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Archives for January 2024

Islanders Fire Lane Lambert, Name Patrick Roy Head Coach

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Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello is no stranger to making big in-season changes and he has done so again.  The team announced that they have fired head coach Lane Lambert.  Taking his place will be Patrick Roy who has been named the full-time bench boss.  No assistant coaches have been dismissed.

Lambert was in his second season behind the bench of the Isles after taking over for Barry Trotz who was let go following the 2021-22 campaign.  While Lambert had coached alongside Trotz for a significant portion of his career (including four seasons as the associate coach to Trotz with the Islanders), the hope was that he could get the team to be more of a threat offensively while not necessarily losing its defensive structure.

New York got a dozen more goals last season but only moved up from 24th to 23rd in that regard while they were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by Carolina.  This year, the Islanders sit 22nd in the NHL in goals scored so the offensive improvement as a team hasn’t been there, even with a resurgent season from Mathew Barzal, a full year with Bo Horvat, and Noah Dobson contributing a point per game from the back end.

While the Islanders sit fifth in the Metropolitan Division and are only two points out of a Wild Card spot, they’ve won just 19 of 45 games so far with 11 overtime or shootout losses helping to keep them within striking distance of a postseason position.  Clearly, Lamoriello determined that maintaining the status quo behind the bench wasn’t going to help them gain ground in the second half of the season.  Lambert departs with a 61-46-20 record as head coach, good for a .559 points percentage.  He’s the fifth bench to lose his job this season, joining Jay Woodcroft (Edmonton), Dean Evason (Minnesota), Craig Berube (St. Louis), and D.J. Smith (Ottawa).

Roy, meanwhile, hasn’t been behind an NHL bench for the better part of a decade.  He coached in Colorado from 2013-14 through 2015-16, finishing with a combined record of 130-92-24.  He also won the Jack Adams Award in 2013-14 as NHL Coach of the Year.  However, he abruptly departed the organization near the start of the 2016-17 season, stating that he didn’t have enough of a “say in the decisions that impact the team’s performance” and that he was no longer on the same page as the organization.  It was the second shocking exit of his career going back to his playing days when he informed Montreal’s management in 1995 after being pulled from a game that he had played his last game for the team.

The 58-year-old has spent a lot of his time coaching at the major junior level with two stints behind the bench of the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts from 2005-06 through 2012-13 and 2018-19 through 2022-23; he served as the team’s GM for most of that time.  He stepped down following last season with Eric Veilleux taking over as coach and long-time NHL winger Simon Gagne filling the GM title.  Over his junior coaching career, Roy’s teams played to a 524-255-66 record while also picking up a Memorial Cup title.

Roy will now be tasked with getting more out of a veteran group that has a lot of money tied up in defensive or physical players while also dealing with several injuries at the moment including key blueliner Ryan Pulock.  In his time with Colorado, Roy had one season where the Avs finished in the top five in goals scored but the team slipped into the bottom ten in that regard in his final two campaigns.  He’ll also try to get more out of starting netminder Ilya Sorokin who was stellar over his first three seasons in the NHL but has struggled so far this season, posting a save percentage of .908; while that’s above the NHL average, it’s a far cry below the .924 mark he put up over those first three campaigns.

The Islanders are currently using LTIR for Pulock’s injury and will have limited cap space when he returns.  Making the change now will give Lamoriello ample time to assess how the team responds to their new head coach before determining what he might try to do before the March 8th trade deadline.  His first game behind the bench will come Sunday against Dallas.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bruins To Activate Brandon Carlo And Derek Forbort

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2:03 PM: The team announced that they have officially activated Carlo and Forbort.  To get into cap and roster compliance, center John Beecher and defenseman Mason Lohrei were assigned to AHL Providence.

Beecher has been up with Boston all season, picking up seven points in 39 games.  The 2019 first-rounder has also won over 53% of his faceoffs while averaging a little over 10 minutes a game.  Lohrei, meanwhile, has been up and down between the two levels.  He has six points in 27 games with Boston plus six assists in 10 contests with Providence.

1:48 PM: The Bruins will welcome back a pair of injured blueliners to their lineup tonight against Montreal.  The team announced that Brandon Carlo and Derek Forbort are both set to return with the latter being activated off LTIR.

