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Lawson Crouse

Coaching Notes: Woods, McFarland, Desjardins, Weight

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Yesterday, while 217 individuals took their first step toward fulfilling their dreams of being NHL players one day, two others took a major step toward becoming NHL head coaches:

The Minnesota Wild announced that they have hired Bob Woods as an assistant coach for the 2017-18 season. Woods was an assistant for the Buffalo Sabres under Dan Bylsma in 2016-17, but was not retained by the Sabres after Bylsma and GM Tim Murray were fired and replaced with Phil Housley and Jason Botterill respectively. Buffalo was not Woods’ first NHL experience; he previously worked for the Anaheim Ducks and Washington Capitals as an assistant, both under current Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau. Woods also worked for Boudreau in the AHL, replacing him as head coach of the Hersey Bears when Boudreau was promoted to the Capitals open position. Woods led the Bears to Calder Cup championships in 2006 and 2009, before being called up to Washington himself. In the brief time after working alongside Boudreau for nine years and being hired by Buffalo, Woods was also the head coach and general manager of the Saskatoon Blade of the WHL. Equipped with years of experience coaching at all levels, as well as a prolific playing resume in the minor leagues – Woods is an ECHL Hall of Famer and holds the record for most career goals by a defenseman – Woods is a great addition for the Wild and should fit in perfectly alongside his long-time friend and mentor.

Not long after Minnesota tabbed their new assistant, the Florida Panthers named Paul McFarland as a new member of their coaching staff. On the other end of the spectrum to a guy like Woods, McFarland is relatively new to the coaching game. The 31-year-old was once an OHL prospect with dreams of being an NHL player, but upon realizing that his playing aspirations were a long shot, instead attended Acadia University, continued to play and study the game, and got into coaching after graduating in 2010. McFarland returned to the OHL served as an assistant coach for the Oshawa Generals for three years and then spent the past three seasons as the head coach of the Kingston Frontenacs. McFarland led the junior club to a 111-71-22 record, qualified for the playoffs all three years, and helped to develop highly-regarded prospects Lawson Crouse, Roland McKeown and Warren Foegele, as well as two second-round selections yesterday, Jason Robertson and Eemeli Rasanen. Panthers’ coach Bob Boughner, a rookie NHL head coach himself, is reportedly very excited about bringing McFarland aboard and his ability to assist with the development of young players in Florida.

  • Willie Desjardins might not be a head coach in the NHL for a while after being fired by the Vancouver Canucks back in April, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have an important team to lead. Desjardins has been tabbed as the head coach for Team Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics, a great honor regardless of the fact that the NHL won’t be participating in the Games. Desjardins will be looked upon to lead a talented, young Canadian team against a similarly young and talented American team as well as several different European squads that will have veteran professionals on their rosters. However, Desjardins has had major success at the junior and AHL level and is a strong pick for the position. He likely left NHL assistant offers on the table to take the job, but his name will certainly be back up for NHL head coach consideration if he can get it done on the big stage come this winter.
  • New York Islanders’ coach Doug Weight made an exciting announcement today, as his son, 16-year-old Danny Weight, committed to powerhouse college hockey program Boston College. The Eagles will get Weight’s services beginning in 2019-20, after he plays for the U.S. National Development Program for the next two seasons. At 6’0″, 170-lbs. already, Weight projects to be a power forward just like his dad, but will have an edge in development at BC versus his father’s time at Lake Superior State University in the early 90’s.

Shane Doan Era Nearing Conclusion

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Although it’s certainly not the biggest issue Arizona management will face this off-season, it could well be the end of an era for the team. Shane Doan has captained the franchise for the last 14 years, but has seen the team reach the franchise reach the conference finals only once. Doan is the rare example of a player who is far more than the sum of his point totals and stat-lines. He’s never broken 80 points, and only hit 30 goals once, but has been a consistent presence – potting a very respectable 972 career points in 1540 career games. This last season, he saw a momentous drop in production, from 28 goals and 47 points in 2015-16 to 6 goals and 27 points this past year. His best years are most certainly behind him, with  his impact on the ice being negligible. Yet, his leadership ability on a young Coyotes squad could be near impossible to replace.

At 40 years old, Doan is the last surviving original Winnipeg Jet. He was an unlikely candidate to outlast his teammates that season. Although he was the youngest player on the team, he was outperformed by fellow rookie Deron Quint and finished a measley 17th in team scoring. He had a strong playoff and found himself shuttled to the deserts of Arizona, where he eventually became captain in 2003-04. The Coyotes have missed the playoffs 11 times under his leadership. And yet with all the difficulties Phoenix/Arizona faced, Doan was the constant face of re-assurance for a worried fanbased, and a consistent performer on an inconsistent squad. His play always remained the same, whether the team was at the bubble of making the playoffs, or 30 points out. His tenacity has been revered around the league, and his on-the-edge play even resulted in a few league suspensions when he crossed the line.

