Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Paul Maurice

Babcock, Maurice Not Looking To Coach In NHL This Season

at CDT | by 8 Comments

The turmoil surrounding the Edmonton Oilers resulted in several jerseys being thrown on the ice after a 6-0 defeat at the hands of the Florida Panthers. As silly as it sounds, jersey tosses have often come just ahead of a coach’s dismissal, as Ron Wilson and Travis Green can attest. The situation with Dave Tippett in Edmonton is an evolving one, as Ryan Rishaug of TSN explains that though a change isn’t imminent, it is a “day-to-day process” at the moment and suggests that a poor result against the Calgary Flames tomorrow night would likely leave no choice for general manager Ken Holland.

With Tippett’s future unclear, some have suggested that Mike Babock, a long-time colleague of Holland’s with the Detroit Red Wings, could be a potential answer in Edmonton. Darren Dreger of TSN tweets that Babcock has no intention of coaching in the NHL this season and will be staying with the University of Saskatchewan through March. Babcock is technically still under contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, meaning hiring him would come along with buying out at least a portion of the remaining money owed. The eight-year contract he signed in 2015 paid him $6.25MM each season through 2022-23.

Another name, Paul Maurice, has also been thrown into the mix after he resigned as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets earlier this season. Similarly, Dreger reports that Maurice will not be coaching in the NHL for the rest of this season. Maurice is certainly a candidate for the Oilers or another NHL team moving forward, but is taking some time away from the game to refocus.

In terms of candidates for Edmonton then should they move on from Tippett, Rishaug explains that assistant coach Glen Gulutzan would be the most likely on an interim basis. Bakersfield Condors head coach Jay Woodcroft, who previously served as a video assistant under Babcock and Holland in Detroit, would be a candidate for the full-time job but Rishaug doesn’t expect the team would want to commit a multi-year contract to him midseason when the candidate list is so short.

Of course, any change in regard to the Oilers’ head coaching position is speculative at this point and obviously dependent on how the team plays moving forward.

Paul Maurice Resigns From Winnipeg Jets

at CDT | by 22 Comments

The Winnipeg Jets have announced some shocking news, revealing that Paul Maurice has resigned as head coach effective immediately. Dave Lowry will take over head coaching duties on an interim basis.

Maurice met with the media to explain why he has made the decision to leave and said that the Jets are a very good team but they’ve consistently performed under where they could be of late. He stated that he believes it’s time for a new voice behind the bench in Winnipeg, despite noting that he doesn’t believe the team “quit” on him. Maurice spoke with general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff about the situation last summer, and there was no single breaking point, just that there needed to be a new voice.

The veteran coach is proud of the work he did in Winnipeg, explaining that he believes he helped take them from a “bottom 10 situation to a top 10 situation.” He mentioned the “law of diminishing returns” to explain that when he pushes a button now, he doesn’t get quite the same reaction.

Maurice had been the second longest-tenured coach in the NHL, behind only Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He had another year on his contract with the Jets, though it was an option that will obviously now not be exercised. He explained that he’s not embarrassed by this decision and “feels good” that he doesn’t have a game to coach tonight or a job to chase tomorrow. He noted that may be the first time in 26 years that he has felt that way.

It’s been “more of a grind” for Maurice to come to the rink the last two years, as the excitement has waned for him after a long career. That was especially true during last year’s season without fans; the coach asked the collected media “what’s the point” without the energy in the building.

To sum it up, Maurice said this:

I just don’t want to watch those guys fight for the rest of the year, when I think they could be better with someone else. 

Cheveldayoff explained that Lowry is expected to serve as head coach the rest of the season.

Coaching Notes: Vincent, Hakstol, Boudreau, Tocchet

at CDT | by 5 Comments

New Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen is adding to his staff. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Blue Jackets are set to hire Manitoba Moose head coach Pascal Vincent as an assistant to Larsen. Vincent had previously left Paul Maurice’s Winnipeg Jets staff in favor of being the head coach for their AHL affiliate, but seemingly is back to being open to an NHL assistant role. Vincent has spent the past decade with the Jets organization and the previous dozen years as a head coach and GM in the QMJHL. With an impressive resume, Vincent may see this Columbus opportunity as a way to get his name out there beyond the confines of Winnipeg in hopes of attracting NHL head coach attention of his own down the road. Vincent will re-unite with Jack Roslovic in Columbus; he previously coached him as a prospect with the Moose but he has now become the No. 1 center for the Blue Jackets. That relationship should be mutually beneficial for the pair.

