We’re pleased to have solidified our Coaching staff for next season with the promotion of Trent Cull and the additions of Mike Yeo and Jeremy Colliton. These individuals bring a lot of hockey experience and knowledge to the group. We would like to thank Brad Shaw for his contributions to the club and wish him the best of luck in Philadelphia.

Yeo most recently served as the interim head coach of the Flyers after taking over 22 games into this past season when he took over for Alain Vigneault.  The 48-year-old also has head coaching experience with Minnesota for parts of five seasons and also spent four years with St. Louis, three of those as head coach so he will give head coach Bruce Boudreau some experience behind the bench.  Over Yeo’s head coaching career, his teams have compiled a 263-217-62 record.

Yeo replaces Shaw in what basically amounts to a coaching trade with Shaw taking Yeo’s old spot on Philadelphia’s bench alongside their new head coach John Tortorella.  The 58-year-old has no shortage of coaching experience with 17 seasons under his belt, five of those coming with Columbus where he worked with Tortorella so it’s not surprising that Shaw has decided to work with him again.

Colliton was Chicago’s head coach for parts of four seasons but was let go early in 2021-22.  He then joined Hockey Canada for some of their international tournaments and briefly served as Canada’s head coach at the Olympics when Claude Julien was injured.  This will be the 37-year-old’s second stint running an AHL bench having been in charge of Chicago’s farm team in Rockford for parts of two seasons before getting the job with the Blackhawks.  He takes the place of Trent Cull who will get his first NHL coaching opportunity after spending 18 years between the OHL and AHL.  He had been with Vancouver’s farm team for each of the last five seasons.

8:30 am: The Philadelphia Flyers are another one of the teams in the NHL with an interim coach after they fired Alain Vigneault partway through the year. Mike Yeo, who took over, has a long history with general manager Chuck Fletcher, dating back to their days together with the Minnesota Wild. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be helping him in this case. Kevin Weekes of ESPN tweeted last night that the Flyers are expected to move on from Yeo, and Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer confirmed it this morning.

It certainly makes sense to bring in a new coaching staff, given the struggles of the Flyers this season. It’s not like things turned around after Yeo took over. In his 60 games behind the bench, the team went 17-36-7, finishing last in the Metropolitan Division and 29th in the league. They were 31st in goals for, 27th in goals against, 27th in penalty killing, and dead last on the powerplay. It was a brutal year to be a Philadelphia fan, and retaining Yeo–at least as head coach–never seemed to make much sense.

One might ask if Fletcher himself is in the crosshairs, though Flyers brass has made it clear that they will continue to back the front office executive for the time being. The general manager will meet with the media today to break down the season and discuss what changes will be made this offseason.

Yeo, meanwhile, will have to look for another job unless he is brought back as an assistant under the new head coach. Throughout his career, he has been given head coaching opportunities only to squander them with poor performances after some early success. In Minnesota, he helped the team to a 100-point season in 2014-15, and then was out partway through the next year. With the St. Louis Blues, he took the team to the second round and then somehow managed to miss the playoffs in 2018, even with a 44-32-6 record.

There is some evidence that he can be a successful head coach at the NHL level, but it obviously didn’t come in Philadelphia this season. His name will likely be included in some other coaching searches, though where he eventually ends up obviously still remains to be decided.

