Hellebuyck was the 2020 Vezina award winner for top goaltender and has a long track record of putting up elite numbers. However, he has had a handful of poor seasons and with teams having just seen the Vegas Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup with Adin Hill between the pipes, there might be a hesitancy to pay a premium in a trade and an expensive cap hit for a goalie who is on the wrong side of 30. You can’t fault Hellebuyck for asking for the moon as he is nominated once again for the Vezina award after a terrific season in Winnipeg posting a 37-25-2 record with a .920 save percentage and a 2.49 goals against average.

In other afternoon notes:

• Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV tweeted today that it appears the Vancouver Canucks have had discussions with defenseman Ethan Bear’s representatives about several contract possibilities. The tweet comes on the heels of a conversation with Bear’s agent Jason Davidson who said that they’ve discussed several options, but a one-year deal may be the way to go for the 25-year-old. It’s an interesting idea from Bear’s camp given that the defender is out until December after undergoing shoulder surgery this week. Bear is a year away from unrestricted free agency and the allure of picking his long term destination may be worth the roll of the dice.
• Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal tweeted today that Bruce Cassidy told reporters that goaltender Logan Thompson is skating and should be 100% by training camp. Thompson started the year as Vegas’ number one goaltender but suffered a lower body injury in February and did not play again. When healthy the 26-year-old posted good numbers going 21-13-3 with a .915 save percentage and 2.65 goals against average. If Thompson is ready to go it could give Vegas leverage in their contract negotiations with pending free agent netminder Adin Hill. Thompson would be a solid fallback option should Hill elect to test the market and move on.

As relayed by Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy has revealed that all three of Quick,  Logan Thompson, and Laurent Brossoit are traveling with the team on their three-game road trip. As a result of that trio nearing a return to the ice, the team sent Patera back to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. The return of Thompson in particular would come as a major boost to Vegas, as he had been the team’s number-one goalie before going down with an injury. He has posted a .914 save percentage in 36 games, and should he hit the ground running upon his return to the ice is in pole position to be the team’s playoff starter.

• While he remains a player widely considered the best defenseman in the NHL, injuries have proved to be a roadblock for the Colorado Avalanche’s Cale Makar, and have caused him to fall behind in the Norris Trophy race when compared to players such as the San Jose Sharks’ Erik Karlsson. While he has thankfully seemed to put the concussion issues that sidelined him earlier this year behind him, there’s a new injury for him to deal with. Per the Denver Post’s Bennett Durando, Makar is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said that the injury is “nothing too serious,” and that he is being held out for tonight’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks as a precautionary measure. Makar has scored 61 points in 55 games this season and leads all NHLers in time-on-ice per game, averaging 26:36 TOI per game.
• New York Islanders defenseman Sebastian Aho left last night’s New York Islanders game with an injury, prompting the team to recall defenseman Samuel Bolduc to fill Aho’s spot in the lineup. Newsday’s Andrew Gross has more details on Aho’s injury, reporting that the Swede is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury. This season has been a breakout one of sorts for Aho, who has flown past his career-high in games played with 66 so far and seen his average time-on-ice tick upwards. He has scored 21 points this season and will hope to return to the lineup quickly to help New York clinch a return to the playoffs.

This season I’ve challenged the veterans on the team, and I’ve been very happy with their response. Beyond the stts, they’ve shown a willingness to adapt, compete, and lead our group both on and off the ice.

Now, I’m not going to lie to you – and I want to be clear about this – we’re not there yet. Thi year was the first step in building the future of the FLyers and restoring our reputation as one of the most respected teams in hockey. 

It is rather telling that the team decided this letter should come from Tortorella, not general manager Chuck Fletcher. As O’Connor points out, it suggests that the organization “knows Torts is the better (or more trusted) messenger” at the moment. Fletcher’s moves have largely disappointed in recent years, while Tortorella at least has the undermanned Flyers group fighting (sometimes literally) every night.

• Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone was listed out indefinitely after undergoing back surgery, but head coach Bruce Cassidy wouldn’t rule him out completely when asked today. Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun relays Cassidy’s comments that there could be an “opportunity” for Stone’s return if the Golden Knights can make the playoffs. Vegas currently sits in the third Pacific Division spot but holds a tenuous lead over the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.
• The Dallas Stars are in no rush to make moves and will wait to “get a feel for the market,” according to general manager Jim Nill in conversation with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Nill noted that injuries over the next few weeks could drastically impact the team’s strategy at the deadline, and so too could strong performances from young players in the minor leagues. Sometimes overlooked as a contender, Dallas currently leads the entire Western Conference with 66 points and a +40 goal differential.

