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Seattle Kraken Hire Paul McFarland

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Not only have the Seattle Kraken hired Jay Leach as reported yesterday, but Paul McFarland will also be joining Dave Hakstol’s bench as an assistant coach for the expansion team. Both men were officially introduced today, and Hakstol released a short statement:

We’re very excited to add two talented hockey minds in Paul and Jay to our inaugural staff. 

Paul’s work ethic and ability to communicate with players to give them the tools to be at their best, along with Jay’s leadership and ability to coach and develop NHL talent, will be great additions to our team.

Leach will be responsible for the team’s defense corps, while McFarland will focus on the forwards and powerplay. McFarland specifically has recent experience working alongside Hakstol, as both were assistants with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He also has a history with the Florida Panthers and most recently served as the GM and head coach of the Kingston Frontenacs.

The staff that Seattle has built has some experience but is also filled with up-and-coming coaching prospects. McFarland is only 35, and has just three seasons at the NHL level, while Leach is 41 and will be entering his first opportunity in the NHL. The latter of course has some playing experience, having suited up for 70 NHL games, but they are joining a head coach in Hakstol that is also relatively new to professional ranks.

Because the OHL didn’t play last season, McFarland’s latest stint with the Frontenacs actually didn’t include coaching a single game. In the Kingston front office, he will be replaced as GM by Kory Cooper, who had served as assistant GM since September 2020.

Expansion Primer: Dallas Stars

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Over the next few weeks, we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.

Presumably by design, the Dallas Stars were able to protect all of their core players in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft and have done so again this year. Last time, Vegas selected capable center Cody Eakin, but it was a relatively painless loss for the team. Ironically, it could a very similar result this time around as Seattle takes their pick. The Kraken do have a couple other intriguing options, but the Stars should again escape somewhat unscathed.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards:
Jamie Benn (NMC), Alexander Radulov (NMC), Tyler Seguin (NMC), Nicholas Caamano, Blake Comeau, Jason Dickinson, Radek Faksa, Denis Gurianov, Roope Hintz, Tanner Kero, Joel L’Esperance, Adam Mascherin, Joe Pavelski

Defense:
Ben Gleason, Joel Hanley, Miro Heiskanen, Julius Honka, John Klingberg, Esa Lindell, Andrej Sekera

Goalies:
Ben Bishop (NMC), Anton Khudobin, Colton Point

Notable Unrestricted Free Agents

F Andrew Cogliano, D Jamie Oleksiak, D Sami Vatanen

Notable Exemptions

F Mavrik Bourque, F Ty Dellandrea, D Thomas Harley, F Joel Kiviranta, G Jake Oettinger, F Jason Robertson, F Riley Tufte

Key Decisions

The Stars really have not left much up to the imagination when it comes to the Expansion Draft. In 2017, they protected Benn, Faksa, Seguin, Klingberg, Lindell, and Bishop and there is no reason to believe that all of those core players won’t be protected again. In fact, No-Movement Clauses ensure that Benn, Seguin, and Bishop, as well as Radulov, must be protected. Klingberg and Lindell remain reliable top-four defensemen and Faksa is a strong defensive center who just signed a long-term extension last off-season.

There also isn’t much competition for spots to force any of these players out of the protection slots they owned four years ago. With three forwards and a defensemen still able to be protected, there is plenty of flexibility. On the back end, elite young Heiskanen is the obvious choice to join Klingberg and Lindell, which only leaves free agent Oleksiak and 34-year-old veteran Sekera as exposed players with any reasonable value. Up front, top scorer Pavelski and young top-six forwards Hintz and Gurianov, who signed new deals alongside Faksa last summer, seem almost certain to be protected to complete the protection group.

Could there be a surprise selection? Unlikely, but if so it will come at forward. Dallas may be thinking that Pavelski’s age and contract could make him expendable in favor of a longer-term investment. The 36-year-old was phenomenal in 2020-21, but entering the final year of his contract and at a price tag of $7MM, Pavelski is an expiring asset in more way than one and if selected by Seattle his cap space could come in handy this off-season. With that said, the Stars will have a hard time replacing Pavelski’s production for next season with any potential off-season addition. As they look to get back to the postseason, Pavelski would absolutely come in handy. Maybe they are instead wary of Faksa’s declining offense, especially on a long-term deal. If they feel that there is another young forward on the roster who could be a better future piece, they may not mind getting out from underneath his remaining four years. However, Faksa’s real value comes in his physicality, face-off ability, and other two-way strengths. The $3.25MM AAV on his contract is not a major issues given his continued assistance in those areas.

