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Maple Leafs Among Teams Monitoring Rod Brind’Amour’s Availability

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After blowing a 3-1 third-period lead and being eliminated in Round 2 at the hands of the Rangers last night, there’s now an immediate focus on what the Hurricanes opt to do with pending free-agent coach Rod Brind’Amour. Among other teams, expect the Maple Leafs to delay their head coaching decision until gaining clarity into whether he’ll hit the market, reports Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun.

The Hurricanes had offered Brind’Amour an extension earlier in the season, but a report from TSN’s Darren Dreger before the second round indicated the team rescinded it. His report seemed to spur some momentum between the two sides, as within 24 hours, Dreger issued a follow-up saying talks between Brind’Amour and Carolina ownership had advanced.

However, no deal has been made for either Brind’Amour or his assistants. Losing in such a dramatic fashion could very well influence the Canes to turn elsewhere.

Toronto, meanwhile, is on the hunt for a new head coach on the heels of a similarly familiar playoff disappointment. They fired five-year veteran Sheldon Keefe last week and have already interviewed former Blues coach Craig Berube and ex-Kings bench boss Todd McLellan for the vacancy, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Berube is widely viewed as their preferred candidate, but they’re not the only team heavily considering him – the Jets interviewed him for their vacancy this week. If they wait too long to see if Carolina decides to part ways with Brind’Amour, Berube may not be available as a Plan B.

Outside of Toronto and Winnipeg, the Devils, Kings, Kraken and Sharks still need to fill coaching vacancies. New Jersey (link) and Seattle (link) appear to be in the final stages of their searches, while the Sharks’ cast net is a tad wider. But all three would likely have interest in Brind’Amour if he became available, especially the Devils and Kraken, who have playoff aspirations next season.

Brind’Amour has made the playoffs in all six years behind the Hurricanes bench and won the Jack Adams Award in 2021, overseeing perhaps the best possession team in the NHL over that time. However, the Hurricanes haven’t won a game past the second round in his tenure. They were swept by the Bruins (2019) and Panthers (2023) in their two Eastern Conference Finals appearances under their 2006 Stanley Cup-winning captain to date.

Overall, Brind’Amour has a 278-130-44 (.664) regular season record and a 38-35 (.521) playoff mark as Carolina’s head coach.

NHL-Affiliated Prospects Playing In 2024 Memorial Cup

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The field for the 2024 Memorial Cup, the top club tournament in junior hockey, is set. The QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs, the OHL’s London Knights and the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors all swept their respective league championship series within the last two days to advance to the CHL championship tournament, joining the host Saginaw Spirit of the OHL.

This year marks the first Memorial Cup held in the United States since 1998, which was hosted by the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. The Spirit will attempt to become the first U.S.-based team to win since the Chiefs in 2008, and they have a strong chance. They’re stronger than a typical host team, finishing second in the league in the regular season with a 50-16-2 record and trailing London by just two points. They were eliminated by London in six games in the Western Conference Final.

The Knights lead the way with 10 NHL-affiliated prospects on their roster, including two first-round picks in Flyers defenseman Oliver Bonk and Maple Leafs forward Easton Cowan. The latter was named the OHL playoffs MVP after leading the Knights in scoring with 10 goals, 24 assists and 34 points in just 18 games. He had 15 points in four games in their championship sweep over the Oshawa Generals.

If you’re looking for some non-Stanley Cup Playoff hockey to watch, check to see if your favorite NHL team has prospects suiting up in the tournament, which begins May 24:

Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL champion)

D Mikaël Diotte (Devils, free agent signing)
RW Ethan Gauthier (Lightning, 2023, 37th overall)
RW Alexis Gendron (Flyers, 2022, 220th overall)
D Vsevolod Komarov (Sabres, 2022, 134th overall)

NHL Utah 2022 first-round pick D Maveric Lamoureux is out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery in March.

