Ben Groulx Agrees To New Contract With Tampa Bay Lightning
When considering the coaches currently outside of the NHL that could have a future in it, one name is often brought up. Ben Groulx, head coach of the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, has been successful at every level so far, but has yet to receive an opportunity at the highest level. Though there are several openings in the NHL this season, it doesn’t appear as though Groulx will be persuing them, as the minor league coach has signed a new contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning to remain Crunch head coach for 2021-22.
Lightning AGM and Crunch GM Stacy Roest released a statement:
We are excited to agree to a new contract and have Ben Groulx return as head coach of the Syracuse Crunch. Over the past five seasons, Ben has proven to be a key part of our organization. His leadership and structure have played an important role in developing our prospects, consistently producing a competitive Syracuse Crunch team and contributing to the success of the Tampa Bay Lightning. We look forward to continued growth with Ben behind the bench.
It’s no exaggeration to call Groulx one of the most successful coaches in the AHL. Over his five seasons, he has compiled a record of 179-100-42 and made the Calder Cup playoffs in each of the three years they were held. In 2016-17, he took the Crunch to the finals, losing in six games to the Grand Rapids Griffins. Deep playoff runs are nothing new for Groulx, who won three QMJHL championships during his time in junior hockey.
He also added a World Junior gold medal as head coach of Team Canada in 2015, a group that included Tampa Bay star Brayden Point. It’s the development of young talent that has made Groulx so valuable for the Lightning, who continue to churn NHL players out of their minor league system regardless of draft pedigree. Players like Yanni Gourde, Mitchell Stephens, Anthony Cirelli, and Mathieu Joseph have all developed rapidly under the tutelage of Groulx in the AHL. Even many that are in other organizations like Carter Verhaeghe and Adam Erne have a lot to thank the Crunch coach for after spending time honing their craft in the AHL.
At least for now, that development system will remain intact, with Groulx staying behind the bench for Syracuse.
Brian Leetch Resigns From Hockey Ops Role With Rangers
At least one member of the New York Rangers front office is seemingly not happy with all of the major changes made in the past two weeks. The New York Post’s Larry Brooks reports that Hall of Famer Brian Leetch has resigned from his advisor role with the hockey operations department in New York. The move comes on the heels of President John Davidson, GM Jeff Gorton, and head coach David Quinn and his staff all being fired in recent days.
Leetch, like Drury, is a famous former Ranger, although the two never played together. Leetch’s storied NHL career began with 17 years manning the blue line for the club before final short stops in Toronto and Boston. Leetch retired in 2006, but re-entered the scene in 2017 by taking this role with New York. He has spent the past four seasons working with the Rangers’ prospects in a development role while consulting on the NHL Draft and other elements of hockey ops.
However, after spending that time working closely with several names who are now gone, Leetch seems to have decided to move on as well. He may not be the last either. Many have criticized the Rangers for removing their front office leadership and coaching staff, many of whom had not spent much time in those roles, following a season in which the team finished with the best record of any non-playoff team while facing an all-divisional schedule against arguably the deepest and most talented division in the East. It stands to reason that there are some within the organization who agree with that sentiment, and it feels as though Leetch is among them.
New York Rangers To Interview Gerard Gallant
After firing head coach David Quinn on Wednesday, the New York Rangers and new GM Chris Drury are wasting no time in their search for a replacement. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the club has already received permission to interview one of the biggest names on the coaching market. Gerard Gallant will get the first crack at interviewing for the head coach vacancy in the Big Apple.
The Vegas Golden Knights have approved of the interview, having fired Gallant from his role as head coach last January with term on his contract – to much surprise. The former Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers bench boss is a Jack Adams Award recipient with a .550 points percentage in his nine years as a head coach. He took the expansion Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season and then back to the playoffs the following year. Gallant has never made it through three years with any of his clubs, but has nevertheless established himself as an a valued name in the NHL coaching world. If Gallant doesn’t land the New York job, he will surely have interest elsewhere, particularly from the newest expansion team in the Seattle Kraken.
