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East Notes: Capitals Defense, Montreal Offer Sheet, Debrusk

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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

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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

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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.

International Notes: Imports, Masin, Gronborg

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Typically, the CHL Import Draft is held after the NHL Entry Draft with several NHL teams making attempts to get some of their international draft picks into major junior.  However, while the NHL draft has been delayed, the CHL festivities went ahead as scheduled on Tuesday with the full results here.  A pair of NHL picks from 2019 were taken in Red Wings winger Albin Grewe (Saginaw, OHL) and Jets center Henri Nikkanen (Winnipeg, WHL).

The top pick in the draft was Russian winger Matvei Petrov, who went to OHL North Bay.  The 17-year-old isn’t eligible for the upcoming NHL draft but will use next season to boost his case as his agent Dan Milstein confirmed to Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News that Petrov will report.  German winger John-Jason Peterka is expected to be a late first-round pick or go early in the second round and he went late in the first round to OHL London.  However, he declined to come over a year ago when Barrie held his rights but whoever drafts Peterka in October will try to convince him to come over this time around.

More international news and notes:

  • Lightning defense prospect Dominik Masin is in discussions with Amur Khabarovsk of the KHL, reports Russian site AllHockey.ru. The pending restricted free agent has spent the last four seasons exclusively with AHL Syracuse, posting 16 goals and 42 assists in 269 games.  Masin was a second-round pick back in 2014 and with the fate of the 2020-21 AHL season in question at this time, opting to go overseas would guarantee him a full season worth of development.
  • Swedish coach Rikard Gronborg has indicated a desire to coach in the NHL at some point and even had some interest from New Jersey early in their coaching search. However, it will be a few more years before he gets that chance now as Zurich of the Swiss NLA announced that they’ve signed Gronborg to an early two-year contract extension that runs through the 2022-23 season.  The deal only contains an NHL out clause for that final year so his next opportunity to try to secure an NHL position won’t come until 2022 at the earliest.

Columbus Activates Alexandre Texier From Injured Reserve

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The Columbus Blue Jackets activated center Alexandre Texier from Injured Reserve, per NHL.com. The 45th overall selection of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Texier appeared in 36 games for the Blue Jackets this season, notching 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists).

Texier, 20, had his season cut short due to a lumbar stress fracture suffered in a December game against the Panthers. He’ll presumably take the ice when Columbus confronts the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup Qualifier. As the number 9 seed, the Blue Jackets will be slight underdogs in the five-game series with 8-seeded Toronto. Assuming Texier is back to full strength, he figures to see some time on the fourth line between Eric Robinson and Devin Shore, though in these uncertain times, there’s very little lineup certainty until the puck hits the ice.

Coach John Tortorella looks to lead the Blue Jackets back to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season since he took over the bench. Last season was the worst regular-season record in Tortorella’s three full seasons helming the club, but they finally got over the first-round hump in a big way with a surprise sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Texier made his NHL debut late last season, even earning ice time in the postseason. He notched 11:25 ATOI, highlighted by scoring a pair of goals in the 7-3 series clincher versus Tampa Bay.

Metropolitan Notes: Devils Coaching Search, Hurricanes, Ovechkin

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With several big-name coaches on their wish list, many people didn’t put much thought into a report that Lindy Ruff was a fifth candidate for the New Jersey Devils. After all, the Devils were also considering Peter Laviolette, Gerard Gallant, Mike Babcock, John Stevens, Bruce Boudreau and current interim head coach Alain Nasreddine. However, on his most recent 31 Thoughts column, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman writes that Ruff is hardly an afterthought and is a serious candidate for the team’s head coaching position.

What’s interesting about that statement is that New Jersey still doesn’t have a general manager in place and has been interviewing candidates for that position too. Friedman notes that many of those candidates have requested input in the team’s head coaching search, which would likely alter the team’s plans in hiring a head coach. However, the scribe notes that it looks like regardless on what the team decides, Ruff is highly favored within the organization.

