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St. Louis Blues Name Peter Chiarelli VP Of Hockey Operations

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The St. Louis Blues have made a few front office changes, naming Peter Chiarelli vice president of hockey operations and Ken Hitchcock a coaching consultant. Dave Taylor, who was previously in the role that Chiarelli was given will assume the role of senior advisor to hockey operations.

Chiarelli, 57, had already been working for the Blues as a consultant but will now have an expanded role in the front office. The long-time executive last held a full-time position in 2019 with the Edmonton Oilers, but was fired early that year halfway through another disappointing season. There’s no lack of experience assuming the role for the blues, as Chiarelli was an NHL GM for 13 consecutive seasons between the Boston Bruins and Oilers. Before that, he held various positions with the Ottawa Senators including assistant GM.

Hitchcock will be well known to Blues fans, given he was head coach of the team for parts of six seasons. His last season in 2016-17 was supposed to be his swan song with the team with Mike Yeo was brought on as a coach-in-waiting, but after a 24-21-5 start, GM Doug Armstrong pulled the trigger early and fired Hitchcock. As Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic tweets, Armstrong never lost respect for Hitchcock, and the legendary coach was already considered a mentor for Blues boss Craig Berube.

Hitchcock is fourth all-time on the NHL wins list with 849 and won the Stanley Cup as head coach of the Dallas Stars in 1999.

Snapshots: Turner, Tkachuk, Humitz

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Hockey fans across the United States are going to see things a little differently this season after the league reached broadcast agreements with TNT and ESPN earlier this year. After previous announcements and leaks about who would be leading the TNT coverage, the network released the full game and studio lineup for the 2021-22 season today. At the top of the list is Wayne Gretzky, but he’ll be joined by quite the cast. The other studio analysts will be Anson Carter, Rick Tocchet and Paul Bissonnette, certainly bringing an Arizona Coyotes flair to the broadcast.

In May, Gretzky announced he would be stepping away from his role with the Edmonton Oilers to take the position at TNT. Tocchet, who seemed to interview for every vacant coaching position this summer after parting ways with the Coyotes, will now be adding his expertise to the panel instead. The network will have its first regular season coverage on Wednesday, October 13 with a doubleheader featuring the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and Colorado Avalanche.

  • Talk continues between the Ottawa Senators and restricted free agent Brady Tkachuk and the team is believed to have tabled an eight-year, $64MM deal according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. That would match Thomas Chabot for the most expensive player on the Senators and the biggest contract handed out by GM Pierre Dorion. With less than two weeks before training camp opens, there are some pressure points approaching that could speed the negotiations along for all of the remaining restricted free agents.
  • Max Humitz played eight games with the Grand Rapids Griffins this season after turning pro, but that short stint apparently wasn’t enough to land another AHL contract. The 26-year-old forward has signed with the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings for the upcoming season. Humitz actually had five points in those eight games after an outstanding career at Lake Superior State University, but measures in at just 5’8″ 168-lbs.

Snapshots: Fantilli, Avalanche, Tocchet

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Everyone wants a piece of top 2023 NHL Draft prospect Adam Fantilli, even those who probably don’t have a reasonable shot at him. The Ontario native made his development plans clear when he spurned the OHL for the USHL and then solidified his intent by committing to the University of Michigan last month. However, at least one team back home in Ontario is still hoping that he changes his mind. The North Bay Battalion have announced that they have acquired the OHL rights to Fantilli from the Saginaw Spirit in exchange for a package of picks. While most of the selections are conditional, Saginaw will at least land a 2022 sixth-round pick outright (not to mention the 2022 compensatory first-rounder already heading their way based on Fantilli’s “defected status.) Should North Bay’s gamble pay off, the Spirit would receive a 2024 second-round pick and 2025 second-round pick if Fantilli plays an OHL game in 2023-24 and an additional 2023 third-round pick and 2024 fourth-round pick if he plays any earlier. With Fantilli expected to join the Michigan Wolverines next year, it is highly unlikely that Saginaw will receive all four conditional picks. However, if the NCAA does not go as planned or if Fantilli decides to turn pro immediately after being drafted but is reassigned to the OHL, there is a slight chance that they could land those second-rounders. In reality though, Fantilli will likely shine at the college level and either be on an NHL roster or leading Michigan for one last season in 2023-24. The big scoring center is still worth the risk for North Bay, but the odds of a payoff are low.

