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Paul MacLean

Coaching Notes: Ducharme, Tocchet, Seattle, Toronto

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Following up on the positive COVID-19 test of Montreal Canadiens interim head coach Dominique Ducharme, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston was the first to report that Ducharme will indeed miss the next two weeks as a result. Although the NHL has relaxed many rules pertaining to its COVID Protocol, a positive test still warrants a 14-day isolation period. Especially when the Canadiens were fortunate enough to not have any other positive tests among its players and staff, the league wants to maintain the health and safety of the team as well as the integrity of its semifinals. With that said, losing Ducharme is a blow for Montreal. The interim coach has led the team on an unexpectedly triumphant playoff run as the mid-season interim replacement for Claude Julien. The Habs will now lean on an interim interim head coach in assistant Luke Richardson, who coached the team to a Game Three win. Assuming Ducharme’s 14-day isolation began on Friday when the positive test was discovered, the earliest he can return to the bench would be Friday, July 2nd. Montreal’s semifinal series with the Vegas Golden Knights, if it even goes seven games, will end on Saturday, June 26th, nearly a week before Ducharme ends his isolation. Richardson and the Canadiens will need to string together a couple more semifinal wins and potentially even a Stanley Cup Final win or two if Ducharme is to coach again this season. It’s terrible luck for Ducharme, who had received both doses of his vaccination and told the media this morning that contact tracing has been unable to determine how he might have contracted the virus as he did not break any protocol.

  • Seattle Kraken GM Ron Francis keeps things notoriously close to the vest and his ongoing coaching search is no different. Other than Rick Tocchet, who has interviewed for a number of vacancies so far making his bid for Seattle’s inaugural head coach role more public, there is not much known about who else may be a finalist for the job. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Francis brought a few candidates to Seattle this week for in-person interviews, but could only confirm Tocchet as one – his third interview for the position. Friedman speculates that recently fired New York Rangers head coach David Quinn, Boston Bruins assistant Joe Sacco, and University of Wisconsin Tony Granato could be the other names in the mix. Tocchet certainly seems like the favorite at this point, but don’t be shocked if Francis ends up making a surprise hire.
  • Friedman also notes that other NHL teams are interested in Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coaches and have requested permission to speak with them. Friedman does not name any coaches in particular, but of their group of assistants former head coaches Dave Hakstol and Paul MacLean could certainly be drawing interest, as could up-and-comer Manny Malhotra. At this time, the Maple Leafs have not made any decisions on if they will allow their assistants to explore these opportunities, especially since they are likely to be lateral moves.

Toronto Maple Leafs Hire Paul MacLean

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have added another familiar name to their coaching staff, hiring Paul MacLean as an assistant today. MacLean most recently served as an assistant on the Columbus Blue Jackets bench, but is coming back to Ontario where he was head coach of the Ottawa Senators for four seasons.

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe released a statement on his new staff member:

Over nearly two decades as an NHL coach, Paul has filled every role on a coaching staff, winning a Stanley Cup and Jack Adams trophy along the way. Adding someone of Paul’s expertise and character to advise and assist our staff is something that we felt was very important as we seek to make tangible steps next season.

Ironically enough, MacLean actually served for several years in Detroit and Anaheim under former Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock, who Keefe replaced last season. He has also worked with Bruce Boudreau in Anaheim, another name that was rumored to be in the mix for the Toronto staff. Instead, he’ll be the one joining Keefe, incumbent assistant Dave Hakstol and newcomer Manny Malhotra in Toronto.

MacLean is expected to be the “eye-in-the-sky” for the Maple Leafs according to Jonas Siegel of The Athletic, the role that Malhotra held for the Vancouver Canucks before coming to Toronto. In his only time as a head coach, MacLean actually took the Senators to the playoffs twice, posting a 114-90-35 record with the team. He took home the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year in 2013. He was also a star player in his day, recording 324 goals and 673 points in 719 career NHL games.

If you are wondering what kind of relationship MacLean and Keefe will have given the former’s experience as an NHL head coach, remember that Keefe’s long-time minor league and junior assistant A.J. MacLean is Paul’s son.

East Notes: Schultz, MacLean, Pastrnak

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Jim Rutherford’s comments last month that singled out defenseman Justin Schultz certainly made it seem like the Penguins would be walking away from the pending UFA next season.  He put any possibility of a reunion to rest recently, confirming to Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that they won’t bring the veteran back:

We’ll move on from Justin.  He’s going to do better in the marketplace than what he can do here, based on our cap situation.

