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Ottawa Senators To Interview Dallas Assistant Rick Bowness

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The Ottawa Senators continue their search for a head coach as the team has asked and received permission to interview Dallas Stars assistant coach and former Ottawa head coach Rick Bowness, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie. He is the sixth coach to receive an interview with the Senators.

Bowness, the Senators first-ever head coach, coached Ottawa in between 1992 and 1995, finished his tenure with the Senators with a 39-178-18 record, although expectations weren’t as great back then considering that expansion franchises didn’t get the same advantages that the Vegas Golden Knights have received and soon-to-be Seattle franchise will receive. Bowness has been the head coach of several struggling franchises over the years, including coaching the original Winnipeg Jets, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders and Phoenix Coyotes, with an overall coaching record of 123-289-48 record. His last coaching gig was a 20-game stint with the Coyotes back in 2004 as the team’s interim coach after the team fired Bob Francis.

However, while his head coaching record may not be stellar, Bowness has made a name for himself as a top assistant coach, who helped the Vancouver Canucks in their glory years from 2006 to 2013, including one trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. He then moved over to work with Jon Cooper and the Tampa Bay Lightning for the next five years before joining the Jim Montgomery and the Dallas Stars last summer, helping the Stars reach the second-round of the playoffs this year.

Bowness, 64, will be the sixth coach interviewed as the Senators have already interviewed Marc Crawford, Troy Mann, Jacques Martin, D.J. Smith and Nate Leaman. McKenzie added that there is no hurry for Ottawa to hire a head coach as he could see the team waiting until the end of the month before hiring a coach.

More Changes Coming In Tampa Bay, Detroit Front Offices

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The Tampa Bay Lightning recently saw senior adviser Steve Yzerman head home to Michigan to re-join the Detroit Red Wings, leaving GM Julien BriseBois in charge of the ship moving forward. Immediately there was speculation that Yzerman could bring some of the Lightning front office with him, given that he had hired many of them when he took the job in 2010. It seems that speculation was correct, as AGM Pat Verbeek will be heading to Detroit to join Yzerman, while Jamie Pushor, Stacy Roest and Al Murray are all staying with the Lightning. All three have received AGM titles, while Mathieu Darche has also been hired as director of hockey operations.

Yzerman had this to say about Verbeek:

Pat Verbeek is one of the brightest minds and hardest workers in the game and has been a trusted and valued resource to me throughout my management career. He played a pivotal role in helping build the Lightning into a Stanley Cup contender throughout his tenure with the organization. I’m very excited to have Pat on board in Detroit and look forward to continuing to work alongside him.

The two have been together for some time, with Verbeek serving as a pro scout for the Red Wings between 2006-10 before following Yzerman to Tampa Bay. Even before that the two were teammates with Detroit, and obviously bring a great working relationship to their new task. Verbeek has consistently been mentioned for possible GM roles of his own, but will join Yzerman in trying to turn around the Red Wings and build them back into a Stanley Cup contender.

For Tampa Bay, holding onto some of their core staff was key. The three men work in separate divisions of the front office, as Pushor serves as director of player personnel, Roest is director of player development and Murray is director of amateur scouting. Each of them have proven their worth over the years, turning late-round picks into NHL stars while maintaining a tenable cap situation. BriseBois has some tough decisions to make over the next few months after a disappointing playoff exit, but will at least have a good chunk of his team still in place to help.

Eastern Notes: Hurricanes, Lehner, Blashill, Toronto Prospects

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With the Carolina Hurricanes waiting for their next opponent after sweeping the New York Islanders in the second round of the playoffs, the team is finally getting the rest it needs after a very physical playoff stretch that has worn down the roster. After playing 11 games in 23 days, the Hurricanes took the entire weekend off and are expected to pick up activity on Monday, according to News & Observer’s Luke DeCock.

The team hopes the rest could get a few more players back to full strength, although there are few updates on the injured. There is no word on the status of forward Micheal Ferland as his status remains uncertain. However, the team hopes to get Saku Maenalanen back at some point in the Conference Finals after he underwent hand surgery last week. The rest should also help forward Jordan Martinook, who played injured in Games 3 and 4, as well as goaltender Petr Mrazek, who was forced to leave Game 2 and put 35-year-old Curtis McElhinney into a full-time role, which isn’t ideal. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour commented on the need for rest, saying “I think a break is what they need, more almost mentally. They need more of that. Will it affect us in our first game? We’re going to hear about that. Maybe. There might be a little rust there. But we need it.”

