Snapshots: Buffalo’s Coaching Search, Jones, Dell
Communication. That’s what new Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill tells John Vogl of The Buffalo News is the most important thing in his next head coach. Vogl breaks down the four key lessons Botterill had learned from his time hiring Wilkes-Barre Scranton head coaches, including current Pittsburgh Penguins bench boss Mike Sullivan.
Botterill swears to look high and low for the next Sabres head coach, but would like to have one in place before the 2017 Entry Draft on June 23rd. That gives him just more than a month to find the best available name. Earlier today it was written that Washington Capitals assistant Todd Reirden may be a candidate, though it still seems like a long-shot given his previous connection to Dan Bylsma. Many others, including Phil Housley (Nashville) and Rick Tocchet (Pittsburgh) are still working in the playoffs and won’t leave their teams until they’re eliminated or win the Cup. It may be a mad dash before the draft then, if Botterill wants to speak to all possible candidates before making a decision. Last year the Cup-clinching game was played on June 12th, less than two weeks before the draft.
- Kevin Kurz of NBC Sports takes a stab at what a Martin Jones extension may look like, positing that he’ll undoubtedly get more than both Scott Darling and Ben Bishop received from their respective teams. Darling got $16.6MM over four years from the Carolina Hurricanes while Bishop inked a six-year $29.5MM deal with Dallas. Jones, who will be eligible for an extension on July 1st, has just one year remaining on his deal worth $3MM. Kurz thinks Jones will fall somewhere in the range of $5.5-6MM per season, though that would still be quite the risk given that Jones put up just a .912 save percentage this season. That number is fine, but puts him 20th among goaltenders who started at least 40 games this season. His playoff performance has been exceptional, but committing to a long-term deal will be hoping Jones regular season numbers increase.
- Giving Jones a big contract also puts the Sharks in an interesting position with backup Aaron Dell, who burst onto the NHL scene this year with a .931 save percentage in his limited appearances. Dell is actually almost a year older than Jones, but will be looking for a raise after next season in line with Darling’s deal should his solid play continue. While most of the league wouldn’t trust Dell with a starting job just yet, Darling was a similarly late-blooming backup that has just 64 games started at this point. Should the Sharks lock up Jones this summer, look for Dell to be on the market next trade deadline or at the draft as a potential option for teams looking for a cheaper starting option.
Snapshots: Niku, Nill, Braunstein
The Winnipeg Jets have signed seventh-round pick Sami Niku to a three-year entry-level contract. The Finnish defenseman broke out in Liiga this year, registering 27 points in 59 games while playing for Jyvaskyla. Niku has been praised for his mobility and offensive upside, but had trouble producing in a consistent manner before this season.
He’ll enter a Winnipeg Jets system that is fairly weak on the left side behind Logan Stanley, now that Josh Morrissey has graduated to the NHL. With some of the best right-handed depth in the NHL including newcomer Tucker Poolman, the Jets are likely ecstatic with Niku’s development. Should he come to North America next season, he’ll pencil in as one of the top defenders for the Manitoba Moose and try to adapt to the pro game here.
- Jim Nill is standing by the contract for Ben Bishop according to Yahoo! Sports’ Greg Wyshynski. Nill admitted that in a perfect world he wouldn’t have had to give up six years, but is happy that Bishop wanted to make a commitment to his team. He also seemed confident that there will be opportunities to move one of his goaltenders this summer because of their expiring contracts, something that is necessary after committing to Bishop. As we wrote last week, the Stars do have several options to rid themselves of a goaltender, with Antti Niemi seemingly being the leading candidate for a buyout. Even with a long-term deal, Bishop will have a lot of pressure on him to help the Stars bounce back from a disappointing season. They’ll be looking not only to make the playoffs but to contend in short order, after leading the Western Conference in 2015-16.