As improbable as it may be that Pavelski or Faksa are not protected, the next question would be who might take their place. Seemingly the only candidate would be 25-year-old forward Dickinson, a versatile player whose role with the Stars has been ever-increasing over the past five years. However, Dickinson is not an irreplaceable asset, especially compared to Pavelski or Faksa. Dickinson himself helped to replace a similar player in Eakin, who Dallas allowed to be selected in the last round of expansion. History could repeat itself this year. Yet, Dickinson is also a restricted free agent, meaning the Kraken would have to value him enough to make him one of their maximum ten non-termed players selected in the Expansion Draft.

Projected Protection List

F Jamie Benn (NMC)
F Radek Faksa
F Denis Gurianov
F Roope Hintz
F Joe Pavelski
F Alexander Radulov (NMC)
F Tyler Seguin (NMC)

D Miro Heiskanen
D John Klingberg
D Esa Lindell

G Ben Bishop (NMC)

Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist

When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined.  Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined.  In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.

Forwards (2): Blake Comeau, Tanner Kero
Defensemen (2): Joel Hanley, Andrej Sekera

GM Jim Nill has telegraphed his expansion moves going all the way back to October. In less than a week’s time early that month, the Stars extended aging veterans Sekera and Khudobin knowing full well that they would meet Expansion Draft exposure requirements at positions where, at the time, they didn’t have any other options. Nill did not plan ahead the same way at forward and at the end of this regular season the team did not have any players to meet the exposure quota. However, he took care of that quickly by re-signing two impending unrestricted free agents over the past two months in Kero and Comeau, both of whom just needed a new deal to meet the requirements for exposure, but neither of whom were key players this season and signed affordable extensions.

Khudobin’s extension may have had additional ulterior motives. Whereas Comeau, Kero, and Sekera are not exactly attractive options for the Seattle Kraken, Khudobin is. An experienced netminder who has been one of the best backups in the NHL for much of his career and was Dallas’ starter this season in place of the injured Bishop, Khudobin would be a nice pickup for Seattle as either a member of their inaugural roster or as a valuable trade chip. Yet, Dallas has Bishop returning to health and top prospect Oettinger ready to share the net. The Kraken selecting Khudobin would arguably be doing the Stars a favor.

While Khudobin has long been the expected target of Seattle, the aforementioned Dickinson could be a candidate for selection. Young players Caamano, Mascherin, or Gleason could be other outside-the-box options. The Kraken may also be interested in striking a deal with UFA Oleksiak, who many expect to re-sign with Dallas, but otherwise would be one of the better defensemen on the open market this off-season. Oleksiak – assuming the Stars have a handshake extension in place – would be the biggest potential loss for the team, but they know the risks of leaving him unsigned. No Seattle pick should come as surprise or sting too much for Dallas, which is exactly how Nill planned it.

Expansion Primer: Detroit Red Wings

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Over the next few weeks, we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.

The last time we gathered here to determine the Detroit Red Wings’ expansion draft considerations, the team was in a steep downward decline. Yet they still ended up losing a bit of a diamond in the rough, as the Vegas Golden Knights selected forward Tomas Nosek. Nosek’s been a contributor in a bottom-six role every season in Vegas’ history, robbing Detroit of some quality depth. Now, with Detroit having hit the rock-bottom of their rebuild, their expansion situation looks fairly clear-cut this time around. With a lot of young talent exempt (and no Jimmy Howard/Petr Mrazek goalie controversy), the Red Wings and general manager Steve Yzerman are in a good position coming into 2021’s Seattle expansion draft.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards:
Riley Barber, Tyler Bertuzzi, Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri, Dylan Larkin, Frans Nielsen, Richard Panik, Vladislav Namestnikov, Michael Rasmussen, Givani Smith, Evgeny Svechnikov, Hayden Verbeek, Jakub Vrana

Defense:
Dennis Cholowski, Danny DeKeyser, Christian Djoos, Filip Hronek, Gustav Lindstrom, Troy Stecher

Goalies:
Kaden Fulcher, Thomas Greiss

Notable Unrestricted Free Agents

F Valtteri Filppula, F Sam Gagner, F Luke Glendening, F Darren Helm, F Bobby Ryan, D Alex Biega, D Marc Staal, G Jonathan Bernier

Notable Exemptions

F Joseph Veleno, F Filip Zadina, D Jared McIsaac, D Moritz Seider, G Filip Larsson

Key Decisions

The key decisions start with Detroit’s young forward group. They’ll undoubtedly be going with the seven forwards/three defensemen protection scheme. Four of those forward spots are relatively clear-cut, with Larkin, Bertuzzi, Fabbri, and recent acquisition Vrana being protection locks. That leaves three spots remaining, but with a mix of four veterans and young forwards competing for them.

