St. Louis Blues Extend Craig Berube
One St. Louis becomes a coach, another St. Louis extends one. The St. Louis Blues have signed Craig Berube to a three-year extension, taking him through the 2024-25 season. The Blues coach released a short statement on why he chose to stay:
I’ve enjoyed working with (General Manager) Doug Armstrong and (Chairman) Tom Stillman, working with the coaching staff and training staff and all the players we have here. Why would I want to go anywhere else? I love it here.
Berube, a veteran of more than 1,000 games as a player in the NHL, took over the Blues as head coach during the 2018-19 season and led them all the way to a Stanley Cup championship. When he replaced Mike Yeo, the team was 7-9-3 and floundering in the Central Division. They would go 38-19-6 after making the switch, climbing all the way from last place in the NHL to second in the Central, then dispatching the Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks, and Boston Bruins en route to the organization’s first Stanley Cup.
Signed to an extension after that year ended, Berube was in the final season of his deal and would have become a free agent without another contract in place. He now has some security and can continue what has been an outstanding job behind the Blues’ bench. In 234 games as head coach of the Blues, he has a 133-71-30 record in the regular season.
Interestingly enough though, Berube’s recent postseason record hasn’t been very good. The Blues were washed out of the first round in six games in 2020 by the Vancouver Canucks, and then swept by the Colorado Avalanche last summer. This year, should they make it again, will be a big test for the group that was so physically dominant in the 2019 playoffs, punishing any opponent that stood in their way. St. Louis currently sits fourth in the Central but securely in the first wild card position.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Montreal Canadiens Hire Martin St. Louis As Interim Head Coach
The Montreal Canadiens have gone a bit off the board to replace Dominique Ducharme, who was fired earlier today. Instead of going with someone that already has coaching experience at the NHL level, the team has instead hired Hockey Hall of Fame player Martin St. Louis as interim head coach. General manager Kent Hughes has released the following statement:
We are very happy to welcome Martin to the Canadiens organization. Not only are we adding an excellent hockey man, but with Martin we are bringing in a proven winner and a man whose competitive qualities are recognized by all who have crossed his path.
St. Louis, 46, has no formal experience as a coach in the NHL, though he did serve as a powerplay consultant for the Columbus Blue Jackets for part of the 2018-19 season.
Still, there’s no one doubting his hockey knowledge. St. Louis played 1,134 regular season games over a long NHL career, scoring 1,033 points. He added another 107 playoff contests, winning the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004. Olympic gold. World Cup gold. Art Ross and Hart trophies. There’s very little that St. Louis failed to accomplish as a player, despite going undrafted as an undersized forward in a league that was still focused on size.
There are also many obvious connections with the new Montreal front office. Not only did St. Louis play for Jeff Gorton when he was still in the front office of the New York Rangers, but their kids also played youth hockey together. St. Louis’ son Ryan now plays at Northeastern with Jack and Riley Hughes, sons of the Montreal GM. Hughes was also the agent for Vincent Lecavalier, a longtime teammate of St. Louis in Tampa Bay. Lecavalier has also been linked to the Canadiens organization in recent days, though the role he would take on is not clear.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that St. Louis is only signed through the end of this season and the two sides will talk about the future at the end of that short tenure. With the Canadiens completely floundering and at the bottom of the standings, it’s hard to expect St. Louis to really turn around the program. If he can get at least some sort of change out of the group, however, perhaps he’ll make the jump right from peewee head coach to NHL head coach on a full-time basis.
Montreal Canadiens Fire Dominique Ducharme
The new front office leadership of the Montreal Canadiens has made their first big move. Dominique Ducharme has been relieved of his duties as head coach, effective immediately. His replacement will be named later today according to the team and the status of the assistant coaches has not been changed. Kent Hughes, Montreal’s new GM, released a statement:
We would like to sincerely thank Dominique for his work and contributions to the Montreal Canadiens organization. At this point in the season, we felt it was in the best interest of the club to make a change.
Ducharme, 48, took over as head coach of the Canadiens in February of last year when Claude Julien was let go and ended up leading the team all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. Even during that run there were questions about whether he was the right person to continue leading the Canadiens, but the interim tag was eventually removed and Ducharme signed a three-year contract extension in July. That deal keeps him under contract through the 2023-24 season but he will no longer be behind the Canadiens bench as Hughes and Jeff Gorton start to put their stamp on the team.
It’s been a disastrous year for Montreal, with the leadership group in tatters after Shea Weber and Carey Price were sidelined by injury and players like Phillip Danault were lost to free agency. The team has cratered in the standings and on the ice, with some players even showing a lack of effort at times. The Canadiens are 8-30-7 on the season and were embarrassed by the New Jersey Devils last night, losing 7-1 on home ice. The final goal last night was scored by Tomas Tatar, notably a player that was scratched in the playoffs by Ducharme last year.
If the Canadiens hire someone else to take over as head coach right away, they would actually be paying three people for that job. Julien’s contract, which carried a $5MM salary, is still on the books for this season. That, plus the $1.7MM that Ducharme is believed to earn, is certainly not an insignificant amount to a team that has also dealt with attendance restrictions this season and will continue to do so for the next few weeks.
