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Kraken Promote Dan Bylsma To Head Coach

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May 28: Bylsma was officially announced as the Kraken’s head coaching hire in a release on Tuesday. General manager Ron Francis issued the following statement on his hiring:

Dan is a winner with a proven track record of developing both young and veteran talent, and his leadership will help our team as we move forward. He has had success at every level, winning the Stanley Cup in 2009, earning a Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach in 2011, and he led the Firebirds to Game 7 of the Calder Cup Finals last year in the team’s first season. He knows our franchise and has worked with several of our NHL players. We are excited to have him behind the bench and guiding our team next season.

May 27: The Kraken are expected to promote Dan Bylsma from their minor-league affiliate to fill their head coaching vacancy, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

Bylsma, who won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in his first season behind an NHL bench in 2008-09, has been with the Kraken organization since its inception. He served as an assistant coach for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, whom they shared as their affiliate with the Panthers in their inaugural season, before being named the head coach of their current affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.

After winning in Pittsburgh, he stayed on as their head coach until being fired after the 2013-14 season. He took one year off before landing his second NHL head coaching gig with the Sabres, a post he held for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns.

The 53-year-old has a career regular-season record of 320-190-55 (.615 winning percentage), including a pair of sub-.500 seasons with the Sabres in the early days of their attempted Jack Eichel-led rebuild. He also had a strong 43-35 (.551) playoff record in his six seasons with the Pens, advancing past the first round four times.

Friedman indicated on Monday’s episode of “32 Thoughts: The Podcast” that things were trending toward Bylsma landing the gig. Kraken assistant Jay Leach was also reportedly being considered for an internal promotion, advancing along with Bylsma to the second round of interviews. Former Wild coach Dean Evason and ex-Kings bench boss Todd McLellan, who were both fired midseason, were also connected to the job as late as last week.

Bylsma takes over as the second head coach in franchise history. The Kraken relieved Dave Hakstol, who led them to one postseason appearance through their first three seasons, of his duties last month.

Unlike his days in Pittsburgh or Buffalo, Bylsma takes control over a roster without a star number-one center. Matthew Beniers may be on his way there after winning the Calder Trophy in 2023, but a difficult season production-wise (15 goals, 37 points in 77 games) this year has tempered expectations.

Perhaps no one will be more affected by Bylsma’s hiring than 2022 fourth-overall pick Shane Wright. After a rocky draft year and a tumultuous 2022-23 campaign, the 20-year-old has excelled in Coachella Valley under Bylsma in his first professional season. The Ontario-born pivot had 47 points in 59 regular-season games and has added five points in six playoff games thus far.

Sharks Sign Will Smith To Entry-Level Deal

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May 28: Smith is finalizing his entry-level agreement with the Sharks and an official announcement regarding his signing could come as soon as today, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports. Smith later confirmed through the team that he’s signed his three-year pact. His deal carries the maximum $950K entry-level cap hit, awarded via an $855K base salary and $95K signing bonus each season, per PuckPedia. He can earn up to $1MM in Schedule ’A’ performance bonuses and up to $2.2MM in Schedule ’B’ performance bonuses annually.

May 27: Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now is reporting that San Jose Sharks prospect Will Smith is expected to sign with the team this summer, a move that would make him eligible to make the jump to the NHL next year.

Smith was the Sharks’ first-round pick (fourth overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft and would forgo his remaining college eligibility after just one season with Boston College. The 19-year-old was dominant in his first year in the NCAA, posting 25 goals and 46 assists in just 41 games.

Smith was a huge part of Team USA’s gold medal-winning team at the 2024 World Junior Championships registering four goals and five assists in seven games. He also just appeared for Team USA at the World Championships and dressed in five games, going scoreless.

Smith has been dominant the past few seasons, in 2022-23 he was a member of the U.S. National U18 Team and was an absolute force alongside Gabe Perreault tallying 51 goals and 76 assists in 60 games. That same year he represented Team USA U18 and the U18 World Championship and had an excellent tournament, scoring nine goals and adding 11 helpers in just seven games.