• It took injuries to David Pastrnak, Hampus Lindholm, Matt Grzelcyk, Brandon Carlo, and Linus Ullmark to send the Boston Bruins into their first three-game losing streak of the season, the final team in the NHL to fall in three straight this year. As the team looks to right the ship on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they’re hoping that improved health could help. Grzelcyk was back in the lineup on Thursday night and defense partner could be the next to return, reports beat writer Eric Russo. Carlo was back at practice on Friday and there is optimism that he can return tomorrow from an undisclosed injury. Ullmark, who left Thursday’s game after the first period, did not practice and could be dealing with a concussion, but for now is considered day-to-day. Pastrnak and Lindholm skated by themselves on Friday and there is still no timetable for their return. While there is something to be said for being bit by the injury bug before the postseason, especially for a Boston team that has been decimated in the playoffs in recent years, this rough patch is potentially costing the Bruins their shot at divisional playoff berth as opposed to a wild card spot.
• The Philadelphia Flyers had no update on injured defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen today, as it is looking increasingly likely that his season is over. Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays that head coach Mike Yeo does not expect Ristolainen to return “any time soon” from an upper-body injury. There was also no update on Cam York, who is out with a lower-body injury and considered day-to-day. There is slightly more optimism surrounding Cam Atkinson, who is also out with a lower-body ailment. Atkinson won’t play on Saturday at Buffalo, but could suit up on Sunday for the second game of the home-and-home with the Sabres.

Why this decision is being made now is puzzling to say the least. Admittedly, Yandle has been sick and missed practice on Thursday. However, he was back at practice on Friday – noticeably skating on the “fourth pair”. Yandle has shown all-time durability in his career; if he is healthy enough to practice, he is healthy enough to play. Yet, Yeo and the Flyers have opted to sit him anyway, and with a healthy scratch designation no less. Philadelphia is 31 points outside of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with nothing left to play for this season, but will voluntarily end Yandle’s record streak anyway.

The major problem with the Flyer’s decision is the timing. Yandle joined the team as a free agent this summer in a move that Philadelphia hoped would help them contend for a playoff spot. Instead, the season went the complete opposite direction. Yandle is not without blame; he has been objectively poor this season, as evidenced by a league-worst -39 rating and complete lack of defensive impact. Yet, at no point was Yandle benched. His ice time was cut significantly, but the Flyers stuck with the veteran and allowed him to pass Doug Jarvis for the longest ironman streak back on January 25. So if respecting Yandle’s historic streak was important enough to keep him in the lineup early in the season when the playoffs were still a possibility, why has it changed now with nothing on the line? Yeo stated that the team wants to evaluate young defensemen like Cam York and the recently signed Ronnie Attard, which is valid. Surely the likes of Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Kevin Connauton wouldn’t have minded taking a night off though, especially to help their teammate to extend a historic streak. Yandle needed just 11 more games to hit 1,000, which would stand as a legendary achievement even if it was eventually surpassed.

Meanwhile, Phil Kessel also passed Jarvis on March 25 and sits at 967 consecutive games played. With Yandle out, the all-time ironman streak is no longer a moving target. Kessel needs just 23 more games to pass Yandle, which seems like a foregone conclusion. By staying in Arizona through the trade deadline, Kessel may have missed out on a chance at a Stanley Cup run, but the respected veteran is assured of a spot in the lineup for the remaining 14 games of the regular season, barring injury. He will then hit the free agent market this summer and, with his massive cap hit behind him, will draw widespread interest and will surely be able to find a team willing to keep him in the lineup for nine more games to pass Yandle, another ten games to hit 1,000, and potentially much longer than that. It’s too bad that Yandle is losing his chance to make it a more interesting race.

More from around hockey on this Thursday night:

• Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton “didn’t get great news” during his latest doctors’ appointment, said head coach Mike Yeo today. The forward has been out with a concussion for roughly two weeks, and it’s looking increasingly likely that he won’t return this season. The team has shut him down for the time being as he focuses on his recovery. If it is the end of the year for him, he finished 2021-22 with 28 points in 54 games.
• Division I college hockey is officially coming to the St. Louis area. Lindenwood University officially unveiled its program today, after more than a year of rumors surrounding the school. In its first season, the school will be coached by former St. Louis Blue Rick Zombo.

If there wasn’t so much frustration surrounding the Flyers at the moment, Torchetti joining Yeo’s staff might bring a few laughs. After all, he was the coach who took over in Minnesota when Chuck Fletcher–then the Minnesota GM, now Philadelphia’s–fired Yeo in 2016. Torchetti has also served as an interim coach for the Florida Panthers and Los Angeles Kings, seemingly always coming in to clean up and add structure to a bad situation.

