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West Notes: Wild GM Search, Lyubushkin, Sobotka

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The Wild have narrowed their search for a new general manager down to three candidates, reports Sarah McLellan of the Star-Tribune.  Paul Fenton (Nashville), Tom Fitzgerald (New Jersey), and Bill Zito (Columbus) are believed to be the ones still in the hunt for the job which takes John Ferguson Jr. and Dave Nonis, who had previously interviewed for the position, out of contention.  With Toronto promoting Kyle Dubas to their GM position on Friday, Minnesota is now the only team without one.  However, it appears that this won’t be the case for much longer as McLellan adds that the new GM should be in place by the end of the month.

More from the West:

  • While there was a report several weeks ago that the Coyotes had agreed to terms with Russian defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports reports that while the team has interest in him, no contract has been agreed upon just yet. The 24-year-old stay-at-home defender has been with Yaroslavl of the KHL since 2013-14 and would be subject to entry-level restrictions.  Morgan adds that Lyubushkin is still under contract in Russia which is something that could be delaying getting a deal officially done.
  • If the Blues wind up dealing one of their centers this summer, Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggests that Vladimir Sobotka is the one with the best chance of being moved. The 30-year-old has two years left on his contract at $3.5MM per season and is coming off someone of a quiet year with 31 points (11-20-31) in 81 games.  While moving Patrik Berglund ($3.85MM per year through 2021-22) would free up more long-term cap room, he was the more productive of the two and also has a modified no-trade clause while Sobotka does not have any trade protection in his contract.

Goalie Notes: Jarry, Lehtonen, Nedeljkovic

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With the Penguins seemingly being comfortable with goaltender Casey DeSmith as a backup for Matt Murray, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette speculates that Tristan Jarry could be someone they look to deal this summer.  The pending RFA has been dominant at the AHL level at times over the course of the past few years and doesn’t have much left to prove down there although he does have one more year of waiver exemption.  If the team looks to get out of one of their larger contracts this summer, the 23-year-old could make sense to dangle as a sweetener to entice a team to take on that larger contract while there should be quite a few teams that would have interest in a potential goalie of the future in his own right.

More goalie notes from around the league:

  • Stars netminder Kari Lehtonen is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July and while earlier in the season it looked like a new deal at a cheaper cap hit was a possibility, Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News suggests that with the way he played down the stretch, that’s likely no longer the case. Lehtonen was pushed into the starting role when Ben Bishop went down with a knee injury and Dallas eventually fell out of a playoff spot.  The 34-year-old will undoubtedly be taking a pay cut from his $5.9MM cap hit and it appears he’ll be doing so elsewhere.
  • With Cam Ward set to become an unrestricted free agent in July, Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News and Observer wonders if youngster Alex Nedeljkovic could be in line to move up to the Hurricanes. He has been quite strong in the postseason at the AHL level and bringing him up would allow Carolina to put more money this summer towards upgrading their forward group.  With Scott Darling locked up for three more years at a $4.15MM cap hit, the ‘Canes may not want to have both their goalies on pricey contracts, something that would likely be required to keep Ward in the fold.

Latest On Ilya Kovalchuk

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One name that will grace the free agent market this summer and could be seen as a game-changer for some teams is Ilya Kovalchuk, as he returns from the KHL. Though now 35, some believe he still has what it takes to be an impact player in the NHL and could be one of the top free agents left come July 1st. It has been reported that Kovalchuk would prefer to play on the east coast in a place like New York or Florida, but there are no shortage of teams all over the league who could use a goal-scoring winger. One of those is the Edmonton Oilers, who have struggled to find enough talent to surround Connor McDavid.

That’s why it’s interesting that Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet notes in his latest column that the Oilers checked in on Kovalchuk. Friedman notes that “it won’t happen” and Bob Stauffer of 630 CHED adds that he believes the Oilers never even pursued the Russian winger. Edmonton will need to look elsewhere for their offensive upgrade, though it’s not clear where exactly it will come from.

For Kovalchuk, it’s unclear what his market will really be. Though it’s true that teams do need scoring wingers, he comes with more baggage than the average free agent. Not only does his history—”retiring” from the New Jersey Devils in the midst of a long-term contract to return to the KHL—stand against him with some front offices, but he also qualifies as a 35+ player this offseason. That means that a team would be held culpable for his cap hit regardless of any similar retirement decisions in the future, a risky prospect in the tight salary structures of many contenders. The Rangers, assumed the most appealing destination to Kovalchuk, are entering a mini-rebuild and may not want to spend money on an aging star. They have admitted their focus is on young players, and signing Kovalchuk for anything but big minutes and powerplay time is unlikely.