The veteran of those candidates is Namestnikov. Signed to a two-year, $4MM deal prior to 2020-21 to provide some veteran presence during their rebuild, Namestnikov had his worst offensive season to date with just 17 points in 53 games. His defensive metrics were mediocre, which is on-brand for the versatile Russian forward. Detroit was Namestnikov’s fourth team since the beginning of 2019-20, and if left unprotected, Seattle could be his fifth.

However, there’s a trio of three younger forwards who could also vie for those spots. Erne, Rasmussen, and Svechnikov all looked good with the Wings this season. It was an especially important season for Svechnikov, who’s struggled with frequent injuries. He rebounded this year for eight points in 21 games while posting incredibly impressive possession metrics. Erne had a nice rebound season after a ghastly 2019-20 performance, scoring 11 goals and 20 points in 45 games. While his 15.5% shooting rate doesn’t scream sustainability, the 26-year-old showed nice flashes this season. There’s also Rasmussen, who’s still a developing project despite already playing in over 100 NHL contests. Drafted ninth overall in 2017, Rasmussen’s now totalled 30 points in 102 NHL games, including 12 points in 40 games last season. He’s consistently posted decent possession results, suggesting that the goal-scoring touch he had in juniors could be coming.

Detroit faces a similar quandary on defense with three names fighting for two spots. Hronek’s protection is a foregone conclusion, but Stecher, Cholowski, and Lindstrom are names that could fall into those last two spots.

Stecher sits as effectively a more impressive Namestnikov. Joining Detroit as a free agent prior to this season, Stecher settled nicely into a top-four role, posting admirable defensive metrics considering the hacked-together situation that was Detroit’s defense. However, like Namestnikov, he’s under contract for just one more season and there’s no guarantee that he stays. There’s also a pair of younger defenders in Cholowski and Lindstrom. Cholowski was a first-round pick in 2016 and showed great potential in his 2018-19 rookie season, but has stagnated at all levels since then. Detroit is willing to play the wait-and-see game with the young defender, who may see a full-time role again next year after just 16 games played in 2020-21. Lindstrom’s a year younger and doesn’t have as much upside, but he’s cobbled together four assists in 29 NHL games and could have third-pairing potential.

Projected Protection List

F Tyler Bertuzzi
F Adam Erne
F Robby Fabbri
F Dylan Larkin
F Michael Rasmussen
F Evgeny Svechnikov
F Jakub Vrana

D Dennis Cholowski
D Filip Hronek
D Troy Stecher

G Thomas Greiss

Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist

When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined.  Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined.  In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.

Forwards (3): Vladislav Namestnikov, Frans Nielsen, Richard Panik
Defensemen (1): Danny DeKeyser

There are very few pickings here that the Kraken would be interested in, and Detroit is likely to emerge from the expansion draft unscathed. While Detroit will have some depth forwards exposed, Seattle can likely find cheaper and better options elsewhere. Seattle could end up taking an AHL skater with limited upside like Lindstrom or Smith, or take a pending UFA like Glendening if they really don’t like any of their options.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Predators Hoping To Make An Expansion Trade With Seattle

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After a lot of side deals that were made with Vegas didn’t exactly work out for the other team, some have wondered if there will be less of those this time around.  Some general managers have suggested their intentions is just to lose who they lose and be done but that isn’t the case for Nashville.  In an appearance on ESPN 102.5 The Game (audio link) following the Viktor Arvidsson trade on Thursday, GM David Poile indicated his preference would be to get a side deal in place:

Ideally, if we could strike a deal to determine a certain player who we would lose, I’d like to do that.

They effectively had an opportunity to make an arrangement with the Kraken with Arvidsson who Poile acknowledged would have been left unprotected and selected by Seattle had it not been for the trade with Los Angeles.  In the end, his preference was to get some assets in return for the veteran and they did just that by picking up second and third-round draft picks.

Nashville is in a situation where they will almost certainly want to protect four defensemen, limiting them to just being able to protect four forwards.  With that in mind, they’re likely to leave high-priced veterans in Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen.  Making a move to clear one of those contracts off the books would certainly help free up some extra flexibility but with both signed long-term at $8MM apiece, a trade like that isn’t the most realistic.

Arvidsson’s departure now allows them to protect someone like Calle Jarnkrok which would then push Nick Cousins and Rocco Grimaldi to the forefront of likely exposed forwards with veterans Matt Benning and Mark Borowiecki the notable blueliners that would be available.  On the surface, a side deal doesn’t appear to be needed as none of those are core players but evidently, Poile would like to have some more certainty surrounding who he’s going to lose.  With the expansion draft being less than three weeks away, time is quickly ticking for him to make a deal to get that certainty in place.

