Snapshots: Hartley, Penguins, Desnoyers, Army
Long-time NHL head coach Bob Hartley has decided to return to coaching. The KHL announced (Twitter link) that Hartley has been hired by Lokomotiv Yaroslavl as their new bench boss. The 64-year-old will be making his second foray into coaching in Russia having spent four seasons coaching Avangard Omsk before leaving them in 2022; he hadn’t coached anywhere since then. Hartley is also a veteran of 944 NHL games between Colorado, Atlanta, and Calgary with his teams playing to a .556 points percentage. He won the Stanley Cup back in 2001 but only made the playoffs in three of ten seasons after that.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- While Fenway Sports Group has said that they’re only interested in selling a small portion of the Penguins, their old ownership group continues to look into the possibility of one day buying a controlling stake, reports Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription link). The group, led by long-time Penguin legend Mario Lemieux, sold the team back in 2021 with a franchise valuation of $900MM. Since then, franchise values have gone up with Forbes recently pegging the team’s value at nearly double that amount so re-acquiring even a controlling interest in the team might be costlier than what they received for it not quite four years ago.
- The Wild’s AHL team in Iowa announced that they’ve signed forward Elliot Desnoyers to a one-year, one-way contract. The 23-year-old has four career NHL games under his belt, coming with Philadelphia back in 2022-23. Since then, Desnoyers has played exclusively in the AHL and had 19 points in 59 games which wasn’t enough to earn a qualifying offer last month.
- The Avalanche’s AHL affiliate announced the hiring of Derek Army as an assistant coach. The 34-year-old spent parts of the last five seasons as head coach of ECHL Wheeling, becoming the winningest coach in franchise history with a 153-137-19 record over that stretch. Army also spent the past four seasons as their Director of Hockey Operations but will now focus exclusively on coaching with the Eagles.
Blue Jackets Notes: Fourth Overall Pick, Laine, Hartley
The Blue Jackets are open for business regarding their fourth overall pick in next week’s draft, GM and president of hockey operations Don Waddell said today (via Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch). They wouldn’t be looking at shopping the pick for an immediate roster upgrade, though.
Moving back in the draft is the only option if they’re parting with the pick, Waddell implied. He said “the price is high” to get them to do it, citing multiple other teams in the top 10 are also listening to offers to swap their picks.
If they don’t move the pick, the Blue Jackets are looking at their fourth top-10 pick in a row. Previous selections include Kent Johnson (fifth overall, 2021), David Jiříček (sixth overall, 2022) and Adam Fantilli (third overall, 2023).
Other quick hits from Waddell at this morning’s media availability:
- Columbus hasn’t had any substantive trade discussions involving Patrik Laine yet, Waddell said (via Hedger). He’s actively in contact with Laine’s representation about trade options, but isn’t yet talking to other teams while Laine is still receiving treatment in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Waddell said that when they do get to the point of making a trade, he’d like it to be for established talent in return (via the team’s Jeff Svoboda). Laine and the Blue Jackets are seemingly both happy with parting ways this summer. Among interested parties, the Kraken have already been linked to his services.
- Longtime NHL coach Bob Hartley has reached out to Waddell about the Blue Jackets’ vacancy, he confirmed (via Hedger). Hartley, who coached the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup in 2001, also worked under Waddell with the Atlanta Thrashers from 2003 to 2007. He hasn’t coached in the league since a four-year run with the Flames from 2012 to 2016, however. His only experience since has come overseas with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, a post he held from 2018 to 2022. In 2021, Hartley was named the KHL’s Coach of the Year and guided Omsk to a Gagarin Cup championship.