Golden Knights Moving Closer To Hiring Their Head Coach
The Vegas Golden Knights have accelerated their process to hire their inaugural head coach, owner Bill Foley told Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
“We might have our hire made before the end of the season. At this point, I’d say it’s 50-50 we have our head coach in place before the season’s over.”
Originally, the expectation was that a coach would be hired following the regular season and potentially before the upcoming expansion draft in June. The fact that the timeline is accelerating suggests that the Golden Knights have their preferred target in mind and may have to act sooner rather than later in order to get their top choice.
If that is indeed the case, one of the options that would be among the favorites is former Florida bench boss Gerard Gallant. The team asked for permission to talk to him and it’s believed they received the green light to do so. Foley wouldn’t confirm or deny that Gallant is who they were hoping to hire:
“No comment. But I believe we’re going to get a very good coach.”
Carp suggests that the Islanders’ decision to let Jack Capuano go as their head coach is what likely precipitated the decision to try to move up the timetable to hire a coach. Not only does their decision mean that there is another team currently with a vacancy (Doug Weight is filling in on an interim basis but isn’t believed to be a strong candidate to take the role permanently) but Gallant has history with New York, having served as an assistant with the team from 2007-2009.
Whether it’s Gallant, Capuano, or someone else, it appears that GM George McPhee has a desired hire in mind and may be moving to lock that coach up earlier than originally expected.
Metro Division Snapshots: Capuano, Dumoulin, Morin
It would seem that less than a week after being fired as head coach of the New York Islanders, Jack Capuano is already garnering interest from at least one other NHL club, as Arthur Staple of Newsday reports. Two sources have indicated that one team has already reached out to the team seeking permission to interview Capuano, who was relieved of his duties after nearly 500 games behind the Islanders bench. Aside from the Isles, the only other teams that would appear to be in the market for a new bench boss are Florida, who discharged Gerard Gallant from his duties nearly two months ago, and the Vegas Golden Knights, who have yet to make their first head coaching hire.
Before assuming his current position as GM of the expansion Golden Knights, George McPhee spent the 2015-16 campaign in an advisory position with the Islanders, a connection Staple notes in his column. That relationship would likely be enough to warrant at least an interview, but ultimately Cappy will be one of many candidates the team considers.
Ironically, the Islanders reportedly asked for permission to speak with Gallant, and as Staple writes, that request evidently came prior to the team officially terminating Capuano.
Elsewhere in the Metro Division:
- Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin, out since December 27th due to a broken jaw, has returned to practice and has officially been cleared for contact, writes Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. There is still no timetable for his return to game action but the fact he is back on the ice with no limitations suggests it shouldn’t be much longer. In fact, Nesbitt’s Post-Gazette colleague, Dave Molinari, relays that Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said the blue liner could return prior to next weekend’s All-Star break. He was originally expected to miss from four to six weeks and as Nesbitt notes, Dumoulin is in the fourth week of rehab. Dumoulin has seven points, all assists, in 35 games this season and averages 19:45 of ice time per game for the Penguins.
- With the Philadelphia Flyers struggling in the goal-prevention department – they have allowed the fourth highest total in the NHL – Sam Carchidi of Philly.com suggests the team’s blue line could use some bite. Carchidi’s recommendation is to call up young defenseman Samuel Morin, the team’s first-round pick in 2013, and who the scribe likens to former Flyer Chris Pronger. When Philadelphia acquired Pronger via trade, then-GM Paul Holmgren said he was targeting someone who “would make life miserable for the other team,” and Carchidi sees that same potential in Morin. Obviously, any comparison to a Hall of Fame defenseman is premature, but Carchidi thinks the 6-foot-6 blue liner can provide that same level of toughness and snarl that Pronger did throughout his career. Even if the team elects not to promote Morin to the big league team, it’s conceivable the Flyers will look to add some toughness to their blue line ahead of the deadline.
Snapshots: Vegas Golden Knights, Fort Lauderdale Shooting
After the deadly shooting at Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport today, there were discussions as to whether or not the nearby Florida Panthers would postpone tonight’s game against the Nashville Predators. Although the Predators were already safely in Sunrise, concerns over safety and the welfare of players, personnel, and fans after the scary incident were taken into account. The airport was just 20 miles from the BB&T Center, so the ongoing events were obviously going to impact the participants and spectators of tonight’s game. However, the NHL and the Broward County Sheriff came together and agreed to play the game tonight. Security has been increased for the match-up, which dropped the puck at 7:30 ET.
Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins, flying into Fort Lauderdale for their game against the Panthers tomorrow night, were instead diverted to Miami International Airport. The shooting occurred around 1:00 PM ET, but events were still unfolding into the evening and no official updates were made until after the Bruins had been scheduled to land. The team arrived safely in Miami and will simply travel a little farther to Sunrise tomorrow.
- The Vegas Golden Knights are getting closer and closer to the realization of their NHL dreams, as the team released an update on the ongoing activities of their hockey operations staff. After scouting the World Juniors this past week, the team is re-focused on meetings to put together their plan for the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft (June 18th-20th) and Entry Draft (June 23rd-24th), as well as their special pre-free agency negotiating window. General Manager George McPhee was excited to have his first real team outing at the World Juniors, an invaluable experience in preparing for the rookie draft, and now has his sights set on running some more mock drafts in preparation for the Expansion Draft. On top of all of this scouting and strategy, McPhee is also finishing up the hiring of his medical staff and is close to an agreement on an AHL franchise arrangement. McPhee believes that the team will have a greater understanding of their AHL status in the coming weeks. The teams has also said that their pre-season schedule is nearly complete. The NHL’s newest team is keeping busy as they prepare to be the first addition to the world’s best hockey league since 2000.
Boedker A Healthy Scratch Tonight For Sharks
Mikkel Boedker, San Jose’s key offseason addition, will be a healthy scratch tonight for the second time on the season, writes Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area. The 27-year-old winger will be replaced in the lineup by Tommy Wingels.
Boedker inked a four-year deal with the Sharks worth $16MM after registering a 51-point campaign last season, splitting the campaign with Arizona and Colorado. The belief at the time was that the Danish winger would benefit playing with San Jose’s talented centers as Boedker never had anyone as good as Joe Thornton or Logan Couture to play with while in Arizona. Instead, Boedker has scuffled through the first half of 2016-17, registering just two goals and six assists in 38 games despite spending roughly half of his time skating either with Thornton or Couture, according to the website Left Wing Lock.
Consistency, or the lack thereof, appears to be Boedker’s biggest issue in the opinion of his head coach, Peter DeBoer, who knows Boedker from their days together in junior hockey.
“I know this kid and I know his character. My conversation with him was, heading into Christmas, he probably played eight or 10 of the best games he’s played here. Might have been our best player six or seven of those nights.
“He’s 40 games in, he knows our systems. He knows how we want to play. He’s been able to play that way and been effective for more than a game or two. He’s done it for a stretch. Now, it’s just consistently bringing that.
“This is a tough division we’re in. You can’t take your foot off the gas. We’ve got tough decisions to make every night, and we’ve got good players sitting out. I think that’s the message, and he gets it. I’m sure we’ll get a good response when he’s back in.”
It’s clear that DeBoer is still willing to give Boedker another opportunity to prove himself but his patience must be wearing thin. With three years remaining on his contract after the conclusion of the 2016-17 campaign, it will be interesting to see what the Sharks will do with the skilled winger moving forward. If he fails to turn his season around the team could look to move on but trading him with that much money left on his deal won’t be easy. The Sharks could choose not to protect Boedker and hope the Vegas Golden Knights take a chance on the gifted offensive player. Expansion clubs typically struggle in the goal-scoring department and they might be willing to assume some risk in the hopes Boedker returns to his 50-point ways.
Vegas Golden Knights At The World Juniors
Even though the Vegas Golden Knights don’t start playing until 2017-18, doesn’t mean they haven’t already started to scout the young talent throughout the game. With the World Junior Championships underway in Toronto, the team has sent several scouts to the tournament to watch the collection of under-20 talent. While some are still draft-eligible, and some are under contract with teams around the league, it’s a wonderful opportunity to scout the best of the best all at once. Dan Marrazza of NHL.com caught up with the Golden Knights’ Assistant Director of Player Personnel Bob Lowes to get his take on the tournament.
It isn’t just the draft eligible players. It’s other team’s drafts, guys that are already picked. I think it’s a really good tournament for our staff to see both of those groups of players, and to get a good handle on it going forward for our organization.
While the team will have a chance in the draft lottery this summer (equal to that of the third worst team in the league), something that is often ofterlooked is that they’ll also have the third pick in each subsequent round regardless of where they fall in the lottery. That gives them some strong picks even as the rounds go later, when the lesser-known teams at the tournament will have talent available. On Denmark, who has shocked the world by defeating both the Czech Republic and last year’s winner Finland:
Obviously, they’re having some success, so it makes you take notice a little bit more. It makes you look at a guy that’s maybe slipped through the draft, if he’s draft eligible, and saying: ‘this kid’s doing it on the world stage against some of the best competition in the world.’