Los Angeles Kings Acquire Viktor Arvidsson

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The NHL trade market has been slow to this point, with many teams wary of making big moves that could upset their plans ahead of the Expansion Draft later this month.  However, a move was made today as Nashville announced that they have dealt scoring winger Viktor Arvidsson to Los Angeles. The Predators will receive L.A.’s 2021 second-round pick, No. 40 overall, and a 2022 third-round pick. Though the deal may lack excitement with none of the Kings’ high profile prospects going the other way, it is a solid return for Nashville, who need to restock their system. According to The Athletic’s draft pick value chart, the Kings’ second-rounder this year plus a presumptive top-half third-rounder next year is equivalent to a late first-round pick.

Arvidsson, 28, has cracked 30 goals and 60 points twice in his six-year NHL career, showing dangerous scoring ability. Even as his numbers have tailed off the past two seasons, he has maintained a half-point per-game scoring mark in all five of his full NHL seasons. It is also worth noting that his 6.6% shooting percentage this season was an extreme deviation from his career average. Positive regression likely means that more goals are on the way. Arvidsson is more than just his scoring totals, too. The undersized, but hard-working wing plays big minutes, contributes to both the power play and penalty kill, and is an excellent possession player.

[Related: Expansion Primers – Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators]

With all that said, Nashville was not wrong to be shopping Arvidsson. At times this past season, he seemed too passive and uninvolved. While he has still put up solid top-six numbers, the Predators have been relying on him as a top-line scorer and he has fallen short. It seems that both sides will benefit from this change of scenery. Nashville will certainly benefit from the expansion flexibility, cap space, and draft pick capital as they look to get back into Stanley Cup contender status after some up-and-down years.

As for the Kings, this is exactly what GM Rob Blake and company have promised their veteran core. The team plans to add established talent this year to help take their young team to the next level and to give their long-time centerpieces another chance to win. In a new place with and with a fresh group of teammates, Arvidsson could easily return to elite production. They had draft picks they could afford to move, the Expansion Draft slot to spare, and a desire to win and now they have a capable veteran in the fold as they look to get back into playoff contention.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report that the Kings were acquiring Arvidsson.

League Notes: Realignment, Canceled Events, ESPN

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Though the NHL approved the plan all the way back in December 2018, not long after accepting Seattle’s expansion bid, it has been a long time since realignment plans have been reiterated. In fact, since the last update on the league’s post-expansion structure, there was a complete overhaul of the league’s conferences and divisions for the 2020-21 season. However, everything will return to normal next year with the unchanged Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions making up the Eastern Conference and finally an equal 16 teams in the Western Conference with the Central and Pacific Divisions. Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed today that the plan remains for the only team to move to be the Arizona Coyotes. Although Phoenix is more closely located to four Pacific cities than any Central cities, it is also closer to those Central cities than any other Pacific city, including newcomer Seattle. The Coyotes may be the odd man out, but a change of scenery can’t hurt for a team that has struggled to make the playoffs out of the Pacific for the better part of a decade.

  • When the NHL announced a number of events for the 2021-22 season earlier today, there were a couple of curious absences. The league revealed a Stadium Series game in Nashville and that All-Star Weekend will belong to Vegas, thereby skipping over the hosts for those canceled 2020-21 events. The Carolina Hurricanes were set to host an outdoor game this year, but now have no such event planned. However, Bettman did specifically mention that Raleigh will get it’s Stadium Series (or perhaps Winter Classic) game in the near future. There is not as much clarity for the Florida Panthers. The 2021 All-Star Game was supposed to take place in Sunrise, but now it will be on the other side of the country and there has been no explanation by the league as to why nor as to future plans for the Panthers to host. George Richards of Florida Hockey Now surmises that the potential for the All-Star Game to lead into the Olympic break, if the NHL attends, made a move west, where flights to China would be far shorter than from Florida, a sensible move. However, he also notes that Florida team president Matt Caldwell was certain the All-Star game would belong to the Panthers, so there is some confusion. In all likelihood, Florida will play host to the All-Star game in the near future, just as Carolina will host an outdoor game, but until there is an official announcement that is only speculation.
  • Another surprise reveal this evening is that NBC’s contract with the NHL will officially come to an end following the Stanley Cup Final. The network was expected to host the NHL Entry Draft, if not also the NHL Expansion Draft, later this month. However, ESPN has now been announced as the host of both. TSN’s Bob McKenzie, an NBC contributor, notes that this has less to do with the new television rights agreement and more to do with unfortunate timing. McKenzie believes that NBC informed the NHL well before the new TV deal that they would be unable to host the Entry Draft due to conflicts with the Summer Olympics. As a result, ESPN will begin its NHL coverage with two major events in the span of just three days – the Expansion Draft on Wednesday, July 21 and the first round of the Entry Draft on Friday, July 23. Although, McKenzie believes they will use the Sportsnet feed for the latter, if not both. With Mark Messier and most recently Chris Chelios joining ESPN, the network will have more than enough talent to start producing their own material sooner rather than later.

