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Snapshots: Rutherford, Tortorella, Wolf

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It’s still not exactly clear what made Jim Rutherford suddenly resign his post as general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this year. Given that he still has “the bug” to help a front office, as he told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic recently, some have wondered if there was perhaps a philosophical disagreement between Rutherford and his Pittsburgh bosses. When asked on the Cam and Strick Podcast about whether he had tried to trade Kris Letang but ownership stopped it, the legendary executive denied any rumors:

Nope. Not accurate. As a matter of fact, I’ve said publicly a few times. Because you get to a point in a player’s career–should you trade ’em, get something young for them or not–but I’ve actually took the position that because the core guys won Stanley Cups, three Stanley Cups, that [Sidney] Crosby, [Evgeni] Malkin and Letang should play their whole career in Pittsburgh. I wish I could say the same thing about [Marc-Andre] Fleury, but we got squeezed on the cap at an earlier time. But those four guys should have played their whole career in Pittsburgh. There’s three of them still there. That’s how I felt then, that’s how I feel now.

If Letang and Malkin are to play their whole careers in Pittsburgh, they’ll need new contracts before long. Both players are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents after the 2021-22 season. Crosby meanwhile is signed through 2024-25, which potentially could cover the end of his career already. He’ll be 34 this offseason, meaning his contract takes him through his age-37 season.

  • John Tortorella got the infamous vote of confidence from his general manager earlier today, as Jarmo Kekalainen explained he isn’t looking to make changes to the coaching staff and trusts this group to get the Columbus Blue Jackets out of their recent slump. The Blue Jackets have lost five straight and sit fifth in the Central Division, only ahead of the Nashville Predators, Detroit Red Wings, and Dallas Stars (who have only played 16 games, the fewest in the entire league). Tortorella, though respected as a strong systems coach that can get a lot out of a mediocre roster, has been known to eventually have players tune him out in his previous stops. Kekalainen, as Aaron Portzline of The Athletic writes, hasn’t seen that kind of thing yet. A Stanley Cup champion with the 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning, Tortorella has been the head coach of the Blue Jackets since the 2015-16 season and has had a winning record in each season with the club.
  • Dustin Wolf has been reassigned back to the WHL, re-joining the Everett Silvertips after a short taste of professional hockey. The 19-year-old goaltender played three games for the Stockton Heat, winning two of them and posting an .895 save percentage. A seventh-round pick in 2019, Wolf is an extremely intriguing prospect trying to break through despite a significant disadvantage–he stands a (generous) 6’0″ and would be one of the smallest goaltenders in the NHL, should he ever make it. So far that size discrepancy hasn’t stopped him, winning CHL Goaltender of the Year and recently taking home a World Junior gold medal. Now that the WHL is returning, Wolf is no longer eligible to play in the AHL.

Snapshots: Eichel/Krueger, Sutter, Wheeler, Grzelcyk

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Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger isn’t having a good week. The team has lost three straight, including a 3-0 shutout loss to Philadelphia Sunday. When star Jack Eichel went down with an injury and was expected to miss time earlier this week, Krueger told the press, including The Athletic’s John Vogl that Eichel got hurt during warm-ups on Thursday and his injury was not related to the fact that he missed the morning skate that day.

Eichel, who played Sunday, said after Sunday’s game that the injury didn’t happen in warm-ups like Krueger said. Eichel said the injury occurred during Tuesday’s game against New Jersey, contradicting Krueger’s statement three days earlier.

When Vogl asked about his job status, Krueger said he wasn’t worried.

“Absolutely not, John,” said Krueger. “If you do, I don’t know. But I’m not wired that way, just so you know. I’m wired to work on solutions and take responsibility, and I do both right now.”

Not a good sign in Buffalo.

