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Central Notes: Avalanche Coaching Vacancy, Parayko, Bouramman

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There is plenty of speculation as to who the Avalanche will hire following the surprising resignation of Patrick Roy, who was Colorado’s head coach for the past three seasons.  As the Denver Post’s Terry Frei notes, GM Joe Sakic will not be promoting any of their three assistant coaches (Tim Army, Dave Farrish, and Nolan Pratt, the latter being hired just this offseason) to the position.

When you consider that Colorado’s AHL head coach, Eric Veilleux, is beginning his first season as an AHL bench boss, it would appear highly likely that the Avs will be looking outside the organization to find a replacement for Roy.  One speculative option is Bob Hartley who coached Colorado from 1998-2002 but in a separate piece from Frei, he declined to comment on his potential candidacy.  Hartley was let go by Calgary this offseason with one year left on his contract.

Earlier this week, we took a closer look at some of the possible candidates for the position.  Others that have been linked to Colorado early on is former Ottawa head coach Paul MacLean and Utica Comets head coach Travis Green, who garnered consideration from other teams for their vacancies earlier this offseason.

More from the Central Division:

  • Louis defenseman Colton Parayko capped off a memorable rookie year in a different way on Friday. After picking up 33 points in 79 games with the Blues (plus another seven points in 20 postseason contests), Parayko graduated from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, writes Chris Pinkert of the Blues’ official site.  Parayko took five courses during the 2015-16 campaign, including three in the fall while trying to secure a roster spot in his first full professional season.
  • Wild defense prospect Gustav Bouramman is in ‘advanced discussions’ to play in Lulea of the SHL next year, reports KVP’s Johan Svensson (link in Swedish). The seventh round pick of Minnesota in 2015 (201st overall), Bouramman has spent the last two seasons with Sault Ste. Marie of the OHL and still has junior eligibility remaining.  Last year, he picked up 46 points in 68 games, good for a tie for fifth in the league for points by a defenseman.

Sakic: No Hard Feelings With Roy

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Mike Chambers of the Denver Post has the latest on the shocking news of Patrick Roy’s resignation. While there were inklings that a rift had formed between Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy, Chambers writes that Sakic indicates that the two former teammates are still friends, and golfing buddies. There are no “ill feelings” between the two.

Chambers quoted Sakic as saying that Roy was thinking about resigning for a few weeks, and that Roy is comfortable with the decision he made. Sakic added that Roy, “didn’t have a lot of fun last year and that Roy, “came to this decision on his own.”

The plot thickens only in that Roy’s comments, despite Sakic’s insistence that he was consulted on every move, spoke of a coach who had little say and wanted more control. Roy, as indicated in his statement, wanted more say on player-personnel decisions. Sakic, for his part, was surprised by the comment. From Chambers:

“It definitely caught me off guard,” Sakic said of Roy’s resignation phone call Thursday morning. “We had a good conversation today  I was surprised, but I also thanked Patrick for his three years and letting me know now.”

Nick Cotsonika, however, tweets some confusing information on the part of Sakic, who said while they were on the same page, he was still shocked that Roy resigned.

Despite the mixed messages, Pierre LeBrun tweeted earlier that Roy still had the greatest respect for Sakic. Further, LeBrun tweeted that Roy wanted to make sure people weren’t reading too much into the statement. There were no “back stories.”

Earlier, PHR listed a number of options for the next head coach.

Potential Avalanche Coaching Options

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While the news of Patrick Roy’s resignation as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche is shocking, it also means there’s more news to come. The Avalanche have about a month until training camp, and will want a new coach in place beforehand. The timing of Roy’s resignation leaves very little time for GM Joe Sakic to do a thorough search. That said, there are a few available candidates that immediately spring to mind.

