Calgary Flames Leaning Towards Keeping Geoff Ward As Head Coach
The Calgary Flames are one of four teams that still don’t have permanent coaches in place, but that number could change soon. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Hockey Night in Canada Saturday that while the Calgary Flames say there is “no comment” on the team’s coaching situation, there is a growing belief that the Flames will hire interim coach Geoff Ward as their permanent head coach soon.
“Word is beginning to seep out that it’s trending towards Geoff Ward returning as the head coach of the team for next season,” Friedman said.
After Bill Peters resigned as head coach on Nov. 29, the team handed the interim coaching reigns to Peters’ assistant, Ward, who took a struggling 12-12-4 team (good for fifth place in the Pacific Division) and led them to a 24-15-3 record, getting them into the playoffs. They even won their play-in series, knocking out the Winnipeg Jets before getting eliminated by the Dallas Stars in the first round of the playoffs. However, even that series, Calgary had its moments, coming within 12 seconds of taking a 3-1 series lead against Dallas.
With that success and backing from Flames players, Ward seems like a solid candidate to remain with his team especially with his focus on physicality and defense philosophy. Not only did he have success with the team, but he had quite an impact on several of the team’s players to take that next step, especially in the playoffs, including Sam Bennett, Milan Lucic and Dillon Dube.
Assuming the Flames do hire Ward on permanently, then only three other teams currently lack a permanent head coach, including the Dallas Stars, Washington Capitals and the San Jose Sharks.
Coaching Notes: Washington, Ward, Tortorella
The Washington Capitals decided to move on from Todd Reirden after just two years as head coach and won’t be taking another risk with their next hiring. That’s what Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic says in his latest column, explaining that the Capitals are focused on bringing in a proven head coach instead of giving another newcomer an opportunity.
That means the names are familiar ones when discussing the Capitals coaching vacancy. Gerard Gallant, Peter Laviolette and Mike Babcock are the first three names that LeBrun mentions, though even former Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau gets a few paragraphs as well. Washington went 89-46-16 under Reirden since winning a championship in 2018 but were quickly dumped in the playoffs both years. Still in their win-now window with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom leading the way, Washington is also looking for a coach that will “hold the team’s top players accountable.”
- Geoff Ward spoke to reporters including Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet yesterday and explained that he would consider a return to the organization even if the Calgary Flames decided to go in a different direction at head coach. Ward would obviously rather take the head coaching position himself, but declined the opportunity to campaign for it through the media. He took over as head coach when Bill Peters resigned early in the season and led the Flames to a 24-15-3 record, but was also part of the collapse against the Dallas Stars. The Flames allowed seven straight goals in an elimination game and Ward pulled starter Cam Talbot and then reinserted him during the collapse. With substantial changes likely coming in Calgary, they may also want to go with a different face behind the bench.
- One coach that likely isn’t going anywhere this offseason is John Tortorella, even though his Columbus Blue Jackets failed to advance past the first round. Even getting that far was seen as quite the accomplishment for the veteran coach, but he’ll lose out on a little salary in the process. The league today fined Tortorella $25,000 for his comments (or more specifically his lack of comments) after game five against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tortorella took two questions and then stormed out of the press conference, obviously frustrated with the loss. The penalty is actually a collection of the conditional fine that was assessed on January 1 after a previous incident. This is the 13th time Tortorella has been disciplined by the league.
Calgary Flames Announce List Of Playoff Injuries
The Calgary Flames will have several months to think about their collapse in the first round, but the time off will also let them recover from some serious injuries. Flames GM Brad Treliving spoke to reporters today including Kristen Anderson of the Calgary Sun and explained that Matthew Tkachuk, Rasmus Andersson and Sam Bennett were all dealing with major injuries by the end of the postseason.
Tkachuk, who sat out the final four games against the Dallas Stars, was dealing with a concussion and was still in the league’s protocol when the team was eliminated. The injury was sustained against the Stars and took arguably Calgary’s most effective offensive piece out of the lineup for the most important games of the season. Tkachuk, who had 61 points in 69 games this season to lead the Flames, was forced to watch from the press box as they gave up seven consecutive goals in game six.