  • Vancouver Canucks center Brandon Sutter is having a solid season in the final year of his five-year, $21.9MM contract. The 32-year-old has scored six goals in 24 games so far this year. Despite being a logical trade chip for the upcoming trade deadline on April 12th, Sutter says he wants to stay with the Canucks past this year, according to The Province’s Ben Kuzma. “You know when your contract is up there’s always going to be speculation and talk,” he said. “For me, I’m just focused on this group and this team. I want to be here and this is where I want to stay. Really no secrets there from me.”
  • Just because the Winnipeg Jets asked defenseman Toby Enstrom to waive his no-movement clause so the team could protect seven forwards, three defensemen and a goalie in the 2017 Vegas expansion draft, don’t expect Winnipeg to do the same with Blake Wheeler this year for the upcoming Seattle expansion draft. The Athletic’s Murat Ates (subscription required) writes that Wheeler would fit the profile of someone the Seattle Kraken would pass on if he were left exposed, considering he’s 35, has three more years at $8.25MM and is no longer a dominant top-line forward (although still a solid top-six player). The scribe notes that the Jets would never ask him to waive his no-movement clause. Winnipeg intends to use Wheeler as well as Mark Scheifele as examples to other Jets’ players that the team will stick with their stars for their entire career.
  • Joe Haggerty of BostonHockeyNow writes the Boston Bruins could see the return of top-four defenseman Matt Grzelcyk soon. The 27-year-old blueliner practiced Saturday, but wasn’t ready to go Sunday against the Rangers. Grzelcyk has been out with a lower-body injury and has missed all but two games since Jan. 21. He has tried to come back twice when he obviously wasn’t ready. Grzelcyk has only appeared in six games this year.

Latest On Jeff Skinner

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Often, a big regulation win can calm the sea for a team that’s trying to bail water from a sinking ship. The Buffalo Sabres got that kind of a win on Tuesday night when they dispatched the New Jersey Devils 4-1, but it took 41 saves from Linus Ullmark and there still wasn’t a goal from their two top forwards. Their ankles, at least, still seem to be submerged.

Today, after sitting out the last three games as a healthy scratch, Jeff Skinner was absent from the morning skate. The $72MM dollar man seems completely forgotten by head coach Ralph Krueger, who denied having a “doghouse” today but didn’t share any real insight on the situation. That doesn’t mean people aren’t looking for answers.

Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News reports that Skinner’s agent, Don Meehan of Newport Sports, had a “lengthy conversation” on Wednesday with Sabres GM Kevyn Adams, expressing his concerns over the situation.

It has been an incredible fall from grace for Skinner, who signed his eight-year, $72MM deal with the Sabres in 2019 after scoring 40 goals in his first year in Buffalo. Those goals mostly came while riding shotgun with Jack Eichel, but it’s not like it was the first time he had performed at the NHL level. Skinner had been a 30+ goal scorer on three previous occasions, including a 37-goal campaign in 2016-17.

But after signing it, and since Krueger took over as head coach, Skinner has just 14 goals and 24 points in 73 games. He now finds himself out of the lineup completely, certainly not something he expected after 734 career NHL games and at the age of 28.

So to hear that concerns were expressed shouldn’t come as a shock, not at this point.

But what can be done? The Sabres would likely have to eat a huge portion of the deal to trade Skinner, and even that would have further complications. The player holds a no-move clause, meaning his camp would have to be involved in the conversation, and very few teams are looking to add salary right now. Though Skinner’s money drops off at the end of the deal, he’s still owed $10MM in each of the next four seasons.

One has to wonder whether a buyout, as historic as it would be, is a possibility at this point. The money would be paid out over 12 seasons, but the highest cap charge would be in 2022-23 at $8.97MM. Two other seasons would have boosted numbers, but the vast majority would have something under $2.5MM. That’s doable, especially for a team that doesn’t really look close to contending anyway.

A move like that is far down the road–the buyout window doesn’t open until the summer–but it’s obvious there needs to be some kind of resolution to this issue. The best solution would be Skinner getting back to his top-six, goal-scoring ways; but that seems like an era ago at this point.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Hurricanes Begin Extension Talks With Rod Brind’Amour

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Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour is one of a handful of head coaches around the NHL that are in the final year of their respective contracts.  Carolina has certainly shown considerable improvement under his watch over his two-plus seasons there and not surprisingly, they have started talks regarding an extension, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported in a recent Insider Trading segment.