London Knights (OHL champion)

C Denver Barkey (Flyers, 2023, 95th overall)
D Oliver Bonk (Flyers, 2023, 22nd overall)
C Easton Cowan (Maple Leafs, 2023, 28th overall)
D Jackson Edward (Bruins, 2022, 200th overall)
D Isaiah George (Islanders, 2022, 98th overall)
RW Kasper Halttunen (Sharks, 2023, 36th overall)
C Jacob Julien (Jets, 2023, 146th overall)
C Kaleb Lawrence (Kings, 2022, 215th overall)
C Max McCue (Blue Jackets, free agent signing)
C Landon Sim (Blues, 2022, 184th overall)

Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL champion)

RW Jagger Firkus (Kraken, 2022, 35th overall)
D Denton Mateychuk (Blue Jackets, 2022, 12th overall)
D Kalem Parker (Wild, 2023, 181st overall)
D Vojtech Port (Ducks, 2023, 161st overall)
LW Martin Rysavy (Blue Jackets, 2021, 197th overall)
C Matthew Savoie (Sabres, 2022, 9th overall)
C Brayden Yager (Penguins, 2023, 14th overall)

Saginaw Spirit (host)

C Owen Beck (Canadiens, 2022, 33rd overall)
LW Josh Bloom (Canucks, acquired from Sabres in 2023 trade for Riley Stillman)
D Rodwin Dionicio (Ducks, 2023, 129th overall)
D Jorian Donovan (Senators, 2022, 136th overall)
C Hunter Haight (Wild, 2022, 47th overall)
C Ethan Hay (Lightning, 2023, 211th overall)
G Nolan Lalonde (Blue Jackets, free agent signing)
C Matyas Sapovaliv (Golden Knights, 2022, 48th overall)
C Joseph Willis (Predators, 2023, 111th overall)

Maple Leafs Interested In Extending Tyler Bertuzzi

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From the start of the 2020-21 NHL season, forward Tyler Bertuzzi had been generally inconsistent, due in large part to his inability to stay healthy for an entire season. Over a possible 220 regular season games, Bertuzzi was only able to suit up in 127 games with the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins.

Because of this, Bertuzzi failed to secure a multi-year contract in last year’s offseason, choosing to sign a one-year, $5.5MM contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Even though he brought the grit that the Maple Leafs were coveting over the offseason, Bertuzzi failed to reach his expectations on the score sheet for quite some time in Toronto, scoring six goals and 21 points through his first 50 games with the organization.

Nevertheless, Bertuzzi finally picked up his offensive output towards the end of the regular season, scoring 15 goals and 22 points in his last 30 games. Seemingly enjoying his time in Toronto, it was reported only two weeks ago that Bertuzzi would be open to signing an extension with the Maple Leafs, with David Pagnotta of TheFourthPeriod now reporting that the feeling is mutual between the two parties.

With Toronto once again failing to deliver on lofty postseason expectations, there is wide belief throughout the league that major changes will be coming to the roster this summer. Although rumors have been floating around in years past about breaking up the ’Core Four’, the current speculation appears to have much more veracity than in years past.

Outside of Bertuzzi’s pending unrestricted free agency, the Maple Leafs still need to find a head coach, develop a quality defensive core, and iron out their goaltending situation. Assuming that Bertuzzi is hoping to garner a multi-year contract this summer, he may need to settle for a lower AAV than expected, unless Toronto can free up additional cap space in their expected flurry of moves this offseason.

Predators Have Shown Interest In Mitch Marner

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The Maple Leafs haven’t yet given any indication of whether they’ll ask winger Mitch Marner to waive his no-move clause after another first-round playoff exit. However, that hasn’t stopped the Predators from indicating they’d be one of the teams calling if he hits the trade market, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.

It would be quite a swing from Nashville general manager Barry Trotz as he enters his second offseason at the helm. The longtime coach knocked it out of the park in free agency last summer, landing first-line forwards Gustav Nyquist and Ryan O’Reilly for less than $5MM per season on two-year and four-year deals, respectively. Replacing John Hynes with Andrew Brunette behind the bench also worked out quite well – the latter is a Jack Adams Award finalist this year after guiding the Preds to a 99-point season, their most in five years.

Pagnotta recently posited a Marner for Juuse Saros swap with both star players entering the final season of their contracts, but it’s unclear whether Toronto has shown any interest in the 2022 Vezina Trophy finalist. Without any real indication that Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving is even looking to move on from Marner, it’s impossible to tell for certain what he’d desire in return for his star playmaker.

