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Senators Notes: Coaching, Buyouts, Norris

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The Ottawa Senators wrapped up their season with locker cleanout on Friday, giving general manager Steve Staios a chance to share updates with the media. He spent much of his time addressing the team’s coaching situation, saying they have a long list of candidates that they’ll whittle down over the summer, per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.

The Senators have been without a long-term head coach since D.J. Smith’s firing on December 18th. Jaques Martin stepped in as interim head coach, leading the Senators to a measly 26-26-4 record and a spot well outside of the playoffs. Staios mentioned that Martin would continue with the team in a consulting role, but isn’t in the race for the vacant head coaching role. Neither is Senators legend Daniel Alfredsson, who Staios says wanted more time before pursuing the coaching path. That likely leaves the Senators looking externally, where they’ll find plenty of strong candidates.

Other notes from Staios’ press conference:

  • Staios added that the team isn’t planning on utilizing any buyouts this off-season, per Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan (Twitter link). That’s despite weaker performances from costlier names, like Joonas Korpisalo and Travis Hamonic. Ottawa is projected to have $12.8MM in cap space this off-season, per CapFriendly and an $87.5MM salary cap. With no support from buyouts, that will be all they have to re-sign their six pending free-agents, including Erik Brannstrom, Dominik Kubalik, and Shane Pinto.
  • Staios also shared that forward Joshua Norris is expecting to be ready for the start of next season, shares Garrioch. Norris was limited to just 50 games this season, and hasn’t played since late February, once again dealing with nagging shoulder injuries. Norris was limited to just eight games last season because of shoulder issues, and underwent the third shoulder surgery of his four-year NHL career in March. He’ll look to recover once again, and hope for healthier fortune next season.

Penguins Notes: Prospects, Injuries, Rebuild

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Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas had an eventful locker-room cleanout, sharing plenty of news, updates, and plans with the media following the end of the season. Most exciting of the bunch was Dubas’ support of the team’s young prospects, sharing that he expects forwards Brayden Yager, Vasili Ponomarev, and Sam Poulin; defenseman Owen Pickering; and goaltender Joel Blomqvist to each compete for NHL roles next season, shares Rob Rossi of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Penguins fans will hope that their GM is right as he alludes to young talents holding onto lineup roles. Pittsburgh carried the oldest roster in the NHL this season, with an average age of 29.78 per EliteProspects.

They’ll certainly get plenty of talent in the names Dubas mentioned. Both Yager and Pickering spent the season in the WHL. Yager had a career year, scoring 35 goals and 95 points and adding five points in five World Juniors games. Pickering also recorded career-high scoring – though not with as much of a jump as Yager – netting 46 points in 59 games to top his 45-point season last year. Meanwhile, Blomqvist served as the starter for the Wilkes-Barre/Scanton Penguins, recording a dazzling .921 save percentage in 44 games.

Other notes from Pittsburgh’s cleanout:

  • Dubas also shared that legacy defenseman Kris Letang will be getting a second opinion on if he needs surgery this summer to address an undisclosed injury, per Seth Rorabaugh of the Tribune-Review. Rorabaugh also mentioned that Matthew Nieto suffered another injury following his surgery in January, and will seek a second opinion on if surgery or rehab is the next step. Emil Bemstrom is also hurt, finishing the season with a concussion. Nothing was made about these injuries being alarming, though Penguins fans will want to keep a close eye on Letang’s recovery. The future Hall-of-Famer appeared in all 82 games this season, but reportedly played through injury down the stretch.
  • Dubas hinted at an interesting approach in his press conference, saying that the Penguins wanted to approach their rebuild similar to how the Los Angeles Kings have approached theirs, per The Athletic’s Josh Yohe (Twitter link). The Kings have managed a fairly quick rebuild – if this year’s postseason berth signifies success – while maintaining key veterans like Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty. The Penguins will approach things similarly, looking to build around their long-time core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Letang. The Kings were aggressive in the open market, acquiring Phillip Danault, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Kevin Fiala, and Vladislav Gavrikov. One has to think Michael Bunting and Erik Karlsson represent two of these impactful additions, though Pittsburgh will need to continue addding if they want to claw back into the postseason.

