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Snapshots: Duchene, Weise, Hronek

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When the Colorado Avalanche were stunned by head coach Patrick Roy walking away from the organization on August 11th, many pointed to a perceived rift between Roy and superstar forward Matt Duchene over some of the exuberant celebrations he performed after scoring goals. One goal in particular, scored in a 5-1 loss to St. Louis on April 4th, prompted much scrutiny from the media after Roy said “Are you kidding me? What is that? It’s not the (reaction) that we want from our guys. Not at all.”

In Mike Zeisberger’s new column in the Toronto Sun, he gets Duchene to set the record straight about their feud:

At the end of the day it wasn’t anything against me. He was just trying to set a precedent for the team and make an example of me. He expected me to be a leader and at that moment I let him down. We had a great chat the next day and right then everything was fine. It was blown out of proportion in the media. It was really nothing after that.

Zeisberger reiterates that Duchene’s main message is that there was no feud between the two, and that Roy called him just hours after he had made his decision to leave. It’s not, then, a problem with the 25-year old sniper that made the hall of fame goaltender leave the team.

  • In a piece by Sam Carchidi of The Inquirer, Dale Weise opens up about the mid-season trade to the Chicago Blackhawks and how excited he is about his new deal with the Philadelphia Flyers. “Going to Chicago was a disaster because I played like five minutes a night.It’s pretty tough to do anything when you play so little. It was a new experience for me.” says Weise, who had no goals in fifteen games with the Hawks down the stretch. He signed a four-year, $9.4 million deal with the Flyers this offseason, and thinks he “can play on any line and any role” with them this year.
  • Dan Wakiji for the Detroit Red Wings team site writes about Filip Hronek (the Wings’ second-round pick this year) and his journey in hockey thus far. Taken 53rd overall, Hronek has very little experience on the North American ice, but will get some this season; he’s heading to Saginaw to join the OHL.  Only weighing 163 pounds currently, Hronek’s biggest challenge will be getting stronger and tougher in his own end.

Five Questions: Colorado Avalanche

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After missing the postseason party for the second consecutive year in 2015-16, it was expected in some circles that the Avalanche would be active this offseason in attempting to upgrade their roster. Instead, aside from a couple of minor free agent signings, all was relatively quiet in Colorado this summer until the abrupt resignation of VP of Hockey Operations/Head Coach Patrick Roy. The Avalanche would eventually settle on young, up-and-coming head coaching candidate Jared Bednar to replace Roy behind the bench.

Mike Chambers of The Denver Post was gracious enough to take time out of his schedule and answer some questions for Pro Hockey Rumors about the Avalanche’s offseason and their chances to compete for a playoff spot in 2016-17.

PHR: With the benefit of hindsight, perhaps it’s fair to wonder about discord existing in the Avalanche front office entering the summer. As someone who has covered the team on a daily basis, were you surprised by Patrick Roy’s resignation or did you have a sense that there may have been some issues behind the scenes which could lead to a change of this nature?

MC: The timing of Roy’s resignation put the organization in a bind. I don’t believe that was Roy’s intention but it’s obvious he was unhappy about his diminished role in player personnel. He made that clear in his news release and you could see he didn’t have a major voice at the draft in June, and the Avs didn’t make the splash Roy wanted in free agency. To answer your question, I was surprised at the timing of Roy’s resignation but, knowing his personality, he wasn’t going to continue if he didn’t steer the ship. He wanted more and Joe Sakic obviously grew into his GM role by leaning more on his assistant GMs Craig Billington and Chris MacFarland.

PHR: After leading Lake Erie to a Calder Cup championship, Jared Bednar was widely considered one of the top, up-and-coming head coaching prospects in the game. That being said, the timing of his hire probably doesn’t do him any favors; particularly as it pertains to his assistant coaching staff. What direction do you think he goes; does he retain Roy’s assistants in full or will he make some changes?

(Note: The questions were submitted prior to Bednar officially confirming he was retaining all of the team’s assistant coaches.)

MC: Bednar will retain Tim Army (power play), Dave Farrish (penalty kill) and Francois Allaire (goalies) — plus defensive specialist Nolan Pratt, whom the Avs hired from Bednar’s staff in July. Army and Farrish might have different roles and we certainly believe Bednar and Pratt will spearhead the new systems. It’s not a complete new staff but close, and that’s perhaps what this team needed.

PHR: Trade rumors involving some of the team’s core young players have persisted since early in the 2015-16 season. How close did the Avalanche actually get to making a blockbuster type of deal at any point?

