Snapshots: Martinook, Toews, Tortorella, Khudobin
The Carolina Hurricanes really don’t like the NHL’s Return to Play plan. After Jordan Martinook and the ‘Canes were one of just two teams to vote against the initial postseason format last month, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Martinook was also one of the two NHLPA representatives who voted against ratifying the Return to Play plan and CBA extension. Martinook has previously stated that he and his teammates felt that the expanded playoff structure was a disadvantage to teams who were safely in the postseason picture, but not within the top four in their conference. It is a fair opinion for Carolina to have; the team has the second-best record of qualifying round contenders and almost certainly would have made the playoffs. Their reward for those regular season efforts? A five-game series match-up with a New York Rangers team that was playing their best hockey down the stretch and has been a tough match-up for the Hurricanes all season. As a result, Martinook tried not once but twice to change the league’s plan, but to no avail. They will face the Rangers in just over a week’s time with a playoff berth on the line.
The other “no” vote against the Return to Play plan was reported to belong to Chicago Blackhawks representative Jonathan Toews. However, Toews has come out today and refuted that report. There is no doubt that Toews asked hard questions about health and safety protocols and gameplay logistics and made the case for why his peers should consider voting against the plan, but he tells Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun Times that at the end of the day he voted “yes”. In fact, he said that he always planned to vote yes but wanted to make sure that there was a thorough conversation before a decision was made. There is no word on who the mystery second “no” vote came from, but it was not the Blackhawks captain.
- Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella might be re-thinking his teams approval of the expanded postseason plan. While a standard 16-team format would have excluded his team, which was in ninth in the Eastern Conference at the time of the league’s pause, their preparation for the knockout round is not going according to plan. Tortorella told NHL.com’s Craig Merz outright that he does not like what he has seen from his best players. “My concern is some of the people that we are going to need to make a difference for us to win a series, I don’t think they’re ready right now,” the Jack Adams finalist stated. “I don’t think they’re doing the things they need to do right now to get ready for that series… This isn’t getting ready for the regular season and then trying to find your game in 15 games during the regular season. This is a sprint… I don’t want us to fall into this trap of wading in. We need to be ready to go.”
- Anton Khudobin and the Dallas Stars have some extra time to get ready for the postseason as they are one of the four top seeds in the West and will have four round robin games ahead of them before the real competition begins. Although Khudobin may only see action in the round robin and not in the Stars’ postseason series, as starter Ben Bishop will get the nod unless his play warrants a change, Khudobin’s value to Dallas cannot be understated. One of the best backups in the NHL, Khudobin recorded a .930 save percentage and 2.22 GAA in 30 games this season. While these numbers are outstanding, even better than Bishop’s, it doesn’t appear that Khudobin is looking to move on from Dallas to a greater role. He tells Matthew DeFranks of The Dallas Morning News that his preference is to remain with the Stars for a while longer. However, the impending UFA admits that he will let his agent work out the details and find the best opportunity. Khudobin is certainly comfortable and thriving in Texas, but the Stars’ limited cap space and the presences of Bishop and top prospect Jake Oettinger may mean that his current team cannot offer him top dollar. On the other hand, a potentially strong goalie market and Khudobin’s age, not to mention a flat salary cap, may mean that there won’t be the demand on the open market that Khudobin’s performance would normally command. This seems to be the case with another elite backup, Boston’s Jaroslav Halak, who recently signed a one-year extension for less guaranteed money despite another stellar season as the Bruins’ backup after replacing Khudobin himself. Perhaps Khudobin will have to settle for the same fate, especially if he wants to remain in Dallas.
Vancouver Canucks’ Loui Eriksson Has No Plans To Retire
Barring a trade, the Loui Eriksson era in Vancouver is far from over. In fact, quite the contrary as the veteran is preparing for the upcoming postseason with the hopes of playing a regular role with the Canucks, reports The Province’s Ben Kuzma. In an interview, Eriksson described how he has plenty of gas left in the tank, both for the playoffs this season and for years to come.
