Golden Knights To Hire Sean Burke
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.
PHR Mailbag: Detroit Red Wings Edition
There were several questions about the Red Wings in our latest callout for questions for the PHR Mailbag. Rather than try to condense them to fit them within a full mailbag, let’s examine them in a bit more detail in a Detroit-specific piece. The rest of the mailbag will run on Sunday.
pawdog13: What have you heard about the Red Wings’ coaching search? Crickets everywhere!
@jamara23732: Who do you believe the Red Wings will hire as head coach?
The best way to describe Detroit’s coaching search thus far is that it’s thorough. GM Steve Yzerman is known to be patient and he’s turning over every rock while considering both experienced and first-time options. Barry Trotz interviewed for the opening back in May but Trotz basically interviewed with every team that has a coaching vacancy and then decided to take next season off. David Quinn, the former Rangers head coach, has also been interviewed. He’s someone that has a lot of experience working with younger players and with the Red Wings having a younger roster, that could be appealing. They also interviewed Bruce Cassidy but clearly, that one isn’t happening as he’s now with Vegas.
Speculatively, I think part of their hold up is that Yzerman wants to have a conversation with Derek Lalonde, an assistant with the Lightning. Yzerman was still with Tampa Bay when Lalonde joined them so he will have some familiarity and considering what Tampa Bay has done since then, he has only helped boost his stock since then. Detroit might not be the only team waiting for the Stanley Cup Final to end to have a conversation with Lalonde.
As for who I think they’ll hire, I’ve covered that one in a prior mailbag but I’ll mention it here again in Jim Montgomery. Dallas was doing well under his tutelage before his departure so it’s not as if he’s a first-time bench boss. He also has a track record of working with younger players from his days in college. He’s also someone that fits both types of coaching options. He could be the long-term solution behind the bench which would be great for them but he could also be a transitional coach, one that helps elevate the stock and development of certain players but might not be the right fit in the end. Either option would be a win for them at this stage. In reality, your guess is as good as mine with the lack of information out there about their search but Montgomery would be my pick.
gowings2008: Any idea who the Red Wings may target in free agency? Based on the direction the team is headed, I think adding a player like Andre Burakovsky could make sense.
@jamara23732: What free agents do you see the Red Wings pursuing when free agency starts?
I don’t expect Detroit to necessarily be shopping at the top end of the market yet. Are they ready to flip the switch and move to win-now mode? They’re getting closer to that point but I don’t think it’ll be this summer. That should keep them out of the bidding wars for the top players.
Looking at their depth chart, their center situation stands out. Dylan Larkin is in place although he only has one yet left on his contract. After that, there are a lot of question marks. Pius Suter isn’t a true top-six option and while Michael Rasmussen has shown some improvement, he fits much better on the third line than the second. Joe Veleno has similar upside. Oskar Sundqvist, acquired at the trade deadline, is also a bottom-sixer. There’s a definite need for a top-six center.
Vincent Trocheck is someone I expect them to take a serious run at. He turns 29 next month so he should still have several good seasons ahead of him. He’s not going to push to be a top pivot – that spot is still Larkin’s – but he’d allow Rasmussen and Veleno to slot into the last two center spots and give them a very stable group of middlemen. Good teams need good center depth and Trocheck would give them exactly that. If that doesn’t happen, they might inquire on Andrew Copp and Ryan Strome, similar-aged players that would give them some stability although the upside isn’t as great. I’d be more worried about adding middlemen than wingers at this point so while Burakovsky would certainly help, he shouldn’t be their top priority either.
The left side of their back end is another sizable hole but that will be difficult to fill in free agency as the impact rearguards are righties. I’ve mused in the past about them taking a look at someone like John Klingberg which would free them up to trade Filip Hronek for a lefty that better fits their needs. That might be their best shot at adding an impact left-side defender, actually. Simon Edvinsson will see some time next season but their free agent target on that side might be a veteran like Ian Cole, someone that can play on the third pairing and log some tough minutes on the penalty kill. Keeping Marc Staal is another option. Alexander Edler would be a tier a bit above that but that’s as good as I think they can do on the free agent front on that side of their back end.
On the trade front, if they keep Hronek and don’t add an impact righty, I could see them inquiring about Alec Martinez, a Michigan native. Vegas still needs to clear money and since they played without him for a lot of this past season, they know they can manage without him if need be. With two years left on his contract, he’d be an ideal bridge veteran to work with Edvinsson as well.
Johnny Z: Predict the unpredictable: What is Stevie Y’s big move this summer? Example: What LD vet does he find? Will he bolster the C position and with who? Does he get Larkin extended under $9M? What veteran goalie does he get?
The defense and center spots were covered above and I’ll lean into my Klingberg prediction as their big move with Hronek, who has two years left at an affordable $4.4MM price tag, being flipped for a left-shot defender that’s signed or under team control for at least two more years.