A month ago, during exit interviews, Sharks general manager Mike Grier told the media that he felt Smith was ready to make the jump to the NHL and that he was having positive conversations with Smith’s agent (per Max Miller of The Hockey News). Now, it appears that his signing will happen in the not-too-distant future. 

Blues Sign Aleksanteri Kaskimaki To Entry-Level Deal

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11:49 a.m.: Kaskimäki’s deal carries a cap hit of $870K, PuckPedia reports. It will be paid out via a base salary of $775K, a signing bonus of $95K, a potential games played bonus of $80K, and a minors salary of $82.5K each season.

The Blues announced Tuesday that they’ve signed forward Aleksanteri Kaskimäki to a three-year entry-level contract. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Kaskimäki, 20, was the 73rd overall selection in the 2022 draft by St. Louis and has spent the two years since developing in his native Finland. All of the 6-foot, 192-lb center’s professional experience has come with the Liiga’s HIFK, scoring 14 goals and 26 points in 93 games dating back to his debut in the 2021-22 campaign.

2023-24 was a solid campaign for Kaskimäki, who managed to hit the 10-goal mark in 48 games despite being limited to bottom-six minutes, receiving customarily low usage for developing prospects in European pro leagues. The Espoo native is good at using his speed to carry the puck through the neutral zone and has an accurate shot, something the Blues hope leads to good possession play and decent depth scoring in a bottom-six role down the line.

Kaskimäki was on Finland’s roster for the past two World Junior Championships. He had two goals and two assists in seven games at the 2024 event after going pointless in five games the year prior, although the Finns failed to medal in back-to-back years for the first time since 2017 and 2018.

He’s still likely a ways away from cracking an NHL roster. Since he was under contract with HIFK next season, he could very well spend 2024-25 on loan to his Finnish club. His ELC will run out after the 2026-27 campaign, and he’ll be a restricted free agent upon expiry.

Latest On The Coaching Market

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The Sharks have the lone remaining head coaching vacancy in the league, as the Kraken are expected to officially name Dan Bylsma their next bench boss on Tuesday. It’ll soon be zero, though, as The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports San Jose is entering the final stages of their search. AHL Ontario bench boss Marco Sturm is among the finalists for the position, Pagnotta said, also confirming a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman yesterday that assistant Ryan Warsofsky also advanced to the second stage of interviews.

There’s also been some smoke around former Red Wings coach and current Lightning assistant Jeff Blashill for the role, with Friedman also saying yesterday that he had a second interview with the club in the past few days. But for the three remaining coaches on the market who were fired from their posts during this season – Dean Evason, Todd McLellan and Jay Woodcroft – it looks like there aren’t enough seats left for them on the coaching carousel.

That could change soon, though. With the Blue Jackets expected to appoint former Hurricanes GM Don Waddell as their top hockey operations executive early this week, there’s a chance the team may look to overhaul their staff further by parting ways with head coach Pascal Vincent, who has one season left on his contract. Columbus struggled to just 66 points under Vincent this season after he took over early in training camp with Mike Babcock resigning, and the first-year bench boss often drew criticism for the lack of playing time awarded to top prospects like David Jiříček and Kent Johnson.

As Pagnotta points out, there are also assistant coach openings with the Ducks, Flames, Jets, Kings, Kraken, Maple Leafs, Penguins and Senators, who have yet to resolve some minor bench changes they made earlier this offseason. There are also AHL head coaching jobs available with the Kraken’s, Penguins’, Rangers’ and Sabres’ affiliates.

Another name that could join Evason et al. in contention for those minor bench openings is current Sharks assistant Brian Wiseman, who Pagnotta says is drawing interest from other clubs. The 52-year-old was on David Quinn’s staff for the past two seasons in San Jose and served as an assistant for the Oilers for three years prior. Of course, that would leave the Sharks with an additional assistant vacancy – something they may end up with anyway if Warsofsky is their head coaching choice.