The Hurricanes, Bruins, Stars, and Golden Knights currently lead their respective divisions, though it’s a close race in three of them. Only the Bruins have a substantial lead, with their 32-4-4 record pacing the entire NHL.

Interestingly enough, three of the four coaches named were involved in something of an employment carousel this offseason. Cassidy was fired by Boston and eventually took the job in Vegas after they dismissed DeBoer. DeBoer took a job in Dallas, one that had only been filled by Rick Bowness after Montgomery’s dismissal in 2020. Montgomery in turn took over in Boston, which gave him another chance as an NHL head coach.

Brind’Amour is the tenured professor of the bunch, taking over as head coach of the Hurricanes in 2018. He won the Jack Adams in 2021, and has an overall record of 199-95-35, plus four playoff series wins. It’s been an impressive transition from player to assistant to head coach for Brind’Amour, who basically never stopped working for the Hurricanes after arriving in 2000. He is reprising his role as head coach of the Metro, after being their last season.

The selections show just how quickly the NHL coaching wheel turns, with Cassidy and DeBoer both appearing at this game with their previous teams. DeBoer has actually gone with three in a row, appearing as the head coach of the Pacific in 2017 with the Sharks as well.

The final player selections will be announced on January 19, and the skills competition kicks off February 3.

Hague is one of the few remaining restricted free agents in the NHL, alongside Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin and Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson as the marquee names. Granger expertly notes that Hague missing camp is more detrimental than in previous seasons, as new head coach Bruce Cassidy will be installing a completely foreign defensive system from what the Knights have been used to in past seasons. Hague, the 34th overall pick in 2017, had 14 points in 52 games last season.

• Speaking today during preseason media availability, Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney says it’s a priority for him to get pending free agent winger David Pastrnak signed as soon as possible. Pastrnak, while he’s expressed a strong desire to stay in Boston, hasn’t shared the same urgency in negotiations in previous reporting. Pastrnak, who’s notched 40 or more goals in his last two full seasons, will be in line for a substantial raise, and it may behoove Sweeney to get a deal done before his value rises even further.
• The Winnipeg Jets have made three scouting hires, including the first woman scout in team history, Sydney Daniels. Daniels joins the team as an NCAA scout, having previously served as the assistant coach for the women’s team at Harvard. The team also brought on Jari Kekalainen, brother of Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, as a European scout, and former Toronto Maple Leafs scout Tony Martino as a USHL scout.

Head coach Bruce Cassidy’s comments added to that uncertainty today. While he did say Brossoit was healing well from his surgery, Cassidy wasn’t sure if Brossoit would return just weeks into the season or closer to the end of the calendar year instead. However, he did still reaffirm that Brossoit is tracking to be a healthy member of the Golden Knights this season.

Brossoit had a tough 2021-22 campaign, as did much of the Golden Knights team, but he’ll need to rebound in his second season in Vegas in the season-long absence of Robin Lehner. Brossoit does have some of the pressure taken off him with Hill’s acquisition, but the’s still the most experienced of Vegas’ now trio of NHL goalies.

In the meantime, Vegas hopes that Thompson’s strong end to the 2021-22 season, nearly miraculously getting them back into the playoffs despite anemic offensive play, carries over through training camp into the start of this season. They’ll also hope for Hill’s strong start to last season before going down with injury repeats itself as well.

Brossoit is entering the second season of a two-year deal worth $2.325MM per season. He finished last year with a 10-9-3 record in 24 games, just the second time in his career that he’s played more than 20 games in a season. He struggled statistically with a .895 save percentage and a 2.90 goals-against average, both worse than his career average numbers.

Still, Seravalli notes that the finalists are Vellucci, Jay Leach, and David Quinn, with many believing that the latter is the front-runner for the opening.

