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Coaching Notes: Vincent, Hakstol, Boudreau, Tocchet

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New Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen is adding to his staff. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Blue Jackets are set to hire Manitoba Moose head coach Pascal Vincent as an assistant to Larsen. Vincent had previously left Paul Maurice’s Winnipeg Jets staff in favor of being the head coach for their AHL affiliate, but seemingly is back to being open to an NHL assistant role. Vincent has spent the past decade with the Jets organization and the previous dozen years as a head coach and GM in the QMJHL. With an impressive resume, Vincent may see this Columbus opportunity as a way to get his name out there beyond the confines of Winnipeg in hopes of attracting NHL head coach attention of his own down the road. Vincent will re-unite with Jack Roslovic in Columbus; he previously coached him as a prospect with the Moose but he has now become the No. 1 center for the Blue Jackets. That relationship should be mutually beneficial for the pair.

  • The big coaching news of the day was of course the hiring of Dave Hakstol as the first head coach of the expansion Seattle Kraken. And while Hakstol’s role will be in the locker room and not the front office, GM Ron Francis will certainly take his opinions into consideration. After all, it was the Florida Panthers, the former team of Vegas’ inaugural head coach, Gerard Gallant, that were swindled the worst by the Golden Knights in the last Expansion Draft. Florida traded Reilly Smith and a fourth-round pick so that Vegas would select Jonathan Marchessault over the likes of Alexander Petrovic and Mark Pysyk. While no teams should be fooled so badly this time around, Hakstol’s knowledge of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadephia Flyers – not to mention the numerous University of North Dakota alumni around the league – could come into play. The Flyers in particular are expected to have many well-known names exposed in the draft, some of whom played their best seasons under Hakstol, and the coach may know exactly how to target the team.
  • The Maple Leafs now have a vacancy on their coaching staff in the wake of Hakstol’s departure, but the club’s fans think they have already figured it out. Yahoo’s Thomas Williams writes that there has already been an outpouring of support for veteran coach Bruce Boudreau to be hired as the team’s newest assistant. The Toronto native and former Maple Leafs player spoke out this off-season as a free agent that he would like to coach his hometown team and fans seem to agree with the match. Boudreau has had a long and successful coaching career and some feel that head coach Sheldon Keefe could use the veteran support on the bench. With that said, Boudreau has never served as an assistant in the NHL and interviewed for the Buffalo Sabres’ head coach vacancy late last month. Despite any personal feelings and fan support, Boudreau will take the top job for the struggling Sabres over a No. 2 role for Toronto.
  • Of course, Boudreau is not the only candidate for the Sabres’ job, as Rick Tocchet is also among the names who interviewed for the position. Tocchet interviewed multiple times with the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, and Seattle Kraken, only to lose out on all three jobs. He has reportedly only interviewed once with Buffalo, who may not have been his top choice at first, but they are the only landing spot left, as the other remaining NHL head coach position is the post he vacated with the Arizona Coyotes. Tocchet is clearly a well-regarded and sought-after coach, so now that they are his last hope at a top job this season, perhaps the Sabres and Tocchet will get serious about a potential match.

Rick Tocchet Receives Second Interview With Three Teams

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June 24: The Seattle Kraken will reveal their first head coach today and Ian Furness of KJR 950 in Seattle tweets that it will not be Tocchet. With the Blue Jackets and Rangers having gone in different directions, the openings are quickly closing for the free agent head coach.

June 2: The Arizona Coyotes may not have wanted to move forward with Rick Tocchet behind the bench, but they are clearly in the minority. The free agent coach continues to draw considerable interest on the open market. Tocchet has already interviewed for the vacancies of the Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New York Rangers, as well as for the inaugural head coach position for the expansion Seattle Kraken.

At least three of those teams are serious about Tocchet as a candidate, as Coyotes beat writer Craig Morgan reports that Tocchet had a second interview with the Rangers on Tuesday and will have second interviews with the Kraken and Blue Jackets before the end of the week. He does not mention the Sabres, who are reportedly casting a wide net for their next head coach and may not be at their second interview stage just yet. While the Kraken are still an unknown until the Expansion Draft, both the Rangers and Blue Jackets have the talent on their rosters that could allow Tocchet to find immediate success if hired.