Andersson meanwhile was playing with a broken foot, an injury that he suffered during the qualification round against the Winnipeg Jets. The 23-year old defenseman still managed to average close to 23 minutes a night in the Dallas series, recording four points in six games and arguably being the Flames most consistent defenseman. After posting 22 points in 70 games this season Andersson appears to be one of the pillars that Calgary can build around moving forward.
Bennett apparently tore a triceps muscle in the qualification round, which certainly answers why he was taking so few faceoffs in the postseason. The gritty centerman took just 29 draws across the six-game series, with linemate Milan Lucic (and career winger) routinely moving into the dot for him instead. Bennett actually led the team in scoring during the postseason, recording five goals and eight points in ten games—despite registering just 12 points in 52 regular season contests.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Snapshots: Colorado, Gaudreau, Bjorkqvist
The Colorado Avalanche will be without both Philipp Grubauer and Erik Johnson for the next while, as head coach Jared Bednar told reporters including Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet that the pair would be out “indefinitely.” Luckily they have Pavel Francouz to step into the net and takeover, as he did so many times this season. The 30-year old undrafted goaltender put up a .923 save percentage in 34 appearances for the Avalanche this season, his first full year in the NHL.
On defense, it will be Kevin Connauton inserted into Johnson’s spot. The veteran NHL defenseman has plenty of experience in the regular season, but hasn’t seen a playoff game since 2014. You can bet the Avalanche won’t be leaning as heavily on Connauton as they did on Johnson, who had been averaging over 19 minutes this postseason.
- When the Calgary Flames collapsed and allowed seven straight goals to the Dallas Stars in an elimination game, many fans called for the team to be blown up. Johnny Gaudreau was the target of much of the frustration, with Eric Francis of Sportsnet even calling him a “likely trade candidate” after he struggled to produce any even-strength offense in the playoffs once again. For what it’s worth, Gaudreau told reporters today including Wes Gilbertson of Postmedia that he loves playing in Calgary and wants to spend the rest of his career with the Flames. He even directly addressed the rumors that have always swirled about his desire to return to the east coast (Gaudreau is from New Jersey and attended Boston College), saying he is “really comfortable” in Calgary, a place that is “special” to him and his family.
- Kasper Bjorkqvist has played just six games at the minor league level, but he won’t be playing another for a while. The Pittsburgh Penguins prospect been loaned to KooKoo in Finland’s Liiga for the 2020-21 season. Bjorkqvist, a 2016 second-round pick, played three years at Providence College before signing his entry-level deal in 2019. He played just six games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins before injuring his knee and requiring surgery, ending his 2019-20 season.
Johnny Gaudreau Could Be A Trade Candidate This Offseason
- With Calgary bowing out quickly in the playoffs again after being ousted by Dallas, many expect the Flames to make some notable changes before next season. Sportsnet’s Eric Francis suggests that winger Johnny Gaudreau is a likely candidate to be moved following another quiet postseason showing that saw all but one of his seven points come with the power play. However, another potential factor is that Gaudreau is one season away from having a significant no-trade clause (a five-team trade list). At a time where many teams will have to shake things up, the time may be right to test the waters on Gaudreau as well. He has two years left on his deal with a $6.75MM AAV.
Austin Czarnik Leaves Bubble
The Calgary Flames will be without Austin Czarnik for the next while. The forward has left the bubble in Edmonton to attend to a family matter. No timeline for his return has been issued, but he will be forced to quarantine for four days after coming back, providing four consecutive negative COVID-19 tests in the process.
Czarnik, 27, hasn’t played a game for the Flames yet this postseason and suited up just eight times in the regular season. His year was marred by injury and he spent a good chunk of the season in the minor leagues, scoring 33 points in 32 games for the Stockton Heat.
The Flames are tied with the Dallas Stars in their first-round playoff series after losing 5-4 last night.
West Notes: Kings, DeMelo, Pospisil
The New York Rangers were the big winners at the NHL Draft Lottery, meaning the Westen Conference won’t have to deal with Alexis Lafreniere on a regular basis, right? Well, as Lisa Dillman examined for The Athletic, if the Los Angeles Kings or another team with a high pick came calling the Rangers would have to listen. The Kings have arguably the best prospect group in the entire NHL already and could potentially create quite a package of assets for the first overall selection.
