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Ottawa Senators Not Considering Coaching Change

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There were a lot of expectations for the Ottawa Senators coming into this year. They had a young core of exciting forwards, and added star power like Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux to the mix. Top pick Jake Sanderson was supposed to give the defense corps a huge boost, while Cam Talbot was brought in to solidify the goaltending. Things got off to an okay start, with four wins in the first six games, but have since gone downhill.

The Senators now sit at 4-7 on the year after losing their last five and speculation has started to percolate about the safety of head coach D.J. Smith. Today, when speaking with reporters, general manager Pierre Dorion wanted to make it clear that Smith wasn’t going anywhere. “D.J. is our coach and he’s going to be our coach,” he told the gathered media including Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia.

This is Smith’s fourth season behind the bench in Ottawa and despite having an overall record of 85-111-24, things have generally been considered a success. The team was not expected to be competitive, was open about their rebuilding process, and yet still played hard every night under the rookie head coach. Young players like Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris, Tim Stutzle, and Drake Batherson all took huge leaps in production, and the team was in the top half of the league on the penalty kill, something that is often attributed to the coaching staff.

Still, it’s time to start winning.

One thing that Smith has in his favor is Talbot, who looks sharp since coming back from an injury that kept him out the first month of the season. In two appearances he has stopped 39 of 41 shots and should soon become that stabilizing presence he was brought in as. Whether they can actually turn that strong goaltending into wins is another story, especially with the state of their defense.

While Sanderson has been strong in his rookie season, it’s hard to place much responsibility on a 20-year-old that has just barely started his professional journey. With Artem Zub out, the defense has looked like a jumbled mess, made up of players seeing more ice time than they probably should. Zub is expected back soon but it remains to be seen whether this group will do enough for the team to turn things around. Even with today’s front office support, Smith’s job may depend on it.

Evening Notes: Horvat, Senators Sale, Samsonov

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It was not long ago that, with as many question marks as there were around the Vancouver Canucks, the obvious answer was an extension for team captain Bo Horvat. Whether or not players like J.T. Miller or Brock Boeser were or were not traded or if head coach Bruce Boudreau would be brought back for this season, a Horvat extension always seemed to be a given. Now, after extensions for Miller and Boeser, the free agent signing of Ilya Mikheyev, and the Canucks’ rocky start to the season, with no extension in place for the captain, things appear more uncertain than they’ve ever been for Horvat and Vancouver.

On tonight’s 32 Thoughts segment of Hockey Night In Canada, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reiterated the story on Horvat: the needle has not moved at all in negotiations. Marek further emphasized the curiosity as to what the organization will ultimately do with Horvat. On one hand, the reunion between both sides appears to be a perfect match and as much as the Canucks have struggled to start the season, Horvat with his 10 goals in 11 games, has not. Still, the more the veteran continues to score, the higher he drives his price. With Miller and Boeser now in place, if the price becomes higher than Vancouver wishes to pay, or simply can pay, the decision might be made for them. And, should Vancouver struggle or fail to make up the ground they lost, Horvat’s trade value may be enough to dissuade them from pursuing an extension in the first place.

  • Yesterday, the Ottawa Senators formally initiated the process of being sold, just over seven months after the passing of owner Eugene Melnyk. Though that time might seem a bit longer than expected to some, the Melnyk family was able to oversee a team transition this offseason to lock in some of the organization’s young core talent, become one of the league’s more exciting groups, and of course, grieve Melnyk’s passing. Although the timeline to date has been unclear, the sale process might be a bit more clear, and quick. Also from tonight’s 32 Thoughts, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman expects the process to get seriously moving by American Thanksgiving, which is now 19 days away. No clear front runner(s) for the team have emerged yet, though Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the league would prefer one majority owner over a group of minority shareholders. Even with the Thanksgiving timetable mentioned, when exactly a new owner would be in place with all formalities and transition of power completed, is unclear.
  • More tough news for the Toronto Maple Leafs in net as goaltender Ilya Samsonov, who started tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins, was forced to leave after the second period. The Maple Leafs confirmed their goaltender would not return while dealing with a knee injury. According to head coach Sheldon Keefe, who discussed the injury with reporters, including Joshua Clipperton of The Canadien Press, was suffered during Brad Marchand’s penalty shot. The extent of the injury or any time he could miss is not yet clear, however Toronto is already working around the loss of Matt Murray in net, who is on LTIR with an abductor injury. Murray was scheduled to miss four weeks with that injury and is currently through three, however a scheduled return is not yet known. Erik Kallgren, who has been acting as the Maple Leafs backup goaltender, is certainly a capable NHL netminder, however the only other goaltender Toronto has under contract is Dennis Hildeby, a 2022 draft pick currently on loan in his native Sweden. Interestingly, the Maple Leafs had been pressed against the 50 contract limit–until today. With forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel lost on waivers to the Washington Capitals this afternoon, Toronto now has just 49 of 50 contracts in their system, enough to add one more player. Should they need to do so, they’ll have to act quick and be creative, with puck drop in Carolina scheduled for 5:00 pm ET tomorrow afternoon.

