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Archives for April 2018

Five Key Stories: 4/2/18 – 4/8/18

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As is often the case, the final week of the regular season around the NHL was a busy one.  Here are the top stories from the past seven days.

Sedins Retire: The Canucks were hoping to get an answer about the playing futures of Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin heading into the summer and they now have that as the twins announced that 2017-18 would be their final season.  The twins wound up playing all 17 of their NHL seasons together with Vancouver and between the two of them, hold franchise records in games played, goals, assists, points, plus/minus, and shots on goal (among others).  They sit first and second in points and considering Alexander Edler is the only other active Canuck in the top-ten and the fact he’s more than 500 points behind each of them, it’s safe to say those two will be at the top for many years to come.

Suter Out For The Year: While Minnesota is off to the playoffs, they will be competing without their top defender as Ryan Suter is out for the remainder of the season after undergoing ankle surgery.  That’s a huge blow for their back end as not only has Suter been quite productive (he tied his career high in points with 55), he also led their team in ice time per game by a considerable margin, logging just shy of 27 minutes per game.  The injury is quite a severe one as well; Suter noted that the severity of it was significant enough that it could have been a career-ender had he played in a different sport instead.  (However, since ankles are tightly secured inside a hockey skate, he should be able to return to action next season.)

Extensions: The Coyotes have locked up their starting goaltender for the next three years as they inked Antti Raanta to a three-year, $12.75MM extension.  While he has struggled to stay healthy this season, Raanta was quite sharp when he was in the lineup, posting a 2.24 GAA and a .930 SV% in 48 games.  That placed him second in the league in both categories behind Carter Hutton of the Blues.  Meanwhile, a long-time Red Wing is also staying put as Detroit signed GM Ken Holland to a two-year extension.  The 62-year-old has been with the organization since 1986 and has held the title of General Manager since 1997.

More Retirements: The Sedins weren’t the only players to announce that they were calling it a career.  Blackhawks winger Patrick Sharp revealed earlier in the week that this was going to be it for him while Panthers winger Radim Vrbata did the same on Saturday.  Sharp finishes up with 287-333-620 totals in 939 games between Philadelphia, Dallas, and Chicago while Vrbata posted 284-339-623 across 1,057 games with seven different organizations (including three separate stints in the desert with the Coyotes).

Coaching News: It took until the final day of the regular season for the first coach to be fired and it was by the Rangers, who relieved Alain Vigneault of his duties.  He spent five years with the Blueshirts and his team made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final back in 2014 before losing to the Kings.  Vigneault has been a head coach every year since 2006-07 and is sure to draw some attention if and when other vacancies open up.  Meanwhile, despite their rough year, there won’t be a change behind the bench in Chicago as the Blackhawks announced that Joel Quenneville will return for his 11th season with the team.  While there has been talk of friction between him and GM Stan Bowman, the latter will also retain his title heading into next year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Hutton, Jarnkrok, Stone

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Just a couple of years ago, Canucks defenseman Ben Hutton was viewed as a key cog in their future plans.  Fast forward to today and the 24-year-old is coming off a campaign where he failed to score a goal in 61 games and spent considerable time as a healthy scratch.  Following their loss on Saturday, he acknowledged to Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province that “a restart button would be nice”.

While the implication in the article is that Hutton would welcome a fresh start with Vancouver next season after being called out on multiple occasions by head coach Travis Green, Botchford notes that many around the team have Hutton pegged as a possible trade candidate this summer.  He carries a cap hit of $2.8MM through next year which also serves as his qualifying offer in June of 2019 and if his role doesn’t change with the Canucks for next season, he’d certainly be a non-tender candidate.  Accordingly, it may make sense for the team to look to move him this offseason even though they’d be selling low.

More from around the league:

  • The Predators are getting closer to getting one of their forwards back, potentially in time for the start of the playoffs. GM David Poile told reporters, including NHL.com’s Robby Stanley (Twitter link) that center Calle Jarnkrok is making progress and is now listed as day-to-day.  The 26-year-old has been out for nearly a month due to an upper-body injury.  His eventual return should boost an already-deep Nashville lineup that heads into the postseason as the Presidents’ Trophy winners.
  • While many are wondering if the Senators will be spending big on a possible contract extension for defenseman Erik Karlsson, that’s not the only big-money decision they’ll have to make. Winger Mark Stone is heading for restricted free agency this summer and is coming off his third 60-plus point season in the past four years.  What’s particularly noteworthy about that mark this year is that he recorded 62 points (20-42-62) in just 58 games.  Accordingly, Postmedia’s Ken Warren speculates that a new deal for Stone could approach $8MM per year which would represent a significant jump on the $4.5MM salary he earned this season (with a cap hit of $3.5MM).  He is one year away from unrestricted free agency eligibility so the team won’t be able to use multiple RFA years to lower the cap hit a little bit.