  • The Colorado Avalanche have revealed a coaching shake-up in the minor league ranks. Brett Clark, assistant coach for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, will be unable to coach this season due to “new league protocols”. This implies that Clark is unvaccinated and cannot work with players during the 2021-22 campaign. In his place, Colorado has promoted Tim Branham, the head coach of their ECHL affiliate, the Utah Grizzlies, to the AHL assistant position. Branham, 40, has held the head coach as well as GM role for the Grizzlies since 2013 but will finally get a chance to show what he can do at the next level. The team release notes that Clark hopes to return to coaching as soon as possible.
  • The top free agent coach right now is very likely Rick Tocchet, who mutually parted ways with the Arizona Coyotes this off-season and was a finalist for seemingly every other vacancy across the league. PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan writes that Tocchet did have at least two offers to serve as an assistant in the NHL, but decided to go in a different direction. Tocchet has joined TNT as a studio analyst, Morgan notes, and will work alongside Wayne Gretzky during the network’s weekly broadcast. That is, until another head coach position opens up. Tocchet felt that he had to stay close to the game to stay relevant as a coaching candidate, but decided that working as an analyst could accomplish that goal. “It’s an opportunity to stay in the game, learn more about the game and reinvent yourself,” Tocchet said. “I think that every year, coaches have to hit the refresh button on something. You can’t bring the same thing to the table every year. You’ve got to learn new things because the game is always changing; players are always changing.” A former standout two-way forward in addition to an experienced coach, Tocchet will bring a lot to the analyst position – for however long it lasts.

 

Snapshots: Senators, Merzlikins, Tarasenko

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Armed with a contract extension, Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion is looking to make this next stage of his time with the team much different than the most recent stretch. According to Dorion, the rebuild is over. In an appearance on TSN 1200 in Ottawa today, he stated the following:

We’ve had a plan since we started this rebuild. I feel that we’re in the next stage now, it’s time to start to win… Last year, we felt we were a team that was hard to play against, but now it’s time to challenge to get two points every night, be in every game. Games that maybe you got a point last year, you need two this year… A lot of our younger players have reached a maturity stage in their career where they should be leading us and not be considered young players anymore. As a group, It’s time to start winning.

The Senators did take a small step forward last season, finishing with a 23-28-5 record that was neither the last in their division nor a bottom-five mark in the NHL for the first time since 2016-17. The season ended on a strong note with a 16-13-4 run to end the year. However, there is more work to be done for the Senators to regain relevance. The team is still young and inexperienced and lacking in depth in many areas. In order to compete in the deadly Atlantic Division, at least this season, Ottawa likely needs more than what their current roster can offer even at their very best. Fortunately, the Senators also have a copious amount of cap space – still under the cap floor for now – and Dorion mentioned having “several irons in the fire”. Perhaps the Senators will add an impact player or two before the season begins if they are really committed to taking a step forward this season.

  • Another team that could be looking to surprise this season will be the new-look Columbus Blue Jackets. The x-factor could be goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, who has his sights set on more than just winning the starting job over Joonas Korpisalo. Merzlikins tells The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline that the tragic death of close friend, teammate, and countryman Matiss Kivlenieks has instilled in him a drive to become one of the best goaltenders in the NHL.  “I’m gonna win a f—— Vezina for him,” Merzlikins proclaimed. “This is my goal. I believe I’m going to reach it. I’m not going to have any limits. I’m just gonna go all-in.” The 27-year-old goaltender has certainly shown signs of elite ability through his first two NHL seasons, recording a .920 save percentage and 2.54 GAA in 61 games. While he may seem far from competing for a Vezina Trophy, especially sharing starts with Korpisalo and playing for a team that is not expected to be a playoff contender, never underestimate the inspiration that a life-changing event can create. Merzlikins credits Kivlenieks with saving his family and that should be more than enough motivation for him to honor his friend to the best of his abilities.
  • With considerable cap space and a desire to add top talent, both Ottawa and Columbus could be good landing spots for Vladimir Tarasenko, who requested a trade out of St. Louis earlier this off-season. However, Blues head coach Craig Berube does not expect the star sniper to be going anywhere. In an appearance on the “Cam and Strick” podcast, Berube stated that he believes that Tarasenko will remain in St. Louis this season. Berube says that he has no hard feelings toward Tarasenko, who has maintained that he would like to be traded, and will treat him like any other player in helping him to succeed with the Blues in the event that he stays with the team as Berube expects. Berube states that the team is focusing on what they can control (Tarasenko) and not on what they can’t (the market) which could mean that he really will not be traded despite all indications.