Ruff served as head coach of the Buffalo Sabres from 1997 to 2013, while taking the same role in Dallas from 2013 to 2017 and has 736 coaching victories in the NHL.

  • With many teams having shutdown voluntary skating in their facilities recently due to a number of positive tests for COVID-19, the Carolina Hurricanes announced they will open up PNC Arena to players who wish to begin voluntary small-group training, starting on Tuesday, June 30. The team is expecting 16 players to be ready to go on that date, with that group to be split in half during on-ice workouts. So far, no word on what players will hit the ice in Carolina.
  • Speaking of teams that have been on the ice for some time, the Washington Capitals, who have been skating at MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, VA since June 8, got a familiar face on the ice as star forward Alex Ovechkin skated with some teammates Saturday. The 34-year-old, who tallied 48 goals in just 68 games last season, has been training in Florida before now. He was joined by Evgeny Kuznetsov, Lars Eller, Garnet Hathaway, John Carlson and Braden Holtby.

Lindy Ruff Under Consideration For Devils Head Coach

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Earlier this month, it had been reported that New Jersey’s coaching search had been narrowed to four candidates with former Nashville bench boss Peter Laviolette believed to be the frontrunner.  However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (via Twitter) has added a fifth coach to the mix, reporting that Rangers assistant coach Lindy Ruff is also under consideration for the job.

Ruff has plenty of experience behind the bench, serving as Buffalo’s head coach from 1997 through 2013 while filling the same role in Dallas from 2013-17.  He has been an assistant coach with New York since then and also spent time as an assistant in Florida from 1993-97 before getting the Buffalo job.  His 736 career head coaching wins in the NHL sit sixth in league history.

Other coaches still in consideration for the position are Gerard Gallant, John Stevens, and current interim head coach Alain Nasreddine.

With New Jersey not among the 24 teams that will be returning to action this summer, there is plenty of time to make this decision as the official ‘offseason’ won’t likely begin until mid-October.  However, the decision maker isn’t also necessarily in place either.  Tom Fitzgerald is the interim GM and has been conducting the coaching search but ownership has also been in talks with prospective GM candidates.  Accordingly, a decision on Fitzgerald’s fate may need to happen before a head coaching hire can be finalized.

Nashville Goalies Prepare To Face Off

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The Nashville Predators are mentally preparing to take on the Arizona Coyotes in their Stanley Cup Qualilfier whenever play resumes, a matchup that would presumably paint the Preds (.565 winning percentage) as favorites over the Coyotes (.529 winning percentage). Before that matchup, however, the Predators have to decide on a lead netminder for the five-game series. Both rostered goaltenders will get an equal shake at nabbing the top spot, per NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale. One of Pekka Rinne or Juuse Saros will start the series against the Coyotes in the net, but it’s going to depend on who is the most ready.

Based on resume alone, Rinne would be the easy choice. He’s anchored the Predators defense since 2008-2009, won the Vezina Trophy just two seasons ago, and the 37-year-old is 21st all-time with 2.42 Goals Against Average.

But in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately department, Saros might have the edge. The 24-year-old started a career-high 34 games this season while registering a .914 save percentage. By contrast, Rinne got the starting nod in 35 games but managed just a .895 save percentage. There are a couple of teams facing this brand of a changing of the guard in goal – the Golden Knights and Capitals, for example – and the decision is a peculiar one for these clubs.

Rinne has the track record, without a doubt, and Saros could very well be the goaltender of the future, but the task at hand for the Predators is deciding who will be more ready for playoff action under these peculiar circumstances. It might be that the younger Saros will be able to get his body up to speed faster. Or it could be that the veteran Rinne is more capable of handling the mental challenge of maintaining focus amid a global pandemic. It’ll be up to the Predators’ brain trust to decide.