Tocchet, 57, actually has a losing record in his NHL head coaching career and if not for the expanded 2020 postseason field would have never led a team to the playoffs. With that said, he took a bottom-dwelling Coyotes team from last in the Pacific Division in 2017-18 to a team that contended for a playoff spot late into the season in each of the past three years, never finishing lower than fifth in the division. It’s nothing spectacular, but it is far from failure. Tocchet is also known for his ability to work with star players and was beloved as an assistant coach in previous stops. A standout two-way forward during his playing days and the NHL’s all-time leader in Gordie Howe hat tricks, Tocchet has a well-rounded understanding of the game and a well-regarded coaching approach. So while his track record may not be amazing on paper, the veteran coach has clearly made enough of a name for himself that several teams are highly interested in hiring him as their next head coach.

Mike Van Ryn No Longer In Running For Coyotes Coaching Job

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The Arizona Coyotes are still conducting a search for their next head coach, but it won’t be Mike Van Ryn. The St. Louis Blues assistant is officially out of the running according to Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic. It’s not clear whether that decision came from the team or the coach.

It made sense that Van Ryn would be a candidate, given the fact that Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong was with the Blues for nearly two decades before joining Arizona. The Blues assistant also actually started his NHL coaching career with the Coyotes organization, serving as a development coach in 2016-17 after a stint in the OHL. Arizona has also spoken to candidates including Todd Nelson, Benoit Groulx, Jay Leach and Andre Tourigny as they look to find their next bench boss.

  • The Montreal Canadiens have reached a three-year contract extension with their resident capologist John Sedgwick, who serves as Vice President of Hockey Operations and Legal Affairs. Sedgwick has been with the team since 2013 and has been a big part of bringing the Canadiens minor league teams—the Laval Rocket and the Trois-Rivieres Lions—closer to home. The extension quickly came with a wave of media members lauding the move, with Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com calling Sedgwick “one of the brightest minds in the game.”
  • Minor league forward Miikka Salomaki has signed a two-year contract with Orebro in Finland, leaving the NHL behind for the time being. The 28-year-old spent the entire 2020-21 season in the AHL with the Colorado Eagles, scoring just two goals in 26 games. Salomaki was once a regular in the Nashville Predators lineup, but has just five NHL games played since the end of 2018-19.

Free Agent Focus: Arizona Coyotes

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Free agency is now just a little more than a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  Nearly the entire starting defense corps is about to hit the open market, meaning there are big changes coming in Arizona.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Conor Garland – Over the last few seasons, Garland has gone from fifth-round afterthought to arguably the most important forward on the entire Coyotes roster. The 25-year-old followed up a 22-goal 2019-20 season with another 39 points in 49 games this year, trailing only Phil Kessel for the team lead among forwards. His dynamic puck skills and edge work have resulted in outstanding possession numbers ever since he made it to the NHL and there’s good reason to believe he could put up even bigger offensive totals moving forward. Garland played most of the season with Nick Schmaltz but saw a rotating cast of other linemates throughout the year. The question now is whether the Coyotes will be able to lock down Garland with a long-term deal, buying out some unrestricted free agent years, or have to go to arbitration and settle with another short-term contract. He’s coming off a two-year deal that carried an average annual value of just $775K, so it would make sense for Garland’s camp to want a big raise.

G Adin Hill – There was a time a few seasons ago when Hill appeared to be in line to take over the crease in Arizona. The third-round pick made his NHL debut in 2017 at the age of 21, making 31 saves in a losing effort. Standing 6’6″ it was easy to see how he could become an elite starting goaltender at the next level, but now several years later he only has 49 appearances under his belt. Now arbitration-eligible and just two years from unrestricted free agency, the team will have to decide whether Hill is once again the plan for the next several years. Darcy Kuemper, the only other NHL goaltender under contract will be a UFA in a year’s time and has always had trouble staying healthy. Committing to Hill this summer may be the right choice, even if it does cost them a little bit more per season than he would get through the arbitration process.

