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Offseason Notes: Chychrun, White, Dallas

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It’s been a while since we’ve heard Jakob Chychrun’s name atop trade rumors, especially when considering how he was viewed as one of the hottest commodities ahead of the Trade Deadline. It’s not often an under-25 defenseman with top-pairing pedigree becomes available, but the Arizona Coyotes decided not to move him just yet. That could change, however, as the Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger reports that the Blue Jackets and Coyotes are talking about a deal. While he couldn’t offer Chychrun’s name specifically, he also reminds that Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen has said that the team could move their 12th overall pick at the 2022 draft in exchange for a young NHL player with term.

Chychrun certainly fits that bill, signed at just $4.6MM through 2025. It also matches up with the rumblings that Columbus is looking to add aggressively on defense, as multiple reports suggested they were in discussions with the Tampa Bay Lightning about landing Ryan McDonagh. If Arizona acquired the 12th overall selection, it would give them a jaw-dropping four first-round picks in addition to their five second-round picks.

  • There’s significant interest in soon-to-be free agent Colin White after he was placed on waivers for the purpose of a buyout today by the Ottawa Senators. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that up to 14 NHL teams have shown interest in White over the past few months, which could lead to a significant bidding war for his services once free agency opens. TSN’s Darren Dreger specifically names the Montreal Canadiens as a team that could be a fit, as general manager Kent Hughes was his agent prior to getting hired in Montreal.
  • The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta says the Dallas Stars are looking to add a significant punch at forward this offseason, specifically to add a jump to a line with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. Dallas will reportedly be active on both the trade and free-agent markets, looking to be aggressive and squeeze out whatever this core has left in them to try and win a championship. Neither Benn nor Seguin, who are making above $9MM per season each, cracked the 50-point mark last year.

Xavier Simoneau Signs AHL Contract

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Overage draft pick Xavier Simoneau will start his professional career with the Laval Rocket in 2022-23 after signing a one-year AHL contract today. The 21-year-old forward recently finished his fifth season in the QMJHL.

Selected 191st overall in 2021 by the Montreal Canadiens, Simoneau is a dynamic offensive player that racked up 86 points in 48 regular season games for the Charlottetown Islanders this season. Overall for his CHL career he had more than 300 points, while also winning the Humanitarian of the Year award in 2020.

The biggest obstacle at the next level will be his size, as Simoneau stands just 5’7″ but plays a relatively physical game. It can be difficult for those types of players to find the same success at the professional level, which is likely the reason that he’ll start on a minor league deal instead of an NHL entry-level contract.

Montreal has until June 1, 2023, to decide whether he’s worth that ELC, at which point he would become an unrestricted free agent.

Latest On Montreal Canadiens Offseason Plans

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The comments and speculation from Friedman provide some new perspective on how the Flyers may choose to pursue this offseason given how their previous few seasons have played out. Philadelphia has made the postseason just once in the previous four seasons and has only made it out of the first round once since 2011-12, which featured a first round win over the Montreal Canadiens and a second-round loss to the New York Islanders in the bubble. Coming off the heels of a 61 point season that included trading franchise icon Claude Giroux, it would seem that the team might look to take a step back and rebuild, but whether the rumor is a big splash or several smaller pieces, it does not appear a rebuild is in the cards. With several quality players signed long-term, including Sean Couturier, Kevin Hayes, Travis Konecny, Joel Farabee, Cam Atkinson, Ivan Provorov, Rasmus Ristolainen, and promising young goaltender Carter Hart, as well as Ellis, it would make sense why the organization may try to simply push forward.

  • One team who may move on from some of its core veterans is the Montreal Canadiens, who Friedman says have been testing the market on Christian Dvorak, Jeff Petry and perhaps Josh Anderson. He adds that some teams believe they are not looking to trade Jake Allen as they do want to try to be more competitive, so it’s unlikely they will strip away all of their assets. In fact, the team was interested in Ottawa Senators forward Colin White prior to the trade deadline, with Friedman believing those talks may materialize again, adding that Canadiens’ GM Kent Hughes was White’s agent prior to Hughes joining Montreal’s front office. Once one of the game’s top prospects, White had a strong breakout campaign in 2018-19, putting up 41 points in 71 games, enough to earn him a six-year, $28.5MM contract. Unfortunately, the contract hasn’t worked out as hoped by either side, with White tallying just 51 points in 130 game since the start of the deal, now with three more years at $4.75MM per season left.
  • Lastly, the Arizona Coyotes, who own picks 3, 27, and 32 in the first-round of this year’s draft are prepared to use “all available options” to try to acquire another high pick in the draft, says Friedman. By selecting third overall, Arizona is guaranteed one of Shane Wright, Juraj Slafkovsky, or Logan Cooley, though it’s unlikely they will get to choose which. It’s unclear exactly how far up the organization would like to find an available pick, but with news that the Montreal Canadiens are seeking an additional top-10 pick, there could be some competition for one of the coveted draft picks. The Coyotes do have in addition to the 27th and 32nd overall selections, four second-round picks and a third, fifth, and seventh-round pick in this year’s draft, on top of plenty of prospect capital.

Montreal Canadiens Looking For Additional Top-10 Pick

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The Montreal Canadiens already have the first-overall selection in next week’s draft but it appears as though they’re trying to provide even more entertainment for the crowd at the Bell Centre. Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that the Canadiens have called every team in the top ten trying to get a second high pick.

Montreal of course already has the 26th pick as well, one that came from the Calgary Flames in the Tyler Toffoli trade. They also have two seconds, three thirds, and three fourths, meaning they’ll be infusing their system with a huge amount of talent either way. Those mid-round picks, which remember include the first choice in each round (33rd, 66th, and 98th), could be leveraged in a deal to move up to the top ten, should they find a taker.

Philadelphia Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher, who sits at No. 5, spoke about the potential of a trade-down scenario yesterday, and while he wouldn’t rule it out, explained how rare it is to move a pick that high. The New Jersey Devils have openly stated that they would consider moving the second-overall, though again it seems they are not actively pursuing it and would need to be blown away by an offer.

The Arizona Coyotes, Seattle Kraken, Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, and Anaheim Ducks are the other teams in the top ten.

Vegas Golden Knights Make Coaching Hires

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The Vegas Golden Knights announced a series of coaching hires Tuesday night, adding John Stevens as their assistant coach, Sean Burke as their goalie coach and Director of Goaltending, and naming Mike Rosati as Manager of Goaltending Development and Scouting.

General manager Kelly McCrimmon gave the following statement on the hires:

John Stevens is a very respected NHL coach with an extensive resume that adds considerably to our staff. We are excited to add a two-time Stanley Cup winner with head coaching experience. Sean Burke is a great addition to the organization, with tremendous experience as an elite NHL goaltender and an accomplished coach and executive. We are pleased to keep Mike Rosati in an influential role across the organization. With those two and Henderson goaltending coach Fred Brathwaite, we have proven, qualified expertise at the goalie position.

While new head coach Bruce Cassidy won’t get to build the entire bench from scratch, he does get some fresh faces in here to join assistants Ryan Craig and Misha Donskov, who were retained in the wake of Peter DeBoer’s firing. Stevens comes in to replace both Steve Spott and Ryan McGill as an assistant, who were both fired days after DeBoer. Stevens has been an assistant for the Dallas Stars for the past three seasons, but most hockey fans will remember him as the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers (2006-2009) and the Los Angeles Kings (2016-2018). In all, the 56-year-old Stevens has 15 years of NHL coaching experience.

Burke’s hiring isn’t huge news, as it was reported earlier in the week that Vegas would bring him on. Burke was not on an NHL staff during the 2021-22 season, but he spent seven years as the goalie coach of the Arizona Coyotes and a handful of months in 2021 as the goalie coach of the Montreal Canadiens. He replaces Rosati as the goalie coach, who moves to a more behind-the-scenes role in the organization.

Golden Knights To Hire Sean Burke

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After losing Luke Richardson to Chicago as their next head coach (once a contract is finalized next week), the Canadiens have lost another veteran hockey coach and executive as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that the Golden Knights will be hiring Sean Burke in a yet-to-be-determined role; Sirius XM’s Jonathan Davis clarifies (Twitter link) that Burke will become their Director of Goaltending.