Eriksson, 35, still has two years left on his contract at an AAV of $6MM. However, the former 30-goal scorer has been relegated to a part-time role in Vancouver, playing in just 49 games this season. Many Canucks fans had hoped that Eriksson might opt to retire and leave his remaining money on the table due to the drop-off in his usage, but the veteran tells Kuzma that this won’t be the case. He plans to keep playing and the Canucks will have to find some other way to get rid of him if they no longer want him around next season. While the cap-strapped club would love to move on from Eriksson’s $6MM cap hit, which resulted in just 13 points this year, a buyout or an AHL demotion do relatively little to aid in their cap situation. Recent reports indicated that the asking price from other teams to take on Eriksson’s contract was a young roster player. As a result, Vancouver might find it difficult to move the veteran.
Fortunately, Eriksson’s personal relationship with the team does seem to be improving. This past summer, Eriksson did not exactly speak glowingly about his head coach Travis Green, stating that the two did not see eye to eye. However, he has changed his tune in talking with Kuzma, saying that the relationship between the two has been better. Eriksson also spoke about his love of the game and his desire to help the Canucks this postseason. Eriksson still believes that he can be an effective defensive forward and his performance has backed up this claim. While this may not amount to $6MM in value, it may come in handy along with his experience and leadership in the playoffs. What happens beyond this postseason remains to be seen and could very much be tied to Eriksson’s performance, but for now Canucks fans can only hope that after four disappointing seasons that their “star” free agent expenditure has saved his best for a deep playoff run this year.
David Pastrnak Held Out Of Bruins Practice Due To COVID Exposure
League-leading goal-scorer David Pastrnak has missed his second straight day of practice with the Boston Bruins after missing the early part of the week due a league-mandated quarantine period for players returning from Europe. While Pastrnak himself has tested negative for COVID-19, as it turns out he is back in quarantine after coming into contact with an individual who had tested positive, according to The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa.
Pastrnak, as well as fellow European returner Ondrej Kase, missed Monday and Tuesday while in quarantine but returned Wednesday to re-join the team. However, head coach Bruce Cassidy announced on Thursday that the duo had been labeled “unfit to participate” and would be out for an indeterminate amount of time. It has since been clarified that Pastrnak was not permitted to practice with the team due to contact with a positive COVID-19 individual. It is unclear whether Kase has been missing for the same reason.
Meanwhile, the two worked out together privately at a local rink Friday. The team certainly hopes that the pair will be at full speed by the time they depart for Toronto to begin round robin play, whether they are able to resume group practice soon or not. Pastrnak is obviously one of the more dangerous scoring forwards in the league and a crucial part of Boston’s offensive attack, while Kase was acquired from the Anaheim ahead of the trade deadline for a hefty price and is expected to be a key piece moving forward. Kase was quiet through six games with the Bruins before the league suspended play, but the hope is that he will be the fit at right wing alongside David Krejci that the team has been searching for.
NHL Announces Finalists For 2019-20 Jack Adams Award
Just moments after announcing the finalists for the Calder Trophy, the league has given out three names that will battle for another prestigious regular season award. The Jack Adams Award, given to the head coach who has “contributed the most to his team’s success” comes down to three Eastern Conference bench bosses who have taken their teams to the playoffs.
The three finalists are: Bruce Cassidy (BOS), John Tortorella (CBJ), Alain Vigneault (PHI)
Cassidy has done nothing but win since returning to the NHL head coaching ring in 2017. In 261 regular season games running the Bruins’ bench, he’s amassed a 161-66-34 record. That .682 winning percentage would put him among the all-time great coaches in NHL history. Even when including his 47-47-9 record from when he coached the Washington Capitals, he ranks sixth all-time in winning percentage among coaches with at least 300 games. There is little doubt at this point that he is an effective leader and after taking the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Finals a year ago, he had them back positioned for another run as the league’s best regular season team.