Interestingly enough, Gorton–who was given the role of executive vice president of hockey operations after Marc Bergevin was let go–actually told reporters earlier this season that he would not be making a coaching change until the summer. That plan has obviously changed with Hughes’ addition and the continued losses piling up in Montreal.
The Canadiens have a big offseason ahead of them that includes hosting the draft where they currently hold 11 selections. That number could grow as the trade deadline approaches, though there aren’t a ton of expiring contracts on the books. Whoever does take over as head coach will certainly not be able to bring the team back from the hole they’ve dug themselves, meaning it could very well be an interim position for the rest of this season.
Jean-Charles Lajoie of TVA Sports was to report that Ducharme had been fired.
Snapshots: Halak, Almari, Crouse
The Vancouver Canucks have confirmed that Jaroslav Halak will start this evening against the New York Islanders, meaning a $1.25MM performance bonus will be triggered for playing in his tenth game of the season. In normal circumstances that wouldn’t be much of a concern but the Canucks are one of the many teams using long-term injured reserve this season to put together their current roster. If they can’t fit that $1.25MM in by the end of the season, whatever is left would be carried over to next season.
In fact, Halak has another potential bonus of $250K should he end the year with a save percentage over .905. He’s currently at .918 through his first nine appearances, meaning he would need some tough performances over the last few months to get it down below that threshold.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have decided to loan Niclas Almari to Finland, after he failed to really catch on in the minor leagues. Almari, 23, was a fifth-round pick in 2016 that signed his entry-level contract in 2019, playing 51 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2019-20. This year though, his time has been split between WBS and the Wheeling Nailers, not seeing regular ice time at either stop. With the entry-level deal expiring at the end of the season, Almari is a prime candidate to go unqualified and become an unrestricted free agent.
- One of the Arizona Coyotes players that was thrown around in trade rumors earlier this season was Lawson Crouse, given his strong performance on the rebuilding club. Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports, one of the most plugged-in Coyotes reporters around, threw some cold water on any Crouse discussion when he replied “he’s not being traded” on Twitter today. Crouse, 24, will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season and is arbitration-eligible.
Seattle Kraken Claim Dennis Cholowski
As expected, the Seattle Kraken have reclaimed Dennis Cholowski off waivers from the Washington Capitals according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The young defenseman had been lost at the beginning of the season without ever actually suiting up for Seattle.
Cholowski, 23, ended up playing in just seven games for the Capitals during his time in Washington, spending more time in the press box than in the lineup. That’s sort of been the story of his career the last few years, as the first-round pick has played just 59 NHL games since the start of 2019-20. That is only a few more than he had as a rookie in 2018-19 when he came almost directly to the Detroit Red Wings lineup in his first year of professional hockey.
It was from Detroit that Cholowski was originally selected by the Kraken in the expansion draft. He ended up on waivers at the beginning of the season though thanks to an overloaded defense corps and ended up heading east. His return to the Kraken depth chart is an interesting one, given where the team now sits in the standings. With the trade deadline approaching, there could be some opportunities for the Seattle front office to flip some of their more veteran defensemen, thus opening up an opportunity for someone like Cholowski.
Still, he’ll have to show more consistency than he has to this point if he wants to lock down a full-time NHL job. Because the Kraken were the only team to put in a claim this time around, he can be immediately assigned to the minor leagues. The team did so, sending him to the Charlotte Checkers, the AHL club they are sharing this season.
AHL Shuffle: 02/09/22
The NHL has six games on the docket for this evening, including a battle between the two worst teams in the Western Conference. The Seattle Kraken and Arizona Coyotes will do battle, with a win not really benefiting either one at this point. The expansion franchise is 15-27-4 in their first year, while the rebuilding Coyotes are 11-31-4. As they and others prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor league shuffling.
Atlantic Division
- The Buffalo Sabres have assigned Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to the AHL, a good sign as he returns from injury. The young goaltender is still expected to play a part in the Sabres’ future, but for now needs to get his game back on track at the minor league level.
Metropolitan Division
- Because Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin is still not eligible to travel to Montreal due to his recent COVID status, Brett Leason has been recalled from the AHL. Leason, 22, has played in 33 games with the Capitals this season and has six points. Ovechkin will be able to rejoin the team for their game Sunday in Washington.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Carson Meyer, a first for the young forward. An Ohio native who attended both Miami University and Ohio State, Meyer was a sixth-round pick in 2017 and has 12 points in 33 games for the Cleveland Monsters this season. Should he enter the lineup, it would be his NHL debut.
Central Division
- The Minnesota Wild have reassigned Mitchell Chaffee and Kevin Czuczman to the Iowa Wild again, now that they have a few days off. Minnesota won’t play again until Saturday when they welcome in Nino Niederreiter and the Carolina Hurricanes. Depending on injury statuses, there could be more recalls by then.