Doan has been pivotal to a team that yet again deeply entrenched in the re-building phase. At 40 years old, it seems unlikely that Doan will return for another season. The Coyotes will be expected by most around the league to finish short of the 8th spot yet again. But the younger players on the team, such as Anthony Duclair, Lawson Crouse, Max Domi, Dylan Strome, Clayton Keller, and Jakob Chychrun, would suffer greatly in their development from his absence. In an off-season where the team is quite likely to also lose 35 year-old Radim Vrbata, there will be a serious vacuum of veteran voices in the Arizona locker room.

Doan would probably see a pay cut from his last paycheck of $3.87 MM per year if he wanted to spend another year in the desert. If he does not don the maroon again, the captaincy and his position as a physical winger will need to be replaced. There are other veteran forwards available for the taking, such as Patrick Eaves and Thomas Vanek, but both players will likely be looking for longer-term deals. Regardless of whether Doan returns or not, his mark on the Coyote franchise will not soon be forgotten, and his influence on the organizational mindset will be felt for years.

East Notes: Crouse, Lappin, Addison

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When the Florida Panthers shipped Lawson Crouse off to Arizona in exchange for a pair of draft picks and the Coyotes taking on Dave Bolland’s cap hit, many people were shocked. Bolland was (and remains) on long-term injured reserve, without a clear picture on whether he’ll ever play hockey again. Crouse on the other hand was a 19-year old blue-chip prospect who looked like he had a long NHL career ahead of him as a prototypical power forward. Speaking to George Richards of the Miami Herald, Panthers GM Tom Rowe admitted it was tough to lose him:

We got criticized for giving up on a great young prospect but we had to. That contract was strangling us, cap-wise. When we traded him, our scouts were furious. I’m not going to lie. But we had to do something and that was trade Lawson.

Crouse has just 11 points this season for the Coyotes, but he’s gaining valuable experience as a teenager and still has a bright future ahead of him. Meanwhile the Panthers have already essentially used that cap space, as extensions for Aaron Ekblad, Vincent Trocheck, Jonathan Huberdeau and Derek MacKenzie kick in next year.

Snapshots: Ratelle, Crouse, Fiala

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While the Toronto Maple Leafs will reveal some new additions to their Legends Row tonight as part of Hockey Day In Canada, the New York Rangers have also announced that they will raise Jean Ratelle’s #19 to the rafters next season. The Rangers great is 37th all-time in points in the NHL and spent his best years in New York, scoring 109 points in 1971-72.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985 and recently was honored among the NHL’s Top 100 list. It’ll be hard to watch for Boston fans, as some still likely consider him a Bruins legend as well. Ratelle played six seasons at the end of his career for the black and yellow, including five straight 25+ goal seasons from 1975-80. He also spent four seasons as an assistant coach there after his retirement.

  • According to Sarah McLellan of AZCentral Sports, the Arizona Coyotes will move Lawson Crouse to injured reserve prior to their game tonight. Crouse has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury. The 19-year old Crouse has stuck around all season in Arizona despite not getting that much ice time. After coming over from the Florida Panthers in the deal that saw Arizona take on Dave Bolland’s contract, Crouse has just eight points in 49 games this season.
  • McLellan also reports that Brad Richardson skated Saturday, and is getting closer to a return. Richardson broke two bones in his leg back in November, and after undergoing surgery has continued to rehab through the season. It looks like he will make it back before the end of the season, though the team would be wrong to rush him as they are already well back of the playoff race.
  • The Nashville Predators have brought Kevin Fiala back up from the AHL, where he has 19 points in 22 games. After making short appearances in the NHL the past two seasons, the former 11th-overall pick will try to make an impact this time around. The Swiss-born Fiala is still just 20-years old and has all the tools to make an impact at the NHL level at some point.

Friedman’s Latest: Florida, Alzner, Virtanen

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In Elliotte Friedman’s latest wonderful 30 Thoughts column, the Sportsnet reporter goes in detail on Florida’s recent philosophical change that resulted in the firing of head coach Gerard Gallant last week. Comparing the Panthers to baseballs Pittsburgh Pirates of 2013 – a team that completely bought into an analytical approach and made the playoffs for the first time in twenty years. The Panthers are trying similarly to buy-in to a game-changing approach, even after the most successful season in franchise history.

