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Buffalo Sabres Demote Casey Mittelstadt

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In a significant, albeit not overly surprising move, the Buffalo Sabres have announced that center Casey Mittelstadt has been reassigned to the AHL’s Rochester Americans. This is the first career demotion for Mittelstadt, who has never played a game in the AHL. The 21-year-old has four goals and five assists in 31 games with the Sabres this season.

Mittelstadt was selected by Buffalo with the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft out of Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota. After playing the following season with the University of Minnesota and dominating at the World Junior Championship, Mittelstadt joined the Sabres and made his NHL debut at the end of the 2017-18 campaign. Mittelstadt got off to a strong start in the pros with five points in his first six games. However, he has failed to build on that early success. Mittelstadt recorded 25 points in 77 games with the Sabres, a passable rookie season but not what the team was expecting. Mittelstadt also struggled with the defensive aspects of the game at the top level. He has started similarly this season, posting just nine points through 31 games thus far and the worst possession numbers of any Sabres forward.

At this point, a demotion had become inevitable. Mittelstadt’s ice time has been dwindling and he was a healthy scratch in three of the Sabres’ past four games. While GM Jason Botterill has clearly not been eager to send the first draft pick of his tenure in Buffalo to the AHL, new head coach Ralph Krueger does not share the same commitment to the young pivot. Poor optics aside, it is a better move to send Mittelstadt to the minors where he can work on his game rather than keep him in the NHL where his ice time is no longer guaranteed.

Additionally, it is about to become an embarrassment of riches in Rochester. Mittelstadt is joining a team that leads the AHL’s Eastern Conference and has picked up points in all but four of their 26 games so far this season, with just one loss since November 1st. Mittelstadt will be able to focus on improving his game without having to worry about carrying the Americans, who are receiving a balanced effort game in and game out. There is no indication of how long Mittelstadt will remain in Rochester, but until he earns his recall back to Buffalo, it’s hard to imagine the farm team not continuing their run of dominance.

Atlantic Notes: Bruins Defense, Senators, Cozens, Taylor

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The Bruins have received some good news and some bad news on the injury front when it comes to their back end.  The team announced (Twitter links) that defenseman Torey Krug will return tonight after missing the past five games with an upper-body injury.  Despite missing those games, he still leads the team in points by a defender with 13 in 17 contests.  Meanwhile, John Moore is now participating in practices with a full contact jersey but is still a couple of weeks away from returning from the shoulder issue that has caused him to miss the entire season so far.

However, Kevan Miller has suffered a small setback and head coach Bruce Cassidy indicated they’ll be cautious with the blueliner.  Miller has missed the entire year so far with a lower-body issue and even if this is a minor setback, it only will further delay his season debut.

More from the Atlantic:

  • Ottawa’s defensive depth has been tested considerably over the last few days and accordingly, it should come as little surprise that they’re looking to add a blueliner via trade, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. He notes that GM Pierre Dorion has been on the lookout for help on the back end for basically a month now.  The Senators are off to a relatively strong start compared to their preseason expectations and at some point, the focus could shift from adding a depth veteran or two to trying to target more of an impact player that can be a factor beyond this season as well.
  • Although the Sabres are quickly running out of forwards to recall from the minors (they only have two healthy ones that are on NHL deals), head coach Ralph Krueger told reporters, including Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald, that they are not considering recalling center Dylan Cozens from the WHL. As they have just 11 healthy forwards on the roster, they are in emergency conditions which makes a recall possible but it appears they don’t want to give him a look at this time.  In the meantime, they’ll eagerly await the returns of centers Marcus Johansson and Johan Larsson who are both listed as day-to-day.
  • Still with Buffalo, the team announced (Twitter link) that coach Chris Taylor will return to AHL Rochester to resume his duties as the bench boss of the Americans. He had been up with the Sabres while assistant coach Don Granato was dealing with a severe case of pneumonia, one that caused him to miss the last seven weeks.

Snapshots: Sobotka, Archibald, Hall

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Buffalo Sabres forward Vladimir Sobotka was removed from today’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning after being hit low by Nikita Kucherov, and did not return. John Vogl of The Athletic saw Sobotka after the game in an air cast, but Sabres’ head coach Ralph Krueger wouldn’t speculate on how long he will be out.