  • NHL.com’s Brian Compton writes that New York Islanders’ Vezina Trophy finalist Robin Lehner, who rewarded the Islanders with an amazing season in goal this year after the Islanders took a chance on him, was non-committal after the team was swept in the second round of the playoffs on Friday. The 27-year-old netminder will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after signing a one-year “prove it” deal for $1.5MM and there is a chance he may opt to make it his only year. “It’s a little bit too much emotions right now,” said Lehner, “I really like everyone here. This group is incredible, some of the best people I’ve been around. I’ve been in the league for a while now. We’ll see what God has in store for me.”
  • Helene St. James of the Detroit Free-Press writes that Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill admitted that he was thrilled when general manager Steve Yzerman gave him a vote of confidence after taking over his new position. “It was great to hear that he has belief in me and my abilities,” said Blashill, who has been committed to developing the young players on the team, many who have thrived under the head coach’s leadership.
  • With major cap implications upcoming in Toronto, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler (subscription required) writes that the Toronto Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, have been thrilled with the play of their young defenseman in the AHL playoffs, including Timothy Liljegren (first-round pick in 2017), Mac Hollowell (fourth-round pick in 2018) and Rasmus Sandin (first-round pick in 2018). Marlies’ coach Sheldon Keefe added, “It has been such a long period of time now where we relied on (Liljegren and Sandin), so we don’t get to the playoffs if those young guys can’t step up and play the minutes they had to play for us at different times when we were depleted.” With changes coming to the team’s defense, it’s good to know that the three prospects could be closing in on being ready for NHL action.

Oilers Waiting On Ken Holland To Make Decision On GM Opening

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Sunday, 9:14 a.m.: TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reports that Holland is expected to give his answer today and all indications suggest that he is interested in the job.

Sunday, 8:11 a.m.: Late last night, Friedman signed off, reporting that Holland’s decision on whether to take Edmonton’s five-year, $25MM offer will come in either Sunday or Monday. If Holland does accept the position, Dave Tippett would become the lead candidate for the team’s head coaching job.

Saturday, 8:37 p.m.: Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported (via Sportsnet’s Mark Spector) on Hockey Night in Canada that the Edmonton Oilers have offered Holland a five-year contract at $5MM per year to be the Oilers General Manager.

Saturday, 3:33 p.m.: No decision is expected to be made until next week, but the Edmonton Oilers could be close to choosing their future general manager. In fact, with the franchise having recently narrowed their search to three candidates in Detroit Red Wings Senior Vice President Ken Holland, interim general manager Keith Gretzky and former Toronto Maple Leafs’ assistant general manager Mark Hunter as their top candidates, The Athletic’s Allan Mitchell (subscription required) writes that it already looks like Holland has the inside track on the job.

Holland is expected to return from a trip overseas Saturday night, suggesting that negotiations might heat up soon. While just a few days ago the GM race was considered to be a “two-horse race” between Gretzky and Hunter, Sportsnet’s Marc Spector revealed one day later that the Oilers were going “all-in” on Holland. The question was whether Holland was interested in waiting for a potential general manager job opening in Seattle or would be willing to take over in Edmonton.

Holland is completing his 36th season in Detroit and his 22nd as general manager, but with Steve Yzerman taking over those duties, Holland could be looking for another GM position already. He certainly has a impressive resume, including three Stanley Cup Championships, four Presidents’ Trophies, and has seen his team reach 100-season points 13 times. Unfortunately, his recent resume hasn’t been as exemplary as he has continued to try to keep his franchise-winning teams in contention with questionable free-agent signings and only recently committed to rebuilding their salary-capped franchise. In fact, the Red Wings have finished with a worse record than the struggling Oilers franchise for several years now. Now 63 years old, many people wonder what Holland has done in the NHL lately and whether running a franchise has past him by.

