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Trade Rumors: Dubois, Byron, Dumba

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The Pierre-Luc Dubois saga in Columbus took a another turn on Wednesday, as always-candid head coach John Tortorella appeared in an interview on 97.1 The Fan and did not hold back in his commentary on the situation surrounding his young forward. While he has not officially requested a trade from the Blue Jackets, contract negotiations with Dubois did not go well and the team has been led to believe that he would prefer a change of scenery. Tortorella took a more direct approach, outright confirming that this is the case:

Yeah, he wants out. He spoke to the team, as we do here. It’s a little bit different than (departed 2019 free agents Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky) were. This is a 22-year-old kid. It doesn’t happen that often, so he has been honest with the group.

Yet, Tortorella is not content with the explanations (or lack thereof) that Dubois has provided he and others. He remains unclear as to what has changed in the talented center, who looked like a budding superstar and long-term cornerstone in Columbus just months ago in the postseason. And if the coach himself is to blame, it doesn’t seem like Tortorella is willing to let that change his style or impact his locker room.

 I wish he was a little bit more honest as far as reasons why. I still haven’t really gotten to that, but I think he needs to speak on that… I think that (conflict) is a really good thing in developing a hockey player.  Now ’Luc’ may not think that. Sometimes these players, especially today’s athletes, think, ’You’re too hard on me, you’re picking on me’ and this and that. Maybe it’s too hard for him. I don’t know. I haven’t been given a reason why he wants to leave. He certainly hasn’t said it to me that ’I don’t want to play for you.’ I think if that’s the reason he should tell me, and he should really basically get in front of it and get up out of here. That’s just the way I think you should do business in this stuff here. There’s no sense of people trying to figure out what’s going on. Let’s get in front of it here and get about our business and try to be the best team we can be… It’s a short leash with me as far as this is concerned. He needs to continue to do the things to help this team win and be the best teammate he can be, or I’m not sure where it goes. It’s a situation and we’ll go to it day by day.

Tortorella’s very public and very honest take on Dubois is not going to make the situation any better, even if the coach is not to blame for the trade request. Initial reports stated that the Blue Jackets may take their time to deal Dubois, waiting to maximize the return as best they can while he hopefully continues to contribute on the ice. However, if the locker room becomes too toxic with a top player at odds with the head coach and openly opposed to any future with the organization, this situation may need a resolution sooner rather than later. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that suitors are already serious about adding Dubois, so if the Blue Jackets need to make a quick trade, they will still have plenty of offers to choose from.

  • The Montreal Canadiens were able to get under the salary cap ceiling, but it was a tight fit. CapFriendly shows the club with only $708K in space for just a 21-man roster. If the Habs want the flexibility to even field a full roster never mind make a trade addition this season, someone has to go. Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette writes that the name being whispered is that of Paul Byron. Byron has been a loyal soldier for Montreal over the past five years and has developed into one of the club’s locker room leaders. However, the Canadiens’ off-season additions of Josh Anderson and Tyler Toffoli and the emergence of youngsters Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi have pushed Byron into a seemingly permanent bottom-six role. In fact, Byron played on the team’s fourth line throughout training camp and in Wednesday’s season opener. At a $3.4MM AAV through 2022-23, Byron is an expensive piece to be playing a checking role. The 31-year-old winger has not been durable either over the past couple of seasons either and may be ill-suited for his new position. Byron has scored at nearly a half-point per-game pace over the past four seasons combined and would be more valuable to another team that is able and willing to keep him in a scoring role. The question is whether that destination exists and, if so, will the Habs ultimately pull the trigger on dealing away a respected veteran.
  • One player enjoying the spotlight of rumor mill being off him for now is Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba. Dumba has heard the noise for more than a year now, but remains with the Wild; and the talented blue liner is happy about that, he tells TwinCities.com’s Dane Mizutani. Mizutani is not the only one that Dumba has confided in, either. He has also gone directly to GM Bill Guerin and stated that he would like to remain with the team. Guerin will certainly listen to one of his best players, but he has to listen to offers as well with the threat of the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft looming. With fellow top-four defenders Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, and Jonas Brodin all holding No-Movement Clauses in their current contracts and requiring protection from the expansion draft, Dumba would be the odd man out in the standard 7-3 protection scheme. Minnesota will definitely not allow the Seattle Kraken to acquire Dumba for free though, which has prompted his placement on the trade block. However, if Dumba can back up his desire to remain with the Wild with a strong 2020-21 campaign, Guerin may decide to go with the 8-skater protection scheme and expose three forwards rather than the skilled defenseman.