Though he has been the whipping boy for many Sabres fans frustrated with the team’s lack of secondary scoring, Sobotka still seems to be a favorite of the coaching staff that continues to give him regular ice time. In his first season with Buffalo last year he failed to make much of an impact scoring just 13 points in 69 games, and has just three so far this season. The Sabres will likely insert Evan Rodrigues into the lineup for the other Global Series game tomorrow afternoon.

  • The Edmonton Oilers have activated Josh Archibald from injured reserve, and will also have Riley Sheahan back in the lineup when they take on the New Jersey Devils tonight. The team is looking to get back in the win column after two straight losses to Western Conference opponents, but still sit atop the Pacific Division with a 10-5-2 record.
  • Taylor Hall will be front and center in that matchup as he returns to Edmonton in the midst of plenty of contract speculation, including some suggesting that the Oilers would have some interest in bringing him back. Mark Spector of Sportsnet examines the Hall situation, explaining how the player has expressed clearly his desire to return to the playoffs before his time as a star in the league runs out. The Devils sit at 4-6-4 on the season, in last place in the Metropolitan Division.

Poll: Which Head Coach Has The Hottest Seat Entering 2019-20?

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Every game has a winner and a loser and not every team can meet or exceed expectations each year. Even entering a new season in which every team has a clean slate, it’s not incorrect to state that some NHL teams will struggle in 2019-20. And when that happens, the head coach is usually the first one to go. There are 31 head coaches in the league and one of them will inevitably be the first one fired this season. Who has the best chance of earning that unfortunate title?

Several names can likely be ruled out immediately – although anything can happen. Anaheim’s Dallas Eakins, Buffalo’s Ralph Krueger, Edmonton’s Dave Tippett, Florida’s Joel Quenneville, L.A.’s Todd McClellan, Ottawa’s D.J. Smith, and Philadelphia’s Alain Vigneault are all beginning their first season with a new team. In most cases, that affords them at least one year of job security before their seat can start warming up. However, in the event of a massive collapse or poor locker room dynamics, it’s not unheard of in hockey for a coach to be one and done.

It was a strong season for rookie head coaches last year though. Calgary’s Bill Peters, Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour, Chicago’s Jeremy Colliton, Dallas’ Jim Montgomery, Washington’s Todd Reirden, and of course, reigning Jack Adams Award-winner Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders all excelled in their first year on the job. It’s hard to imagine any of the group having a hot seat, barring a major disappointment against expectations. The New York Rangers’ David Quinn had a much tougher task for a team that internally had an eye on moving assets and developing young players, but the former top college coach will likely be given another year to work with a revamped lineup.

Other names whose seats are probably very cold: Stanley Cup combatants Craig Berube of the St. Louis Blues and Bruce Cassidy of the Boston Bruins. Both exceeded expectations last year and were rewarded with multi-year extensions in the off-season. Gerard Gallant, whose Golden Knights made a magical run to the Cup Final two years ago in their inaugural season, is likely safe as well.

Who does that leave as a candidate for the hottest of seats? Despite a record-breaking regular season, all eyes will be on Jon Cooper and the Lightning as they look to bounce back from a shocking first-round sweep. Cooper is the NHL’s longest-tenured head coach, but he could lose that mantle if Tampa Bay isn’t a top-ten team all season and at least an Eastern Conference finalist. Similarly, Toronto and Mike Babcock had a strong regular season, but again could not fight their way past Boston in the first round. Babcock may to avoid any regular season struggles to even get back to a likely postseason re-match with the Bruins, as many feel his seat has warmed considerably. John Tortorella got his franchise their first ever playoff series win last year, but the Blue Jackets watched a ton of talent walk away this summer and Tortorella faces the tough task of getting the team back to the postseason. Winnipeg’s Paul Maurice, the second-longest tenured coach behind Cooper, faces the same difficulty of leading a team whose Stanley Cup hopes have been shaken this summer. Jared Bednar’s Avalanche were a surprise in the playoffs as well, but moved in the opposite direction this off-season and are a popular dark horse pick to win it all this year. High expectations demand results and Bednar’s job could hang in the balance if Colorado cannot take a step forward this year. The Devils’ John Hynes is certainly under a lot of pressure as well, as New Jersey missed the playoffs – by a wide margin – last year and responded with arguably the most impressive off-season in the league. Many will expect the Devils not only to make the playoffs, but to be competitive. Other coaches whose teams need to take a step forward via playoff success are Nashville’s Peter Laviolette, San Jose’s Peter Deboer, and perhaps even Pittsburgh’s Mike Sullivan. Coaches whose jobs could depend on making the playoffs include Arizona’s Rick Tocchet, Minnesota’s Bruce Boudreau, and Montreal’s Claude Julien.