Offseason Checklist: Pittsburgh Penguins

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The offseason has arrived for all but a few teams.  It’s now time to examine what those clubs need to accomplish over the coming months.  It’s going to be a busy summer. What is on deck for the Pittsburgh Penguins?

The Pittsburgh Penguins finished first in what was arguably the best division in the NHL this season. The East boasted the likes of the Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, and even the New York Rangers, the best team not to make the playoffs. Yet, Pittsburgh finished with 77 points for the fifth-best record in the league despite stiff competition. It seemed like Sidney Crosby and company were primed for another deep playoff run this season. Instead, it all came crashing down quickly in a first-round loss to the Islanders in which Pittsburgh could not counter New York’s smothering approach. The Penguins’ weaknesses were exposed in the postseason and must be addressed in the offseason, but the team currently lacks the flexibility to do much of anything.

Shed Salary

The Penguins cannot start adding until they do some subtracting. Pittsburgh is currently pegged to have just $3.2MM in salary cap space heading into the off-season, a projection that includes just 19 contracts. Forget improving the roster, Pittsburgh needs to create cap space just to preserve their current roster, as key restricted free agents Teddy Blueger and Zach Aston-Reese require new contract and the team will likely try to re-sign impending UFA defenseman Cody Ceci as well. Those three alone will cost well more than $3.2MM.

The Penguins could actually receive some help from the Expansion Draft – if they are lucky. Pittsburgh is likely to expose both forward Jason Zucker and defenseman Marcus Pettersson in expansion; the pair are talented players, but underperformed in 2020-21, especially relative to their substantial contracts. Either player would be a loss for the team, but the added cap space would more than make up for the departure.

If the Seattle Kraken instead grab Aston-Reese, Blueger, or Jeff Carter, the Penguins will be in trouble. Even if the pick is Zucker or Pettersson, new GM Ron Hextall will still likely work the phones in an effort to move some salary. Again, Zucker and Pettersson are both good players and the Penguins will not just give them away, but they could be had for a bargain price this summer as Pittsburgh is desperate to shed salary.

Add a Goaltender

What will the Penguins do if they can open up cap space? Hextall, a former goalie himself, has already hinted that adding a veteran netminder is a priority for Pittsburgh this offseason. It is difficult to look at the team’s postseason collapse and not attribute much of the blame to starter Tristan Jarry. The young keeper followed up a stellar 2019-20 season with a decent regular season this year, but he struggled greatly in the postseason and kept the Penguins out of several games. Backup Casey DeSmith actually outplayed Jarry this season, albeit in lesser games, but he himself is also streaky. More importantly, DeSmith is injury-prone and is not a reliable understudy to Jarry. The Penguins need a reliable veteran presence to push their young starter.

Of course, the popular prediction is going to be old friend Marc-Andre Fleury. The Vegas Golden Knights are also looking to shed salary and who better than Fleury, coming off an incredible season, to return to Pittsburgh to stabilize the net before he rides off into the sunset, retiring as Penguin. It all sounds great, but Pittsburgh taking on Fleury’s $7MM salary is an impossibility and Vegas retaining considerable salary, if any, is unlikely. A return for Fleury is probably not going to happen, but the shared history means it can’t be ruled out compeltely.

More reasonable targets include free agents  Frederik Andersen, Jonathan Bernier, James Reimer, Antti Raanta, Jaroslav Halak or Devan Dubnyk. Even a young UFA like Linus Ullmark or Chris Driedger could see Pittsburgh as a good opportunity to win a starting role and prove they can be a top option. If the Penguins are lucky, the market may actually drive down the salary requirements if there are a number of goalies interested in a great situation to win games and have an open competition in net. While free agency seems like the more viable route, trade options will be numerous and the Expansion Draft could shake up the market. Anton Khudobin stands out as an ideal trade candidate.

