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Coaching Notes: Sullivan, Ducks, Lambert

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When the Pittsburgh Penguins went down in the first round, losing to the New York Islanders after a brutal game six by Tristan Jarry, the question emerged whether head coach Mike Sullivan would be back. It’s now been four straight early exits for the Penguins since their back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, but Sullivan isn’t going anywhere just yet.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Sullivan will be back behind the bench next season and is a likely candidate to lead the U.S. Olympic team next year. Sullivan still has three years left on his contract, but will have to perform for his new president and GM.

  • The Anaheim Ducks will also bring back their head coach next season, confirming earlier this month that Dallas Eakins is staying. That doesn’t mean there won’t be change though, as Friedman notes that the Ducks are looking to mix up their assistant coaches.
  • One name that continues to come up in regards to coaching searches is Lane Lambert of the New York Islanders, including for the Arizona Coyotes according to Friedman. Lambert is off-limits for as long as the Islanders continue to battle in the postseason, meaning if a team is really interested in interviewing him they’ll have to put their search on hold.

Latest On Seth Jones

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have been unable to retain their stars in recent years, with names like Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Matt Duchene all leaving in free agency. The next big name on that list is Seth Jones, who will enter the final season of his six-year, $32.4MM contract in 2021-22 with unrestricted free agency right around the corner. Though the Blue Jackets would obviously love to sign the Norris contender to a long-term contract to keep him in Columbus, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported on Hockey Night In Canada that the 26-year-old will not sign an extension with the team at this point.

We can tell you that sometime in the last week or so, Seth Jones informed the Columbus Blue Jackets that he will not be re-signing. I’m saying ’for now’ at this point because I don’t like to deal in absolutes. But it does appear as if he is prepared to test free agency and we’ll see how Columbus decides to handle this over the next little while.

If Jones has told the team he intends to go to the open market, it means the Blue Jackets will be forced to at least test the market to see what kind of return would be available with one year remaining on his deal. The team is coming off a brutal season that saw them fall to the very bottom of the Central Division standings at 18-26-12, parted ways with their head coach, and traded away their captain Nick Foligno.

Moving Jones would be a huge transaction, but it wouldn’t be the first time the star defender was traded. He arrived in Columbus in a blockbuster five years ago, swapped for up-and-coming center Ryan Johansen. Since then he has turned into one of the very best all-around defensemen in the league, able to contribute offensively while also matching the other team’s best on any given night.

Of course, the Blue Jackets could decide to( and have suggested in the past that they will) keep him and use the next 12 months to attempt to change his mind. Jones’ next contract will likely make him one of the highest-paid defenders in the entire league and as long as the Blue Jackets are willing to pay market value, any growth this summer and next season should be seen as positives.

The Jones situation in Columbus will be one of the most interesting to keep an eye on through the summer and up to the 2022 trade deadline.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Negotiations Break Down Between Oilers, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

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After a stunning first-round sweep at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets, the bad could soon get worse for the Edmonton Oilers. Appearing on Sportsnet 960 in Calgary today, insider Elliotte Friedman dropped a bomb: “That’s a negotiation that went sideways… It fell apart.” He’s of course referring to the Oilers’ negotiations with impending free agent Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, easily the third-best forward on a top-heavy Edmonton roster. After a decade of consistent production, the Oilers could now potentially watch the 2011 first overall pick walk out the door.

According to Friedman, the two sides were close to terms of an extension early in the season. He is unsure when or how things starting to break down, but Friedman adds that whatever imminent deal was once on the table is no longer there. ” I believe it was always the plan that Nugent-Hopkins was going to stay and they wanted to keep him,” Friedman stated, “And now I don’t know… it got mangled.”

While the Oilers could certainly use the added cap flexibility that an RNH departure would afford them, they would have a hard time making up his production, even with multiple additions. A career .73 per-game scorer, Nugent-Hopkins has notched 60+ point seasons in two of the past three years and in an 82-game season this year would have surpassed 50 points for the sixth time in his ten-year career. That kind of production, especially to a team that sees Nugent-Hopkins as a center rather than wing, could be invaluable this off-season. Among impending UFA forwards, RNH ranked sixth this season in points per game and many of those players around him – Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog, Washington’s Alex Ovechkin, Toronto’s Zach Hyman, and Boston’s David Krejci and Taylor Hall – are expected by most to re-sign with their current squads. Nugent-Hopkins could realistically enter the open market as the most coveted forward available. If the Oilers allow RNH to test the market, the odds that they will be able to afford to re-sign him diminish greatly.

