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Mikko Koskinen Heading Overseas For 2022-23

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June 13: With the Edmonton Oilers now out of the playoffs and their season over, it’s now confirmed that Koskinen will be heading to Switzerland next season. HC Lugano has signed the veteran netminder to a two-year contract, keeping him in Switzerland until age 35. Koskinen joins a Lugano team with Carolina reserve list defenseman Oliwer Kaski, former NHLers Mirco Mueller, Mark Arcobello and Daniel Carr, as well as Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Calvin Thurkauf.

May 20: Despite currently serving as the backup for the Edmonton Oilers and even seeing game action in Game 1 of the Second Round, there appears to already be some clarity on goalie Mikko Koskinen’s future for next season. Former NHL head coach Bob Hartley spoke today, saying that Koskinen has already accepted an offer to play for HC Lugano in the Swiss National League next season.

If true, it will likely mark the end of Koskinen’s second and final stint in North America. The Finnish netminder, drafted 31st overall by the New York Islanders in 2009, had one stint in North America from 2009-2012 in the Islanders organization, playing in four NHL games. He returned to the NHL as a free agent with Edmonton in 2018, serving as a solid tandem netminder for them for the past four seasons. As uncertainty mounts in the Oilers crease moving forward, though, it looks like Koskinen has opted to take himself out of the picture for their second goalie next season.

40-year-old Mike Smith is (somehow) still under contract with the team for next season, and they do have a solid internal option in Stuart Skinner as the backup. However, with such a gigantic question mark with Smith as a 41-year-old starter, Edmonton will surely attempt to make a significant acquisition in free agency to shore up the crease.

 

Snapshots: Colorado Injuries, Florida Coaches, Kelly Cup, Toporowski

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As Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports, Colorado Avalanches forwards Nazem Kadri and Andrew Cogliano both skated this morning, while Andre Burakovsky simply had a maintenance day (link). Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar also spoke with the media today, including Chambers, telling them that both Kadri and Cogliano were not yet ruled out for Game One of the Stanley Cup Finals, which is set to get underway Wednesday night in Denver (link).

Cogliano was able to play in all four games of the Western Conference Finals against the Edmonton Oilers, and even played 11:54 in Game Four, his highest mark of these playoffs. Though not one of Colorado’s star players, Cogliano brings with him leadership and plenty of playoff success, a key asset to have in a Stanley Cup Final with many players who have never been in this position before. Kadri, on the other hand, is a key 200-foot player for the Avalanche who was lost just 37 seconds into Game Three of the conference finals where he was boarded, and injured, by Edmonton’s Evander Kane. On Monday, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that Kadri had surgery to repair his thumb which was injured during the Kane hit and was unlikely to return in the playoffs. Kadri’s status still has not changed, but today’s comments from Bednar do provide some hope that perhaps the star center will return to the lineup during the series.

  • Earlier today, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes tweeted out a video, reporting that the Florida Panthers had relieved assistant coaches Derek MacKenzie and Ulf Samuelsson of their duties. Weekes adds that assistant coach Tuomo Ruutu is still with the club, as is goaltending coach Robb Tallas. Additionally, Weekes says that there have been no contract talks or additional updates on Tallas or head coach and Jack Adams Award finalist Andrew Brunette. Weekes has reported several breaking stories this season, however it is important to note that the moves have not been confirmed yet by the Panthers, who still include MacKenzie and Samuelsson as coaches on their site.
  • While the NHL and AHL continue to battle for a league champion, the ECHL has crowned their own, with the Florida Everblades winning the 2022 Kelly Cup last night. The Eastern Conference Champion Everblades defeated the Western Conference Champions, the Toledo Walleye, in the finals to secure the title. The Playoffs MVP was awarded to former University of North Dakota star goaltender Cam Johnson. Johnson has played parts of four seasons with the Everblades, as well as parts of three AHL seasons, including time with the Binghamton Devils and the Cleveland Monsters.
  • The Providence Bruins, the AHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins, have made an early offseason signing, bringing in forward Luke Toporowski on a two-year AHL contract, reports NHL.com’s Mark Divver. The 21-year-old Toporowski is a skilled forward who has produced offense every step of the way. Toporowski began his junior career in 2017-18 with the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL, where he would spend three seasons before moving to the USHL, playing with the Sioux Falls Stampede for a majority of the 2020-21 campaign before heading back to the WHL. In 2021-22, the forward had 63 points in just 49 games spread between the Spokane Chiefs and the Kamloops Blazers. Divver adds that Toporowski is likely to join the Boston Bruins in development camp this summer too.

