Metro Notes: Bennett, Fedotov, Hammers
Ray Bennett‘s time seeking a new coaching role didn’t take long. Moments after the New York Islanders announced that they had mutually parted ways with Bennett, the Washington Capitals announced they have hired him for the 2026-27 season.
Bennett was presumably hired to replace Kirk Muller, who departed the organization in late April. The 64-year-old coach has served as an assistant coach in the NHL for over 25 years, primarily focusing on power-play strategies with the Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, and Islanders.
The Capitals’ work with a man advantage could certainly use a fresh perspective. Washington had a solid power play during the 2024-25 campaign, finishing 13th in the league with a 23.53% success rate. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the same prosperity this season, falling to 25th in the league with a 17.84% rate.
Additional notes from the Metropolitan Division:
- Despite being one win away from an Eastern Conference Final berth, the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters have lost some of their goaltending depth, likely for the remainder of the postseason. According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, netminder Ivan Fedotov has returned overseas to deal with an undisclosed injury. Since he is an unrestricted free agent this summer and left the team during their pursuit of the Calder Cup, it seems likely that Fedotov does not intend to continue his professional career in North America. He may have already begun exploring opportunities overseas.
- The Islanders announced the name and logo of their new AHL affiliate in Hamilton, following the team’s move from Bridgeport, CT. The new AHL franchise will be named the Hamilton Hammers, reflecting the historical significance of the steel industry in the Ontario city.
Morning Notes: Davidge, Vatrano, Bennett
Yesterday, the Columbus Blue Jackets somberly announced that former scout, radio, and TV analyst Bill Davidge passed away at the age of 72. Davidge last worked for the Blue Jackets in the 2018-19 season.
Although born in Dunnville, Ontario, Davidge had significant connections to Ohio. In the mid-1970s, Davidge spent his collegiate days at The Ohio State University, scoring 45 goals and 101 points in 114 games, while serving as the team’s captain during the 1976-77 campaign. Additionally, after his playing days ended, Davidge spent many years as an assistant coach for Miami University of Ohio before becoming the team’s head coach from 1985 to 1989.
In their announcement of his passing, the Blue Jackets said, “Our organization has never known a greater advocate or ambassador for our team and sport than Bill. If the Blue Jackets were somewhere in the community, there was a good chance Bill was there. And he was making an impact. There were no strangers in his world, only friends.”
Additional morning notes:
- Despite having nearly $41MM in cap space heading into the summer, the Anaheim Ducks may come relatively close to the upper limit of the salary cap after inking new contracts with Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson, Pavel Mintyukov, and Olen Zellweger, among others. Should they need additional breathing room, Patrick Present of The Hockey News opined that the team could look to move Frank Vatrano, who is making just north of $4.5MM through the 2027-28 campaign. Vatrano, 32, is an obvious trade candidate after a year in which he only totalled nine points, but that could equally make him more difficult to move.
- According to a team announcement, the New York Islanders have parted ways with assistant coach Ray Bennett. Bennett, 64, has a lengthy history as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche, and Islanders. As assistant coach, Bennett was tasked with leading New York’s power play, one that finished 30th in the league with a 16.53% success rate.
Islanders Hire Ray Bennett, Bob Boughner As Assistant Coaches
The Islanders announced Monday they’re hiring veteran coaches Ray Bennett and Bob Boughner to head coach Patrick Roy‘s staff as assistants.
The moves complete the first staff changes under new general manager Mathieu Darche. New York created the two vacancies when they relieved Tommy Albelin and John MacLean of their duties over a week ago.
Albelin and MacLean were the Islanders’ primary special teams coaches. It’s a fair assumption that Bennett and Boughner will replace their roles directly, with the former now overseeing New York’s power play and the latter overseeing their penalty kill.
Bennett’s hiring means the 62-year-old will be on an NHL bench for a 25th season. He spent the last eight years with the Avalanche as their power play coach. Colorado relieved him of his duties quickly following their first-round playoff loss to the Stars.
He certainly had loads more firepower to work with in Denver than he will on Long Island, at least to start, but Bennett’s recent track record is strong. Colorado’s 23.0% success rate on the power play since Bennett took it over in 2017-18 is fifth in the league, fourth if you don’t consider Utah’s 24.2% clip last year as a separate franchise from the Coyotes.
Bennett will now look to help jumpstart an Islanders power play that finished 31st in the league last year under MacLean’s watch at just 12.6%. Before his eight-year run with the Avs, Bennett was on the Kings’ staff from 1999 to 2006 and then with the Blues from 2007 to 2017.
Boughner, eight years Bennett’s junior, doesn’t have as lengthy of an NHL track record but has held two head coaching roles, first with the Panthers in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons and again with the Sharks for parts of three seasons from 2019 to 2022. Since being let go by San Jose in the 2022 offseason, he worked on the Red Wings’ staff as their top assistant, managing their defense and penalty kill. He was fired in Detroit along with head coach Derek Lalonde in December.
His last stop didn’t see him fare particularly well. Detroit’s penalty kill was a bottom-10 unit over Boughner’s tenure, but he was given the unenviable task of managing an undermanned group on a club exiting a rebuild. But when he was running the Sharks’ penalty kill in his two-year run as an assistant in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns, they were still middle-of-the-pack with an 80.6% success rate.
The changes were necessary and foreseeable ones to jumpstart both special teams units, which, along with poor finishing talent, stripped away any hope of a playoff spot for the Isles last season. They were a slightly above-average possession team at even-strength, though, so Darche will hope some improved special teams coaching will gel well with the returning Roy and assistant Benoit Desrosiers in helping the club get back to relevance in 2025-26.