So, we’ll have to wait and see what kind of market emerges for the Russian sniper. It will likely be easier to count the teams interested than those who are not, though you can now place the Oilers firmly in the latter category.

Several Nashville Predators Heading To IIHF World Championship

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8:05pm: Roman Josi and Kevin Fiala will both also be journeying to Denmark to play for Switzerland, raising the total to seven Predators who will be in the tournament. The huge contingent of players just reiterates how talented the Nashville roster is, especially with others likely turning down offers.

4:15pm: After facing elimination at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets last night, several Nashville Predators players will be heading to the IIHF World Hockey Championship. We learned earlier today that Eeli Tolvanen would continue his whirlwind season with Team Finland, while Nick Bonino will join Team USA. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet also reports that Viktor Arvidsson, Mattias Ekholm and Filip Forsberg will all join Sweden.

All four new additions will be huge for their respective countries, as the tournament heads towards the elimination rounds next week.

Bonino hasn’t represented the USA at the tournament since 2015 when he was still with the Vancouver Canucks. That year, he registered four points in 10 games en route to a bronze medal. He’ll join a team that just crushed Korea 13-1 to win their fifth-straight game to open the tournament. That’s a feat the team hasn’t accomplished since 1933, and one that bodes well for their chances in the medal round.

Ekholm and Forsberg have both appeared in the tournament on multiple occasions, but this will be Arvidsson’s first time around. The 25-year old winger last represented Sweden at a major international tournament in 2013, when he helped their World Junior squad to a silver medal. All three should increase Sweden’s odds of a medal tremendously, as three All-Star level talents from the NHL.

Lou Lamoriello Talking To New York Islanders About Front Office Position

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Though we’ve heard rumblings and rumors ever since the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that Lou Lamoriello would not return as GM, there was never any confirmation that the legendary executive would actually consider a position with the New York Islanders. Now, John Shannon of Sportsnet is reporting that Lamoriello is indeed speaking with the Islanders about a potential role in their front office.

Lamoriello of course has ties to the Islanders organization as his son Chris already works for the team as Director of Player Personnel. The team has also been reportedly considering moving current GM Garth Snow into a more senior position, though it’s not yet clear where everyone would land if Lamoriello came on board.

With the Maple Leafs’ naming Kyle Dubas their new GM today, Lamoriello was supposed to be transitioning into an advisory role with the club. The idea of him actually fulfilling that role always came with doubts though, as many believe he still wishes to have control of a team. The 75-year old executive left a similar role with the New Jersey Devils after the team hired Ray Shero.

If Lamoriello was to take over as GM of the Islanders, it would be at an incredibly important moment in the franchise’ history. John Tavares has less than two months left before he becomes an unrestricted free agent, while the team is heading into a new era with the new arena development scheduled in the coming years.

Poll: Who Will Win The Eastern Conference Finals?

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In just over an hour, the Eastern Conference Finals will get underway between the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning. This may have been deemed an improbable matchup last summer, after the Lightning had missed the playoffs entirely and Washington had bowed out at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins once again.

But this year is different, as the Lightning overcame their injury woes to lead the Eastern Conference in the regular season, while the Capitals slayed the demon that was the Penguins in the second round. Now Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov will try to take the next step on the way to their first Stanley Cup.

Just before the playoffs started, we polled or readers and asked who would represent the East in the Stanley Cup Finals. The top two vote-getting teams have already been eliminated, as the Penguins and Boston Bruins came in with 29 and 22 percent of the vote. The Lightning naturally were next, while the Capitals had just 84 people who believed they could go all the way.

Has your vote changed? Is this the year that Ovechkin finally shows that he can carry a team all the way to a Stanley Cup victory? Is the Tampa Bay depth too relentless to overcome? Who will come out of the Eastern Conference? Vote below, and make sure to explain your decision in the comments.

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Coaching Notes: Gulutzan, Clark, Smith

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In Elliotte Friedman’s latest 31 Thoughts column for Sportsnet, he breaks down the situations of several coaches—both employed and unemployed—around the league. One of those he touches on is Glen Gulutzan, who Friedman says received offers to become an assistant coach in both Edmonton and Buffalo.

There’s no indication that Gulutzan has made a decision yet, but with teams offering him roles as an assistant or head coach in the AHL, it seems unlikely that he’ll remain unemployed very long. The former Calgary Flames head coach was fired after a disappointing season, in which the club missed the playoffs entirely.