Other RFAs: F Dryden Hunt, F John Hayden, F Lane Pederson, F Blake Speers, F Nate Sucese, F Frederik Gauthier, F Tyler Steenbergen, F Brayden Burke, D Dysin Mayo, D Cam Dineen

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

G Antti Raanta – Of course, the reason Kuemper is the only other goaltender under contract is that Raanta is about to hit the open market. The 32-year-old netminder still has a .919 career save percentage, but that number was brought down by his .905 this season. The fact that he hasn’t been able to stay healthy for consecutive seasons is a huge red flag, especially as he gets closer to his mid-thirties. Sure, there’s a reason to bring Raanta back on a reasonable deal, but with Hill ready to take his place as a tandem starter and other prospects in the wings, the veteran netminder may be looking for a different address next month.

F Michael Bunting – Some around the league believe that Bunting is ready to break out and could be one of this summer’s most savvy pickups. The 25-year-old scored 10 goals and 13 points in 21 games this season for Arizona, adding another 19 points in 16 AHL contests. That belief may have been a bit shaken when Bunting went completely scoreless in ten games at the World Championships, but there will surely be teams willing to take a chance. The Group VI unrestricted free agent actually prefers to stay in Arizona, but given that there is no deal in place yet, it suggests he is going to at least test the free agent market to see what is out there.

The Defense – The entire UFA section in this article could just be a list of defenders, given how many Coyotes are scheduled to hit the open market. Jason Demers, Alex Goligoski, Jordan Oesterle and Niklas Hjalmarsson are all pending UFAs and it isn’t clear if any of them will be back. The biggest question really is Goligoski, who paired with rising star Jakob Chychrun for most of this season, helping the young defenseman to a career year. Now 35, Goligoski still averaged 23 minutes a night as a steady two-way option and even produced 22 points in 56 games. Replacing him, especially if the Coyotes are also going to move Oliver Ekman-Larsson, will leave a gaping hole on the back end with no clear answer under contract. Demers, Oesterle and Hjalmarsson have all kind of merged into the same 17-minute-a-night defensive option, that doesn’t bring much offense and doesn’t have a lot of upside. Any of them could reenergize their careers with a fresh start somewhere else, or continue to fill out the depth chart on reasonable short-term deals in the desert.

Other UFAs: F Derick Brassard, F Marian Hossa, F Hudson Fasching, F Michael Chaput, D Aaron Ness, D Jordan Gross

Projected Cap Space

Even though they have been technically up against the cap in the past, that was mostly due to the Coyotes taking on contracts like Hossa’s in order to gather assets. The team is not normally known as a big spender and has more than $31MM to work with this offseason. Of course, they’ll need to fill half a roster with that money, not the easiest of tasks. Getting Ekman-Larsson’s contract off the books would be huge for the team, given the value-cost equation that is seemingly getting worse by the year. GM Bill Armstrong has a very busy summer ahead of him but plenty of roster spots to work with.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly. 

Coyotes, Oliver Ekman-Larsson Again Exploring Trade Possibilities

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Another off-season, another attempt by the Arizona Coyotes and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson to scour the trade market for a potential fit. The two sides worked together last year to find a new home for Ekman-Larsson, but to no avail. The veteran defenseman offered only two possible destinations – the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks – that he would waive his No-Movement Clause for and neither team made a suitable offer. As a result, Ekman-Larsson played for the ’Yotes again this season. One year later and one year further into his eight-year, $66MM contract, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that they will again try to find a suitable trade fit this off-season.

Per Friedman, the approach this summer will be different. Rather than Ekman-Larsson telling Arizona where he would be willing to go, GM Bill Armstrong will gauge the market and bring offers from any interested teams back to OEL to see if he is also interested. This doesn’t necessarily mean that their odds of finding a deal will improve, especially if Ekman-Larsson remains narrowly focused on just a few possible destinations, but it will allow for the Coyotes to better understand his market value so as to potentially work with those teams that he would go to. Boston and Vancouver for instance are both still in need of a top-four defenseman.

Market value could be the key here as the ’Yotes very likely think more highly of Ekman-Larsson’s worth than do other teams around the league. They are after all the ones who signed him to his current albatross of a contract, which still has six years left at an $8.25MM AAV. OEL also did little to improve his trade stock this season; while his offense recovered to his career average, his time on ice per game fell to a new low since his rookie season and his per-game shots, blocks, and hits were all below his career average. Any deal would almost certainly have to include salary retention by the Coyotes, but the return may also be less than what they might have expected and wanted. With that said, Ekman-Larsson is still on the right side of 30 (for another month) and has a strong track record in the NHL, so there could very well be teams that still see the upside in adding the accomplished veteran to their blue line.