He actually had a winning record for Minnesota down the stretch and took that team to the playoffs, something that certainly doesn’t seem likely in Philadelphia this year. The team now sits dead last in the Metropolitan Division, tied with the New York Islanders despite playing eight more games. It’s been a dreadful stretch and the Flyers now own the third-worst goal differential in the entire NHL, only ahead of the Arizona Coyotes and Montreal Canadiens.

Torchetti has been a head coach in the IHL, AHL, KHL, and QMJHL as well, most recently with the Moncton Wildcats in 2019-20.

What are the Flyers thankful for?

Their new coach.

It’s hard to gauge time with all the postponements, but the Flyers have only played eight games since firing Alain Vigneault on December 6. Since then, however, the Flyers have either gotten lucky or turned a corner, going 5-2-2 under interim coach Mike Yeo so far. The two regulation losses were their first two games under Yeo, a 7-5 loss to Colorado on December 6 and a 3-0 loss to New Jersey on December 8. Since then, they’ve yet to lose in regulation and have won by multiple goals in two of their five wins.

The defensive bleeding is starting to improve, albeit slowly. Philadelphia hasn’t allowed more than three goals since that Colorado loss.

Better goaltending this season will help the Flyers in the long run, and under Yeo, it looks like the team is starting to turn a corner in front of Carter Hart and Martin Jones. If Ryan Ellis can stay healthy later in the season, he’ll be a big help as well.

Who are the Flyers thankful for?

Cam Atkinson.

Not much was made of the Atkinson-for-Jakub Voracek swap this summer. It was a trade of ageing wingers who’d underperformed in recent years, and it allowed the Flyers to gain some salary cap flexibility for future moves. That trade’s paid dividends for both teams, though, especially the Flyers. Atkinson holds the team lead with 12 goals in 31 games and has the best +/- rating on the team by far (+13).

He’s on a 32-goal pace, which would be the third-highest total of his career. COVID hit right after his career-high 41-goal campaign in 2018-19, but he’s now already hit his 12-goal mark in 2019-20 and is only three goals shy of his 2020-21 mark. The +/- mark is especially impressive for a team that’s had the defensive struggles of Philadelphia. That +13 rating is already tied for the second-best in his career. It may be a stretch to say it’s a career season for Atkinson given the 41-goal mark, but it’s certainly one of his best.

What would the Flyers be even more thankful for?

Health and more production from Sean Couturier.

Philadelphia’s defensive struggles this year were exacerbated by a somewhat unexpected lack of scoring. Couturier’s still been as trustworthy as ever defensively, but after signing an eight-year, $62MM extension this offseason, he’s got just six goals and 17 points through 29 games. It’s not awful by any stretch, but he’s been hovering around a point-per-game for the past few seasons and the dip is somewhat concerning.

It won’t be happening anytime soon, though. Couturier was injured recently and team announced he’s now out week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

What should be on the Flyers’ Holiday Wish list?

A Rasmus Ristolainen deal at the trade deadline.

Philadelphia, barring a miracle, is extremely unlikely to make the playoffs. They are tied for ninth in the conference with the Bruins, but Boston has four games in hand on them. With other teams behind Philadelphia looking to make runs as well, it doesn’t seem like they’ll be able to pull away from the pack by the trade deadline.

The Flyers paid a pretty penny to acquire Ristolainen from Buffalo this offseason, but it just hasn’t worked out. He’s still struggled mightily in his own end, and he has just eight points in 29 games this year. The team needs cap space and assets, and shipping out Ristolainen in the last year of his deal would allow them to at least recoup some assets for the ill-advised acquisition.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, Nasreddine is at least still in the mix for the position. Although New Jersey is facing down a very long off-season as one of the seven teams not to qualify for the expanded postseason (ironically Hynes’ Nashville Predators qualified), they are moving quickly in their coaching search. LeBrun reports that the Devils have spoken with eight to ten candidates for the position, but have whittled it down to just four finalists, one of which is Nasreddine. Who the remaining three names might be is unknown, but Gerard Gallant was one of the first to interview and has to be considered a front-runner given his recent success with the Vegas Golden Knights. Other big names available on the coaching market include Peter Laviolette, Mike Babcock, Bruce Boudreau, John Stevens, and Mike Yeo.

