Poll: Which GM Will Be Fired Next?
Despite missing the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, the Vancouver Canucks decided to extend GM Jim Benning today. The reasons for that are complicated—and obviously do not hinge entirely on his postseason record—just as they were when the Minnesota Wild made the decision to fire Paul Fenton just 14 months into his tenure with the team. The inner workings of an NHL front office are almost never made public (unless there is an intrepid reporter like Michael Russo of The Athletic who gets the incredible story), and it is hard to see why some decisions are made.
Still, even the most casual fan can see the seat of specific executives and coaches heating up. When the Edmonton Oilers decided to move on from Peter Chiarelli during another disappointing season, it didn’t come as much of a surprise. On the other hand, it was easy to see why the Carolina Hurricanes recently locked up Don Waddell after he interviewed for another job.
Looking around the league, who is next? Which GM will be let go, either this year or next summer?
It might be easy to look at the teams that have struggled recently, but many of them have replaced their top hockey operations executive over the last few seasons. The Oilers brought in Ken Holland to change the culture in Edmonton, while Steve Yzerman returned to the Detroit Red Wings to bring a new voice to a stagnant team. Florida has gone through quite a bit of turmoil in the front office since their ownership changed but Dale Tallon now seems to be entrenched as a veteran leader.
There are others though that may not be so lucky. The Ottawa Senators are heading in a new direction after shedding their previous core, but if the young talent doesn’t develop as hoped Pierre Dorion could be held responsible. John Chayka was the youngest GM in history when he took over the Arizona Coyotes in 2016, but they still haven’t made the playoffs under his watch and now have new ownership of their own. Jason Botterill was expected to have success in Buffalo after finding so much of it in Pittsburgh, but the Sabres haven’t been able to build a full roster around Jack Eichel despite some outstanding individual players.
Nothing is certain when it comes to front offices however. Cast your vote below and explain just why you think they’ll be the first to go!
Which GM will be fired next?
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Pierre Dorion, Ottawa Senators 9% (256)
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Marc Bergevin, Montreal Canadiens 9% (243)
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Stan Bowman, Chicago Blackhawks 9% (242)
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Kevin Cheveldayoff, Winnipeg Jets 8% (226)
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Bob Murray, Anaheim Ducks 8% (220)
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Jason Botterill, Buffalo Sabres 7% (186)
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Rob Blake, Los Angeles Kings 6% (181)
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Jarmo Kekalainen, Columbus Blue Jackets 6% (159)
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Kyle Dubas, Toronto Maple Leafs 5% (148)
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Jim Rutherford, Pittsburgh Penguins 5% (146)
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John Chayka, Arizona Coyotes 5% (139)
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Brad Treliving, Calgary Flames 3% (93)
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Jim Benning, Vancouver Canucks 3% (86)
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Jim Nill, Dallas Stars 3% (74)
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Chuck Fletcher, Philadelphia Flyers 2% (68)
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Ken Holland, Edmonton Oilers 2% (55)
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Doug Wilson, San Jose Sharks 2% (49)
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Jeff Gorton, New York Rangers 2% (46)
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Don Sweeney, Boston Bruins 1% (35)
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Dale Tallon, Florida Panthers 1% (29)
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David Poile, Nashville Predators 1% (24)
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Julien BriseBois, Tampa Bay Lightning 1% (24)
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Doug Armstrong, St. Louis Blues 1% (19)
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Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings 1% (18)
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Lou Lamoriello, New York Islanders 1% (16)
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Don Waddell, Carolina Hurricanes 1% (15)
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Kelly McCrimmon, Vegas Golden Knights 1% (15)
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Brian MacLellan, Washington Capitals 1% (15)
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Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche 0% (11)
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Ray Shero, New Jersey Devils 0% (8)
Total votes: 2,846
[Mobile users click here to vote]
*We’ve used Kelly McCrimmon as the Vegas GM, though he won’t officially take that title from George McPhee until September
Shayne Gostisbehere Comments On Trade Speculation
Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere acknowledged to Dave Isaac of the Cherry Hill Courier-Post that he was dealing with a left leg injury throughout last season but that he feels fully recovered from it. The blueliner is coming off a down year offensively as his point total dropped from 65 down to 37 which has led his name to come up in trade speculation. Gostisbehere admitted to being aware that his name is out there but stated that his desire is to remain with Philadelphia as they look to get back into the playoffs following an aggressive summer that saw them land several new veteran players.