MC: I believe that was a big part of the Sakic-Roy split. Roy told us he wanted to sign a marquee free-agent defensemen in July and I believe he was the executive wanting to move major parts such as Matt Duchene, Tyson Barrie and Gabe Landeskog. In the end, I believe Sakic and his other support staff chose to stick with the core. Not pulling the trigger on a blockbuster deal was probably not what Roy wanted.

PHR: Does the new coach and presumably a fresh approach on the ice mean management is content with the core and willing to ride out the season with that group intact or do you think a poor start could lead to drastic changes in player personnel prior to the 2017 trade deadline?

MC: Drastic changes. If this team doesn’t improve with a new bench boss I think Sakic makes major roster changes. Nobody is expecting a huge improvement on the blue line but if this team evens out its shots for/against the forward core has the ability to score in bunches.

PHR: The Central may well be the toughest division in the NHL. How would you handicap Colorado’s chances to qualify for a postseason berth and if they do get in, are they capable as currently constructed of making a long run?

MC: The Avs have made the playoffs just three times in the last 10 years, but twice a rookie coach has led them to the postseason: Joe Sacco in 2009-2010 and Roy in 2013-14. Bednar’s arrival gives this team a fresh start, but Colorado will be hard-pressed to keep up with Dallas, St. Louis, Nashville and Chicago. Anything can happen in the playoffs and I do believe this roster is capable of getting there.

Mike Chambers has been a writer for The Denver Post since 1994 and has covered both the NCAA’s Denver University Pioneers and the Colorado Avalanche for much of that time. For a full bio, click here. To stay up-to-date on all things Avalanche, follow Mike on Twitter by clicking here. Pro Hockey Rumors would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Mike for taking the time to answer our questions. 

Snapshots: Canucks, Avalanche, Nielsen, Donskoi

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Many pundits feel the Vancouver Canucks are a team lacking direction. On the one hand, they introduced some much-needed youth to their aging core last season with young forwards Jake Virtanen and Jared McCann given their first extended NHL looks and joining second-year pro Bo Horvat as possible future building blocks. On the other hand, Vancouver failed to advance their rebuild by dealing expiring assets at the trade deadline for draft picks and/or prospects. Trading Dan Hamhuis and/or Radim Vrbata would have netted the Canucks multiple futures to further the team’s roster reconstruction.

Instead, the Canucks surprised many this spring by parting with the aforementioned McCann as part of a package to acquire veteran defenseman Erik Gudbranson in what was clearly a move designed to help the team win now. The free agent addition of winger Loui Eriksson also signals that Vancouver is not committed to a rebuild and will rather try to slowly integrate younger players onto the roster while at the same time attempting to remain in the mix for a playoff spot.

It’s with this mentality that GM Jim Benning continues his search for an impact offensive LW, as Ben Kuzma of The Province writes. Daniel Sedin remains the team’s top port side winger and the team expects young Sven Baertschi – currently listed as the team’s #2 LW – to improve upon his 15-goal output in 2015-16. Beyond those two the Canucks have a few wingers who can line up on either side of center – including Eriksson – but don’t have enough depth to switch a player to the left without creating another hole on the right side.

Kuzma lists several candidates who could fill the role of impact LW, both internal and external. The most interesting might be Anton Rodin, the team’s second-round pick in 2009 and whom the Canucks signed to a one-year deal worth just $950K. Rodin enjoyed an excellent 2015-16 campaign, netting 16 goals and 37 points in 33 contests with Brynas IF of the Swedish Elite League while capturing the league’s MVP award.

As for possibilities currently outside the Canucks organization, Kuzma lists Evander Kane as a potential trade option – a notion we’ve reported on in the past –  though he also brings up the off-ice issues surrounding Buffalo’s talented winger and suggests that might limit Vancouver’s interest. Kuzma also opines that the cost to acquire an established player like Kane would likely start with one of Chris Tanev or Horvat, and that’s simply a price the Canucks are unwilling to pay.

Surprisingly, Kuzma writes that the Canucks didn’t view Jiri Hudler as a short-term answer even though the Czech winger is just two seasons removed from a 76-point campaign and ultimately signed a one-year pact with Dallas worth $2MM. Hudler would have been a perfectly reasonable buy-low add for the Canucks. He’s capable of producing at a rate more than acceptable for a top-six forward and would have been a potentially valuable asset to possess at the 2017 deadline with contending teams always looking to augment their scoring depth.

