Published by hockeybuzz.com, 5-19-2017
The Buffalo Sabres have 19 free agent contracts on the docket with 10 unrestricted and nine restricted.
Half of the UFA's are in Rochester with four of them--forwards Cole Schneider and Derek Grant plus defensemen Erik Burgdoerfer and Mat Bodie--as possible re-signs. Cal O'Reilly already moved on after being loaned to the Toronto Marlies late last season. The other five UFA's were from the big club--captain Brian Gionta, defensemen Cody Franson, Dmitry Kulikov and Taylor Fedun plus goalie Anders Nilsson--and of those only Gionta and Fedun look to be possible re-signs at this point in time.
Unlike UFA's, restricted free agents have little say in their immediate future with the team holding all the cards. Here's the list of restricted free agents new general manager Jason Botterill and his staff will be looking at:
F, Marcus Foligno
F, Johan Larsson
F, Zemgus Girgensons
F, Evan Rodrigues
LW, Jean Dupuy
C, Justin Kea
D, Brady Austin
G, Robin Lehner
G, Linus Ullmark
Botterill spent this week hunkered down with his scout to compare notes about the upcoming draft. Among the other things he needs to work on is finding a head coach as well as hiring those who will lead his scouting departments. Eventually he'll get to all of these free agents as the Expansion Draft is coming soon and the start of free agency begins shortly thereafter.
Not much has been coming out but our hockeybuzz colleague in Europe, Aivis Kalnins, tweeted that "Botterill also reached out to Girgensons via text but no contract has been discussed yet." Kalnins also tweeted that a Viktor Antipin/Sabres union is still a go, but nothing formal has been announced. "Antipin and Sabres talked recently and nothing has changed, expect him to sign with the Sabres," he tweeted.
Good news for the Sabres on both fronts.
*****
The Sabres and the Florida Panthers are the only NHL teams without head coaches at this juncture and it's almost assured that Nashville Predators assistant coach Phil Housley will occupy one of those positions.
Housley's been getting a lot of press lately for the job he's done with the mobile, offensive-minded Preds defense, and rightfully so. Nashville's d-corps is an aggressive group is constantly on the offensive, which is pretty much how Housley played his entire career. His coaching career got a huge boost when he lead Team USA to the 2013 World Junior Championship in Ufa, Russia and he also survived a coaching change in Nashville when Barry Trotz was replaced by Peter Laviolette.
And not too long ago there was word of a Botterill/Rick Tocchet link to the Sabres head coaching job even before Botterill was officially announced as the Sabres new GM. Which make sense. A new general manager leans towards bringing in people he's familiar with and Tocchet had been in Pittsburgh since June, 2014.
Tocchet's coacing resume' is a bit longer than Housley's in that he cut his teeth behind the bench in 2002 and he also had a 148-game stint as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2008-10. Not much came out of that except that he received props for getting Steven Stamkos' career on track.
Botterill had said that he would be doing a fairly extensive head coaching search but Sun Media's Steve Simmons tweeted out, "Most people on the inside I talk to are expecting either Rick Tocchet or Phil Housley to be the next coach of the Buffalo Sabres."
There are some other names mentioned to be in the mix like Todd Reirden, Kevin Dineen, Bob Boughner and Ralph Kreuger but Housley and Tocchet always seem to be at the fore. And for good reason. Both are said to have a great rapport with young players and both, because of their playing careers and their successes as assistant coaches on winning teams, should gain the type of locker room respect Botterill is looking for.
*****
Speaking of Nashville, Simmons Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock and his GM Lou Lamoriello were taking in the Anaheim Ducks/Preds game last night. "Been covering playoffs for more than 30 years. It's rare to ever see an eliminated NHL coach at another playoff game," tweeted Simmons. "Have to believe if Mike Babcock and Lou Lamoriello are in Nashville it ain't for hanging out on Broadway. There must be defenceman in play."
Both Anaheim and Nashville are loaded on the back end and with the expansion draft coming up, there's a possibility that a quality d-man may be available. It's well known that the Sabres are in need of some help in the top-four and although he wasn't physically at the game, one would bet that Botterill has his eye on that series.