USA Hockey Announces Olympic Coaching Staff

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Now that the NHL has officially agreed to go to the 2022 Winter Olympics, work can start on selecting the rosters. Just a few hours after news broke about NHL participation, USA Hockey has introduced the full coaching staff that will travel to Beijing. It had already been announced that Mike Sullivan of the Pittsburgh Penguins will serve as head coach; he will be joined by John Hynes, David Quinn, Todd Reirden, and Ryan Miller.

The U.S. Olympic team general manager Stan Bowman released a statement on the staff:

We’ve got a great coaching staff in place. It’s a group that knows what it takes to be successful, and through their unique and varied backgrounds will help put our team in the best position to win the gold medal.

Hynes, who is also the head coach of the Nashville Predators, will serve as an assistant and was an obvious addition. He has a long track record with the program, including being part of gold medal-winning efforts at the U18 and U20 World Juniors. Hynes was the head coach of the 2016 World Championship squad, an assistant at the 2016 World Cup, and an assistant at the 2019 World Championship. He also spent several seasons as the head coach of the National Team Development Program.

Many of the same things could be said about Quinn, who will also serve as an assistant on Sullivan’s staff. He has been an assistant several times at the World Championship and was in the NTDP at the same time as Hynes. Quinn was previously head coach of the New York Rangers for three seasons and was an extremely successful college coach.

Reirden will bring a certain level of familiarity for Sullivan, given as he serves as an assistant with the Penguins already. He actually has not made an appearance coaching internationally in the past, which makes this appointment somewhat surprising. Not many coaches get a chance to step right into the Olympics, but that’s what Reirden, a Stanley Cup-winning assistant with the Washington Capitals, will do next spring.

Even more impressive is Miller, who not only is going to the Olympics as an assistant coach for the first time, but it is his first experience as a coach at any level. The veteran goaltender only announced his retirement earlier this year after a long, successful career that included two Olympic performances as a player. He won the silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and was named the most valuable player of the tournament.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Casey Mittelstadt

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The Buffalo Sabres have reached an agreement with one of their restricted free agents, signing Casey Mittelstadt to a three-year deal. The contract comes with an average annual value of $2.5MM, a nice boost for a player that still hasn’t quite lived up to his high draft pedigree.

Mittelstadt, 22, was the eighth overall pick in 2017, selected a few spots ahead of young players like Martin Necas and Nick Suzuki who have already established themselves as key parts with their respective teams. In Buffalo, Mittelstadt has experienced the same struggles that almost everyone else on the roster has, posting just 61 points in 155 games. In 2019-20 he was sent to the Rochester Americans for half the season to work on his game, as it was not quite consistent enough to help the NHL squad.

The encouraging part about Mittelstadt, and why this three-year contract may look like quite a bargain very quickly, is his performance under head coach Don Granato. When Granato took over partway through last season, Mittelstadt had just one goal and five points in 13 games. He was seeing inconsistent minutes and not regularly lining up at center. That changed under the new head coach, and the young forward took a huge step forward, scoring nine goals and 17 points in 28 games through the end of the season. In those matches, he averaged more than 17 minutes a night and played center full-time.

If Mittelstadt can continue to play up to his draft pedigree under Granato, the Sabres have a true building block to help turn things around. The young forward has outstanding puck skills and playmaking ability, but seemed completely lost at times under the previous regimes. The team is obviously not giving up on him, investing in a multi-year deal ahead of what could be a breakout season.

The $2.5MM cap charge brings the Sabres a little closer to the cap floor, with Rasmus Dahlin and Henri Jokiharju still to sign. The big question is Jack Eichel though, as a trade would leave the Sabres scrambling to add salary if a similar number–$10MM–didn’t come back the other way.

Snapshots: Senators, Slepets, Rossi

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As the Ottawa Senators look to finally move past their extended rebuild and take a step toward relevance this season, it is about time they name a leader of this next stage for the franchise. Speaking with the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch, Senators head coach D.J. Smith stated that “It’s time for someone to be the leader of this group.” Smith believes that Ottawa is ready to name a captain after a three-season hiatus and tells Garrioch that he intends to speak with owner Eugene Melnyk and GM Pierre Dorion about making a decision before the end of training camp. The last player to wear the “C” was Erik Karlsson during the 2017-18 season and the Senators have used only alternates in the years since. However, with young defenseman Thomas Chabot signed long-term and young forward Brady Tkachuk hoping to join him for years to come, the Senators have two players that can be the face of the franchise for many years and either one would be a good pick as captain. Which one will be a difficult and important decision for the young locker room, which is why the organization’s leaders have taken their time and will still wait to name a captain until closer to the beginning of the season.

