarios:
- The Oilers clinch home-ice with a single point. They visit Vancouver tonight, and host them tomorrow.
- The Ducks clinch the Pacific Division with an Oilers loss of any kind.
- To pass Anaheim and win the Pacific, the Oilers would need to sweep the Canucks this weekend and have Anaheim lose to Los Angeles tomorrow.
- Should the Toronto Maple Leafs win tonight against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto will clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2013. That would eliminate the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning.
- The Islanders could also be eliminated with a regulation loss or any kind of loss if the Maple Leafs get a single point.
- UPDATE: Ottawa clinched home ice by defeating the Rangers, 3-1.
- They defeat the Rangers today, OR
- Boston and Toronto lose in regulation, OR
- The Bruins and Senators each get a single point combined with a Maple Leafs OT loss.
Scratches:
- The Penguins are resting a handful of players, but not their captain. Regulars Nick Bonino, Brian Dumoulin, Patric Hornqvist, Matt Murray, and Bryan Rust will all be healthy scratches, however Sidney Crosby will dress. Forward Kevin Porter and goaltender Tristan Jarry have been called up to fill out the lineup; Jarry will back up Marc-Andre Fleury. The Penguins coach, Mike Sullivan, told TSN that he’s aware of what’s on the line for the Maple Leafs, but re-iterated that his priority is to do what’s best for the team “in the short-term and the long-term. Having said that the lineup we put in will be competitive.”
- The Canucks will be without the services of Sven Baertschi for this weekend’s home-and-home with the Oilers. Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma reports that Baertschi may have hurt his shoulder or neck on Thursday vs the Coyotes.
- The Senators will be resting several players. Their lineup isn’t known yet, but Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch suggested Craig Anderson, Mike Hoffman, Dion Phaneuf, Kyle Turris, and Viktor Stalberg as possibilities.
Milestones:
- Oilers captain Connor McDavid could become just the fifth player to score 100 points since 2010. He’s sitting at 97 points in 80 games, the seventh-most points in a season during in that time frame. Only Evgeni Malkin, Daniel Sedin, Crosby, and Patrick Kane have cracked the century-mark this decade. McDavid is nine points ahead of Crosby and Kane for the NHL scoring lead, and looks poised to take home the Art Ross in his first full season at age 20.
- With one more goal this season, Auston Matthews can become the fifteenth rookie in NHL history to score 40 goals. Currently, he’s tied with Crosby, Steve Yzerman, and Peter and Anton Stastny at 39. Kings’ coach Darryl Sutter, Sylvain Turgeon, and Warren Young all scored 40 goals in their rookie seasons.