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Pacific Notes: Coyotes Defense, Carter, Flames, Lucic

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The Arizona Coyotes have one of the highest payrolls among defensemen, the second highest in the league at $29.54MM. Yet despite their success defensively, the blueline’s offensive production just isn’t there. The Coyotes defensemen had the seventh-worst goal production in the league and were fourth-worst in points.

The Coyotes hope that much of the defense’s struggles can be accounted by the massive amount of injuries the team suffered throughout the year and while many of those injuries came from the forwards, the changes in personnel definitely had a part to play in the team’s struggles to score goals. The team also were without defenseman Jason Demers for all but 35 games last season and lost Jakob Chychrun for 29 games as well, according to The Athletic’s Craig Morgan (subscription required).

“We played defensive and there were so many injuries that we were forced to, but for the most part during the season, we directed the pace of the game and the scoring chances,” said Demers. “It’s just that once you get behind the eight ball and it has been 20, 30 games of not scoring, you tense up a little bit and you might force things you wouldn’t normally force or look for the perfect play when the perfect play is just getting it to the net.”

The team hopes that new assistant coach Phil Housley can help out and get the defense to start producing some offense, his forte when he was a player. The hope is that with a healthy blueline, the team should be able to take that next step.

  • The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta appeared on NHL Tonight recently and stated that the Los Angeles Kings have tried to be active on the trade market, reporting that the Kings were talking to the Arizona Coyotes before the draft about potentially sending Jeff Carter there. Of course that was before Arizona turned around and traded for Pittsburgh’s Phil Kessel instead. However, trading off Carter may have been more of a challenge as the 34-year-old who scored just 13 goals and 33 points last season still has three years at $5.27MM AAV and obviously was no where near as productive as Kessel who finished last season with 82 points.
  • NBC Sports’ James O’Brien writes that despite moving James Neal Friday, the team’s salary cap situation hasn’t improved much at all. In fact, the Flames saved just $500K after they traded Neal for Milan Lucic, which will require Calgary to make more moves this summer. The team has just $9.97MM in cap space and still have to sign several restricted free agents, including Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, David Rittich and Andrew Mangiapane.
  • Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson writes that another victory in the Edmonton Oilers of Lucic to the Calgary Flames for Neal is that Neal doesn’t have a no-trade clause and will not have to be protected in two years for the Seattle expansion draft. However, the Calgary Flames do have to worry about the fact that Lucic has a no-movement clause and will have to be protected, which could be a major issue in two years unless they can convince him to waive that clause for the expansion draft.

Jeff Carter Plans To Play Out Current Contract

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The Los Angeles Kings’ disappointing 2018-19 season is now behind them and they are looking ahead to a fresh start next season. Part of improving the optimism around the team heading into next year would be opening up some salary cap space, as the Kings currently have one of the highest payrolls already committed to 2019-20 with the NHL off-season still to come. L.A. showed this season that their current core doesn’t have what it takes to be a contender, so moving out an expensive veteran piece to open up room to add in free agency and trades or at least give some promising young prospects an increased role is certainly in their plans.

One of the easiest ways that the team could have seen a significant drop-off in salary would have been if veteran center Jeff Carter had opted to retire, as many fans and local media members have (wishfully) speculated. Carter, who has three years remaining on his contract at a $5.27MM AAV, turned 34 this season and celebrated with the worst season of his career. Carter – who missed considerable time due to injury in 2017-18, but was still close to a point-per-game player – managed to record only 33 points in 76 games this year, including a career-worst 13 goals and -20 rating. While the situation was not helped any by the Kings’ overall lack of production, Carter certainly showed signs of his age and was easily the worst value player on the roster. As a result, there was hope by some that he may simply retire and walk away from his remaining money.

Don’t count on it, writes The Athletic’s Josh Cooper. After sitting down with Carter, Cooper relays that not only did he deny all retirement rumors, but stated that he hopes to play out the remaining three years of his contract (and collect his $7MM left in salary). He hopes that he can do just that with L.A., as well. Carter lacks any trade protection in his current contract, so he knows that he could be moved, but would not prefer it. “I want to be an L.A. King”, the respected veteran told Cooper, “I want to help change things around here.”