Pending UFA Michael Bunting Hopes To Remain With Coyotes

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There has been very little information regarding the absence of Golden Knights center Chandler Stephenson who has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury.  SinBin.Vegas reports (Twitter link) that Stephenson is dealing with concussion-like symptoms from a hit from Ben Chiarot in the first game of the series and that he is not with the team in Montreal.  The 27-year-old had a career year this season with 35 points in 51 games (plus six assists in 14 playoff contests) and while they did get Tomas Nosek back on Friday, Stephenson’s absence will be a tough one to fill.  As is the case with any type of concussion symptoms, it appears as if there’s no timetable for his return.

Elsewhere in the West:

  • While Coyotes winger Michael Bunting will have an opportunity to test the open market as a Group Six unrestricted free agent, he told Jose M. Romero of the Arizona Republic that his preference is to remain with Arizona. The 25-year-old cleared waivers in January and was in the minors until late March but after being recalled, he potted an impressive 10 goals in 21 games down the stretch, earning a spot on Canada’s entry at the World Championships in the process.  That should give him a decent market if he gets to free agency but while he’s unsure if talks with the Coyotes have started yet, he’s hoping he won’t have to shop around his services.
  • While the Sharks gave Jonathan Dahlen a one-way contract to bring him back, San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng feels that the deal doesn’t pencil him into a lineup spot in San Jose next season. The 23-year-old dominated in Sweden’s second-tier Allsvenskan the last two years but that’s at a level that’s well below the NHL.  Peng cites concerns from several scouts about Dahlen’s ability to adapt to the NHL game.  Nevertheless, they’ll get a much better look at him with the one-way deal than watching him from afar in Sweden.

Liam Kirk Signs Entry-Level Contract

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The Arizona Coyotes have signed Liam Kirk to a three-year entry-level contract, according to his agent Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey. It appeared recently as though Kirk was ticketed for a sign-and-trade situation, but Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider has confirmed that there is no trade in place. PuckPedia tweets that the deal will carry an average annual value of $813K, but cannot actually become official until July 28 when the transfer window opens again.

Instead, it appears as though Kirk will get his chance with the Coyotes organization after his outstanding World Championship performance. The first born-and-trained player from England ever to be selected in the NHL entry draft, Kirk was picked 189th overall by Arizona in 2018. He played two seasons with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL, recording 97 points in 110 games, before going back overseas last year.

Developed by the Sheffield Steelers organization, a member of the EIHL, he returned there this season and showed just how much he had grown in the last few years. In 2017-18, Kirk put up 16 points in 52 games while playing against men sometimes more than ten years older than him. In 2020-21, he scored ten goals and 20 points in 14 games for the Steelers, dominating the competition on a regular basis.

When he suited up for Great Britain at the recent World Championship, Kirk was able to really open some eyes in the NHL. Playing against high-level competition, he managed to score seven goals, tied for the tournament lead, in just seven games. That performance led directly to this entry-level deal, which now allows the 21-year-old to test himself at the professional level in North America.

Snapshots: Hanley, Marlies, Kirk

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In April, the Dallas Stars decided to hand depth defenseman Joel Hanley a two-year contract extension. At the time, it was clear that the deal had at least some level of expansion draft motivation, given he needed just three more games to fill the exposure requirements for Dallas. He did end up playing those games, finishing with 35 contests on the season, but will now face a long rehab. Hanley underwent successful surgery to repair a core muscle injury today. He is expected to be recovered in time for the 2021-22 season, though these surgeries are notorious for keeping players at less than full strength for some time after they are cleared to return.

Even though that extension was at least partially due to the expansion draft, it’s not like Hanley didn’t deserve it. The 30-year-old has been a perfect extra defenseman for the Stars the last few seasons, coming in and out of the lineup when necessary to provide bottom-pairing minutes. He even played in 12 games during last year’s bubble playoffs, scoring his first NHL goal to open the scoring in game one of the Stanley Cup finals.