- The Colorado Avalanche have recalled Dylan Sikura once again, as Nathan MacKinnon still isn’t expected to be ready by tomorrow’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. That could change by Sunday’s afternoon tilt, but for now Sikura will once again fill in as an offensive piece.
Pacific Division
This page will be updated throughout the day
St. Louis Blues Extend Alexei Toropchenko
General manager Doug Armstrong and the St. Louis Blues front office are getting some work done ahead of the NHL trade deadline, handing out extensions to several pending free agents. After signing Robert Bortuzzo and Logan Brown yesterday, the Blues have inked Alexei Toropchenko to a one-year extension today. The two-way deal will carry an NHL salary of $750K and an AHL salary of $100K.
Toropchenko, 22, made his NHL debut this season and has suited up for five games with the Blues so far. The big winger was a fourth-round pick in 2017 and spent last season on loan to Kunlun Red Star of the KHL. While he’s never been much of a dynamic offensive player, his size, skating ability, and strength around the net can be difficult to contain.
The Blues obviously believe he can be a player for them and won’t have to deal with any restricted free agent negotiations this summer. Instead, he’ll come back on a league-minimum cap hit that should actually be an advantage for him when it comes to NHL playing time. If Toropchenko can prove he belongs on a full-time basis, having a $750K contract in the lineup allows the team to keep spending elsewhere.
Notably, he’ll also be eligible for waivers next season, another indication that he could get some time with the big club to start the year. For now, Toropchenko is with the Springfield Thunderbirds where he has seven goals and 12 points in 32 games. Some more consistency at that level would go a long way to proving he’s ready for the next step.
Adam Fox Activated From Injured Reserve
The New York Rangers won’t play again until next week but that didn’t stop them from activating Adam Fox from injured reserve today. The superstar defenseman was placed on IR at the end of January, missing the final three games before the All-Star break. To make room on the roster, Jarred Tinordi has been sent to the AHL.
In those three games without Fox, the Rangers went 2-1 including an impressive win over the Florida Panthers. The club now sits second in the Metropolitan Division, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins on a tiebreaker for home-ice advantage, should the playoff start today. A group loaded with talent from Fox to Artemi Panarin to Igor Shesterkin, the Rangers are one of the teams most will be watching as the deadline approaches and rentals are sold off around the league.
Right now, they have a little while to practice and hone their systems before starting what will be a condensed second half. They don’t play until February 15, meaning it will be two weeks between games. Things are very cramped in March, however, with 16 games in a 30-day span. Hopefully, they’ll have Fox available for each and every one as he attempts to defend his Norris Trophy.
Through 44 games he is certainly putting up a good fight. The 23-year-old has already matched his offensive total from last season with 47 points and is once again averaging more than 24 minutes a night for the Rangers. Those 47 points tie him with Victor Hedman for the league among defensemen, though both do slightly trail Cale Makar in terms of points-per-game. Since he entered the league in 2019-20, only four defensemen have more points than Fox and he has quickly helped turn the Rangers from a rebuilding club into a contending one.
Brad Marchand, Marcus Foligno To Have Hearings With Department Of Player Safety
The Department of Player Safety has a busy day, as both Brad Marchand and Marcus Foligno now have hearings scheduled for incidents that occurred last night. Marchand in particular appears likely to get a long suspension, given he has been offered an in-person hearing. That gives the league the ability to suspend him for more than five games, though does not guarantee that outcome.
Marchand’s incident happened in the final seconds of last night’s Boston Bruins-Pittsburgh Penguins game and included a punch and a high stick on goaltender Tristan Jarry. It resulted in a match penalty which automatically comes with a review from the DoPS and now could bring a hefty suspension. Marchand obviously has a long history of supplementary discipline including a three-game suspension for slew-footing earlier this season.
Foligno meanwhile is getting a hearing for kneeing, but not the variety most will be used to. The incident occurred with Winnipeg Jets forward Adam Lowry already on the ice after a fight, with Foligno on top of him still trying to continue the scrap. The Minnesota Wild forward received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in addition to the fighting major.
Often, in-person hearings–which are currently held over Zoom–take more than a day before a suspension is handed out. Marchand’s does not yet have a time or date set. At the very least, one can assume that he won’t be available in tomorrow’s match against the Carolina Hurricanes. (UPDATE: Marchand’s hearing is set for this evening.)
Nic Hague Activated By Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights removed defenseman Nicolas Hague from the injured reserve list today, and he’ll likely be back in the lineup when Vegas plays tonight on the road in Edmonton. To make room on the active roster, the team moved Zach Whitecloud, who’s out with a broken foot, to injured reserve in his place.
Hague’s been injured on and off this season, but this past injury kept him out since the team’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 29th. The team never disclosed the nature of Hague’s most recent injury.
With Whitecloud, Alec Martinez, and Dylan Coghlan out of the Vegas lineup, Hague’s return is a giant boost for the team’s depth on defense. The 23-year-old defenseman, a member of Vegas’ inaugural 2017 NHL Draft class, is a skilled play-driver who can play on any pairing.
Hague has four goals and 10 assists for 14 points through 36 games this season.