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Snapshots: Blue Jackets, Sabres, Buyouts, DeAngelo

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Between new head coach Brad Larsen, promoted from his previous role as assistant, and newly hired assistants Pascal Vincent and Sylvain Lefebvre, the Blue Jackets will have a combined 15 seasons as NHL assistants, 13 seasons as AHL head coaches, 11 seasons as a junior head coaches, six seasons as AHL assistants, and over 1,200 NHL games played worth of experience behind the bench. The one thing they don’t have? Any experience as an NHL head coach. As Aaron Portzline writes for The Athletic, there is zero NHL head coach experience in the entire Columbus organization right now and while GM Jarmo Kekalainen isn’t worried, he also isn’t above addressing that issue. Kekalainen is at least considering adding an advisor to the coaching staff; a veteran NHL head coach to help guide Larsen and company through their first season with a the re-tooling Blue Jackets. Portzline believes that one name who could certainly be in the mix is Jacques Martin, as the 68-year-old with 16 seasons as an NHL head coach is believed to be looking for this type of role. Other candidates will also surely emerge if and when Columbus decides that they are officially looking to fill the position.

  • Did Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams tip his hand in a recent interview with Pierre LeBrun for The Athletic? Discussing his team’s rebuilding plans, Adams stated the following:

(Rasmus) Dahlin, (Dylan) Cozens, (Casey) Mittelstadt, these are very, very young players… And I’ve been energized about this young core of Sabres we have that are hungry and they want to be part of the solution. … These guys are proud to be Buffalo Sabres, they want to fix this and get this right, they want to move forward together. So that’s the young core that we’re working to build around.

Sure, these are all key pieces for the Sabres in their rebuild. However, Adams did not mention the likes of Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, or Victor Olofsson, who are only marginally older than that group. His use of the words “proud to be Buffalo Sabres” and “want to be part of the solution” also feels purposeful, as if there are others on the team who are not and possibly that is why they are no longer part of the rebuild plans. While rumors have been swirling around Eichel and to some extent Reinhart as well, perhaps this is a real indication that Buffalo will be making major changes this summer.

  • The NHL’s buyout window opens 24 hours after the Stanley Cup is awarded, which could be as early as later tonight. In anticipation, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli lists ten names (and some honorable mentions) who could be buyout candidates. While much of this is educated speculation, Seravalli does have a scoop on his No. 1 name on the list, New York Rangers defenseman Anthony DeAngelo. Seravalli reports that the Rangers officially finalized a plan to buyout DeAngelo last week, a move that has been a long time coming since he was placed on leave in January for off-ice conduct. What remains to be seen is when exactly the buyout will be executed. The Rangers don’t need DeAngelo for the upcoming Expansion Draft, with Anthony Bitetto meeting exposure criteria and not expected to be protected, however New York may want to leave him in case they are able to tempt the Seattle. Even if the Kraken don’t bite, DeAngelo’s skill is enough to make him an intriguing free agent this summer following his buyout, even after a year off and some character concerns.

Boston Bruins To Name Maine Mariners As ECHL Affiliate

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June 30: The official announcement has been made. Maine will be the new affiliate of the Boston and Providence Bruins.

June 29: The Boston Bruins are set to bring their ECHL prospect much closer to home. The Portland Press Herald’s Glenn Jordan reports that their city’s ECHL franchise, the Maine Mariners, will soon become the official affiliate of the nearest NHL team, with the Bruins expected to make an announcement on Wednesday. This will mark the end of the Mariners’ relationship with the New York Rangers, Jordan notes, as well the break-up between Boston and the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators.