  • Bob Hartley – Hartley coached the Avalanche from 1998 to 2002, winning four division titles, appearing in four Western Conference Finals, and winning the 2001 Stanley Cup. Players on that team included current Avalanche GM Joe Sakic, executive Adam Foote, and assistant coach Nolan Pratt. He also coached new Avalanche forward Joe Colborne during his time in Calgary, and briefly coached Jarome Iginla there as well. There have already been several suggestions from media members that Hartley would or should be a contender for the job.
  • Marc Crawford – This is a less likely possibility. Crawford is another former Avalanche coach, winning a Stanley Cup with Joe Sakic in 1996. He’s also very recently employed. This off-season, Crawford returned from a four year stint in Switzerland to work on Guy Boucher’s staff with the Ottawa Senators. Still, if anyone is going to quit a job so soon, it would probably be for a promotion, to work with familiar faces. After resigning from the Avalanche in 1998, Crawford had stints with the Canucks, Kings, and Stars.
  • Sheldon Keefe – The Toronto Marlies head coach and former Lightning forward is just 35 years old, but already a popular pick to fill future openings. In his first season in the AHL, Keefe led the Marlies to 54 wins in 76 games, and a trip to the Eastern Conference Final. This after three straight playoff appearances as head coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the OHL. He’s very young to coach, but the Avalanche are a young team. What experience he does have is mostly with player development.
  • Dallas Eakins – Most of the paragraph on Keefe could have been said of Eakins before he joined the Edmonton Oilers in 2013. Once regarded as a great coaching prospect, Eakins won just 36 of 113 games before the Oilers fired him. He is presently coach of the San Diego Gulls in the AHL, farm team of the Anaheim Ducks. It went poorly in Edmonton, to be sure, but it never got any better after he left. It’s hard to get a second chance in the NHL, but Eakins has done well enough outside of it to be worth another look.
  • Ron Wilson – Wilson has worked with players who take advantage of their speed and skill for his entire coaching career, and a young Avalanche team fits that mold. While he’s been criticized for his handling of young players before, he’s also never really had ones this good. He’s prone to hostility towards the media, and is quick to bench a veteran when the player is underachieving, or when Wilson is just mad. Still, it’s hard to write off a guy who’s won over 600 games.

Snapshots: Sakic, Roy, Subban, Puempel

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After an unusual delay, the Colorado Avalanche have released a statement on the resignation of former head coach Patrick Roy. GM Joe Sakic wished Roy luck, and said the team will begin searching for their new coach immediately.

Here’s some more to think about as you process this surprising day:

  • Staying with the Roy news, Sportsnet’s John Shannon tweeted today, further fueling talk of a rift between Avalanche GM Joe Sakic and his former coach. Shannon reports that the two weren’t even speaking during the free agency period.
  • Elliott Friedman appeared on the NHL Network a few weeks ago. As transcribed by Chris Nichols for Today’s Slapshot, Friedman believes that the Canadiens made a conscious decision to trade P.K. Subban before his no-trade clause kicked in on July 1st of this year. Friedman also quotes a Canadiens player saying that the management and coaching staff believe the team is mentally and physically “soft.”
  • Bob Duff at the Ottawa Citizen spoke to Senators forward Matt Puempel today. Puempel stressed his desire to play regularly in the NHL. He also discussed the organizational changes, and how that may affect his chances of making the team. Puempel, 23, was a first round pick of the Senators in 2011. He has scored four goals, six points in 39 NHL games over the last two seasons.

Patrick Roy Leaves Avalanche Organization

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1:10pm: Roy has released a statement on his resignation. He seems to be quitting over a lack of influence in personnel decisions.

1:03pm: According to Renaud Lavoie of TVA, head coach Patrick Roy has resigned his position with the Colorado Avalanche.

Roy had coached the Avalanche since the 2013-14 season. In his first season with the team, Roy led the Avalanche to a first place finish in the Central Division. From there, the Avalanche were eliminated in the first round, and then failed to make the playoffs the next two years. Roy ends his tenure in Colorado with a record of 130-92-24 in 246 games.

It is of note that Roy explains his decision by suggesting he lacked input on personnel decisions. TSN’s Frank Seravelli reports that there had been “long-rumored discord” within the Avalanche organization. It has been reported before that Roy viewed Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie as “no more than a fifth defenseman.” Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic insisted this summer that he would not trade Barrie. Barrie re-signed with the Avalanche recently, signing a four-year contract, worth $5.5MM per season.