Elsewhere in the NHL on this Labor Day:

  • At his introductory news conference last week, new Colorado head coach Jared Bednar confirmed he would be keeping all three assistant coaches – Tim Army, Dave Farrish and Nolan Pratt – from the previous regime, according to Terry Frei of the Denver Post. It’s not much of a surprise given the late hiring of Bednar meant that many coaches he may have considered for positions were already committed elsewhere. Additionally, Pratt worked under Bednar as an assistant with Lake Erie in 2015-16 so there was already a comfort level between the two coaches. After talking with each of his assistants, Bednar is satisfied he has the right mix of experience and knowledge among his staff.
  • An unheralded free agent signing by the Sharks in May of 2015, Joonas Donskoi would end up playing a key role for the Western Conference champions in 2015-16, scoring 11 goals and 36 points in 76 regular season games. He would ramp up his performance in the playoffs tallying six goals and 12 points in 24 contests. Now that Donskoi has established himself as an NHL regular, the expectations have been raised going into year two of his career, as Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area writes. After establishing solid chemistry with C Logan Couture, both down the stretch of the regular campaign and in the postseason, Donskoi is again likely to slot in on the right side of the skilled pivot. If he takes advantage of his opportunity to play with Couture, it’s conceivable Donskoi could approach 50 points in a full season.
  • After losing superstar center Pavel Datsyuk, who chose to return home to Russia to be closer to his family, the Detroit Red Wings were left with a gaping hole down the middle of their lineup. They attempted to address that loss in part by signing solid two-way pivot Frans Nielsen to a lucrative six-year, $31.5MM free agent deal this summer. While he won’t be expected to replace Datsyuk’s offense, he will be counted on to play a responsible game and appear in all situations for the Wings, says Ansar Khan of MLive.com. Nielsen has only ever tallied 20 goals or 50 points on two occasions but is known as an excellent playmaker and someone who should help improve both the Wings PP and PK units. He is also an elite shootout performer who might be worth an extra few standings points a year to Detroit in that area alone.

Potential 2016-17 Impact Rookies: Schmaltz, Motte, Rantanen, Tuch

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Young talent on ELC’s are often the life blood of successful organizations. With the cost for elite players approaching free agency rising to $8MM or more annually – think Sidney Crosby, Anze Kopitar, Jonathan Toews, etc. – teams need to constantly have young NHL-ready talent ready to plug in to replace veterans who are allowed to walk because they simply cost too much to fit under the salary cap.

On that note, we continue our series on rookies who both have a great chance to make their team at some point this year and the talent to make a significant impact. Today we move into the Western Conference’s Central Division.

Nick Schmaltz (Chicago) – Every year the Blackhawks find themselves precariously close to the salary cap ceiling and with significant holes on their roster. With roughly $49MM tied up in just eight players – four forwards, three defensemen and a goalie – Chicago has committed much of its salary cap space to their star players and have left precious little room with which to flesh out the rest of its roster. Every summer it seems the team is forced to move quality players due to cap reasons. Last year the team dealt Brandon Saad, who as a pending RFA was set to become quite expensive. This summer Chicago packaged talented young forward Teuvo Teravainen with Bryan Bickell to entice Carolina to take on the final season of the latter’s bloated contract. The downside of Chicago’s cap crunch is obvious; the upside though is that it gives young players like Schmaltz a great opportunity to make the Blackhawks and contribute right away.

Schmaltz was the Hawks first-round pick in the 2014 draft, 20th overall. He’s played the last two seasons at the University of North Dakota and was better than a point-per-game player in 2015-16. The loss of Teravainen along with the free agent departure of Andrew Ladd leaves two large vacancies on the Blackhawks roster and Schmaltz will be given every opportunity to fill one. With plenty of scoring talent around him, Schmaltz could produce solid offensive numbers right out of the gate.

Tyler Motte  (Chicago) – If Schmaltz is likely to earn one open forward spot for the Hawks, Motte may well have the inside track on the second one. Like Schmaltz, Motte has gone the NCAA route, skating three seasons with the University of Michigan before turning pro. Motte, a 2013 fourth-rounder, had a terrific junior campaign in 2015-16, recording 32 goals and 56 points in 38 games for the Wolverines.

After turning pro, Motte saw action in a total of eight AHL contests with the Rockford IceHogs – five in the regular season and three more in the playoffs – scoring four goals and seven points. Motte, a C/LW by trade, has an excellent opportunity to earn a top-six role and could see plenty of ice time on a line with Toews or Patrick Kane. Currently, the Hawks list Artemi Panarin, last year’s Calder Trophy winner as the league’s top rookie, as a top-six LW. Joining him on the left side is Richard Panik – 25 goals in 181 career NHL games – and Andrew Desjardins – career high of eight goals in 2015-16. The shallow relatively depth on the port side should allow Motte a quality chance to make the team in a scoring line role.

