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Joel Quenneville Remains Ineligible Despite NHL Interest

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Joel Quenneville will remain ineligible from coaching in the NHL, despite multiple clubs looking into the veteran signal-caller, shares David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link). Quenneville stepped down from the Florida Panthers on October 28, 2021, amid the Blackhawks sexual assault scandal.  The news ended Quenneville’s 27-year career in the league – a tour that took him through long stretches with the St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, and Chicago Blackhawks. He won three Stanley Cups along the way, leading a prolific Chicago core that featured Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, and Corey Crawford.

A long list of teams are currently in the process of reconsidering their coaching staff, with five teams currently without a bench leader for next season. That includes the New Jersey Devils, whose coaching vacancy represents one of the highest ceilings in the league per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The long list of mingling teams also means a long list of strong candidates – with former Toronto Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe becoming the most recent coach to hit free agency. He’s now competing with a wide array of talents, from the development focus of coaches like Jay Woodcroft and Dave Hakstol to postseason and even Stanley Cup precedent through Gerard Gallant, Todd McLellan, and Craig Berube.

Teams will try to find an edge any way they can, especially when hiring for a role as pivotal as head coach. Because of that, this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen teams check the pulse of Quenneville’s eligibility. He’ll remain away from the league but still well-represented in the record books, boasting the second-most wins and fifth-most games coached of any coach in NHL history.

Metropolitan Notes: Devils Coaching Search, Chytil, Quapp

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The Devils are hoping to have their coaching search wrapped up in the near future now that Travis Green is now in Ottawa.  Craig Berube and Jay Woodcroft have been linked to the position already but Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in a recent NHL Network appearance (video link) that Todd McLellan has also interviewed for the position and could be in the mix for a second interview as well.  McLellan is one of the most experienced coaches available with 1,144 career regular season games under his belt, good for 24th all-time.  His teams have played to a .581 points percentage over that time but he was let go midseason by Los Angeles with the Kings underachieving at the time.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Rangers center Filip Chytil is listed as a game-time decision for tonight’s fourth game against Carolina, relays Mollie Walker of the New York Post. Head coach Peter Laviolette indicated that Chytil didn’t feel well when he woke up this morning.  The 24-year-old returned to the lineup on Thursday after missing more than six months with concussion troubles; Laviolette declined to comment on if Chytil’s symptoms were related to those symptoms.  If Chytil doesn’t play, it appears as if Jonny Brodzinski will be in line to make his first appearance of the playoffs with Matt Rempe expected to remain a healthy scratch.
  • Hurricanes goalie prospect Nikita Quapp has signed a one-year contract with Dusseldorfer EG in the German League, per a team announcement. The 21-year-old was a sixth-round pick back in 2021 (187th overall) but has spent most of his time in Germany’s second division since then.  Quapp played in 26 games on loan to Lausitzer Fuchse this season, posting a 2.63 GAA and a .920 SV%.  Carolina has until June 1st, 2025 to sign Quapp so this will be his last chance to try to demonstrate that he’s worthy of an NHL contract.

Sharks Interview Assistant Ryan Warsofsky For Head Coaching Vacancy

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The Sharks have interviewed assistant coach Ryan Warsofsky recently, reports Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now. He’ll be considered for a promotion after the team fired bench boss David Quinn last month with one season left on his contract.

Warsofsky, 36, has never been a head coach in the NHL, but this isn’t the first time he’s received interest. After a quick rise up the ranks in the AHL, reports indicated he was generating buzz among NHL front offices in the summer of 2022, although he settled for an assistant role on Quinn’s staff in San Jose.

His two-year run as an assistant with the Sharks thus far is his first-ever role in the NHL as a player or coach. After a collegiate career and one-year professional stint in 2011-12 that included stops in the Netherlands and American low minor leagues, Warsofsky ended his playing career and returned to his alma mater, Curry College, to assist their Division III program.

After one season, Warsofsky landed a job as an assistant with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays, then the second-tier affiliate of the Bruins. Serving on the staff of future Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery, Warsofsky remained in his assistant role for three seasons before taking over as head coach in 2016 after Carbery left to be the head coach of the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit.

The Stingrays, now affiliated with Washington, continued a solid success with Warsofsky as their head coach and director of hockey operations. They didn’t win a division title under Warsofsky, but they did make the playoffs both times and advanced to the Kelly Cup Final in 2017. After posting an 88-44-12 record in two campaigns in South Carolina, Warsofsky joined the Hurricanes organization as an assistant coach with their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers.