Potentially complicating the hiring process could be the status of the GM position. Tom Fitzgerald, like Nasreddine, is another assistant who was promoted but handed an interim tag this season. He has done an admirable job thus far, but his status remains in limbo. The team has reported talked to some outside candidates, including former Canucks GM Mike Gillis, and may be waiting to make a call on head coach until they know who is leading the organization as GM. However, they have plenty of time ahead of them to make these decisions, even though they appear to be making progress on their hunt for a head coach.

That leaves Ian Laperriere, who was retained from the previous staff, as the “eye-in-the-sky.” Laperriere will no longer coach the Flyers’ penalty killing unit, which has not performed very well under him in the past. The last three seasons the Flyers have ranked 22nd, 29th and 26th in the league a man down, never cracking the 80% mark.

• Markus Nutivaara is dealing with a torn left oblique, suffered when Nikita Kucherov hit him in the first round. Kucherov received a one-game suspension for hitting Nutivaara from behind into the boards while he was already down, but the defenseman would not return to playoff action. Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch reports that it is normally a four to six week recovery time for this type of injury, which would obviously allow Nutivaara to be ready for training camp later in the summer.
• Sticking with the Blue Jackets, Matt Duchene was once again asked about his pending free agency today and explained to team reporter Jeff Svoboda that he will explore his options but keep Columbus involved. Duchene experienced more playoff action this season than his entire combined career previously, but it still wasn’t enough to get a real sniff of the Stanley Cup. With 727 regular season games now under his belt, the 28-year old has suited up just 18 times in the playoffs.

Vigneault had this to say about his new coaching staff:

I am excited to add Michel and Mike on our coaching staff to work alongside Ian Laperriere, Kim Dillabaugh and Adam Patterson. Both men have enjoyed success at all levels throughout their coaching careers, including working together at the NHL level. Each brings a considerable amount of experience and knowledge to our group, which I have no doubt will help lead our team to immediate success.

The head coach is referring to Therrien and Yeo’s time together with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, when the latter served as an assistant on the former’s bench at both the AHL and NHL levels. That familiarity will hopefully help them as they transition to the Flyers, and lead to a playoff berth as soon as possible. Philadelphia is loaded with young players and prospects, but hasn’t been able to put it all together and contend in recent years.

It is important to note Knoblauch here, as the 40-year old was a highly touted coaching prospect before he joined the Flyers two years ago. He had coached both the Kootenay Ice and Erie Otters to league championships, taking both teams to the Memorial Cup. His overall record as a head coach in the CHL was 298-130-29 and several teams had considered him for their own coaching vacancies in the past.

• Another interim head coach, Scott Gordon of the Philadelphia Flyers, left an opening at the AHL level, where he had been the head coach of team’s minor league affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. When Gordon was promoted earlier this month, assistant Kerry Huffman took over temporarily while the organization decided on its next steps. Today, the Phantoms announced that the decision has been made to keep Huffman as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Huffman has been an assistant for the Lehigh Valley for three years after making a big jump from the junior level as the head coach of the NAHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights. He also skated in more than 400 NHL games with the Flyers, Quebec Nordiques, and Ottawa Senators, bringing ample experience as a pro player. The Flyers have brought in some outside help for Huffman though, adding that Terry Murray has returned to the organization as an assistant for the Phantoms for the rest of the year. Murray, a long-time NHL and AHL coach, has previous stints as the head coach of the Flyers as well as the Phantoms, not to mention time as the bench boss for the Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers, and Los Angeles Kings. Murray brings an incredible amount of experience and intelligence to Lehigh Valley which should help the team and its young players through this transition.
• One of the more recognizable names at the ongoing World Junior Championships is not on the ice, but behind the bench. Team Finland counts recent NHLer Tuomo Ruutu as one of their assistants at the tournament, which by all accounts is Ruutu’s first official coaching experience. Ruutu, 35, last played in the NHL in 2015-16 and retired from playing after a year abroad in the NLA in 2016-17. A veteran of 735 NHL games, Ruutu was a hard-working, intelligent two-way player over many seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes, and New Jersey Devils. Ruutu has all the makings of a good coach and it will be interesting to see where the next stage of his hockey career goes after this World Juniors experience.