Seattle Kraken Hire Jason Botterill, Norm Maciver

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The Seattle Kraken have added to their front office, hiring Jason Botterill as assistant GM and Norm Maciver as director of player personnel.

Botterill, 44, spent the last three seasons as general manager of the Buffalo Sabres but was fired this offseason after missing the playoffs once again. He cut his teeth as an executive under veteran managers like Ray Shero and Jim Rutherford over several years in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, the latter having also been the front office mentor of Kraken GM Ron Francis. Though his time in Buffalo did not go well, Botterill was once known as quite the AGM, able to help fill the Pittsburgh prospect pipeline with unheralded prospects that overachieved year after year.

In the release, Botterill explains why he took this job:

Everyone in hockey is extremely excited about what’s happening in Seattle, and I am thrilled for this unique opportunity. I’m looking forward to working with the diverse and talented group that Ron has assembled.

Maciver, 56, was part of the Chicago Blackhawks front office for a decade, serving in various roles including AGM from 2012-2019. He was part of the group that brought three Stanley Cup championships to the city and should bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to his new role in Seattle.

The Kraken have put together quite the front office so far and now will face the most important task so far, selecting an expansion roster. The 32nd NHL franchise will have a tough time replicating the Vegas Golden Knights’ immediate success, but Francis and company will certainly try.

Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft Set For July 21

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The Seattle Kraken now know when they will have their team set up as TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that the expansion draft will be held on July 21, two days before the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. He also notes that NHL teams will have to turn in their protection rosters to the league by July 17, giving Seattle four days to get ready for their draft.

All NHL teams (except the Vegas Golden Knights) will have to submit their protection roster of seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie or eight skaters and a goaltender to the league as part of Seattle’s $650MM price tag for joining the league, which should give the expansion team a good opportunity to jump into the league and compete immediately. The Golden Knights had the exact same criteria for their expansion draft in 2017 and took those advantages straight to the Stanley Cup Finals.

The real question is whether the Kraken can take advantage of the flat salary cap in order to get multiple side deals like Vegas was able to do before their expansion draft. The Golden Knights had many side deals that netted them significant core players. While there had been talk that teams weren’t likely to make the same mistakes they made in this coming expansion draft, the state of the league due to the pandemic, could give Seattle an opportunity to offer teams salary cap relief in exchange for top players/prospects or picks.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman also notes that no-movement clauses have also been extended into July, so that players who were supposed to have their NMC’s in place before the expansion draft will still have that.

The league has already prorated many key numbers to benefit the Kraken. Capfriendly reports that the 40/70 games played requirement for players to be exposed for the expansion draft that started in 2019/20 has been altered. Instead of 40/70, the league has prorated those numbers to 27/54 games. The career injury threshold of 60 consecutive games played will now be 41 games missed.

Mikhail Berdin Signs Extension With Winnipeg Jets

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In one of the more interesting moves of the offseason, goaltending prospect Mikhail Berdin has signed a two-year extension with the Winnipeg Jets. Berdin is entering the final year of his entry-level contract and hasn’t even played an NHL game yet, suiting up exclusively in the AHL or, for the first part of this season, in the KHL. The 22-year-old goaltender will now be under contract through the 2022-23 season. The deal carries an average annual value of $750K in the NHL and is two-way in 2021-22 and one-way in 2022-23.

Of note, Berdin is eligible for selection in the upcoming Seattle Kraken expansion draft and will now fill the Jets exposure requirements. Connor Hellebuyck is the obvious choice for the Jets to protect, which would leave the promising young prospect up for grabs.

Make no mistake, he is promising. Berdin was a sixth-round pick of the Jets in 2016 after playing rather sparingly in the Russian junior league, but immediately made an impact after coming to North America. He joined the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL where he posted a .925 save percentage in 31 appearances. He followed it up with another excellent campaign for Sioux Falls and was the third goaltender for Russia at the World Junior Championship (though he did not play).

Two years of professional hockey in the Winnipeg minor league system followed and Berdin has been successful, posting strong save percentages at every stop. He had a .912 in 14 games with SKA St. Petersburg this year in the KHL, but is expected to return for NHL training camp.