Mikko Rantanen (Colorado) – The Avalanche used the 10th overall selection on the Finnish winger in the 2015 draft. Rantanen, just 19, offers a rare combination of NHL power forward size at 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds, along with top-shelf offensive skill. He made his MHL debut in 2015-16, going scoreless in nine games and recording a -7 plus-minus rating.

While plus-minus is generally considered a misleading stat, Rantanen’s -7 in just nine games does suggest the youngster could use more work in his own zone. That being said, many young players need to improve on the defensive end of the game and Rantanen is no different. Rantanen did have an excellent debut in the AHL, suiting up for 52 games with the San Antonio Rampage and contributing 60 points. It’s likely Rantanen sees significant action with the Avalanche this year as the talent is simply too hard to ignore.

Alex Tuch  (Minnesota) – The Wild wouldn’t appear to have too many openings up front based on their team depth chart but if a talented player such as Tuch impresses at camp, he could force his way onto the roster sooner rather than later. Additionally, while Jordan Schroeder is currently listed as the team’s 4th line LW, the team did waive the four-year veteran this summer prior to re-signing him to a one-year, two-way deal. Waiving Schroeder was a curious move, and it’s been speculated it was done to reinforce the team’s position that the arbitration-eligible forward wasn’t worthy of a one-way deal. Given those circumstances, if Tuch proves to be the better player in camp, the Wild could easily find a spot for him.

Tuch has played the past two seasons in the NCAA with Boston College, appearing in 77 games with the Eagles and netting 32 goals along with 30 helpers. At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, he would certainly add an imposing figure to the Wild’s forward ranks. Tuch is known as a physical player, not afraid to stand up for his teammates. He’s  also a willing and able fore-checker and a solid skater. PHR has previously mentioned Tuch as a potential breakout rookie who could suit up for the Wild as soon as this season.

(All depth charts provided by Roster Resource) 

 

Metro Notes: Tavares, Capuano, Bednar, Rangers

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John Tavares is undoubtedly one of the top players in the game today, but even the best athletes work hard every day to improve their game. Arthur Staple of Newsday writes about what Tavares is doing this summer to try to avoid the lengthy slumps in production he experienced during parts of the 2015-16 campaign.

Tavares tied for 10th in the NHL in goals with 33 so it’s not as if his performance should be described as disappointing. But this summer he’s implemented a new workout schedule trying to find ways to stay fresher during the rigors of a long regular season. Tavares offered up this explanation for the change:

“I got sick really early in the season and I felt like I was overcoming some fatigue a little bit still after that. I just tried to manage this summer a little differently, making sure I got some really good recovery, some really good rest. I actually started training pretty early but I didn’t kick it into high gear for a little while. I tried to be on the ice a bit more, but just tried to make sure my quality was really high, that I didn’t try to do too much. So just to change up some things, stay fresh, stay healthy, work on some things you want to improve on in your game.”

Within the same post, Staple relays comments from head coach Jack Capuano, who wants his defensemen to generate more offense this season. Even though the team’s blue liners finished the 2015-16 season with nearly as many points as the previous season, Capuano felt the unit simply wasn’t as “dynamic” as they were the year before.

The Islanders did see a drop off in overall team goal scoring, falling from 252 goals in 2015-16 to 232 this past campaign. If Capuano can find a way to squeeze more production from his blue line corps, they should return to being one of the more prolific offenses in the league.