Talks will certainly continue between the two sides. Friedman notes that there have been attempts to rebuild a mutually acceptable offer, but it obviously hasn’t happened yet. Edmonton’s early playoff exit may have changed the mindset of the player or the team, but assuming there is still interest in an extension, negotiations will probably come down to the last minute. However, generally when a deal is in place and then breaks down to this extent, it doesn’t bode well for a continued relationship. Will the 2021 free agent market become the summer of RNH?

Snapshots: Nelson, Schwartz, Sikura

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It’s been six years since Todd Nelson received his only head coaching opportunity in the NHL, but that could change in the coming weeks. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Nelson will interview for the Arizona Coyotes and Columbus Blue Jackets. The 52-year-old has spent the last three seasons as an assistant with the Dallas Stars after serving as head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins.

That one NHL opportunity came with the Edmonton Oilers, when Dallas Eakins was fired midseason during the 2014-15 campaign. Nelson was the head coach of the Oklahoma City Barons at the time and came up to try and salvage the season. In 51 games, the Oilers went 17-25-9, finishing ahead of only the Coyotes in the Pacific Division and missing the playoffs.

  • The St. Louis Blues and Jaden Schwartz agreed before the season to put off any extension negotiations, but they’ll get together now to see if they can work something out. GM Doug Armstrong told reporters including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic that they will “figure out if this relationship is going to continue,” noting they have some time until the end of July when Schwartz would become an unrestricted free agent. In the final season of a five-year, $26.75MM contract, the 28-year-old Schwartz put up just eight goals and 21 points in 40 games. He was held scoreless in all four playoff games as the Blues were swept out of the first round.
  • The Henderson Silver Knights are getting a reinforcement for their Pacific Division finals tonight, as Dylan Sikura has been assigned to them from the Vegas Golden Knights. Sikura had 22 points in 30 games for the Silver Knights this season and will get a chance to help them take home the John D. Chick Trophy as division champions. The Silver Knights take on the Bakersfield Condors this evening in the first game of the best-of-three series.

J.T. Miller Wants To Stay In Vancouver

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Since arriving in Vancouver in 2019, acquired by the Canucks from the Tampa Bay Lightning, J.T. Miller has been a star. He leads the team in scoring with 118 points in 122 regular season games, 24 ahead of Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes tied for second. He was one of the biggest reasons the team reached the second round in the bubble playoffs last year, scoring 18 points in 17 postseason games.

Still, there have been bouts of inconsistency at times, and recently some speculation has emerged over whether he wants to even stay in Vancouver. During the Headlines segment on Hockey Night In Canada, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet explained that he went right to the source and asked Miller:

No, he does not want to be traded, he does not want to leave, he wants to be a Vancouver Canuck. He has no intentions of leaving. ’We have a good team here’ and he wants to be a part of it.

Miller, 28, has two seasons left on the five-year, $26.25MM deal he signed with the Lightning in 2018 and carries a cap hit of $5.25MM. That’s a very reasonable number for a player that is nearly a point-per-game for the Canucks, even if this season didn’t result in much success for the team.

Of course, when the Canucks acquired Miller they voided the partial no-trade clause that had originally been included in the deal, meaning he technically wouldn’t be able to stop a move. A trade seems very unlikely though given Vancouver GM Jim Benning’s recent comments about making the playoffs next season. In fact, Miller is likely a piece to build around if the postseason is a realistic goal.

The same can’t be said about everyone on the roster and there are changes coming in Vancouver this summer. But for now, at least, Miller isn’t looking to be moved.

Vancouver Canucks Plan To Retain Jim Benning As GM

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Things are getting interesting in Vancouver. On the eve of their season finale, a disappointing season at that, rumors are swirling around the Canucks. Earlier reports suggested that sweeping changes could be coming to the organization, including a potential return of Daniel and Henrik Sedin in front office roles. Meanwhile, head coach Travis Green is still working on an expiring contract and there has been no indication that a resolution is in sight. Given all of this mystery and speculation, the Canucks have made perhaps the most surprising move they could: retaining GM Jim Benning. The often-criticized executive has been informed that he will be back with the team next year, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

As Friedman relays, given all of the uncertainty that has arisen over the past 24 hours, ownership indicated to their front office leader that he would be returning. It’s a major decision to make ahead of a crucial off-season, as Benning will be charged with managing the Canucks’ approach to the NHL Expansion Draft (made more important by the Seattle Kraken becoming a geographical rival right away), properly executing a top-ten overall draft pick, and otherwise handling an off-season in which his roster must significantly improve despite sorely lacking cap space.