The Unleased 2024: Potential Group VI Unrestricted Free Agents

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Players typically have to wait until their 27th birthday to become an unrestricted free agent, able to sign with any team. But there are other ways to make it to the open market, including Group VI Free Agents. This CBA clause allows players under contract to become unrestricted free agents, if they meet the following clauses:

  1. The player is 25 years or older (as of June 30th of the calendar year the contract is expiring).
  2. The player has completed three (3) or more professional seasons – qualified by 11 or more professional games (for an 18/19-year-old player), or one (1) or more professional games (for a player aged 20 or older). This can include NHL, minor league, and European professional league seasons played while under an SPC.
  3. The player has played fewer than 80 NHL games, or 28 NHL games of 30 minutes or greater for a goaltender. This games played requirement is subject to pro-rating due to the shortened 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

Each season, a handful of players maintain Group VI eligibility and depart from their team’s control early. Earlier today, CapFriendly outlined which players are eligible this year (series of Twitter links). As always, we’ll compile all pending Group VI free agents below.

Anaheim Ducks

Ben Meyers

Arizona Coyotes

Ryan McGregor
Cameron Crotty
Travis Barron
John Leonard
Nathan Smith
Matt Villalta

Boston Bruins

Oskar Steen
Reilly Walsh
Linus Weissbach
Kyle Keyser

Buffalo Sabres

Brandon Biro
Justin Richards
Brett Murray

Calgary Flames

Brady Lyle
Benjamin Jones

Chicago Blackhawks

Mike Hardman

Colorado Avalanche

Nathan Clurman
Riley Tufte
Arvid Holm
Ivan Prosvetov

Columbus Blue Jackets

Carson Meyer
Nick Blankenburg
Joshua Dunne

Dallas Stars

Fredrik Karlstrom
Scott Reedy
Nicholas Caamano

Detroit Red Wings

Wyatt Newpower

Edmonton Oilers

Cam Dineen
Markus Niemelainen

Florida Panthers

Matt Kiersted
Lucas Carlsson
Alex True

Los Angeles Kings

Mikhail Maltsev

Minnesota Wild

Nick Swaney

Montreal Canadiens

Arnaud Durandeau

Nashville Predators

Jasper Weatherby

New York Islanders

Robin Salo
Otto Koivula

New York Rangers

Mac Hollowell

Ottawa Senators

Garrett Pilon

Pittsburgh Penguins

Jack Rathbone
Valtteri Puustinen
Dmitri Samorukov

San Jose Sharks

Eetu Makiniemi

Seattle Kraken

Marian Studenic
Kole Lind

Tampa Bay Lightning

Mitchell Chaffee
Sean Day
Cole Koepke

Vancouver Canucks

Zach Sawchenko

Vegas Golden Knights

Jiri Patera

Washington Capitals

Lucas Johansen
Matthew Phillips

Winnipeg Jets

Kyle Capobianco
Kristian Reichel

Avalanche Sign Sean Behrens To Entry-Level Contract

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The Colorado Avalanche have signed University of Denver defenseman Sean Behrens to his entry-level contract (Twitter link). It’s a three-year deal, set to begin in the 2024-25 season. Behrens will finish this season on an amateur try-out with the Colorado Eagles, who play their final two regular-season games this weekend.

Behrens is coming off a National Championship win with the University of Denver, where he’s spent the last three seasons. He’s earned a prominent role with the Pioneers, ranking third on the team’s blue line in scoring this season with 31 points in 44 games and rotating into top-pair minutes. The performance brought Behrens’ collegiate totals up to 81 points in 112 games – making him Denver’s third-highest scoring defender since 2016, behind Ian Mitchell and Mike Benning.

Colorado drafted Behrens in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft, following an impressive, yet contentious, couple of seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program. Behrens served an incredibly important role with the NTDP, operating on his off-hand next to Luke Hughes for much of his U18 season. And while he performed well, some scouts remained bearish given his small stature.

Behrens has directly addressed those concerns in college, putting on mass and adding a substantial amount of grit, strength, and defensive awareness to his game. Those improvements are maybe best quantified by his team-leading 70 blocked shots this season. He’s become a defender that can make an big play in all three zones – whether it be through nifty dangling, an impressive pass, or a big hit. Behrens will certainly face plenty of challenges as he looks to maintain that physicality into the pro scene, but he could find a fast track to success in an Avalanche system that’s brought up similarly undersized talents in Samuel Girard and Tyson Barrie.

Front Office Notes: Bannister, Dubas, Hynes

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The St. Louis Blues have come to a list of finalists for their vacant head coach position, and Drew Bannister is reportedly among the bunch, shares Chris Pinkert of NHL.com. Bannister is St. Louis’ most recent coach, getting promoted from the AHL following Craig Berube’s dismissal in December.