Improve the Bottom Six

Another area where Hextall and company have been open about their desire to improve is in their forward corps. The Penguins have no problem scoring, but their two-way play up front was a major concern this season. For Pittsburgh to take a step forward and return to postseason success, they must become harder to play against. That starts with getting better defensive play and physical engagement from their forwards. Hextall has harped on the Penguins needing to be more physical and has talked about adding size and grit this off-season, but it’s more than that. Pittsburgh was poor on the penalty kill this season, did not block shorts (particularly at forward) and their issues at the face-off dot continued through the regular season and into the playoffs. In nearly all facets of defensive play, the Penguins must improve.

With that said, retaining the likes of Blueger and Aston-Reese through expansion, getting a full season of Carter, and getting a healthy season from Brandon Tanev is already a great start to improved bottom-six play. The roster does not need a complete overhaul to improve team defense. That doesn’t mean that they can’t add another impact player though. Mark Jankowski, Evan Rodrigues, and Colton Sceviour were not the answer this season and all three are on their way out of town. The Penguins need to use what little cap space they may have left after re-signing their key free agents and adding a goalie to add another veteran difference-maker to round out the bottom-six.

Decide the Future of Malkin and Letang

What is to become of the Penguins’ long-time core? Crosby is still as good as ever and still signed for several years, but Malkin and Letang are entering the final years of their current contracts. Malkin is coming off a down year by his standards and will spend all summer rehabbing from an injury. Letang continues to show signs of slow but steady decline and is not playing up to his $7.25MM price tag. Yet, both players are still major contributors to the team and franchise icons. The new administration has vowed to stick with them, but for how long? Do they enter the season on expiring contracts and deal with the repercussions? Do they sign them to extensions this summer despite the concerns? Do they trade one? Both? There are major questions that need answering about the veteran stars. The front office does not want to hurt themselves in the short-term by moving on too soon from either one, but they also don’t want to hamstring themselves long-term by throwing out new contracts that aren’t necessarily warranted. It’s a difficult decision and one that will weigh on the team this summer.

 

 

Snapshots: Coyotes’ Coach Search, Nylander, Ak Bars

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With head coaches flying off the market and one of the top available names being the guy they just let go, the Arizona Coyotes’ hunt for a head coach is in an interesting spot. From the get-go, the word was that the ’Yotes and GM Bill Armstrong could be looking for a fresh voice, perhaps even a first-time NHL coach, so they may be unfazed by the recent run on big names. Yet, insider Craig Morgan reports that one of their top candidates is in fact a seasoned veteran. Morgan writes that Dallas Stars assistant Todd Nelson is scheduled to have his third interview for the vacancy, by all accounts the most of any candidate. Nelson has been in the NHL (or AHL) since 2006, including a brief stint as the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers. He has found great success in the minors, winning two Calder Cups, and never really got a fair shake as the bench boss in Edmonton, so in a way he would be somewhat of a first-time NHL head coach. He has picked up experience in Dallas over the past three years under Jim Montgomery and Rick Bowness and could be ready for another shot at the top job.

Morgan considers Nelson’s greatest competition to be Andre Tourigny, the head coach of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s and most recently an assistant for Canada’s gold medal World Championship entry. Tourigny briefly coached in the NHL as an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators over three years, but has mostly coached at the major junior level and has been the bench boss of Canada’s World Junior team the past two years. Tourigny has found immense success working with young players; he has been named OHL Coach of the Year (twice), QMJHL Coach of the Year, and the overall CHL Coach of the Year, not to mention medals at four World Juniors. Can he translate that ability to the pros and lead a Coyotes team that needs to take a step forward rather than continuing to tread water? That is the question that Armstrong must answer. According to Morgan, he has already decided that St. Louis Blues assistant Mike Van Ryn and AHL Providence head coach Jay Leach are not the men for the job.