Therein lies most of the criticism of Benning as well. The GM, who has been on the job since 2014, has made some questionable decisions in regards to his most precious resource, cap space. Benning has deemed the likes of Brandon Sutter, Erik Gudbranson, Sam Gagner, Antoine Roussel, Jay Beagle, Sven Baertschi, and Micheal Ferland as being worthy of sizeable commitments during his tenure, which has hurt the team on the payroll and in opportunity cost. It also forced the departures of superior players, such as Jacob Markstrom, Chris Tanev, and Tyler Toffoli last off-season. Those losses were felt this year as the Canucks, fresh off a run to the Western Conference semifinals last year, lived in the basement all season. Benning is left having to pick up the pieces and will try to find a way to squeeze more talent into his roster this summer.

Why is it Benning fixing the problem though? For starters, his track record on the trade market and in the draft at least come close to balancing out his contract negotiation mistakes. Since the 2018-19 trade deadline, Benning has added core members Tanner Pearson, J.T. Miller, and Nate Schmidt at below-market prices. His recent draft picks also include current and budding stars such as Quinn Hughes, Nils Hoglander, Vasili Podkolzin, Jack Rathbone, Michael DiPietro, Jett Woo, Kole Lind, Jonah Gadjovich, and more. So while some of Benning’s criticism is fair, too often his successes are ignored. Despite allegedly wanting to make major internal changes, the Canucks understand and appreciate what Benning has achieved and what he is trying to build in Vancouver. It seems that he will now be given at least one more year to show that he is still steering the organization in the right direction. It’s unlikely to appease the fans in the meantime, but the club hopes that their loyalty will be rewarded.

Rick Tocchet To Interview With Kraken, Rangers

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The Seattle Kraken have patiently waited and watched the NHL coaching landscape change dramatically over the last several months, biding their time before hiring the first coach in franchise history. If they have had any interviews to this point they haven’t been made public, but that is about to change. NHL insider Frank Seravalli reports that the Kraken will interview Rick Tocchet after he parted ways with the Arizona Coyotes earlier this month. They have also interviewed Toronto Maple Leafs director of pro scouting Troy Bodie for a front office position, according to Seravalli.

The Kraken aren’t the only team after Tocchet though. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tweets that the New York Rangers will also interview the former Coyotes coach for their own head coaching vacancy.

Tocchet, 57, was head coach of the Coyotes for the last four seasons, but decided to part ways with the organization in order to pursue other opportunities. During his time there the team went 125-131-34 while making the playoffs just once. That was last year, when the Coyotes managed to defeat the Nashville Predators in the qualifying round only to be sent home quickly by the Colorado Avalanche. One of the things Tocchet was always lauded for was his ability to get the best out of inconsistent talents–namely Phil Kessel, who did have a bit of a resurgence this season scoring 43 points in 56 games to lead the Coyotes.

In Seattle, he would be given the difficult task of bringing players from 30 different organizations together under one roof and competing as the NHL’s newest franchise. He wouldn’t be doing it alone, obviously, joining Kraken GM and former teammate Ron Francis. Francis and Tocchet won a Stanley Cup together with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992 after the latter was brought over from the Philadelphia Flyers at the deadline. They would both score 100+ points the following season, the best offensive year of Tocchet’s career.

Of course, even though the Seattle job is an appealing one, New York’s appeal is never something to overlook. The Rangers have an excellent young core that looks poised to take the next step toward Stanley Cup contention and are looking for a coach to lead them to the playoffs immediately. When the Rangers hired former head coach David Quinn away from Boston University, they gave him a five-year, $12MM deal even despite his lack of NHL experience. Tocchet earned just $6MM over his four years with Arizona.