Lowes points out that there have been breakout stars at the tournament before, referencing Nino Niederreiter of Switzerland and Oliver Bjorkstrand of Denmark as players who greatly improved their draft stock at the tournament. While obviously the top names of the tournament are often well scouted prior, or even already drafted, it’s a big deal to see under-the-radar guys on this big of a stage. As Lowes puts it:
Performance here goes into a player’s overall profile. You wouldn’t just base it on this tournament, but it is an important part of the development of a player. It’s just a really good snapshot of the possible potential of that player.
The preliminary round ends today with the quarter-finals starting on Monday. Before they do though, Finland will need to fight for it’s tournament life in the relegation round on Monday morning against Latvia.
Garrioch’s Latest: Vegas Coaching Candidates, Leafs, Kings, Hanzal
The NHL’s roster freeze kicks in tonight and as Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun writes, it’s likely that there won’t be any sort of significant movement between now and then. Multiple league executives told Garrioch that the sense is that teams are content to get through the holidays before really starting to entertain any potential trades.
Part of the problem right now is that cap space is at a premium for a lot of teams (16 teams either have someone on LTIR or are less than $1MM under the cap which doesn’t allow for much wiggle room) while only a handful of teams could be classified as sellers as things currently sit in the standings. Add those two elements together and it’s not difficult to figure out why the trade market is quiet at this stage.
Garrioch also provides some other notes from around the league:
- The Vegas Golden Knights are looking at former Philadelphia head coach Craig Berube (currently the head coach with AHL Chicago) and current Montreal associate coach Kirk Muller as potential options to be their inaugural bench boss. Garrioch expects that GM George McPhee will be looking for a good communicator to work with their roster and both of those coaches fit that bill. He also suggests Rick Bowness, the associate coach in Tampa Bay, as a potential option and notes that his experience with an expansion team (Ottawa) would be an asset.
- Add the Toronto Maple Leafs to the list of teams looking for an impact defenseman. The problem for the Leafs (and any other team) is that as many as half the teams around the league are looking for blueline help. Given where Toronto is in the standings as well as where they are in their rebuilding process, it’s more than likely that they’d be looking for a longer-term fit than a rental player.
- The Kings are looking to add another goaltender with Jonathan Quick still out for several months but haven’t discussed Ondrej Pavelec with the Jets since the GM meetings. Ottawa’s Andrew Hammond was also on their radar a while back but doesn’t appear to be now. GM Dean Lombardi told reporters last week that he won’t overpay to bring in another netminder. They have about $1.5MM in cap space at the moment per CapFriendly.
- Arizona has been looking to move center Martin Hanzal but teams remain unsure about what the Coyotes are looking to get in a return. Hanzal, a pending unrestricted free agent, has 10 points in 26 games this season and would slide in as a third option on a lot of teams. Garrioch notes that the sense is that the price will involve a quality prospect and at least a second round pick if a deal gets done. With a cap hit of $3.1MM, Hanzal is likely to be one of the cheaper impact rental players on the block which should help draw interest from several teams.
Pacific Division Notes: Brown, Gaborik, Bieksa
Former Los Angeles Kings team captain Dustin Brown was scratched from this afternoon’s road contest in Boston. According to Jon Rosen of L.A. Kings Insider, Brown is battling an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.
Brown, who was stripped of the captaincy and replaced by Anze Kopitar this last summer, has had a moderate bounce-back campaign after the worst season of his career in 2015-16. Through 30 games Brown has contributed 14 points to the Kings attack and he’s already halfway to his points total from last year when he tallied 28 in 82 games. He is a five-time 20-goal scorer and netted 18 in the strike-shortened 2012-13 season.