  • The Toronto Marlies have signed a pair of forwards, inking Antti Suomela and Ryan Chyzowski to AHL contracts today. Suomela, 27, has played in 51 NHL games, all with the San Jose Sharks and was acquired by the Maple Leafs in a deal for Alexander Barabanov at the deadline. Chyzowski perhaps is the more interesting of the pair, if only because of his age. The 21-year-old undrafted forward has spent the last five seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers and scored 11 goals and 29 points in the shortened 2020-21 campaign. Chyzowski is on a two-year minor league deal, while Suomela signed for just one.
  • When Liam Kirk was selected by the Arizona Coyotes 189th overall in 2018, he became the first player born and trained in England to be drafted. The Sheffield Steelers product then spent two seasons in the OHL, before heading overseas once again in 2020-21. Just recently, Kirk put the NHL on notice when he scored seven times to tie for the lead at the World Championship, despite his Great Britain team only 13 goals in the whole tournament. Now, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports, Kirk has been given permission to speak to other teams around the league despite still being under the control of Arizona. His draft rights will expire next June, so a trade would actually have to happen before he could sign an entry-level contract.

Snapshots: Shore, Ward, Nelson

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It’s the end of the road for journeyman forward Drew Shore, who announced his retirement today on Instagram. The 30-year-old forward was originally selected by the Florida Panthers in the second round of the 2009 draft and bounced around the hockey world over the last decade. Starting at the University of Denver, Shore became a collegiate star, while also helping the U.S. secure a bronze medal at the World Juniors. Upon signing with Florida he became an NHL regular, playing 43 games in his first season.

Unfortunately, that would be the highest total of his career, as Shore then bounced around the minor leagues and took his talents overseas in 2016. He has since played in Switzerland, China, Russia, Slovakia and Belarus, but most recently signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. He played four NHL games this season but was held scoreless and will now hang up his skates. In 98 career NHL games, Shore recorded 26 points.

  • Geoff Ward, who was let go by the Calgary Flames earlier this season, will now be joining the Anaheim Ducks as an assistant coach. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Ward will join Dallas Eakins staff for next season after the team had previously shown interest in new Flames associate coach Kirk Muller. The 59-year-old Ward ended up behind the bench for just 66 games in Calgary, taking over for the outgoing Bill Peters in 2019 and then replaced by Darryl Sutter earlier this year. In those games, he posted a 35-26-5 record and actually got Calgary through the qualification round in the bubble, only to fall to the Dallas Stars in six games.  Update: The Ducks have confirmed the hire along with the addition of Mike Stothers to their coaching staff.
  • The Arizona Coyotes will have Todd Nelson in for a second interview tomorrow, according to Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider. Nelson is one of many candidates the Coyotes are looking at and hasn’t been an NHL head coach since his one partial season in Edmonton. The 52-year-old is a well-respected assistant that has spent the last three seasons with the Dallas Stars however and has plenty of experience as head coach in the AHL. Morgan notes that the timeline for a hire in Arizona isn’t clear, though something should be done before the draft.

Snapshots: Coyotes, Carey, Johansson

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The Arizona Coyotes have interviewed a long list of head coaching candidates so far in their search to replace Rick Tocchet. Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider tweets that Syracuse Crunch coach Benoit Groulx has spoken to Arizona about the position and lists Mike Van Ryn, Todd Nelson, Jay Leach, and Andre Tourigny as others.

Last week, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic said on TSN radio that he believes the Coyotes will go with a first-time NHL head coach, which this list obviously suggests. Groulx, 53, has been behind the bench for Syracuse the last four season and signed a new deal with the organization earlier this season. That likely wouldn’t stop him from taking an NHL job, but shows how much the Lightning value him in the minors.

  • Paul Carey is on his way overseas, signing with Djurgardens IF for the 2021-22 season. The minor league veteran served as captain for the Providence Bruins this season, scoring 14 points in 22 games. The 32-year-old has 100 NHL games under his belt including one during the 2019-20 season, but those days are likely behind him at this point in his long professional career.
  • The Detroit Red Wings have loaned Albert Johansson to the SHL, giving him a chance to continue developing in Sweden. The 20-year-old defenseman scored 19 points in 44 games last season, his second full year with Farjestads. Selected 60th overall in 2019, he signed his entry-level deal last summer but it slid this season. That won’t be the case next year, meaning he will be scheduled for restricted free agency in 2024.

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