While the Kings have that impressive prospect base and several high picks, the Ottawa Senators are primed to make a huge splash at this year’s draft as well. Not only do they hold the third and fifth overall selections, but they also have an incredible seven picks in the first two rounds of this year’s draft. Nine if you extend that to the third round, and 13 in total for 2020.
- Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff liked the fit for trade deadline acquisition Dylan DeMelo, but hasn’t started negotiations yet for a new contract according to Murat Ates of The Athletic. The team will “definitely take a look” at a new deal with the pending free agent, who ended up playing just 14 total games for the Jets after arriving from Ottawa partway through the season. The 27-year old DeMelo recorded just ten points in 59 games this season and is coming off a two-year deal that carried a $900K cap hit.
- Martin Pospisil, who signed his three-year entry-level contract in 2019, will be playing in Slovakia for the time being. The Calgary Flames prospect has been loaned to HC Kosice for the next few months but is expected back for NHL training camp. Pospisil played 26 games for the Stockton Heat of the AHL this season, recording ten points.
NHL Makes Rulings On Three Trades With Conditional Picks
For fans of the Flames and Oilers that have been awaiting the final decision on the James Neal–Milan Lucic trade, the verdict is in. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports (Twitter link) that Edmonton will have to transfer a third-round pick in either 2020 or 2021 to Calgary to complete the trade. The Oilers will have until the start of the third round in October’s draft to choose whether they will transfer the selection this year or wait until the next draft.
The issue in this trade was in the wording of the rather unique conditions that were put on the deal. In the original swap, Neal had to have at least 21 goals and Lucic ten or fewer. Neal was at 19 when the season was shut down due to COVID-19 while Lucic was at eight so only the second element was met. However, by extrapolating Neal’s output over a full 82-game season, he scored at a 23-goal pace. It appears the league used a similar interpretation with the awarding of the draft pick.
It’s worth noting that Edmonton is currently without their second-round pick for the next two years from their acquisition of Andreas Athanasiou. They also are without their fourth-rounder in 2020 from the Mike Green pickup.
The NHL has also tweaked the terms of the Kings-Maple Leafs trade that saw Jack Campbell and Kyle Clifford go to Toronto. Johnston notes in a separate tweet that Toronto will owe a 2021 second-round pick if they win their Qualifying Round series against Columbus and Campbell gets two or more wins or if Clifford re-signs. The original terms of the deal had the pick transferring if the Maple Leafs made the playoffs and Campbell winning six games or Clifford re-signing. If those don’t happen, then a 2021 third-round pick will be transferred to Los Angeles.
A decision has also been made on the conditional pick involved in the Hurricanes’ acquisition of Sami Vatanen from the Devils at the trade deadline and as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in a Twitter thread, the details are a bit more complex.
If Carolina beats New York in the Qualifying Round series and Vatanen plays in 70% or more of their playoff games, the Hurricanes send New Jersey their 2020 third-round pick. If Vatanen doesn’t play in 70% or more of the playoff games but plays in two or more contests against the Rangers, then two more scenarios present themselves. In that situation, if Carolina wins the series, the Devils get Carolina’s 2020 fourth-rounder. If he plays at least twice but the Rangers win, then Carolina gets to pick between sending a 2020 or a 2021 fourth-round selection. If none of this plays out, then no pick transfers.
This closes the books on the remaining questions surrounding conditional trades with the league ruling back in May on ones that had picks contingent on making the playoffs. Teams will have to be in the final 16 teams in order to be classified as a playoff team for the purpose of those trades.
Flames Make Final Roster Cuts
The Flames have set their roster for the upcoming Qualifying Round. GM Brad Treliving told reporters, including Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg (Twitter link) that defenseman Connor Mackey and forwards Glenn Gawdin, Matthew Phillips, and Adam Ruzicka won’t be with the team for their series against Winnipeg.
Mackey was the obvious choice of the group since he wasn’t eligible to play as his contract doesn’t start until next season. However, bringing him to the camp gave Calgary’s staff a look at their prized college free agent acquisition.
As for the forwards, Gawdin had a nice sophomore season with AHL Stockton, coming in just shy of a point per game with 47 in 53 games. He’s only a couple of years removed from finishing second in the WHL in scoring but he hasn’t made his NHL debut yet. Phillips also saw his point per game total jump in his second AHL season, collecting 33 points in 38 games in a season that was shortened due to injury while he missed time during camp (as did Gawdin). As for Ruzicka, he had 27 points in 54 games with Stockton in his first pro campaign. While the three have some upside down the road, Calgary has cleared opted to go with some more experienced options to round out their playoff roster.