Snapshots: Flyers Head Coach Search, Sharks GM Search, Point, Kannok-Leipert

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According to Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff, the Philadelphia Flyers have reportedly narrowed down their list of candidates for their vacant Head Coach position (link). It appears the finalists for the position include, but may not be limited to, John Tortorella and Barry Trotz. The Flyers recently held their second interview of Torotrella in Philadelphia and have since told other candidates that they are no longer in the running for the position. In addition to Tortorella and Trotz, the Flyers have also interviewed the likes of Mike Velucci, Rick Tocchet, Jim Montgomery, Jeff Blashill, David Quinn, and likely others who have not been named. It’s unclear if any of these are also finalists in addition to Tortorella or Trotz.

Seeing the Flyers narrow their field is an interesting development for the coaching market as a whole, as more positions, and candidates, have opened up as time has gone on, but few of those positions have been filled. Philadelphia making a decision, depending on when that decision comes and who is selected, could serve to get the ball rolling for the rest of the league. Philadelphia has struggled in recent seasons, culminating in trading franchise forward Claude Giroux to the Florida Panthers in March, however the organization has shown an unwillingness to commit to a true rebuild. Hiring either of Tortorella or Trotz would certainly help the organization get back to its winning ways, even as the team’s roster experiences some transition in personnel.

  • From one high-profile search to another, it appears the San Jose Sharks are also planning to narrow their list of candidates for their vacant General Manager position this week, says The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. It’s unclear who exactly would be on the Sharks’ shortlist, though LeBrun says the organization has had lengthy interviews of 4 to 6 hours each with a dozen candidates. The organization made clear after former GM Doug Wilson stepped down that they would take their time finding his replacement. Much like the Flyers, the organization has shown they are not interested in a lengthy rebuild and would like to find a GM who shares that vision (link).
  • After earlier reports that Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point could be a game-time decision for tonight’s Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals, it appears he is now considered doubtful, says Seravalli. Though it would be disappointing for Tampa to again be without one of their best players, Seravalli does add that Point is very likely to play in Tampa’s next game, whether that be in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Finals, or in Game One of the Stanley Cup Finals, depending on the result of tonight’s game. Point was injured during Game Seven of Tampa Bay’s first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs and has not played since. As crucial as Point has been to Tampa Bay’s recent playoff success, the team has managed to go 8-2 since he went down, including the game against Toronto, losing only the first two games of the conference final.
  • The Abbotsford Canucks, the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, announced they have signed defenseman Alex Kannok-Leipert to a one-year contract extension that covers the 2022-23 season. Originally a sixth-round draft pick of the Washington Capitals in 2018, Kannok-Leipert spent five years with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL, where he was team captain for two seasons before turning pro and signing with Abbotsford ahead of the 2021-22 season. The defenseman had a solid rookie campaign in the AHL, putting up five points to go with a plus-5 rating in 41 games. An interesting note on Kannok-Leipert is though a Regina, Saskatchewan native, he was born in Thailand and is the first Thailand-born player in AHL history and the first to be drafted in the NHL Entry Draft.

Golden Knights Showing Interest In Bruce Cassidy As Next Head Coach

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It has been an offseason of some surprise when it comes to the coaching carousel around the league.  Vegas opted to part ways with Peter DeBoer, their second coaching change in their five seasons of existence, making them one of the more prominent teams looking for a new bench boss.  Recently, there was a surprise addition to the coaching market when Boston let Bruce Cassidy go earlier this week.  As Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (video link), the Golden Knights have started to key in on Cassidy as their top candidate over the last few days.