Vellucci, 55, may not have a lot of NHL experience but he is a proven winner at basically every level along the way. The former Hartford Whalers defenseman has won championships in the NAHL, OHL, and most recently the AHL, taking home the Calder Cup with the Charlotte Checkers in 2019. He has been named Coach of the Year at all three levels and has now been behind the bench with Pittsburgh for the past two seasons.

The Bruins, who fired Bruce Cassidy after a disappointing playoff exit, seem focused on less experienced names for the vacancy. Leach also has experience as a head coach in the minor leagues–with the Providence Bruins, no less–but has just one year behind an NHL bench as an assistant. David Quinn had just one year as an assistant when he landed the New York Rangers head coaching job in 2018, a tenure that lasted just three seasons.

Boston is one of three teams still without a coach, along with the Detroit Red Wings and Winnipeg Jets.

General manager Kelly McCrimmon gave the following statement on the hires:

John Stevens is a very respected NHL coach with an extensive resume that adds considerably to our staff. We are excited to add a two-time Stanley Cup winner with head coaching experience. Sean Burke is a great addition to the organization, with tremendous experience as an elite NHL goaltender and an accomplished coach and executive. We are pleased to keep Mike Rosati in an influential role across the organization. With those two and Henderson goaltending coach Fred Brathwaite, we have proven, qualified expertise at the goalie position.

While new head coach Bruce Cassidy won’t get to build the entire bench from scratch, he does get some fresh faces in here to join assistants Ryan Craig and Misha Donskov, who were retained in the wake of Peter DeBoer’s firing. Stevens comes in to replace both Steve Spott and Ryan McGill as an assistant, who were both fired days after DeBoer. Stevens has been an assistant for the Dallas Stars for the past three seasons, but most hockey fans will remember him as the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers (2006-2009) and the Los Angeles Kings (2016-2018). In all, the 56-year-old Stevens has 15 years of NHL coaching experience.

Burke’s hiring isn’t huge news, as it was reported earlier in the week that Vegas would bring him on. Burke was not on an NHL staff during the 2021-22 season, but he spent seven years as the goalie coach of the Arizona Coyotes and a handful of months in 2021 as the goalie coach of the Montreal Canadiens. He replaces Rosati as the goalie coach, who moves to a more behind-the-scenes role in the organization.

While a Rhode Island native, Quinn has extensive experience in the Boston area, spending multiple years as an associate coach and head coach with Boston University. Quinn did not coach this past season after the Rangers replaced him with Gerard Gallant this past offseason, aside from serving as the head coach for the United States at the Olympics and World Championships.

• The New Jersey Devils seem to have quietly cleaned out some front office names, removing the roles of Patrick Rissmiller (player development coach), Pierre Mondou (amateur scout), and Andrey Plekhanov (European scout) from their website. Rissmiller will leave the only front office job he’s ever known, holding the role with New Jersey since he retired as a player in 2015. Mondou, 66, was let go after nearly 20 years of scouting for New Jersey. Plekhanov had been with the team for four seasons.
• As the Buffalo Sabres look to finally take that next step forward in 2022-23, the team has announced the dates for their development camp. The session for fringe prospects and rookies will be held July 13-15, with a three-on-three tournament to be held on the 16th.

The Golden Knights are very pleased to have Bruce come in to coach our team. His success in Boston over six years is extremely impressive. His teams have had a clear identity, having been among the very best in the NHL in terms of goals for, goals against, goal differential and special teams. This is the right coach for our team at this time.

Vegas’ head coaching vacancy opened up when the team fired Peter DeBoer on May 16 after they missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Cassidy met a similar fate last week, despite his Bruins taking the Metropolitan Division champion Carolina Hurricanes to seven games in their First Round series.

Cassidy had an incredibly successful five-and-a-half-season stretch in Boston, and he’ll look to bring that consistency to the Golden Knights. The 57-year-old Ottawa native brings an Eastern Conference title in 2019 under his belt as well as a consistent regular-season track record. The worst points percentage a Bruins team had under Cassidy was .652, a mark they hit in 2018-19, 2020-21, and 2021-22. That’s a 107-point pace over a full 82-game season. It was an unexpected firing, to say the least, and the Golden Knights hope they’ve capitalized on another team’s seemingly poor decision.