The two outliers of the group: the Red Wings’ Jeff Blashill and the Canucks’ Travis Green. Neither team is expected to be a legitimate playoff contender, but at the same time both men need to show a marked improvement in their teams. Blashill has been in Detroit for four years but has little to show for it. Green enters his third season in Vancouver having fallen short of ownership and management’s lofty expectations in the previous two. It’s hard to set benchmarks for what would either save or end both coaches’ jobs.

All 31 coaches have a seat to start the year. Whose is hottest and in the most danger of being lost before the others?

Mobile users, click here to vote.

UFA Notes: Skinner, Engelland, Pardy

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Buffalo Sabres fans were hoping that 40-goal scorer Jeff Skinner would be re-signed by now and each day closer to July 1st increases the nervousness that they are feeling. However, TSN reports that GM Jason Botterill is not worried, at least not yet. Botterill remains confident that the two sides will come together on an extension, which as of the last update was in the eight years and $70-80MM range. Unless Skinner’s rights are dealt elsewhere, which seems unlikely given the GM’s optimism, no other team can match the Sabres’ offer given the benefit of that eight year. Botterill says that talks with Skinner have been ongoing since January, but there was brief pause in negotiations while Buffalo searched for their new head coach. However, Botterill notes that Skinner has since spoken to that new hire, Ralph Krueger, who also believes that Skinner will remain a Sabre. It seems that the two sides are back on a positive path, but with time running out before the free agent market opens, no assumptions can be made just yet.

  • The Vegas Golden Knights are also hoping to re-sign a key player, veteran leader Deryk Engelland. However, the Knights are not going up against competing offers, but rather the draw of retirement. Engelland, 37, has enjoyed a decade of NHL action and could be tempted to hang them up. If he chooses to keep playing though, there is little doubt that he would only stay in his adopted home town of Las Vegas. Knowing this, The Sin Bin reports that the Golden Knights have made an offer to their alternate captain. It’s likely another bonus-laded, low cap hit one-year contract like the one he has signed in each of the past two years. At this time, Sin Bin notes that he has yet to accept. Engelland will likely take some time to consider his next step in his career after another long season.
  • Adam Pardy has answered the call of retirement, but not after first accomplishing his ultimate goal this season. Pardy, 35, led his hometown Newfoundland Growlers to the ECHL’s Kelly Cup Championship in their inaugural season and now, The Telegram reports, he can ride off into the sunset. Pardy, while technically a free agent, has not been on an NHL contract in two years. He did play in 342 NHL games with five different teams over his long and winding career path though, last suiting up for four games with the Nashville Predators in 2016-17. After a year abroad in Sweden, he returned home to Newfoundland for an opportunity he couldn’t pass up with a pro team in his home province. Pardy recorded a career-best 21 points in 41 games and played a key role in a deep playoff run en route to a meaningful championship.

Snapshots: World Championships, Reinhart, Ceci

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The World Championships are over with Finland capturing the gold medal with a 3-1 win over Canada behind the play of a team-oriented roster, which included 18-year-old Kaapo Kakko, who will be a top-two pick in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. However, the MVP of the tournament wasn’t from Finland as Canada’s Mark Stone was named the MVP. Russian goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was named the top goaltender, while fellow countryman Nikita Kucherov was named the top forward at the World Championships. The Czech Republic’s Filip Hronek was named the top defenseman. Vasilevskiy, Hronek, Mikko Lehtonen, Jakub Voracek and William Nylander rounded out the All-Tournament team.

Meanwhile, Kakko along with teammate Henri Jokiharju, have already won the U18 World Championships, the U20 World Championships and now the Men’s World Championships. In fact Kakko and Jokiharju are the seventh and eighth players in IIHF history to win all three titles.