Calgary Has Options On Where To Move Michael Frolik
- The Calgary Flames may have $7.76MM in projected cap room still, but with Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane still unsigned, the team will be forced to offload a contract to bring both forwards, especially Tkachuk under contract. While there has been plenty of talk of Calgary trading away a defenseman such as T.J. Brodie or Travis Hamonic, The Athletic’s Kent Wilson (subscription required) writes that another option would be Michael Frolik. The middle-six forward is still just 31 and is coming off a 16-goal season, which might make him more palatable than many of the veteran free-agent options remaining on the market. Frolik has one year remaining at $4.3MM. Wilson suggests that Ottawa might make a good fit. The Senators are way under the cap, but Frolik will actually be paid just $3MM in salary despite his cap hit number, something that the budget-focused Senators love to acquire. The scribe adds the New Jersey Devils, Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers as alternative options for Calgary.
Free Agent Profile: Cam Ward
Since the unrestricted free agency rush of July 1st subsided, just two NHL goaltenders have been signed off the open market: Anthony Stolarz with the Anaheim Ducks and Jared Coreau with the New York Islanders. That’s two goalie signings in 33 days, making it easily the quietest position of this off-season, despite a major re-shuffling of UFA starters early on and several RFA extensions as well.
Unsurprisingly, several notable names remain available – Scott Darling, Chad Johnson, Mike McKenna, Al Montoya – while Michal Neuvirth has already accepted a PTO. However, one name sticks out above the rest for both his career accomplishments and his meaningful role in 2018-19.
Cam Ward, 35, ventured outside of Carolina last season for the first time in his 14-year NHL career. Ward signed a one-year, $3MM contract with the Chicago Blackhawks last summer and proceeded to play a major tole for the team this past season. Dealing with ongoing issues with starter Corey Crawford, Ward ended up playing in 33 games to Crawford’s 39 and Collin Delia‘s 16. Although Ward’s .897 save percentage and 3.67 GAA were the worst among the trio, it was only a marginal gap. The Blackhawks struggled defensively and no goalie was safe, as all three finished with a save percentage below .910 and GAA above 2.90.
Still, Ward cannot have been happy with his results last year. A Stanley Cup winner and former All-Star, Ward was rock solid for the Hurricanes for several years. He thrived early on as a workhorse, including a 2010-11 campaign in which he posted a career-high .923 save percentage in a league-best 74 appearances. He then settled nicely into a timeshare role, posting back-to-back seasons with a 2.40 GAA while playing in around 50 games each year from 2014 to 2016. Even as he continued to age and his numbers slipped slightly, no one could have predicted his pedestrian performance last season. It was a sharp decline from his career numbers that could have been an outlier or could be signaling the end of his career.
One thing that is certainly working against Ward finding work this off-season is the now well-established narrative that he does not play well as a backup. Over his career, Ward has played in four seasons, including last year in Chicago, in which he did not make at least half of his team’s starts. In those three seasons combined, Ward is 49-38-13, with a a save percentage of .895 and a GAA of 3.37. In all of his other seasons combined, Ward has a record of 285-218-75, with a save percentage of .911 and a GAA of 2.63. It is extremely clear that Ward does his best work with regular appearances and any team looking to make the most of signing him will want to offer that opportunity. But does such a landing spot exist?