- The Vegas Golden Knights have hired Rick Braunstein away from the Arizona Coyotes as their new Director of Player Services according to Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Braunstein was one of the Coyotes first hires after the move from Winnipeg, and had been with the franchise for their entire 21-year history. While not having an impact in personnel decisions, the Player Services role is an especially important one when it comes to Las Vegas, a city known for its endless temptation. Some of the hesitation by professional sports franchises for decades has been the worry that young, wealthy athletes will get into “trouble” in Vegas and the team will need a strong support system to stop it from happening; Braunstein represents some of that system.
Snapshots: Lightning, Talbot, Russell
The Western Conference Final featuring the Ducks and Predators could yield more interest around the NHL than just which team will be vying for the Stanley Cup, suggests Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. Both teams have very strong defensive depth which will be great for the series but will present some challenges when it comes to the looming expansion draft. Accordingly, Smith expects Lightning GM Steve Yzerman to be keeping close tabs on this matchup with the thought that both teams may have to make one of their defenders available.
Yzerman is on record saying he would like to get more production out of his back end. Victor Hedman had a career best 72 points this season but the rest of their blueline failed to reach that mark combined. They were interested in Kevin Shattenkirk prior to the trade deadline and will likely pursue other two-way threats as well this summer. Considering the depth both Anaheim and Nashville have on their bluelines, the Lightning certainly won’t be the only team watching this series closely and looking to see if they can take advantage prior to the expansion draft in June.
Elsewhere around the league:
- Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot has declined a request to join Team Canada for the World Championships, notes Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. He led the league in games played by goalies this season with 73 while adding 13 more during their postseason run. Canada currently has only registered two netminders for the tournament in Calvin Pickard and Chad Johnson. Winnipeg prospect Eric Comrie is also with the team but is not officially on the roster as of yet.
- Still with Edmonton, defenseman Kris Russell told Paul Gazzola of the Oilers’ team website that he’s hoping to re-sign with the team for another year: “They showed faith in me by going out and signing me there so obviously, I’d like to come back but there’s a business side to this and you never know what’s going to happen. They have to make decisions too, the brass here. I’m an Oiler and I’m not going to look past that until I’m told otherwise or come July 1st maybe but I want to be here.” After pricing himself too high at the outset of free agency, the 30 year eventually agreed to a one year, $3.1MM deal in early October and had a quality year for the team, logging over 21 minutes a night during the regular season while leading the league in blocked shots with 213 despite missing 14 games.
Snapshots: Hedman, Capitals, Daley
Tampa Bay Lightning fans can breathe now, after Victor Hedman‘s eye has been declared safe following his visor exploding at the World Championships today. Aftonbladet out of Sweden has photos of his laceration (*WARNING: GRAPHIC*), which needed four stitches to sew back up. Apparently it was the actual visor that cut him, after a shoulder or elbow broke the protective shield.
Hedman is an important part of the Swedish defense, but is perhaps even more important to the Lightning’s chances over the next few years. The Norris trophy finalist will be entering an eight-year extension in 2017-18 which will pay him $63MM over the duration. His point total exploded this season while his defensive play is as steady as ever.
- Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov and Philipp Grubauer will all head to the World Championships now that their season is finished and lockers are cleaned out. Following their exit interviews today, the quartet will head to Europe to compete in the remainder of the tournament. While Backstrom is signed for the next three seasons, the other three are restricted free agents this summer and will be key to how Washington comes back from their latest playoff exit. While Vegas may go after Grubauer in the expansion draft, Kuznetsov and Orlov represent a big piece of the team going forward, and will both command hefty raises. For a team with so many free agents, there may not be enough money to go around for everyone.
- Trevor Daley isn’t expected to play in game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but is still just being classified as a day-to-day lower-body injury. Head coach Mike Sullivan said that Tom Kuhhackl was a healthy scratch in game 7, while Carl Hagelin was dealing with a lower-body injury of his own.