It was the first NHL gig of Bannister’s coaching career and he made good work with it, leading the Blues to a surging 30-19-5 record. He brought the best out of the team’s special teams – improving the power-play from 8.4% to 23.2%, and the penalty-kill from 78.5% to 79.4%. But the push wasn’t enough to get St. Louis over a sub-.500 start to the year, with the team ultimately falling six points outside of a playoff spot.

Bannister previously served as the head coach for the Springfield Thunderbirds, St. Louis’ AHL affiliate. He found plenty of success in the minors, leading the Thunderbirds to two playoff appearances and even making the 2022 Calder Cup Final. That track record, and his early NHL success, could be enough to land Bannister an assistant coaching job on the Blues bench, even if he does miss out on the head role.

St. Louis general manager Doug Armstrong shared with the media that the team will have a coach before June’s NHL Draft and that their list of candidates has been whittled to a, “very, very small number”. It will be just a little longer before a decision, though, with Armstrong adding that the team is still waiting on some candidates to finish their season.

Other notes from NHL management:

  • Kyle Dubas has been named an associate general manager for Team Canada’s World Championship roster (Twitter link). It will be the first time that Dubas has worked with Team Canada in his six-year career as an NHL GM. The decision was made by Team Canada’s general manager, Rick Nash, with input from Scott Salmond, Doug Armstrong, and Ryan Getzlaf. It’s an exciting announcement that, among many things, could show Canada’s focus on advanced statistics, as they bring in one of the most analytic-savvy GMs in the NHL.
  • Team USA general manager Bill Guerin has named John Hynes as the head coach for the World Championship (Twitter link). It’s Guerin’s second time recruiting Hynes this season, having also hired him into the head coaching role for the Minnesota Wild after the team fired Dean Evason. The duo will look to maintain their momentum with Team USA, after the Wild ranked as a top-15 team in record, goals-for, and goals-against under Hynes’ reign.

Ryan Johansen Not Expected To Play In 2024-25

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Flyers center Ryan Johansen isn’t expected to play before his contract expires at the end of the 2024-25 season, GM Daniel Brière told reporters Friday (including Jon Bailey of Philly Hockey Now).

Johansen was acquired from the Avalanche as part of the Sean Walker trade before the trade deadline, and he was waived the following day for assignment to AHL Lehigh Valley. He informed the Flyers after the trade that he was dealing with a hip injury, which was subsequently confirmed by the team’s medical staff, resulting in his AHL assignment being reversed. The 31-year-old remained on the active roster for the rest of the season but did not play in a game.

Brière said that he didn’t ever envision Johansen suiting up for the Flyers after the trade, although that was before he had knowledge of the injury. It’s a long-term absence, as implied by Brière’s full statement today, which means the team can’t execute a buyout on the final season of his contract:

All I can tell you is I don’t expect him to be back. I don’t know, exactly, the situation. We’re dealing on the medical side with him. The thing for him is getting him back to be able to play at this time. He doesn’t think he can play hockey. I wish I had a better answer for you. We need to get him better to figure out if there’s even a remote chance of him dressing for the organization.

Johansen’s contract has been moved twice in the past calendar year. Entering this season at an $8MM cap hit for two more years with the Predators, Nashville traded him to Colorado last summer at 50% retention. The Avs hoped he would be able to plug their second-line center vacancy behind Nathan MacKinnon, but the former 71-point scorer struggled mightily in the role, posting just 13 goals and 23 points in 63 games before the team cut ties and traded him and his reduced $4MM cap hit to Philadelphia. Johansen didn’t miss any time in Colorado with his apparently severe hip injury.

He was a negative possession player during his time in Colorado and averaged only 13:39 per game, although he was still strong in the faceoff dot with a 53.1 FOW%. Still, his offensive production and average ice time was lower than all four of the Flyers’ regular centers (Sean Couturier, Morgan Frost, Scott Laughton, Ryan Poehling) last season, and he wouldn’t have had a fit on the team even if healthy.

The Flyers may be unable to rid themselves of the final year of Johansen’s contract entirely. But if his hip injury stretches into next season as expected, they can place his $4MM cap hit on long-term injured reserve and gain cap relief that way, much like they did with defenseman Ryan Ellis’ $6.25MM cap hit this season. Ellis, acquired from Nashville as part of a three-team trade in 2021, had five points in four games for the Flyers before sustaining a career-ending pelvic injury.