A move like this is interesting mostly because it locks Berdin into a deal long before he really had to. He has no NHL stats to rely on in negotiations but obviously wanted to be a part of the Jets organization and stay on this side of the pond. He could be a potential Seattle target, though there will be lots of young goaltenders available and perhaps more pressing needs.

Seattle Notes: Season Tickets, Expansion Payments, Analytics

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If you thought the pandemic has had a negative effect on the hype surrounding the Seattle Kraken expansion team, you would be wrong. With the Kraken set to officially enter the league late this season followed by formally forming a roster in the 2021 Expansion Draft next summer, the NHL’s newest club is having no trouble drumming excitement amid the COVID chaos. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun relays word from Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke that the team expects to have sold out of their season ticket package offerings by February or earlier. The club was forced to cap season tickets as demand continued to grow, limiting the number to 15,000 of a total 17,000+ available seats. They also expect a waiting list for season tickets before the puck even drops on their inaugural season. There appears to be no shortage of anticipation for Kraken hockey in Seattle.

  • While the Kraken won’t be able to ice a team until the 2021-22 season, they will be involved in roster transactions before then. LeBrun notes that the Coronavirus pandemic has not impacted Seattle’s ability to maintain their installment payments to the league on their expansion fee. Assuming that continues, the club will have paid their $650MM entry fee by March. At that point, they will be eligible to join in league functions such as Board of Governors’ and GM’s Meetings and can begin making trades and signing free agents from the junior, collegiate, and European ranks.
  • One area that the Kraken will not skimp on is analytics. As Ryan Clark writes for The Athletic, Seattle is already believed to have put together the second-largest analytics staff in the league even though they are still a year away from even playing a game. It’s a diverse group who aren’t all necessarily experienced in the way of hockey analytics, but it is a talented group nonetheless. Statistics will clearly play a major role for the new franchise, who have a number of major decisions to make in the impending Expansion Draft.

Seattle Kraken Add To Scouting Department

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The Seattle Kraken have added two more names to their ever-expanding scouting department, hiring Chris MacDonald and Eddie Olczyk Jr. The NHL’s 32nd franchise has continued to bring in experience and ability to the front office as they prepare to debut in 2021-22. The organization has announced dozens of hires over the last few months.

MacDonald comes to the team after serving as director of European amateur scouting with the Arizona Coyotes and previously working with the Vancouver Canucks. In the Kraken release, it makes sure to highlight MacDonald’s work with building the young core of the Canucks as he was part of the group that drafted players like Bo Horvat, Elias Pettersson, and Quinn Hughes.

Olczyk Jr. obviously comes with some name recognition, given his father’s long playing and broadcasting career. He’ll be helping the Kraken scout the USHL especially after spending several years as an assistant coach with Bemidji State.

While the pro scouts that will help the Kraken develop their expansion draft strategy are incredibly important to the team’s immediate success, it’s easy to forget just how much impact those amateur scouts had in the early days of the Vegas Golden Knights. While the team obviously put together a group of NHL players that went to the Stanley Cup Finals right away, the draft picks they acquired in that first season have been integral to keeping the Golden Knights at the top of the standings. Remember, both Nick Suzuki and Erik Brannstrom were first-round selections of the Golden Knights in 2017 before being flipped as the main assets in trades for Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone. This time around it may be even more important for the Kraken to draft well right from the start, given the experience NHL managers now have with the expansion process.

Trade Review Poll: Which Off-Season Acquisition Will Have Greatest Impact?

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As NHL teams have been forced to shuffle their rosters this off-season in response to the flat salary cap, this off-season has quietly been filled with meaningful trades. While free agent deals always seem to dominate the headlines, there have been at least 20 different trades that sent a notable player to a new locale. This started way back in August, even as the postseason was in full swing, as teams had to look ahead to next season as early as possible to get a jump on cap management. When 2020-21 kicks off, who will make the biggest impact on their new team?

August 25: In a trade that actually contained six players, the only name of immediate note was Kasperi Kapanen making his return to the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs had initially acquired Kapanen from Pittsburgh in the Phil Kessel trade, but clearly the Penguins maintained interest in the player. Back with the team that drafted him, Kapanen will very likely slot in on the Penguins’ top line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel after scoring at a 40+ point full season pace in each of the last two seasons.