Tortorella meanwhile comes with a much longer head coaching history and one that has certainly had its ups and downs. Even though he can eventually wear out his welcome, the fiery motivator has had only three seasons with a sub-.500 record. This season has been perhaps his most challenging after losing names like Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene and Sergei Bobrovsky to free agency and Seth Jones to a season-ending injury. The fact that the Blue Jackets still have a fighting chance in the playoffs is a credit to the work “Torts” has done with an underwhelming roster and puts him squarely in as a potential favorite for the award this season.
Vigneault will try to take away however after a triumphant return to the NHL. After spending a year on the sidelines following his dismissal from the New York Rangers, the veteran coach was back in the Metropolitan Division taking the Flyers to a 41-21-7 record. Philadelphia was playing perhaps their best hockey in a decade when the season was cut short and looked like a real contender for the Stanley Cup. The question has always been about whether Vigneault can hack it in the playoffs, but as this is a regular season award the Flyers .645 winning percentage speaks for itself.
Islanders Notes: Salary Cap, Free Agents, Ilya Sorokin
Many teams are facing troubling cap situations over the next two seasons (assuming the CBA passes and the cap freezes at $81.5MM). Count the New York Islanders among the troubled.
Though they don’t have any exorbitant deals, the Islanders have a whole host of contracts in the $3-6MM range. With $71.38MM already committed to their roster for next season, there’s a decent likelihood that GM Lou Lamoriello will have to let all their pending unrestricted free agents walk, per The Athletic’s Arthur Staple. That would mean Matt Martin, Derick Brassard, Tom Kuhnhackl, Andy Greene, and Thomas Greiss all hitting the open market. Then again, with many teams facing this crunch, free agents may face a depressed market, potentially allowing teams to grab some bargain short-term deals.
- Greiss is probably the biggest on-ice contributor from that group, though if all goes well, Ilya Sorokin could join the club and take on that role. Martin might be the bigger loss in a spiritual sense. Despite a two-year hiatus in Toronto, Martin has spent nine years in New York, and his grinding style of play has made him popular among the locals. He’s also the most likely to return, as the fourth-liner may not command a whole lot in free agency after marking 0.4 point shares this season.
- The bigger issue, Staples writes, is with the Islanders restricted free agents: namely, Mathew Barzal. Just two years removed from winning the Calder Trophy, Barzal is in line for a hefty raise, even if he settles for a bridge contract. With Ryan Pulock, Devon Toews, and potentially Sorokin (more on this later) also restricted free agents, the Islanders will look to shed a contract or two to free up enough money to keep these central young players in the fold. The team has been resistant to trading Nick Leddy, but his $5.5MM could be rerouted to players more likely to play key roles moving forward. Leddy remains a viable blueliner, and though they’re not likely to return a significant asset for him, New York can get out from under his contract if they need the money. Another former Blackhawk, Andrew Ladd, would be another trade piece, but at 35-years-old and with only 30 games played over the last two seasons, they’re not likely to find a taker for the veteran forward – nor can they get any savings from buying him out. More likely for Ladd, Staples notes, is landing on the long-term injured reserve, which would allow the Islanders to go over the cap by $5.5MM.
- Even though signing Sorokin now will burn his one year ELC, the Islanders are probably going to do so anyway to get him in the fold, writes Staple in another piece. It will make him a restricted free agent for next season, but the Islanders appear ready to bring him in to start working with their coaches. Since the KHL doesn’t typically allow opt-outs, New York would rather bring him in and have him ready for next season rather than lose him to the KHL for another season.
Devils Hire Lindy Ruff As Head Coach, Remove Interim Tag From GM Tom Fitzgerald
The Devils had been using their extended offseason to conduct a thorough search simultaneously for their new head coach and GM. In the end, they’ve decided to change the coach and keep the team as the team announced in a pair of press releases that they have hired Lindy Ruff as their new head coach and removed the interim title from Tom Fitzgerald who now is their full-time general manager.