Potential Suitors
The honest answer is that the team likely to sign Ward, if any, isn’t aware of the need just yet. Ward could very well be a veteran option that a team turns to in case of injury or poor performance that can be a temporary starter. While it’s impossible to project injuries, the New York Rangers have a starter who is even older than Ward and have very little depth behind him. A Henrik Lundqvist injury could certainly turn the Blueshirts on to Ward as an option to step in at starter during a season that brings high expectations to New York. The same could be said for the Vegas Golden Knights, whose 34-year-old starter Marc-Andre Fleury has dealt with injury issues before. Vegas is in better shape with their depth in net and could handle a short absence from Fleury, but without a proven NHL goalie elsewhere on the depth chart, a long-term injury could send them on the hunt for a solution. Despite having both John Gibson and Ryan Miller, the Anaheim Ducks are far from safe when it comes to injury risk and could be an option for Ward if disaster strikes. The Philadelphia Flyers shuffled through goalies like no other team in NHL history last year, so another issue with Brian Elliott could easily have the Flyers intrigued in Ward.
As for teams who risk needing a starter due to poor play, no team jumps out more than the Columbus Blue Jackets. It’s perhaps even fair to call them the most likely landing spot for Ward, as they are sure to go through some bumpy times with their young tandem of former backup Joonas Korpisalo and unproven import Elvis Merzlikins. The team only has more untested foreign talent in the minors as well. The Blue Jackets have ample cap space, so if there was a bidding war for Ward at any point, Columbus would be the favorite to beat out any other team in need of an emergency starter.
If Ward is intent on signing before the season begins though, rather than wait for a need-based market to develop in-season, there are a couple of teams who could still be looking for a backup. Again, that isn’t the ideal role for Ward, but it is one that the respected veteran would likely be willing to try his hand at again. The Florida Panthers spent big on Sergei Bobrovsky this summer, but 22-year-old Samuel Montembeault is slated to be the primary backup heading into next year. He is waiver-exempt still and could head to the AHL without issue if the team opted to look at a veteran backup. However, this doesn’t seem extremely likely, considering their investment in Bobrovsky, who they likely expect to make 65 starts. In Colorado, the Avalanche seemed hesitant to give last year’s third-string, Pavel Francouz, an extended look despite strong numbers in the NHL and AHL. He is now the likely backup to Philipp Grubauer, who himself is still finding his footing as a true starter. The Avs have almost no depth in net and could look to add another name to the mix in Ward.
Projected Contract
Ward has made at least $3MM in each of the past four seasons and more than $6MM on the contract prior to that. Those days are now over. Regardless of the impact that his role or the team’s defense had on his 2018-19 performance in Chicago, Ward has lost his leverage to command a sizable salary after such a poor season. If he is settling in to a backup role before the season, he will almost certainly land somewhere between $1MM and the league minimum of $700K. If he is signing mid-season to take over as a starter or at least in a timeshare, that number could go up, but not much higher. If Ward feels like he has several years left, he will be looking at this season as an investment in future earnings; he will accept a cheap deal to go to the right place where there is the potential to succeed, so as to hit the market next summer with some more bargaining power. The only question is whether that right fit exists, now or down the road after the season begins. Ward could call it a career if no such opportunities arise by the end of the calendar year.
Minnesota Begins Search For Paul Fenton’s Replacement At GM
Saturday: TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie reports that Minnesota has asked permission to interview Canadiens assistant GM Scott Mellanby. He has served in that role with Montreal for the past five years after spending two seasons as their Director of Player Personnel.
Friday: The firing of GM Paul Fenton by the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday certainly came as a surprise to many, but not those within the organization, writes The Athletic’s Michael Russo. Fenton was dismissed after little more than a year on the job after a tenure that Russo describes as “death by a thousand cuts.” There was no one thing that caused Fenton to lose his job, but rather mounting evidence that he was a poor fit in the organization. Sources within the team stated that Fenton’s dysfunctional style of running the club caused a negative shift in the culture, both in the locker room and in the front office, and an overall drop-off in morale. Owner Craig Leipold and company were left cleaning up after Fenton’s messes as a lack of trust and communication permeated the entire organization. Whether it was Fenton’s dismissal of analytics, his disrespect for incumbent Wild executives, his mismanagement of the coaching staff, or his failure to maximize trade assets, the GM was constantly at odds with everyone around him, including his owner. As such, many Wild staffers were not shocked that Fenton was fired, even at a strange time in the middle of the off-season, as Russo writes that Leipold has been distressed about the situation “for months” and action became inevitable.