*****
Team USA was shut out 2-0 by Team Finland yesterday at the IIHF World Championships in Cologne, Germany. Buffalo's Jack Eichel did not have the greatest of tournaments with zero goals and five assists in eight games plus he ended the tournament in the penalty box after he was called for a high-stick with 1:52 to play.
International play seems to be hit or miss with Eichel, which is fine as long as he brings it during the NHL season. Here's what Eichel has done on the international stage for Team USA:
2013 U17: 5gp, 3g, 2a
2013 WJC18: 7gp, 1+1
2014 WJC18: 7gp, 5+5
2014 WJC: 5gp, 1+4
2015 WJC: 5gp, 1+3
2015 WC: 10 gp, 2+5
2016 WCOH: 3gp, 1+1
2017 WC: 8gp, 0+5
In all 60 games played, 14 goals, 21 assists.
His NHL totals: 142 games played, 48 goals, 65 assists.
Bust!
Eichel joined Girgensons (Team Latvia) on the outside looking in while Buffalo still has World Championship interest as the aforementioned, but unsigned as of yet, Antipin is still in it for Team Russia and Team Canada with Ryan O'Reilly have advanced to the semi-finals.
Showing posts with label Rick Tocchet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rick Tocchet. Show all posts
Saturday, May 20, 2017
Monday, May 8, 2017
On Rick Tocchet
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 5-7-2017
"Discipline, structure and communication" were key words uttered more than once at Terry Pegula's press conference on the firing of his GM and coach a couple of weeks back. Pegula also added in "character" as another of his Sabres pillars of the Sabres moving forward. Such was the mandate from the owner of an NHL team that ended the 2016-17 season in disarray.
As the GM search drama continues with Pegula's Sabres, word on the street is that the Buffalo may be hiring two people from the Pittsburgh Penguins organization--AGM Jason Botterill and present assistant coach, Rick Tocchet.
Much has been said about Botterill as Buffalo's potential new GM but Tocchet is a new entry into the coaching search.
Tocchet certainly has the resume as an NHL player. He scored 952 points in 1144 NHL games, had 109 points (48+61) in 1992-93, played with and against some of the greats of that era and was on the Penguins 1992 Stanley Cup winning team. He also had 2972 penalty minutes ranking him 10th all-time, and it should be noted that his .832 points/game ranked him tops of any player in the top-20 on that list.
A former sixth-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers (1983) Tocchet was a tough customer on the ice who could score as well and he carried on in the tradition of Flyers greats by winning the Bobby Clarke Trophy (1990.) According to HockeyFights.com, Tocchet was in 171 career fights including 15 in the post season and according to his Wiki page Tocchet is the NHL's leader in Gordie Howe hat tricks which is a goal, an assist and a fight in one game. Tocchet had 18, one ahead of Brendan Shanahan, who is now the President of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Brian Sutter.
Tocchet was a helluva player who had a rough time coaching his first go-round. He took over for Barry Melrose as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning in November, 2008 and was on the bench the following season before getting canned by new Lightning owner Jeffery Vinik in 2010. He had a record of 53-69-26, which may have been the result of him being a newbie coach trying to get his footing. Whether his firing was because of his record and/or because the new owner the wanted to bring in his own guy, he did leave a good impression upon his players after his short stint in Tampa.
From an April 12, 2010 Tampa Bay Times piece on his firing, author Damian Cristodero said "Tocchet, with a hands-on approach, gets credit for helping center Steven Stamkos to grow to his potential and for setting volatile right wing Steve Downie on the right course." In the case of Stamkos, Melrose, who's tenure in Tampa lasted all of 16 games, got into a feud with ownership saying that the 2008 first-overall pick wasn't ready for the NHL while owner Len Barrie was said to have been meddling while trying to get his franchise player into favorable positions on the ice. Stamkos went from 46 points in that tumultuous rookie season to 95 points the next season under Tocchet including 51 goals which tied Sidney Crosby for the league lead that year.
Downie was more noted for his abrasive style of play than anything else up until Tocchet became head coach. According to Cristodero, Downie had a "breakout year" under Tocchet's stewardship with 22 goals and was a team-best plus-14.