Schultz was quite productive in his first full season with the Penguins when he had 51 points in 78 games but he has had trouble staying healthy since then, suiting up in just 75 games over the last two seasons combined.  His production has tapered off in that time while he struggled defensively as well.  A change of scenery could certainly do the 30-year-old some good although he’ll certainly be looking at a big dip in pay from the $5.5MM cap hit he had this season.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Blue Jackets will be parting ways with assistant coach Paul MacLean, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required). He joined Columbus partway through this season with the hopes that he’d be able to help their power play.  However, losing several of their top forwards proved to be too much to overcome; while the team was slightly better with the man advantage after he joined them midseason, the gain was only incremental from 15.6% to 16.8% and overall, they finished in the bottom five in the league.  Things weren’t any better in the playoffs as their power play limped to just an 8.8% success rate.
  • Bruins winger David Pastrnak played through the postseason with a lingering lower-body injury that also played a role in his limited participation during training camp, relays NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty. Despite the injury, he was still productive in their series loss to Tampa Bay, picking up two goals and four assists in the five games.  Head coach Bruce Cassidy indicated that he doesn’t believe that Pastrnak, or any of Boston’s other players that are banged up, will need surgery.

Columbus Blue Jackets Hire Paul MacLean

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have added another experienced hand to the coaching staff, hiring Paul MacLean as an assistant for the rest of the season. MacLean will join head coach John Tortorella’s staff to help out the Blue Jackets’ special teams specifically. GM Jarmo Kekalainen released a statement on the hiring:

I’ve always said that we look at every opportunity to make our team better and adding a veteran coach with a winning pedigree like Paul MacLean to a staff that has led us to three-straight appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs does just that.

This isn’t the first time Kekalainen has added a coach during the season. In January of this year the team hired Martin St. Louis as a powerplay consultant, hoping to spark the Blue Jackets with the man advantage and add an extra set of eyes as they tried to compete in the Metropolitan Division. Bringing in MacLean is a similar move, even if he does come with quite a bit more experience.

A Jack Adams Award winner in 2013 with the Ottawa Senators, MacLean also won the Stanley Cup as an assistant with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008. He has spent more than a decade behind NHL benches, though his last coaching position came in 2016-17.

The Blue Jackets, who are currently 8-8-4 on the season, lag far behind league average in both the powerplay (where they rank 24th) and penalty kill (22nd).

Snapshots: Sandelin, Maclean, Wilder

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Fresh off his third straight National Championship Game appearance and second straight NCAA title, University of Minnesota-Duluth head coach Scott Sandelin has been handed another prominent coaching position and deservedly so. NHL.com’s Mike Morreale reports that Sandelin has been named the head coach of the USA Hockey entry into the 2020 U-20 World Junior Championships. Team USA, which has medaled in each of the past four World Juniors, has often been led by an NCAA coach, including Sandelin himself back in 2005. In this past tournament, in which the team finished with the silver medal, Sandelin served as an assistant to Mike Hastings, his in-state rival from Minnesota State University, but a change is in order. USA Hockey, led by GM John Vanbiesbrouck, have made the move to Sandelin, who has a clear track record of winning in recent years. Sandelin was excited to accept the position, stating:

The World Junior Championship is one of the greatest hockey tournaments on the calendar each year and it’s an honor to represent our country as head coach. Last year, we fell just short of our goal, so to have the opportunity to come back and get another chance at helping our country win a gold medal is exciting. The expectation for the United States in this tournament is to contend for gold and I’m excited to begin the process towards continuing the success those before us have established.

  • Paul Maclean is heading back behind the bench. The Jack Adams Award-winning former NHL coach is expected to be named the head coach and general manager of the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Sportsnet reports. Maclean, a native of nearby Antigonish, Nova Scotia, will replace Marc-Andre Dumont in both roles, after he was fired today following the team’s playoff exit. Maclean last coached in 2016-17 as an assistant for the Anaheim Ducks, but spent four seasons as the head coach of the Ottawa Senators, including his Jack Adams campaign in 2012-13, and had previous stops as an assistant with the Detroit Red Wings and a prior stint with the “Mighty Ducks” as well. His addition is a major boost for Cape Breton, a club without much of a winning history. The Screaming Eagles are still looking for their first QMJHL Final appearance since joining the league in 1997 and hope that Maclean can take them there and potentially win them a title.
  • It’s going to be an embarrassment of riches in net for the Boston College Eagles for the next few years. Despite losing star keeper Joseph Woll to the pros, the Eagles were already set to add Spencer Knight out of the U.S. National Team Development Program as their new starter next season. Knight is considered a generational talent in goal and expected to be first-round pick in this year’s NHL Draft. However, the Eagles also landed a 2020 commitment today from Henry Wilder, recently tabbed by NHL Central Scouting at the No. 14 draft-eligible goalie in North America. While that ranking doesn’t necessarily mean that Wilder will be drafted, it is a distinct possibility. Either way, BC will undoubtedly have one of the top young tandems in all college hockey, if not all of amateur hockey, in two years time. If Knight lives up to his billing in the NCAA, he is unlikely to last four years with the Eagles, but Wilder is now an excellent fallback plan. The athletic young netminder just finished a strong season at The Hotchkiss School in Connecticut and will have one more year of development under his belt before arriving at BC to form a formidable duo with Knight.