The timing of this interview does have some reasoning behind it. While Gallant may indeed be the Rangers’ top candidate, the rush to interview him has more to do with his upcoming plans. Gallant is getting ready to coach Team Canada at the World Championships, which begin on May 21. Gallant will actually depart for Riga, Latvia this weekend, according to Dreger, so the Rangers wanted to touch base with him before he left and his focus was elsewhere. Of course, Drury will be very keyed into the World Championships himself as the GM of Team USA. A strong outing for Gallant leading a Canadian roster that won’t have the typical amount of talent against Drury’s American squad could be what pushes Gallant to the top of the Rangers’ shortlist to be their next head coach.
USA Hockey Announces World Championship Roster
The IIHF World Championship roster is always a little different. Because the tournament takes place during the NHL playoffs, many players are unable to attend. Many others choose not to participate because of injuries they sustained during the season, meaning there are often some interesting choices that compete for their country.
This season is perhaps even more difficult for U.S. Men’s National Team general manager Chris Drury. Not only does he have injuries and the postseason to deal with, but many players haven’t seen their families for months and just want to spend some quality time at home. With that in mind, this year’s team has both players not yet drafted and others that have already aged out of the NHL.
The full roster is as follows:
G Jake Oettinger
G Cal Petersen
G Anthony Stolarz
D Adam Clendening
D Matt Hellickson
D Zac Jones
D Connor Mackey
D Matt Roy
D Ryan Shea
D Matt Tennyson
D Chris Wideman
D Christian Wolanin
F Justin Abdelkader
F Matthew Beniers
F Colin Blackwell
F Brian Boyle
F Sasha Chmelevski
F Ryan Donato
F Jack Drury
F Conor Garland
F Kevin Labanc
F Trevor Moore
F Jason Robertson
F Eric Robinson
F Kevin Rooney
F Tage Thompson
The U.S. team will be coached by Jack Capuano. The tournament kicks off on May 21 in Riga, Latvia.
Sean Monahan To Undergo Hip Surgery
The last four games of the season for the Calgary Flames are not really worth anything, given the North Division playoff spots are already decided. So why not get a head start on injury rehab? Sean Monahan will not play again this season and is scheduled for hip surgery next week. The Flames expect Monahan to be a full participant in training camp for next season.
It was a disappointing year for the 26-year-old center, who scored just ten goals in 50 games and registered a career-low 28 points. Monahan had scored at least 22 goals in every season of his career to this point, a pace he wasn’t on even if this season had been a full 82. He actually had 15 points in his first 20 games of the year, but managed just five goals and ten points in the 26 games with Darryl Sutter behind the bench. His ice time in those games was also greatly reduced, totaling fewer than 15 minutes on several occasions down the stretch.
While a hip injury could obviously be a part of those struggles, Sutter wasn’t afraid of calling out his best forwards when they couldn’t find the back of the net. Monahan was moved to the wing for the Flames a few days ago, a surprise that complicates the offseason even further. The team quite obviously needs a refresh if they want to compete for the postseason next year, but Monahan has been entrenched as a center for the last eight years in Calgary. If Sutter, who it should be noted has also pointed out the positives in Monahan’s game several times during his tenure (and even before it), believes that he’s no longer best-suited for the middle of the ice, perhaps they target another center to take his place.
Monahan has two years remaining on his contract and carries a $6.375MM cap hit. His deal also includes a 10-team no-trade list.
New York Rangers Fire David Quinn
The New York Rangers have a new president and GM in Chris Drury, and he’ll get to handpick his next coach. The team has fired David Quinn and most of his assistants, opening the role up for a new coaching search that will begin immediately.
Quinn, 54, was only behind the bench for three seasons with the Rangers and had two years left on his contract. The team will still have to honor that but will go in a different direction after missing the playoffs once again. David Oliver, Greg Brown, and Jacques Martin were also relieved of their duties, with only goaltending coach Benoit Allaire avoiding the culling.
Drury, who was installed as the new front office head after a shocking firing spree earlier his month, will now have to find the team to lead his new vision of the team. There are certainly several qualified candidates on the market, with Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet noting just yesterday that Mike Babcock, John Tortorella, Bruce Boudreau, Gerard Gallant, Claude Julien, and others are available. Rick Tocchet also recently parted ways with the Arizona Coyotes and is expected to be taking interviews today, while others like Travis Green in Vancouver are still without contract extensions for next season.
The Rangers finished 11 points behind the New York Islanders for the final East Division playoff position, but would have made the postseason in two of the other divisions with their 27-23-6 record. Many believe this season was actually a strong step forward for the group, but chairman James Dolan didn’t agree, firing president John Davidson and GM Jeff Gorton earlier this month. Dolan explained at the time the move was made so that Drury could be in place for the exit interviews, which have obviously led to him going in a different direction behind the bench.