  • The odds of Carolina Hurricanes prospect Kirill Slepets making the jump to North America any time soon took another hit today. Just two weeks ago, Slepets re-signed in the KHL on a one-year deal with Spartak Moscow. The move came on the heels of a poor season for Slepets in which he played exclusively in the second-tier VHL rather than the KHL and led some to believe that the 22-year-old may cross the pond to continue his development. Instead, he stayed in Russia and after today’s trade may be settling in for an extended stay. Spartak has traded Slepets to his hometown team, Amur Khabarovsk, the club announced. Going the other way was former NHL forward Andrei Loktionov, proving that Slepets still has value in the KHL despite a down year. He has even more value to Amur, who are very excited to bring the prodigal son home and could be able to convince him to stay long-term. The 2019 fifth-round pick remains an interesting project to watch for the Hurricanes, especially given the ability he flashed at the junior level, but his NHL future is more in doubt now than ever.
  • Minnesota Wild prospect Marco Rossi has no doubt that he is ready to compete for an NHL roster spot after missing this past season due to an extensive battle with COVID-19. The 2020 No. 9 overall pick has been working out hard to get back into game shape and will get his first test this week suiting up for Austria in the Olympic qualifiers. However, he is already looking ahead to Wild training camp and is confident that he can make impact in Minnesota this year. Talking to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, Rossi stated the following:

I know I haven’t played a lot of games in the last year, year and a half, but now that I can see my fitness level and my shape, I know I’m better in shape than a lot of NHL players. I see no doubt about it that I can play in the NHL. I know I can play there. I know how good I am, but I have to prove myself in training camp that I’m ready for that. I know it’s going to be up to me to show I’m ready to play right away.

Snapshots: Sweater Ads, Penguins, Sabres

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The NHL board of governors has unanimously approved a policy that will add a small advertisement to player sweaters for the 2022-23 season, another move to help the league recoup some of the revenue it has lost over the last 18 months. Sportico was first to break the story that has since been confirmed by multiple sources, and reports that the ad must fit in a rectangle of three by three and a half inches. This follows the move to have advertisements on helmets this season, a change that will continue moving forward.

While fans may not like the idea of ad space being rented out on their favorite sweater, the league is looking for any opportunity to create revenue streams. The move, albeit indirectly, is another step towards increasing the salary cap down the line, which would, in turn, lead to higher player salaries as well.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have hired Alec Schall as director of hockey operations, hiring the long-time player agent that previously represented James van Riemsdyk, Alec Martinez, and others. Schall will be responsible for “aiding Pittsburgh’s hockey operations department with player contract negotiations, managing the salary cap, as well as assisting with other hockey-related duties.” He will report directly to GM Ron Hextall, who took over the team earlier this year.
  • The Buffalo Sabres continue to bring back former players, this time hiring Tim Kennedy and Nathan Paetsch as development coaches. Both spent time with the Sabres during their playing days and will get a chance to work with Adam Mair and Dan Girardi in the Buffalo development team. Paetsch, who played 167 games at the NHL level, also served as a sort of player-coach with the Rochester Americans between 2017-20.

Metropolitan Notes: Capitals, Clarke, Brylin

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While the awkward silence from the New York Islanders, who are presumed to have unannounced deals in place with a number of free agents, has drawn headlines this summer, it is the inactivity from the Washington Capitals that should perhaps be gaining more attention. It seems that the oddsmakers have taken notice, even if the national media have not. The current odds from BetMGM, adjusted following the Expansion Draft, NHL Draft, and free agency rush, have the Capitals at 25-1 to win the Stanley Cup in 2021-22. While this may not seem so bad, as Washington is tied with reigning Cup finalist Montreal, they are also tied with the New York Rangers – for the fourth-best mark in the Metropolitan Division. While the Capitals are just outside the top ten league-wide in terms of championship expectations, they first need to make the playoffs to get there. The Carolina Hurricanes (14-1), Pittsburgh Penguins (18-1), and New York Islanders (20-1) top the division’s best bets, which implies that MGM believes that they will receive the automatic bids from the Metropolitan Division.