Part of the turnaround will hopefully be Tom Rowe stepping from the front office to behind the bench, but Friedman has another note. The Panthers moved Dave Bolland out this summer to clear cap room for a major acquisition in-season. Whoever that ends up being, combined with the return of Jonathan Huberdeau could be a huge swing for the Panthers down the stretch. It cost Lawson Crouse to rid themselves of Bolland, meaning they better take advantage of the cap space it bought them.

  • In looking at the upcoming free agent class, Friedman zones in on two names in particular. Kevin Shattenkirk, who has been widely talked about since the last draft as being a possible trade candidate, and Karl Alzner, the steady Washington defenseman who is said to be looking for somewhere between $5.5-6MM dollars this summer. Alzner has been a rock for the Capitals, but with shrinking cap space the team likely won’t be able to afford him past this season. If he does make it to the open market, Friedman points to Western Canada for hints on who will be after the former Team Canada captain (World Junior’s, 2008).
  • The Buffalo Sabres are still a rebuilding team, but have suffered through a ton of injuries this season and may not be as bad as their record looks. Interestingly, Friedman reports that the team has been scouting a ton of the Vancouver Canucks’ AHL affiliate Utica. While he opines that the team is watching Jake Virtanen who has been up and down all year between the two clubs, perhaps something other than Evander Kane was brought up when Buffalo and Vancouver were talking earlier this year.

Coyotes To Keep Lawson Crouse Past Nine Game Mark

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On Tuesday night, Arizona rookie left winger Lawson Crouse played in his ninth NHL game, the limit before the first year of his entry-level contract kicks in.  Craig Morgan of AZ Sports reports (via Twitter) that Crouse will remain with the team and continue to play, thereby officially making his contract start.

In those nine games, Crouse has a goal along with a -4 rating, four penalty minutes, and 11 shots on goal while averaging 10:41 per night in a bottom six role.  He also has 21 hits, tied for the second highest among Arizona forwards.

The next key deadline is the 39 game plateau.  If Crouse is on the active roster for that many games (which includes ones spent as healthy scratches), he will accrue one year towards unrestricted free agency.  Basically, if he’s on the active roster for a 40th game, he’ll be eligible to become a UFA at age 26 instead of 27.

More than likely, the next decision regarding Crouse’s future will be made in mid-December which is just before the start of the World Junior Hockey Championships.  If the Coyotes to decide to loan him for that tournament, it would suggest that they’d be leaning towards sending back to junior later on this season before he gets to that 40 game threshold.

In the meantime, once Crouse plays in his next game, it will trigger the condition on the 2018 second round pick from the August trade with Florida that also saw the Coyotes take on Dave Bolland’s contract.  Since Crouse is burning the first year of his contract, the Panthers will receive Arizona’s second round pick in 2018; if he didn’t, that pick would have become a 2018 third rounder.

[Related: Coyotes Depth Chart]

The Dylan Strome Situation

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Dylan Strome is one of five rookies who made the 2016-17 Arizona Coyotes roster, joining D Jakob Chychrun, F Christian Dvorak, F Laurent Dauphin and F Lawson Crouse. Strome, the third overall pick in 2015, is expected to one day fill the longstanding vacancy the Coyotes have had for an elite, #1 center. But after being announced as a scratch for tonight’s season-opener, questions are already being raised as to whether Strome is or even will be that guy, as Craig Morgan of Today’s Slapshot writes.

Of course it’s just one game in what likely promises to be a long career for Strome, but it has to be somewhat disconcerting a highly-regarded rookie is already sitting in the press box this early on. To his credit, Strome is looking at the bright side of the situation:

“It’s obviously a little disappointing but you’ve got to look at the positives. I’m here in the NHL, living my dream at 19. Not a lot of people get this opportunity so I’m just going to wait for my chance and just run with it when I get it.”

For his part, head coach Dave Tippett “promised” Strome would get an opportunity and as Morgan notes, the coach even implied the 19-year-old rookie could rotate in and out with Dvorak in a platoon scenario. It seems odd that the Coyotes would subject two of their top prospects to this type of arrangement considering they have other options. Dvorak could have been sent to Tucson of the AHL to gain more professional experience. Strome is eligible to be returned to Erie of the OHL for a final season of junior but according to Morgan the Coyotes would prefer to introduce the youngster to their system and have him work with their staff to further his development. After netting 240 points in his last 124 OHL games, it would seem apparent that another year of junior wouldn’t do Strome much good.