NHL Releases Playoff Schedule

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A snow storm and significant flooding in Boston back in early January led to tonight’s rescheduled regular season finale between the Bruins and Florida Panthers. While the Philadelphia Flyers put an end to Florida’s impressive late-season playoff push with their win yesterday, the Bruins are still playing for something this evening, with the top seed in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference on the line. That could have potentially caused some delays in scheduling for the postseason, but the NHL has come armed and ready with two different schedules, depending on the result of tonight’s game.

If the Bruins can pull off a win, in any fashion, to finish their impressive regular season, Sportsnet’s John Shannon reports that this is how the first round schedule will shake out for both conferences:

If instead the Panthers play spoiler and the Bruins can’t land two points, the Tampa Bay Lightning will retain the top spot in the East and the schedule will look like this:

Keep an eye on the final score of tonight’s regular season culmination before beginning to schedule your postseason watching. In either scenario, the puck drops on the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday night.

Western Notes: Blackhawks, Greenway, Horvat, Dahlen, Kovalchuk

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Don’t expect too many changes in the Chicago Blackhawks roster this season. At least that’s what Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times writes as he examines the roster and the team’s salary cap flexibility.

Coach Joel Quenneville admitted that many things went wrong this year, but he believes that if the team comes back and all play better, the Blackhawks should return to the playoffs next season. Factor in the loss of Marian Hossa, the injury to goaltender Corey Crawford and some down years by several key players, perhaps a turnaround is possible.

“If we all collectively have better years in all aspects … I believe we’re very capable of [rebounding],” Quenneville said. “We’ve seen many games this year where we look like we could be a really good team. [It’s] just that consistency, putting that in place.”

Lazerus writes that the team should look into adding a top-four defenseman, but was quick to point out that it’s unlikely the team will go after Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson as that pricetag would be too high even though it looks as if the Blackhawks should have considerable cap space. He also adds the team desperately needs to find a quality backup goaltender to avoid the problems the team had to endure during the second half of this season.

  • Sarah McLellan of the StarTribune writes that while the Minnesota Wild’s bottom line of Tyler Ennis, Matt Cullen and Charlie Coyle has been successful of late, but head coach Bruce Boudreau might break it up as it sounds like the coach is leaning towards starting rookie Jordan Greenway over Ennis. “I don’t know where he’s going to play [in the playoffs], but I’m sure I’ll find a spot,” Boudreau said.
  • Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet tweeted that Vancouver Canucks forward Bo Horvat received an invitation to play for Canada at the upcoming world championships in Denmark this summer.
  • Dhaliwal also adds that Vancouver Canucks prospect Jonathan Dahlen will rest for a few days before reporting to the Utica Comets of the AHL. Dahlen, a prospect the Canucks acquired at the trade deadline in 2016 for Alexandre Burrows, has been lighting up the Allvenskan league and helped lead his team Timra to be promoted to Sweden’s top tier league.
  • European reporter Alex Nunn tweeted that KHL star Ilya Kovalchuk has confirmed that he will spend the next two or three seasons in the NHL. Kovalchuk will be an unrestricted free agent on April 15, when he turns 35 years old.

Metropolitan Notes: Rangers, Boychuk, Pulock, Ward, Kempny

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With the New York Rangers being the first team in almost a year to be looking for a head coach after firing Alain Vigneault Saturday evening, the team has said it will commence with their search immediately. The team must decide whether they are looking for a big name coach, a up-and-coming coach or a coach that is good at working with young players.

The New York Post’s Larry Brooks offers 10 potential candidates to replace Vigneault, leading those suggestions with three collegiate coaches, including the University of Denver’s Jim Montgomery, Boston University’s David Quinn and Union College’s Rick Bennett. He also suggests Toronto Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe of the AHL would be a good fit.

According to Brooks, there are also several veteran NHL coaches available, including Dan Bylsma, Darryl Sutter, Dave Tippett and Patrick Roy.