The Leafs and Preds have been infrequent trade partners, only swapping minor-league or depth players a handful of times over the past few years. Their last major swap came near the 2015 trade deadline, with Toronto sending Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli to Nashville in exchange for Olli Jokinen, Brendan Leipsic and a 2015 first-round pick. The Leafs ended up trading down from that pick, 24th overall, which the Flyers happily used to select Travis Konecny. Then-co-interim GMs Kyle Dubas and Mark Hunter didn’t select any impact NHLers with the picks they acquired, although they did swap one of the picks acquired from Philly for a second-round choice they used to select serviceable defenseman, Travis Dermott.

Marner’s prospective trade value will be influenced by two factors: how many teams he’s willing to waive his no-move clause for (if at all) and if his camp is given permission to work on an extension with the acquiring club. He carries a $10.9MM cap hit next season as he enters the final year of the six-year, $65.4MM deal he signed weeks before the 2019-20 season got underway. Evolving Hockey projects Marner to land an eight-year extension with an $11.7MM cap hit should he sign soon after becoming eligible on July 1.

Toronto would be losing its most dynamic playmaker and one of its better penalty-killers should they move on from Marner, but they would free up considerable cap space to address their lack of puck-moving defensemen and inconsistency in goal. Any roster player they acquire in exchange for Marner is likely to cost a few million dollars less, allowing them to be more aggressive players on this summer’s free-agent market if they make a decision on trading him before the draft.

The Predators, meanwhile, would gain arguably the best player to suit up for them in franchise history outside of two years’ worth of past-his-prime Paul Kariya and 17 games’ worth of Peter Forsberg. Outside of their top line of O’Reilly, Nyquist and Filip Forsberg, center Thomas Novak was the only other Nashville forward to produce over half a point per game. Their top offensive threats are quickly aging, too, with O’Reilly and Nyquist well into their 30s. In a couple of years, a still sub-30 Marner could lead an incredibly deep core of wingers supplemented by Forsberg and top prospects Joakim Kemell and Matthew Wood.

Maple Leafs Have Interviewed Craig Berube, Todd McLellan

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The Maple Leafs have interviewed former Blues coach Craig Berube and ex-Kings bench boss Todd McLellan, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed on Monday’s “32 Thoughts” podcast (audio link). Adding onto heavy speculation in recent days, it appears they’re the favorites to take over as head coach in Toronto after Sheldon Keefe was fired Thursday. Berube was interviewed when Toronto’s search began over the weekend, while McLellan’s interview was slated for today, per Friedman.

Berube has also been linked to the Devils’ and Senators’ coaching vacancies this summer, but New Jersey’s attention has ironically drifted toward Keefe, and Ottawa ended up hiring Travis Green on a four-year contract. He’d spent parts of the past six seasons coaching the Blues, including winning the 2019 Stanley Cup as their interim bench boss, before being fired after a 13-14-1 start to this season.

Outside of the 2019 run, Berube’s Blues only managed to win a playoff series on one other occasion, taking down the Wild in six games in the first round in 2022. The blame is far from being square on Berube for that, though. Their aging defense has lacked identity and consistent puck-moving prowess for the past couple of seasons, resulting in St. Louis missing the playoffs entirely in consecutive campaigns for the first time since 2010 and 2011. St. Louis ended up going with interim replacement Drew Bannister as Berube’s full-time replacement after he led them to a 30-19-5 record in the last few months of the season.

Berube has what few other available coaches on this market do – a Stanley Cup ring. Only Joel Quenneville carries that distinction among names that have been truly bandied about in this year’s carousel, and he’s still not eligible for work in the league due to his involvement in the Blackhawks’ organizational cover-up of a 2010 sexual assault incident involving former video coach Brad Aldrich. Claude Julien won with the Bruins in 2011 and isn’t technically retired, and Dan Bylsma (Penguins, 2009) is still going strong as the head coach of the Kraken’s AHL affiliate, but neither has truly had their name connected to any vacancies thus far.

He had a .597 points percentage in the regular season with St. Louis, north of McLellan’s .550 run with the Kings over the past five years. Like Berube, McLellan was sacked midseason with a 23-15-10 record, influenced by a 3-7-5 slide in January.