This situation probably will qualify as nothing more than a blip on the radar in the career of Strome. But it has to register as somewhat surprising that he will have to wait a little longer before making his NHL debut.

Four Rookies Make Coyotes Final Roster

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Bob McKenzie tweeted earlier that Dylan Strome, Lawson Crouse and Jakob Chychrun have all made the Coyotes final 23-man roster. They will be joined by 21-year-old center Laurent Dauphin, who appears poised to fill the fourth-line pivot job for the Coyotes.

Strome was drafted by the Coyotes third overall in 2015 and will likely fill a top-six center slot for Arizona. He’s combined to score 240 points the last two seasons with the Erie Otters of the OHL, serving as the team’s captain in 2015-16.

Crouse was acquired by Arizona from Florida in the offseason as incentive for the club to assume the balance of Dave Bolland’s contract. If he stays with the Coyotes for at least 10 games this season, the 2018 conditional draft choice the Coyotes are set to send to Florida will become a second. If he doesn’t burn a year of his ELC, the pick will be a third-rounder.

Chychrun was chosen 16th overall in 2016 with the pick acquired from Detroit in exchange for taking on the final year of Pavel Datsyuk’s deal. The 18-year-old will likely take the spot of Kevin Connauton, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. It’s possible Chychrun’s stay in Arizona will come to an end once Connauton is healthy enough to return.

GM John Chayka made a lot of moves in the summer to help mold his roster into one capable of challenging for a playoff spot. At least to start, it looks like the Coyotes will be counting on a handful of rookies to make significant contributions to that pursuit.

Pacific Division Notes: Rodin, Gryba, Bennett, Coyotes Prospects

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In need of additional scoring punch up front, the Vancouver Canucks were hopeful Swedish winger Anton Rodin would earn a big league job and contribute some secondary scoring to the lineup. He has impressed during camp but now it looks as if his NHL debut will be postponed as the 25-year-old winger is experiencing soreness and swelling in his surgically repaired knee. Rodin suffered a severed tendon last year while playing in the Swedish Elite League and as Iain MacIntyre of the Province writes, it’s believed that Rodin has simply aggravated the knee by playing too much hockey in a relatively short period of time this preseason.

GM Jim Benning indicated Rodin will be held out of the lineup for up to a week to allow for rest and rehab.

“The injury got aggravated and so he’s going to have to take a step back. We’re going to give him a few days or week off here to get the swelling down, and from there just rehab so he’s a 100 per cent for us. We’re going to need him at 100 per cent.”

MacIntyre notes that Rodin is averaging a point-per-game through five preseason contests and has demonstrated an ability to protect the puck and to play in traffic against bigger opponents during exhibition games. The 2009 second-round pick has some experience in North America, skating in 111 games with Chicago in the AHL, scoring 14 goals and 41 points. He returned to Sweden in time for the 2014-15 season and would go on to win the Swedish League’s MVP in 2015-16.

Fortunately for Vancouver, the injury doesn’t appear serious and it looks as if Rodin will only be out a short time. It could threaten his availability to play in the season opener and as such, his absence could come into play as the Canucks look to finalize their roster.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • After signing Kris Russell to a one-year contract, the Edmonton Oilers have given fellow blue liner Eric Gryba permission to speak with other clubs in an attempt to land a job, tweets Jason Gregor of the Edmonton Journal. This would seem to suggest Gryba, who is in camp with the Oilers on a PTO, will not make the Edmonton roster. If Gryba fails to find a spot in another organization, Gregor believes he could continue to skate with the team, though of course he would be doing so without a contract. Gryba spent the first three years of his NHL career with Ottawa before a 2015 trade sent the defenseman to Edmonton. He appeared in 53 games in 2015-16 with the Oilers and tallied one goal and six points.
  • It’s looking more and more likely the Arizona Coyotes will break camp with a few rookies among their ranks, writes Sarah McLellan of AZ Central. Dylan Strome was expected to make the team and fill a scoring line pivot role and has done nothing in camp to change that line of thinking. Recently he’s been skating with Lawson Crouse and Anthony Duclair on the team’s second line. Speaking of Crouse, the Coyotes value his grit and toughness though it’s still likely he doesn’t start the season with Arizona. Laurent Dauphin could force his way into a 4th line role and has evidently earned the trust of his teammates with his hard work. McLellan also notes the team is still giving looks to forwards Christian Dvorak and Christian Fischer along with blue liners Jakob Chychrun and Anthony DeAngelo. Whatever happens it seems quite possible that several rookies will be suiting up for the Coyotes in 2016-17.
  • Calgary Flames center Sam Bennett appears poised for a breakout campaign as a sophomore in the NHL, writes Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Herald. Bennett, who scored 18 goals and 36 points in 77 games as a rookie, is already well on his way to earning the trust of new head coach Glen Gulutzan due to his responsible two-way play this preseason. The 20-year-old pivot has also made an impression on veteran winger Troy Brouwer, with whom he has skated with this preseason: “He’s a good player. He sees the ice well and he reads the game well, which is a tough thing and a unique thing to have, especially at 20 years old. I think he’s the type of player, under this coach, who is going to have a lot of responsibility and it’s really going to elevate his game.” Gilbertson notes that with Johnny Gaudreau still unsigned and not playing, Calgary has struggled putting the puck in the net scoring just nine times in seven games. If Gaudreau is out for any extended period of the regular season, Bennett could help fill the scoring void created by his absence.