The Edmonton Sun’s Terry Jones writes that CEO Bob Nicholson is likely banking on the team hiring Holland, as the scribe believes that Nicholson isn’t enamored with the two other candidates. After two interviews already with Hunter, the fact that they haven’t hired him suggests that Nicholson isn’t comfortable hiring him, while Jones also adds that he doesn’t think Nicholson believes that Gretzky is an “A-list” hire. The belief is that if Holland takes the job, he would have full control of the franchise and that he would never have even begun talking to Nicholson if he wasn’t interested in being a general manager again.

Mitchell adds that if Holland does take over, he will likely bring in his own people into the front office. And while, he believes that there will be a place for Gretzky no matter what, Holland has stated that your need four or five key people in place to run a franchise. One interesting option if Holland does take over is who might become the team’s next head coach, suggesting that Holland has close connections to current Dallas Stars assistant coach Todd Nelson. Changes could also come quickly depending on Holland’s assessment of the Oilers’ core.  That core of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Oscar Klefbom, Adam Larsson and Darnell Nurse could be altered, considering he wasn’t the man to bring them in.

No Extension Talks Yet For Anton Stralman Or Braydon Coburn

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The Lightning took care of some business on their back end yesterday when they re-signed Jan Rutta.  Don’t be expecting their other pending UFA defensemen to follow suit quickly as Joe Smith of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the team has yet to start contract discussions with Anton Stralman and Braydon Coburn.  Though Stralman had an injury-riddled season, he’s still likely to be viewed as a top-four blueliner on the open market which could make it difficult for Tampa Bay to re-sign him given their pending salary cap constraints.  On the other hand, if Coburn is willing to take a big pay cut on his $3.7MM salary (a likely scenario given his limited role in 2018-19) he could make some sense to keep around as affordable veteran depth.

Tampa Bay Lightning Re-Sign Jan Rutta

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The Tampa Bay Lightning apparently liked what they saw in Jan Rutta down the stretch, as they have re-signed him to a one-year contract worth $1.3MM. Rutta was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Rutta, 28, signed a one-year entry-level deal with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2017 after developing into a top player in the Czech Republic, and ended up playing 57 games with them that season. The right-handed defenseman impressed the Blackhawks enough to earn himself a new contract worth $2.25MM for this season, but after bouncing up and down between the NHL and AHL, Chicago decided to flip Rutta to the Lightning in exchange for Slater Koekkoek and a draft pick upgrade. The fact that Rutta had cleared waivers just a month earlier made it an interesting deal for the Lightning, who could then use Rutta as some injury insurance without risking him to the rest of the league again.

Rutta ended up playing 14 games for the Lightning and 18 games for the Syracuse Crunch, but immediately seemed to fit in well with Tampa Bay’s fast, skilled style. Though he brings some size at 6’3″, the Czech defenseman’s game isn’t overly physical. He can however move the puck quickly and effectively, something that head coach Jon Cooper values. You could tell how much he trusted Rutta when the playoffs swung around and the defenseman was slotted in for all four games as the team dealt with injuries. That trust was rewarded today in the form of this new contract, which should result in some regular playing time next season.

The Lightning have several other defenders scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency this summer as the contracts of Anton Stralman, Dan Girardi and Braydon Coburn are all set to expire. Rutta’s handedness is one of his most valuable assets given the depth that Tampa Bay has on the right side, and he should step into a full-time role if Girardi or Stralman aren’t retained.

Why Tampa Bay’s Defense Will Look Much Different Next Season

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While recency bias has hockey fans looking back on the Tampa Bay Lightning’s season as a failure due to their shocking early playoff exit, in reality the team was historically good, winning 62 games en route to 128 points and an easy President’s Trophy win. In general, most teams who enjoy that level of success would look to change as little as possible, even with the postseason disappointment. Last year’s Stanley Cup-winning Washington Capitals have become the standard for staying the course and, by all accounts, the Lightning expect to follow in their footsteps and avoid the temptation to make sweeping changes.