Unfortunately, the team may not be so eager to continue the relationship. The cap space alone is an issue, but Cooper also cites the team’s impressive prospect depth down the middle as a reason why Carter is viewed as expendable. Carter, who is 20 games away from 1,000 in his career, is still a valuable asset for his experience and versatility, but Cooper acknowledges that he is a major candidate to be on the move this summer, regardless.

A trade is certainly possible and there would be a market for Carters’ services. However, it would not be a market that would net the Kings anything of value and could very well still cost them against the salary cap with either retained salary or another expensive contract in return. Cooper even relays word from another NHL executive that the market value for Carter is “quite low” right now. One has to wonder if trading Carter for actual value might be easier if GM Rob Blake waits until the next trade deadline and hope he re-establishes his ability in that time.

Cooper doubts that a beneficial deal to move Carter can be found, at least this off-season, so could a buyout be a better option? Such a decision does not offer much cap relief; Carter would still count for more than $3MM next year and more than $4MM in the two years prior, followed by another three years at $778K. In fact, Cooper calls Carter the “least attractive candidate” to be bought out due to the structure of his remaining contract. With the lack of savings, L.A. would be better off holding on to Carter and hoping he can rebound.

For now, there doesn’t seem to be an easy way to get Carter’s contract off the books. Perhaps Kings fans can be content in knowing that Carter is still determined to play and help the team in their rebuild. They may have no choice other than hoping the 700+-point player can return to form, as no alternative solutions seem to be on the horizon. Carter has three years left on his contract and plans to see it through – expect those three seasons to be with L.A. until the status quo changes for the veteran forward.

Pacific Notes: Kovalchuk, Hoffman, Ritchie, Karlsson

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The Los Angeles Kings may have moved one of their biggest trade chips several weeks ago in Jake Muzzin, but don’t expect the Kings to stand pat as the deadline nears. Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times writes that general manager Rob Blake has spoken to veteran winger Ilya Kovalchuk, who is seriously considering waiving his no-move clause to go to a contender.

However, Kovalchuk, who signed a three-year, $18.75MM deal last summer, might not fetch a big return for the Kings. A team has to be willing to take on two more years of the 35 year-old’s contract which carries an expensive $6.25MM AAV with it. He has scored 13 goals and has 28 points in 50 games so far this year, while dealing with injuries, but few teams would be willing to give up more than a lower-level prospect to take on Kovalchuk.

Elliott also points out that Los Angeles are far more likely to hold onto defenseman Alec Martinez, who might not bring back the return they were hoping for, while few teams have shown much interest in Jeff Carter so far.

  • Sportsnet’s Marc Savard tweets that the Florida Panthers are getting a lot of calls on forward Mike Hoffman and the Arizona Coyotes, who are looking to make a late playoff run, are pushing hard to acquire the speedy winger. The 29-year-old is having a nice season as he has 26 goals and 51 points, which is in line for a career year. Hoffman could bring back a signficant return as he has another year on his deal at $5.19MM and would be another significant addition of scorers for the Coyotes.
  • The Anaheim Ducks may make a quiet move or two, but after agreeing to a five-year extension with Jakob Silfverberg, the team lacks any significant trade assets to move at the trade deadline. However, The Athletic’s Eric Stephens (subscription required) writes that with the play of Max Jones and the Max Comtois (currently in juniors), winger Nick Ritchie might be expendable now and be potentially available. A holdout at the beginning of the season, Ritchie eventually signed an inexpensive three-year deal, totaling just $4.6MM, which some teams might covet. Ritchie, of course, hasn’t proven he can be anything more than a 15-goal scorer.
  • Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reports that Erik Karlsson, who left in the second period of Saturday’s loss to Columbus, tweaked his groin injury in the game. No word on the severity of the injury, however. Karlsson already missed a month between January and February with that lower-body injury, and more missed time would be a setback for a Sharks’ team trying to work their way to the top of the Pacific Division. Head coach Peter DeBoer said he is concerned. “Absolutely,” said DeBoer. “I thought we were as conservative and cautious as you can be but muscle injuries you don’t know. Sometimes you get in positions or over-extend it. We’ll see where it’s at tomorrow.”

Jeff Carter’s Indirect No-Trade Clause

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With the Kings continuing to struggle, veteran center Jeff Carter has started to come up in trade speculation lately.  While he’s having a down season, he has been a strong goal scorer in the past and has had considerable success in the playoffs.  He also happens to have a manageable cap hit at just under $5.3MM, a decent rate for a proven top-six forward so there will be interest from contending teams.