Given how strong the Hurricanes have been – they’re 96-58-13 since Brind’Amour was promoted to the position back in 2018 – the 50-year-old is well-positioned to land a sizable raise.  Many recent deals handed out to proven head coaches have been in the $3MM to $5MM range though to be fair, a lot of those came before the pandemic and the economic environment is much different now.

Having said that, Carolina has been a team that has been a bit stingy when it comes to their off-ice personnel, instead opting to concentrate its financial resources on its on-ice talent, a strategy that has worked so far.  But there are undoubtedly teams keeping tabs on this situation, LeBrun notes, and if Brind’Amour was to make it to the open market, he would get interest from elsewhere.  In his latest column for The Athletic (subscription link), Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon expressed confidence that an extension will get done and Brind’Amour in the past has said that he only wants to coach in Carolina.  Until that deal gets done though, he remains their most intriguing pending free agent.

Poll: Was Firing Claude Julien The Right Decision?

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The Montreal Canadiens have made the first coaching change of the season, firing veteran bench boss Claude Julien and replacing him, at least for now, with Dominique Ducharme. Julien was hired by the Canadiens in 2017 after being let go by the Boston Bruins, inking a new expensive five-year deal with Montreal. He didn’t make it through that full contract (it has a year left), but his tenure there wasn’t actually all that unsuccessful. Sure, the Canadiens didn’t make it very deep in the postseason, but they did get there in two of his four chances.

Overall, the Canadiens were 129-113-35 under Julien this time around, but back-to-back losses against the Ottawa Senators eventually sealed his fate. General manager Marc Bergevin told reporters including Arpon Basu of The Athletic today that when the Canadiens had last week off between games, he gave Julien and his staff the benefit of the doubt that he would turn things around. Three straight losses out of the break obviously showed things hadn’t changed, so he made the move to give the younger Ducharme a chance.

The former CHL Coach of the Year has obviously been groomed for this role and will be given the rest of the 2020-21 season to make his case to continue as head coach into the future. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Bergevin won’t even be reaching out to other coaching candidates for the time being, giving Ducharme his chance instead. LeBrun also notes that Gerard Gallant, who has been thrown around as a potential replacement in Montreal, would not be willing to take an associate or assistant coach role–he’s waiting for a head coaching position.

Even though Julien’s recent history wasn’t great, it’s important to remember just how successful he’s been as a coach in the NHL. His overall record of 667-445-10-152 gives him a .587 points percentage, meaning his teams average over 96 points a season. He sits 13th on the all-time wins list and lifted the Stanley Cup as head coach of the Bruins in 2011.

Was it the right move for Montreal? Will this be able to turn their season around, given how readily available a playoff spot seems in the North Division? Is Ducharme the right coach to lead them moving forward? Vote on the poll below and make sure you leave your thoughts in the comment section.

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Claude Julien Fired By Montreal Canadiens

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The Montreal Canadiens have made a change behind the bench, relieving head coach Claude Julien and associate coach Kirk Muller of their duties. Dominique Ducharme, who had been serving as an assistant, will serve as interim head coach, while Alexandre Burrows has joined the coaching staff. Luke Richardson and Stephane Waite will retain their respective duties with the staff.

GM Marc Bergevin released a statement:

I would like to sincerely thank Claude and Kirk for their contributions to our team over the past five years during which we worked together. I have great respect for these two men whom I hold in high regard. In Dominique Ducharme, we see a very promising coach who will bring new life and new energy to our group. We feel that our team can achieve high standards and the time had come for a change.

Earlier in the season, the Canadiens appeared ready to challenge for the top spot in the North Division, with a high-powered offense led by newcomers Tyler Toffoli and Josh Anderson. Unfortunately, some of that offense has dried up and the team has come apart at the seams, losing back-to-back games against the Ottawa Senators. Those two losses certainly punctuate a drop in play, but it was obvious for some time that the Canadiens weren’t as good as their early-season results.