Friedman says that his source said he was thrilled that Sestito was getting one last shot to work his way back and referred to him as a great teammate. Sestito’s best season came in the 2013-14 season with the Vancouver Canucks when he played 77 games and scored five goals and nine points and accumulated 213 penalty minutes. He was probably best known for hits that netted him a pair of four-game suspensions, including one against New York Rangers’ Andre Deveaux from behind in 2011 and another one in 2017 when he boarded Winnipeg’s Toby Enstrom. His last NHL team was the Pittsburgh Penguins where he played 17 games in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons combined.

• St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said that forward Robert Thomas will not be loaned to Team Canada for the World Junior Championships, according to Fox Sports’ Andy Strickland. The 19-year-old has just two goals and seven points so far in his rookie campaign in St. Louis while averaging just over 12 minutes of ice time per game, so many have speculated the Blues could loan him out temporarily to get him extra playing time at the World Juniors. However, Thomas has seen a small spike in his playing time since head coach Mike Yeo was fired and replaced by Craig Berube as the team hopes that the 2017 first-rounder continues his development while learning on the bottom lines.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins got some good news on the injury that defenseman Kris Letang suffered Friday in the third period against the Boston Bruins when the blueliner collided with Boston’s Joakim Nordstrom and had his knee buckle. Fans began to get concerned when he wasn’t able to stand on his own. However, while he did miss tonight’s game, the Penguins announced that he’s day-to-day, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It could’ve been a lot worse,” coach Mike Sullivan said. The 31-year-old has been having a solid season this year with seven goals and 25 points in 30 games this season.
• NHL.com’s Kevin Falness reports that Minnesota Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau said that he expects center Mikko Koivu to return to the Wild’s lineup on Tuesday when they face San Jose. The 35-year-old has missed four games with a left leg injury, but a return could be a big addition as Koivu has put up solid numbers this year as he has four goals and 21 points in 27 games.

Larry Robinson will be joining Berube’s staff for the immediate future, coming down from his role as a senior consultant to help behind the bench. The team also did not rule out an in-season hiring of their next head coach, a role that Berube will be in the running for but is not guaranteed. Quenneville’s existence on the open market certainly will be taken into account, though it is not clear if the former Chicago Blackhawks head coach wants to get back into the league this season.

For the Blues, this was an inevitable move after their early season struggles. The team went all-in during the offseason by trading for Ryan O’Reilly and signing players like David Perron and Tyler Bozak, but were unable to put it all together. At 7-9-3 the team sits last in the Central Division and just two points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings for last place in the entire NHL. Those Kings just happened to defeat the Blues 2-0 last night, in a game which saw rookie netminder Cal Petersen stop all 29 shots that St. Louis directed towards the net.

Yeo had been groomed as the head coach of the Blues since being hired while Ken Hitchcock was still behind the bench, but never did work out for the team. After being unable to find much success in the playoffs with the Minnesota Wild, he joined the Blues in 2016 and was taking over for Hitchcock less than a year later. That playoff failure repeated in the 2017 playoffs, and Yeo was unable to get the Blues back to the postseason at all last year.

Berube has an extremely difficult task ahead of him, though he certainly is qualified. The former winger played more than 1,000 games in the NHL during a long playing career, and has held various coaching roles since his retirement in 2004. He took over as head coach of the Phildelphia Flyers when Peter Laviolette was abruptly removed just a few games into the 2013-14 season, and guided that team to the playoffs. He’ll now try to do the same for a struggling St. Louis club a few years later.