September 2: After many years, the Montreal Canadiens finally landed a reliable backup to Carey Price. In what amounted to a salary cap dump for the St. Louis Blues, the Habs acquired former starter Jake Allen. Although Allen played second fiddle to Jordan Binnington again this past season, he returned to form and outplayed the starter with an impressive .927 save percentage and 2.15 GAA. After signing an extension, Allen also has some job security in Montreal and may even have the added incentive of playing well in order to land the starting job for the Seattle Kraken.

September 11: After acquiring Kapanen, the Pittsburgh Penguins knew they needed to shed salary. They turned to former front office exec Bill Guerin, now the GM of the Minnesota Wild. The Wild landed forward Nick Bjugstad at next to no cost and Pittsburgh retained some salary as well. Back in the state where he made his name as a high school and college star, Bjugstad looks ready for a fresh start. In a forward group that is week down the middle and lacking in size, the big center is almost guaranteed a meaningful role. Bjugstad has been streaky and injury prone in his NHL career, but has also shown on multiple occasions that he has 50+ point upside playing a full season on a scoring line.

September 16: The Wild were right back at it a few days later, adding another new face to the forward corps. This time it cost them though. Minnesota acquired Marcus Johansson from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Eric Staal. Johansson provides great versatility as a player who can effectively play any forward position and in any situation. He has also scored at a half-point per-game pace or better for nine straight years with four different teams. Johansson should be able to step in and make an immediate impact. On the flip side, Staal provides the Sabres with a bona fide second line center and veteran leader that they have been sorely lacking. The experienced pivot may not have the positional versatility of Johansson, but is still a superior scoring threat at 36 and knows how to grind out wins in the regular season and postseason.

September 24: The Penguins make their third different deal in less than a month, sending veteran forward Patric Hornqvist to the Florida Panthers for defenseman Michael Matheson and forward Colton Sceviour. While Matheson and Hornqvist are both overpaid, they each still bring value to their new team. Matheson, likely to play a bottom-pair role for Pittsburgh, is a huge upgrade to the players the Penguins rolled out on their final pairing last season. A perennial 20+ point producer and sound defensive player, Matheson will not be asked to play the same minutes as he did in Florida, but will still make the same impact in the minutes he does get from Pittsburgh. Hornqvist meanwhile has not played in more than 70 games in over four years, but is quietly still the same 50-point player that he always has been, just on a per-game basis. An expert net front presence and power play asset, Hornqvist will likely play a major role for a Panthers team that lost two of its top scorers to free agency.

September 26: In what was one of the more obvious salary cap dumps in recent memory, the New York Rangers traded away veteran defenseman Marc Staal and a second-round pick in exchange for “future considerations”. The lucky team on the other side was the Detroit Red Wings, who made out like bandits with a nice draft selection and a new veteran leader for their blue line. A young, rebuilding team who has seen countless veterans leave, many of whom just this off-season, Detroit adds a new face with years of experience and leadership in Staal. While he is definitely in decline at 33, Staal is still a strong defensive presence, a plus player, and a penalty kill asset. Even without much offensive upside, Staal seems locked in for at least a top-four role in Detroit.

October 5: It wasn’t the strategy that anyone expected, but the San Jose Sharks decided to try to solve their issues in net by bringing in another struggling veteran to compete with their current struggling veteran. Devan Dubnyk, who comes over from the Minnesota Wild, is just a few years removed from being one of the top keepers in the game. However, this past season he was not even close to that level of play, recording an .890 save percentage and 3.35 GAA, albeit in limited showings. He was one of the few goalies who performed worse was San Jose’s existing starter, Martin Jones. Dubnyk has more experience and his peaks are much higher than Jones’, but he is also four years older and may have less of an ability to return to form. Perhaps the goal is simply to elevate Jones’ game by giving him an established backup to compete with, but there is always the possibility that Dubnyk emerges the victor.

October 6: Two teams on the fringes of being contenders, each with specific needs up front, made a big swap that will have ramification far beyond this next season. The Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets exchanged restricted free agent forwards Max Domi and Josh Anderson, each of whom will look to rebound and play a major role for their new teams. Domi fills a need at center for Columbus and hopes to use his new two-year extension to finally earn a long-term home after bouncing around early in his NHL career. A player who has shown immense scoring potential, including a 72-point season in 2018-19, Domi could be a major difference-maker on the second line for the Blue Jackets, who desperately need scoring depth. Anderson was not able to provide that this past season, missing most of the year due to injury and underperforming when healthy. However, he too had a breakout 2018-19 campaign, recording 27 goals and 47 points. The Canadiens believe that this is his long-term yearly value, as they did not hesitate to sign Anderson to a seven-year deal. Montreal needs size up front and they hope the 6’3″, 220-lb. Anderson can be an impact power forward for years to come.