Warsofsky lasted just one season in Charlotte before being promoted, assuming head coaching duties for the 2019-20 season after serving on Mike Vellucci’s Calder Cup-winning staff the year prior. He remained with the Hurricanes when they changed their AHL affiliation to the Chicago Wolves for 2020-21, capping off his time in the organization with a Calder Cup championship of his own in 2021-22 with future Carolina regulars Jalen Chatfield, Jack Drury, Pyotr Kochetkov and Stefan Noesen playing integral roles.

It was at that point that Warsofsky started garnering NHL consideration. After landing with the Sharks in 2022, he received his first call to the U.S. men’s national team, serving as an assistant under Quinn at the 2023 World Championship.

If he gets the job, Warsofsky would become the youngest head coach in the NHL by a mile, beating out Carbery by six years. The Sharks haven’t been firmly linked to other candidates on the market. However, there’s been a fair amount of speculation about Lightning assistant Jeff Halpern, Kraken assistant Jay Leach, former Sharks winger and AHL Ontario head coach Marco Sturm, ex-Sharks assistant and Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft, all of whom Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested as fits on the “32 Thoughts” podcast late last month.

Snapshots: Devils, Leonard, Berube

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At the beginning of the season, the Devils weren’t expected to be picking in the top ten but that’s where they find themselves after the lottery earlier this week.  Speaking after the lottery, GM Tom Fitzgerald indicated to reporters including team reporter Amanda Stein that it’s not a guarantee he’ll use the tenth pick next month, suggesting it’s an option to be moved if the right trade presents itself.  It’s not very often that top-ten picks are dealt but with New Jersey being a team in win-now mode, they could be inclined to try to use that selection for someone who is more established and can contribute right away.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Capitals prospect Ryan Leonard opted not to sign with Washington for their playoff run, instead choosing to stay at Boston College instead. However, with San Jose getting the first-overall pick (which is expected to be used on Macklin Celebrini), it’s possible that Celebrini signing will also result in San Jose getting Will Smith to turn pro and become their one-two punch down the middle.  If that happens, Colby Cohen suggested on a recent Daily Faceoff appearance (video link) that Washington could then try to re-engage on getting Leonard, a current teammate of Smith, to sign for 2024-25.  Leonard had a dominant campaign, putting up 31 goals and 29 assists in 41 games in his freshman year.
  • While the Kings haven’t decided on if they’ll remove the interim tag from Jim Hiller who took over as head coach midseason, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reports in his latest Toronto Star column that Los Angeles is kicking the tires on Craig Berube. Berube has also been speculatively linked to the openings in New Jersey and Toronto and appears to be well-positioned to return behind an NHL bench in the coming weeks.  The 55-year-old has been an NHL bench boss for parts of eight seasons with his teams playing to a .584 points percentage.

Devils Linked To Sheldon Keefe

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It took until Thursday morning, but the Maple Leafs did decide to move on from head coach Sheldon Keefe after losing in the first round for the fourth time in his five-year tenure. His sparkling regular-season record over that time still immediately catapults him to being one of the top candidates on the open market, though.

To that end, the Devils are one of the teams expected to interview Keefe for their vacancy, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports. They’ve also been linked to former Blues bench boss Craig Berube – widely viewed as the most desirable candidate on the market – and ex-Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft.

New Jersey also has some documented interest in Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan should he hit the open market, but it seems more likely he’ll remain in Pittsburgh. The Devils are one of six teams with an active vacancy after firing Lindy Ruff in March and opting not to promote interim head coach Travis Green, who has since signed a four-year deal to become the next head coach of the Senators.

Keefe’s 212-97-40 record over 349 games with the Leafs is good for a .665 points percentage, the highest all-time among head coaches with at least 300 games of service. While there are others out there with far worse postseason winning percentages/records than his 16-21 mark, the failure to win more than one series despite consistently boasting an above-average team did him in. As did an all-too-familiar lack of scoring – the Leafs’ offense, led by some of the premier scoring and playmaking talents in the world in Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, went 14 games without scoring more than three goals.

In New Jersey, he would take over a team with a very similar level of uncertainty between the pipes – at least for now. Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll were both high-ceiling yet inconsistent options last year, although, as a whole, they were preferable to the rotating cast of Devils netminders that conceded 19 goals above average. They’re expected to be on the hunt for a top-tier name on the trade market, though, and are likely to see a name like Jacob Markström, Linus Ullmark or Juuse Saros as their opening-night starter.