Elsewhere in the Metro……

  • Despite suggestions that the New York Rangers would be among the busiest teams in the league this offseason, the club’s foray into free agency was minimal with Michael Grabner and Jimmy Vesey – who represented a unique case – being the only outside free agents to be given multiyear deals. On the trade front, the team did move top-line pivot center Derrick Brassard but acquired a suitable long-term replacement in Mika Zibanejad in exchange. For a team that has been in “go-for-it” mode for the last several years and consequently moved a ton of futures in deals to acquire veteran players – such as Martin St. Louis, Eric Staal and Keith Yandle – this summer has been strangely devoid of blockbuster acquisitions. But as Matt Larkin of The Hockey News writes, the team’s philosophy this summer was to inject youth and speed into the lineup and it appears general manager Jeff Gorton has been able to do so without making the kind of splashy moves expected.
  • The Colorado Avalanche hired Jared Bednar this week to be the team’s new head coach, filling the void created when Patrick Roy abruptly resigned from his post. Bednar was formerly employed by the Blue Jackets organization and had been the head coach of the team’s AHL affiliate the last two seasons. But as Terry Frei of the Denver Post notes, Bednar was not the only candidate with Columbus ties that the Avalanche considered for their coaching vacancy. Frei points out that current Colorado assistant general manager, Chris MacFarland, formerly held the same position for Columbus. Part of his responsibility with the Blue Jackets was overseeing the team’s minor league organizations which would have put him in direct contact with Bednar. Additionally, the Avalanche interviewed Bob Boughner, who spent a single season as an assistant in Columbus while MacFarland was employed with the club. Scott Arniel, who was head coach in Columbus for a year-and-a-half, and current Blue Jackets assistant Brad Larsen were also both considered to some level for the job.

Avalanche Invite Rene Bourque To Training Camp

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Shortly after hiring Jared Bednar as their new head coach earlier today, the team has added free agent winger Rene Bourque on a tryout deal, reports James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail.

Bourque played in just 49 games with Columbus last season, picking up a career low three goals and five assists while logging just 10:27 per game so it’s no surprise that he has to go for the PTO route to try to secure an NHL deal for next year.  He earned $2.5MM in salary last season in the final year of a front loaded six year, $20MM contract.

Bourque has played in 660 career NHL games between the Blue Jackets, Ducks, Canadiens, and Flames, picking up 151 goals and 147 assists.  The Avs have four forwards at the World Cup (Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, and Carl Soderberg) so Bourque should have a chance to get into several preseason games to make his case for a full-time roster spot.

[Related: Updated Avalanche Depth Chart]

Bourque is now the 11th player to receive a training camp tryout.  Keep tabs on all of the invites with our Invite Tracker.

Avalanche Choose Bednar As New Head Coach

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Colorado has named veteran minor league head coach Jared Bednar to replace Patrick Roy in the same capacity with the Avalanche. The timing of Roy’s resignation put the Avalanche in a bind as most organizations had already filled their coaching staffs – both at the NHL and minor league levels – and would understandably have been hesitant to potentially lose a quality coach to Colorado this late in the summer. Still, the Avalanche had several good candidates to choose from and clearly decided Bednar would be the best fit.

Bednar spent the last two seasons as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets AHL affiliates, winning the Calder Cup this year with the Lake Erie Monsters. He also served two years as head coach of the AHL’s Peoria Rivermen from 2010 – 2012. Overall, Bednar has 14 years of professional coaching experience.

This will be Bednar’s first NHL head coaching gig but he had already been identified as one of the top young up-and-comers in the industry. Columbus had rewarded Bednar for his work by giving the 44-year-old coach a two-year extension earlier this summer. Now they’ll have to replace the coach who so recently led their AHL team to a Calder Cup championship.

Other candidates linked to the opening and considered potential finalists along with Bednar were Washington assistant Lane Lambert and Blackhawks assistant Kevin Dineen.

Avalanche executive vice president and general manager, Joe Sakic, had this to say about the hiring of Bednar:

“After profiling the type of coach I wanted for our team and going through an interview process with several good candidates, I believe that Jared Bednar is the best person to lead this team behind the bench. Jared’s track record of success as a head coach in the American Hockey League speaks for itself and he is considered to be one of the top up-and-coming coaches in our business.”

Roy would spend three years as head coach of the Avalanche and won the league’s Jack Adams award for top coach following his first season with the club after leading the team to a 52 – 22 – 8 record. Colorado would make the playoffs that year, losing in the first round, but it would be the only postseason appearance with Roy at the helm. The Avalanche would post a 78 – 70 – 16 record over the last two seasons. Roy, who also served as a VP of hockey operations, evidently left the team due to philosophical differences with the front office.

Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports that Bednar received a three year contract.  Financial terms have not been disclosed.