So, now in early August and following a draft and free agent frenzy run by Fenton, the Wild are in search for a new leader for their organization. Given the struggles under Fenton, a first-time GM, Minnesota is understandably seeking someone with experience on the job. Among the early candidates to emerge were former GM’s John Ferguson Jr., now with the Boston Bruins, and Dave Nonis, now with the Anaheim Ducks, and experienced assistants Bill Zito of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tom Fitzgerald of the New Jersey Devils. However, Russo reports that the team has chosen two free agent former GM’s as the first to interview for the position. Peter Chiarelli and Ron Hextall, both of whom were fired themselves during this past season, have already met with Leipold, president Matt Majka, and executive adviser Mike Modano about the opening, per Russo.
Chiarelli, fired by the Edmonton Oilers in January, has a Stanley Cup title on his resume with the Boston Bruins, but struggled greatly during his time with the Oilers. Chiarelli has also ended up on the wrong side of major trades and long-term contracts too often during his time in both Boston and Edmonton. There is no doubt that Chiarelli is an intelligent hockey mind, but there is some question as to whether he should be rushed right back into a top decision-making role. The Wild saw too many poor trade returns under Fenton, as well as a questionable free agent contract handed out to aging forward Mats Zuccarello, to put someone in control who they can’t trust not to continue that trend, so Chiarelli will have to convince the team that he has changed his approach.
As for Hextall, fired in November by the Philadelphia Flyers, some felt the former star goalie deserved a longer leash as GM. On paper, he left the team in good shape – ironically for replacement Chuck Fletcher, who preceded Fenton as Minnesota’s GM – but received criticism for his slow approach. Hextall may be a fine option in terms of hockey knowledge and ability as a GM, but Russo notes that, like Fenton, he has gained the reputation of being difficult to work with. An “intense” and “hard” boss, the fragile morale in Minnesota may not be ready for Hextall unless the team trusts that he will handle himself differently.
Russo points out that the Wild expect this to be a long, meticulous process and he does not believe that Chiarelli and Hextall interviewing first necessarily makes them the front-runners. In fact, it could very well have to do with the fact that neither has an affiliation with another NHL team at this moment. In addition to the other aforementioned names, Russo adds Dean Lombardi, Garth Snow, Bill Guerin, Chris Drury, Mark Hunter, Brian Lawton, Mike Gillis, and even reigning GM of the Year candidate Don Waddell, whose contract with the Carolina Hurricanes has yet to be renewed, as possible candidates. It is a long list of options with many different backgrounds and experience levels and it will take some time for Minnesota to sort it all out. For now, Chiarelli and Hextall are the only names to interview, but that group will expand as the summer wears on before the team makes a decision possibly months from now.
Philadelphia Flyers Might Have To Move A Defenseman
The Philadelphia Flyers still are trying to sign several restricted free agents, including Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov, but with the two sides being far apart so far in negotiations, there is quite a bit of concern when it comes to Provorov. While it’s likely that the two sides will eventually come to an agreement, especially since Provorov’s camp is waiting for Boston’s Charlie McAvoy and Columbus’ Zach Werenski to sign first to provide some new comparables, the team could find themselves with too much depth on defense.
The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor (subscription required) writes that if Provorov signs, the team will have eight NHL-caliber defensemen on their roster and unless the team is willing to roll with just 13 forwards next season, the Flyers will have to make a move to get to seven. Some forwards are obviously going no where. The team has two top-four defenseman already in Shayne Gosthisbehere and Provorov, while the team traded for Matt Niskanen and Justin Braun to add veteran leadership to their defense. The team is also really high on youngsters Travis Sanheim and Philippe Myers, which leaves the team just two potential candidates to move.