This is just the latest shake-up in the ever-changing minor affiliation landscape. A relatively stable set of relationships for quite a while during the 2000’s and into the early 2010’s, the last several years have brought a number of changes to the AHL and ECHL and their associations with NHL parent clubs. Maine, a 2018 ECHL Expansion team, did not play this past season due to COVID-19 but are set to return in 2021-22 with an exciting new partnership. Ironically, Atlanta also did not play this season due to the pandemic and the Bruins sent their ECHL prospects to the Jacksonville Ice Men. Even more ironic is that Jordan reports that Jacksonville will now become the new affiliate of the Rangers in place of Maine. This will displace the Winnipeg Jets, who will need a new ECHL affiliate with the Gladiators, Allen Americans, and Norfolk Admirals to choose from. The Jets could also opt not to partner with an ECHL team, as several other NHL teams have.

There is a bit of history to this move as well. The original Maine Mariners were an AHL team from 1977 to 1992, at which time they relocated and became – the Providence Bruins. There is also a long-standing relationship between not only Boston sports teams and Maine but the Boston-Providence-Portland trifecta. The Boston Red Sox for decades housed their AAA affiliate in the Providence suburb of Pawtucket and their AA affiliate in Portland. While the Pawtucket Red Sox relocated to Worcester this year, the Portland Sea Dogs are still standing. The Boston Celtics’ G-League affiliate, the Maine Celtics (formerly Red Claws) also play in Portland. The Mariners will have some stiff competition for Maine’s most popular minor league team, but between the multiple iterations of the Mariners sandwiching a long run by the AHL’s Portland Pirates and previous QMJHL teams in the state, Portland has always belonged to hockey and excitement will be at a new high with the Boston affiliation.

Adam Fox Wins Norris Trophy

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Not too shabby for a second-year player. New York Rangers sophomore Adam Fox has been named the Norris Trophy winner as the best defenseman in the NHL at just 23 years old. Fox was phenomenal in 2020-21, recording 47 points and a +19 rating in 55 games.

Fox joins elite company in taking home the Norris at such a young age. He is now just the second defenseman to win the award in his second season, joining none other than Bobby Orr. Fox is deserving of the honor, too. He led the Rangers in assists and finished fifth in total scoring, while also leading the team in time on ice per game and blocked shots with the second-best plus/minus and takeaways. Although Fox is often pegged as an offensive defenseman – he was second in the NHL in defensive scoring – he did it all for the Rangers in 2020-21.

With all that said, there will be plenty of people who want to argue that either other finalist, Colorado’s Cale Makar or Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman, deserved the Norris this year. Both received considerable support in the voting, but Fox finished with nine more first-place votes than Makar and twice that ahead of Hedman. Makar finished less than 100 voting points behind Fox, making it a tight race, but Hedman was actually closer to Boston’s Charlie McAvoy in fifth than he was to catching Fox.

Rangers, Sabres Have Preliminary Talks On Jack Eichel

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When reports surfaced about Jack Eichel’s potential availability this summer, the first team that came to many minds was the New York Rangers. The Rangers have enough young assets to land the Buffalo Sabres center and are now focused on making the playoffs after a short rebuild. Today, Larry Brooks of the New York Post writes that the Rangers have had preliminary talks with the Sabres about Eichel and that the asking price is currently “four pieces that would be equivalent of first-rounders.” The Sabres have also, according to Brooks, not yet granted any medical record access to interested teams.

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.

New York Rangers Announce Several Hockey Ops Changes

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The New York Rangers have made a few more changes to the hockey operations department, as Chris Drury works to set up the organization under his leadership. Benoit Allaire has been promoted to Director of New York Rangers Goaltending and Jeff Malcolm has been promoted to Hartford Wolf Pack Goaltending Coach. Jean-Ian Filiatrault is joining the organization as a goaltending consultant, while Matt Hunwick is also joining the player development department.

Allaire, 57, has been with the Rangers for the last 17 years and is from a royal family in goaltending instruction. He and his brother Francois Allaire have over 50 years of experience as NHL goalie coaches, both starting their careers several decades ago in the Montreal Canadiens system. In this new role, Benoit Allaire will be responsible for overseeing the development of all goaltenders across all levels of the organization, including the AHL and ECHL levels. That is in addition to continuing his role as goaltending coach for the Rangers.

