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Niklas Backstrom

Blue Jackets Sign Three Assistant Coaches To Contract Extensions

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When Dean Evason was hired as head coach last season, he received a multi-year contract, but his assistants all entered the year on expiring deals.  While this would have provided an opportunity to shake up his staff and bring in some of his former assistants, that won’t be the case.  Instead, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that goalie coach Niklas Backstrom and assistant coaches Jared Boll and Steve McCarthy have all received contract extensions; terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Backstrom will return for his sixth season with Columbus but has held a variety of roles during that time, including being a European development coach, a scout, and a goalie coach which he has been the last two seasons.  Backstrom played in parts of 10 NHL seasons over his playing career, compiling a 2.49 GAA with a .914 SV%; all but four of his 413 appearances at the top level came with Minnesota.

Boll, meanwhile, spent five years as a development coach in Columbus before moving behind the bench as an assistant for the 2023-24 campaign for his first taste of coaching at the NHL level.  He spent the bulk of his playing days with the Blue Jackets as well, suiting up in 518 games for them over parts of nine seasons where he was most known for his physicality on their fourth line.

As for McCarthy, he has the most coaching experience outside of Evason behind the Columbus bench.  He spent five seasons as an assistant with AHL Cleveland before being promoted to run the defense back in the 2021-22 season.  As a player, he played in parts of eight NHL seasons, suiting up in a little over 300 games with Chicago, Atlanta, and Vancouver.

Patrick Kane Talking With Four Eastern Conference Teams

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Chris Johnston reported on TSN Insider Trading today that unrestricted free agent forward Patrick Kane and his agent Pat Brisson have formally opened discussions with teams about the 34-year-old’s next contract. It is believed that Kane is talking to at least four Eastern Conference teams and possibly even a fifth.

Kane opted to have offseason hip surgery after dealing with a nagging injury for most of last season. He had the procedure on June 1st and was expected to have a 4–6-month recovery period. He appears to be on track to return to the NHL within that timeline. The injury likely hindered the three-time Stanley Cup Champion’s play last season as Kane had a down year offensively, registering just 21 goals and 36 assists in 73 games split between the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers.

Johnston believes that the clubs Kane is talking to are the Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, and the Detroit Red Wings. Each of those teams makes sense, given Kane’s circumstances. Kane played with the Rangers last year and has a certain level of familiarity with the group. He is from Buffalo, and the Sabres are a team that is on the rise and could certainly use another scoring forward. Florida went to the Stanley Cup finals last year and often seems to be a popular destination for free agents. And finally, the Red Wings acquired one of Kane’s favorite players to play with, Alex DeBrincat.

Kane’s signing could certainly shift the balance in a very strong Eastern Conference if he can return to being even a fraction of the player he once was. He is just two years removed from a 92-point season and was a point-a-game player in 12 of 13 seasons before last year.

The biggest concern with Kane is that the hip resurfacing surgery he had is a tough one to recover from. Nicklas Backstrom has struggled to return from the procedure after having it last year, and Ryan Kesler was never able to return after having it in 2019. Mike Sillinger and Ed Jovanovski are two other players who had the same surgery, and neither was able to return for a significant period, although Jovanovski was able to play 37 games during the 2013-14 season. The surgery is typically for people in their 50s and is not commonly done for people under the age of 40. It is not without success in athletes, though, as tennis star Andy Murray has had the procedure and had a successful return to the court.

Columbus Blue Jackets Expected To Name Niklas Bäckström Goalie Coach

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After solidifying Mike Babcock as their head coaching hire, which won’t be official until later this summer, the Columbus Blue Jackets still had one vacancy left to fill on their bench. That will be filled soon, as multiple sources indicated to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline that longtime Minnesota Wild netminder Niklas Bäckström will be named their new goaltending coach.

Bäckström will be taking over from Manny Legace, whose contract was not renewed after 2022-23.

The 45-year-old Finn last played in the NHL with the Calgary Flames in 2015-16 but played three more seasons professionally in Finland before calling it a career. Since retiring in 2019, he’s served on and off with Columbus as a scout and as a European goaltending development coach.

During his playing days, Bäckström amassed 413 games of NHL experience, 409 of which came with Minnesota. Known for his sound technical play, Bäckström was a Vezina Trophy nominee in 2008-09 after posting a .923 save percentage, 37-24-8 record, and eight shutouts in 71 starts.

Bäckström will now be in charge of working with Columbus’ NHL goalie tandem, which, as it stands, is made up of European starter Elvis Merzlikins and Russian backup Daniil Tarasov. Merzlikins struggled mightily last season after a strong stretch of play, and the pivot to Bäckström as goalie coach is made with his performance in mind especially.

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