Roy played 478 as a goaltender for the Avalanche between 1995 to 2003, winning the Stanley Cup in 1996 and 2001. Roy also won the Conn Smythe trophy in 2001, and the William M. Jennings award, and was named a first team all-star in 2002.

Snapshots: Saunders, Schedule, Spaling

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The hockey world mourns today as it was reported earlier that broadcasting titan John Saunders passed away at the age of 61. Saunders had worked for ESPN for nearly 30 years, and was one the biggest influences on hockey broadcasting in the United States. An all-star defenseman growing up in Montreal, Saunders went on to play at Western Michigan University from 1974-76. Saunders was a founding board member of the Jimmy V Foundation, a charity that has raised over $90MM for cancer research.

Many fans in the United States and across the world would not have understood, or appreciated hockey without John Saunders, and here at PHR we would like to extend our deepest condolences to his family.

  • The NHL released its preseason schedule today, and among the notable games are two that will be held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the home of the upcoming expansion franchise. The Los Angeles Kings will play back-to-back nights against the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche on October 7-8th to give the fans there a taste of what is to come. Also opening its doors for the first time will be the Edmonton Oilers’ new home, as the team will play the Calgary Flames at Rogers Place on September 26th.
  • Nick Spaling’s deal with Geneve-Servette was announced today, making him the latest in the line of players heading to Switzerland.  The deal is different than any given in the NHL, reports Stephen Whyno as the two sides have agreed to a one-year pact with an option for 2017-18, much like an MLB deal.  This adds a new wrinkle to players looking for contracts outside the NHL, as European leagues are getting more creative in their contract structure. Spaling will be reunited with former line-mate and veteran NHLer Mike Santorelli, who signed a deal last month with the club.

Roster Crunch: Central Division

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Previously, we looked at some of the battles for the last few spots among Pacific Division teams, happening to focus mostly on the third pairing on many teams.  With the Anaheim Ducks leading the way with their glut of young defenders, we’ll head to the Central Division next where there are a few teams who might be contenders to scoop up one of extra Ducks pieces.

Dallas Stars –  It’s not often you see a team lose three of it’s top-four defenders in one offseason, but that’s what happened to the Stars this summer after Alex Goligoski, Jason Demers and Kris Russell all became unrestricted free agents. While Russell has yet to sign, he was probably miscast as the 24-minute-a-night player the Stars used him as down the stretch. They brought in Dan Hamhuis to fill one of the spots, but it’ll be a battle between Jamie Oleksiak, Stephen Johns, Patrik Nemeth, Jordie Benn and Esa Lindell for playing time this year. Because Johns is the only right-handed member of that group, perhaps Julius Honka, a former first-round pick, will make his NHL debut this season as well.

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Salary Cap Report: Central Division

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As the hockey world takes its collective breath before the World Cup, training camps, and the regular season, most teams have checked off their boxes and marked their ledgers. Some teams are not finished building their rosters, with RFAs still to sign and trades to explore. Some teams have plenty of space to maneuver with; other teams will need to get creative to stay under the cap.

We’ll complete our Salary Cap Reports by taking a look at the Central Division. Of note:

  • The Central Division has the two highest paid players in the NHL in Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. The Blackhawks captain and leading scorer signed matching eight-year, $84MM extensions in the summer of 2014.
  • After June’s blockbuster trade, the NHL’s highest paid defenseman is now in the Central: P.K. Subban and his $9MM cap hit are now members of the Nashville Predators. The Predators also have the highest paid goalie in the division, with Pekka Rinne making $7MM per season.
  • With Dallas captain Jamie Benn signed to a long-term extension already, there aren’t any superstar pending-UFAs in the Central, but veteran scoring wingers Patrick Sharp and Alex Steen are both up at the end of this season. Calder Trophy winner Artemi Panarin and Ryan Johansen headline next summer’s RFAs.

