The Montreal Canadiens have hired Sylvain Lefebvre as the first coach of the Laval Rocket, their new AHL affiliate. It’s not much of a change, as Lefebvre has been the coach of Montreal’s affiliate for the past five years, in both Hamilton and St. John’s. He took the IceCaps to the playoffs last season for the first time in his coaching career, but was knocked out in the first round.
Lefebvre had a long NHL career with several clubs, suiting up for 945 games and scoring 184 points. He once hoisted the Stanley Cup as a member of the Colorado Avalanche, and recorded 18 points in 129 career playoff games. The Canadiens also named Larry Carriere as General Manager of the club, in addition to his responsibilities as assistant GM of Montreal.
- Swiss Hockey News is reporting that there is NLA interest in Ottawa Senators free agent Viktor Stalberg, though it’s not clear if it is mutual. Stalberg has spent time in the SHL and KHL, and likely has interest from around the NHL as a depth option. We ranked Stalberg #45 on our list of the Top 50 Free Agents, expecting him to sign a one-year deal worth $900K. If the Swiss league is offering more than that, perhaps he will bolt for greener pastures.
- David Alter of The Athletic examines the RFA cases of Maple Leafs forwards Connor Brown and Zach Hyman, explaining that both get high marks from Toronto management. With contract extensions due in the next year for William Nylander, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, the Maple Leafs have to be very careful with how they spend their money, especially on their fringe depth. While Hyman and Brown look to be excellent pieces for Toronto, they may be similar to the players Pittsburgh and Chicago have had to watch move on over the years after handing out multiple top contracts.