October 7: The Ottawa Senators have a deep pipeline of goaltenders, but did not have anyone ready to be a starter this coming season and perhaps for a couple seasons after that. As a result, they ignored that depth and landed a starter for the present who doubles as a starter of the future in young Matt Murray. A streaky, but accomplished keeper, Murray came over from the Pittsburgh Penguins at the price of a second-round pick and a prospect, but will be well worth it if he can solidify the net for the Senators. They certainly seem to think he will, signing him to a long-term deal. At just 26, Murray already has just under 200 regular season appearances and over 50 postseason appearances, with a pair of Stanley Cups backed up by stellar stats.

The same day, the Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild swapped forwards, as the Wild continued to address the center position while the Predators got younger and faster. Minnesota acquired veteran center Nick Bonino to anchor the team’s third line, as he has for so many other teams. A two-way pivot who is good for 30-40 points and solid defensive play, Bonino is a useful addition for the Wild. Going the other way was 22-year-old Luke Kunin, who recorded 31 points in 63 games in just his third pro season this year. The 2016 first-round pick has found success at every level and on every team he has played for. Aiming for a top-six role in Nashville, Kunin could be an impact player right away and for years to come.

October 8: The Ottawa Senators continued to add via trade when they swung a deal for physical defenseman Erik Gudbranson from the Anaheim Ducks. A player who has now been traded three times in two years, Gudbranson is either in demand or expendable. He could be both for the Sens, who will give him a top-four role and let him be the defensively responsible counter to their other younger, more offensively-inclined defenseman, then could look to trade him away before his contract expires at year’s end.

Another defenseman was sold off for a late pick the same day and that was Ryan Murray. Though Murray has had immense struggles with health over the years, he had been a good player for the Columbus Blue Jackets when active. However, the team’s depth forced them to deal him away and the New Jersey Devils were the lucky recipients. While Murray is still remembered for his puck-moving pedigree as the No. 2 overall pick in 2012, he has taken on more of a two-way, defensive prowess in the pros and is very solid (again, when healthy). The Devils will almost certainly give Murray top-four and perhaps even top-pair opportunities and if they are fortunate enough to have him for a full season, they could be looking at one of the best value additions of the off-season.

October 9: As the Vegas Golden Knights cleared space for the off-season’s biggest free agent signing, it meant letting go of a proven veteran asset. The Knights traded center Paul Stastny to the Winnipeg Jets, letting go of a valuable two-way forward. While Stastny had an off year this past season, he is just one year removed from recording 42 points in 50 games, a 69-point full season pace. And he finished the season prior to that with none other than the Jets, with an incredible performance of 13 points in 19 regular season games followed by 15 points in 17 postseason games. Stastny has already shown that he can be an elite producer with Winnipeg’s talented forward group and has tremendous upside in the coming season. Even at 34, don’t be surprised to see the all-around forward return to form and potentially even rival the 70-point seasons of his early playing days.

October 10: If Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman knows one thing, it’s how to make a trade involving Brandon Saad. Saad was traded away to the Colorado Avalanche in a four-player deal, marking the third time in five years that has been traded away or to the Blackhawks. The key return for Chicago was young defenseman Nikita Zadorov. In Saad, the Avalanche add a legitimate top-six forward who will help their depth, especially in light of the injuries suffered by some of their top players last season. Saad has recorded 47+ points four times in seven full NHL seasons and would have hit 47 on the nose again this past season based on an 82-game pace. A consistent scorer with great finish and possession ability, Saad is a nice get for the Avs. Meanwhile, as Chicago begins a rebuild they have new cornerstone piece on defense in the 6’6″, 235-lb. Zadorov. A big, physical defenseman, Zadorov can sit back and be a reliable defensive presence, freeing up other members of the Blackhawks’ budding new defense corps, like Ian Mitchell and Adam Boqvist, to play their offensive game.