  • The Chicago Blackhawks just gained some Expansion Draft flexibility. The Athletic’s Scott Powers reports that Alexander Nylander has been declared exempt from the impending selection process. In order to be eligible for the draft, a player must have three pro service years. Nylander, who has been playing professionally in North America for five seasons, may seem like an impossibility to avoid that label, but somehow he does. Despite playing in 116 AHL games between 2016-17 and 2017-18, he played in only seven combined NHL games and his rookie contract underwent the entry-level slide each season, meaning service time did not accrue. He then played countable NHL season in each of the past two years. However, this season – in what was meant to be his third year of service – Nylander missed the entire campaign due to injury. This means that, again, his service time will not clock. After five years in and out of the NHL, Nylander will be considered a second-year pro and untouchable for the Seattle Kraken. As Powers notes, Nylander was expected to be protected by the Blackhawks next month. Now off the board, it will allow the team to protected another forward that they may not have expected. He suggests deadline addition Adam Gaudette or reliable fourth-liner David Kampf could be the pick, while young, high-upside assets Brandon Hagel and Henrik Borgstrom should now be locks.
  • The KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan has succeeded in keeping a pair of drafted prospects away from their NHL teams for a while longer. The team announced that they have re-signed Columbus’ Dmitri Voronkov and Anaheim’s Artyom Galimov to multi-year extensions. At their age, this is not an NHL career death sentence for either player, but it is likely disheartening to their teams who would like to get them on North American ice as soon as possible. 20-year-old Voronkov, a 2019 fourth-round pick of the Blue Jackets, has signed a two-year deal with Ak Bars after setting career highs across the board in the KHL this season. The impressive youngster has already played two full seasons in the KHL and has been dominant for Russia on the World Junior stage as well. Voronkov’s name carries weight as a prospect and the Jackets undoubtedly hope that he will follow WJC teammate Yegor Chinakhov to Columbus as soon as his new contract expires. There is a bit more cause for pause when it comes to Galimov. The 21-year-old was an overage pick by the Ducks just last year and despite his age has signed a three-year extension with Ak Bars. Galimov is a grassroots product of Kazan and has loyalty to the club, as they do to him after two successful seasons to begin his KHL career. Galimov has actually outpaced Voronkov to this point, showing that he too is a serious NHL prospect. However, Galimov will be 25 years old before he could ever step onto Anaheim ice and will have that much more attachment to Ak Bars. His ability should keep him interested in the NHL and the Ducks in him, but it is not a guarantee.

Coaching Notes: Vincent, Hakstol, Boudreau, Tocchet

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New Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen is adding to his staff. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Blue Jackets are set to hire Manitoba Moose head coach Pascal Vincent as an assistant to Larsen. Vincent had previously left Paul Maurice’s Winnipeg Jets staff in favor of being the head coach for their AHL affiliate, but seemingly is back to being open to an NHL assistant role. Vincent has spent the past decade with the Jets organization and the previous dozen years as a head coach and GM in the QMJHL. With an impressive resume, Vincent may see this Columbus opportunity as a way to get his name out there beyond the confines of Winnipeg in hopes of attracting NHL head coach attention of his own down the road. Vincent will re-unite with Jack Roslovic in Columbus; he previously coached him as a prospect with the Moose but he has now become the No. 1 center for the Blue Jackets. That relationship should be mutually beneficial for the pair.

  • The big coaching news of the day was of course the hiring of Dave Hakstol as the first head coach of the expansion Seattle Kraken. And while Hakstol’s role will be in the locker room and not the front office, GM Ron Francis will certainly take his opinions into consideration. After all, it was the Florida Panthers, the former team of Vegas’ inaugural head coach, Gerard Gallant, that were swindled the worst by the Golden Knights in the last Expansion Draft. Florida traded Reilly Smith and a fourth-round pick so that Vegas would select Jonathan Marchessault over the likes of Alexander Petrovic and Mark Pysyk. While no teams should be fooled so badly this time around, Hakstol’s knowledge of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadephia Flyers – not to mention the numerous University of North Dakota alumni around the league – could come into play. The Flyers in particular are expected to have many well-known names exposed in the draft, some of whom played their best seasons under Hakstol, and the coach may know exactly how to target the team.
  • The Maple Leafs now have a vacancy on their coaching staff in the wake of Hakstol’s departure, but the club’s fans think they have already figured it out. Yahoo’s Thomas Williams writes that there has already been an outpouring of support for veteran coach Bruce Boudreau to be hired as the team’s newest assistant. The Toronto native and former Maple Leafs player spoke out this off-season as a free agent that he would like to coach his hometown team and fans seem to agree with the match. Boudreau has had a long and successful coaching career and some feel that head coach Sheldon Keefe could use the veteran support on the bench. With that said, Boudreau has never served as an assistant in the NHL and interviewed for the Buffalo Sabres’ head coach vacancy late last month. Despite any personal feelings and fan support, Boudreau will take the top job for the struggling Sabres over a No. 2 role for Toronto.
  • Of course, Boudreau is not the only candidate for the Sabres’ job, as Rick Tocchet is also among the names who interviewed for the position. Tocchet interviewed multiple times with the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, and Seattle Kraken, only to lose out on all three jobs. He has reportedly only interviewed once with Buffalo, who may not have been his top choice at first, but they are the only landing spot left, as the other remaining NHL head coach position is the post he vacated with the Arizona Coyotes. Tocchet is clearly a well-regarded and sought-after coach, so now that they are his last hope at a top job this season, perhaps the Sabres and Tocchet will get serious about a potential match.

Expansion Primer: New Jersey Devils

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Over the next few weeks, we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.