  • The Buffalo Sabres are thrilled to see one of their own having a dominant World Championships as winger Sam Reinhart continues putting up impressive numbers since signing a two-year “show me” bridge deal last offseason. He answered that by putting up a career-high 65 points last season and is beginning to develop into that impact forward the team envisioned when they drafted him second-overall in 2014. Reinhart had three goals and five points in 10 games for Canada, which won the silver medal. The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington adds that it was important for Reinhart to play well, especially with general manager Jason Botterill being a part of the management team and a new head coach in Ralph Krueger to impress. If he can continue his offensive success, he should be able to cash in next summer.
  • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun writes that the Ottawa Senators have already begun discussions with restricted free agent defenseman Cody Ceci and his agent, J.P. Barry, on a long-term contract. Ceci, who can be an unrestricted free agent in 2020-21, has expressed interest in returning to the team, but Garrioch writes that if the two sides fail to hammer out a deal, the team intends to trade Ceci before the start of the season. Ceci has been a key part of their defense as he averaged 22:34 of ATOI last season, but the team needs to know that he will be part of their long-term plans. Garrioch also mentions that the team is likely to move defenseman Ben Harpur as it doesn’t look like he fits into their defensive plans and is no longer waiver-exempt.

Metropolitan Division: Kessel, Martin, Sorokin, Lee

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Just a few days ago, it was leaked that the Pittsburgh Penguins were closing in on a deal to send veteran forward Phil Kessel to Minnesota in a four-player trade. However, that trade hasn’t happened yet, suggesting that Kessel, who has can choose eight teams that he cannot reject a trade to, isn’t interested in playing for the Wild.

This complication could be a major issue for Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, according to The Athletic’s Rob Rossi (subscription required), whose goal was to move Kessel and free up some cap room as early as possible, so the team could begin reshaping its roster. Once that deal was done, Rutherford could concentrate on his checklist that includes finalizing a new contract for goaltender Matt Murray, smoothing things over with Evgeni Malkin, working towards adding more youth throughout its franchise and possibly adding more picks in the early portion of the upcoming draft.

Yet, with Kessel flashing an unwillingness to be cooperative in where he gets traded, Rutherford’s job has gotten quite a bit harder. Rossi points out that Kessel’s value takes a big hit if he has little control on where Kessel goes, which could limit the team’s ability to cut salary this offseason. On top of that, now that everyone knows that Rutherford wants to move Kessel out, it will even be harder to get a good trade in the future.

  • Sticking with the Penguins, TribLive’s Jonathan Bombulie reports that after not getting the head coaching position with the Ottawa Senators or Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Jacques Martin will return for a fifth season with the Penguins. That’s good news for Pittsburgh, as he was critical in running the team’s defense and penalty kill. Martin lost out on the Ottawa job to Toronto assistant coach D.J. Smith, while Buffalo hired Ralph Krueger.
  • The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (subscription required) writes that it doesn’t look like the New York Islanders will be signing goaltending prospect Ilya Sorokin out of the KHL this season. The team had hoped that Sorokin would buy out his final season of his KHL contract after he led his team to the Gagarin Cup Championships this year and come over to New York a year early. However, Staple writes that the 23-year-old netminder, who posted a 1.16 GAA and a .940 save percentage in the regular season for CSKA Moscow and was equally good in the playoffs, has chosen to finish out his contract, so the earliest New York would see him was the 2020-21 season.
  • The New York Post’s Brett Cyrgalis writes that now the New York Islanders have locked up center Brock Nelson to a six-year, $36MM deal, the team must now focus their attention on captain Anders Lee, who is rumored to be seeking a seven-year deal at $7MM per season. That may be too much for general manager Lou Lamoriello, but at the same time would leave a huge hole in their lineup if they let him walk, leaving Lamoriello with the task of replacing him with either Jordan Eberle or another underwhelming option.

 

Sabres Hire Ralph Krueger As Their New Head Coach

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Buffalo’s coaching search has come to an end.  Ralph Krueger will be the next head coach of the Sabres.

Krueger has largely been out of hockey for the last few years as he had served as the Director and Chairman of Southhampton FC since 2014.  His only coaching during that time was with Team World at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey where they surprisingly reached the Gold Medal game.

The 59-year-old has three years of NHL coaching experience with Edmonton.  He spent two years with them as an Associate Coach after being hired in 2010 following more than a decade with Switzerland’s national team.  Krueger was then promoted to head coach for the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign but was dismissed following the season.  Interestingly, he’s already familiar with one of Buffalo’s assistants as Steve Smith was part of the staff during his time with the Oilers.

Krueger will be taking the place of Phil Housley who was let go at the end of the season.  The Sabres have had a bit of a coaching carousel in recent years; this is the fifth new bench boss Buffalo has had since 2013.