They had the Vancouver Canucks number especially, but against non-Vancouver teams, the Canadiens had just a 5-5-3 record on the year. Recently, the coach had made drastic moves to try and spark the team like scratching Tomas Tatar, the team’s 2019-20 scoring leader. When that didn’t work, the hammer had to come down on someone and it turned out to be Julien.

It’s not like Ducharme has no experience running a bench though. The interim coach was an incredibly successful junior coach, winning the CHL Coach of the Year award in 2013. He has been the head coach of Canada’s World Junior team twice, winning gold in 2018. This will be, however, his first time as a head coach in the NHL. Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports that there is not another change expected before the end of the season.

For Julien, the term “relieved of duties” was used because he has one more year on his contract at $5MM, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. That means any team hoping to hire Julien will need to approach the Canadiens and negotiate a deal to pay at least some of that remaining salary. Otherwise, Montreal will pay him to stay at home for the next year.

If the old hockey adage of “show me a good coach and I’ll show you a good goalie” is true, perhaps it is the opposite that has cost Julien his job. Although Carey Price has looked rejuvenated at times this season, the simple fact is that he’s not stopping the puck enough for the Canadiens to contend each night. Price has just an .893 save percentage on the season and though some of that can be attributed to the play in front of him, his numbers have been trending down for several seasons now—not to mention Jake Allen’s .932 behind the same team. If Ducharme is to turn the Canadiens around this season (or in any of the next five), that performance has to improve.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Bruce Boudreau Expresses Interest In Seattle’s Head Coach Vacancy

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It should be assumed that any free agent head coach with NHL experience will have interest in taking over the reigns of the league’s newest team next season. The Seattle Kraken have yet to name their inaugural head coach, but the team has surely begun the process of vetting candidates. However, there have been no potential names made public, at least until now. Long-time NHL coach Bruce Boudreau has officially thrown his hat in the ring, telling The Athletic’s Ryan Clark that he is “extremely interested” in the position:

The thing about that job is it would be great to start with a team that is starting fresh and to be the builder of something. I think that is a real exciting thing… It is not like an expansion team in 1967. You knew then you were not going to be very good or have the dregs of every team. The way they have gone about it now, Seattle is going to start off with a pretty good team.

Who knows if the call will ever come? I don’t want to get the call and say I am not ready and I don’t know what I would do and I don’t want to feel that way. This is the only thing I have ever known my whole life… If someone offers you a job, it is an amazing thing.

As Boudreau notes, he has not formally contacted Seattle yet, nor has anyone formally reached out to him. GM Ron Francis has previously stated that the club will not rush to name a head coach and by all accounts have not interviewed any candidates to this point. However, the odds are that Boudreau has at least had some contact with the team. The veteran coach has previously worked with Kraken owner Tod Leiweke, as well as other members of the front office. He also stands out as one of the top available names and is likely a seriously candidate for the position, even if only being discussed behind closed doors.

Boudreau, 66, was most recently in the NHL just last season, fired mid-season by the Minnesota Wild in his fourth year with the franchise. Boudreau has more than a decade of experience as an NHL head coach, previously leading the Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks as well. Prior to that, he coached for many years and found great success in the minors. Among his career accolades are a Jack Adams Award, a number of NHL playoff appearances, and championships in the AHL and ECHL. If the Kraken decide to go for the most experienced candidate as their inaugural head coach, few can rival Boudreau.

Injury Notes: Chicago, Colorado, Raymond

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The Chicago Blackhawks issued a few injury updates today, including that Dylan Strome has been put in the concussion protocol. Strome, who has essentially been working as Chicago’s top center this season, is a huge loss for a team that is still very much in the thick of a playoff race. The Blackhawks are sitting third in the Central Division, though have already played 19 games—Tampa Bay and Dallas, two teams chasing them, have only had 15 and 12 respectively.

Lucas Carlsson will also miss some time and has been placed on injured reserve. The defenseman is dealing with a strained groin and is expected to miss 10-14 days. It’s not all bad news though. Connor Murphy, who hasn’t played since February 7 while dealing with a hip injury, has been activated from injured reserve. Murphy is averaging a career-high 22:45 through 13 games this season.