The same day, the New Jersey Devils made another buy-low addition, landing Andreas Johnsson from the Toronto Maple Leafs. A young player who has already shown signs of 50+ point upside, Johnsson will now find consistent top-six time and power play opportunity in New Jersey, which should get him closer to that mark. In need of impact wingers for Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes but not willing to derail the rebuild with high-priced trades or contracts, the Devils land a young player at next to no trade cost who is signed for several more years at an affordable price. It is the perfect fit and should pan out.

October 12: The Colorado Avalanche were back in the headlines a couple of days later when they dealt two second-round picks to the New York Islanders for RFA defenseman Devon Toews. The Islanders needed cap space and dealt from a position of immense depth and talent on defense. Yet, Toews was critically underrated in New York and the team gave up a very talented player. The rich get richer in Colorado, as Toews joins another strong blue line, but this time will be locked in for a top-four role and will get his due attention on one of the league’s top contenders. Even with only two NHL seasons under his belt, Toews has proven to be productive, defensively sound, an asset in puck possession, and overall capable of big minutes and an every-situation role. Toews may not be the biggest name traded this off-season, but could wind up as one of the best acquisitions.

Amazingly, the very last trade made in the NHL so far this season came nearly a month ago. In the final push needed for the Vegas Golden Knights to sign Alex Pietrangelo, the team dealt top pair defenseman Nate Schmidt to the Vancouver Canucks in order to clear the necessary space. It was quite a sacrifice and one the Canucks are happy about. At the cost of a third-round pick, a team who had had a disastrous off-season that point landed a bona fide top pair defenseman who is signed long-term. Schmidt did it all for Vegas: team-leading minutes, 30+ points, defensive awareness, shot blocking,  possession, power play and penalty kill roles, and even locker room leadership. A player with a strong all-around game who is respected by teammates and opponents alike, Schmidt is a rare player to come across. Vancouver essentially lucked into him and it might just be the best trade of the off-season.

What do you think? Which trade acquisition will have the greatest impact in 2020-21 and beyond?

Mobile users, click here to vote.

Expansion Draft Signing Coming For Anaheim Ducks

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This offseason, not only are teams navigating a flat salary cap, reduced revenues, and the uncertainty of when next season will even begin, they also have to consider the upcoming expansion draft when the Seattle Kraken select 30 players and become the league’s 32nd franchise. The Vegas Golden Knights will not be forced to lose a player, but also don’t get a piece of the expansion fee, which could be very beneficial to teams at the moment.

In that expansion draft, there are various rules and requirements that must be met. One of them is that the team must expose at least one eligible goaltender who is signed through the 2021-22 season or a restricted free agent in the 2021 offseason. At least partly because of this rule, you’ve seen goaltenders like Dan Vladar, Dustin Tokarski, Kevin Lankinen, Hunter Miska, Keith Kinkaid, Michael Hutchinson, and several others receive multi-year contracts in an offseason where veteran NHL skaters can’t even find a job. It’s not that these goalies can’t be valuable additions to their organizations, it’s that the leverage required to land a multi-year agreement was a little tilted this fall.

With that rule in mind, it’s easy to see that the Anaheim Ducks will have to make a move at some point in the next few months to secure a depth option of their own. Currently, the only two goaltenders in their organization eligible for selection in the expansion draft are Anthony Stolarz, whose contract expires after this season, and John Gibson, their star netminder who will undoubtedly need protection.

Stolarz doesn’t fill the requirement at the moment, meaning a contract of some sort will have to come down the pipeline. For the 26-year-old, that might mean some added job security in the form of an extension given it might be hard to bring in another goaltender at this point. Not because they aren’t on the market, but because the Ducks may not want to clog up their minor leagues with bodies, taking away playing time from prospects like Lukas Dostal should he come to North America this season. An extension for Stolarz would get the job done and given how well he played at the AHL level last season it also may be well deserved.

Another interesting situation to keep an eye on with regards to the expansion draft is the New York Islanders, who currently only have one goaltender even eligible for selection. Since Ilya Sorokin can’t even be picked because of his lack of experience, the Islanders will also need another netminder if they want to protect Semyon Varlamov. Of course, they could also just leave him unprotected and decide not to protect any goaltender at all (don’t put anything past Lou Lamoriello) if they felt he might draw some attention away from the interesting forwards that may be available in New York.

At any rate, there are sure to be another few goaltending signings that raise some eyebrows over the next few months, if only for the length of the contract being handed out.