Snapshots: Simek, Carey, AHL
While just today Jan Rutta‘s agent told us that his client was getting NHL offers, it seems that perhaps another Czech defender will soon sign. TSN analyst Ray Ferraro responded on Twitter to the fact that Vancouver GM Jim Benning is only watching games in Paris at the World Championships, saying that the most interesting players are Rutta and teammate Radim Simek. There have been reports floating around that Simek has already signed an NHL deal, and it is supported by his own words that he plans on coming across the Atlantic this season.
Ferraro seemed to agree with the idea that Simek was already signed, though still had no details on who the team is. The 24-year old is another puck-moving defender that can put up points and skate well enough to make the jump, though he didn’t have quite the offensive impact of Rutta or Jakub Jerabek (another Czech teammate) this season. While the Sharks are rumored in the above article as having scouted him this year, several teams likely have shown interest at the tournament.
- The Washington Capitals placed Paul Carey on waivers today, with the intent of sending him back to the Hershey Bears for the remainder of the AHL playoff run. Hershey will play game three in their series with the Providence Bruins later tonight after splitting the first two matchups. The addition of Carey will certainly help; he scored 55 points in 55 games this season for the Bears, and led the team in goals with 24.
- Speaking of the AHL, the league has announced re-alignment for next season. The Charlotte Checkers will be moving from the Central Division to the Atlantic, while several changes will hit the North. The Senators will now be based out of Belleville, ON while the Albany Devils are moving to the vacant Binghamton. The Devils were one of the worst-attended teams in the league despite their recent success. The St. John’s IceCaps will also be moving, heading closer to their parent team in Montreal. They’ll become the Laval Rocket for next season, and stay in the North Division.
Snapshots: Ovechkin, Sharks, Panik
While Alex Ovechkin has been the butt of many jokes since his Washington Capitals were once again eliminated in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by the Pittsburgh Penguins, it turns out that it’s not just his pride that has taken a beating this spring. The superstar forward will not join Team Russia at the World Championships because of a lower-body injury. Ovechkin apparently had been taking “pain numbing injections” just to stay on the ice for the Capitals, possibly because of the low hit he took from Nazem Kadri in the first round.
Ovechkin has played in the World Championships an amazing twelve times over his career, and has always been willing to suit up for his country on the international stage. Dmitry Orlov and Evgeny Kuznetsov will join Team Russia for the tournament. The pair are both restricted free agents this summer, and will be a big part of the introspective offseason Washington has ahead of them.
- Henrik Lundqvist will also be attending the tournament to play for Sweden, who desperately need his help. The team is currently going with a duo of Viktor Fasth and Eddie Lack in net, a clear weakness on their otherwise impressive squad. With defenders like Victor Hedman, Jonas Brodin and Oliver Ekman-Larsson in front of him, Lundqvist should help the Swedes become a medal favorite if they weren’t already. He’ll also be joining brother Joel on the team, who is captaining this group.
- According to Paul Gackle of the Mercury News, the San Jose Sharks are getting close to new contracts with restricted free agents Joonas Donskoi and Melker Karlsson. The pair represent two of the Sharks’ biggest tasks for the offseason, along with decisions on Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Donskoi and Karlsson both didn’t perform up to the lofty expectations they had after their early success in the league, with just 17 and 22 points respectively. It will be interesting to see where they both land salary wise, as the Sharks have Brent Burns‘ extension kicking in along with upcoming deals for Martin Jones, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Tomas Hertl to contend with next summer.
- Richard Panik apparently was surprised by the Chicago Blackhawks’ first contract offer, and didn’t need to negotiate according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. That offer was the two-year, $5.6M deal he signed earlier today, which will see the team keep a 20-goal man for under $3MM. Panik knows that playing with Jonathan Toews is likely the best scenario he’ll find anywhere in the league, but that he could earn a much bigger contract in two years when he hits unrestricted free agency. He’ll hit the open market at just 28, and if he has three 40-50 point seasons under his belt people will be lining up to hand him a long-term deal.