McLellan, despite boasting over twice as many games coached as Berube, has more muted playoff success, though. His teams haven’t advanced to a conference final since the Sharks in 2011, and he failed to get out of the first round in two playoff appearances with the Kings. He has a career 42-46 record in postseason play – perhaps his most disappointing discrepancy coming during his time in San Jose (.637 regular-season points percentage, .484 playoff win percentage).

Afternoon Notes: Devils Coaching, Drouin, Zadorov

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The New Jersey Devils have seemingly found their favorites on the coaching market, with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reporting on the Jeff Marek Show that the team is currently favoring Sheldon Keefe and Jay Woodcroft (Twitter link). More specifically, Woodcroft was the favorite before Keefe’s firing. But the Devils were quick to interview Keefe when he became available, even going as far as requesting permission to interview him amidst his closing days in Toronto. The interview clearly went well, with Keefe now a favorite for what Elliotte Friedman described as the coaching role with the highest ceiling.

New Jersey would offer a similar backdrop for Keefe – boasting some of the strongest top-end forwards but struggling to find the same consistency in net. The Devils have the exciting advantage of a much, much deeper defense group than Toronto carried during Keefe’s tenure – with the core quartet of Dougie Hamilton, Simon Nemec, Luke Hughes, and Jonas Siegenthaler stronger than what most of the league offers. New Jersey’s season was marred by injuries, best exemplified by star centerman Jack Hughes missing 20 games and star defender Hamilton missing 62. The inconsistent lineup was too much for head coaches Lindy Ruff or Travis Green to handle, with the Devils ending the year with a 38-39-5 record.

But even after the slow season, the sky still seems to be the limit for the New Jersey Devils. A fully healthy season out of Jack Hughes, a full year of young defenders Hughes and Nemec, and a fruitful addition with the 2024 10th-overall pick should set the bar high for the skilled Devils lineup, giving them playoff aspirations under the right leader.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Colorado Avalanche could be set to add a top-six winger back to the lineup, with head coach Jared Bednar dubbing Jonathan Drouin as a game-time decision, per Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Drouin has so far missed every postseason game with a lower-body injury – but upgraded to a full-contact jersey, and top power-play unit reps, at the team’s Monday practice. Those are good signs of progress for Drouin, who recorded a career-high 56 points in 79 games this season. He’s seemingly found his footing in Colorado, and will now be set to add to his postseason career totals of 21 points in 33 games. His return should bump one of Joel Kiviranta or Brandon Duhaime out of the lineup, depending on if Colorado wants to prioritize skill or grit.
  • The NHL Department of Player Safety has fined Vancouver Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov for cross-checking Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid at the end of Game 3. Zadorov hit McDavid right into Carson Soucy, who landed a cross-check on McDavid’s face. Soucy will have a hearing sometime today for the incident. And while they’re certainly holding their breath in anticipation of a possible Soucy suspension, the Canucks are certainly relieved that Zadorov avoided harsher punishment. He has been one of Vancouver’s best defensemen this postseason, posting four goals and seven points through nine games, while averaging over 20 minutes of ice time each night. Zadorov has brought skill, finesse, and grit to the lineup – although maybe a bit too much of the latter, as he’s now facing DoPS punishment.

Ron Ellis Passes Away At 79

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Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ron Ellis has passed away at the age of 79, the team has shared (Twitter link). Ellis spent the entirety of his 16-year career in the NHL with the Maple Leafs, joining as an undrafted free agent in 1964. He is one of just five players to play 1,000 games with the Leafs and ranks seventh on the club’s all-time scoring list, recently being passed up by Auston Matthews.

Ellis is most well known for his role on Toronto’s 1967 Stanley Cup team. At just 22, Ellis tallied 22 goals and 45 points in 67 games, ranking him third on the Leafs in scoring. He slowed down a bit in the postseason, with just three points in 12 games, though he still recorded 36 shots en route to the Cup.

That season was just the beginning of Ellis’ successful career. He’d top the 45-point mark in each of the next nine seasons, including two years reaching the 50-point mark and a career-high 61 points in 1974-75. Ellis and Dave Keon were pillars of the Maple Leafs’ offense throughout the 1970s, offering consistent scoring as Toronto brought in their next generation through the likes of Lanny McDonald, Darryl Sittler, and Borje Salming.  Ellis was also a member of the infamous  1972 Summit Series, where Soviet Russia took on a Canadian lineup full of NHL talent. The Canadians would win the series 4-3, with Ellis recording three assists.