The veteran of 509 games as an NHL coach instantly became one of the elite names on the coaching market this offseason alongside DeBoer and former New York Islanders bench boss Barry Trotz. Cassidy had multiple suitors, but the Golden Knights were the first to focus on Cassidy as their top candidate. He’s got a history of managing a top line that’s terrorized opponents, something the Golden Knights hope they can replicate with a trio of Max Pacioretty, Jack Eichel, and Mark Stone. With arguably a better supporting forward cast in Vegas than Cassidy had in Boston, at least on the wings, the Knights hope Cassidy can help guide a healthy team back to elite status.

ESPN’s Kevin Weekes was the first to report that Vegas would be hiring Cassidy.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Regular season success is something that Cassidy had plenty of in his days with the Bruins posting a 245-108-46 record with him behind the bench, good for a .652 points percentage.  Vegas has been under that mark in two of the last three seasons.  However, his track record of playoff success hasn’t been as good as Boston went 36-37 in the postseason under their former bench boss which is something that teams will certainly be considering as they work through evaluating him.

Vegas is certainly one of the more appealing teams looking for a head coach.  They’re an organization that clearly has a win-now mindset and they have shown no hesitance towards spending to the Upper Limit (or higher, considering their cap management in recent years).  Both of those have to be appealing to any coaching candidate although the quick trigger on coaching changes also stands out.

Cassidy has expressed a desire to jump right back into coaching and would be a good fit in Vegas so it will be interesting to see if they can get a deal done over the next few days.  It would go a long way towards kickstarting the coaching shuffle as things have slowed to a crawl on that front with many feeling Barry Trotz’s decision on where to go next is holding things up.  If Vegas goes a different direction and opts for Cassidy, perhaps that domino falling will get things going on that front soon after.

The 57-year-old coach is still under contract with the Bruins for next season, meaning other teams would need to cover part or all of the $3MM he is owed on the final year of an extension he signed in 2019. That came just a few months after the Cassidy-led Bruins lost in the Stanley Cup Final against the St. Louis Blues, a loss he referenced today as something that still bothers him.

Interestingly enough, Cassidy wasn’t really high on most lists of coaching candidates when he first took over in Boston. When he was announced as the replacement for Claude Julien partway through the 2016-17 season, he was regarded as a good AHL coach who had failed in his previous stint behind an NHL bench. Cassidy’s first go-round as a head coach at that level was with the Washington Capitals, where he lost in the first round in year one and then was fired partway through his second season after an 8-16-1 start.

He hadn’t even had much playoff success in the minor leagues, though his AHL teams were regularly near the top of the standings in the regular season. In the NHL, he took the Bruins to at least the second round in four of his five full seasons, and reached the postseason in all six years he was behind the bench. Overall, his record improved from 47-47-9-7 with the Capitals to 245-108-46 with the Bruins, though his overall playoff winning percentage is still below .500.

Confirming today that he has talked to “a number of teams” already, it appears as though he’ll get his wish to be behind an NHL bench again next season. He was linked to the Philadelphia Flyers this morning, though, with so many openings around the league, Cassidy will likely have several interested teams.

Now, with openings all over the league, Richardson’s name has emerged again. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that the Chicago Blackhawks have asked permission to interview Richardson for their head coaching vacancy, and Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports confirms that he is a candidate. Chicago has also requested permission to interview Vancouver Canucks assistant Brad Shaw.

• The Philadelphia Flyers have not yet started their second round of interviews, according to Seravalli, but did speak with Jeff Blashill during the first round. Bruce Cassidy and David Quinn are also expected to be on their list (with Quinn also linked to the Detroit Red Wings), and John Tortorella will be a part of the second round, whenever that occurs. It’s quite a carousel this offseason with such a deep pool of qualified candidates available.
• Even if Shaw doesn’t leave the Canucks, the team is looking for another assistant coach. Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV tweets that Ulf Samuelsson could be a candidate, as he is no longer with the Florida Panthers. Samuelsson had been with Florida for two years but there could be more changes coming for the Panthers, who have yet to announce whether Jack Adams finalist Andrew Brunette will return as head coach.