Filiatrault and Malcolm will work as part of the goalie development staff, an idea several teams around the league have moved to over the last few years. No longer is a goalie coach just another member of the team’s coaching staff; there are now whole separate departments committed to their development from the day they are drafted. The Rangers obviously have a pair of impressive young goalies in Alexandar Georgiev and Igor Shesterkin, but there will be more coming down the line that will need specific development strategies.

On the player development side comes Hunwick, who hadn’t played since the 2018-19 season when he suffered a debilitating neck injury and was forced into retirement. The veteran defenseman served as an assistant coach with the University of Michigan for the past two seasons, volunteering his time in order to continue to be involved in the game of hockey. This next move hints at a potential front office career for Hunwick in the future, as he gets his first opportunity under Jed Ortmeyer, Tanner Glass, and Tuomo Ruutu, the Rangers director and assistant directors of player development.

Rick Tocchet Receives Second Interview With Three Teams

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June 24: The Seattle Kraken will reveal their first head coach today and Ian Furness of KJR 950 in Seattle tweets that it will not be Tocchet. With the Blue Jackets and Rangers having gone in different directions, the openings are quickly closing for the free agent head coach.

June 2: The Arizona Coyotes may not have wanted to move forward with Rick Tocchet behind the bench, but they are clearly in the minority. The free agent coach continues to draw considerable interest on the open market. Tocchet has already interviewed for the vacancies of the Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New York Rangers, as well as for the inaugural head coach position for the expansion Seattle Kraken.

At least three of those teams are serious about Tocchet as a candidate, as Coyotes beat writer Craig Morgan reports that Tocchet had a second interview with the Rangers on Tuesday and will have second interviews with the Kraken and Blue Jackets before the end of the week. He does not mention the Sabres, who are reportedly casting a wide net for their next head coach and may not be at their second interview stage just yet. While the Kraken are still an unknown until the Expansion Draft, both the Rangers and Blue Jackets have the talent on their rosters that could allow Tocchet to find immediate success if hired.

Tocchet, 57, actually has a losing record in his NHL head coaching career and if not for the expanded 2020 postseason field would have never led a team to the playoffs. With that said, he took a bottom-dwelling Coyotes team from last in the Pacific Division in 2017-18 to a team that contended for a playoff spot late into the season in each of the past three years, never finishing lower than fifth in the division. It’s nothing spectacular, but it is far from failure. Tocchet is also known for his ability to work with star players and was beloved as an assistant coach in previous stops. A standout two-way forward during his playing days and the NHL’s all-time leader in Gordie Howe hat tricks, Tocchet has a well-rounded understanding of the game and a well-regarded coaching approach. So while his track record may not be amazing on paper, the veteran coach has clearly made enough of a name for himself that several teams are highly interested in hiring him as their next head coach.

Expansion Primer: New York Rangers

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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.

If you picked a team that had the least painful expansion process the last time around, the New York Rangers may be near the top. They didn’t have to make a side deal with the Vegas Golden Knights and ended up losing Oscar Lindberg, a depth player who had averaged fewer than 11 minutes a night in 2016-17. Sure, he seemed like a useful piece, but he played just two more seasons in the NHL before heading back overseas. He’s now in the KHL, a long way removed from the Rangers roster. This time around, New York is still in a pretty strong position heading into the draft and likely will avoid losing a key player once again.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards:

Artemi Panarin (NMC), Chris Kreider (NMC), Mika Zibanejad (NMC), Ryan Strome, Kevin Rooney, Jonny Brodzinski, Anthony Greco, Colin Blackwell, Julien Gauthier, Timothy Gettinger, Gabriel Fontaine, Ty Ronning, Filip Chytil, Pavel Buchnevich, Brett Howden

Defense:

Jacob Trouba (NMC), Anthony DeAngelo, Ryan Lindgren, Anthony Bitetto, Mason Geertsen, Brandon Crawley, Libor Hajek

Goalies:

Alexandar Georgiev, Keith Kinkaid

Notable Unrestricted Free Agents

Phillip Di Giuseppe, Brendan Smith, Jack Johnson

Notable Exemptions

Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko, Vitali Kravtsov, Morgan Barron, Adam Fox, K’Andre Miller, Zachary Jones, Tarmo Reunanen, Nils Lundkvist, Igor Shesterkin

Key Decisions

For the Rangers, who have started a rebuild since the last draft, the key is in their exemptions. The real core of the future in New York isn’t even eligible to be picked, meaning no matter who they choose to protect, the group will still have tons of talent coming back next season. That leaves really only fringe choices, just like when they decided to leave Lindberg–who was a regular in the lineup–exposed to the Golden Knights.

At forward, there are three players who have no-move clauses, but all of them would deserve protection anyway. Panarin, Kreider, and Zibanejad make the veteran part of the group upfront and are key pieces if the Rangers expect to compete for the playoffs next season. Chytil, who took a strong step forward this season, is a no-doubt choice for protection to make it four. There is perhaps an argument to be made for leaving Strome or Buchnevich available, given they each are scheduled for unrestricted free agency after the 2021-22 season (Buchnevich is an RFA this summer, but a one-year arbitration award would take him to the open market), but it seems much more likely that they both will be protected as valuable assets.

That leaves one spot for several names, with a case to be made for any of Rooney, Blackwell, Gauthier, or Howden. Many would lean toward the latter two because of their youth, but that doesn’t necessarily matter when a team is trying to make the playoffs in 2021-22. Rooney and Blackwell are both better NHL players right now than the two youngsters, meaning they could end up protected ahead of them. Blackwell especially showed he could be a legitimate depth scoring option for the Rangers this season, registering 12 goals and 22 points in 47 games. The fact that he is signed for next season at a cap hit less than the league minimum makes him a valuable piece.

On defense, things would have been much more interesting if DeAngelo hadn’t worn out his welcome so thoroughly. The 25-year-old defenseman was banished from the team earlier this season and is almost certainly going to be left unprotected in the expansion draft (if he’s still a Ranger by then). Trouba’s no-movement clause stifles any debate over his place on the list and Lindgren is an obvious choice after inking his new deal. Once again, that leaves just a single spot for GM Chris Drury to play with, and again it comes down to a decision between youth and experience. Hajek played in 44 games for the Rangers this season but wasn’t very effective, while Bitetto has at least shown he can handle a bottom-pairing role in the NHL.

Of course, these decisions are all subject to change dramatically should Drury decide to pull the trigger on a trade over the next few weeks. That defensive protection slot especially could be weaponized, if he decides that Hajek is worth risking to the Kraken. The Rangers could acquire another player that is at risk elsewhere, adding him to what is looking like quite the formidable defense group for 2021-22.

In net, there isn’t really a decision to be made. The team signed Kinkaid to fill the exposure requirements so that they could protect Georgiev. The fact that Shesterkin is still ineligible despite having already turned 25 saves them from a tough call.

Projected Protection List

F Artemi Panarin
F Chris Kreider
F Mika Zibanejad
F Ryan Strome
F Filip Chytil
F Pavel Buchnevich
F Colin Blackwell

D Jacob Trouba
D Ryan Lindgren
D Libor Hajek

G Alexandar Georgiev

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 (1): Kevin Rooney
Defensemen (2): Anthony DeAngelo, Anthony Bitetto

By protecting Blackwell, it does create a bit of an issue for Drury to fix. The team would then only have one forward left exposed who have both completed the requisite games played and is signed for next season. A quick contract for any of Di Giuseppe, Gauthier, or Howden would fix that problem though, something that shouldn’t be too much trouble. For defense, DeAngelo can serve as that exposure requirement if he’s still around, or Bitetto can take his place if the team makes a move in the coming weeks.