Snapshots: Sharks, Florida’s Coaching Search, Sharipzianov
With a pair of long-term veterans in Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton slated to become unrestricted free agents in July and the team being ousted in the first round, CSN Bay Area’s Kevin Kurz suggests that the time is right for GM Doug Wilson to make a big splash this offseason.
For starters, Marleau and Thornton represent a little over $13.4MM in money potentially coming off the salary cap which opens up the type of payroll flexibility the team hasn’t had in quite some time. Kurz argues that while one or both could conceivably be brought back, the team would still be competitive but also wouldn’t be favored as a threat to be a Stanley Cup contender either.
The core of the Sharks has been together for quite some time but with those two potentially set to walk as well as new deals needed for goalie Martin Jones and defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic following 2017-18, the time may be right to shake things up in San Jose.
Elsewhere around the league:
- While Predators assistant coach Phil Housley is believed to be a candidate for Florida’s coaching vacancy, Harvey Fialkov of the Sun-Sentinel adds another name to the mix in Capitals associate coach Todd Reirden. The 45 year old Reirden has been with Washington for the past three years and before that, spent parts of seven seasons in Pittsburgh’s organization, three seasons at the minor league level and four with the big club. Former Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien as well as Denver University bench boss Jim Montgomery are also in the mix to replace Tom Rowe behind the bench.
- Kings defensive prospect Damir Sharipzianov has been loaned to Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the KHL for next season, the Russian team announced (link in Russian). The 21 year old recently completed the first season of his three year, entry-level contract but spent the full season in the minors, playing 38 games with Ontario of the AHL and ten more with ECHL Manchester. Although he won’t be with the Kings or a minor league affiliate, he will continue to count against their 50 contract limit for 2017-18.
Snapshots: Botterill, Subban, Colorado
The Pittsburgh Penguins will decide their Stanley Cup playoff fate tonight against the Washington Capitals, and John Vogl of the Buffalo News believes the Sabres’ future may be along for the ride. Vogl writes that the hiring announcement of Jason Botterill, associate General Manager of the Penguins and leading candidate to take over as GM of the Sabres was likely delayed due to the ongoing series. The Sabres haven’t interviewed anyone since their second meeting with Botterill, and need to get someone in place with enough time to prepare for the expansion and entry drafts.
Though it was previously reported that Jeff Crisp, the Sabres head scout would handle the entry draft this season, it’s obviously important for the incoming GM to be involved in the operation. Botterill has a background in scouting, and will have been kept abreast of the incoming draft class during his Pittsburgh tenure. Whether the Penguins move on or not, Vogl expects the decision to come down before the beginning of the next series, perhaps even as early as Thursday. On Friday, owner Terry Pegula has a press conference scheduled to introduce Brandon Beane, the new GM of the Buffalo Bills.
- P.K. Subban has been fined $2,000 for embellishment after being assessed a penalty on May 2nd. It was the second citation he had received from the league, following one given on January 22nd. Subban was unable to serve the penalty as he was being treated in the Nashville dressing room for an apparent injury, but it isn’t the first time he’s been hit with a fine for diving. In 2015, he received two fines from the league for a combined three embellishment citations. Fines for diving escalate on each occasion, capping at a $5,000 penalty for the player and head coach should a player be cited eight times in a single season.
- Adrian Dater of BSN Denver reports that the Colorado Eagles are working to become a future AHL affiliate of the Avalanche. The Eagles are currently the team’s ECHL affiliate, but with some shuffling coming in the AHL due to Vegas entering the league they will try to gain standing in the next few years. According to Dater, the Eagles have plans to expand their current ~5,000-seat arena to try and accommodate the increased attendance that would come with a promotion to the AHL. This is the latest in a long line of teams that have worked to get their affiliates geographically closer to them, in order to move players back and forth quickly. It can also obviously provide fans that want to see the next generation of stars for their club before they graduate to the NHL, and the ticket prices that come with it.