Under Quinn, the Rangers were 96-87-25 overall but failed to qualify for the playoffs. In last year’s bubble, they lost all three games in the qualification round.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Jack Capuano Named Team USA Head Coach
The IIHF World Championship will begin in less than two weeks and the U.S. team now has a head coach. National team GM Chris Drury announced today that Jack Capuano will lead the squad, with Nate Leaman and Adam Nightingale serving as assistants. Kevin Reiter will be the goaltending coach and Mike King the video coach for the event, which opens May 21 in Riga, Latvia.
Drury released a short statement:
We’re extremely fortunate to have an outstanding coaching staff, led by Jack Capuano. Their involvement with USA Hockey in various ways over the course of time and combined international experience will be of great benefit as we head into the tournament.
The choice of coach had a little more intrigued tied to it this year because Drury was only just named the president and GM of the New York Rangers. Current Rangers head coach David Quinn has two years left on his contract, but there has been a near-constant call for his firing by many fans as the team missed the playoffs this season. It’s not clear if Drury would consider any of the names announced today, but it does give them another chance to work closely together.
Capuano, 54, has been working as an associate coach with the Ottawa Senators the last two seasons and has experience with Team USA from the 2017 World Championship and World Cup. He served as head coach with the New York Islanders for several seasons between 2011-2016 but has yet to get another chance to lead at that level. The tournament will serve as a nice resume point for Capuano.
Leaman meanwhile is one of the most intriguing coaching prospects in the game right now, serving as head coach at Providence College the last decade and taking the U.S. World Juniors to gold this year. If he ever wanted to leave college hockey there is no doubt a job would be waiting for him at the NHL level, but to this point he has no experience at that level.
Arizona Coyotes, Rick Tocchet Agree To Part Ways
With their season complete, the Arizona Coyotes announced they have parted ways with head coach Rick Tocchet. The two sides opted to mutually part ways as the team failed to reach the playoffs this year after Tocchet, whose contract was set to expire on June 1, led them to a 24-26-6 record. The Coyotes will begin their search for a new head coach immediately.
“After meeting with Rick, we have agreed that a coaching change is in the best interest of the club,” said general manager Bill Armstrong. “This was a very difficult decision, but we believe that it is time for a new direction and new leadership. Rick is a very good coach and an incredible person, and we sincerely appreciate all his hard work and dedication to the Coyotes the past four years. We are grateful for everything that he has done for our organization and wish him the best of luck in the future.”
The 57-year-old Tocchet is the second head coach to hit the free agent market. The Columbus Blue Jackets mutually agreed to part ways with John Tortorella late Saturday as well. The coach was hired by Arizona back in 2017 and spent four years as the team’s head coach, reaching the playoffs last year, but losing in the first round. He was a highly sought-after coaching candidate back in 2017 after serving as assistant coach with Pittsburgh during their 2016 & 2017 Stanley Cup Champion runs. Tocchet finished his tenure as Arizona’s head coach with a record of 125-131-34 in 290 games.
“It’s been an honor to coach the Coyotes the past four seasons,” said Tocchet. “I have great respect and admiration for all the players I coached in Arizona, along with my coaching staff, the medical staff, the equipment managers, the PR staff and the team services staff. They are the best in the NHL, and I appreciate all their help and hard work. I also want to thank the fans of the Valley for all their support. I have loved living, playing, and coaching in Arizona and this place will always be special to me.”
Like Tortorella, Tocchet could be a highly sought-after commodity on the coaching free agent market, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger, as several teams could consider him, including the expansion Seattle Kraken. Other teams had been in the mix in hiring him back in 2017, including the Buffalo Sabres, who also will be looking for a head coach this offseason.
John Tortorella Not Returning To Columbus Next Season
Sunday: The Columbus Blue Jackets have made it official. Both Kekalainen and Tortorella released statements today.
From Kekalainen:
“Torts and I have had numerous discussions throughout the season, and we have agreed that the time is right for both he and the club to go different ways,” said Kekalainen (via NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti). “He is a great coach and his accomplishments with our club over the past six seasons speak for themselves. He has played an integral role in our success since his arrival, and we are extremely grateful for his passion and commitment to the Blue Jackets and our city. He was the right coach at the right time and helped us establish a standard that we will carry forward.”