Penguins Place Ryan Shea On Waivers, Assign Three

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April 19: Shea has cleared waivers and can head to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, per CapFriendly.

April 18: The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed defenseman Ryan Shea on waivers (Twitter link). It’s his second time on waivers this season, after passing through unclaimed in December. The Penguins also assigned Valtteri Puustinen, Radim Zohorna, and Jack St. Ivany to the minor leagues (Twitter link).

Shea has served as one of many rotating through Pittsburgh’s seventh defenseman role, ultimately slotting into 31 games. He recorded just one point – an April 4th goal – in those appearances this season, though he did manage six points in 22 AHL games.

Shea made his NHL debut earlier this year, joining the Penguins as an unrestricted free agent last summer. It was the first move of Shea’s young career, after spending his first three pro seasons with the AHL’s Texas Stars. Shea was originally drafted in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks but went on to sign with the Dallas Stars after going unsigned by the Blackhawks. He managed 66 points in 163 games with the Texas Stars.

These assignments come after the Penguins’ 2023-24 season ended with no playoff berth. Shea will, if he clears waivers, join the trio of assignees as reinforcements to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who are bound for a strong playoff spot of their own, currently ranked third in the AHL’s Atlantic Division.

East Notes: Dobson, Lee, Pageau, Hedman, Glendening, Motte, Ekblad

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Islanders star defender Noah Dobson is expected to be available for Game 1 against the Hurricanes tomorrow, head coach Patrick Roy told Newsday’s Andrew Gross. Dobson, 24, missed the final three games of the regular season with an upper-body injury he sustained last week against the Canadiens. They were his first games missed in an otherwise illustrious season, setting career-highs with 60 assists and 70 points in 79 games, taking over true number-one duties and averaging over 24 minutes per game. He may not earn a Norris Trophy nomination, but he’s likely to get a handful of votes. He was limited to two assists in six games in last year’s first-round series against Carolina, something he’ll need to build upon for the Isles to have a chance at a major upset.

Additionally, captain Anders Lee was back at practice today after missing the final game of the regular season for the birth of his third child, Gross relays, a good sign for his availability tomorrow. It was a difficult regular season for the 33-year-old, who hit the 20-goal mark for the eighth time but had his overall point production drop considerably to 37 in 81 games. He still managed extremely positive possession impacts, though, posting a positive relative CF% for the 11th straight season with a +9.8 expected rating. He averaged 15:34 per game, his lowest in seven years.

Less likely for tomorrow is center Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who wasn’t at practice today and is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, Roy said (via Gross). The 31-year-old exited Wednesday’s game against the Penguins midway through the first period after falling awkwardly, although no injury was apparent on the play (video link). Like Lee, the normally consistent centerman has had a down year offensively, posting his lowest point total in a full season (11 goals, 33 points in 82 GP) in over five years. His 15:55 per game average is his lowest since 2015, although he’s still managed to be a force in the faceoff dot with a 55.4 FOW%. Additionally, his defensive impacts have cratered in continued shutdown usage, posting a career-worst 41.6 CF% and -11.9 expected rating at even strength.

Over in the Atlantic:

  • Star Lightning blue-liner Victor Hedman was back at practice today after missing Wednesday’s win over the Maple Leafs due to illness, per Bally Sports Florida’s Gabby Shirley. It’s a good sign for his availability in Game 1 against the Panthers on Sunday. On the flip side, they may be without depth forwards Luke Glendening and Tyler Motte, who head coach Jon Cooper said were questionable with undisclosed and lower-body injuries, respectively. Hedman’s absence was brief, only missing one contest, as was Glendening’s, although he skated just under four minutes in their penultimate regular-season game against the Sabres earlier in the week. Motte has been sidelined for three games with a lower-body injury he sustained against the Senators last week. If both are unable to go, Mitchell Chaffee and Austin Watson will make their Lightning playoff debuts while winger Conor Sheary shifts to center their fourth line.
  • On the Panthers’ end, defenseman Aaron Ekblad will be ready to suit up in Game 1 after sitting out with an undisclosed injury, head coach Paul Maurice said (per the team’s Jameson Olive). The 28-year-old has been banged up for most of the season, missing Florida’s last six games and all but five post-trade deadline games with injuries. Eligible to sign an extension this summer, he’s coming off the worst offensive showing of his 10-year career with four goals and 18 points in 51 games. His 20:52 average ice time is also a career low.