Morreale provides this quote from Nashville coach John Hynes: “It’s a different thing for players now; they’ve got to leave their families, go to a hub city. Families aren’t going to be part of it. You’re not coming home after games, so this is all about the team, it’s all about the Nashville Predators and playing for the guy next to you. It’s also playing for their families and how do we incorporate this to commit to the level you need to commit to win in the playoffs.”

Sabres Move Quickly, Stay In-House For Next GM

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News broke this morning that Buffalo Sabres ownership had changed course and decided to fire GM Jason Botterill less than a month after confirming him in his role. The Sabres have been relatively trigger happy in the past with leadership roles, evidenced by the fact that Botterill’s predecessor Tim Murray is still on the books until the end of this month, per The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun.

At least for the next couple of weeks, the Sabres will be bankrolling three different GMs – but the one that matters most now is the new guy: Kevyn Adams. Botterill’s replacement isn’t actually all that new, as he is the Sabres’ current Senior Vice President of Business Administration. Adams originally came to the organization in 2009 as a player development coach before joining the bench an assistant coach from 2011 to 2013, writes NHL.com’s Jourdon LaBarber. Adams is a former player who lasted 11 seasons in the NHL with Toronto, Chicago, Columbus, Florida, Carolina and Phoenix. He won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005-2006.

On the promotion of Kevyn Adams to GM, ownership said this: “New General Manager Kevyn Adams and Head Coach Ralph Krueger already have a close working relationship and we are excited to see what they can do together as we reconfigure our hockey operations…We have had the pleasure of watching Kevyn build his post-playing career over the past nine years under multiple roles throughout our organizations. We are confident Kevyn and Ralph will work together to build a consistent contender. As always, we are here to provide the necessary resources…”

It’s a little surprising to see a replacement named so quickly, especially given that the Sabres don’t expect to take the ice again for quite some time. One would think that now would be the perfect time for an exhaustive search for the perfect candidate. If nothing else, the Sabres could have used this opportunity to gain insight into rival organizations through the interview process, as is common practice with this type of hire. Evidently, Sabres’ ownership felt they had the right candidate in-house already.

Adams will presumably be expected to hop-to and show ownership notable improvement. In his favor, the team is already on an upward trajectory, and Adams should have plenty of time to get his house in order prior to the draft and offseason. If the Sabres miss the playoffs next year, they’ll have tied the longest playoff drought in league history.

Sabres Fire GM Jason Botterill

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The Buffalo Sabres have relieved General Manager Jason Botterill of his duties after three years in the role, per a team release. Senior Vice President of Business Administration Kevyn Adams will take over as Botterill’s permanent replacement.

The move comes as a bit of a surprise as we’re just three weeks removed from ownership announcing a plan to keep Botterill in his role. Botterill joined the Sabres as a respected hockey mind from the Penguins organization.

Sabres’ owners Terry and Kim Pegula released a statement this morning with the news, reasoning the change thusly: “This morning, we informed Jason Botterill he will no longer be the General Manager of the Sabres. This decision was made after many candid discussions with Jason during a full review of our hockey operation. We recognized we have philosophical differences regarding how best to put ourselves in a position to compete for a Stanley Cup. So, we decided to make this change.”

The statement goes on to thank Botterill for his time with the Sabres. During his three years span, Botterill signed star Jack Eichel to a long-term contract (8-years, $80MM), but the Sabres failed to finish higher than 6th in the Atlantic Division. This season, they finished 25th overall, just one spot out of the 24-team playoff. They haven’t reached the postseason since the 2010-2011 season – the longest active postseason drought in the NHL.

More changes could be afoot for the Sabres, as Botterill’s firing did not happen in a vacuum. Wholesale changes are being made to the Sabres’ hockey operations department. Assistant GM Randy Sexton as also let go by the club, per the Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. Steve Greeley was another casualty, tweets Frank Seravalli of TSN Sports, though Seravalli thinks Greeley and Sexton should have no trouble catching on with another organization.

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