Carlo has missed close to two weeks with an upper-body injury sustained earlier this month.  The 27-year-old has played in 39 games so far this season, picking up two goals and eight assists.  Of course, Carlo isn’t known for his offensive output but rather for being a sound defensive defender; he’s logging 3:28 per game on the penalty kill – second-most on the Bruins – while blocking 71 shots.

The one player who is ahead of Carlo in shorthanded ATOI is Forbort who was averaging a few seconds more per night in that department before being injured back in early December.  The 31-year-old played in 20 games before the injury, picking up four assists while logging a little over 18 minutes a night.  He’s in the final year of his contract and if Boston wants to try to add an impact player before the deadline, his $3MM cap charge could be used as a potential offset.

Meanwhile, Boston also welcomes back two other injured players tonight who weren’t on injured reserve, goaltender Linus Ullmark and center Matthew Poitras.

Ullmark missed a little over a week after being injured in overtime against Arizona.  He has once again formed a high-end platoon with Jeremy Swayman this season, posting a 2.75 GAA with a .915 SV% in 21 games.  Poitras, meanwhile, has missed a little more than a week with a shoulder injury.  The 19-year-old has fared nicely in his first NHL season, notching 15 points in 30 games so far.

The Bruins still have some work to do before Carlo and Forbort can officially be activated.  They need to clear around $1MM off their books in order to satisfy the cap-compliance portion of taking Forbort off LTIR.  They also need to send at least one player down as they only have one open roster spot at the moment with two players to activate.  They have a few more hours to figure out what those moves will be.

Alex Killorn To Undergo Knee Surgery

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Alex Killorn’s first season with the Ducks has been somewhat of a struggle due to injury and the veteran will be out for a while once again.  The team announced that the winger will undergo arthroscopic left knee surgery next week and he is expected to miss the next four to six weeks.

The 34-year-old signed with Anaheim in free agency, inking a four-year, $25MM contract, good for the highest AAV ($6.25MM) among any forward to sign on the open market this summer.  However, his start to the year was delayed due to a fractured finger sustained in the preseason, one that caused him to miss nearly a month.

Since returning in early November, Killorn has played as expected.  While no one should have been anticipating another career year offensively, he was brought in to be a stabilizing presence in Anaheim’s top six and play alongside some of their younger talents.  He has done just that while still contributing at a reasonable clip, notching six goals and 13 assists in 34 games while taking a regular turn on both special teams units.

With the injury just being announced, the Ducks have not yet placed Killorn on injured reserve.  However, with the team carrying a full-sized roster right now, he’ll likely land on IR in the near future, freeing up a roster spot to bring someone up from AHL San Diego.

Wild Recall Jesper Wallstedt, Assign Daemon Hunt To AHL

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With Marc-Andre Fleury sustaining an upper-body injury on Friday against Florida, it appears the Wild have opted to make sure they have an extra goalie around if needed.  Michael Russo of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that netminder Jesper Wallstedt has been recalled from AHL Iowa.  To make room for him on the roster, defenseman Daemon Hunt has been sent down.

Wallstedt made his NHL debut earlier this month against Dallas, one that was a bit of a struggle for him as the 21-year-old allowed seven goals on 34 shots.  However, the 2021 first-round pick (20th overall) has had a strong sophomore year in the minors, posting a 2.61 GAA with a .916 SV% in 21 games.  His save percentage is tied for fourth among AHL goaltenders who have made at least 20 appearances this season.

As for Hunt, the 21-year-old has split the season between Minnesota and Iowa.  At the top level, he has played in a dozen games so far in his first taste of NHL action.  Hunt has a single assist in those contests in limited minutes as he’s averaging just 11:30 per night.  However, in the minors, he has been considerably more productive, collecting a goal and eight helpers in 16 appearances.

Minnesota didn’t have an open roster spot to work with and at this point, Fleury hasn’t been placed on injured reserve so someone had to be sent down to make room for Wallstedt.  Thanks to his waiver exemption, Hunt is that player for now but it wouldn’t be surprising to see this transaction reversed if Fleury is cleared to dress for tomorrow’s game against Carolina or if he lands on IR, allowing Hunt to be recalled.

William Lockwood Receives Three-Game Suspension

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8:08 PM: Per an announcement from the league, the Department of Player Safety has decided to suspend Lockwood for the next three games.

11:38 AM: Early in last night’s game against Minnesota, Panthers winger William Lockwood hit goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury while the netminder was out to play the puck behind the net.  The play has drawn the attention of the Department of Player Safety who announced (Twitter link) that Lockwood will have a disciplinary hearing today for goalie interference.

The incident occurred just 2:15 into the game where he received a minor for goalie interference plus a roughing minor after the fact.  On his next shift, Lockwood dropped the gloves with Brandon Duhaime and had to helped off the ice afterward; his night came to an end with just 26 seconds of playing time and nine penalty minutes.  Fleury, meanwhile, stayed in until just past the midway mark before exiting with an upper-body injury.

Lockwood has played in a career-high 23 games with Florida this season and has been a fixture on the fourth line in those appearances as he’s averaging just over eight minutes a night of playing time while recording one assist.  Should he receive any supplemental discipline, it would be the 25-year-old’s first time being fined or suspended by the league.

Flames Recall Matt Coronato

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With Martin Pospisil’s injury, the Flames were expected to bring someone up to take his place before tonight’s game against Edmonton.  That move has now been made as the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Matthew Coronato has been recalled from AHL Calgary.

The 21-year-old was the 13th overall pick by Calgary back in 2021 and he has been viewed as a key part of their future core since then.  He turned pro after two strong years offensively at Harvard where he averaged more than a point per game and this is his first full campaign in the pros.

Coronato broke camp with the Flames in training camp but the offensive success wasn’t there as he managed just one goal and one assist in his first ten games of the season.  Calgary then decided to sent him to the Wranglers for more playing time and he has been there since then, save for a brief one-game recall last month.  The move made a lot of sense as it allowed Coronato to play a much bigger role, one that he has been accustomed to throughout his career at the lower levels.  He found his offensive touch in the AHL, notching 12 goals and 17 assists in 27 games at that level, earning himself an All-Star nod for his efforts.

It will be interesting to see how high the Flames will deploy Coronato in their lineup.  Will they try to limit his minutes like they did in his first stint where he came in just under 14 minutes a night or will they put him in a scoring role to see if he can contain his hot stretch offensively?  If it’s the latter, he might have more success than he did at the beginning of the season.

Wild Place Connor Dewar On IR, Recall Jake Lucchini

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The Wild picked up a big win last night in Florida but it came at a cost with goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (upper body) and center Connor Dewar (lower body) leaving with injury.  The latter’s injury will keep him out for at least the next week as Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Dewar has been placed on injured reserve.  Taking his place on the roster will be winger Jake Lucchini who has been recalled from AHL Iowa.

Dewar only has nine points for Minnesota this season but seven of those have been goals, marking a new career-high for the 24-year-old.  He has spent the majority of the season on the fourth line while averaging just shy of 11 minutes a night so far.  A good chunk of that has come on the penalty kill where he’s the third-most-used forward on the Wild in that situation.  Joe Smith of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Dewar is expected to miss a couple of weeks and might not return until after the All-Star break and Minnesota’s bye week.

As for Lucchini, this is his third recall in the last month as he has played his way into being a top option for promotion when injuries strike.  That’s thanks to a strong season in the minors where he has 11 goals and 11 assists in 28 games with Iowa.  The 28-year-old has played in four games so far for Minnesota and is looking for his first point of the year.  Lucchini has 15 career appearances at the top level under his belt where he has a single goal to his name.

While the Wild have been cap-strapped for most of the season, that changed with the season-ending injury to Jared Spurgeon.  With the blueliner landing on LTIR, Minnesota has ample cap space to carry a full roster, even including injury recalls.

Oilers Recall Dylan Holloway, Assign James Hamblin To AHL

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The Oilers have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game tonight against Calgary.  The team announced that they’ve recalled forward Dylan Holloway from AHL Bakersfield; in a corresponding move, forward James Hamblin was assigned to the Condors.

Holloway got off to a slow start to his season with Edmonton, notching just one goal in his first 14 games of the campaign while logging only a little over 11 minutes a night.  He then suffered a lower-body injury in mid-November, one that caused him to miss nearly two months.  Upon being cleared to return, the 22-year-old was assigned to Bakersfield where the plan was to give him some reps at center.  It wound up being a short-lived stint with the Condors but a successful one as Holloway had two goals and two assists in just four games in the minors.  It will be interesting to see if he sees time down the middle and takes Hamblin’s spot directly or if they’ll shift him back to the wing.

As for Hamblin, the 24-year-old has spent the bulk of the season with Edmonton, suiting up in 31 games so far.  However, Hamblin’s role has been quite limited as he is logging less than eight minutes a night and has been limited to just two goals and one assist offensively while winning just over half of his faceoffs.  Hamblin has been more productive with Bakersfield, picking up three goals and two helpers in six games with the Condors.  He’ll get a chance to play much bigger minutes as a result of this swap.

Morning Notes: Lindholm, Varlamov, Anderson

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Mans Karlsson of Hockey Sverige is reporting that Calgary Flames center Elias Lindholm spoke regarding his pending unrestricted free-agent status. Lindholm is less than six months away from hitting the open market and is currently sitting at number one on most hockey pundits’ trade target boards.

Lindholm conceded that he has had a hard time shutting out the noise around his contract status and the trade talk and it may have impacted his performance on the ice. The 29-year-old has just eight goals this season after posting 64 goals combined over the last two years. His assist numbers are in line with his average over the last two seasons (he has 22 helpers so far this season in 45 games) but he has been plagued by a shooting percentage of just 6.6%, which is far off from his career average of 12.1%.

There was talk earlier in the year that Lindholm was seeking a long-term deal with an average annual value of around $9MM, but that number might be a bit ambitious if the former fifth-overall pick continues to struggle to put the puck in the net.

Lindholm told reporters that he and the Flames have not discussed an extension since last summer, and while extensions can be worked out in a matter of days, it seems probable that the Flames and Lindholm could be headed in separate directions sooner rather than later.

In other morning notes:

  • Ethan Sears of The New York Post is reporting that New York Islanders’ injured goaltender Semyon Varlamov is back skating daily as he tries to work his way back into the lineup. Varlamov has been out of action since January 2nd with a lower-body injury and is progressing slowly. Ken Appleby has been replacing Varlamov in his absence but has seen just one period of action so far. Varlamov has been good this season posting a 6-4-2 record with a 2.78 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.
  • Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports is reporting that Montreal Canadiens forward Josh Anderson is practicing this morning with the team and could return to the lineup tonight against the Boston Bruins after a four-game absence. Anderson has been out with a lower-body injury and practiced today on a line with Brendan Gallagher and Jake Evans. The 29-year-old has struggled this season with just seven goals and five assists in 41 games as his shooting percentage has fallen to just 7.5%, far off his career average of 11.2%. Anderson will reportedly be a game-time decision for the Canadiens today.

Coyotes Liam O’Brien Fined For Roughing

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The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced last night that Arizona Coyotes forward Liam O’Brien would be fined $2,018.23 for roughing Vancouver Canucks forward Sam Lafferty on January 18th. The amount is the maximum allowed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the money from it will be put towards the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

O’Brien was given a minor penalty for roughing on the play, which occurred at the 5:26 mark of the first period. O’Brien left Arizona’s bench and immediately went after Lafferty after the Canucks forward had laid a big hit earlier in the game. O’Brien threw off his gloves and began punching Lafferty, who did not offer a response. The referees pulled O’Brien away and restrained him before escorting him to the penalty box.

The situation did not cool down after that as O’Brien fought Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov later on in the first period which earned him another five penalty minutes. O’Brien is now the NHL leader in penalty minutes with 105 PIM in 43 games which nearly eclipses the 114 minutes he accumulated last season in 56 games with Arizona.

The 29-year-old has spent parts of seven NHL seasons with the Coyotes, Washington Capitals, and Colorado Avalanche and set career highs last season in games played with 56, goals with three, and assists with eight. He has not faced discipline before from the DOPS.

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