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Rick Bowness

Snapshots: Mrazek, Fabbri, Gudbranson, Hinostroza, Bowness

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The Hurricanes got a key part of their lineup back tonight with the announcement that Petr Mrazek was getting the start tonight against Dallas.  The veteran had missed the last 31 games due to a right thumb injury after entering the season as the expected starting goaltender.  Carolina more than held their own with James Reimer and Alex Nedeljkovic splitting time in Mrazek’s absence and with the latter now once again being waiver-eligible, they will be forced to carry three goalies the rest of the way as it’s highly doubtful he’d go unclaimed again.  Last month, GM Don Waddell indicated that he’s open to moving one of his three netminders and a good showing from Mrazek over these next couple of appearances may go a long way towards determining whether or not that happens.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Red Wings winger Robby Fabbri missed today’s game due to an undisclosed injury. Following the contest, head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters, including MLive’s Ansar Khan (Twitter link), that the 25-year-old is listed as day-to-day and they expect to know more about the extent of the injury on Tuesday.  Fabbri sits third on Detroit in scoring with ten goals and eight assists in 30 games.
  • Senators defenseman Erik Gudbranson did not accompany the team on their trip to Winnipeg, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The veteran returned to Ottawa to be with his wife who is expected to give birth to their first child in the next few days.  Gudbranson has played in 34 games this season, picking up a goal and two assists.
  • Blackhawks center Vinnie Hinostroza opted to make the 20-hour drive from Florida to Chicago to reduce his required quarantine tine, notes Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. The 27-year-old was acquired from the Panthers this week after having a limited role in Florida where he played in just nine games.  Hinostroza isn’t on the CPRA list yet but should be on there once he makes it to his hotel room in Chicago to begin serving his quarantine period.
  • Stars head coach Rick Bowness was pulled from their game against Carolina after the second period due to COVID-19 protocols, the team announced (Twitter link). Assistant coach John Stevens served as acting head coach for the rest of the game.

Anton Khudobin To Be Benched For Disciplinary Reasons

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When the defending Western Conference champion Dallas Stars take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, it won’t be playoff hero Anton Khudobin starting in net. Or dressing as the backup either, for that matter. Instead, the beloved veteran will sit in the press box, benched by head coach Rick Bowness for disciplinary issues. While Bowness would not disclose the specific reasoning behind Khudobin’s punishment beyond calling it an “internal issue”, per The Dallas Morning News’ Matthew DeFranks, he did provide a short synopsis of his thoughts on the topic:

You deal with things by communicating and making your feelings known, what is and what isn’t acceptable. I have very few rules, but you damn well better follow them.

The experienced coach clearly is not happy with Khudobin’s actions, as his words express. As a result, highly-touted rookie Jake Oettinger will get his third career start tomorrow with experienced AHLer Landon Bow serving as backup. Both players were in attendance at practice on Saturday; Khudobin was not. The veteran netminder showed up at the end of practice and skated without his teammates. It remains unclear whether Khudobin’s absence was a cause or effect of these ongoing “internal issues”.

When asked whether Khudobin’s benching would last beyond Sunday, Bowness remained non-committal. “We’ll deal with it one day at a time” was all that he would say at this time. With starter Ben Bishop on Long-Term Injured Reserve as he rehabs a knee injury and not expected back until March, Khudobin will obviously return to the Dallas crease at some point and there is no indication at this point that his current issues are anything that would force a trade or any other major move. However, with an off-season approaching in which Khudobin will be exposed in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, this could only add fuel to the fire that Khudobin’s time with the Stars could be coming to an end this season. If Bishop returns and appears healthy and Oettinger seems ready to become an NHL backup sooner rather than later, bad blood between Khudobin and Bowness could see the Stars hoping that the Seattle Kraken select the talented veteran keeper. Just a few months ago, that statement would have been unthinkable as the well-liked Khudobin led Dallas to postseason glory. However, something has clearly changed.

Rick Bowness Officially Named Dallas Stars Head Coach

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The entire organization had basically already confirmed that Rick Bowness would be back as the head coach of the Dallas Stars in 2020-21, but today they made it official. Bowness has left behind his interim tag and becomes the full-time head coach moving forward. Stars GM Jim Nill released a statement on the move:

The Stars are very excited to officially announce Rick as the team’s head coach. After being called upon in a difficult situation, Rick stepped into the interim head coaching role seamlessly and used his unmatched experience to lead the team to a successful second half of the season and a spot in the Stanley Cup Final. Watching the team throughout our playoff experience, you really saw the team become his. His ability to connect with our players and our staff is remarkable, and it leads to a situation where everyone is competing for him because they want to see him win.

