San Jose Sharks Hire Mike Grier
After news broke yesterday that the San Jose Sharks would be hiring Mike Grier as their next general manager, the official news came today from the club. Grier himself announced the historic hire in a short video for fans:
Really excited to get to work and be back in the Bay area. I know there have been lots of ups and downs but I’m ready to work hard, get at it, and get this thing back on the tracks. We’re going to start winning some games in the Shark Tank and get it going again. See you soon.
Grier, who played three seasons for the Sharks during his long playing career, is the first Black general manager in NHL history. He isn’t the first Grier to hold a sports executive position like this though. His brother, Chris Grier, is currently the general manager of the Miami Dolphins, while his father Bobby Grier worked for years with the New England Patriots in various roles.
Over a career that spanned 1,060 regular season games, Grier registered 162 goals and 383 points, while receiving Selke Trophy votes on five different occasions. The two-way winger retired in 2011 and a few years later was working for the Chicago Blackhawks as a scout, while also coaching at the high school level. In 2018 he was named an assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils, and last season he served as a hockey operations coordinator for the New York Rangers.
Though his front office resume isn’t that long, Grier’s name has been floated in searches for the last few years as his profile as a future general manager grew. Chris Drury, who brought Grier into the Rangers, gave a strong endorsement to Sharks’ president Jonathan Becher during the search, according to Corey Masisak of The Athletic. He’ll now take over a franchise that has had just one full-time GM in nearly two decades. Doug Wilson, who led the team for the past 19 seasons, stepped away to focus on his health, leaving Joe Will there on an interim basis.
Some would also say he’s coming into quite a mess, given the Sharks’ lack of recent success and huge, long-term contracts on the books. Five players carry at least a $7MM cap hit for the club and only one of them (the recently-extended Tomas Hertl) is under the age of 32. Timo Meier is heading into the final year of his current deal and will need a $10MM qualifying offer to be retained as an RFA next summer, and the team hasn’t made the playoffs since 2019.
There are other changes to the front office coming, according to Becher, and one would expect many to the roster and coaching staff as well. Just a few days ago the team fired head coach Bob Boughner, giving Grier “full autonomy” to make the staff. David Quinn, who has a connection to Grier through their shared alma mater of Boston University, has been floated in the early stages as a potential candidate.
The roster though will be more difficult to rearrange. Eight different players hold some sort of trade protection in their contracts, including basically all of the expensive ones. The organization is also dealing with the uncertainty surrounding Evander Kane‘s grievance, which is still not scheduled for another hearing and could take quite a bit of time to resolve.
Grier will have his work cut out for him as he moves into this new position, starting with the team’s first-round pick later this week. The Sharks are scheduled to select 11th overall.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Pittsburgh Penguins Extend Casey DeSmith
The Pittsburgh Penguins have agreed to terms with backup goaltender Casey DeSmith on a new two-year extension, keeping him from hitting the open market. The contract will carry an average annual value of $1.8MM.
DeSmith, 30, has only ever known the Penguins organization and is one of the biggest success stories of the ECHL. Originally signed to a contract by the Wheeling Nailers as an undrafted free agent in 2015, he managed to quickly climb through every level and eventually made his NHL debut in the 2017-18 season. Since then, he’s been quite reliable for Pittsburgh, posting a .916 save percentage over 97 appearances at the highest level.
While he likely won’t be challenging for the starting role anytime soon, DeSmith represents a strong backup for Tristan Jarry and the Penguins, and essentially takes them out of the running for any other free agent goaltenders–at least the ones set to compete for NHL jobs. At just $1.8MM, he also comes in at a very reasonable price, potentially freeing up some space for the team to re-sign more important free agents, including Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
Among goaltenders, DeSmith’s cap hit puts him 40th for the 2022-23 season, a ranking that will drop several more places once free agency opens later this month. Given the fact that Jarry carries just a $3.5MM hit, the Penguins will be getting pretty strong goaltending for a relatively low price.
Snapshots: Campbell, Kuemper, Johnson
The Coachella Valley Firebirds have hired Jessica Campbell as an assistant coach, making her the first woman to hold that role at the AHL level. She joins Dan Bylsma’s staff after a year of coaching in Germany with the Nurnberg Ice Tigers of the DEL. Campbell also served as an assistant coach for Germany at the recent men’s IIHF World Championship and medaled for Team Canada at the women’s tournament during her playing days.
Campbell and Bylsma will take the reins of a new AHL franchise in its first year, one that still has plenty of spots to fill. Because they are so new to the league, the Seattle Kraken have yet to populate the system with many draft picks and actually have just 23 players signed to NHL contracts in the entire organization. That’s obviously not enough to give the Firebirds a fighting chance, meaning plenty of work will be needed by Ron Francis and company in the coming weeks and months.
- The Colorado Avalanche might not be looking for a new goaltender after all. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet believes that the Avalanche are working on extensions for Darcy Kuemper and Valeri Nichushkin, noting that there is a “decent chance” the netminder sticks around. If Kuemper does sign with Colorado, it would thin out a very shallow free agent goaltending pool even further, and potentially put even more pressure on the teams without legitimate starting options.