That’s the same role that the long-time NHL goaltender was in with Montreal after taking on that position back in March of 2021 after spending parts of five seasons with them as a scout.  Burke has also served as a goalie coach with both the Canadiens and the Coyotes in the past although he has been interested in the management side of the game lately so it’s not a given that he’ll take on that role with Vegas.  Burke has managerial experience internationally, serving as Canada’s GM at the Olympics, the World Championship, plus the Spengler and Karjala Cups.

Burke will, however, likely play a role in whether or not current goalie coach Mike Rosati returns next season.  At the time that Peter DeBoer was let go, GM Kelly McCrimmon indicated that Rosati would have a chance to interview with their new coach (the recently-hired Bruce Cassidy) to see if he retains his position but they’ll certainly lean on Burke’s experience in helping to make that decision in the weeks to come.

Edmonton Oil Kings Eliminated From 2022 Memorial Cup

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With the round-robin set to close tomorrow at the 2022 Memorial Cup, one team already knows its fate. The WHL champion Edmonton Oil Kings are out of the top Canadian junior tournament, dropping their third game of the round-robin 4-2 against the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs.

The host Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL will play their league champion, the Shawinigan Cataractes, tomorrow. The winner of that game will advance directly to the 2022 Memorial Cup Final on June 29, while the loser will face Hamilton in the semi-final on Monday.

Edmonton bows out of the tournament without a regulation win. Their two points in the standings came courtesy of a 4-3 overtime win against Saint John.

It’s a shocking exit for the WHL champion, who terrorized the league with a 50-14-4 record during the regular season. But their offense was stricken heavily when it was announced that leading scorer Dylan Guenther, a 2021 first-round selection of the Arizona Coyotes, would miss the tournament due to injury. Still, the squad had a strong core with NHL prospects Sebastian Cossa (Detroit Red Wings) in goal, Kaiden Guhle (Montreal Canadiens) and Luke Prokop (Nashville Predators) on defense, and Jake Neighbours (St. Louis Blues) and Justin Sourdif (Florida Panthers) rounding out an all-star lineup. The team’s depth was nothing to scoff at either, with multiple other NHL prospects and WHL veterans playing big roles.

The WHL’s streak of Memorial Cup losses, which dates back now to 2014 with the Oil Kings, will continue.

Latest On Carey Price

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Montreal Canadiens fans breathed a collective sigh of relief when Carey Price finally took to the ice this season, even if it was for just a few games. The all-world netminder missed nearly all of the 2021-22 campaign with a knee injury and time spent in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program, but he returned to play in five games at the end of the season. His battle through adversity was enough to win him the 2022 Masterton Trophy, but with rumors swirling about how healthy Price was and whether he could return at all next season, it was a little bittersweet.

The procedures and rehab aren’t over for Price, yet, unfortunately. General manager Kent Hughes said today that Price had a “small procedure” on his knee recently and the team is waiting to see how it responds. Hughes did go so far as to clarify that it was not a surgery or operation. It’s unclear whether or not Hughes is referring to the platelet-rich plasma injection Price received late last month, which Price already confirmed publicly weeks ago, though. It does make it seem unlikely that Hughes would be referring to the same procedure if it had already been made public.

If it’s more work done on Price, though, it’ll theoretically dig into his offseason training time more than he had planned. Price had said recently that he is preparing as if he’ll play for the Canadiens in 2022-23, though as more health-related news around the netminder trickles in, it seems more unlikely.

It’ll raise interesting offseason questions for the Canadiens on the ice, who will need to be active in the goalie market if Price isn’t healthy.

Free Agent Focus: Montreal Canadiens

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Free agency is now less than a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in mid-July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  Next up is a look at the Canadiens.

