Kirk Muller

According to a team announcement, assistant coach Kirk Muller is moving on from the Washington Capitals this summer. Muller’s contract expires in a few months, and he will be pursuing other opportunities this summer.

In the announcement, General Manager of the Capitals, Chris Patrick, said, “Kirk has expressed his desire to explore other opportunities within the National Hockey League, and we respect and support his decision. We thank Kirk for his dedication, professionalism, and the many contributions he made during his three years with our organization. He is an experienced and highly respected coach whose work ethic, leadership, and commitment to player development had a meaningful impact on our team both on and off the ice. We wish him and his family all the best in the next chapter of his career.”

Muller began his professional coaching career ahead of the 2006-07 season as an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens. He remained in that post until the 2011-12 season, when he took on the role as the head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes until 2013-14. Since then, he has been in a supporting role, serving in assistant or associate capacities with the St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Montreal, and Washington.

Additional notes from the Eastern Conference:

• The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced that Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov has been $5K, the maximum allowable, for cross-checking Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin in Game 4. It was an expected, albeit underwhelming outcome. In yesterday’s contest, well after the whistle, Zadorov calmly skated up to Dahlin and delivered a cross-check to Dahlin’s back, which caused Zadorov’s stick to break. It’s hard to argue that there wasn’t intent to injure based on the video, making the NHL’s decision not to suspend him a bit perplexing.
• Regardless, it appears that Zadorov may be out for Game 5 anyway. According to Steve Conroy of The Boston Herald, Zadorov and winger Viktor Arvidsson are questionable for tomorrow’s contest. Zadorov has been playing through injury to start the postseason, and it seems that it has caught up with him. Additionally, Arvidsson suffered an upper-body injury in yesterday’s blowout loss after being hit by Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson.