The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that John Madden will not return as head coach of their AHL affiliate next season. The announcement states that the parting was mutual, and that Madden will pursue other opportunities around the league. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic suggests that a role may already be in the works for Madden elsewhere, and mentions how he had previously been an assistant with the Florida Panthers.
Columbus ended up hiring Madden in 2016 after a string of events that left the Monsters without a head coach just a few months after winning the Calder Cup. First, Patrick Roy stunned the Colorado Avalanche by resigning not long before training camp was set to open, leaving them scrambling to fill the role. They landed on Jared Bednar, the Monsters’ coach that had just gone 43-22-11 in the AHL before taking home the league title. Madden was hired as a replacement just a few days later at the end of August, but was never able to duplicate Bednar’s success at the minor league level.
- The Vancouver Canucks will not be signing Kristoffer Gunnarsson or Matt Brassard according to Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet, meaning both will see their exclusive draft rights expire on June 1. Gunnarsson will become an unrestricted free agent, but Brassard will be re-entering the draft this year. The Canucks already have 31 contracts for next season and still have 12 restricted free agents to sign. Given Gunnarsson and Brassard would both count towards the 50-contract limit, they were deemed expendable. The pair were late round picks in 2017, and part of a large group of players that will see their rights expire this weekend.
- Robert Thomas will not play tonight in game two of the Stanley Cup Final, but head coach Craig Berube says it’s not because of the Torey Krug hit that was the talk of the hockey world over the last few days. Vince Dunn will also not suit up just yet, meaning Robby Fabbri likely draws in as the 12th forward for the Blues, playing on a line with Patrick Maroon and Tyler Bozak.