Managing partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer released the following statement about Fitzgerald’s promotion to the full-time role:
When Tom took over the role of GM in January, we were committed to moving the organization in a new direction. Having gone through the process of interviewing various candidates, including Tom, and reviewing his work in the interim, we feel that he is the best fit for the New Jersey Devils moving forward. Our decision was solidified by his ability to stabilize the organization, get solid returns at the trade deadline, make impressive plans for player development and hire a new coach in Lindy Ruff. We are very optimistic about our future and know we have great deal of talent, both on and off the ice. Together, we are excited to start a new chapter and are committed to becoming a consistent contender, which our fans deserve.
Meanwhile, Fitzgerald said the following regarding his decision to hire Ruff:
We are proud and excited to have Lindy Ruff join our organization as Head Coach. He is one of the most successful and respected coaches in the NHL, not only today, but in League history. His personality, experience, knowledge, work-ethic and focus will provide a calm presence in our locker room. He is the right coach at the right time for our organization. Lindy has a proven track record of getting the absolute best out of his players across the board- stars, role players and everyone in between. His teaching ability, and communication skills will be well-suited for our team, especially our young, developing players. Throughout his career, his teams have been greater than the sum of their parts. I look forward to working together with Lindy as the organization moves forward.
Ruff takes over from Alain Nasreddine who had previously held the interim title behind the bench. Unlike Nasdreddine, who was a first-time bench boss in the NHL, Ruff comes to the team with plenty of experience. He spent parts of 15 seasons as the head coach of the Sabres from 1997-18 through 2013-14 before being replaced by Ron Rolston mid-season, a move that has sparked a flurry of coaching turnover in that organization since then. Ruff didn’t wait too long before getting another job though as in 2013, as he was named the head coach of the Stars, a role he held for four seasons.
Since being let go from Dallas in 2017, the 60-year-old has served as an assistant coach with the Rangers, a division rival of New Jersey so he’ll have some familiarity with the Devils. While it was first thought that Ruff would finish up his contract with New York as they’re set to participate in the play-in round against Carolina, that will not be the case. Instead, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Gord Murphy, the associate coach at AHL Hartford, will join New York for their run and that Ruff’s departure is immediate.
Beyond Ruff and Nasreddine, three other veteran coaches were in consideration for the position. Peter Laviolette, John Stevens, and Gerard Gallant were believed to be the other finalists.
As for Fitzgerald, it is hard to argue that the former player and veteran executive did not deserve the official GM role. A former Assistant GM for the Pittsburgh Penguins who has spent the past five years in the same role with the Devils, Fitzgerald was bumped to interim GM for New Jersey back in January went the team surprisingly parted ways with Ray Shero. In the weeks following, leading up to the trade deadline, Fitzgerald dealt impending free agents Sami Vatanen, Andy Greene, and Wayne Simmonds in separate deals for second-, fourth-, and fifth-round draft picks and prospect Janne Kuokkanen and in his biggest move landed prized prospect Nolan Foote and a 2020 first-round pick for forward Blake Coleman. Fitzgerald maximized the value of his expendable assets and showed he is a worthy deal-maker.
Whether Fitzgerald finds the same success with his first coaching hire however remains to be seen. There will be some that are critical of his choice to recycle Ruff, especially with the caliber of available coaches on the market, but judgement should be reserved until the product can be seen on the ice. Fortunately, Ruff, Fitzgerald, and company have a long offseason ahead of them and should be well-prepared by the time next season rolls around.
Kevin Weekes of the NHL Network was the first to report (via Twitter) the Ruff hiring and Fitzgerald’s promotion to the full-time role.
Zach Leach also contributed to this post.
Vegas Notes: Goaltenders Present And Future, Fleury, Lehner, Patera
Nearly half of the 24 teams returning for the NHL’s “second season” have questions to answer in goal before taking the ice, per ESPN’s NHL Insiders. One net in question belongs to the Vegas Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury has been known to block a shot or two, but midseason acquisition Robin Lehner made Vegas’ goaltender competition a two-man race. The sample size is small for Lehner, but he finished the season in spectacular fashion. On the year, Fleury’s 2.77 GAA bests Lehner’s 2.89 GAA – but Lehner leads the pair in save percentage (.920 to .905). The Insiders give the nod to Fleury, and one would think coach Peter DeBoer will too. Lehner provides top-shelf insurance, but this early in DeBoer’s Vegas tenure, it’d hurt to go down with Fleury riding the pine. On the other, less-risky hand, it’s much harder to blame the guy for playing the face of the franchise when the games matter most.
