The Islanders will have several decisions to make at the end of the season, one that will likely see them miss the playoffs for the first time since 2013-14. One of those will be the future of interim head coach Doug Weight, who admitted to Newsday’s Neil Best that he hasn’t given much thought yet as to whether or not he even wants to return behind the bench next season.
New York has a 20-12-4 record with Weight behind the bench after he replaced Jack Capuano back on January 17th and the team has played their way back into the playoff discussion, even if they have just a slim chance at making it now. However, the 46 year old is also their assistant GM and may prefer to go back to working full-time on the management side of the game.
Elsewhere in the Metropolitan:
- Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray may not be ready to return to the lineup by the time the playoffs start, GM Jarmo Kekalainen told Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch. Murray has been out since March 12th with a broken hand and the team was hopeful he’d be able to return with a month. Columbus will also be without rookie blueliner Zach Werenski who is listed as day-to-day with a shoulder issue although the team doesn’t know at this point if he will be cleared to return by next week.
- Despite a prolific regular season where he averaged better than a goal per game at the junior level, the Penguins do not plan to add prospect winger Daniel Sprong to their roster once his CHL postseason ends, reports Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Instead, the team plans to assign him to their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton once Charlottetown (QMJHL) is eliminated from the playoffs. In the first round sweep, Sprong led the way with eight points.
- After returning to the lineup a couple of weeks ago from an upper body injury, Flyers blueliner Brandon Manning is once again out with an upper body issue, notes CSN Philly’s Jordan Hall. He’s listed as day-to-day and joins Radko Gudas (upper body) on the sidelines. His departure paves the way for Samuel Morin, who was recalled earlier today, to make his NHL debut.