As was the case during his time with Edmonton, Krueger will be tasked with trying to instil some structure to the Sabres.  Despite changing their goaltending tandem over the summer, they still struggled to keep the puck out of the net as they ranked 23rd in the league in that category and their back end was prone to some untimely lapses in their own zone.

The heat will likely be on pretty quickly as Buffalo has now missed the playoffs for the last eight years and there isn’t much patience remaining from ownership to turn things around.  However, GM Jason Botterill clearly feels that Krueger is the right one for the job; Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that the interview process was a thorough one with seven coaches getting considered.

Coaching Updates: Buffalo, Edmonton, Toronto

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As usual, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet has produced another edition of “31 Thoughts” that is chock full of insider information. With the postseason ongoing and free agency yet to begin (officially anyway), a considerable focus this week is on head coaching vacancies. And the coaching news is coming in fast. Less than 24 hours after initially naming Ralph Krueger as a candidate for the vacancy with the Buffalo Sabres, Friedman writes that he is now considered the favorite. The former Edmonton Oilers head coach, and most recently soccer executive, has ties to GM Jason Botterill and has the experience that the Sabres reportedly seek. Friedman also believes that Pittsburgh Penguins assistant Jacques Martin is out of the running for the Buffalo job, which may have moved Krueger up the board. He also adds that Tampa Bay Lightning assistant Todd Richards is no longer being considered.

  • Long-time NHL head coach Dave Tippett is still a candidate in Buffalo, but Friedman believes that he has become the favorite in Edmonton and is more likely to take over as the Oilers’ head coach. Tippett has been working with the Seattle expansion team ownership group of late, but has been itching to get back to coaching. In 14 years of coaching, Tippett finished above .500 11 times and made the playoffs eight times. That alone is a major step up for Edmonton, who have done neither of those things in nine of the past ten years. Joining Tippett in Edmonton as an assistant could be recent Florida Panthers head coach Bob Boughner, Friedman adds. By many accounts Boughner was fired not due to his own performance, but due to Joel Quenneville’s availability, so he would be a major addition as well.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs may not need to worry about losing highly-touted AHL head coach Sheldon Keefe. Keefe’s name has been relatively quiet on the coaching market thus far, but that could be due to the fact that Friedman believes he is unwilling to leave Toronto unless there is a better chance for him to succeed. Keefe could be in line to replace Mike Babcock as Leafs head coach when his contract ends (or sooner) and step into a talented Toronto lineup. However, assistant D.J. Smith remains a candidate in Ottawa and fellow assistant Jim Hiller has been granted permission to interview elsewhere, Friedman reports. Friedman does not expect Hiller to be back in Toronto next season and mentions the Nashville Predators as a potential landing spot. Hiller’s power play expertise could certainly help a Predator’s man advantage that was the worst in the NHL this season. The potential loss of both Smith and Hiller would hurt for the Maple Leafs and could force them to move Keefe to the NHL as an assistant.
  • Friedman has no news about the vacancies in Ottawa and Anaheim. As it stands now, the Senators are considering Smith, Martin, Dallas Stars assistant Rick Bowness, Providence College’s Nate Leaman, and internal candidates Troy Mann and Marc Crawford. As for the Ducks, it appears to be Dallas Eakins, whose AHL San Diego Gulls are still alive in the Calder Cup playoffs, or bust.

Ralph Krueger Leaves Southampton FC

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In a somewhat surprising turn of events, Ralph Krueger has left his post as Chairman of the Southampton Football Club. His contract was set to expire at the end of June, and all parties decided it would not be extended. This comes less than two weeks after Krueger told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) that he may be interested in returning to the NHL in a front office role. Krueger of course has experience behind the bench in the NHL and abroad, but could potentially be a candidate for a higher position like President of Hockey Operations.

The Edmonton Oilers, who Krueger last coached in 2013, have said that they are not currently looking to install someone over the incoming general manager. The idea of hiring one wasn’t completely shut down by CEO Bob Nicholson at his end of year press conference, but it was definitely pushed aside as the focus was made the team’s next GM.

The Ottawa Senators though have been open about their search for a hockey operations executive to install next (or perhaps above) GM Pierre Dorion. The team has already reached out to several top names but were turned down each time. Krueger could now be an option, but it remains unclear what his plans are after leaving Southampton.

Kruger coached Team Europe in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and was praised nearly unanimously by his players. He has been working with Southampton for six years, and has also been given nothing but praise for his time there. He was apparently on the list of names that Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill considered for his last coaching search.

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