In a mailbag series, The Athletic’s Adam Vingan (subscription required) writes that with the expansion rules expected to be the same as Vegas, the Predators will likely be expected to protect all four of their top defensemen (assuming Roman Josi agrees to an extension), which might limit the amount of forwards they can protect down the road, suggesting that Seattle will either get a top-rated goaltender (in Saros or a willing Rinne) or receive a top-end forward to jumpstart their new franchise.

• Chicago Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad has had a rough go of it this week in practice. He took a puck to the face in practice Wednesday that required a lengthy trip to the dentist, according to Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required). Now, Chicago Sun-Times’ Mark Lazerus reports that Saad then injured his arm in practice Friday, forcing him to miss today’s game and he is considered day-to-day for Monday’s game at Carolina.
• Sticking with the Blackhawks, Lazerus also points out that new head coach Jeremy Colliton has already pressed Patrick Kane into a big role. Already the biggest leader in minutes on the forward line, Kane played the most he’s ever played in a regular-season game, a record 27:43 Thursday against Carolina. He followed that up with 24:33 against Philadelphia Saturday. “It’s fun,” Kane said. “It’s always fun coming back to the bench after a shift and hearing your name called up for the next shift to go out. It’s exciting. I like it, it gets me into the game, too. I’ve actually been trying to figure out how to get that excitement and energy into my game in the first and second period, because there’s some crazy stats where I’ve got way more goals this year in the third period than any other period.”
• It looks like St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn will miss his third-straight game Sunday with what is believed to be a strained oblique muscle, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He did practice Saturday, suggesting he’s getting closer to a return. “I would say that he’s doubtful for tomorrow, but encouraging that he’s getting closer,” coach Mike Yeo said. “He looked good in practice today. I talked to him afterward. We just have to make sure we’re smart.”
• The Minnesota Wild’s Nino Niederreiter finally broke a 27-goal scoring streak Thursday when he scored his first goal of the season and was quick to point out that staying positive was the most challenging thing for him while waiting out that streak. He said the mental challenges were taxing on him and his play, according to the StarTribune’s Sarah McLellan. “That’s the toughest thing, staying positive in those moments,” Niederreiter said. “But it makes it a lot easier that we’ve been doing well, and as long as the team is winning, it makes it a lot easier. But it was definitely frustrating at some points.”

Good man. I imagine those slopes in Denver are going to get worn out. Good friend, good coach, three Cups. He’s going to go in the Hockey Hall of Fame. I don’t know what else you say about him. If he wants to work, he’ll work.

If he wants to work, he’ll work. That was obvious given Quenneville’s record, but it wasn’t clear if he did in fact want to get back into the game right away. Yesterday, Scott Powers of The Athletic released an all-encompassing notebook (subscription required) on the Blackhawks situation and included a note from a source that indicated Quenneville “definitely plans to coach again” but isn’t rushing into anything. Interestingly, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic made an offhand mention of the upcoming Seattle job on the latest edition of Insider Trading, after reporting that Dave Tippett will be taking an executive position with the potential expansion club, not a coaching one.

That Seattle job would certainly be appealing to a coach like Quenneville, but it would mean he has to wait on the sidelines for at least a few seasons at watch as the team is built. It would also likely mean turning down countless opportunities in the NHL, especially as teams start to move on from those coaches on the hot seat.

Much of the speculation regarding those feeling the heat has centered on Mike Yeo of the St. Louis Blues since he admitted that his “job should be in question” recently. The Blues have struggled to find much success this season and obviously have ties to Quenneville given his eight years behind the bench in St. Louis. The Blues reached the playoffs in every season Quenneville coached them, but never could get to the Stanley Cup Finals.

At this point, St. Louis, Seattle and any other team out there in connection with Quenneville are just possibilities, as the coach has been extremely quiet since the firing except to offer his thanks to the organization and players for many years of success. For now, we’ll have to just wait and see where his next landing spot is, and coaches all around the league will have to look over their shoulder now and again.