Snapshots: Avs; Torres; NHL Rookies

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News and notes from around the NHL:

  • The Colorado Avalanche have completed interviewing for their recent head coach vacancy, reports the Denver Post’s Mike Chambers, and expect to name a coach as early as Wednesday. Patrick Roy, the former head coach, abruptly quit this summer leaving Colorado with few options before training camp began. Two significant candidates have emerged, according to Terry Frei and Mike Chambers of the Denver Post: Kevin Dineen and Bob Boughner. Dineen is currently the Chicago Blackhawks Assistant Coach, and Bougher is the San Jose Sharks Assistant Coach. Bougher also played with Colorado GM Joe Sakic before the 2005 lockout for two seasons.
  • Raffi Torres told The Province writer John Matisz that he plans to retire if he does not make an NHL club. Raffi admitted that he does not have a back-up plan, and that it is “probably The Show or no.” Torres last held a job with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, but never stepped on the ice. He last played in the 2015 preseason where he blindsided Jakob Silfverberg and garnered a 41-game suspension. Suspensions and league discipline have dogged Torres throughout his career, and it is unlikely a team takes a chance on the Toronto-native. Torres has been on numerous NHL rosters throughout his career, with stops on the Islanders, Oilers, Blue Jackets, Sabres, Canucks, Coyotes, Sharks, and Maple Leafs.
  • The NHLPA announced its roster for its annual NHLPA Rookie Showcase today and it has significant omissions. Only two players—Pierre-Luc Dubois and Matthew Tkachuk—are from the 2016 draft class. Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine are not participating, despite all top-three picks participating last year. Nevertheless the showcase isn’t a serious event. It functions more as a photo-op for Upper Deck and contains a end-of-showcase scrimmage.

Portzline’s Latest: Columbus Coaches, Dubois, PTOs

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Among one of the best at hiding interesting nuggets of information in his columns, Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch has released his latest Truths & Tidbits piece. In it, he goes through a bunch of smaller stories on the Columbus Blue Jackets as the season creeps closer. It’s worth a closer read, but here are the highlights:

  • With the Colorado coaching vacancy still unfilled, the Avalanche seem to be targeting current and former Jackets coaches. Kevin Dineen, Bob Boughner, Jared Bednar have all been linked to the opening and have ties to the Columbus organization. Portzline posits that Av’s AGM Chris McFarland might have something to do with it, as he formerly held the same position with Columbus.
  • The bulk of the post is dedicated to looking back at former drafts, and seeing if the Blue Jackets’ decision to draft Pierre-Luc Dubois third overall instead of Jesse Puljujarvi, the expected pick, was justified. The most interesting tidbit out of this is that back in 2005 Columbus actually had Anze Kopitar ranked as their #3 prospect, ahead of their eventual selection Gilbert Brule (who they had ranked in the 6-8 range). The Jackets would go with Brule at #6 instead of Kopitar (who dropped to the Kings at #11) because of the view that the Slovenian was a less conventional pick. “I’m not drafting a kid who pushes rocks up a mountain and jumps over milk crates and calls it training” is a quote from Doug MacLean, then-GM of the Jackets on why he passed on Kopitar. Brule had just 95 points in his NHL career before heading to the KHL, while Kopitar has collected 684 across his 764 career games, while widely being thought of as one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL.
  • Portzline also mentions that the Blue Jackets are not expected to extend any PTOs to camp this fall. “We’re pretty full already” says GM Jarmo Kekalainen. Keep up with who has been given tryouts around the league here, with our PTO tracker.

Latest On Avalanche Coaching Search

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After the unexpected departure of Patrick Roy earlier this month, the Avalanche have been scrambling to try and find a head coach prior to the beginning of training camp. While Joe Sakic has previously said that the current assistants are not options, many have speculated on other names around the league.  As Terry Frei of the Denver Post reports, the Avalanche are considering two more well known names in Bob Boughner and Kevin Dineen.

Boughner finished his 10-year NHL career in Colorado, playing 41 games for the club in 2005-2006. Immediately afterwards he was given the head coaching job with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, and quickly turned around a struggling franchise. The team won two championships under his leadership, in just his third and fourth years coaching. Boughner spent last season on the bench with the San Jose Sharks, and has always been considered a strong leader.  During the 2004-05 lockout, Boughner was selected to serve as NHLPA vice-president by his peers and is seen as a natural fit on the bench.

A little more experience comes in the form of Dineen, who previously held the head coaching job with the Florida Panthers and Portland Pirates of the AHL. Dineen is currently an assistant for the Chicago Blackhawks, and is a “major candidate” according to Frei.

The other name that Frei mentions, is that of Jared Bednar.  We already heard the name of the Cleveland Monsters’ head coach in relation to the opening. Bednar led the Monsters to the Calder Cup last season, and has yet to crack an NHL coaching staff.

Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch also chimes in on the search, telling us that Scott Arniel, a former Blue Jackets head coach and current assistant with the New York Rangers has not been granted an interview and thus is not a candidate for the opening. It’s going to be a tough process for the Avalanche, as most of the experienced candidates have already found positions with other clubs.

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