From Tortorella:
“After discussion and consideration of the future direction of the team, Jarmo and I have come to a mutual agreement to part ways,” said Tortorella (via The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline). “I’d like to thank the Columbus Blue Jackets organization for the opportunity to coach this team and live in the great Columbus area. It has been a privilege to work with the players, coaches and hockey operations staff, which is one of the best in the League. Also, I want to thank the CBJ fans and the community for the support they’ve given the team and for the work of the CBJ family in support of the community. My family and I have loved living and working in the area. We have made life-long friends here, so we do feel considerable sadness, which is to be expected, when something so meaningful comes to an end. This is a great hockey community and I wish everyone here great success moving forward. Thank you again.”
Saturday: The Columbus Blue Jackets season has ended and so has John Tortorella‘s tenure as head coach. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that Tortorella, whose contract expires at the end of this season, will not return for 2021-22.
Portzline adds that “all indications suggest” that the veteran coach wants to continue running a bench in the NHL, meaning there is suddenly a very experienced option on the market. Tortorella sits 12th on the all-time list for NHL games coached with 1,383. One more full season would put him into the top eight, passing Mike Keenan (1,386), Pat Quinn (1,400), Ron Wilson (1,401), and Dick Irvin (1,449). He has won the Jack Adams award twice, one of only four coaches to win it with two different teams.
It’s been six full seasons in Columbus, taking over in 2015-16 and leading the team to the postseason four times. This year has been very different though, with the Blue Jackets winning just 18 of 56 games and finishing behind the rebuilding Detroit Red Wings. It’s been a season full of headlines, with Pierre-Luc Dubois forcing his way out of Columbus, while Tortorella clashed with newcomers Patrik Laine and Max Domi. Big changes appear imminent for the Blue Jackets, who already sold off Nick Foligno and David Savard at the deadline, among others.
Though it has been clear for a while that Tortorella likely wasn’t being brought back, there has still been no official announcement from the team. Whenever it comes, there will be plenty of accolades heaped on Tortorella’s time in Columbus. His numbers for the organization dwarf the likes of Ken Hitchcock, Todd Richards and Dave King, the only three other coaches who have been behind the bench for at least 200 Columbus games. Tortorella’s time finishes with 447 games coached and a 227-166-54 record. He has been the coach in 31 of the team’s 41 postseason appearances.
Hurricanes Nearing Extension With Rod Brind’Amour
Rod Brind’Amour’s contract situation in Carolina has been a discussion point for a good chunk of the season. However, he appears to have his new deal in place as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the bench boss has inked a three-year contract extension worth around $1.8MM per season. The agreement comes on the three-year anniversary of his initial hiring to the position. TSN’s Frank Seravalli somewhat contradicts that report (Twitter link), saying he was told by the team that the deal is not done yet. Having said that, Friedman having the terms suggest it’s all but done at this point which he reiterated in a follow-up tweet following the denial.
Over that stretch, the Hurricanes have become a consistent threat. The team made the playoffs in each of his first two seasons behind the bench after missing the postseason in nine straight years. In his first year behind the bench, they made it to the Eastern Conference Final while they were ousted in the first round a year ago after being the Rangers in the Qualifying Round.
This season, Brind’Amour has helped take Carolina to a higher level. Entering play today, the Hurricanes currently lead the league in points with 80 in 54 games, a pace of 121 over a full 82-game season. They’ve clinched the Central Division title and are in the top ten in goals scored (eighth) and allowed (fourth) despite dealing with some key injuries up front and between the pipes as the presumptive starter at the beginning of the year in Petr Mrazek has only been able to play 11 times.
If the deal gets finalized at the terms that Friedman reported, it’s definitely a below-market price tag as veteran head coaches have been able to command twice that much or more in recent years. While Brind’Amour – who has led Carolina to a 120-64-20 record – doesn’t have quite the track record that coaches like Mike Babcock, Alain Vigneault Claude Julien, Barry Trotz, Todd McLellan, and Peter Laviolette all had at the time of their hires (where they received at least $4MM), it stands to reason that he could have commanded considerably more had he hit the open market. Instead, it appears he’s going to stay where he is and is willing to take a discount to do so which is great news for the Hurricanes.