By the numbers:

Also in the Salary Cap Report series: Atlantic Division, Metropolitan Division, and Pacific Division.

Avs, Barrie Agree To New Deal

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After all of the speculation surrounding the “contentious” relationship between the Colorado Avalanche and defenseman Tyson Barrie and the drama of the summer’s only arbitration decision, it seems as thought the two sides were able to agree to a deal just in time. Elliotte Friedman reports that Barrie has re-signed with Colorado, before the arbitration decision was handed down, for four years and $22MM.

The $5.5MM cap hit that the new extension carries falls, as expected, in the middle of the competing offers made to the arbitrator. The Avalanche had asked for a two-year contract worth $8.25MM ($4.125MM cap hit), while Barrie’s camp countered with a one year and $6MM. The eventual compromise falls closer the value that Barrie was hoping for, and based on a trend of preferential treatment towards players in NHL arbitration, is likely close to what would have been awarded. Instead of waiting for the one or two year arbitration deal and risking having to give Barrie another raise soon, the Avalanche were instead smart to finally agree to a new deal for a longer term.

The $5.5MM cap hit is in no way over-payment by Colorado. Having just turned 25, Barrie has put together three straight seasons of strong offensive production at a young age. He can be counted on for double-digit goals and 40+ assists each season and has not had any durability issues despite a modest 5’10” 190-lb. frame. The $5-$6MM is just the going rate for small, fast, puck-moving defenseman, as evidenced by Barrie and the earlier deals this summer handed out to Torey Krug ($5.25MM) and Alex Goligoski ($5.475). The signing puts the Avalanche less than a million dollars from the $73MM salary cap limit, but with a full roster and no more restricted free agents to sign, it seems as though Colorado should be ready to go for the 2016-17 season without much worry about the cap.

What could have been an ugly situation in Denver has been avoided, as both sides should be happy with the extension and looking forward to four more years of production. If Barrie continue to put up 50-odd points a season from the blue line, the Avalanche will never regret giving in to the deal they signed today.

Snapshots: Hossa, Barrie, Vesey

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The Athletic’s Scott Powers writes that Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa is just fine with whatever comes his way during the 2016-17 season. The 37-year-old winger has slowed a bit since joining the Hawks in 2009-10 and had his lowest point total since the 1998-99 season. Powers reports that Hossa is cognizant of where he is in his career, and that the extra rest following a first round playoff loss to the Blues has recharged Hossa mentally and physically.

Hossa is comfortable with a more defensive-minded role, Powers adds. The gifted two-way forward’s impact on possession should remain stable even while his numbers decline. Underrated throughout the seven seasons of his Blackhawk career is the impact he has on the ice disrupting plays defensively, and then setting up scoring chances at the other end–oftentimes in the same shift.

Though he climbs in age, Hossa’s value to the Hawks is anything but diminished. If the Hawks are fortunate enough to land Jimmy Vesey, the offense that Vesey could generate would more than compensate for Hossa’s drop off. If anything, a full-out defensive minded Hossa would only ratchet up the Stanley Cup expectations in Chicago.

In other NHL news:

  • Adrian Dater argues that the purported angst between Tyson Barrie and the Colorado Avalanche  isn’t as bad as many think. He also shoots down the rumor that the Avs will deal the young d-man. Dater indicates that the Avs still own Barrie’s rights for another three seasons and wouldn’t dream of dealing him unless the trade package was significant. Dater writes that the Avs are in the “driver’s seat” when it comes to Barrie and that both sides see this negotiation as business, not personal.
  • Dater also weighs in on the Vesey-to-Blackhawks speculation and claims that the Hawks would likely use Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane as recruiting tools to bring the young forward into the fold. With every organization being bound to the same financial constraints, Dater writes that the Hawks are head and shoulders above other teams because of their prestige and standing in the league. Vesey would also be an affordable top six forward for the Hawks. In true Dater fashion, he concludes by saying “he’s been wrong before.” Regardless, Dater joins the cacophony of voices reporting the Hawks’ high chance of landing the coveted winger.

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