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

Offseason Checklist: New York Rangers

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The offseason has arrived with roughly half of the league missing the playoffs and several more having since been eliminated.  It’s time to examine what those teams need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at the Rangers.

A year ago, it looked as if the rebuild for the Rangers was basically over or had at least been expedited.  Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba were added and a strong performance down the stretch provided optimism for the future before Carolina swept them in the Qualifying Round in the bubble.  Even so, there was plenty of optimism heading into the season but the results weren’t there.  The result was a house cleaning with Chris Drury taking over as GM and Gerard Gallant recently being named head coach.  While those are big items off their checklist, there is still some work to be done.

Round Out Coaching Staff

While they have Gallant in the fold, the coaching staff still needs some work.  Goalie coach Benoit Allaire was retained and, well, that’s it for the current staff.  David Oliver, Jacques Martin, and Greg Brown were also all let go when David Quinn was fired last month and will need to be replaced.  Kris Knoblauch could be a candidate to join the staff on a full-time basis; the AHL Hartford bench boss filled in for six games for Quinn this season while he was in COVID-19 protocols.

Center Decisions

New York appears to be set between the pipes for the foreseeable future.  They have several young blueliners in the pipeline, headlined by K’Andre Miller who had a strong rookie season.  They’re well-set on the wings with Panarin plus recent high first-round picks in Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko; Chris Kreider is also signed long-term.

The pipeline isn’t anywhere near as well-stocked when it comes to the center position, however.  Filip Chytil showed some progression this season but at this point, he looks more like a third-line option than a top-six piece of the future.  Brett Howden was a first-rounder back in 2016 but is going to be more of a role player than a core one.  Morgan Barron certainly has some upside but they’re certainly not ready to proclaim him as a top-six center of the future either.  It’s an area that needs to be addressed and it’s a big one.

It’s not something that necessarily has to be addressed this year but the clock is ticking.  Mika Zibanejad and Ryan Strome, their current top pivots, are both a year away from unrestricted free agency with Zibanejad looking like a candidate to land a considerable raise on his current $5.35MM AAV.  Strome, meanwhile, has 108 points in 126 games over the last two seasons.  While he has an earned reputation of being inconsistent, that’s still an impressive recent track record and if he has another year like that, he will also be looking at a raise on his $4.5MM price tag.

It seems likely that Drury will at least investigate the cost of signing Zibanejad to a long-term extension while Strome’s file may be left a little longer to see how next year starts out.  However, if they wind up landing a top-line pivot, that player is going to be expensive.  As their youngsters move past their entry-level deals, can they afford to pay Zibanejad market value to play on their second line?  It’d be a great luxury to have but in this cap environment, it might be one that they can’t afford.

In the meantime, expect the Rangers to be speculatively linked to every impact center that happens to become available (such as Buffalo’s Jack Eichel).  The supporting cast is in place and this is the one key piece they need to take another step forward.  With their group of young roster players, they will also be in a position where they could move one or two of those in a move and still be in good shape.  Of course, that’s the easy part of the equation.  Finding the impact center is the much more challenging one with that task now falling to Drury.

Re-Sign Key RFAs

There are several restricted free agents that Drury will need to re-sign but two stand out among the pack for very different reasons.

The first is goaltender Igor Shesterkin.  His entry-level contract has come to an end and he has quickly established himself as New York’s starter.  Having said that, he has all of 47 career NHL games under his belt which is less than a single season’s worth for most number ones.  That’s not a particularly large sample size and his standout KHL numbers don’t mean a whole lot in terms of impacting contract talks.

On top of that, he’s 25 and has salary arbitration eligibility.  With Shesterkin only being two years away from UFA eligibility, it’s not an ideal spot for a bridge contract; while most players coming off their first contracts have four years of team control remaining, New York has half of that.  Meanwhile, if early talks don’t go well, Shesterkin could simply file for arbitration, return as the starter, and then be a year away from being unrestricted next summer where he’ll have even more leverage in talks.  A long-term deal is almost certainly New York’s goal but it may be tricky to come by.