- Friedman also notes that the idea Erik Johnson could retire to create some additional cap room won’t be happening. Peter Baugh of The Athletic even asked the veteran defenseman directly, who explained that he wants to play for a “lot longer.” The Stanley Cup champion is heading into the last season of his seven-year, $42MM deal and carries a cap hit of $6MM for 2022-23.
New York Islanders Hire Doug Houda, Brian Wiseman
The day of hirings continues, this time with the New York Islanders introducing two new assistant coaches. Brian Wiseman and Doug Houda will join Lane Lambert‘s staff for the upcoming season, coming over from the Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers respectively.
Wiseman, 50, served for three years with the Oilers after nearly a decade with the University of Michigan, and now joins the new Islanders coaching staff that needed to be built from the ground up. With Lambert taking over from the dismissed Barry Trotz, the team is going in a very different direction following their poor performance this season.
It’s Houda that will draw many headlines though, given his connection with the organization. The long-time NHL defenseman played parts of two seasons with the team in the late nineties, racking up 13 points and 146 penalty minutes in 101 games. He served on the Detroit bench for the last six seasons and previously spend more than a decade with the Boston Bruins.
Given the fact that this will be Lambert’s first NHL head coaching gig, he’ll have to rely heavily on his two new assistants in the early going. Adding someone like Houda, that not only comes with a long history in the league but some familiarity–the two were teammates way back in 1985-86–will certainly help.
Toronto Maple Leafs Make Front Office Changes
The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced several changes to the front office, starting with the promotions of Hayley Wickenheiser, Ryan Hardy, and Darryl Metcalf to assistant general manager. The team has also added Curtis Sanford as goaltending coach, following the departure of Steve Briere to the Seattle Kraken.
The team has broken out the positions by department, with incumbent Brandon Pridham continuing his role as the “primary” AGM and Laurence Gilman now serving as governor and senior vice president of the Toronto Marlies, the team’s AHL affiliate.
Wickenheiser (Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser to be exact) is now the assistant general manager, player development, and will continue her work with the development staff at all levels. Arguably the greatest player in the history of women’s hockey, she joined the club in 2018 while still finishing her medical residency and was promoted to senior director of player development in 2021. She becomes the fourth woman this summer to be named an NHL AGM, following Cammie Granato and Emilie Castonguay in Vancouver, and Meghan Hunter in Chicago.
Hardy, meanwhile, continues to skyrocket up the hockey organizational charts, now an AGM in the NHL just a few seasons after first serving as an amateur scout with the Boston Bruins. The architect of a powerhouse program for the Chicago Steel of the USHL, Hardy was snatched up by the Maple Leafs in 2021 and put in charge of the team’s minor league operations. That’s still the department he will lead now, overseeing the team’s three-tiered development system, with the Marlies and Newfoundland Growlers of the ECHL.
Metcalf is the longest-tenured member of the trio, having worked with the Maple Leafs’ analytics department since 2014. He too has been rising the ranks since, last promoted to special assistant to the general manager in 2018. His title will be AGM, hockey research and development, allowing him to continue the work he has done with analytics.
Sandford meanwhile is coming into something of a mystery situation, given the Maple Leafs’ current goaltending issues. Jack Campbell appears ready to hit the open market in a few days, Petr Mrazek‘s struggles this year have led many to speculate that he will not be part of the team next season, and the pipeline doesn’t appear to have a true NHL starter in it.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Philadelphia Flyers Hire Brad Shaw
After the news was broken previously by his former club, Brad Shaw has now been officially introduced as an associate coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. New head coach John Tortorella is getting the band back together, having previously worked together with the Columbus Blue Jackets as recently as 2020-21. He released a statement on his new addition:
The familiarity in working closely with Brad in the past and knowing his approach to the game will be a big benefit to our club. Brad’s experience both as a former defenseman and the many years in the coaching ranks has allowed him to implement a style which make his teams hard to play against while allowing players to thrive in their role.
Shaw, who played nearly 400 games in the NHL, mostly with the Hartford Whalers and expansion Ottawa Senators, has previous experience working as an associate coach under a Jack Adams winner. During Ken Hitchcock’s run as head coach of the St. Louis Blues, Shaw rose from assistant to associate, taking on more responsibilities as his experience grew. He even has a bit of experience as a head coach in the NHL, leading the New York Islanders for 40 games in 2005-06 after Steve Stirling was shown the door.
In Philadelphia, he’ll try to fix a defensive unit that was in shambles this season, despite several highly-paid talents. Ivan Provorov, Rasmus Ristolainen, Travis Sanheim, and Ryan Ellis all carry cap hits of at least $4.675MM (though the latter may not be ready for the season), and must be better this time around if the team has any chance of reaching the postseason.
New York Rangers Extend Julien Gauthier
It’s certainly not the free agent news fans were hoping for in New York, but the Rangers have finished at least one negotiation. Julien Gauthier has signed a new one-year contract extension for the 2022-23 season, avoiding restricted free agency this summer. CapFriendly reported earlier that the deal is worth $800K.
Gauthier, 24, still hasn’t achieved much at the NHL level but did play in 49 games for the Rangers this season. The 2016 first-round pick has just 18 points in 96 career games, not quite what the Carolina Hurricanes had in mind when he was selected 21st overall or what the Rangers believed they were getting in a 2020 trade.
A mix of size and speed that is difficult to find, Gauthier possesses many of the attributes needed to have success at the NHL level. It just hasn’t been put together to this point, though he might get a regular chance to change that this season. With so many Rangers forwards scheduled for unrestricted free agency–Andrew Copp, Greg McKegg, Tyler Motte, Kevin Rooney, Ryan Strome, and Frank Vatrano are all without contracts–there could very well be room for Gauthier in the bottom six.
Even if the team moves to try and extend some of those names, they’ll need inexpensive options at the bottom of the roster. There’s also a notable difference in Gauthier’s status this year: he is no longer waiver-exempt. That means if the team wants to send him to the minor leagues, all 31 other teams would have a chance to claim him and keep him in the NHL.
Seattle Kraken Hire Steve Briere
During the 2021-22 season there was no team with a worse save percentage than the Seattle Kraken. The team has made a move to try and address that though not with an on-ice change. Instead, the team has hired goaltending coach Steve Briere, who had previously parted ways with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Briere, 45, has spent the last seven seasons with Toronto, working most notably with Frederik Andersen during his time there. A disciple of famously successful goalie coach Mitch Korn, who is currently with the New York Islanders, Briere had an up-and-down tenure with the Maple Leafs, his first role in the NHL.
Notably, he goes to a situation in Seattle that should be relatively comfortable. Head coach Dave Hakstol worked alongside Briere in Toronto for a time, serving as an assistant on Mike Babcock’s staff. The two obviously have a good enough relationship to continue it with the Kraken, where they’ll try to improve on that .880 save percentage from year one.
Among the reasons why the Kraken didn’t perform up to many expectations was the goaltending issue, as a career-.920 netminder Philipp Grubauer posted a brutal .889 save percentage, and backup Chris Driedger failed to do much better. The system, the defense, or bad luck could be partly to blame but there is also a good amount of responsibility to be heaped on the goaltenders themselves, and the coaching staff that was tasked with preparing them.
Briere will try to change that next season, after a dreadful first campaign in Seattle.
Gatineau Olympiques Acquire Olivier Nadeau
While the NHL Draft is still a few days away, the 2022 QMJHL Draft is underway tonight. There’s some big action on the trade floor as well, as the Gatineau Olympiques have acquired Buffalo Sabres forward prospect, Olivier Nadeau, from the QMJHL champion Shawinigan Cataractes in exchange for this year’s 14th overall pick, a 2023 first-round selection, a 2023 second-round selection, and 2005-born defense prospect Thomas Hebert.
Nadeau, Buffalo’s 97th overall selection in 2021, led Shawinigan in regular-season scoring with 78 points in 65 games. While he finished ahead of teammates like Edmonton’s Xavier Bourgault and Dallas’ Mavrik Bourque, they both played in considerably fewer games and had higher playoff point totals.
That doesn’t discount Nadeau’s role on the team, though. Serving as an alternate captain, Nadeau is a powerful, versatile forward who knows how to use his 6′ 2″ frame. A smart and skilled passer, Nadeau boasts solid middle-six upside and is a good transitional talent. In what will be his last year of juniors, Nadeau will get a chance to shine on Gatineau, who suffered a first-round playoff loss this year.
Latest on Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk
There’s a significant sense around the league that teams are rushing to get their salary cap situations cleared up before the start of free agency next week. Moves like the Tampa Bay Lightning trading Ryan McDonagh to the Nashville Predators for spare change and the Minnesota Wild moving early on a Kevin Fiala deal are evidence of that.
Now, another team is joining that list of really trying to make headlines in the near future. ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports that the Calgary Flames are making “every effort” now not only to re-sign top pending unrestricted free agent forward Johnny Gaudreau but also restricted free agent Matthew Tkachuk.
While most of the public talk has centered around Gaudreau’s status, it makes sense that general manager Brad Treliving would want to get these deals done in a short window. Playing on the same line, Gaudreau and Tkachuk helped propel each other to career seasons. The Flames are likely hoping that keeping the two together will keep their level of play from declining after this season.
Finances are also a huge part of this equation too, though. Gaudreau and Tkachuk are surely bound to take up a gigantic chunk of Calgary’s offseason spending limit, likely at least $16MM of it. With a long list of other players to re-sign and/or spots to fill via free agency, Calgary needs a clear picture of how much cash they’ll be able to devote to players like Andrew Mangiapane and Oliver Kylington while still fielding a cap-compliant squad.
With Tkachuk’s value through the roof after his 40-goal, 100-point season and Gaudreau likely able to net eight figures on the open market, Treliving faces his toughest challenge yet as GM in Calgary in order to keep this year’s Pacific Division champions at the top of the Western Conference.