Snapshots: Flames, Hintz, Konecny

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Throughout the 2023-24 NHL seasons, the Calgary Flames went through a re-tooling year, selling off Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, and Chris Tanev before they eventually made it to unrestricted free agency this summer. However, rumors are beginning to arise indicating that the Flames may be going for a change of course this offseason.

In an article from TheFourthPeriod, writers Anthony Di Marco and David Pagnotta indicated that Calgary will be interested in adding forward Martin Necas from the Carolina Hurricanes, or forward Tanner Jeannot from the Tampa Bay Lightning. With both players reportedly on the trade block, Di Marco and Pagnotta suggest that both Necas and Jeannot fit the exact mold of players that General Manager Craig Conroy would like to add to the roster.

Nevertheless, Conroy and the Flames still have to deal with the future of goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who may be headed to the New Jersey Devils after talks with the two teams cooled off at this year’s trade deadline. With that being said, expect the Flames to be both buyers and sellers this offseason as Conroy looks to mold the team into his image moving forward.

Other snapshots:

  • Before Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals kicks off between the Dallas Stars and the Edmonton Oilers, one major change in the lineup was made for the Stars. Earlier today it was alluded that forward Roope Hintz would be a game-time decision for Dallas, but Stars radio host Owen Newkirk confirmed that Hintz is now officially back in the lineup. Hintz has been out of the lineup for Dallas for the last two weeks with an upper-body injury, but will now look to add to his six points already earned in this year’s postseason.
  • In a little over 13 months, forward for the Philadelphia Flyers, Travis Konecny will become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. With Philadelphia already adamant about their desire to extend Konecny, the look of his next contract has come into question. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic mentions that the best extension comparable for Konecny would be the eight-year, $70.4MM extension Timo Meier signed with the New Jersey Devils last offseason. At similar ages and production throughout their careers, Meier’s extension appears to be a good place to start for Konecny’s camp and the Flyers’ brass.

Ottawa Senators Not Shopping Brady Tkachuk

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For the Tkachuk family, things could not be more different between the brother duo in the National Hockey League. Matthew Tkachuk, a member of the Florida Panthers, is competing for his second appearance in the Stanley Cup Final in as many seasons, while his brother Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators is once again enjoying a long offseason; a reality familiar to him for the last six seasons.

Even though the Senators have failed to make the playoffs since the 2016-17 season, they still have a flare for the dramatics. Less than one month into the 2023-24 NHL season, Ottawa fired then-General Manager Pierre Dorion, leading to a complete overhaul of the front office. With that change coming to an organization intent on contending in the next couple of seasons, many pundits wondered whether or not the Senators would look to re-engage in their rebuilding efforts.

One name that has begun to surface in the rumor mill lately is the aforementioned Tkachuk brother, Brady. Tkachuk, who has served as the team’s captain for the last three years, has been one of the league’s best competitors since his rookie campaign. Over the last three seasons as the team’s captain, Tkachuk has accrued 102 goals and 224 points in 242 games while throwing a whopping 806 hits against opposing teams.

Nevertheless, do not expect Ottawa to move their captain this offseason, as General Manager Steve Staios recently shut down those rumors while speaking to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (Subscription Article). In the article from LeBrun, Staios was asked about the rumors and bluntly said, “Complete B.S. We are building this team around Brady. His leadership and unique skill set are rare. There is absolutely no validity to it“.

Things could certainly change over the offseason, especially if Ottawa is approached with an offer they cannot refuse. However, judging by Staios’ remarks to LeBrun, it does not appear that any team will be able to reach a hypothetical asking price for Tkachuk.

Trade Interest Rising In Tanner Jeannot

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Before last year’s deadline, the Lightning pulled off one of the most controversial trades in recent memory by unloading five draft picks and defense prospect Callan Foote to acquire middle-six winger Tanner Jeannot from the Predators. Now, after an extremely underwhelming tenure in Tampa, he appears to be on the block again, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on “32 Thoughts: The Podcast” on Monday.