  • The big coaching news of the day was of course the hiring of Dave Hakstol as the first head coach of the expansion Seattle Kraken. And while Hakstol’s role will be in the locker room and not the front office, GM Ron Francis will certainly take his opinions into consideration. After all, it was the Florida Panthers, the former team of Vegas’ inaugural head coach, Gerard Gallant, that were swindled the worst by the Golden Knights in the last Expansion Draft. Florida traded Reilly Smith and a fourth-round pick so that Vegas would select Jonathan Marchessault over the likes of Alexander Petrovic and Mark Pysyk. While no teams should be fooled so badly this time around, Hakstol’s knowledge of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadephia Flyers – not to mention the numerous University of North Dakota alumni around the league – could come into play. The Flyers in particular are expected to have many well-known names exposed in the draft, some of whom played their best seasons under Hakstol, and the coach may know exactly how to target the team.
  • The Maple Leafs now have a vacancy on their coaching staff in the wake of Hakstol’s departure, but the club’s fans think they have already figured it out. Yahoo’s Thomas Williams writes that there has already been an outpouring of support for veteran coach Bruce Boudreau to be hired as the team’s newest assistant. The Toronto native and former Maple Leafs player spoke out this off-season as a free agent that he would like to coach his hometown team and fans seem to agree with the match. Boudreau has had a long and successful coaching career and some feel that head coach Sheldon Keefe could use the veteran support on the bench. With that said, Boudreau has never served as an assistant in the NHL and interviewed for the Buffalo Sabres’ head coach vacancy late last month. Despite any personal feelings and fan support, Boudreau will take the top job for the struggling Sabres over a No. 2 role for Toronto.
  • Of course, Boudreau is not the only candidate for the Sabres’ job, as Rick Tocchet is also among the names who interviewed for the position. Tocchet interviewed multiple times with the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, and Seattle Kraken, only to lose out on all three jobs. He has reportedly only interviewed once with Buffalo, who may not have been his top choice at first, but they are the only landing spot left, as the other remaining NHL head coach position is the post he vacated with the Arizona Coyotes. Tocchet is clearly a well-regarded and sought-after coach, so now that they are his last hope at a top job this season, perhaps the Sabres and Tocchet will get serious about a potential match.

Injury Notes: Evans, Stastny, Seguin, Rossi

at CDT | by 6 Comments

It was a scary moment at the end of Game One between the Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets, as the Habs’ Jake Evans had to be stretchered off the ice after receiving a massive hit from the Jets’ Mark Scheifele as the result of a charge. Scheifele was suspended for four games and with Montreal up 2-0 and playing at home the next two games, he may not play again this season. Regardless of the series length though, it seemed certain that Evans would not play again this season. Fortunately, Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme did have good news this morning, relaying that Evans is doing better since his trip to the hospital on Wednesday. Ducharme added that there is still no timeline for a return, as one might expect, but it is still good to see improvement from Evans following such a frightening check. Hopefully Evans will make an appearance in the arena to root on his teammates in the near future.

  • The Jets are hoping to stay alive in the series but face an uphill battle down two games and on the road, missing one of their best players in Scheifele. They are hoping to get one player back sooner rather than later though in Paul Stastny. Stastny has missed each of the first two games of the North Division finals with an undisclosed injury, but TSN’s Sara Orlesky spoke with head coach Paul Maurice and confirmed that Stastny made the trip to Montreal. Maurice stopped short of making any claims about his availability for Games Three and Four, but the 35-year-old would not have traveled if he was not at least in consideration for game action. Needing to replace Scheifele down the middle, Stastny would be a major addition to the lineup for Winnipeg if he is able to go. Update: Stastny is IN for Game Three.
  • After returning for the final three games of the regular season, Tyler Seguin is back to work on his rehab this summer. Following hip and knee surgeries last fall, Seguin missed almost all of the season in recovery, but was deemed fit to make a brief return at the end of the year for the Dallas Stars. The goal now is to make sure that his surgically-repaired lower body is completely up to speed for the beginning of next season, writes Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News. Seguin is now able to train at full strength this summer to get back into game shape, telling DeFranks that his skating was still lacking even when he returned to the lineup at the end of the season. The Stars need Seguin at his best if they want to return to the postseason next year following a disappointing 2020-21 campaign.
  • In a momentous development following a very difficult year, Minnesota Wild prospect Marco Rossi skated for the first time on Saturday after battling Coronavirus complications this season. Rossi was sent home to Austria at the beginning of the season as he endured serious medical side affects related to a COVID diagnosis months earlier and continued that fight throughout the year. Rossi was finally medically cleared last month and NHL.com reports that Wild GM Bill Guerin has been in close contact with his budding young star and is happy with his progress. Guerin states that Rossi is “incredibly healthy” and “looking very good” as he begins his training to get back into game shape. The Wild hope that the 2020 No. 9 overall draft pick and OHL scoring champion will be ready for training camp and can make a difference for the club next season.