2016-17 Season Preview: Arizona Coyotes

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With training camps opening around the league and the new season less than three weeks away, we continue our series of team previews with a look at the Arizona Coyotes.

Last Season: 35 – 39 – 8 (78 points), fourth place in the Pacific Division. Missed the playoffs.

Salary Cap Space Remaining: $2.347MM (per Cap Friendly). The Coyotes will be able to free up to an additional $10.5MM by placing Dave Bolland and Chris Pronger on LTIR.

Key Newcomers: Alex Goligoski (D) – trade with Dallas; Jamie McGinn (LW) – free agent from Anaheim; Luke Schenn (D) – free agent from L.A. Kings; Radim Vrbata (RW) – free agent from Vancouver; Lawson Crouse (LW) – trade with Florida.

Key Departures: Antoine Vermette (C) – contract buyout – signed with Anaheim as free agent; Alex Tanguay (LW) – free agent; Boyd Gordon (C) – signed with Philadelphia as a free agent.

Players to Watch: Mike Smith and Goligoski. The Coyotes allowed the third most goals in the entire league which was a function of substandard goaltending and a mediocre defense corps. GM John Chayka addressed the defense, dealing a fifth-round pick to Dallas in exchange for the negotiating rights to Goligoski and subsequently signed the veteran puck-mover to a five-year contract.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson is the Coyotes #1 blue liner but Goligoski adds a reliable veteran to the mix who can play in all situations and will strengthen the team’s top-four. Last season he tallied 37 points for the Stars and has averaged 40 points for every 82 games he has played during his career. Goligoski was a horse on the back end in 2015-16, averaging nearly 24 minutes a game for the Central Division champs.

Meanwhile, the team is hopeful Smith will be healthy and provide steady play between the pipes for the Coyotes. The team finished 23rd overall in goalie save percentage with Smith appearing in just 32 games. On a promising note, Smith led all NHL goalies with 15 or more games played in 2015-16 in High Danger Save % (HDsV%) with a mark of 87.4% and has stopped at least 84% of those high quality chances in three of the last four seasons.

Smith was superlative in 2011-12 – the last season the Coyotes qualified for the playoffs – winning 38 games and finishing with a Sv% of 93.0%. He has the ability to single-handedly keep the Coyotes in games and if Goligoski can help clean up the defensive end, the Coyotes will be a contender.

Storylines: The John Chayka experiment and the development of the kids. Chayka is not only the league’s youngest GM but he’s also the first to come from a more analytically-oriented background. Fair or not, how the Coyotes perform with the roster he has assembled will have a major impact on how analytics and advanced stats are perceived in the league. If he can build a winner in Arizona with a limited payroll, it might encourage more clubs to actively embrace the role of analytics in the game.

By all accounts Chayka is a bright guy and most of his offseason moves were met with positive reactions from hockey pundits. His actual reliance on analytics in roster construction may be overstated but there is no question old school managers and coaches will be watching with interest.

Although improved goaltending and more contributions from the club’s blue liners will be important, perhaps the key to this upcoming season is the continued development of its young talent. Max Domi and Anthony Duclair are already well on their way to becoming stars in this league but the team does lack an established #1 center. Fortunately, they do have Dylan Strome, the third overall pick in the 2015 entry draft and one of the game’s top prospects. Strome has been among the most explosive scorers in junior hockey, totaling 240 points in 124 games with Erie of the OHL, averaging nearly two points per contest. No one expects the young pivot to immediately fill the void at #1 but if he can establish himself as a legitimate NHL regular it will take some of the pressure of the team’s returning centers. Assuming Duclair, Domi and the team’s other young players take the next step in their development and Strome proves to be ready for the NHL, Arizona has a realistic shot at playoff contention.

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