As for Larkin, I do think a long-term extension will get done this summer. He stated at the end of the season that he couldn’t see himself playing elsewhere and then changed agents with the belief being that talks on a new deal will start soon. Unless Yzerman was to low-ball his captain, something should get done.
I’m fairly confident it will be under $9MM per as well. Larkin has never been a point-per-game player and has only come close to that mark twice. In that sense, he’s not a true top center so he shouldn’t be expecting to be paid as such. There are some recent comparables to work off of as well – Mika Zibanejad will get $8.5MM from the Rangers next year, Tomas Hertl is a little over $8MM from San Jose, and Sean Couturier checks in at $7.75MM. Is Larkin’s track record better than those players? He’d have a hard time making that case. He’s younger so there will be an expectation of more in-prime years that should push his AAV into that range instead of being below it but I’d be quite surprised if his next price tag came in above Zibanejad’s $8.5MM.
Now, let’s look at the goaltending situation. I don’t think Jussi Olkinuora is the intended backup although I do like that signing to see if he is indeed a late bloomer. He’ll partner up with Sebastian Cossa in Grand Rapids and it’s his trajectory that Yzerman will need to be mindful of. Yes, he’s a promising prospect but most goalies will need a few years before being NHL-ready. With Alex Nedeljkovic’s deal set to expire next summer, they need someone on a multi-year deal.
This isn’t a great group of veterans to work with so I expect their primary targets to be Ville Husso and Jack Campbell. Both players don’t have the type of clout to command a long-term contract but something in the three-year range is where they should fall. That lines up with Cossa’s timeline in the sense that Husso or Campbell would be expiring when Cossa is ready. At that point, they can either walk or be extended to partner up with him. My pick would be one of those two.
If they go elsewhere, I would be looking towards Washington and one of their pending RFAs. If they want a proven veteran, one of Ilya Samsonov or Vitek Vanecek would be on the move and both of those netminders would be candidates for the medium-term deals I’m suggesting they’ll want to give to Husso or Campbell. They need some stability at the position and getting that should be near the top of Yzerman’s to-do list this summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Zdeno Chara To Decide On Playing Future In September
It will take a while before we find out whether or not pending UFA defenseman Zdeno Chara will return for another NHL season. His agent Matt Keator told Matt Porter of the Boston Globe that the veteran intends to take his time before deciding about his playing future:
He’s going to take the summer with his family and assess where he’s at physically, where his family’s at, and make a decision in September. No rush.
The 45-year-old completed his 24th NHL season in 2021-22, returning to the Islanders who originally drafted him back in 1996. Chara played in 72 games this past season, recording 14 points while adding 125 hits and 90 blocked shots. Notably, he logged 18:44 per game, good for fifth among New York blueliners while still taking a regular turn on the penalty kill. All in all, it was a decent return on the $750K base salary plus $750K in performance incentives for the Islanders.
Of course, that type of role is a far cry from being the top blueliner on a team (and even the league with his Norris Trophy win in 2008-09). At this stage of his career, Chara is more of a depth player than an impact one but could still help the right team in a limited defensive role. He sits 20 games shy of being the seventh player in NHL history to reach 1,700 but is still 99 appearances behind Patrick Marleau’s all-time games played record so it’s not as if one more year would give him a chance at setting that new benchmark.
There’s no real risk for Chara to wait out the market and see where things stand in September. Contracts like the one he’d be getting (likely a minimum salary with games played incentives once again) aren’t that difficult to get in the days leading up to training camp so he will have the chance to be selective to see if there’s a good fit for him. If not, he can hang up his skates after quite an impressive career.
Pacific Notes: Miller, Winterton, Yamamoto
Despite the fact that J.T. Miller is coming off a career year, he has been in trade speculation for several months with the Canucks alternating between making him available and not. As CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reports (video link), it appears that Vancouver is back in the camp of listening to offers for the 29-year-old. Miller has one year left on his contract with a $5.25MM AAV but after collecting 99 points in 80 games this season, he will have a strong case for a significant extension, one that can be signed as early as mid-July. However, Dhaliwal notes that Vancouver’s internal limit would be an AAV in the high-$7MM range and that will likely come in lower than Miller’s camp will be looking for. Barring a change of heart on how much they’re willing to offer, it would appear that Miller’s name will remain in the rumor mill for a little while yet.
More from the Pacific:
- Kraken prospect Ryan Winterton played an important role for OHL Hamilton as they won the league title and have advanced to the Memorial Cup semifinals. Despite that, Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times reports that Seattle won’t be signing him to his entry-level deal this summer and instead will wait and see how 2022-23 goes. The 18-year-old was a third-round pick in the 2021 draft and potted 20 goals while adding 26 assists in 37 games with the Bulldogs this season while averaging more than a point per game in the playoffs as well.
- Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal examined the improvements in winger Kailer Yamamoto’s performance following the midseason coaching change which has helped give him leverage heading into contract talks with salary arbitration rights for the first time. However, he suggests another bridge deal (Yamamoto played on a one-year deal this season) is the best way to go. Yamamoto is still four years away from UFA eligibility so a two-year would buy them a bit more time to evaluate the 23-year-old and keep the cap hit lower. Yamamoto is coming off a 20-goal, 41-point season with the Oilers so he’ll still be getting a decent-sized raise on the $1.175MM he made this year.
Edmonton Oil Kings Eliminated From 2022 Memorial Cup
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.
Detroit Red Wings Sign Victor Brattstrom
7:32 pm: CapFriendly reports that Brattstrom’s one-year extension is for the league-minimum $750,000. As the deal is two-way in nature, Brattstrom will be paid a minors salary of $75,000.
8:41 am: The Detroit Red Wings are keeping one of their depth goaltenders around for another year, signing Victor Brattstrom to a one-year contract extension. The Swedish netminder split time between the Grand Rapids Griffins and Toledo Walleye this season, after making the transition to North America. Brattstrom would have been an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent this summer.
Originally a sixth-round pick of the Red Wings in 2018, Brattstrom is an interesting case. He was already 21 by the time he was finally picked, and at that point had not even reached the highest level in Sweden. In fact, he had just 15 games of experience at the Allsvenskan level (second-tier) and though they had gone well, the pick was always more about his frame–6’4″–and projected upside.
Now four years later, Brattstrom’s results haven’t really improved. He did play one season in the SHL for Timra IK but was shelled, going 5-14 with an .898 save percentage and losing the relegation game. In 2020-21, after signing his entry-level deal with the Red Wings, he played in Finland, where he had a middling 18-12-7 record and .903 save percentage in 38 appearances.
This year, he couldn’t crack the .900 mark even at the ECHL level, and yet the Red Wings obviously believe in him enough to give him another contract. It will interesting to follow the 25-year-old netminder this season and see if the Detroit front office has found a project, or if he’s nothing more than minor league depth.
Latest On Carey Price
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
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.
Nashville Predators Sign Cody Glass
The Nashville Predators have inked forward Cody Glass to a one-year, two-way contract after he accepted his qualifying offer. That means Glass will carry a cap hit of $874K at the NHL level, and make $70K in the AHL. He was not yet eligible for salary arbitration.
Despite no longer being a top prospect, as his NHL career has still yet to take off at age 23, there’s still hope that Glass can become a solid contributor for the Predators in the future. Taking a demotion to the minor leagues in stride this season, the young forward managed to put up a strong campaign with the Milwaukee Admirals, scoring 62 points in 66 games.
While the two-way deal might suggest that he is headed for the minor leagues again next season, remember that Glass is no longer waiver-exempt and will have to clear in order to be assigned to Milwaukee this time around. That gives him at least a bit of protection, as another team could take a chance on him if he fails to make Nashville’s opening night roster.
Selected sixth overall by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017, it just hasn’t come together yet for the former Portland Winterhawks star. Glass has 23 points in 74 games at the NHL level but most of those came in his first year. He had just one point in eight games this season for the Predators, and failed to score when he was inserted into the lineup for two playoff games. If he’s going to be an NHL player, this is a crucial year to prove it.
Latest On Barry Trotz
1:45pm: Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Trotz has turned down the job in Winnipeg, deciding instead to not jump back into the coaching ring at all. The veteran coach will instead spend time with his family, meaning the Jets will need to look elsewhere.
8:25am: The coaching carousel is chugging along, with new hires in Dallas, Florida, Philadelphia, and Vegas over the last few days. The name that still hasn’t come off the board, Barry Trotz, appears to be running out of options, though four teams still remain without head coaches. Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet reports that the latest meeting between Trotz and the Winnipeg Jets happened earlier this week and it is now up to the veteran coach on whether to accept the job.
Winner of the 2018 Stanley Cup, Trotz is sometimes even more lauded for his work with the New York Islanders, turning them from one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL to one of the best over the course of a single offseason. Even if that kind of improvement isn’t entirely because of a coaching or system change, there are few who doubt Trotz can have a positive impact no matter what kind of situation he ends up in.
Interestingly enough, Wiebe also notes that the deal Winnipeg is offering includes a succession plan that would have him move to the front office at some point down the line. That kind of management role has been speculated about since Trotz hit the market, fired by the Islanders after his fourth year there.
After all, the two-time Jack Adams winner has now coached more than 1,800 regular season games in a long career, trailing only Scotty Bowman on the all-time list. At some point, a transition out from behind the bench seems inevitable, and what better place than his hometown club.
Still, there are some other attractive openings. The Detroit Red Wings, for instance, have a young impressive group that looks like it will be contending in a few years, and might be ripe for a veteran coach to push them over the edge. Whether Detroit, Boston, or Chicago have a realistic chance (or interest) in Trotz at this point isn’t clear but Winnipeg has made him a top priority from the beginning. Now it’s up to him to decide whether he’s going back home.