Regular season success is something that Cassidy had plenty of in his days with the Bruins posting a 245-108-46 record with him behind the bench, good for a .652 points percentage.  Vegas has been under that mark in two of the last three seasons.  However, his track record of playoff success hasn’t been as good as Boston went 36-37 in the postseason under their former bench boss which is something that teams will certainly be considering as they work through evaluating him.

Vegas is certainly one of the more appealing teams looking for a head coach.  They’re an organization that clearly has a win-now mindset and they have shown no hesitance towards spending to the Upper Limit (or higher, considering their cap management in recent years).  Both of those have to be appealing to any coaching candidate although the quick trigger on coaching changes also stands out.

Cassidy has expressed a desire to jump right back into coaching and would be a good fit in Vegas so it will be interesting to see if they can get a deal done over the next few days.  It would go a long way towards kickstarting the coaching shuffle as things have slowed to a crawl on that front with many feeling Barry Trotz’s decision on where to go next is holding things up.  If Vegas goes a different direction and opts for Cassidy, perhaps that domino falling will get things going on that front soon after.

Coaching Notes: Blashill, Hiller, Savard

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Entering this season, the second-longest tenured coach in the league behind future Hall-of-Famer Jon Cooper was Detroit Red Wings bench boss Jeff Blashill. After just one playoff appearance (in his first year as coach), though, the rebuilding squad finally decided to move on as they try and begin their rise back toward contention. That makes the 48-year-old Blashill an experienced option on the open market, as he’s been in coaching roles since 1998 and coaching professionally since joining the Detroit organization in 2011. While he doesn’t have the shiniest resume, some of that can be attributed to the poor roster he was given in Detroit.

With a change potentially on the horizon in the Sunshine State behind the bench of the Florida Panthers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that he’s heard a connection between the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners and Blashill. It’s unclear at this point whether the Panthers will retain interim head coach Andrew Brunette, who was a nominee for the Jack Adams Award this past season after guiding Florida to a 122-point season. It would be a puzzling choice from the Panthers to move on from Brunette for someone like Blashill who hasn’t made any notable achievements at the NHL level, undoubtedly.

  • After getting fired by the New York Islanders today, Jim Hiller is on the radar of the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings (among other clubs) for their head coaching vacancies, reports ESPN’s Kevin Weekes. It would be a return to the Red Wings organization for Hiller, who got his first NHL job there as an assistant in 2014-15 after five seasons as the head coach of the WHL’s Tri-City Americans. He’s been with the Islanders since 2019-20 and has overseen their two back-to-back runs to the Eastern Conference Final in 2020 and 2021.
  • The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf today downplayed the link between the Dallas Stars and Marc Savard for their open spot behind the bench. While Yousuf didn’t rule out Savard as a candidate in the team’s search, he says that nothing from the team has indicated him as a frontrunner.

Colorado Hoping Kadri, Cogliano Will Return During Stanley Cup Final

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The Colorado Avalanche could have to wait nearly two weeks to resume their postseason run, after defeating the Edmonton Oilers on Monday. The Stanley Cup Final is expected to start on either June 15 or 18 and with the Tampa Bay Lightning pulling even with the New York Rangers, the latter seems more likely at this point.

Outside of the normal rest versus rust debate, you probably won’t hear the Avalanche complaining very much. The team is hoping that both Nazem Kadri and Andrew Cogliano will be able to return at some point during the Final, after both underwent a similar surgery. Head coach Jared Bednar told reporters including Mike Chambers of the Denver Post that Kadri was back in the gym today, doing “everything he can” to get back in time.

The 31-year-old Kadri was having a strong playoff run with 14 points in 13 games before suffering a broken thumb against the Oilers, on a play that resulted in a suspension for Evander Kane. The pending free agent Avalanche forward has been on a tear all season, setting a career-high with 87 points during the regular season and generally playing the best hockey of his life. It has set him up for a huge summer, where he could be looking at a massive raise on the $4.5MM cap hit he has carried since 2016.

A return just in time to play for the Stanley Cup would only help Kadri’s legacy in Colorado if he does end up leaving the team at the end of the year. Cogliano would also be a bonus, though the trade deadline addition doesn’t have quite the same impact as his teammate. The 34-year-old is averaging just over nine minutes a game in the playoffs, though both of his goals have been game-winners.