The last time the New Jersey Devils went through an expansion draft, they were coming off a terrible season where they finished last in the Metropolitan Divison and didn’t have a ton of assets to worry about losing. The team decided to go with the eight-skater protection strategy in order to protect defenseman Mirco Mueller, and ended up losing Jon Merrill. It ended up being the wrong choice, but both were never really impact defensemen before or after the expansion draft. This year things are relatively similar, with the Devils being at risk of losing a player who may continue on in the NHL but isn’t likely to win any awards.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards:

Nico Hischier, Andreas Johnsson, Jesper Bratt, Miles Wood, Pavel Zacha, Nathan Bastian, Nicholas Merkley, Brandon Gignac, A.J. Greer, Yegor Sharangovich, Michael McLeod, Marian Studenic, Janne Kuokkanen

Defense:

P.K. Subban, Damon Severson, Will Butcher, David Quenneville, Colby Sissons, Colton White, Jonas Siegenthaler

Goalies:

Mackenzie Blackwood, Evan Cormier

Notable Unrestricted Free Agents

D Ryan Murray, D Connor Carrick, G Aaron Dell

Notable Exemptions

F Jack Hughes, F Jesper Boqvist, F Tyce Thompson, D Ty Smith, D Kevin Bahl

Key Decisions

The biggest difference between then and now for the Devils is the number of interesting young forwards that could require protection. The team used only four spots upfront in 2017 but are almost certainly going to use the seven forward-three defenseman protection strategy this time around. Hischier, Bratt, and Zacha, who have grown and developed together the last few seasons are no-brainers. Sharangovich and Kuokkanen may not have been protected a year ago, but both became regular NHL options this season. That already fills five of the seven spots, meaning only two more of the group that includes Wood, McLeod, Johnsson, Bastian, and Merkley can be kept away from Seattle.

It would have been easy to choose Johnsson before he became a ghost this season, disappearing completely after breaking out in Toronto. The 26-year-old winger had just 11 points in 50 games for New Jersey but carries a cap hit of $3.4MM through 2022-23. It very well could bite the Devils if he heads to Seattle and rediscovers his game, but at this point, he isn’t really deserving of a protection spot.

Wood, 25, has never shown he can create much offense for his linemates, but it’s hard to argue with 17 goals in 55 games. The speedy forward has continued to cash in on his opportunities and brings an incredible amount of energy to the rink every night. He is likely going to be one of the two extra spots, though there at least has to be some consideration of the others. McLeod, Bastian, Merkley, and even Studenic are all still just finding their way at the NHL level but any one of them could take a step forward next season. There is a reason why the first three were all taken with high draft picks and New Jersey could decide to try to block Seattle from snatching up an unpolished gem.

On defense, the team almost has an extra protection slot, given how poorly Subban performed this season. His $9MM cap hit will likely scare off the Kraken but even if it doesn’t, removing him from the Devils lineup shouldn’t be too much of a negative for a team that is obviously trying to go with a young group. There’s not really any reason to protect Subban, meaning the Devils could even pursue a trade to help out a team that is overloaded.

In fact, Butcher is in a similar situation, even if his contract isn’t nearly as expensive. The 26-year-old has basically played himself out of the lineup in New Jersey, serving as a healthy scratch many times this year. He recorded just 11 points in 23 games and though his minutes were back up by May, his place in the future of the Devils is extremely unclear. That means the Devils really only have Severson to protect on the back end, giving them some flexibility and leverage in trade talks over the next few weeks. If they end up failing to add anyone, Siegenthaler is perhaps a piece they would like to keep after acquiring him this season, but it seems unlikely he’d be picked over an available forward anyway.

Goaltending is the one place where there isn’t much debate. Blackwood is the choice, while Cormier meets the exposure requirements. Dell and Wedgewood are both pending free agents and depth options at best.

Projected Protection List

F Nico Hischier
F Jesper Bratt
F Miles Wood
F Pavel Zacha
F Yegor Sharangovich
F Michael McLeod
F Janne Kuokkanen

D Damon Severson
D Will Butcher
D Jonas Siegenthaler

G Mackenzie Blackwood

*Assuming no acquisitions

Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist

When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined.  Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined.  In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.

Forwards (2): Andreas Johnsson, Nathan Bastian
Defensemen (1): P.K. Subban

One of the key decision-making factors in the protection list upfront could be these exposure requirements, as only Hischier, Johnsson, Bratt, Wood, Zacha and Bastian currently meet them. New contracts for Merkley, Sharangovich, McLeod, or Kuokkanen would get them there, but as restricted free agents they currently don’t fit. On defense, Subban and Butcher both meet the requirements, meaning the team has little to worry about on the back end.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

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