There is one additional hurdle to clear when it comes to a Carter trade, however.  Although he technically does not have any form of trade protection, the breakdown of the remainder of his contract essentially works like a full no-trade clause.

Back in 2010 while still with Philadelphia, Carter signed his current deal which runs for 11 years while the salary is significantly lower in the final three years which he will reach beginning next season.  It’s the type of deal that is now illegal in the CBA and can result in penalties to teams involved with them.

At the conclusion of this season, Carter will have just $7MM remaining in salary over the final three years of his contract.  He’ll be 34 by then and if he doesn’t like where he’s dealt to, retirement could be a real option.  While the acquiring team would be absolved of any future salary cap commitments, the same can’t be said for Los Angeles.

Because the Kings have benefitted from a cumulative lower cap hit relative to the actual salary paid over his time with the team, they would become subject to salary cap recapture.  If he was to retire following the season, they’d be looking at a cap hit of roughly $2.75MM (the exact annual figure is dependent on the specific date a trade would be made and when he retires while it varies considerably each year) for each of the next three seasons.  The Flyers wouldn’t be subject to any of this as even though they gave him the contract, they wound up trading him before it actually kicked in so they didn’t benefit from it while the Blue Jackets didn’t have him long enough for recapture to be of any consequence to them either.

There have only been two players that have had salary cap recapture affect their teams and coincidentally, both have ties to the Kings.  Mike Richards was subject to recapture when they terminated his deal back in September of 2015 while Ilya Kovalchuk now plays for them (with New Jersey having a small recapture penalty on their books through 2024-25 after he ‘retired’ in 2013).

With all of this in mind, it’s in Kings GM Rob Blake’s best interest to work with Carter to find a trade destination that the veteran will be comfortable with.  That will allow them to escape the potential recapture penalties and acquire some assets in return as his trade value should be considerably high.  However, even though Carter doesn’t technically have a no-trade or a no-move clause in his contract, he certainly holds a lot of the cards here.

Kings’ Jeff Carter Linked To Boston Bruins

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When one national writer connects a contending team with a trade candidate, it’s simply speculation. When three link the two in the span of a few days, there is usually something to it. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested that the Boston Bruins could be a possible destination for Los Angeles Kings veteran center Jeff Carter in his latest “31 Thoughts” segment. The same day, The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa published an entire piece on Carter’s ideal fit in Boston. His colleague, Craig Custance, also wrote about how the best blueprint for a rebuild in L.A. could be to emulate the Bruins, who recouped picks and young players in 2015 by trading away Milan Lucic and Dougie Hamilton, but largely leaving their core intact. This time around, could Carter be in Lucic’s shoes with the Bruins and Kings swapping roles? It’s looking like a real possibility.

The logic behind a Carter deal is obvious for the Kings. L.A. sits in last place in the NHL, with just 24 points through 33 games. The team is far older than they would like to be given their struggles and, as Custance suggests, would benefit greatly from moving out a handful of veterans to inject youth and potential into the roster along with a solid core of Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, and Jonathan Quick. It is no surprise that TSN’s most recent Trade Bait list features Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin at No. 2, Carter at No. 5, and Alec Martinez at No. 16. Although Carter, still a capable offensive player, has three years remaining on his contract beyond this season at a remarkably reasonable $5.27MM cap hit and even lower salary, he is also 33 years old and is unlikely to improve in the years it could take for L.A. to return to the postseason. The Kings would be able to add some impressive young pieces in exchange for Carter, kick-starting their rebuild. TSN’s Frank Servalli warns that Carter could use the threat of retirement to decide on his destination, but he would be unlikely to turn down the opportunity to end his career with a contender like Boston.

However, does the deal make sense for the Bruins? Obviously, the first aspect worth noting is Boston’s depth down the middle. Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, while aging themselves, are still playing at an elite level and are both signed long-term. Adding Carter would give the Bruins three centers age 32 or older signed through at least the 2020-21 season. The Bruins would have the gauge the asking price on Carter against the fact that he would most likely be their third-line center. Yet, this alone doesn’t rule out a Carter trade. Shinzawa notes that Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, while improving, is not yet ready for prime time match-ups as the anchor of his own line. Carter would be a very helpful addition in the short-term, especially as the Bruins square off against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning and their equally impressive depth down the middle. Carter playing alongside a young winger like Ryan Donato or Danton Heinen could be a dangerous combo this season and beyond. If and when Forsbacka Karlsson – or Trent Frederic, Jack Studnicka, or Jakub Lauko – looks ready to take on a regular role over the next few years, the right-shooting Carter could also slide to the wing, where the Bruins have yet to identify a long-term option next to Krejci and Jake DeBrusk. 