For the goaltending discussion, Bednar wouldn’t give anything up, saying it is a tough decision between Darcy Kuemper and Pavel Francouz.

Bruce Cassidy Hopes To Coach In 2022-23

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Former Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy met with the media today including Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com to discuss his recent firing, and after explaining how much he cared about the organization, indicated that he does want to coach again next season. “This is what I do,” Cassidy said when asked if he would coach in the NHL next season should an opportunity present itself.

The 57-year-old coach is still under contract with the Bruins for next season, meaning other teams would need to cover part or all of the $3MM he is owed on the final year of an extension he signed in 2019. That came just a few months after the Cassidy-led Bruins lost in the Stanley Cup Final against the St. Louis Blues, a loss he referenced today as something that still bothers him.

Interestingly enough, Cassidy wasn’t really high on most lists of coaching candidates when he first took over in Boston. When he was announced as the replacement for Claude Julien partway through the 2016-17 season, he was regarded as a good AHL coach who had failed in his previous stint behind an NHL bench. Cassidy’s first go-round as a head coach at that level was with the Washington Capitals, where he lost in the first round in year one and then was fired partway through his second season after an 8-16-1 start.

He hadn’t even had much playoff success in the minor leagues, though his AHL teams were regularly near the top of the standings in the regular season. In the NHL, he took the Bruins to at least the second round in four of his five full seasons, and reached the postseason in all six years he was behind the bench. Overall, his record improved from 47-47-9-7 with the Capitals to 245-108-46 with the Bruins, though his overall playoff winning percentage is still below .500.

Confirming today that he has talked to “a number of teams” already, it appears as though he’ll get his wish to be behind an NHL bench again next season. He was linked to the Philadelphia Flyers this morning, though, with so many openings around the league, Cassidy will likely have several interested teams.

Coaching Notes: Richardson, Flyers, Samuelsson

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When Dominique Ducharme was unavailable due to a positive COVID-19 result in the 2021 playoff run, assistant Luke Richardson stepped in without missing a beat. The long-time NHL defenseman, who played more than 1,400 games in the league, had some head coaching experience with the Belleville Senators previously and had no trouble taking the reins in Montreal. The team played well, and Richardson was suddenly being looked at as a future NHL coach.

Now, with openings all over the league, Richardson’s name has emerged again. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that the Chicago Blackhawks have asked permission to interview Richardson for their head coaching vacancy, and Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports confirms that he is a candidate. Chicago has also requested permission to interview Vancouver Canucks assistant Brad Shaw.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers have not yet started their second round of interviews, according to Seravalli, but did speak with Jeff Blashill during the first round. Bruce Cassidy and David Quinn are also expected to be on their list (with Quinn also linked to the Detroit Red Wings), and John Tortorella will be a part of the second round, whenever that occurs. It’s quite a carousel this offseason with such a deep pool of qualified candidates available.
  • Even if Shaw doesn’t leave the Canucks, the team is looking for another assistant coach. Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV tweets that Ulf Samuelsson could be a candidate, as he is no longer with the Florida Panthers. Samuelsson had been with Florida for two years but there could be more changes coming for the Panthers, who have yet to announce whether Jack Adams finalist Andrew Brunette will return as head coach.

More On Edmonton Oilers Offseason Plans

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After the conclusion of the Edmonton Oilers’ season on Monday at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, the organization held the standard media availability and wind down, custom of teams at the conclusion of their season, where new details emerge about the current state of the organization. Today was no different, with news coming out that none of Edmonton’s injured players need surgery, and that Ken Holland will address his goaltending, but didn’t seem too enthusiastic about forward Jesse Puljujarvi’s expiring contract and arbitration eligibility. Intriguing as those storylines are, there is plenty more as it comes to the Oilers’ offseason to-do list, including the head coach position, forward Evander Kane, and free agent forward Andrei Kuzmenko.