Seattle Kraken Will Wait To Name Head Coach

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Although the Seattle Kraken are set to take the ice as the NHL’s 32nd franchise in less than a year, the team is in no rush to name their inaugural head coach. The team did not hesitate to get a jump on hiring a GM, landing Ron Francis in July of 2019, but now Francis tells The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun that the team is willing to wait on their next major personnel decision.

We don’t know yet the kind of team we may be able to draft, so we’re comfortable kind of sitting back and waiting right now and watching what happens here. There’s still, hopefully, a 2020-21 season getting up and running and playing. Are there guys that end up losing their jobs or looking for other things elsewhere? I just think we have time on this. We’re not in a race to make that decision at this point.

The sentiment makes sense and actually should not come as much of a surprise; the Vegas Golden Knights did not name Gerard Gallant (who is currently available) as their head coach until April of 2017, just two months ahead of the 2017 Expansion Draft. With the high likelihood of another NHL season that could run later into the calendar year than usual, given the delayed start, Seattle would still have many months left before making a coaching decision in order to keep to Vegas’ timeline.

However, Francis does mention that Seattle can begin making roster transactions prior to the Expansion Draft, stating that they will officially become a member of the league with player movement abilities once their final expansion payment in made to the league early next year. That of course raises a chicken-and-egg debate: do they hire a coach and base their early signings and trades on his style or do they make moves and then find a coach who might best fit those players and their 2021 Expansion Draft targets?

With that in mind, LeBrun asks Francis whether he has interviewed any candidates yet for head coach. Francis refused to answer, so make of that what you will. He did hint that the team is starting to get a better idea of who might be available in the expansion draft next off-season and how that could drive the team’s philosophy and whether that pairs with any available head coaches, so a coaching move could be on the horizon.

I think we’re getting closer to having an idea now that we’ve gotten through a little bit of the free agency. There could still be moves before the NHL hopefully gets up and running. Things become a little bit clearer as far as what you think may or may not be available, and then you start having those discussions with teams and try to get an indication on what may or may not be available. So I think once you get more into that process a little bit more, we’ll have a better indication (of their roster approach/philosophy). You always want to win now, but we’ll have to judge the landscape and see where things are and make the decisions that are right both short term and long term.

Snapshots: HOF, Kraken, Dubois

at CDT | by 5 Comments

The Hockey Hall of Fame will not name a 2021 class, instead deciding to give the entire spotlight to the six people elected in 2020 that have yet to have an induction ceremony. Marian Hossa, Jarome Iginla, Kevin Lowe, Kim St-Pierre, Doug Wilson, and Ken Holland were all supposed to be inducted earlier this year but had their ceremony postponed when the coronavirus pandemic put things on hold. Now, the hall has decided to make sure they get their moment. Chairman Lanny McDonald:

The magic of the induction weekend from the perspective of the new inductees is participating in several days of close interaction with family, friends, former teammates, fellow legends and fans. On that premise, the Board felt that this was the right decision to bestow upon the Class of 2020 the recognition and lifetime experience they so richly deserve in all ways consistent with past induction classes.

With no new 2021 class, the debate regarding players like Alexander Mogilny, Rod Brind’Amour, and Daniel Alfredsson will have to wait another year.

  • The Seattle Kraken have loaded up their scouting department even further, hiring another dozen scouts today. The group is headlined by Robert Kron, who will serve as director of amateur scouting and also includes Mike Dawson, Darren Yopyk, Jeff Crisp, Tom O’Connor, Tony MacDonald, Trevor Steinburg, Thomas Plante, Pelle Eklund, Marcus Fingal, Aleksandr Plyushev, and Sasu Hovi. Seattle is determined to find the best players both in the NHL and abroad as they start on their journey of creating the league’s 32nd team.
  • It may be a long negotiation for the Columbus Blue Jackets and restricted free agents Pierre-Luc Dubois and Vladislav Gavrikov, but GM Jarmo Kekalainen isn’t worried. As he told Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, “if they want to play in the NHL, we have to agree on a contract.” Dubois is arguably the team’s best forward already at age 22, and Gavrikov has grown into a valuable top-four piece for the team. Both players are due substantial raises but don’t have a ton of leverage in this negotiation. Dubois technically could be signed to an offer sheet (while Gavrikov could not), though as Portzline points out, that was likely only a threat near the beginning of free agency, not now.

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