NHL Releases Qualifying Round, Round Robin Schedules
July 20: The NHL has announced some minor changes to the schedule for the round robin. The Boston Bruins-Washington Capitals game that was scheduled for August 8 will now be played on August 9. The Philadelphia Flyers-Tampa Bay Lightning game that was originally scheduled for August 9, will now be played on August 8.
July 14: After revealing the schedule earlier today for the exhibition games occurring after the conclusion of training camp, the NHL has followed up with the schedules for the games that actually matter. The league has announced the full schedule for the best-of-five qualifying round match-ups, four each per conference between the teams seeded No. 5 to No. 12, as well as the six round robin games per conference between the teams seeded No. 1 to No. 4. As a reminder, the qualifying round will serve as a knockout round to trim the list of postseason teams to 16 for a standard playoff format while the round robin games will serve as a means to seed the top team in each conference. Teams will re-seed following the conclusion of the qualifying round and each subsequent round.
The full schedule is as follows (all times ET):
Saturday, Aug. 1
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes, Game 1, 12 p.m.
Florida Panthers vs. New York Islanders, Game 1, 4 p.m.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 1, 8 p.m.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers, Game 1, 3 p.m.
Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames, Game 1, 10:30 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 2
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Round-robin
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins, 3 p.m.
Best-of-5 series
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 1, 8 p.m.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Arizona Coyotes vs, Nashville Predators, Game 1, 2 p.m.
Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks, Game 1, 10:30 p.m.
Round-robin
St. Louis Blues vs. Colorado Avalanche, 6:30 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 3
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes, Game 2, 12 p.m.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 2, 8 p.m.
Round-robin
Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, 4 p.m.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames, Game 2, 2:30 p.m.
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers, Game 2, 10:30 p.m.
Round-robin
Dallas Stars vs. Vegas Golden Knights, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 4
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Florida Panthers vs. New York Islanders, Game 2, 12 p.m.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 2, 4 p.m.
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers, Game 3, 8 p.m.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Arizona Coyotes vs. Nashville Predators, Game 2, 2:30 p.m.
Calgary Flames vs. Winnipeg Jets, Game 3, 6:45 p.m.
Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks, Game 2, 10:45 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 5
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
New York Islanders vs. Florida Panthers, Game 3, 12 p.m.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens, Game 3, 8 p.m.
Round-robin
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins, 4 p.m.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Nashville Predators vs. Arizona Coyotes, Game 3, 2:30 p.m.
Edmonton Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Game 3, 10:30 p.m.
Round-robin
Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 6
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, Game 3, TBD
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers, Game 4*, TBD
Round-robin
Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers, TBD
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Vancouver Canucks vs. Minnesota Wild, Game 3, TBD
Calgary Flames vs. Winnipeg Jets, Game 4*, TBD
Round-robin
Vegas Golden Knights vs. St. Louis Blues, TBD
Friday, Aug. 7
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
New York Islanders vs. Florida Panthers, Game 4*, TBD
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens, Game 4*, TBD
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, Game 4*, TBD
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Nashville Predators vs. Arizona Coyotes, Game 4*, TBD
Vancouver Canucks vs. Minnesota Wild, Game 4*, TBD
Edmonton Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Game 4*, TBD
Saturday, Aug. 8
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes, Game 5*, TBD
Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 5*, TBD
Round-robin
Boston Bruins vs. Washington Capitals, TBD
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames, Game 5*, TBD
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers, Game 5*, TBD
Round-robin
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Colorado Avalanche, TBD
Sunday, Aug. 9
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Florida Panthers vs. New York Islanders, Game 5*, TBD
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 5*, TBD
Round-robin
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, TBD
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Best-of-5 series
Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks, Game 5*, TBD
Arizona Coyotes vs. Nashville Predators, Game 5*, TBD
Round-robin
Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues, TBD
With round robin games scheduled through August 9, the first round will not begin until August 10 at the earliest. However, given that exhibition games don’t even begin until July 28, the NHL is about to cram a lot of hockey into a span of just a dozen days.