Ellis was the runner-up to Roger Crozier’s Calder Trophy win in 1965, following a year where Crozier played 70 games and posted a .913 save percentage. His rookie season was his only time in the race for an award, though he did receive Lady Byng Trophy votes in 1979. Ellis was one of seven members of the 1967-Cup winners to be recognized with the 2024 NHL Alumni Association ’Keith Magnuson Man of the Year’ Award in February.

Ellis is survived by his wife Jan, son RJ, daughter-in-law Renata, and their families. PHR sends our condolences to Ellis’ family, friends, and the entire Maple Leafs fanbase.

Tavares Named Captain For Canada At Worlds

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  • After being added to Canada’s roster on Friday, Maple Leafs captain John Tavares has been named as captain for the Canadians at the Worlds, Hockey Canada announced (Twitter link). The 33-year-old saw his output dip this season but he still managed 29 goals and 36 assists for Toronto in 80 games but was limited to just one goal and one assist in their first-round loss to Boston.  This is his fourth appearance at the World Championship although it has been a while since Tavares has taken part; he last participated back in 2012.

Maple Leafs Notes: Trades, Shanahan, Injuries

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While the Maple Leafs’ management didn’t give any updates about their search for a head coach during Friday morning’s end-of-season media availability, there was still a handful of information divulged worth discussing.

That includes team president Brendan Shanahan confirming nothing has been ruled out regarding possible trades or other changes to the roster this summer (via Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman). After this year’s first-round loss to the Bruins, Toronto has lost eight of its nine playoff series in the Mitch Marner/Auston Matthews/William Nylander era. Matthews and Nylander have signed recent extensions and won’t be moved after career seasons, but Marner and captain John Tavares each are pending UFAs beginning July 1.

Both Marner and Tavares have full no-move clauses, though, something that makes general manager Brad Treliving’s job much harder if they do opt to free up a sizable amount of cap space by moving a core piece. Even with a lack of scoring largely dooming them against Boston this year, expect any of Treliving’s moves or adds this summer to be centered around defensive or physical play – he confirmed as such today (via TSN’s Chris Johnston). That would fall in line with the moves Treliving made before this year’s trade deadline, picking up shutdown defensemen Joel Edmundson and Ilya Lyubushkin as well as checking forward Connor Dewar.

Other updates from Leafland:

  • After the team fired head coach Sheldon Keefe yesterday, many thought Shanahan’s job could be in jeopardy as well since he’s overseen all of the Maple Leafs’ playoff losses since Matthews was drafted in 2016. That won’t be the case, though. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Keith Pelley confirmed the organization would retain Shanahan this summer with one year left on his contract (via the Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan). Shanahan has been in the president/alternate governor role for the Leafs for over a decade now, joining the club in April 2014 after serving as the NHL’s director of player safety.
  • Treliving also spoke to the injuries that plagued many of Toronto’s core pieces throughout the first round, including Matthews and Nylander (via The Hockey News’ David Alter). Namely, he confirmed that Matthews’ absence in Games 5 and 6 – which they both won – wasn’t solely due to the illness he’d picked up earlier in the series, but rather a head injury sustained in Game 4. Treliving also confirmed that Nylander’s absence through the first three games of the series was due to migraines, while goaltender Joseph Woll sustained an SI joint sprain in his back during Game 6 that kept him out of their Game 7 loss. The lower-body injury that kept depth winger Bobby McMann out of action was an MCL sprain sustained near the end of the season, and he would have been available to return during the second round if they made it. Dewar, who doesn’t have a contract next season but is a restricted free agent, also requires shoulder surgery but will be ready for training camp.

Maple Leafs May Be Looking For Two Goalies This Summer

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At the moment, the Maple Leafs only have one goaltender with NHL experience signed for next season, Joseph Woll.  With that in mind, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic suggested on his latest podcast (video link) that Toronto is likely to sign a pair of experienced netminders for 2024-25.  At first glance, finding a partner for Woll will be the top priority while also trying to fill the role that Martin Jones had this season as the veteran third-string option that can be serviceable when called upon.  Ilya Samsonov, Matt Murray, and Jones are all set to hit the open market in July with Johnston believing that it’s possible that one of the three could return to fill one of those two spots.

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