- Long-term, however, the Golden Knights have to balance an aging Fleury, 35, and Lehner, 28, potentially leaving as a free agent. The Golden Knights are in a decent position financially, but they won’t be without casualties this offseason. With the salary cap likely to freeze at $81.5MM, Lehner feels more-and-more like a textbook rental, per David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Besides, after his strong play this year, there’s a good chance a starting job awaits him somewhere. He could command a salary close to Fleury’s $7MM for next season -though likely a touch less – depending on how the next few months play out. Even though Vegas isn’t saddled with a cumbersome cap sheet, they’d probably have to want Lehner as “the guy” moving forward to get him back.
- Longer-term, the Golden Knights could have their goaltender of the future in Jiri Patera. Patera begins his professional career next season after signing his three-year entry-level contract with Vegas a few weeks ago. The Czech netminder will join the Vegas organization after a strong season with the Brandon Wheat Kings. He won’t join the Golden Knights for 2020-2021, but he’s a prospect worth tracking. Per The Athletic’s Jesse Granger, after Patera signed his ELC with Vegas, Wheat Kings goalie coach Tyler Plante gave this assessment: “They definitely drafted a good person, for sure. He’s a special player and a special person. He’s so coachable and respected by his teammates that it’s tough to see a guy like that go. Love that he’s progressing, and that he’s going to continue on.”
East Notes: Capitals Defense, Montreal Offer Sheet, Debrusk
The Washington Capitals may be considered one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, but they have their work cut out for them. The team struggled in the last two months before play was suspended with a mediocre 8-9-3 over their past 20 games. Much of their struggle is due to the team’s poor defense where head coach Todd Reirden was seen experimenting with different defensive combinations over that stretch, which included removing veteran Radko Gudas from the rotation altogether.
In a panel of writers, The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir (subscription required) writes that a new training camp couldn’t come at the right time for the Capitals who now have a second chance to find the right pairings and fix their leaky blueline. Much will depend on the players and how they perform at training camp, but there is hope that defenseman Michal Kempny might have more confidence now in his surgically repaired hamstring. The team will also hope Gudas can bounce back and push his way back into the lineup. The team might also get a boost from trade deadline acquisition Brenden Dillon, who will get a training camp to adjust to his new team. El-Bashir also notes the team could look to prospect Martin Fehervary, who will also be on the Capitals’ roster.
- In a recent mailbag column, The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription requires) responds to a question about offer sheets and St. Louis Blues defenseman Vince Dunn. Basu wonders whether the Montreal Canadiens might be an interesting destination for the 23-year-old blue liner since St. Louis is currently cap-strapped and have to deal with the contract of Alex Pietrangelo as well as the future contracts of Jaden Schwartz and Jordan Binnington. A significant offer sheet at around $4.2MM AAV would be very challenging for the Blues to match and would bring quite a few questions on whether Dunn is worth that much since. especially since he’s not even eligible for arbitration. That offer would only cost the Canadiens a second-round pick in compensation as well. Montreal is also the most recent team to use an offer sheet, having tried to pry away Carolina’s Sebastian Aho last offseason to no avail.
- The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont writes that head coach Bruce Cassidy is stuck once again with answering the question, ‘Who will play alongside David Krejci?’ on the team’s second line. The scribe writes that while Jake Debrusk would seem to be a solid candidate to take that role, training camp could open up the possibilities of moving Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase into those roles where chemistry might not be that big of an issue with time to acclimate with Krejci. That would not be good for Debrusk’s stock as he will be a restricted free agent at the end of the year and finding himself on the third line wouldn’t help is value.