He’d also be assuming a defense core that, with a healthy Dougie Hamilton, is one of the most tantalizing yet well-rounded groups in the league. Hamilton, along with rising sophomores Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec, gives Keefe the option to ice a premier puck-moving threat on all three pairings, balanced with a defensively responsible other half in Kevin Bahl, John Marino and Jonas Siegenthaler.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Coaching Notes: Devils, Blues, Kings

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The New Jersey Devils plan to solidify a new head coach within the next 7-to-10 days, per The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun (Twitter link). New Jersey just lost interim head coach Travis Green to a four-year contract with the Ottawa Senators, leaving their commanding spot vacant for the first time since firing Lindy Ruff in March. Green led the Devils to a 38-39-5 record, in his two months behind the helm, performing well enough to earn his first full-time head coaching role since leaving the Vancouver Canucks in the 2021-22 season. Ruff has also found a new home, returning to the Buffalo Sabres, where he’s already spent 10 years as a player and 16 years as a coach.

The coaching carousel has circled around the Devils and it’s now their chance to name a new boss. Jay Woodcroft and Craig Berube are seemingly leading the way, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on The Jeff Marek Show. Friedman added that many around the league view New Jersey as the job with the highest ceiling. That’s certainly no surprise, as their next head coach will assume a roster with stars Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, and Dougie Hamilton. And New Jersey is only getting better, with rookie defenders Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec earning full-time roles last season and the Devils recently signing top defense prospect Seamus Casey. New Jersey had a shockingly poor season, missing the playoffs by 10 points after bearing with injuries, a lack of chemistry, and poor goaltending all year. There is star power throughout their lineup, but with very little cap space this summer the Devils will need to hope that a new head coach will be enough to bring out their full potential.

Other notes from the coaching circuit:

  • The St. Louis Blues will be retaining the entire staff behind head coach Drew Bannister, shares The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (Twitter link). The Blues removed Bannister’s interim title earlier today, with Rutherford adding that the hiring process also featured interviews with the team’s advisors Peter Chiarelli, Alexander Steen, and Scott Mellanby. Bannister made it through each stage, and will now return to a team that he led to a 30-19-5 record last season. Bannister brought the best out of some of St. Louis’ youngest players, and manned a red-hot goaltending duo of Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer. While Bannister’s staff won’t lose any faces, the Blues haven’t ruled out the possibility of adding more coaching supports, as they look to get back into the playoffs for the first time since 2022.
  • The Los Angeles Kings are taking their time with their own coaching search, and plan to interview interim head coach Jim Hiller next week, shares LeBrun (Twitter link). LeBrun adds that the Kings liked what they saw out of Hiller but aren’t committed to him just yet. Hiller led the Kings to a 21-12-1 record after taking over for Todd McLellan on February 10th. It was the first head coaching opportunity of Hiller’s career, after 10 years of serving as an assistant coach across the NHL. He previously spent eight years as a head coach in the WHL, making the playoffs seven times.

Senators Name Travis Green Head Coach

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May 7: Green and the Senators have come to an agreement and he’ll be announced as the Sens’ next bench boss on Tuesday, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The Senators did indeed announce the move, confirming a four-year contract that will keep him behind the Ottawa bench through 2027-28.

May 6: The Senators are expected to finalize Travis Green as their next head coach, TSN’s Darren Dreger confirms Monday.

Green finished 2023-24 as the interim head coach for the Devils, who fired Lindy Ruff four days before the trade deadline in a last-ditch effort to make the playoffs. While he remained in consideration for their still-open vacancy, New Jersey granted him permission to speak to Ottawa as late as last week, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reported. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman also said on today’s “32 Thoughts” podcast that things were trending toward Green landing with the Sens.

It wasn’t a strong finish to the season under Green for the Devils. They managed to drop below the .500 mark despite having a record of 30-27-4 when they fired Ruff, finishing 13th in the Eastern Conference and 10 points behind the Capitals for the second wild-card spot.

Green shouldn’t be faulted for New Jersey missing the playoffs. That was nearly settled well before he took over, with number-one defenseman Dougie Hamilton missing nearly the whole season and the Devils’ five goaltenders cumulatively allowing 19 goals above average. But it is concerning he wasn’t able to at least keep up the pace set under Ruff, especially considering New Jersey received its best goaltending of the season to end the year thanks to deadline pickup Jake Allen’s .900 SV% in 12 starts.