However, it’s not that simple. As Joe Smith of The Athletic writes, the Bolts will have to undergo a major makeover on their blue line. Tampa Bay is already committed to over $73MM for 16 players next season. That list includes top defensemen Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh, as well as most core forwards like Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, J.T. Miller, and Yanni Gourde and starting goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. However, it does not include half of the eight defensemen used regularly by the Lightning this season: Anton Stralman, Braydon Coburn, Dan Girardi, and Jan Rutta. More importantly, it also doesn’t include sophomore breakout forward Brayden Point. Even with the salary cap expected to climb north of $80MM this off-season, re-signing Point will eat up most of that space and extending fellow RFA forwards Cedric Paquette and Adam Erne will add up as well. Without a considerable cap dump, it would seem re-signing even one of those UFA defensemen, nevertheless most of them, will be incredibly difficult.

So what does Tampa do about this situation? The aforementioned cap dump seems a near certainty, as veteran forward Ryan Callahan is expected to be traded or bought out this summer. A buy out could give the Lightning the wiggle room to re-sign one of the four pending UFA’s, while a trade could either open up cap space or allow the team to bring in a blue liner with a bad contract like Callahan’s. Yet, Callahan alone is not the only move that the Bolts could make before next season. Smith mentions Miller as the easiest forward to trade away, as his trade protection does not kick in until the new league year on July 1st. Johnson, Palat, and Alex Killorn all have full or limited No-Trade Clauses, making them harder to deal, but still expendable regardless. In moving any of those four valuable forwards – or even Point if negotiations reach an impasse – the Bolts would likely be able to land a talented defenseman in return.

Outside of Callahan though, the Lightning do not have to make other trades to form a capable defense. Internally, they already have a promising top-four in veteran stars Hedman and McDonagh and promising young rearguards Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak. AHL standout Cal Foote will also challenge for a job in camp, while the team will almost certainly target a defenseman with the 27th overall pick in the first round this year, who could push for an NHL spot right away if they’re lucky. Moving Callahan, if salary does not come back in return, could enable the team to re-sign Rutta, likely the cheapest option of the four, or perhaps Coburn or Girardi on hometown discounts. It is hard to imagine Stralman being within their price range or any two returning. Yet, affordable options will also exist on the free agent market, as many players may be willing to sign for less for a shot at the Cup in Tampa Bay. Veteran UFA options who could come in under $2MM or so include Michael Del Zotto, Adam McQuaid, Ben Lovejoy, and Roman Polak, among others.

The only certainty when it comes to Tampa’s defense this season is that it will not look the same as it did last year. There is simply no financial way for the team to maintain the depth and balance on the blue line that this unit had, but some savvy moves this off-season could still keep the defense just as strong. How the team handles Point, Callahan, and the free agency and trade markets will be one of the more intriguing story lines this summer and could dictate whether the Bolts are able to follow the Capitals’ model and stay the course toward a championship following postseason disappointment.

Atlantic Notes: Callahan, Yzerman, Borgstrom

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With cap problems fast approaching and plenty of extensions kicking in (as well as the contract of RFA Brayden Point to worry about), the Tampa Bay Lightning will have lots to worry about. Even with the expiring contracts of Braydon Coburn ($3.7MM), Dan Girardi ($3MM), Jan Rutta ($2.2MM) and Anton Stralman ($4.5MM), most of that money will go towards the new extensions for Nikita Kucherov, Yanni Gourde and Ryan McDonagh, which will likely force the team to find other ways to save money.

One contract that the Lightning will likely try to get rid of will be that of forward Ryan Callahan, who still has one year remaining on his contract at $5.8MM. The 34-year-old forward only appeared in 52 games this year and while injuries have been part of the problem, Callahan has also found himself a healthy scratch often this year, especially after the all-star break, as his skills seem to be on a decline. Diana Nearhos of the Tampa Bay Times suggests that the team might attempt to trade him off, despite having a modified no-trade clause. The team would almost have to retain some of his salary to make a deal work, but there is also a legitimate chance they will buy the veteran out.