Oilers GM Ken Holland said in his availability that he would love to have head coach Jay Woodcroft back for next season, though he still has to talk to the coach and about their respective plans (link). It’s no surprise that Edmonton would want their coach to return after the impressive stretch he lead the team on after replacing former head coach Dave Tippett in mid-February. At the time of the change, Edmonton was five points out of a playoff spot, but with Woodcroft, the team went 26-9-3, finishing second in the Pacific Division, and of course leading them to the Western Conference Finals. With the availability of a myriad of head coach options, including elite names like Barry Trotz and Bruce Cassidy, it could be tempting for Edmonton to try to upgrade at the position, but after Woodcroft’s success with a group that seemed destined to free-fall down the NHL standings, it would be hard not to try to replicate that success over a full season.

Holland also put forth the same sentiment towards Kane as he had for Woodcroft, saying he would love to have him back next season, but of course he would still need to work that out. Interestingly, the GM added that while Kane played for a $2MM cap hit this year, he doesn’t expect Kane to play for that same number again next year. Given Kane’s excellent performance for the Oilers after signing with them in January, his sensational playoff run, and his apparent chemistry with Edmonton’s stars, it’s clear why Holland would want to re-sign him, but also clear why he does not believe it will be for the same $2MM cap hit. In 43 regular season games, Kane had 22 goals and 17 assists, and followed it up with 13 goals and four assists in 15 playoff games.

Moving from one talented winger the Oilers would like to have to another, The Athletic’s Rick Dhaliwal tweets that free agent forward Andrei Kuzmenko arrived in Los Angeles today and will begin meeting with teams on his short list. Sportsnet’s Mark Spector adds that Edmonton is among the teams on Kuzmenko’s shortlist. Recall last week, when Thomas Drance reported on Sportsnet that Kuzmenko was going to begin the process of second interviews with teams. Interestingly, considering the circumstances, Kuzmenko shares an agent with Evander Kane in that of Dan Millstein. The similarity won’t necessarily give Edmonton any edge in signing either player since the decision is the player’s, but should give Holland and Millstein a sense of comfort and familiarity if they work on both. As Spector points out, the pitch to Kuzmenko would also be very similar to the one they gave Kane when he had his pick of teams in January: come play with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and build value for the next contract.

Kuzmenko, who has spent his entire professional career in the KHL, doesn’t appear to have the allure that other point-producers on this year’s free agent market seem to have, which could be due in some part to several factors, including but not limited to the political situation in Russia, the fact that the KHL plays at times generally inaccessible to most North American fans, and the up and down results from other KHL free agents who have made the jump to the NHL. These factors aside, the 26-year-old winger is not wanting for production. After a slow start to his career, Kuzmenko has slowly but steadily improved his play year after year, culminating in a dominant 2021-22 for St. Petersburg, where he scored 20 goals to go with 33 assists in 45 games, adding another seven goals and seven assists in 16 playoff games. If Edmonton can secure his services, he should factor as another strong top-six option the organization can give McDavid and Draisaitl to utilize, and should give Kuzmenko an easy opportunity to show off his skillset as well.

More On The Winnipeg Coaching Search

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The Winnipeg Jets are one of many teams without a head coach at the moment, and for weeks the focus has been on Barry Trotz as the top target. The former New York Islanders coach is a top target for many teams though, and with him taking his time deciding what’s next, the Jets will have to make some contingency plans.

According to Murat Ates of The Athletic, one of those is St. Louis Blues assistant Jim Montgomery. In fact, Ates writes that Montgomery is the “No. 2 choice” behind Trotz at the moment.

The former Dallas Stars head coach–who was fired due to unprofessional conduct in 2020, before checking himself into a treatment facility for alcohol abuse–has rebuilt his career with the Blues and is now a candidate for several jobs around the league. He even has ties to the area, having played a season for the Manitoba Moose in 1999-00, and the organization as Ates details.

In terms of coaching success, Montgomery’s resume is outstanding. He won two USHL championships during his three-year span as head coach of the Dubuque Fighting Saints, and then took home a national championship with the University of Denver in 2017. He was named the NCAA Coach of the Year that season, and was soon being recruited to the NHL ranks.

In Dallas, he posted an overall record of 60-43-10 and took the team to the second round in his only full year behind the bench.

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