 

West Notes: Saad, Hughes, Bear, Studnicka

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The St. Louis Blues are in a rocky stretch of their season at the moment. After getting off to a 3-0 start, the Blues have stumbled and are now 3-4 and second-to-last in the Central Division. Injuries haven’t played a major role in the team’s lackluster performance, but St. Louis could still nonetheless certainly stand to get healthier. Forward Brandon Saad has skated in just three games this season, and the Blues have to be hoping that he can return to health soon.

Despite the fact that he has not been placed on injured reserve, it doesn’t look as though Saad will be returning any time soon. As The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford reports, Saad hasn’t been practicing due to an upper-body injury, and per Blues head coach Craig Berube, he’s “still a ways away.” Saad is an important contributor to the Blues’ all-around game, and the 24 goals and 49 points he scored last year is certainly the sort of production St. Louis could use right now.

Some other notes on Western Conference teams:

  • The Vancouver Canucks’ defense has been ravaged by injuries so far this season, although their situation has begun to improve. As noted by The Athletic’s Thomas Drance, top defenseman Quinn Hughes was back on the ice with his teammates today at practice. Hughes has missed Vancouver’s last four games with a lower-body injury, but could be returning soon. The American blueliner has five assists in five games this year and had 68 points in 76 games last season.
  • The Canucks have been busy on the trade market as of late, acquiring center Jack Studnicka from the Boston Bruins and defenseman Ethan Bear from the Carolina Hurricanes. Drance reports that both Bear and Studnicka are on the ice today at practice. Bear and Studnicka have played just one NHL game combined so far this season, so it will be interesting to see how coach Bruce Boudreau chooses to deploy them to begin their Canucks careers.

Boston Bruins Activate Brad Marchand

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4:35 PM: The Bruins have now made Marchand’s return official. Per the team release, Marchand has been activated off of injured reserve.

In a corresponding move, the Bruins have assigned defenseman Mike Reilly to the AHL’s Providence Bruins, clearing the open roster spot needed to facilitate Marchand’s return. Reilly has previously cleared waivers and will head to Providence having played in all seven of the Bruins’ games this season. Reilly has one assist in those seven games and is playing on a $3MM cap hit that expires in the summer of 2024.

10:19 AM: It was all a ruse, apparently. After telling reporters just yesterday that Brad Marchand wasn’t ready to return, head coach Jim Montgomery has informed reporters including Conor Ryan of the Boston Sports Journal that the veteran winger will indeed play tonight against the Detroit Red Wings. Marchand won’t travel with the team for tomorrow’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, as they ease him into the lineup.

Marchand, 34, was originally scheduled to be out until Thanksgiving, meaning his return tonight is a month ahead of the original plan. It did seem as though they were ready for this when he skated yesterday on the top line, powerplay unit, and even led the stretch.

While he may not be playing in both halves of a back-to-back for the next little while, getting Marchand back in the mix is a huge boost for the Bruins, who are already playing well. The team is 6-1 through the early part of the season and has an early grip on the top of the Atlantic Division. Adding a player who has had six straight seasons of production well over a point per game should only help the team continue to dominate.

The team will have to make a corresponding roster move to activate Marchand, and it isn’t entirely clear what that will be. Nick Foligno and Mike Reilly did clear waivers earlier this month, but otherwise, there aren’t any players who are exempt.

Snapshots: Gronborg, Heiskanen, Talbot

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One of the names that used to come up every summer in connection to vacant NHL coaching jobs is Rikard Gronborg, former long-time coach of the Swedish national team programs. Gronborg has plenty of experience on this side of the ocean, after playing college hockey at St. Cloud State, coaching in the AWHL, and serving as an assistant in the WHL. For the last few years, his candidacy hasn’t been brought up for a while because of his commitment as head coach of the ZSC Lions in Switzerland, one of the most successful and popular teams in Europe.