  • Ian Clark, the goaltending coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets, will leave the team at the end of June. His contract is expiring and will move on to new challenges, leaving Sergei Bobrovsky and Joonas Korpisalo without their coach next season. No word on who will be replacing him, though Clark believes that “sooner or later, teams will have a director of player personnel and a director of goaltending.”
  • One interesting connection that Friedman makes regarding the New York Rangers’ vacancy, is that of D.J. Smith. The Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach has a history with Rangers’ Special Assistant Adam Graves, and has been considered for various jobs in the past. Interestingly, the Maple Leafs have recently promoted Kyle Dubas to GM, where he could have an impact on coaching hires over the next few months.

Ryan O’Reilly “Preparing To Be In Buffalo”

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At the end of the season, Ryan O’Reilly of the Buffalo Sabres was very critical of himself and the fact that he had lost some of the love he had for the game of hockey. He spoke about maybe becoming too complacent and allowing the team to be satisfied with losing. It immediately sent up alarm bells for Sabres fans, who had heard O’Reilly’s name thrown around in trade rumors even before his comments.

Those comments though had a similar effect. Rumors have swirled for the last few weeks around the 27-year old center, wondering if there was a break up approaching between him and Buffalo. O’Reilly did his best to put those rumors to bed recently, as he spoke with Darren Dreger of TSN:

I was being honest. When I reflect on the year, who else can I look at? I’m one of the guys who plays the most minutes, and it’s my fault. I want to change. I want to be in Buffalo. I love it there. Obviously we’re getting the first pick which is huge, but it’s a great city and I want to be there and I want to win. 

I think I have a pretty good relationship with the GM, and you know if something happens it happens and that’s hockey. But you know, I plan and am preparing to be in Buffalo. Same role, same sort of thing.

O’Reilly has five years left on his massive $52.5MM contract, but would still have some value in trade should someone approach the Sabres. The hard-nosed center led the league in won faceoffs this season, and put up 61 points even while playing with some questionable linemates at times. That’s the second-highest total of his career, something he’ll have to build on if he is to really turn the Sabres around next season.

Obviously, there are changes coming in Buffalo. Rasmus Dahlin is expected to be selected first-overall, but some of their other young players will need to step up. Casey Mittelstadt will likely be given a full-time role, while Brendan Guhle should earn more time with the NHL club. O’Reilly’s leadership will be a key part of their development, and the overall success of the club.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Poll: Who Will Win The Western Conference Finals?

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A month ago, before the playoffs began, we asked our readers who they thought would represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals. What we got was a resounding cheer in favor of the Nashville Predators, with the Presidents Trophy-winning club receiving almost 36% of the vote. The Predators were the easy pick a year after challenging the Pittsburgh Penguins in the finals, and playing near-perfection in the regular season.

The Predators were eliminated yesterday.

Now, the Winnipeg Jets and Vegas Golden Knights are the final two teams battling for a Stanley Cup appearance. They happened to finish second and third in the previous vote, though the Los Angeles Kings—Vegas’ first-round matchup—trailed close behind. It was clear that fans still didn’t have full confidence in the Golden Knights, a feeling that should be long gone at this point.

It will be the Jets or Golden Knights in the Cup final, and one only needs four victories to get there. The Jets, fresh off that game seven win against the Predators look as dialed in as possible as they traverse unfamiliar playoff territory. The team is loaded with young talent and can play several different styles of hockey.

Unfamiliar territory is the definition of the Golden Knights though, who continue to prove everyone wrong. Their incredibly fast style and lock-down goaltending has allowed just 17 goals through two series, and knocked off classic West powerhouses in Los Angeles and San Jose. They can’t be stopped right now, and have had almost a full week to prepare for the opener tomorrow.

So who will win? Has your vote changed? Leave a comment down below to explain your thoughts!

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Eeli Tolvanen Headed To World Championships For Finland

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Eeli Tolvanen must like flying. The 19-year old sniper has been added to the roster for Team Finland at the ongoing IIHF World Championships, just the latest chapter in an incredible season. Tolvanen played a full season in the KHL before signing and making his NHL debut with the Nashville Predators. Meanwhile, he also suited up for Finland at the World Juniors and Olympic Games.

Selected 30th-overall last June, Tolvanen has had quite the year. He broke several recorded for scoring in the KHL, and performed well at both previous international tournaments. Though he wasn’t able to make an impact in Nashville during their playoff run, he should carve out a full-time role there next year. Joining Finland at the World Championships, he has another chance to win an international medal before finishing his year.

The Predators will not be heading to the Western Conference finals this season after being knocked out by the Winnipeg Jets, but should contend for the Stanley Cup again next season. With players like Tolvanen and Dante Fabbro set to make an impact at the NHL level in the coming years, there doesn’t appear to be a lull coming in Nashville anytime soon.

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