International Notes: Okulov, Spooner, Djoos, Chlapik

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KHL winger Konstantin Okulov has been on the NHL radar over the past couple of years with Montreal and Toronto among the teams to show interest in him at the time.  As Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes in his latest 31 Thoughts column, NHL teams are once again showing interest in the 26-year-old who is coming off of his best season thus far.  He notched 18 goals and 31 assists in 55 regular season games to lead CSKA Moscow in scoring while chipping in with 20 points in 23 playoff contests, enough to tie for the league lead.  If he does sign this summer, he’ll still be subject to the entry-level system and will be capped on a one-year deal before becoming UFA-eligible in 2022.

Other news from the international hockey world:

  • Ryan Spooner has decided to not try to catch on in the NHL again this summer but is making a change. After spending the last two years with Dinamo Minsk, he has signed a one-year deal with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, another KHL team, per a team announcement.  The 29-year-old has 167 points in 325 career NHL games and has been productive overseas, collecting six goals and 33 assists this season.
  • Red Wings defenseman Christian Djoos is on EV Zug’s shortlist of players to try to sign for next season, Zug’s sports director Reto Klay told Zentralplus’ Andreas Ineichen. The 26-year-old was claimed off waivers just before the season started and held his own with 11 points in 36 games while averaging a little over 15 minutes per night.  That type of production may be hard to justify tendering the $1MM qualifying offer that’s required this summer which would put Djoos on the open market.  He may be sensing that outcome already if he’s entertaining the prospect of playing in Switzerland.
  • Former Senators prospect Filip Chlapik didn’t waste much time making his way back to Sparta Praha as the team announced that he signed a two-year deal with them. The 23-year-old spent parts of four seasons in Ottawa, notching five goals and six assists in 57 games but seeing the writing on the wall about where he was in the pecking order for a recall, he requested and was granted his unconditional release back in February.  He won’t be returning to North America for a little while longer at least.

Management Notes: McNab, Hardy, Drury

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One of the longest-tenured executives in the league has decided to retire, as David McNab will leave the Anaheim Ducks after 28 years. McNab served as the Ducks’ Senior VP of Hockey Operations and had been with the club since its inception in 1993. Between 1994 and 2008 he was the team’s assistant GM and was previously responsible for the team’s scouting and draft choices. McNab worked for the Washington Capitals, Hartford Whalers, and New York Rangers before joining Anaheim.

Some older fans may recognize the McNab name; David’s brother Peter McNab was a dynamic scorer for the Boston Bruins during a 954-game NHL career, while his father Max McNab won the Stanley Cup as a center for the Detroit Red Wings in 1950 and went on to serve as general manager of the Capitals and New Jersey Devils.

  • As one executive leaves the NHL, another may be entering. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Ryan Hardy is expected to be hired by an NHL team soon, writing that a number of teams are “circling him” but noting the connection to Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas in particular. Hardy, 35, has served as general manager for the powerhouse Chicago Steel of the USHL and previously operated as the director of player personnel for the U.S. National Team Development Program. Hardy was also employed as an amateur scout by the Boston Bruins at one point.
  • Of course, the New York Rangers also have a front office to restructure now that Chris Drury has been put in charge. Friedman writes that there is a “lot of interest in working for him” at this point, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Drury has deep ties with USA Hockey and has been a GM-in-waiting for several years. Drury had been serving as associate GM of the Rangers and GM of the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, likely both roles that will now need to be filled.

Montreal’s Molson, Bergevin Have Been Talking About Future

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There is still one more year remaining on the contract of Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin, but that hasn’t stopped owner Geoff Molson from beginning discussions on what the future will look like and whether Bergevin will be a part of it.

During Saturday’s Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said the owner and GM have sat down already and begun looking at the team’s future.

“Marc Bergevin and the owner Geoff Molson have been kind of talking about the future; how the owner feels, how the general manager feels, if there is an extension what it could potentially look like. So we’ll see where those decisions go and where those conversations go, but I think they are underway about the GM’s future with the Canadiens.”

Bergevin’s nine-year tenure in Montreal has had its ups and downs, including a rebuild in the last couple of years, which has had some success as their young players have, for the most part, developed well. Bergevin added a number of veteran players during the offseason in order to post a playoff caliber team, including adding Tyler Toffoli, Josh Anderson, Jake Allen and Joel Edmundson, but Bergevin did fire head coach Claude Julien midseason with pressure mounting for the team to make a playoff run, which they have done this year under interim coach Dominique Ducharme.

Bergevin, who signed his present contract in November of 2015, may have to wait until after the postseason to see whether he will get an extension. The Canadiens are currently the fourth seed in the North Division and are likely going to play the top-seeded Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round.

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