The Bruins could find a way to make a talent like Carter’s work, but the cost will likely dictate whether or not a deal gets done. If Carter is playing the Lucic role in Custance’s proposed role reversal, the Kings would likely land a strong if unspectacular return. Lucic had just one year remaining on his contract as opposed to Carter’s three, but was younger and healthier and expected to play a top-line role in L.A. The Bruins received a first-round pick, established backup goaltender Martin Jones (who they flipped to San Jose), and standout AHL defenseman Colin Miller in exchange for Lucic. The Kings don’t need a young goaltender, nor do the Bruins have much to offer in that department. Boston will also be hesitant to move a first-round pick after forfeiting that pick last year in the Rick Nash trade. However, the Kings need scoring and the Bruins have a plethora of young forwards. Heinen could fill the Jones role of an established young NHLer, although the Kings could instead ask for Donato or Anders Bjork, while one of the team’s prospect centers could be substituted for the first-rounder and Jeremy Lauzon or Jakub Zboril could play the part of Miller. Anything more than that package of three talented young players would probably be a deal-breaker for GM Don Sweeney and company, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the combination gets a deal done.

With a seemingly sensible fit on both sides and several major pundits pedaling the rumor, this isn’t the last of Carter-to-Boston speculation. However, the Bruins have also been linked to Carter’s teammate Tyler Toffoli, the Minnesota Wild’s Charlie Coyle, and the New York Rangers’ Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello, yet no move has been made. There is no guarantee that Boston is looking to make a move right now, but as the season wears on these names will only continue to pop up until the Bruins inevitably make a move in pursuit of the Stanley Cup.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Los Angeles Kings

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads past the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. Let’s take a look at what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Los Angeles Kings.  Click here for the other articles in this series. 

What are the Kings most thankful for?

With a victory Saturday over division-rival Vegas and having split four of their last eight games, Los Angeles has pushed its way out of 31st place in the NHL. While that’s not necessarily something to be thankful for, the veteran-laden Kings started so badly that they were last in the NHL by far. However, the team has shown slight improvements since the team fired John Stevens and replaced him with Willie Desjardins on Nov. 4, who has a 7-10 record so far with the team. While that’s nothing great, the team has picked up a few key wins such as on Saturday and can only hope that things will be getting better on a daily basis.

Who are the Kings most thankful for?

With all the goaltending injuries that the team has sustained this season as both Jonathan Quick and backup Jack Campbell have missed large chunks of the season already, the team’s goaltending hasn’t been that bad. The team has been right in the middle, ranked 15th in save percentage with a .903, which is impressive considering their issues. In fact, the always reliable Quick has been the weakest link for the team in goal this year as he has a 3.23 GAA and a .893 save percentage in nine appearances, although it’s likely he’s not playing at 100 percent.

The team should be impressed, however, with their success from their other goalies as Campbell fared quite well filling in for Quick initially before he went down with the same lower-body injury that Quick suffered. Campbell has posted a 2.33 GAA and a .923 save percentage in 13 games, while AHL prospect Calvin Petersen has fared equally as well with a 2.41 GAA and a .929 save percentage in nine games.

What would the Kings be even more thankful for?

Goal scoring. Team star Anze Kopitar, who is coming off a 35-goal, 92-point season last year, remains the team’s top scorer, but has just seven goals and 18 points — hardly numbers of a player who should be somewhere among the league leaders in scoring. In fact, the team’s lack of scoring can’t be placed on just one person as the entire team’s offense has been lethargic all season as other players including Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown and their big offseason acquisition Ilya Kovalchuk have all struggled this year. If Kopitar and some of the other veterans can pick up the pace a bit and start to show their value, the team could find the offense they need to move them from out of the bottom of the Pacific Division.

What should be on the Kings’ Holiday Wish List?