With the expansion lurking around the corner, it’s been wondered whether the Vegas Golden Knights would gamble and take Brown, who is almost assuredly going to be left exposed by the Kings. While he is still capable of playing a physical role on a team’s third-line and obviously would provide the new franchise with veteran leadship, Brown has another five seasons left on his pact with an AAV of $5.875MM. Some have suggested the price tag would simply be too high for Vegas but if the Kings were willing to retain salary then it’s at least feasible the two sides could work out a trade following the expansion draft.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Division on this Sunday:
- Rosen also pointed out that it appeared right wing Marian Gaborik would be a healthy scratch today for the Kings based on what he saw at this morning’s warm-ups. That premise was confirmed by Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Gaborik, who has been prone to injuries throughout his career, has missed all but nine games this season after hurting his foot while representing Team Europe in the recent World Cup of Hockey. He has potted just a single goal to go along with three helpers in those nine appearances and it could be that Kings head coach Darryl Sutter is growing impatient waiting for the Slovakian sniper to find his offensive game. Gaboriak is averaging just 14:28 of ice time per game, a rate that is 3 1/2 minutes below his career average. Like Brown, Gaborik is in the midst of an expensive, long-term contract that has four seasons remaining beyond 2016-17, and comes with a cap charge of $4.875MM.
- Kevin Bieksa has spent the vast majority of his 11-year career as a reliable, two-way top-four blue liner. Now in his second season with Anaheim, the 35-year-old Bieksa is averaging less than 20 minutes of ice time per game for the first time since his 39-game debut campaign in 2005-06 while with Vancouver. As Eric Stephens of The Orange County Register writes, Bieksa is not only adjusting to a lesser role but he is adapting his playing style to mask the fact he is no longer a player in his prime. Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle has encouraged the veteran blue liner to embrace the adjustments: “I think every player has to become somewhat of a chameleon,” Carlyle said. “You have to change with the game and what’s going on with it. I coached Kevin Bieksa when he was in his first year pro out of college. He was not a player, I can tell you, that many people would have believed was going to be an NHL prospect. He worked and he committed. “His personality is one that he’s a striver. And he’s done that and he’s done very well. He’s had a great career. … There’s never ever been a doubt that this guy’s not going to try. He’s going to give you everything he’s got.” As Stephens noted, Bieksa has played less than 15 minutes in each of the team’s last two contests and is skating on the third-pair. Bieksa understands the situation he is in, and as always is willing to whatever it takes to help his team: “To be a good teammate, sometimes you have to take a role that maybe you don’t like,” he said. “But if that’s what they think is in the best interests of the team, you take it, accept it and you do the best that you can.” With a plethora of NHL-caliber defenders in the organization and little cap space available to upgrade the roster elsewhere at the deadline, there have been some suggestions the team could look to move Bieksa, who has one year left at $4MM, to create added flexibility. He does possess a NMC, which adds a further layer of complexity to making a deal beyond his salary and age, however.
Snapshots: Kings, Hunlack, Bogosian
In his latest column, ESPN Insider Pierre LeBrun takes a look at the Los Angeles Kings roster and suggest strategies for the upcoming expansion draft. LeBrun boils the issue down to two names: Brayden McNabb and Dustin Brown. If the team wishes to protect McNabb, they’ll have to go the “eight skaters” option, since Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin and Alec Martinez will undoubtedly need protection. If they do, they put at risk some of their big names up front, including former captain Dustin Brown. While Brown is coming off the worst year of his career, he’s turned it around a bit this season and may be an interesting option for the Vegas team to bring in a veteran forward who could immediately become their first captain.
On the other hand, if they choose to leave McNabb exposed he may not necessarily be the selection since he only has one year remaining before becoming a highly sought after free agent in 2018. At 27, the shutdown defender would have teams lining up to bring him into the fold, and he’ll be looking for a substantial raise from the $1.8MM he’ll make next season. For the Kings, just like every other team, the expansion draft will be a game of chicken with George McPhee and the Vegas front office.
- In Toronto, a nickname has surfaced for the veteran third pairing of Matt Hunwick and Roman Polak; “Hunlack”, as many fans refer to the duo has been chided incessantly by the analytics community for their constant struggle with possession metrics. While the two rank terribly in terms of Corsi and Fenwick, head coach Mike Babcock dismisses the notion that they’re unplayable. When asked by Chris Johnston of Sportsnet what makes up a good game for them, Babcock replied “There’s a bunch of ways to look at the game. So Corsi’s one, maybe. But who turns the video on and rewinds to see if those shots actually hit the net or not? Because our math and theirs don’t add up. So what I do is I say: ‘Did the puck go in or did they get scoring chances against?'” While the metrics available to the public don’t necessarily share Babcock’s assesment of the pairing, he does seem to imply that the Maple Leafs’ internal numbers don’t match up exactly. Perhaps even though ‘Hunlack’ doesn’t generate shots like Toronto’s other pairings, they can be effective in other ways – or maybe it’s just talking them up for the trade deadline.