The 53-year-old has been a part of the NHL back to 1992, when he embarked on a 14-year, 970-game career as a player that involved stops with the Islanders, Mighty Ducks, Coyotes, Maple Leafs and Bruins. He retired in 2008 following one season of play with EV Zug in the Swiss NLA, taking two seasons off before landing his first coaching gig as an assistant with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League.

Green spent three years in Portland, taking over as interim head coach in 2012-13 when Winterhawks fixture and former Penguins head coach Mike Johnston was suspended for offering improper player benefits and committing various recruitment violations in his dual GM/head coach capacity. He didn’t miss a beat, coaching a high-powered Winterhawks squad led by future NHLers Oliver Bjorkstrand, Seth Jones, Brendan Leipsic, Nic Petan and Ty Rattie to a WHL championship.

That put Green on NHL teams’ radar, and he landed a job in the Canucks organization the following summer as head coach of their AHL affiliate in Utica. He remained there for four seasons, including a Calder Cup Final appearance in 2015, before being promoted to head coach of the Canucks in 2017.

Green’s showing over four and a quarter seasons in British Columbia was underwhelming, compiling a 133-147-34 record and a .478 points percentage. Again, it’s hard to blame Green – the Canucks had questionable roster construction under then-general manager Jim Benning – but there was very little suggesting he was an above-average coach. Vancouver’s lone postseason appearance under Green came in 2020, where they won a qualifying round series against the Wild in the Edmonton bubble and beat the Blues in the first round before falling to the Golden Knights in seven games in the second round. It was a deeper run than expected, although most would rightfully attribute it to the expert goaltending of Jacob Markström (.916 SV%, 8-6 in 14 GS) and Thatcher Demko (.985 SV%, 2-1 in 3 GS).

While he has more NHL experience as a head coach heading into the role than his permanent predecessor, D.J. Smith, it’s not the most exciting hire for an Ottawa team that hasn’t made the playoffs for seven years. Some roster overhauling will be necessary on behalf of GM Steve Staios to aid Green as he assumes control of the room, namely in giving him more offensive weapons to deploy in their bottom six and solidified goaltending.

Ottawa fired Smith amid a December losing streak and managed to go .500 the rest of the way under former bench boss Jacques Martin, who returned to the club to serve as their interim head coach for the last four months of the campaign.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Blues Remove Interim Tag From Drew Bannister

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The Blues have removed the interim tag from head coach Drew Bannister, signing him to a two-year extension Tuesday to make him the 27th permanent bench boss in franchise history. The deal keeps Bannister in St. Louis through the 2025-26 season and brings the number of coaching vacancies down to six, a number that’s expected to drop further this week with the Senators close to hiring Travis Green.

Bannister, 50, guided the Blues to a strong 30-19-5 record after they dismissed 2019 Stanley Cup-winning coach Craig Berube on Dec. 12. After the team started 13-14-1 under Berube, Bannister got them to 92 points on the season, finishing ninth in the Western Conference and 16th in the league overall.

The former NHL defenseman has been in the Blues organization since 2018, serving as head coach and associate head coach of their AHL affiliates for parts of six seasons before his December promotion. He began his coaching career in England while still active as a player, serving as a player-assistant for the Elite Ice Hockey League’s Hull Stingrays in 2010-11 and a player-coach for Scotland’s Braehead Clan the following season.

After hanging up his skates in the summer of 2012, Bannister returned to North America, where he immediately resumed his coaching career as an assistant with the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League. Bannister held that role for three seasons before earning his first shot as a head coach, still in the OHL, with the Soo Greyhounds. In 2017-18, his final season with the club, the Greyhounds dominated the league with a 55-7-6 record, led by a 112-point campaign from future Flyers center Morgan Frost, earning him both CHL and OHL Coach of the Year honors. The Blues didn’t waste any time poaching him out of the junior ranks, appointing him head coach of the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage shortly thereafter.

The Blues are a team in transition with a rapidly aging defense corps, but they still aim to be competitive. They showed they could do that under Bannister and would have made the playoffs this season with his record had they been in the Eastern Conference. Even if there were more experienced candidates on the market this summer, it’s hard to argue with actual results – something Bannister delivered with his four months at the helm to close the season.