Today, news has broken that Gronborg won’t be back with the Lions and instead is likely taking a multi-year contract with Tappara Tampere in Finland. However, the report out of Switzerland also states that if the NHL were to come calling, Gronborg’s new contract with Tappara has an out clause to let him pursue a North American opportunity. With seven World Championship medals, six World Juniors medals, and an Olympic silver, Gronborg has one of the most impressive international coaching resumes of all time. Whether that ever translates into an opportunity in the NHL remains to be seen.

  • Miro Heiskanen is still listed as day-to-day for the Dallas Stars and isn’t expected to play tonight, he could be back on Saturday according to head coach Pete DeBoer, who spoke with reporters including Saad Yousuf of The Athletic. Without Heiskanen in the lineup against the Boston Bruins, Nils Lundkvist played a career-high 22:04. Lundkvist had never gone above 16:39 with the New York Rangers but has now matched or exceeded that in six of seven games with Dallas.
  • Cam Talbot might be back ahead of schedule, according to Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith. As Claire Hanna of TSN reports, Talbot was on the ice facing shots today and is “certainly ahead of the timeline” that had been set for him. There’s still no clear date set for his return but they could still use him, with Anton Forsberg dealing with a minor injury of his own. On that front, Forsberg was back at practice as well and is expected to be the starter when the team takes on the Minnesota Wild tonight.

Sean Couturier “Not Ready” To Continue Skating

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While the word setback wasn’t used, it sure seems like that’s what John Tortorella suggested when speaking about Sean Couturier today. He told reporters including Giana Han of the Philadelphia Inquirer that Couturier is “just not ready” to continue his rehab and has stopped skating for the time being. As Jordan Hall of NBCS Philly points out, the veteran forward recently said he was feeling good in his recovery while getting on the ice.

Couturier is not close to returning. Meanwhile, Cam Atkinson is “one frustrated young man,” who isn’t expected to be back anytime soon.

This will sound like the same old song and dance for Flyers fans who have lived in a world of injury setbacks and additional surgeries over the past few years. Ryan Ellis, last year’s offseason prize, played just three games for Philadelphia before ending up on the shelf, and then just one more before being shut down for the year. He hasn’t played at all this season.

Kevin Hayes underwent several surgeries to correct multiple issues and ended up playing in just 48 games. Even Nolan Patrick, the high draft pick that was supposed to help usher in a new era of Flyers hockey, could never get over his migraine and concussion issues to stay in the lineup on a consistent basis.

Couturier, arguably the team’s most important forward, only played 29 games last year. Despite his obvious injury concerns, the team signed him to an eight-year, $62MM contract extension in August 2021 – one that he is only just starting this season. The deal carries a cap hit of $7.75MM through 2029-30. Already 29, Couturier will turn 30 in December and now hasn’t played a full season in several years.

Hopefully, this setback only means that it will take him a little longer to return from his back injury. But with whispers in September of him missing the entire season because of the potential need for surgery, and now keeping him off the ice, there are bad vibes coming out of Philadelphia.

Latest On Barry Trotz

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After recusing himself from the coaching carousel last season, one of the best coaches in NHL history could return his name into consideration next season. Former Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals, and New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz told NHL.com today that he’s not quite ready yet to return to coaching, but the idea of coaching an Original Six franchise would spark “intrigue” for the veteran coach.

Speaking on his timeline on whether or not Trotz would return to coaching, he gave the following explanation:

I think probably to get everything settled, I’m going to be into early December before I feel comfortable (that) I’ve got family stuff in control and after that, I’m probably going to have to take a little break, a week or two, to maybe go somewhere warm in the winter, and then after that…

Trotz nearly got his first experience coaching a Canadian team this season, presenting as a finalist for the Winnipeg Jets’ head coaching vacancy before ultimately deciding that he wouldn’t coach anywhere during 2022-23. The 60-year-old coach is enjoying some well-earned time with his family after 23 straight seasons behind an NHL bench.

In terms of Original Six teams that Trotz could head to, there’s really only one feasible option for next year: the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Boston Bruins are already off to a strong start under new head coach Jim Montgomery; the same could be said for the Chicago Blackhawks and Luke Richardson and the Detroit Red Wings and Derek Lalonde. It doesn’t seem like the New York Rangers or Montreal Canadiens would be willing to part ways with Gerard Gallant or Martin St. Louis after impressive coaching stints, either. Keefe is the longest-tenured out of all six, and after a continued pattern of playoff losses, a wholesale change could be on its way to Toronto this offseason.