Western Notes: Peters, MacLean, Duclair, Niku, Suzuki

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While the rumor that former Carolina Hurricanes head coach Bill Peters is likely headed to Calgary, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the Dallas Stars had requested permission from Carolina to speak to Peters and did, but has decided that he isn’t a good fit for their coaching vacancy and is the front-runner for the Flames head coaching job. Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson adds that the Flames were concerned about a better offer from Dallas, but the scribe writes that it is more and more certain the team will hire Peters.

“I’d like to work, I’d like to coach. I hope something is in place soon,” Peters said via Gilbertson.

While Peters was considered to be one of the top coaching prospects when he was hired by Carolina four years ago, he was never able to get them to the playoffs. The hope is that with four years of experience, the coach can take that next step with Calgary, who has a lot of talent and could be ready to make an impact next year.

  • LeBrun also said the Dallas Stars will be patient in their coaching search, but believes that the team will consider former Ottawa Senators head coach Paul MacLean as a candidate. The coach was 114-90-35 in three and a half seasons for Ottawa from 2011-2014. However, LeBrun admits there are many candidates on their coaching list.
  • Corey Snzjdjer of The Athletic (subscription required) writes the Chicago Blackhawks might not be able to retain restricted free agent Anthony Duclair. The 22-year-old acquired in January has a ton of potential, but can’t seem to put up much, in terms of points. He had two goals and six assists in 23 games until he suffered a knee injury that knocked him out for the last 13 games of the year. The scribe writes that because Duclair is on a one-year bridge deal, Chicago would have to match his $1.2MM salary, which might be too high of a price with all the young talent who could be brought in at cheaper salaries, including Vinnie Hinostroza, Victor Ejdsell and Dylan Sikura.
  • The Winnipeg Jets announced they have assigned defenseman Sami Niku to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Niku was recalled Thursday as the team was dealing with injuries to defenseman Tyler Myers and then losing defenseman Josh Morrissey to a one-game suspension. Niku, the AHL’s defenseman of the year, would have gone in had Myers been unable to go Friday. Instead, he returns to Manitoba as they begin their playoff series today against the Grand Rapids Griffins.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have promoted prospect Nick Suzuki from the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack to the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. The 18-year-old prospect was the 13th overall pick in the 2017 draft and put up a 100-point season this year in 64 games for the Attack. He will join another first-rounder in Cody Glass, who was promoted earlier this week and 2017 second-round pick Nicolas Hague, who has been with the team for a couple of weeks. The prospects are just another future line of depth that could conceivably join Vegas next year, assuming they can win spots on the team during training camp.

Anaheim Ducks, Paul MacLean Part Ways

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Fresh off a playoff elimination at the hands of the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference Final, the Anaheim Ducks don’t seem content to stand pat this off-season. Changes are expected to come this summer, and the first news has come out already. Assistant coach Paul MacLean, whose current contract had come to an end, will not be retained. According to the team, it was a mutual parting of ways.

MacLean, 59, is a former NHL head coach and Jack Adams Award-winner, serving as the bench boss for the Ottawa Senators from 2011 to 2014, leading the team to the postseason twice in three (and a half) seasons. MacLean was fired by Ottawa midway through the 2014-15 campaign. MacLean joined the Ducks that off-season, working under Bruce Boudreau, whom he beat out for the Jack Adams in 2013. After Boundreau was fired and replaced by Randy Carlyle last year, MacLean was retained. However, the team has promised to shake things up and it appears that they felt the best move for the team was to move on from the veteran coach.

MacLean will certainly land on his feet. Beyond Ottawa and Anaheim, MacLean has an extensive coaching resume to lean on. MacLean had previously served as an assistant in Anaheim before, under Mike Babcock with the Mighty Ducks in the early 2000’s, and followed Babcock to Detroit as well. MacLean also has a long, successful history in the minor leagues where, if no NHL opportunities arise, he would surely be welcomed back. MacLean’s son, A.J., is also an assistant coach with the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, so don’t rule out a move to Canadian major junior either. MacLean will be fine; the Ducks on the other hand are just beginning their re-tool and more news is sure to come this off-season.

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