The team has brought in multiple youngsters to attempt to bring life to the team and while some of those players have had limited success such as Matt Luff, the Kings really need to shake up their roster and begin to reshape their franchise. While there have been plenty of rumors around about L.A. moving on from players like Jeff Carter or Tyler Toffoli, the team remains laden with multiple long-term deals that they are stuck with. If they can find any way to move one or two of them, they have to hope someone finds enough value in some of those veterans that they would be willing to take them off their hands.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Los Angeles Looking To Make Another Move

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When the Los Angeles Kings fired head coach John Stevens on November 4th, the team was 4-8-1 with a points percentage of .346. Since then, L.A. is 7-10-0 with a points percentage of .412. Despite the change behind the bench to Willie Desjardins and also the swap of Tanner Pearson for Carl Hagelin, not much has really changed for the Kings. As such, it’s no surprise that GM Rob Blake is still searching for another trade partner to shake up his roster.

The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the Kings are actively working the phones and are hoping to make another move ahead of the NHL’s holiday roster freeze, beginning on December 19th. That gives Blake ten days to put together another trade. A rumor emerged yesterday that the offensive struggles and hefty contract of Jeff Carter, who lacks any trade protection, could lead the Kings to move the former scoring star this season. However, Garrioch feels that Tyler Toffoli is the more likely name to move next, stating that L.A. is receiving plenty of interest in the young winger. Toffoli’s $4.6MM cap hit is only about $700K less than Carter’s, but expires at the end of next season, whereas the 33-year-old Carter has three years remaining after this season. On top of that, the 26-year-old Toffoli has only two less points than Carter thus far and has the relative youth to change his game on a new team and return to his previous 50-point pace of play. Carter may simply be slowing down and may not be able to make a similar post-trade adjustment. Blake is likely impartial when it comes to moving his disappointing forwards and is likely to get a better return for Toffoli, despite Carter’s name value.

In terms of finding a trade partner, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman hears that the market is active right now. Friedman relayed the opinion that the resolution of the William Nylander situation in Toronto has re-ignited trade interest in other players across the league. In naming a number of teams reportedly looking to make a deal, Friedman not only names the Kings, but also a pair of potential matches in the Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild. Both teams have strong rosters capable of competing for the Stanley Cup this season, but have run into struggles lately for one reason or another. Both Boston and Minnesota share a need for secondary scoring and have the intriguing young and fast forwards that L.A. would likely look for in return. The Bruins could move on from a Danton Heinen or Anders Bjork to add Toffoli, while the Wild could part with Charlie Coyle or Joel Eriksson Ek. Other teams that would seem to be fits to add a Kings scoring forward include the Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders, or Philadelphia Flyers. If Garrioch’s report that Blake is eager to make a move before the Christmas break proves true, a deal involving these players and teams could be on the way soon.

Pacific Notes: Sharks, Carter, Hinostroza

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The Sharks could soon turn to the trade market to address their struggles on the fourth line, suggests Paul Gackle of The Mercury News.  The team has tried four different players in the fourth line center position with none of them having any extended success.  Head coach Peter DeBoer is a proponent of running a four-line attack and the struggles of San Jose’s bottom trio has made that a difficult proposition.

GM Doug Wilson has had to make moves to shore up that line in recent years.  Last season, he picked up Eric Fehr in a midseason move while in 2016, he added Nick Spaling via a trade and Dainius Zubrus as a free agent.  They can add a player making roughly $1.6MM right now per CapFriendly so if they intend on filling other holes between now and the deadline, they may want to wait a little bit before attempting to add a fourth line pivot.

Elsewhere around the Pacific:

  • Although Kings center Jeff Carter has struggled considerably this season, Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic (subscription required) believes that the time may be right for the team to move him. As a result of his back-diving contract, the financial outlay over the final three years of his deal is just $7MM in total which would make him attractive to lower-spending teams while his cap hit of roughly $5.27MM isn’t overly pricey for a top-six forward and would still carry some value.  The 33-year-old has been quiet offensively this season with just five goals and nine assists in 29 games but a change of scenery might give him a boost.  Carter does not have any trade protection in his contract.
  • On top of missing goalie Antti Raanta on a week-to-week basis, Coyotes winger Vinnie Hinostroza has received the same designation, notes Craig Morgan of The Athletic (Twitter link). He sustained a lower-body injury on Thursday night against Washington.  Arizona is now missing six regular players out of their lineup as they look to hang around the postseason picture.