  • Andrew Gross of Newsday reports that veteran defenseman Johnny Boychuk will undergo surgery Monday, but would not reveal what it is for. The 34-year-old defenseman missed quite some time this season, playing in just 58 games this season. He is expected to be 100 percent by June.
  • Arthur Staple of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that while little has gone right this year, one bright spot has been the strong finish of rookie defenseman Ryan Pulock. The 23-year-old blueliner finished with 10 goals, most in the NHL for rookie defensemen. His 18:24 of average ice time was second among rookie defensemen behind Boston’s Charlie McAvoy. Staple suggests that his improvement on the defensive end could potentially make him a top-pairing defenseman.
  • The Charlotte Observer’s Chip Alexander wonders what will happen to long-time goaltender Cam Ward now that the season is over. The veteran goalie who has spent 13 years with the organization will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and at 34 years old, the team must decide whether they want to bring him back or go in a different direction. Despite taking a backup role this year, Ward still played in 43 games and finished with a 2.78 GAA and a .906 save percentage as he had to fill in for a struggling Scott Darling. Of course, with no general manager in place yet, it might be a while before the team sorts that out.
  • After going out a year ago and trading for star defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk and then being eliminated in the first round, the Washington Capitals have taken the opposite course this year, quietly trading for Michal Kempny from the Chicago Blackhawks. While hardly a headlining defenseman, Kempny has been a good fit with Washington and has changed their defense for the better, according to Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan. Kempny, who was often a healthy scratch for Chicago has filled in as a top-four defenseman and is averaging 16:46 per game. As the team prepares for a matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the playoffs, they hope the improvement of their defense might help them with a long playoff run.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Cooper Marody To Entry-Level Contract

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The Edmonton Oilers announced they have signed University of Michigan’s Cooper Marody to a three-year, entry-level contract. The Oilers acquired the 21-year-old forward’s rights from the Philadelphia Flyers several weeks ago in exchange for a 2019 third-round pick when rumors began to surface that Marody might not want to sign with the Flyers due to their depth up the middle, according to Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson.

Marody, drafted in the sixth round in 2015 by Philadelphia, had a breakout year this season with the Wolverines as he scored 16 goals and added 35 assists in 40 games and took his team to the Frozen Four, as Michigan lost in the semifinals to Notre Dame.

The prospect is considered to be a smart player with excellent hands, who still needs to work on his skating abilities. However, it is believed he is more ready than most of their center prospects in their system. In three years with Michigan, the center tallied 31 goals and 59 assists in his career. 

 

Detroit Red Wings Place Jared Coreau On Waivers

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Sunday: Coreau has cleared waivers and the Detroit Red Wings have assigned the goaltender to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL, according to the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James.

Saturday: Although waivers is considered a rarity at this time of year, the Detroit Red Wings have placed goaltender Jared Coreau on waivers today, according to MLive’s Ansar Khan. The move is made with the hope that he’ll clear waivers, so the team can send him to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins as that team embarks on their playoff run.

The 26-year-old spent most of this season with the Griffins as he played in 36 games for the Red Wings’ AHL affiliate. He put up solid numbers there, posting a 2.47 GAA and a .916 save percentage, but was recalled on Feb. 20 to serve as the Jimmy Howard’s backup after the team traded away Petr Mrazek to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Coreau, who has showed promise over his career, has struggled at the NHL level, especially this year. In six games, he has a 4.35 GAA and a .876 save percentage. The team may be hoping that no team would take the chance of claiming him with his struggles at the NHL level. Interestingly enough, Coreau is expected to start for the Red Wings final regular season game today.

Minor Transactions: 4/8/18

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With the Eastern Conference still undecided until today’s final regular season game, the Western Conference has no questions as the Colorado Avalanche finished off the St. Louis Blues in a 5-2 victory Saturday as they clinched the final playoff spot. The Nashville Predators got the top spot and will face the Avalanche. In other first-round matchups, the Vegas Golden Knights will face the Los Angeles Kings, the Anaheim Ducks will face the San Jose Sharks and the Minnesota Wild will face the Winnipeg Jets. 

Atlantic Notes: Bruins, Boucher, Ristolainen, Zetterberg, Bertuzzi

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There is just one game remaining on the NHL regular season schedule and the league schedulers picked a good one as the Boston Bruins will host the Florida Panthers today in the lone game. While many people thought the game would have significant meaning for the Panthers (Philadelphia’s victory Saturday officially eliminated Florida from the playoffs), it instead has an effect on Boston.

If the Bruins win, they will jump over the Tampa Bay Lightning as the top seed of the Eastern Conference and get home ice advantage in the first three rounds of the playoffs. A win of any kind would give them a matchup with the New Jersey Devils. A loss will pit the Bruins against the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team they have struggled with this year. The only known matchup in the Eastern Conference are the Pittsburgh Penguins vs. the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets.

“Let’s face it, we were trying to find our own game and get to where we thought we were at the start of the year, which was definitely a playoff team,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy via NBC Sports Joe Haggerty. “We just didn’t know where we would fit, and the way Tampa got out of the gate, and Toronto for that matter, it was going to be an uphill battle. But here we are. We’re in a position to take it, and that’s a credit to the guys. We’ve worked hard to get here. This wasn’t by accident. We didn’t back in.”