Key Restricted Free Agents

G Sam Montembeault — Montembeault was forced into a breakout season in 2021-22 after injuries wreaked havoc on the Montreal crease. Claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers at the beginning of the season, the idea was for Montembeault to serve as a third-string backup option to relieve the stress on the crease. With starter Carey Price missing most of the season, though, and backup Jake Allen battling multiple injuries throughout the year, the 25-year-old Quebec native started 30 games and made eight appearances in relief, posting an 8-18-6 record, .891 save percentage, 3.77 goals-against average, and one shutout. He struggled with consistency under his increased workload, usually being one of the biggest reasons Montreal won or lost. Despite the poor performance, though, he did pretty much what you’d expect a third-string option to do in that situation. Montembeault will almost certainly be issued a qualifying offer and retained, considering that Allen remains the only healthy netminder under contract for next season.

D Alexander Romanov — Montreal’s 38th overall selection in the 2018 draft continues to track better than expected. While the scoring hasn’t been there for Romanov just yet, he was drafted for his defensive upside, and he’s beginning to deliver. Thrust into a top-four role this season in Shea Weber’s absence, Romanov provided good defensive results, albeit in a slightly sheltered role. He’ll likely increase his point totals somewhat from his 13 points in 79 games in 2021-22 under a surely more gifted team next season, tracking to be an important complementary defender in Montreal for years to come. Depending on how confident Montreal is in his development, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see them try to lock Romanov in longer-term this offseason to ensure some lasting value.

F Rem Pitlick — One of the best waiver claims in the league this year (and one-third of Montreal’s band of Pitlicks), 25-year-old Rem finished the season with 37 points in 66 games split between the Canadiens and Minnesota Wild. Getting top-six minutes in Montreal, he managed 26 of those points in his 46 games with Montreal. Pitlick’s poor advanced defensive numbers and sky-high 23.1 shooting percentage are some red flags, though, and it’s hard to imagine Montreal giving Pitlick anything longer than two or three years to stay around as a depth scoring option.

Other RFAs: F Joël Teasdale, F Michael Pezzetta, F Nathan Schnarr, D Corey Schueneman, D Josh Brook, D Kale Clague, G Cayden Primeau

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Mathieu Perreault — While a stat-line of nine points in just 25 games doesn’t scream “keeper material,” there’s a solid case for Perreault to stick around in Montreal uniform. Injuries were the primary limiting factor in his ice time (including a scary eye ailment), and he was one of the team’s better two-way players in a bottom-six that got routinely caved in. The 34-year-old veteran of 708 NHL games could be let go in favor of giving more time to younger players in the system, though.

F Tyler Pitlick — Rem’s cousin, Tyler arrived in Montreal mid-season courtesy of the Tyler Toffoli trade in February. He played just 14 games as a Canadien, though, averaging under 10 minutes per game. While injuries and COVID made him unavailable some nights, he didn’t exactly play his way into a regular role. After scoring just five points in 39 games this season between Montreal and Calgary, it could be the end of the NHL road entirely for the 29-year-old.

Other UFAs: F Alex Belzile, F Cedric Paquette, F Jean-Sebastien Dea, F Laurent Dauphin, F Lukas Vejdemo, D Louis Belpedio, D Sami Niku, D William Lagesson, D Xavier Ouellet

Projected Salary Cap Space

Montreal currently stands with just under $2MM in cap space this offseason, but that number is likely to increase dramatically by the time free agency rolls around and into next season. Trade rumors have been swirling around many members of the Canadiens, and it’s likely that at least one if not all of Jeff Petry ($6.25MM cap hit), Josh Anderson ($5.5MM cap hit), and Mike Hoffman ($4.5MM cap hit) are dealt. There’s also the possibility that Price’s $10.5MM cap hit may land on long-term injured reserve.

The Canadiens are unlikely to be big spenders in free agency regardless of their cap situation, but they’ll be able to re-sign everyone they wish despite the seemingly tight financial situation at first.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Canadiens, Senators To Play Preseason Games In Maritimes

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  • The Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators will head east for some preseason games this year, as the NHLPA announced matches in Gander, Newfoundland, and Bouctouche, New Brunswick as part of the Kraft Hockeyville campaign. The fundraiser also presents each community with $250K in arena upgrades and $10K in youth hockey equipment. The games will take place on October 6 and 8 respectively.

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