Ivan Prosvetov Linked To KHL

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After losing his backup spot midseason, it appears Avalanche goalie Ivan Prosvetov’s days in the NHL are over. He’s set to sign a three-year contract with CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League upon reaching Group 6 unrestricted free agency this summer, reports Pavel Panyshev of Championat.

Prosvetov hadn’t played an NHL game since February, when he was placed on waivers and subsequently assigned to AHL Colorado. While he’s two years away from standard UFA eligibility, he qualifies for a Group 6 exemption this summer because he’ll be 25 on June 30th and has played fewer than 28 NHL games while simultaneously completing at least three professional seasons. He was likely to receive interest in the open market after posting a .922 SV% in 20 AHL games, but he’s reportedly opting to return to his native Moscow instead.

The 2018 fourth-round pick of the Coyotes changed organizations early this season when Colorado claimed him off waivers in October. With Pavel Francouz sidelined with a groin injury that forced his retirement, it marked his first shot at a full-time backup gig after four seasons in minor-league roles in Arizona. He made eight starts and three relief appearances in limited action across the first few months of the campaign, both career-highs. He didn’t manage to move the needle much, though, recording a .895 SV% and 3.16 GAA with a 4-3-1 record. They weren’t awful numbers, but not enough to keep him in the majors ahead of higher-ceiling (and younger) prospect Justus Annunen, who’s since secured a roster spot alongside Alexandar Georgiev entering postseason play.

Prosvetov spent most of his junior career in North America, last suiting up in league play in Russia at the U-17 level eight years ago. He’ll likely be the starter for CSKA, filling the role vacated by Flyers netminder Ivan Fedotov when the Russian side terminated his contract a few weeks back. A three-year deal would keep him in the country’s capital through 2026-27.

Pavel Francouz Confirms Retirement

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Avalanche netminder Pavel Francouz confirmed his retirement in an interview with ČT Sport on Friday. GM Chris MacFarland told reporters last month that retirement was overwhelmingly likely for the veteran backup due to groin and knee injuries that held him out of the 2023-24 season entirely and marred most of 2022-23. The Czechia native played in parts of four seasons with the Avs.

Francouz played the majority of his professional career overseas, making his top-level debut with his hometown team HC Plzeň in the Czech Extraliga back in 2008-09. He didn’t latch on as a starter until 2012-13 with HC Litvínov, where he remained for three seasons. He was named the best goalie in the Extraliga in two of those campaigns, compiling a .928 SV% and 14 shutouts in 140 games. He was even better in postseason play with Litvínov, putting up a .949 SV%, 1.57 GAA, and six shutouts in 26 games and ending his run with a league championship in 2015.

He then moved to the brighter lights of the Kontinental Hockey League, signing a three-year contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk. Francouz spent another three seasons with the Russian side, earning Best Goaltender and First All-Team honors in the 2017-18 campaign with an impeccable .946 SV%, 1.80 GAA and five shutouts in 35 appearances. He was also the starter for Czechia at the 2018 Winter Olympics, putting up a .905 SV% in six games, but failed to medal.

After six seasons of solidifying his resume as one of the top goalies in Europe, Francouz finally earned his first NHL deal – a one-year, one-way pact with the Avs for the 2018-19 season worth $690K. He spent most of the season on assignment to AHL Colorado, only making two NHL appearances in relief, but won the backup job behind Philipp Grubauer heading into 2019-20. He immediately positioned himself as one of the best backups in the league, posting a .923 SV% in 30 starts and four relief appearances and earning some year-end All-Star consideration. Lower-body injuries unfortunately reared their head immediately, costing him all of the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign. Upon his return, he again excelled in a backup role behind Darcy Kuemper, making 21 regular-season and seven playoff appearances as the Avs won the Stanley Cup.

Unfortunately, he would never fully rebound from those lower-body injuries. They limited him to 16 starts in 2022-23 and cost him all of the current season, forcing his retirement at age 33.

Francouz concludes his brief but solid NHL career with a .919 SV%, 2.49 GAA and four shutouts in 64 starts and nine relief appearances. He compiled a 44-21-6 record for Colorado and saved 25 goals above average across his four major league campaigns. PHR congratulates Francouz on a spectacular international career and his solid NHL run and wishes him the best in his post-playing days.

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