  • Dennis Gilbert may not be a Blackhawks defenseman anymore, but he’s getting injured like one. The Colorado Avalanche blueliner will be out four to six weeks after undergoing facial surgery according to Peter Baugh of The Athletic. The injury was presumably suffered in a fight with Keegan Kolesar last week, which resulted in Gilbert’s exit after fewer than two minutes of ice time. Erik Johnson and Pavel Francouz meanwhile are both still out long-term, according to head coach Jared Bednar.
  • Detroit Red Wings top prospect Lucas Raymond suffered an elbow injury while playing in Sweden and according to Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News, will have surgery that is expected to keep him out eight weeks. There is no long-term concern for Raymond, the fourth-overall pick from the 2020 draft. The young winger had 18 points in 34 games for Frolunda this season and still needs to sign his entry-level contract with the Red Wings.

Snapshots: Muzzin, Blais, Three Stars

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The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without Jake Muzzin for the next little while after the veteran defenseman suffered a broken bone in his last game. According to Kristen Shilton of TSN, Muzzin won’t play tonight for Toronto and will be wearing a full-face shield when he does eventually return. The Maple Leafs will also be without Zach Hyman and Joe Thornton this evening as both wingers are listed as day-to-day.

In Muzzin’s place, Travis Dermott will be elevated to the second pair, an interesting assignment given how little the young defenseman has actually played this season. Despite suiting up in 15 games, Dermott has averaged just over 11 minutes a night, seeing no powerplay or penalty kill time. With rumors swirling about the Maple Leafs’ apparent interest in acquiring another top-six winger, Dermott’s name has come up in trade speculation. The 24-year-old will be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent this summer and has an opportunity now to really show what he is capable of.

  • The St. Louis Blues will have Sammy Blais available to them tonight after he was previously placed on the COVID Protocol list. Blues head coach Craig Berube confirmed that it was a false positive that led to Blais’ placement there and he will be eligible to return this evening. The 24-year-old forward is expected to play on the second line alongside Brayden Schenn and Mike Hoffman. That’s quite the step up for Blais, who has just ten goals and 23 points in his 91-game NHL career. Jaden Schwartz and Colton Parayko will not dress as they continue to deal with injury.
  • Hard to find a more dynamic trio than Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, and David Pastrnak. Those are your NHL Three Stars of the week, with Matthews taking the top spot following his seven-goal output. The Maple Leafs forward leads the entire league in goals with 18 through his first 18 games this season, six ahead of McDavid and Brock Boeser who are tied for second. Pastrnak meanwhile has nine in his first nine games after starting the year on injured reserve, including a hat trick in last night’s Lake Tahoe game.

Mike Babcock Named University Of Saskatchewan’s Head Coach

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It appears as if Mike Babcock has found his next head coaching job but it won’t be in the NHL or the professional ranks at all, for that matter.  Instead, the veteran bench boss has been named the head coach of the University of Saskatchewan in Canada’s college ranks, per a release from the school.  He received a two-year deal on a volunteer basis.

Babcock has been looking for a new coaching opportunity since being fired by Toronto midway through last season with Sheldon Keefe taking over and had been doing some television work for NBC this season.  Now, it’s a return back to his roots as Babcock is from Saskatoon, played for the school back in 1981-82, and received an honorary degree from them back in 2016.

The 57-year-old is one of only eight head coaches in NHL history to record 700 career wins and has spent parts of 17 seasons behind the bench.  He’s also quite decorated internationally and is the only member of the ’Triple Gold’ club among coaches (Olympics, World Championships, and a Stanley Cup).  However, he didn’t receive any serious consideration for the vacancies that existed over the offseason.  He’s still receiving his full $5.875MM salary from Toronto until his contract with them runs out following the 2022-23 season (the same time this contract ends) and now will be able to work closer to home for the time being although Babcock will have to wait for next season to start as the U SPORTS season was cancelled back in October.

TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report the hiring.

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