Evening Notes: Penguins, Henrique, Matthews

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The Pittsburgh Penguins could be set for a flashy end to an era, with NHL insider Kevin Weekes sharing that the team’s departure from head coach Mike Sullivan could come via a coach-trade (Twitter link). Pittsburgh hasn’t yet granted Sullivan, who is set to begin a three-year extension next season, permission to talk with any other clubs. That control is invaluable in the current NHL, with four teams currently without a coach and plenty more questioning their bench-leader. Pittsburgh has been no stranger to coaching drama in the early offseason, recently relieving two AHL coaches and one NHL assistant of their duties. These moves came despite Sullivan being “vehemently opposed” to changing his staff, says Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli (Twitter link).

Sullivan took over Pittsburgh’s head coach role midway through the 2015-16 season and quickly carried the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup wins. He’s held onto the role despite three changes in general manager and one change in ownership – ultimately becoming the second-longest tenured active coach in the NHL, behind Tampa’s Jon Cooper.

The NHL hasn’t seen a coach-for-coach trade, though there have been coach-for-picks trades. This includes the Quebec Nordiques’ trading of head coach Michel Bergeron to the New York Rangers in 1987. Quebec received what would end up as the fifth-overall pick in 1988 in return, using it to select winger Daniel Dore. The Toronto Maple Leafs also traded Quebec exclusive rights to negotiate with then-AHL head coach Marc Crawford as a part of the 1994 trade that sent Mats Sundin to Toronto. Crawford went on to serve four seasons as Quebec/Colorado’s head coach, even leading the Avalanche to the 1996 Stanley Cup.

While it’s hard to imagine what a coach-trade would look like in modern day, there’s no doubting that Mike Sullivan would carry significant value on the open market. He’s been an NHL head coach for parts of 11 seasons, and has Stanley Cup pedigree on his resume. He becomes one of the many talented, and long-tenured, coaches to monitor as NHL teams shake things up this summer.

Other notes from around the NHL:

  • Edmonton Oilers forward Adam Henrique has suffered an lower-body injury but isn’t expected to miss time, shares Sports 1440’s Jason Gregor (Twitter link). Gregor adds that the injury was suffered in Game 5 and forced Henrique out of practice on Friday. The Oilers won’t begin the Second Round until early next week, giving injured players a chance to heal up. Henrique has served in a top-six role since being acquired at the Deadline, recording two points in five games this postseason and nine points in 22 regular-season games with Edmonton.
  • Superstar forward Auston Matthews was present at the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Friday practice after missing the last two games with an undisclosed ailment, shares Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press (Twitter link). Head coach Sheldon Keefe told Whyno that Matthews is progressing, though the team still isn’t sure if he’ll be available for Game 7. The Maple Leafs have come back from the brink of elimination in Matthews’ absence, forcing a Game 7 after being down 3-1 in the series. They’ll look to finish the comeback on Saturday, with or without their historical scorer.

East Notes: Green, Bennett, Hedman, Fehervary

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While Devils interim head coach Travis Green is under consideration for the full-time position, the team has given him permission to speak to other teams about their head coaching openings, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch.  To that end, Garrioch notes that Green is believed to be on the radar of the Senators for their vacancy.  Green led New Jersey to a record of 8-12-1 after taking over for Lindy Ruff and has a 141-159-35 career record including his time with Vancouver.  He joins Todd McLellan, Dean Evason, and Craig Berube as experienced head coaches who have been connected to the Sens thus far.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • Panthers center Sam Bennett is set to skate tomorrow for the first time since suffering a wrist injury in the second game of the first round, relays Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. The 27-year-old was a key secondary scorer for Florida this season, picking up 20 goals and 21 assists in 69 games while anchoring the second line alongside Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe.  Head coach Paul Maurice stated that “it’s a very real possibility” that Bennett will be available for their second-round matchup against either Toronto or Boston.
  • Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman will take part in the upcoming World Championship later this month, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link). The 33-year-old hasn’t had many opportunities to take part in the tournament in the past but has been consistent about going when he could.  This will be Hedman’s fourth time playing in the event and his first since 2016-17.
  • Another player heading to the Worlds is Capitals blueliner Martin Fehervary; Slovakia’s GM Miroslav Satan announced (Twitter link). The 24-year-old logged a little under 20 minutes a night this season for Washington while finishing in the top three on the team in hits and blocked shots.  Fehervary also was their leading scorer in the playoffs, picking up two goals and an assist in their sweep at the hands of the Rangers.  This will be Fehervary’s fourth time playing in this tournament.

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