Bowness of course led the Stars all the way to the Stanley Cup Final as an interim coach, taking over midseason after Jim Montgomery was fired for unprofessional conduct. The team had a 20-13-5 record down the stretch with him behind the bench, before winning the Western Conference in the return to play tournament.

For that, and the way players have obviously responded to the long-time NHL coach, it was an obvious choice to bring him back next season if Bowness wanted to. Amazingly, it might have been the unique bubble situation that actually convinced Bowness to return as head coach, a position he hasn’t held on a full-time basis in more than 20 years. Bowness explained:

My wife Judy and I are thrilled to have this opportunity to continue our work here in Dallas. This team is very special for me, that time in Edmonton was unlike any experience I have ever had in hockey, and it brought us together as a staff and as a team. We had a great run to the Stanley Cup Final, but we have some unfinished business left and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to build on what we started.

The Stars, armed with one of the most valuable players in the entire league, Miro Heiskanen (relative at least to his entry-level salary), will bring back mostly the same unit next season after mostly passing on the free agent market. It will be Bowness’s job to somehow get that group back to the promised land.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Rick Bowness Has “Earned The Right To Come Back” As Head Coach Of Stars

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As they stormed back last night to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, it’s easy to forget that the Dallas Stars are still operating with an interim head coach behind the bench. Rick Bowness took over control of the Stars after just 31 games this season and has now led them to the promised land with an incredible playoff run, but still had that interim tag on his job title.

The company line all postseason has been that GM Jim Nill and Bowness would sit down and discuss his future after the team stopped playing, but the front office executive was a little more forthcoming when speaking to the media today. As Sean Shapiro of The Athletic reports, Nill explained that Bowness has “definitely earned the right to come back” as head coach next season.

That’s not a new contract, but it does seem as though Bowness can take the reins of the Stars again if he chooses to in 2020-21 (whenever that season happens). His focus is squarely on the challenge that is in front of him and it’s not like he would have been out of work anyway. Bowness first became an assistant coach at the NHL level in 1984 and has been employed ever since, spending time with the Winnipeg Jets, Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks, and Tampa Bay Lightning before joining the Stars as an assistant in 2018.

One of the other big contributors this postseason and potentially a clubhouse favorite for the Conn Smythe also doesn’t have much certainty surrounding his future in Dallas. Anton Khudobin, who has been outstanding in the postseason with a .920 save percentage in 19 appearances, is scheduled for unrestricted free agency in October. Shapiro tweets that Nill hopes to re-sign Khudobin this offseason. The journeyman goaltender is 34 and has played 237 regular season games, split between six different organizations.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

West Notes: Markstrom, Bowness, Avalanche

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While we’re still a year away from the Kraken’s expansion draft, things are now at the point where that will start playing a role in the decision making for other teams.  In an appearance on Sportsnet 960 (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Seattle draft is playing a role in Vancouver’s discussions regarding pending UFA goalie Jacob Markstrom.  The Canucks have Thatcher Demko (who was terrific against Vegas over his three playoff starts) who will also need protection and with teams only being able to protect one, it’s something that GM Jim Benning will certainly have to factor in as whichever one isn’t protected becomes the immediate favorite to be taken.

More from the Western Conference:

  • While making it to the Western Conference Final would make it seem like a pretty safe bet that Stars interim coach Rick Bowness will be installed as the full-time bench boss, Matthew DeFranks notes that this isn’t necessarily the case. The 65-year-old indicated that he hasn’t given any thought yet regarding the idea of remaining in the role beyond the playoffs and that there is a meeting scheduled with GM Jim Nill to discuss his future whenever their postseason action comes to an end.
  • Had the Avalanche made it past Dallas, they wouldn’t have had any help on the horizon from the infirmary. Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater relays (Twitter link) that none of Colorado’s players were close to returning.  Their list of injuries by the end of the series included goaltenders Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz, defensemen Erik Johnson, and wingers Gabriel Landeskog and Joonas Donskoi, among others.  There’s no word yet on how long of a recovery time those players will be facing.

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