Snapshots: Sakic, Mironov, Sobotka, Murray
Changes are coming in Colorado, according to Joe Sakic. The Avalanche GM was on Altitude Sports 950 yesterday (h/t Sportsnet) and was quite clear with his plans for this summer. Sakic said there will be a “lot of turnover” this offseason, and that the team is going to get younger. When Sakic named his untouchables earlier in the season, he only listed Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Jost, and Mikko Rantanen, three of the youngest players on the team.
While there were many rumors of Matt Duchene potentially being moved at the deadline, it seems an inevitability that the young center—if he is indeed considered a center around the league still—is moved before the 2017-18 season begins. Sakic mentioned Jost and J.T. Compher in particular as future centers for the Avalanche, which wouldn’t leave much room for Duchene in the future.
- Sakic also confirmed that the team has reached an agreement with Andrei Mironov, but is just waiting for the official KHL release before announcing the contract. The GM did caution though that anything can happen before the release is announced, though he certainly hopes it will come through in the next few days. Mironov is currently playing in the World Championships with Russia.
- Vladimir Sobotka will be skating against Mironov, as the Blues’ forward is heading to the World Championships for the Czech Republic. Sobotka finally returned from the KHL to help the Blues in the playoffs, who held onto him despite the interest over the years from teams around the league. Sobotka will be a big part of the Blues going forward as he starts in on a three-year contract extension next season. Able to play both center and the wing, he’ll fit in somewhere on a team that will have their sights set on the playoffs once again.
- Matt Murray won’t start game 7 for the Penguins tonight, but he will be in uniform. The goaltender has recovered enough to backup Marc-Andre Fleury, posing a bit of a dilemma for the next series should Pittsburgh defeat the Capitals and move on. After injuring himself in warm up during the first game of the first round, Murray hasn’t played a single minute of these playoffs. The 22-year old led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup last spring, but will now wait for the veteran Fleury to falter in order to get back into the lineup.
Snapshots: Gavrikov, Montgomery, Brodeur
In the continuing saga of Vladislav Gavrikov, Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports that rumors of his signing in the KHL already are completely false. Dan Milstein of Gold Star who represents Gavrikov reiterated that no decision will be made on his future until after the World Championships are over.
Gavrikov is still just 21, and despite being drafted in the sixth round has developed into a legitimate NHL prospect. The young defender apparently has two KHL teams chasing him after his solid season for Yaroslavl. After already convincing Gabriel Carlsson to come over earlier this spring, the Blue Jackets could make another important addition to their defense pipeline with Gavrikov. While Team Russia spreads their ice time out fairly evenly, Gavrikov is used in tough defensive matchups and has been effective in the tournament. His future lies as a shutdown third-pairing player, though he still has time to develop even further.
- The Florida Panthers have met with Jim Montgomery from the University of Denver twice now, according to George Richards of the Miami Herald, and have booked a second interview with Michel Therrien as well. The club is still searching for their next head coach, and many believe that Nashville Predators assistant Phil Housley will be given a chance to interview before they make a decision. Housley of course is still working in the playoffs as Nashville is off to the Western Conference Finals for the first time. Montgomery and Therrien represent two very different directions for the club, showing that they’re looking in every direction for their next bench boss. Therrien has 814 games of head coaching experience in the NHL, while Montgomery—and in the same vein Housley—has none.
- Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Martin Brodeur will not continue as goalie coach for the Blues next season, instead returning to his post as assistant general manager. The team will hire a new coach who will hopefully be able to continue the work Brodeur did with Jake Allen in the second half. When the Blues fired Jim Corsi—the man the divisive Corsi stat was named after—along with Ken Hitchcock on February 1st, Allen held a .895 save percentage and was the focus of much hand-wringing among those watching the team. Following Brodeur and Ty Conklin taking over coaching duties, Allen posted a .928 save percentage (including playoffs) and was key in the Blues turnaround. Conklin, previously the goaltender development coach, will surely be in the running to take over the job full-time.