The most obvious choice would be to send down Samuel Morin. He has potential, but has struggled to make an impact with Philadelphia so far. The problem is that the Flyers would be required to put him on waivers this season and risk losing the 24-year-old for nothing if another team puts a claim on him. While he only has eight games of NHL experience on his resume, there are some teams that would be quite interested in a 6-foot-6 defenseman who might be ready to become an NHL regular.
The only other option for the Flyers would be Robert Hagg, who already has two years of NHL experience and put up 20 points last season. While the team likes him, the team acquired a very similar player in Braun, who is more experienced and better defensively. Many have already wondered if the acquisition of Braun was meant as a sign that the team intends to move on from Hagg. However, Hagg is also no longer waiver-exempt and would almost assuredly would get claimed if Philadelphia put him on waivers, suggesting the team’s only option would be to trade him.
Regardless, no matter what, if the team doesn’t end up in a holdout situation with Provorov, which could be what the Flyers are waiting to find out before making a decision, the team must make a move at some point.
Metropolitan Notes: Kreider, Gardiner, Konecny
The New York Rangers have made a number of key improvements to their team with two significant moves that have affected the team’s salary cap situation. The Rangers signed star winger Artemi Panarin to a seven-year, $81.5MM deal on July 1, but also traded for defenseman Jacob Trouba and signed him to a seven-year, $56MM deal. While the team had plenty of cap space, the team now is somewhere between $900K and $1.55MM over the cap and that’s not including a number of restricted free agents left to sign, including Pavel Buchnevich, Brendan Lemieux, Anthony DeAngelo and Vinni Lettieri.
Because of that, The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello (subscription required) writes that with those kinds of cap issues which should only get more challenging in the future, it likely ends the team’s run with forward Chris Kreider. The 28-year-old is in the final year of his contract and would likely seek a deal somewhere around seven years at $7MM per season, something that the Rangers can’t afford for a inconsistent forward who will be 29 years old when the new contract kicks in. It makes more sense that the Rangers will try to unload Kreider now for the most possible return to help with their cap issues.
- In an article looking at three ways to improve the New Jersey Devils roster this offseason, NJ.com’s Chris Ryan writes that in a summer in which general manager Ray Shero has made some savvy moves, including acquiring P.K. Subban from Nashville for practically nothing as well as signing forward Wayne Simmonds to a one-year, $5MM “prove it” deal, the team can still make upgrades. He writes that the team should consider signing free-agent defenseman Jake Gardiner, who remains unsigned, in hopes of bolstering their weak left-side which has just Andy Greene, Will Butcher and Mirco Mueller there. Even Ty Smith, who is left-handed, played on the right side in junior, so there is a realistic opening on the left side and Gardiner might be a good fit there, assuming he’d be willing to come down from his rumored $7MM pricetag.
- With a few key restricted free agent forwards already having signed, the Courier Post’s David Isaac writes in his mailbag piece that he believes that Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny is likely to sign within the next few weeks, especially now that a couple significant comparables have signed. the scribe writes that with Timo Meier having signed for four years at $6MM with San Jose and Jakub Vrana agreeing to a two-year deal at $3.35MM, it has set a market for Konecny. It’s likely that Konecny will fall somewhere between the two. The 24-year-old has had two straight 24-goal seasons and had a career-high 49 points last season. With the legitimate potential that a breakout season could come soon, it’s much more likely that Konecny opts to sign a short-term bridge deal over a long-term one.
Philadelphia Flyers Sign Chris Stewart To PTO
The Philadelphia Flyers have invited former NHL forward Chris Stewart to their training camp on a professional tryout. Stewart last played in the NHL during the 2017-18 season and spent the majority of last year in the EIHL with the Nottingham Panthers.
Stewart, 31, has a familiarity with Flyers’ GM Chuck Fletcher from their days together with the Minnesota Wild, where the power forward played for parts of three seasons. Still it is surprising to see his name pop up after a year where is looked like Stewart was on the last legs of his professional career. He scored just 13 points in 23 regular season games for Nottingham in a league that is usually dominated by former AHL or ECHL players.