Snapshots: Berglund, Rangers’ Goalie Battle
Brynäs IF of the Swedish Hockey League has offered a contract to free agent Patrik Berglund, per Uffe Bodin of hockeysverige.se. Berglund, last seen in the NHL as a member of the 2018-2019 Buffalo Sabres, had his contract terminated after failing to report. Mental health issues led Berglund to forfeit the $10MM contract and return to Europe where he eventually signed a deal with Djurgardens in the SHL. It appears as if Berglund, 32, will stay in the Swedish Hockey League for the foreseeable future, putting an end to any speculation that he might return stateside. Berglund initially joined the Sabres to help match salary as part of the Ryan O’Reilly trade.
- The New York Rangers are in the enviable position of having not one, not two, but three viable options at goaltender once play resumes, per Dan Rosen of NHL.com. Henrik Lundqvist (.905 save percentage in 26 starts) could be grandfathered into the starting role, but Igor Shesterkin (.932 save percentage in 12 starts)and Alexandar Georgiev (.910 save percentage in 32 starts) each made their case with solid play during the year. As with many of the roster decisions coming out of the long layoff, this may come down to conditioning and readiness. However he decides, coach David Quinn is sure to be second-guessed if their five-game Stanley Cup Qualifier against the Carolina Hurricanes goes poorly. On his thinking, Quinn said this: “You can make a case for all three guys. There’s a lot of reasons to take ‘Shesty,’ there’s a lot of reasons to start Hank (Lundqvist), and there’s reasons to start ‘Georgie.’ This is such an uncertain time that that will play out over the course of the two and a half weeks that we’re going to have before we drop the puck.”
- Looking ahead, the Rangers decision could speak to their likely direction this offseason when they’ll need to decide again how to manage the futures of Lundqvist, 38, Shesterkin, 24, and Georgiev, 24. Lundqvist is owed $8.5MM for the 2020-2021 season while Shesterkin has another year at $925K. “Georgie” could be the odd man out, as he will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season. That said, the Rangers’ remain in control of all three, and they’ll likely explore trade avenues to extract value from the deep positional group.
Snapshots: Boudreau, Pilut, Ducks, Graber
While former Minnesota head coach Bruce Boudreau was planning on his coaching stint with the Wild being his last, he’s still hoping to coach again, notes Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required). As things stand, there isn’t a real vacancy in the league as several interim coaches remain at the helm (including in New Jersey despite their being a search ongoing, one that Boudreau is not a part of) so the 65-year-old may have to wait for a little while yet for another opportunity to come up. He sits 22nd on the NHL’s All-Time wins list with 587 while his regular season points percentage (.635) puts him fifth among coaches with at least 200 games of NHL coaching experience. For a team that’s looking to turn things around quickly, Boudreau should garner some consideration as other vacancies become available.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Lawrence Pilut surprised many when he opted to sign a two-year deal in the KHL over re-signing with the Sabres. It turns out the main issue wasn’t his role with the team but rather the money as Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports that the team wasn’t willing to offer him a one-way contract until after the deal with Traktor Chelyabinsk was agreed upon. Pilut only played 13 games with Buffalo this season after suiting up 33 times with the big club during his rookie campaign which is likely why their preference was to give him another two-way pact. Buffalo will retain his NHL rights by tendering him a qualifying offer this offseason.
- The Ducks announced that they have signed a multi-year affiliation with Tulsa of the ECHL. The term of the deal was not disclosed. Anaheim has been without an affiliate at that level for the last two seasons. Meanwhile, the move means that the Blues, who had previously been affiliated with Tulsa, will be looking for a new partner for next season.
- The Capitals have signed Will Graber to a minor league contract, their AHL affiliate in Hershey announced. The 24-year-old recently wrapped up what was a strong career at Dartmouth and ranged between 25 and 27 points in each of his final three seasons with the team. While his primary position is on defense, he did spend time up front with the Big Green as well and if he’s able to do that successfully in the pros, his value will certainly go up.