Friedman called him “a name to watch” in the coming weeks as the Lightning aim to up their available cap space in an effort to keep captain Steven Stamkos from reaching unrestricted free agency. He didn’t firmly name any clubs as being connected to Jeannot thus far. However, he did report that multiple interested parties believe his 24-goal campaign in Nashville two years ago is more representative of his long-term ceiling than his fourth-line caliber play in Tampa. He and “32 Thoughts” cohost Jeff Marek named the Flames as a speculative trade destination but stopped short of saying they have an interest in Jeannot.

The 6’2″, 207-lb power forward never seemed to gel with the Bolts, only scoring a goal and three assists in 20 games down the stretch after his acquisition in 2022-23. He struggled with injuries in their first-round loss to the Maple Leafs, too, only making three appearances with no points and a -2 rating.

That limited his value when he was up for a new contract last summer – a bit of a blessing for the Lightning, who have been strapped for salary cap space throughout most of their recent championship contention window. A restricted free agent at the time, he inked a two-year, $5.33MM deal. He has a 16-team no-trade list that kicks in on July 1, something that will ramp up their efforts to move him by the 2024 NHL Draft at the end of next month if general manager Julien BriseBois places him on the block in earnest.

Trading Jeannot without taking any NHL roster players back would open up an additional $2.665MM in cap space for Tampa, bringing their total projected cap space next season up to $7.7MM. That’s likely enough space to re-sign Stamkos if he takes a realistic discount. Expecting him to take closer to $4MM per season extension, a necessity with their current cap situation, undercuts his market value by roughly 50 percent.

Even if teams are optimistic about Jeannot rebounding back to 20-goal, 40-point form, his trade value won’t be high. He posted just seven goals and 14 points with a -10 rating in 55 games this season and is entering the final season of his contract while being a UFA upon expiry. That won’t be a major concern for BriseBois, though, who’s moving him as a pure cap dump. The club was in a similar situation two offseasons ago with defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who they re-acquired last week, dealing him to the Preds for a pair of minor-league players.

Jeannot turns 27 on Wednesday. An undrafted free agent signing by Nashville in 2018, he has 42 goals, 38 assists, 80 points, a -9 rating, and 314 PIMs in 227 career games since making his debut in 2021.

Afternoon Notes: Hintz, Goldobin, Sharks Coaching

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The Dallas Stars will once again be left with a game-time decision on centerman Roope Hintz, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Hintz has missed Dallas’ last four games with an upper-body injury sustained in Game 4 of the second-round series against the Colorado Avalanche.

Hintz was an integral piece of the Stars lineup through the regular season, posting 30 goals and 65 points – both marks he’s also reached in the last two seasons. He’s maintained that strong presence into the postseason, posting six points through the 11 games he’s been healthy for. Maybe more importantly, Dallas hasn’t yet found their de facto fill-in for Hintz’s injury.

Radek Faksa was previously filling the vacancy, but head coach Pete DeBoer decided to switch to Ty Dellandrea for Game 2 of the Western Conference Final. Dellandrea recorded three shots on goal through 11:39 in ice time but did little to command the lineup spot as his own. Hintz should return to the team’s top six immediately upon his return. But Dallas will be left with a tricky lineup decision should he once again be unavailable.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Former San Jose Sharks first-round pick Nikolay Goldobin has signed a two-year extension with Moscow Spartak of the KHL (Twitter link). The 28-year-old forward is coming off a career year, posting a career-high 37 goals and 78 points through 67 games this season and adding nine points in 11 playoff games. His regular season scoring tied him for second in the KHL in scoring behind Reid Boucher, who posted 44 goals and 78 points of his own. It was Goldobin’s third full-time season in the KHL, having posted 39 and 36 points over the last two years, respectively. He’ll look to build off a dazzling season, now re-upped in Russia.
  • The San Jose Sharks are advancing their search for their next head coach, providing second interviews to both Jeff Blashill and Ryan Warsofsky, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in the recent 32 Thoughts Podcast. Warsofsky has been an assistant coach in San Jose for the last two seasons, moving to the NHL after leading the AHL’s Chicago Wolves to a Calder Cup win in 2022. Meanwhile, Blashill has been an assistant to Jon Cooper and the Tampa Bay Lightning for his last two seasons – proceeding his seven-year tenure as the Detroit Red Wings head coach.