Nathan Beaulieu Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It’s the end of the line for Nathan Beaulieu, who underwent shoulder surgery yesterday and will not play again this season. The surgery was done to repair a torn labrum and though head coach Paul Maurice did not give a timeline for his return, did say that Beaulieu is expected to make a full recovery.

Beaulieu had been playing with the injury this season but hadn’t suited up since exiting a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in early March. In all, his year will end with 25 games played and just a single assist. Fortunately for the 28-year-old defenseman, his contract extends through next season so he won’t have to try and find work coming off a major injury.

Though obviously losing Beaulieu isn’t ideal, being able to move his contract—which carries a $1.25MM cap hit—to long-term injured reserve does give the Jets a little more flexibility at the upcoming trade deadline. The team was already into their LTIR space created by Bryan Little, meaning Beaulieu’s number can just be added on top to give them more room for any additions.

Patrik Laine Moved To Injured Reserve

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Winnipeg Jets have made several transactions today, not the least of which was moving Patrik Laine to injured reserve. Laine has played in just one game so far this season and will not play tomorrow against the Ottawa Senators. Nate Thompson joins Laine on injured reserve, while Dylan DeMelo has been activated and David Gustafsson has been brought up from the minors to the taxi squad.

While Laine won’t play, it is good news to see DeMelo activated after missing the first four games. The 27-year-old defenseman will be a welcome addition for the Jets who have shuffled their defense around on a daily basis this season, especially after he fit in so well down the stretch in 2020. DeMelo was acquired at the deadline from the Ottawa Senators and logged more than 21 minutes a night in ten regular season games with the Jets, before seeing big minutes again in the postseason bubble.

Murat Ates of The Athletic isn’t sure whether it will be Logan Stanley or Ville Heinola coming out for DeMelo, but does note that the later is still a slide candidate should he play fewer than seven games this season. Heinola has played just one so far, meaning they could potentially send him to the minors and allow his entry-level contract to extend another year. Stanley, who is already 22, will become a restricted free agent in the summer no matter how many games he plays this season.

After a tumultuous offseason that saw Laine’s agent suggest a trade would be best for his client, the 22-year-old forward can’t seem to get back into the lineup thanks to his somewhat mysterious injury. Head coach Paul Maurice told Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet that Laine had more testing done today and that “nothing new came up on it.” In that one game Laine has played, he registered two goals and one assist.

Morning Notes: Jets, Jarry, Stamkos

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Winnipeg Jets are going home a little earlier than they had hoped after losing game four to the Calgary Flames last night. Eliminated from the playoffs, they could finally reveal what happened to Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine, explaining to Sara Orlesky of TSN that neither one is expected to miss an extended period of time. Head coach Paul Maurice doesn’t believe there is any Achilles damage for Schiefele, who yelled in pain on the ice after colliding with Matthew Tkachuk in game one. Maurice called it “a crush” not a cut, but did admit that his top center is still undergoing further testing.

Laine meanwhile sprained his hand in the opener and couldn’t hold a stick, but Maurice believes he’ll only be out for a few weeks. Mason Appleton, who isn’t quite as important to the team as the former two, will also be out just a few weeks with a shoulder injury. The Jets will finally say goodbye to a 2019-20 season that was quite the rollercoaster, starting with Dustin Byfuglien’s disappearance and ending with two of their offensive leaders watching from the stands.

  • If the Pittsburgh Penguins are to avoid the same fate, they’ll need to stave off elimination against the Montreal Canadiens today. To do so they’ll call upon Tristan Jarry, starting him in game four over Matt Murray who has lost two of the first three. Murray did post a .914 save percentage in those games but received endless online criticism for how he played a shot from Jeff Petry, which ended up being the winning goal. After starting his career out with two Stanley Cups before his rookie status expired, Murray now has just two wins in his last 12 playoff contests. Jarry meanwhile will be making his playoff debut in an elimination game and has just 62 appearances at the NHL level under his belt.
  • Steven Stamkos won’t be playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning when they face the Philadelphia Flyers tomorrow in a winner-takes-all round-robin game. The Lightning and Flyers have both won the first two round-robin contests, meaning whoever takes tomorrow’s game will be the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the duration of the playoffs. Stamkos won’t be able to help, and though he is working hard and rehabbing, head coach Jon Cooper told reporters including Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the captain will be out indefinitely.