Perhaps he has rededicated himself to getting back to the NHL, or perhaps this is just a favor between friends, but it seems unlikely that Stewart will crack the Philadelphia roster and earn himself a contract at the end of camp. He could however be auditioning for a minor league role back in North America, or another trip overseas to play in another top league. In the preseason we’ll likely see him in the seventh NHL sweater of his career, after playing a total of 652 games for the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres, Anaheim Ducks, Flames and Wild.
Philadelphia Signs Nicolas Aube-Kubel
The Philadelphia Flyers have signed Nicolas Aube-Kubel to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2019-20 season. Aube-Kubel will earn $700K at the NHL level and still qualify as a restricted free agent next summer.
The 23-year old forward was selected in the second round of the 2014 draft and finally made his NHL debut last season. Playing in nine games he unfortunately was held scoreless, but still received a taste of what it’s like at the highest level. The former QMJHL star has had some solid success in the minor leagues over his three-year professional career, but has a lot of work to do in order to crack the Flyers’ lineup on a full-time basis.
Philadelphia brought in Kevin Hayes, Tyler Pitlick and Kurtis Gabriel this offseason to lengthen out their NHL group, but also have a huge number of top prospects ready to burst onto the professional scene. Aube-Kubel is clearly behind the top names like Morgan Frost and Isaac Ratcliffe, and has plenty of others to deal with as he tries stay significant in the organization. He is no longer waiver-exempt meaning he very well could get a shot as the extra forward out of camp, but more likely is he spends more time at the minor league level and waits for his next opportunity.
Metropolitan Notes: Williams, Voracek, Kreider
It’s been a busy offseason for the Carolina Hurricanes as the team has worked hard to improve their roster in hopes of keeping themselves relevant after a impressive playoff run last season. The team has already signed restricted free agent Sebastian Aho after matching the offer sheet he signed with the Montreal Canadiens. The team traded for Erik Haula and signed Ryan Dzingel to a reasonable deal as well. They also brought back goaltender Petr Mrazek to bolster their goaltending.
However, there is one thing still missing from their offseason so far and that’s a decision from veteran forward Justin Williams. News & Observer’s Luke DeCock writes that while Williams is still trying to decide whether he will return for a 19th season. The 37-year-old was still quite productive last season, putting up 23 goals and 53 points. However, he wants time before committing for another season.
DeCock writes that the expectation among the team is that Williams will return, but at the same time, no one really knows what he will do. However, Williams return could make a huge difference to their fortunes next season. While the team likely doesn’t need him to be a top-six scorer anymore, the team needs his leadership and abilities as he would get a simpler role as a bottom-six option.
- The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor (subscription required) analyzes the recent play of Philadelphia Flyers forward Jakub Voracek, who has seen his role as a top-line forward change. The 29-year-old has moved to the second line and is starting to see a change in his long-time role, according to O’Connor, who writes that the veteran is no longer a play-driver like he has been in previous years. Since signing his eight-year, $66MM deal back in 2015, he’s hasn’t put up peak numbers with the exception of his 2017-18 season in which he put up 20 goals and 85 points. While he once was a player who could lead a pair of rookies on his line, the belief is that he is no longer that player. While still a solid middle-six option, it looks like Voracek is entering a new phase in his career even though he has five more years at $8.25MM AAV.
- The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman (subscription required) writes the New York Rangers must make a decision on what they want to do with Chris Kreider. The 28-year-old forward is in the final year of his contract and should acquire a significant raise from his $4.63MM AAV this season. Goldman writes that while the team technically could wait to make a decision on whether they want to re-sign Kreider until the trade deadline next year, waiting that long could have its own problems. With Artemi Panarin, Jacob Trouba, Kappo Kaako and Vitali Kravtsov expected to join their lineup this season, the team could challenge for a playoff spot, which might make it difficult for the Rangers to trade off Kreider and then the team could conceivably lose him for nothing if they don’t intend to bring him back. With rumors that it might cost New York seven years at $7.3MM per season, the team has to make a big decision soon.