Blue Jackets Place Brendan Gaunce On Waivers

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May 27: Gaunce cleared waivers today and was subsequently assigned to AHL Cleveland, per a team announcement.

May 26: The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed forward Brendan Gaunce on waivers, per PuckPedia (Twitter link). The move was confirmed by CapFriendly (Twitter link). Gaunce captained Columbus’ AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, this season, helping to lead the team to a first-place finish in the league’s North Division. The Monsters are now set for the Calder Cup’s Eastern Conference Finals, with that series set to begin on Thursday.

This is the second time Gaunce has been placed on waivers this season, having cleared them to join Cleveland in October. He spent the majority of his season in the minor leagues, appearing in 46 games with the Monsters and recording an AHL career-high of 19 goals and 39 points. Gaunce also appeared in 24 NHL games this season, scoring four points. It was the most time that Gaunce had spent in the NHL since his first year with Columbus in the 2021-22 season, when he totaled 30 games and seven points.

Gaunce has been on the NHL roster since March. Assuming he clears waivers, he’ll rejoin a Monsters lineup that’s breezed through the Calder Cup Playoffs, beating the Belleville Senators 3-1 after a first-round bye and sweeping the Syracuse Crunch in the North Division Finals. Gaunce has provided stout scoring and plenty of veteran leadership from the team’s second line. Those are the traits they’ll need as Cleveland takes on a Hershey Bears lineup with an identical record in these playoffs.

Offseason Checklist: St. Louis Blues

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The offseason has arrived for all but a handful of teams who are still taking part in the playoffs.  Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at St. Louis.

The St. Louis Blues entered a new era this season, firing Stanley Cup-winning head coach Craig Berube and replacing him with rookie head coach Drew Bannister, who the team has since signed to a two-year head coach contract. The move away from Berube has meant a move away from the rough-and-tugged, dump-and-chase style of hockey that Berube adores. That was great news for St. Louis’ skill players, with each of Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, and Pavel Buchnevich seeing a significant uptick in their scoring under Bannister. But the scoring didn’t trickle down the lineup, with even the most offensive defensemen like Justin Faulk and Torey Krug being held to moot point totals. The Blues were helped along by strong goaltending down the stretch, but they’ll need to bolster their offense throughout the lineup and maintain the momentum of their top names, should they want to make their return to the postseason next season.

Play The Field At Forward

The Blues are in a rare position of not needing to re-sign many NHL talents. They have just five pending free agents on their NHL roster, while many other teams deal with 10 or more. Of St. Louis’ pending names, none should command too high of a price tag – with defenseman Scott Perunovich’s looming cap hit of a few million likely their most expensive free agent. That means the Blues will be able to dedicate most of their $15MM available cap space to the free-agent market.

The Blues are noticeably lacking a second-line center after losing Ryan O’Reilly. That role was meant to be filled by Kevin Hayes, though he needed the support of Brayden Schenn after posting a career-low 29 points in his first 79 games in St. Louis. Schenn and Hayes are both fine depth centers, and each offer valuable veteran experience, but the Blues’ top-six doesn’t bring the same punch with them involved. St. Louis needs to instead target a player who can live up to the spotlight Robert Thomas brings to the Blues top-end.

St. Louis could prioritize the stout two-way play brought by O’Reilly through market options like Chandler Stephenson, who’s spent the last three seasons serving as the fundamental base from which the Vegas Golden Knights stars can spring from. Stephenson is a skilled and diligent centerman with Stanley Cup-winning precedent who could beautifully fill St. Louis’ second-line vacancy. The team could also look to prioritize scoring and take a run at free agents Jonathan Marchessault or Elias Lindholm – or even dip into the Martin Necas trade market. All three players looked more comfortable on the wing at points of this season, though St. Louis’ lineup flexibility should let them construct an impactful middle-six around any new addition.