Injury Notes: Scheifele, Schmaltz, Fast, Hamilton

at CDT | by 6 Comments

The Winnipeg Jets may have lost their top center and top sniper in the same game, as both Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine left last night’s test against the Calgary Flames with an injury. Scheifele’s in particular looked serious, as he collided with Matthew Tkachuk and fell to the ground bellowing in pain. The hit got quite the response from head coach Paul Maurice, who indicated today that both players were still undergoing examination, and updates would be issued later in the day.

If the Jets do lose Schiefele for the rest of the qualification round they’ll have to figure out an answer on the top line and find a way to dig themselves out of the early hole after losing to Calgary last night. Here’s more info about injuries around the league:

  • Nick Schmaltz will not play in game one for the Arizona Coyotes after taking a high hit from Vegas Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves in the exhibition match. Schmaltz, the Coyotes leading scorer from the regular season, played in four playoffs games with Chicago in 2017 but hasn’t seen the postseason since. Youngster Barret Hayton will be making his own playoff debut after suiting up just 20 times this season.
  • The New York Rangers are still not sure of Igor Shesterkin’s availability for game two according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com, but will not have Jesper Fast in the lineup. Fast was hit hard by former teammate Brady Skjei and was forced from yesterday’s game after just a minute of ice time. The depth winger is a key part of the Rangers leadership group and recorded 29 points in 69 games this season.
  • Dougie Hamilton is getting better according to head coach Rod Brind’Amour, but won’t be in the lineup for Carolina tomorrow. The Hurricanes did just fine without their top offensive defenseman, but relied heavily on their top two pairings—Jake Gardiner played just 11:55 while Jaccob Slavin logged 24:40.

Winnipeg Jets Sign Paul Maurice To Multi-Year Extension

at CDT | by 1 Comment

6:40pm: Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the deal is for three years.

12:05pm: The Winnipeg Jets won’t be making a change behind the bench for a while. The team announced a multi-year contract extension for head coach Paul Maurice, who has been leading the squad since 2013.

There has been chatter all season about Maurice’s future with the Jets, given the team’s performance so far. Though loaded with talent, Winnipeg sits fourth in the Central Division with a 29-24-5 record and is no sure thing to make the playoffs. Connor Hellebuyck’s performance in net has been one of the biggest reasons why the team is even within a sniff of the postseason, but obviously management believes that Maurice has done a strong enough job.

It certainly shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Winnipeg would choose to stick with Maurice. The veteran coach has a 264-186-53 record with the Jets since arriving in 2013, and actually ranks seventh on the all-time coaching list in wins with 724. Though he doesn’t have the winning percentage of some of the names around him on that list, there is little doubt that he can be an effective coach at the NHL level.

The one question now for Maurice is whether he can get over the playoff hump. Despite coaching in nearly 1,600 regular season games, he has just 80 appearances behind the bench in the postseason, and a 36-44 record in them.

Central Notes: Jets, Mitchell, Strome, Gurianov

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

In each of the last two seasons, the Jets have made big splashes at the trade deadline to bring in rental centers Paul Stastny and Kevin Hayes.  If head coach Paul Maurice has his way, they’ll go with a different approach at this year’s deadline.  Speaking with reporters, including Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun, Maurice indicated he’s hoping the team doesn’t part with a top young asset for someone that’s set to be unrestricted in July:

So paying a high price for a rental, I don’t know that that makes a whole lot of sense for us. If we get a guy that can come in and play maybe more than the rest of the season, you’d think about doing that.

Winnipeg’s cap situation is tricky with the uncertainty surrounding the status of injured (and suspended) defenseman Dustin Byfuglien with a grievance on the horizon.  After years of playing it safe, Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has been more aggressive at recent deadlines but that may not be the case this time around.

More from the Central Division:

  • Blackhawks prospect Ian Mitchell told Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times that his intention remains to turn pro at the end of his current college season. The 2017 second-round pick is having a strong junior season with Denver while faring well in an international stint with Canada at the Spengler Cup.  If Denver’s season ends before Chicago’s does, it’s quite possible if not probable that they will opt to burn the first year of his entry-level deal in 2019-20 which would give them an intriguing youngster to use down the stretch.
  • Still with the Blackhawks, center Dylan Strome has resumed skating, notes Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago. He has missed the last three weeks to an ankle injury.  The 22-year-old is producing at a slightly lesser clip than he did after being acquired last season but with 10 goals and 20 assists in 40 games, he sits fifth on the team in scoring.
  • Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News examines a bit of a tricky contract situation for Stars winger Denis Gurianov. While he’s in his fourth year in their system, he has just 67 NHL games under his belt though 45 of them have come this season where he ranks fourth on the team in goals with 13.  There are several single-season statistical comparables for this summer when he’s a restricted free agent but since he doesn’t have anywhere near the experience that most of them do, it makes it a tougher one to project.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top