James Van Riemsdyk To Undergo Surgery

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The Philadelphia Flyers will be without James van Riemsdyk for the next while, as head coach John Tortorella announced today the veteran winger will have finger surgery on Friday. While Tortorella doesn’t think it is “season-ending”, as Giana Han of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, there won’t be a real timeline until after the procedure.

On Cam Atkinson, another injured Flyers forward, Tortorella explained that while he doesn’t expect it to be a month-to-month thing, Atkinson isn’t ready to practice yet.

After a nice start to the season, things weren’t nearly as rosy in Philadelphia on Sunday. The team was shutout 3-0 by the San Jose Sharks, while Travis Konecny and Kevin Hayes were both benched in the third period. Tortorella is clearly making an impact on the team (one way or another) but the loss of van Riemsdyk will test their forward group even more.

The 33-year-old forward was off to a good start with five points in his first five games, before exiting just five shifts into his sixth. A free agent at the end of the year, van Riemsdyk still has the ability to put the puck in the net and is coming off his seventh 20+ goal season in 2021-22. An injury like this will certainly not help any thought of another multi-year contract on the open market, especially because of how important his hands are to his overall game. Not the fleetest of foot, van Riemsdyk has always scored from close to (or in) the blue paint of the crease.

For his and the Flyers’ sake, hopefully, this surgery doesn’t take away any of that in-tight touch. Given how long he’ll be out, the Flyers could move van Riemsdyk to long-term injured reserve to gain more flexibility, though they already have $7MM of that space with Ryan Ellis and Patrick Brown on the shelf.

Snapshots: Samuelsson, Bear, Wright

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Buffalo Sabres fans held their breath last night when freshly extended defenseman Mattias Samuelsson went down with an injury in their game against Vancouver. Now, The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski reports that Samuelsson avoided a long-term injury but is still set to miss at least “a few weeks,” joining Henri Jokiharju on the list of injured Sabres top-four defensemen.

An exact timeline won’t be had on Samuelsson until the team returns to Buffalo, head coach Don Granato said today, and the injury will force some depth defenders to shine in order for Buffalo to keep up its strong start. Lawrence Pilut will make his season debut in the team’s next game after two seasons overseas, and free-agent acquisition Ilya Lyubushkin will be tasked with replacing Samuelsson as the defensive anchor on the top pairing alongside the red-hot Rasmus Dahlin.

  • It’s no secret the Canucks are in trouble, winless so far to start the year. With injuries and general positional depth weakness hampering their defense, the team has been looking to add, and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on 32 Thoughts that the team has checked in on defenseman Ethan Bear as a potential trade acquisition. Bear, the 25-year-old right-shot defenseman, has been thrust down the depth chart in Carolina and has yet to appear in a game this season. The Hurricanes were shopping him prior to the season’s start, and the Canucks have more than enough room thanks to LTIR to accommodate his $2.2MM cap hit. He still has some upside and could provide some better matchups once Quinn Hughes returns to the lineup.
  • Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala ponders whether the Seattle Kraken may opt to send Shane Wright back to the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs after an unimpactful start to the season. Wright hasn’t received many opportunities, he has shown smooth skating and pace, but Bukala points out that Wright’s had some positional issues defensively and may need a bit more development before being able to execute his playstyle properly at the NHL level.

Rick Bowness Still Dealing With COVID Symptoms

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As announced today by the team, Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness is still dealing with post-COVID symptoms after testing positive last week and will not be behind the bench for tonight’s game against the St. Louis Blues. Assistant coach Scott Arniel will once again resume coaching duties in Bowness’ absence.

Bowness first tested positive on October 14, missing the team’s season-opening game against the New York Rangers. He returned from COVID for just one game, a 4-1 loss Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The veteran head coach was feeling generally unwell today and cut his media availability short this morning due to dizzy spells.

The Jets are off to a 2-3-0 start to the season, limited in part due to a crucial injury to Nikolaj Ehlers. The Jets did outshoot the Leafs in Bowness’ lone appearance, but the team overall has scored 12 goals over the course of five games, one ahead of the last-place Blues who have played just three times. Arniel will need to focus on sparking depth scoring in his return to interim duties, as no forward outside of the team’s top six not named Sam Gagner has scored this year.

PHR sends its well wishes to Bowness in his recovery.

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