This isn’t unreasonable; this past season the ’Canes won the Central Division, the Penguins won the East Division, and the Isles advanced to league semifinals. Meanwhile, the Capitals were easily dispatched in the first round by the Boston Bruins. The real surprise, though maybe it shouldn’t be, is that MGM feels the Rangers have drawn even with the Capitals. New York is a young, up-and-coming team while the Capitals are an older team that has lost Brenden Dillon and Michael Raffl and is listening to offers for Evgeny Kuznetsov. Yet, many would still say there is a gap between the two clubs. The oddsmakers feel differently. With three bids from the division and two wild card spots, with four Atlantic Division teams holding better odds than Washington and the Canadiens holding even, it will not be easy this season for the Capitals to even reach the postseason out of the Eastern Conference, nevertheless take home another Stanley Cup. It doesn’t help that they have made no improvements this summer.

  • Capitals prospect goaltender Chase Clark has made his college commitment. The 2021 sixth-round pick out of the NCDC’s Jersey Hitmen has signed on with Quinnipiac University, the Hitmen announced. Clark will join the Bobcats for the 2022-23 season after suiting up in the USHL this year. Clark will return to the Tri-City Storm this season, where he played three games last year, before heading off to college. While the NCDC is usually more of a feeder league for the USHL, NAHL, and prep school level rather than a direct source of NHL talent, Clark did enough this season with a .935 save percentage and 1.92 GAA to earn a flier from the Capitals late in the draft. He will be a long-term project for Washington, but developing at a strong program like Quinnipiac, Clark could turn out to be a solid prospect.
  • The New Jersey Devils re-located their AHL affiliate from Binghamton to Utica and now coach Sergei Brylin will make the move as well. The Utica Comets have announced that Brylin will join head coach Kevin Dineen’s staff as an assistant, transitioning from his role as associate coach with the Binghamton Devils. Brylin, who played exclusively with the Devils in his 13-year NHL career, has been with the organization as a minor league coach since 2012, joining the former Albany Devils immediately after retiring from playing, then in the KHL. The 47-year-old is likely in line for a promotion to AHL head coach or NHL assistant coach the next time a spot opens up.

Jon Cooper Named Head Coach Of Team Canada

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If the NHL goes to the Olympics next year, it will be Jon Cooper behind the bench as Team Canada’s head coach. Hockey Canada announced the full staff today, naming Cooper head coach along with Barry Trotz, Bruce Cassidy and Peter DeBoer serving as assistants. The Tampa Bay Lightning coach released a statement:

It is an honour to be entrusted with leading Canada’s Men’s Olympic Team next year in Beijing, and to be able to carry on the rich tradition of hockey excellence that is associated with Hockey Canada. The opportunity to work with an excellent management group and an elite-level coaching staff of Barry, Bruce and Peter is a great privilege. I have many fond memories of the Olympics, from watching games as a young kid to thrilling gold medal victories, and I look forward to helping create lasting memories for Canadians across the country while our team competes for a gold medal.

Cooper, has been a head coach of Canada just once previously, leading the 2017 World Championship team to a silver medal. He was never part of the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence, which not only helps develop players but coaches as well. In fact, back in 2008 he served as an assistant with the U.S. squad at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, as he was serving as the GM and head coach of the St. Louis Bandits of the NAHL at the time. Cooper’s path to the NHL is certainly not the one taken by most Canadian head coaches, but it’s hard to argue with the results. He’s won the Stanley Cup two years in a row with the Tampa Bay Lightning and holds an all-time winning percentage of .647 in the regular season.

The staff Cooper will have is incredible and has its own Stanley Cup ring to boast. Trotz won it all in 2018 with the Washington Capitals, and has twice taken home the Jack Adams Award as NHL Coach of the Year. Cassidy has his own Jack Adams, along with a .677 winning percentage since taking over the Bruins, and DeBoer has been absolutely dominant since joining the Vegas Golden Knights. All four coaches have at least made it to the Stanley Cup Final, and will now try to take Canada to Olympic gold.

It is important to note that this does not mean the league is going for certain. The hope is still that the NHL, IIHF and IOC can reach an agreement, but things are not official yet. If the NHL does not participate, the coaching staff will have to be reworked.

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