Los Angeles Kings Fire Coach John Stevens

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The Los Angeles Kings announced that general manager Rob Blake has relieved coach John Stevens of his duties. The Kings have made Willie Desjardins as the interim coach for the rest of the season.

“This is a critical time in our season and our results to date have fallen well below our expectations. With that in mind, this was a difficult decision but one we feel was necessary,” said Blake. “We have a great deal of respect and appreciation for John’s time with our organization. He was a key part of our past success, and we have tremendous gratitude for his many contributions.”

Despite picking up a 4-1 victory Saturday over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the victory didn’t do anything to allow Stevens to keep his job as the team remained 4-8-1 in the team’s first 13 games, giving them the worst record in league with the Florida Panthers the only other team that has nine points (although they have played two less games). Stevens, in just his second year as head coach of the team, took the team to the playoffs last year as the fourth-seed in the Pacific Division, but were swept in the first-round of the playoffs as the Vegas Golden Knights exposed their lack of speed.

Los Angeles responded by adding 35-year-old Ilya Kovalchuk through free agency this offseason and was expected to make a renewed run for a Stanley Cup title with the likes 30-somethings Jonathan Quick, Drew Doughty (he’s actually just 28), Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown, Trevor Lewis, Nate Thompson, Dion Phaneuf and Alec Martinez. The team was expecting some of their young players to step up, but players such as Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson have struggled under Stevens’ tenure and haven’t developed into the goal scorers that everyone had hoped for. The team also has been without Quick, their star goaltender, for much of the season and there is no word on how much time he might miss with his most recent injury. Throw in the lack of development of some of their prospects and the team was heading down the wrong path with many of their veterans under contract for three of four more years.

Desjardins, who has 20+ years of coaching experience, has been acting as Team Canada’s men’ head coach, including leading the team in the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, Korea. He served as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks for three seasons between 2014 and 2017, compiling a disappointing 109-110-27 record. He also led Team Canada to gold at the Spengler Cup in December of 2017. Desjardins also served eight years as head coach in the WHL with the Medicine Hat Tigers where he won two championships in eight seasons there.

The team also released fired assistant coach Don Nachbaur from his duties, who served as the team’s assistant since last season. The team has brought in current German National Team coach and former Kings player Marco Sturm. The team did retain assistant coach Dave Lowry.

One has to wonder what Stevens chances will be to get another head coaching position. He served as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers between 2006 through 2009, reaching the Eastern Conference finals once and a second playoff appearance. He has a combined record of 171-148-43.

Helene Elliott was the first to report the coaching change.

 

Blackhawks’ Duncan Keith Unlikely To Face Supplemental Discipline

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Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith had a short night against the Calgary Flames last night. The veteran logged just 37 second of ice time, as he was ejected from the game on just his second shift, less than three minutes into the first period of the game. Keith was guilty of a boarding call on Flames rookie forward Dillon Dube, when he smashed Dube head-first into the end boards (video). Keith was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct, ending his night before it had really begun.

However, The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus hears that no additional discipline is coming for Keith. Seeing as Keith was ejected so early into the game, the misconduct operated more or less like a one-game suspension. Lazerus calls this already a “significant penalty for what was a borderline hit”. Lazerus is not wrong; the hit looks bad, but also isn’t a typical “between the numbers” boarding call. Dube was hit with force, but more from the side and with some sense of where Keith was coming from. A game misconduct is a debatable response to such an incident.

Yet, a couple factors do work against Lazerus’ claims. First, Dube did not return to the game and may have suffered a lasting head injury. Second, the last time Keith was in trouble, the league got it wrong. At the tail end of the 2015-16 season, Keith was suspended for the final five regular season games and first postseason game for the Blackhawks after a violent slash to the face of Minnesota Wild forward Charlie Coyle. Intentional, dangerous, and not unprecedented – Keith had a similar slashing incident with the Los Angeles Kings’ Jeff Carter in the 2013 playoffs – Keith somehow escaped with just six games when Boston Bruins defenseman Marty McSorley received a season-long suspension for his notorious slash back in 2000. The league was simply far too lenient in their response and the suspension was universally panned. This would be a chance to make up for that mistake which, even three years later, is still fresh. At the end of the day, Keith is probably safe, but the NHL Department of Player Safety will certainly take a look and has fair reason to tack on a fine or suspension.

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