  • In an interview with Detroit Red Wings new general manager Steve Yzerman, The Athletic’s Craig Custance (subscription required) asked multiple questions about the team’s sixth-overall pick in the upcoming 2019 NHL draft. When asked about Russian winger Vasili Podkolzin, whose draft stock seems to be dropping due to signability issues, Yzerman made it clear that he wasn’t worried about that and wouldn’t be scared to draft him. “It hasn’t in the past,” said Yzerman. “The really good Russian players all come over. Maybe they wait a year, two years, but eventually you get them. (Evgeny) Kuznetsov, (Vladimir) Tarasenko, (Andrei) Vasilevskiy. (Nikita) Kucherov waited a year. The really good ones are coming over. You have to be prepared, potentially, to wait. I don’t really know what his contract status is.”
  • The Athletic’s George Richards (subscription required) writes that this offseason will be a big one for Florida Panthers forward Henrik Borgstrom. The 21-year-old struggled this season in his transition to the NHL, scoring eight goals and 18 points in 50 games. One of new head coach Joel Quenneville’s new responsibility is to get the most out of Borgstrom, who will likely be expected to shift to the center position and be the odds-on favorite to take over the third-line position. “I definitely want it,” Borgstrom said. “That’s the spot I want to take, and it is up to me to take it. I feel like I have to be ready for it, work hard for it. Hopefully, when the time training camp comes, I will be totally ready to take it.”

2019 Hart Trophy Finalists Announced

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The finalists for the Hart Trophy, given to the player most valuable to his team, have been announced. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the three finalists are Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov and Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid.

Kucherov is considered to be a favorite for the award after putting up a tremendous year. The 25-year-old took his game to another level as he has already captured this year’s Art Ross Trophy for leading the league in total points. He finished the year with 41 goals and 128 points, the most in the league since the 1995-96 season. His totals are also the most-ever by a Russian-born NHL player. Kucherov has also been nominated for the Ted Lindsay Award, awarded to the most outstanding player and voted on by the players. Kucherov led his team to the Presidents’ Trophy, given to the team with the best regular-season record.

Crosby had an impressive season as well. Often forgotten when talking about the league’s best players, Crosby helped lead the Penguins to the playoffs this year and did it by breaking the 100-point mark for the first time in five years. On top of that, he was 18-points better than any other players on his team, making his season quite valuable for a Pittsburgh franchise that struggled to get into the playoffs this season.

McDavid’s name is not surprising either, other than the fact that the Edmonton Oilers didn’t have a very impressive season and while they weren’t mathematically eliminated from the playoffs until late in the season, they were never truly considered to be a playoff threat this season. In fact, McDavid is just the sixth player in NHL history to be a Hart finalist from a non-playoff team. McDavid, however, who won the Hart Trophy in the 2016-17 season when he tallied 30 goals and 100 points, continues to improve on each season as he tallied 41 goals and 116 points to reach new career highs.

Several interesting players were left off the finalist list as well, including Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin and Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane.

 

2019 Jack Adams Award Finalists Announced

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The finalists for the Jack Adams Award have been announced, given each year to the NHL’s best head coach. The three coaches are Craig Berube of the St. Louis Blues, Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders. The award was given to Vegas Golden Knights’ head coach Gerard Gallant in 2018, and Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella in 2017.

In 2016, Trotz won the award when he was still coach of the Washington Capitals after a 56-18-8 season. Two years later he would lead the Capitals to his first Stanley Cup, before moving onto the Islanders organization this season. Trotz has completely turned around those Islanders, changing them from one of the worst defensive teams in hockey to one of the best in short order. He put together a 48-27-7 season to get his club into the playoffs despite losing their captain John Tavares in the offseason, and has them in the second round after sweeping his old rivals from Pittsburgh. Trotz is one of the most successful regular season coaches in hockey history, with 810 wins to his name.

Cooper meanwhile is on his way to that same level of regular season success. Through his first 508 games he has authored a record of 305-159-44 (.644 winning percentage) including a historic 62-16-4 record this season with Tampa Bay. Unfortunately his Lightning were swept out of the first round of the playoffs, an occurrence that is not considered for this award given that the broadcasters vote before the postseason begins. Cooper has never won the Jack Adams before.

Neither has Berube, who amazingly is still not actually the permanent head coach of the Blues. The former Philadelphia Flyers bench boss was named interim coach when Mike Yeo was fired early in the season, but he found a way to turn things around dramatically and form St. Louis into a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. There is little doubt that he will be named the head coach after taking a Blues team that was in last place on January 2nd to the second round and beyond. Berube doesn’t have an extensive history as an NHL head coach, but it has been a successful one, as he now holds a 113-77-34 record in his career.

Some other names that were likely considered are Arizona Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet, who dealt with endless injuries but still almost got his team to the playoffs, and Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour who finally got his team back there after nearly a decade.

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