Chris Kelly and Joe Sacco, however, are currently still under contract. It obviously remains to be seen whether they are kept on by whoever the Bruins hire next, but they were not relieved of their duties with Cassidy. Here are some more notes from Sweeney’s presser:

• The team is not expected to buy anyone out this offseason, despite lots of speculation about Nick Foligno after his poor debut with the club. The 34-year-old forward (35 in October), is signed for one more season at a $3.8MM cap hit and scored just two goals in 64 games this season. The Bruins already have more than $80MM committed to next season, though with the injury timelines of players like Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy, long-term injured reserve can obviously give them some flexibility to start the year.
• Of course, that also doesn’t include Patrice Bergeron, who is an unrestricted free agent this summer after winning his record-setting fifth Selke Trophy. Matt Porter of the Boston Globe relays comments from Sweeney which suggest a “directional shift” if Bergeron doesn’t return, or if the injured players struggle to get back to full strength. It seems unlikely that a full tear down is on the horizon, given the team just recently traded for and extended Hampus Lindholm, but Sweeney already seems to be preparing for the possibility of a down year in 2022-23.

Today I informed Bruce Cassidy that I was making a head coaching change. After 14 years working with Bruce, this was an extremely difficult decision. I want to thank and acknowledge Bruce for all his work and success with the Bruins organization. His head coaching record for the Bruins is impressive, and we are appreciative of Bruce both professionally and personally. After taking some time to fully digest everything, I felt that the direction of our team for both this season and beyond would benefit from a new voice. I want to wish Bruce, Julie, Shannon and Cole much success as a family and with their future opportunities.

This move is a genuinely surprising one, although there have been some hints of simmering unhappiness in the Bruins’ organization that may not have been seen by observers outside of the Boston market. The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa covered the disconnect on offensive philosophy between Cassidy and Sweeney, and further reported that the team’s management had turned up the heat on Cassidy. While at the time some may have looked at Shinzawa’s reports and seen the normal, expected reaction of a team reeling from a difficult playoff exit and not any indication of any looming changes, it’s now clear that his work was foreshadowing the major change that was just announced.

For some, there is a sense of great confusion regarding this firing, and such feelings are definitely reasonable. Cassidy’s ability as one of the league’s top coaches in not up for debate. He led a Bruins team that had stagnated near the end of former coach Claude Julien’s tenure back to the top of the NHL’s pecking order, coming within a single win of capturing the Stanley Cup in 2019. Cassidy took the reigns of a team ready to compete and navigated the challenges of managing a team with such established, veteran stars in order to deliver competitive, playoff hockey year after year.

Cassidy finishes his Bruins tenure with a 245-108 record in the regular season and a 36-37 record in the playoffs. Cassidy had one year remaining on his contract, per TSN’s Chris Johnston.

With this firing, the Bruins enter one of the most competitive coaching markets in recent memory. As part of their announcement, the Bruins stated that they would be beginning their coaching search “immediately,” and that Sweeney would be running the search process. Fellow contending teams such as the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars are among the clubs in search of a new coach, and the number of teams the Bruins will be competing with for any desired candidate is six. It’s still too early to know exactly which direction the Bruins will go with their next head coach, but seeing as the team still intends to compete next season with their core of Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, and Patrice Bergeron (should he opt to re-sign instead of retire) it’s easy to connect them with the veteran coaches already on the market such as Barry Trotz or Paul Maurice.

For Cassidy, this development is definitely an unfortunate one, of course, but also one that could represent a major opportunity. Cassidy immediately joins Trotz as one of the top names on the coaching market, and he is in a position to join another team at a time when his stock as a coach is sky-high. The 2020 Jack Adams Award winner will definitely have a multitude of suitors this offseason and could even choose to wait until the next cycle if a break is what he desires. As previously mentioned, Cassidy has a year remaining on his contract so, financially speaking, there is no rush for him to accept a new job.

There is a sentiment among some that Cassidy’s firing is proof of his role as the “fall guy” for the Bruins’ front office in the face of the team’s inability to win a second Stanley Cup since 2011. Ty Anderson of The Sports Hub detailed that line of thinking, stating that the Bruins’ problems lay more in their personnel than their coaching. With Cassidy now fired, the blame for any struggles the Bruins face from this point forward will now be more easily targeted at the team’s front office. Sweeney and the rest of the Bruins’ brass seemingly have the full faith of ownership, but with Cassidy gone the heat they face gets turned up.

With a new coach needed and their captain out of a contract, this summer could be one of major changes for the Bruins’ roster and should be one of major consequence for what remains of this era of Bruins hockey.