Revamp The Defense

St. Louis will face a similar order on defense. They have just one NHL defender under 30 currently signed – depth defenseman Tyler Tucker. That’s a precarious spot to position a blue-line, especially with evidence of age catching up to Faulk, Krug, Colton Parayko, and Nick Leddy. The Blues got a breath of fresh air with Scott Perunovich, who played in his first healthy professional season after making his NHL debut in 2021. He recorded 17 assists in 54 games – modest scoring but still the third-highest assists-per-game of any Blues defenders, behind Faulk and Krug.

Perunovich should be poised for a bigger role next season, helping to support the decreasing play of Leddy, but St. Louis still seems absent one defiant piece on their blue-line. The free agent market is luckily full of talented defenders, with each of Shayne Gostisbehere and Dylan DeMelo likely to offer value on the open market. St. Louis could also be a fantastic landing spot for Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek, who posted a career-high 48 points in 81 games this season. He’s due for a hefty increase from his $4.4MM cap hit this season, potentially pricing him out of what’s bound to be an eventful summer for Vancouver. Hronek would provide invaluable depth ahead of Krug and Parayko in the lineup, while also masking St. Louis’ near neglect of right-shot defensemen in the draft under Doug Armstrong’s reign.

Bringing in Hronek, or another top-end right-defenseman, would also make Parayko much more expendable. The Blues have danced around Parayko trade rumors for much of the last few seasons, though no official offer has come to fruition. Parayko, 31, is set to begin the third season of an eight-year extension signed in 2022. The deal carries an annual cap hit of $6.5MM and a full no-trade clause through its first six seasons. The pricey cap hit, trade protection, and Parayko’s history with injuries all contribute to challenging trade negotiations. His role in St. Louis’ top-four has been just as important of a variable – something that a new signee would alleviate, though the Blues may still face an uphill battle in dealing Parayko’s contract.

Embrace The Youth

St. Louis brought in a wave of talented young players in the early 2010s – welcoming Kevin Shattenkirk, Alex Pietrangelo, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Jake Allen all in the same swoop. Those additions carried the Blues through the mid-2010s, and the additions of Thomas and Kyrou in 2018 refreshed the lineup well enough to carry things now into the mid-2020s. But time is getting away from the Blues lineup, and they’re in need of yet another wave of young talent.

Luckily, Armstrong has built up one of St. Louis’ best prospect pools in recent memory. The list is headlined by forward Dalibor Dvorsky, who posted 45 goals and 88 points in 52 OHL games this season – making an incredibly loud statement in his first season in North America. The 2023 10th-overall selection should get every opportunity he can to crack the NHL lineup this summer, and will be eligible to play in the AHL next season should he not be fully ready. If they can’t get Dvorsky, St. Louis can relish in Zachary Bolduc as a second choice. Bolduc played through his official rookie season this year, posting five goals and nine points in 25 NHL games. He added 25 points in 50 AHL appearances – a slow start to his professional career, but one that was filled with exciting moments where Bolduc’s skill, strength, and shot really shined through. He’ll continue working alongside Zach Dean to vie for an everyday role on the NHL lineup.

The Blues won’t have that same enthusiasm for their defense, which is significantly more thinned out behind their aging core. Matthew Kessel showed a stout defensive ability in his rookie season this year, adding seven points in 39 NHL games, though his ability to make an impact every shift seemed a bit limited. He should headline St. Louis’ defensive prospects looking for opportunity, while Leo Loof and Theo Lindstein hope to make strong impressions at training camp.

Consistent additions of talented youth has underlined St. Louis’ success throughout this century. They’re clearly in need once again, missing any sort of X-factor outside of their top line last season. The Blues have the pieces to refresh things once again, though they’ll have to hope their top prospects can live up to the opportunity.

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