- For Buffalo, their season-long struggle with injuries is starting to see an end. After Jack Eichel has rejoined the team and shown why he shouldn’t be forgotten as last season’s second-overall pick, the team got more good news today. Zach Bogosian, out since the beginning of November with a knee injury, took full part in today’s practice and should be back before long. Now they just have to figure out a way to motivate Zemgus Girgensons and Evander Kane, both of whom will skate on the fourth line tonight against the Los Angeles Kings.
The Edmonton Oilers’ Backup Situation
Following the Oilers spectacular 6-5 loss on Thursday night, much digital ink has been spilled about their backup goaltending. Jonas Gustavsson allowed six goals on 31 shots as the Oilers blew a pair of two-goal leads.
GM Peter Chiarelli signed Gustavsson on July 1 to a one-year, $800K contract to serve as backup to Cam Talbot. While Gustavsson is thought to be a good guy on the bench, his career numbers (0.902 SV%, 2.87 GAA) are well below league-average. His numbers through six appearances this season are even worse: his 0.893 SV% and 2.90 GAA rank fifth-last among goaltenders who have played at least six games. Gustavsson has just one win this year, back in early November in his first start with the club.
OilersNation writer Jonathan Willis wrote that the Oilers should quickly move on from Gustavsson, pointing out that “if he’d made one extra save last night—and given the number of bad goals he surrendered, it’s easy to imagine that… That would work out to [his career] save percentage of 0.902.”
Based on his usage of Talbot and Gustavsson, it’s clear that coach Todd McLellan has little faith in his backup. Talbot has played two more games than any other goalie in the NHL at 26. He’s on pace to start 71 games, which would be the highest since Braden Holtby started 73 back in 2014-15. Meanwhile Gustavsson has only started four games, all of which were part of back-to-back situations.
Willis wrote that the best defense of the signing was that the Oilers have faith in their minor league starter, Laurent Brossoit. Brossoit has progressed very well in his three seasons as their AHL starter. His save percentage has risen from 0.918 to 0.920 to a sparkling 0.927 this season. The only concern that the Oilers may have about Brossoit is the expansion draft. Because Brossoit is eligible to be selected, bringing him to the NHL and showing him off may prompt Vegas to pick him. However, this would mean the Oilers would be able to keep Brandon Davidson, the most likely player to be taken by the Golden Knights. As well, the Oilers have another AHL goalie, Nick Ellis, who has played very well in his eight games with a 0.931 SV% to take over the mantle in Bakersfield.
If not Brossoit, the Oilers could possibly take a look at Reto Berra, who’s buried behind Roberto Luongo and James Reimer in Florida, or even swap struggling backups with Leafs and see if a change of scenery helps Jhonas Enroth.
Snapshots: Golden Knights, Team Czech Republic, All-Time Lists
The (probably) Golden Knights have hit another snag in their naming saga as the US Trademark office has denied their application due to the similarities to the College of Saint Rose Golden Knights. While this doesn’t seem like a real problem – in a statement given to Alex Prewitt of SI, the Vegas team says that these actions are “not at all unusual” and points out the many duplicate names across professional sports – it is just another public annoyance for a team that likely just wants to start playing hockey. With so much discussion over the name, logo and all the other minutia, the start of the 2017-18 season can’t come soon enough for George McPhee and his team.
- Corey Pronman of ESPN has a look at the preliminary roster for Team Czech Republic at this year’s World Junior Championship. As the rosters of many of the other teams came out over the past few days, the Czech list was conspicuously missing. Among the highlights, are Red Wings’ prospect Filip Hronek who is off to an unbelievable start with Saginaw, scoring 20 points in 24 games (as a defenseman) and Senators’ prospect Filip Chlapik who ranks in the QMJHL top five in both scoring (44 points) and penalty minutes (58 PIM in 26 games). The team will be dangerous with several high NHL draft picks on it and will likely be in the mix for a bronze medal at the tournament.
- The NHL Network published their list of the top-40 goaltenders of all-time and as Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times put it, the list is “uh, interesting, in a lot of ways.” The list has the regulars at the top – Martin Brodeur, Dominik Hasek, Patrick Roy, in that order – but gets “interesting” a little further down as they list active goaltenders like Jonathan Quick (#16) and Marc-Andre Fleury (#21) quite high. While obviously these lists are subjective, it does lend credence to the idea that goaltending is better than it ever has been before and is a major reason for the suppressed goal totals. Comparing players across eras will always be difficult, but I can imagine our readers will have a few different takes on the order of this list. Share your thoughts in the comments.