  • The Ottawa Senators, who ended up finishing in 30th place this season, must make a decision on their coaching situation. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen writes that Guy Boucher is in a strange situation as he did everything right a year ago at this time and has done little right since. The team’s defense and special teams were atrocious this year and need to get fixed. The question is, will it be Boucher or another coach? Garrioch says that even if Boucher survives, expect changes to the staff as last year is considered unacceptable.
  • Jon Vogl of the Buffalo News writes that the Buffalo Sabres need to make sweeping changes to avoid another dismal season next year, but unfortunately, the team has a lot of contracts with term which will be hard to move, so the team will need to be creative in trades. The defense has six players already under contract and few top-four players, citing that Rasmus Ristolainen is considered their No. 1 defenseman and he is no where even close to that. He will have four more years on his contract at $5.4MM AAV and has shown little improvement and isn’t the leader they hoped he would be.
  • Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press writes that Detroit Red Wings’ Henrik Zetterberg must decide whether he wants to keep playing. The 38-year-old still has three years left of the 12-year contract he signed in 2009 at $6.083MM AAV, but back then it was assumed players wouldn’t play the entire contract out. He’s logged over 1,000 and if he chooses to retire, the Red Wings would save $6MM in cap space if the team is able to place him on long-term injured reserve. St. James adds, however, that the veteran might want to come back for one more year as he is just 42 points away from reaching 1,000 points.
  • St. James also tweets that the Red Wings have decided not to send forward Tyler Bertuzzi to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL for their playoff run. They believe Bertuzzi has done enough at the AHL level and want him to hit the gym and get stronger with a full offseason of workouts.

New York Rangers Fire Coach Alain Vigneault

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Hours after putting up an egg in their 5-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, the New York Rangers fired their head coach Alain Vigneault after five years. After four playoff appearances, the Rangers struggled, finishing 34-39-9 on the season. In all, however, Vigneault had quite a bit of success in his time in New York, which included taking the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2013-14, his first season with the team. He led the team to a 226-147-37 record over the five years.

The firing also came after Vigneault himself stated in his post-game press conference that he deserved to stay and defended his record, according to Newsday’s Colin Stephenson.

“Yes, yes. Without a doubt,’’ he said when asked if he thought he would hold on to his job despite the Rangers’ 34-39-9 record, which caused them to miss the playoffs for only the second time since the NHL lockout that canceled the 2004-05 season. “I think my staff is the right staff for this job. I think — and this is just my opinion — but I think one of the strongest assets of this organization is its coaching staff and their experience.’’

Some of Vigneault’s struggles were not his doing as the Rangers decided to rebuild on the fly, sending out a letter on Feb. 7, telling fans about their decision to rebuild the team. The Rangers followed that by selling off several veterans including Michael Grabner, Rick Nash, Nick Holden, J.T. Miller and captain Ryan McDonah.

However, Stephenson also points out several issues that came up this season that forced the Rangers to head in that direction. After re-designing its defense with the acquisitions of star free agent Kevin Shattenkirk and re-signing Brendan Smith, the team was hoping to possess one of the best defenses in the league. Instead, the team started slowly at 1-6-2 in its first nine games and was 3-7-2 after 12 in which Vigneault almost lost his job. The team was able to right the ship after that, but only because of the impressive play of both the team’s goaltenders in Henrik Lundqvist and Ondrej Pavelec. Neither goalie was able to sustain their great play.

Injuries also played a part. Shattenkirk was playing hurt, while Smith came into camp out of shape and never returned to form before eventually being sent down to the AHL. Winger Chris Kreider missed 24 games due to a blood clot that led to surgery on his ribs. Center Mika Zibanejad missed nine games with a concussion, while Shattenkirk had knee surgery in January and never came back.

The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello writes (subscription required) that there were other reasons as well that stand out when it came to Vigneault. The coach’s lack of success at the blueline have been issues for years as his system had failed repeatedly. Vigneault had undergone three different defensive assistant coaches in three years, including Ulf Samuelsson, Jeff Beukeboom and Lindy Ruff and replaced most of the defense and still failed to get them going. His tough love was also an issue as he butted heads with many players, especially Miller and Pavel Buchnevich. However, the most telling numbers is the team’s record from Jan. 7 to Feb. 25, when Vigneault led the team to just a 5-16-1 record.

Vigneault has a 648-435-98 overall record throughout his career with the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks and the Rangers. He won the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year in 2007.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie was the first to report the news.

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