The other RFA of note is Pavel Buchnevich.  Over his first few years in the league, he showed some offensive flashes but struggled at times as well.  However, in 2019-20, the combination of him, Zibanejad, and Kreider broke out and Buchnevich responded with a career year with 46 points in 68 games.  He then did even better this season with 48 points in just 54 contests.  That’s top line production which is certain to be mentioned in contract talks as the 26-year-old goes through restricted free agency with arbitration eligibility for the final time.  He will undoubtedly get more than his $3.5MM qualifying offer but at the same time, are the Rangers prepared to commit to him long term or could he be deemed expendable knowing that Lafreniere and Kakko are in the wings?  The contract is one thing while who gives it to him could very well be another question altogether.

Part Ways With DeAngelo

While he was dismissed from the team early in the season, New York had to carry Anthony DeAngelo on the salary cap for the rest of the season (minus the pro-rated $1.075MM in savings after he cleared waivers and was sent to the taxi squad).  He has one year left on his contract, one that carries a $4.8MM AAV along with a $5.3MM salary.  Drury may first try to find a taker in a trade first in a swap of expiring contracts but with how cheap his buyout would be, they shouldn’t look too closely at that option.  Since DeAngelo is 25, the buyout ratio is one-third instead of two-thirds.  Accordingly, the cap charge would only be $383K next season and $883K after that.  DeAngelo turned down a contract termination at the trade deadline but it’s all but a lock that he’ll be released this summer when the buyout window opens up after the Stanley Cup Final.

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

New York Rangers Hire Gerard Gallant

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June 16: The Rangers have officially announced the hiring of Gallant as their next head coach. The four-year deal is worth around $3.5MM a year, according to LeBrun. That puts Gallant on the higher end of the coaching spectrum, but actually comes in quite a bit lower than the league’s highest-paid bench bosses. Quinn, Gallant’s predecessor, earns $2.4MM per season on his five-year deal.

June 14: The New York Rangers have found their new head coach. Larry Brooks of the New York Post is reporting that the Rangers have reached an agreement to hire Gerard Gallant, who had been considered the favorite to land the job for some time.

It seemed like a perfect fit from the moment the Rangers fired David Quinn, but Gallant and the team both did their due diligence. The veteran head coach interviewed elsewhere, including multiple meetings with the Columbus Blue Jackets before they decided to go with Brad Larsen, while New York spoke with several other candidates while Gallant coached Team Canada in Latvia at the World Championship. The two sides obviously decided that it was the best fit in the end, with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweeting that it will be a four-year deal.

If he gets through that term, it will be the first time he lasts four years with a team. In each of Gallant’s head coaching stops, he has been fired in the middle of his third season with the team, most recently by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2020. Despite taking them to the Stanley Cup Final in year one and back to the playoffs in year two, the Golden Knights replaced Gallant with Pete DeBoer last season after a so-so beginning to the regular season. Since then, the 57-year-old has been waiting for the right opportunity, while also helping Canada to a gold medal in the recent international tournament.

That opportunity is in New York, where a young, talented Rangers team is ready to take the next step. The front office was gutted earlier this year when chairman James Dolan fired both president John Davidson and GM Jeff Gorton, installing Chris Drury in their place. At the time, it was clear that ownership wasn’t happy with the speed at which the rebuild was moving, meaning you can expect a few more kick-start moves this summer. One of those is Gallant, who knows how to both develop young players and get the best out of veterans at the same time.

He is responsible for the only 100+ point season in Florida Panthers history, which he achieved thanks to the performances by 20-year-old Aleksander Barkov and 43-year-old Jaromir Jagr. He managed a .601 winning percentage with the Golden Knights, despite many believing the team would be near the bottom of the standings like most expansion teams at the beginning of their existence.

He’ll now be tasked with reaching the playoffs in a tough Metropolitan Division, while also turning the likes of Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko, and Vitali Kravtsov into the difference-makers they were drafted to be.

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