Lingering in the background, however, were criminal charges against Tocchet in 2006 for being a part of a "huge gambling ring" in New Jersey, according to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article. That story "became even bigger when authorities said that Janet Jones, the wife of hockey great Wayne Gretzky, and several current NHL players placed bets with the ring."
According to his Wiki page, Tocchet "pleaded guilty to conspiracy and promoting gambling" on May 25, 2007 and on August 7 he was sentenced to two years probation "in exchange for his plea." An investigation by the NHL found that the betting did not involve the league and on February 6, 2008 the NHL announced that Tocchet was "reinstated, and would serve as assistant coach the next day, exactly two years after taking a leave of absence."
It's been nearly a decade since that incident and with "character" being one of Pegula's apparent four pillars to build his team with, we're not sure if that would disqualify Tocchet, but would make for an interesting angle were Tocchet to be hired. At least when it comes to the "character" mandate handed down by Pegula.
However, from a hockey perspective, with Tocchet's style of play during a long, successful career, and with his apparent ability to reach players as diverse as Stamkos and Downie while head coach, he may be a good candidate to guide Buffalo through this difficult phase. Tocchet should be well respected in the Sabres dressing room and that might be the most important aspect of his hire at this juncture, should be he the guy. As an example, Jack Eichel and Evander Kane are two talents that seemingly need a coach like that to unflinchingly look them in the eye, and with a wealth of experience in hockey and in life backing his words, tell them straight up how he sees it.
Whether Tocchet can actually coach or not is the big question but getting the players respect is a huge hurdle that could go a long way towards winning more. It would seem as if he could have the discipline and structure aspects of Pegula's edict covered and perhaps through his checkered past Tocchet will be able to reach those who those who's character might be in question. Which is a good thing for a disjointed team like the Sabres who have a lot of talent that's just waiting to break out.
"Discipline, structure and communication" were key words uttered more than once at Terry Pegula's press conference on the firing of his GM and coach a couple of weeks back. Pegula also added in "character" as another of his Sabres pillars of the Sabres moving forward. Such was the mandate from the owner of an NHL team that ended the 2016-17 season in disarray.
As the GM search drama continues with Pegula's Sabres, word on the street is that the Buffalo may be hiring two people from the Pittsburgh Penguins organization--AGM Jason Botterill and present assistant coach, Rick Tocchet.
Much has been said about Botterill as Buffalo's potential new GM but Tocchet is a new entry into the coaching search.
Tocchet certainly has the resume as an NHL player. He scored 952 points in 1144 NHL games, had 109 points (48+61) in 1992-93, played with and against some of the greats of that era and was on the Penguins 1992 Stanley Cup winning team. He also had 2972 penalty minutes ranking him 10th all-time, and it should be noted that his .832 points/game ranked him tops of any player in the top-20 on that list.
A former sixth-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers (1983) Tocchet was a tough customer on the ice who could score as well and he carried on in the tradition of Flyers greats by winning the Bobby Clarke Trophy (1990.) According to HockeyFights.com, Tocchet was in 171 career fights including 15 in the post season and according to his Wiki page Tocchet is the NHL's leader in Gordie Howe hat tricks which is a goal, an assist and a fight in one game. Tocchet had 18, one ahead of Brendan Shanahan, who is now the President of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Brian Sutter.
Tocchet was a helluva player who had a rough time coaching his first go-round. He took over for Barry Melrose as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning in November, 2008 and was on the bench the following season before getting canned by new Lightning owner Jeffery Vinik in 2010. He had a record of 53-69-26, which may have been the result of him being a newbie coach trying to get his footing. Whether his firing was because of his record and/or because the new owner the wanted to bring in his own guy, he did leave a good impression upon his players after his short stint in Tampa.
From an April 12, 2010 Tampa Bay Times piece on his firing, author Damian Cristodero said "Tocchet, with a hands-on approach, gets credit for helping center Steven Stamkos to grow to his potential and for setting volatile right wing Steve Downie on the right course." In the case of Stamkos, Melrose, who's tenure in Tampa lasted all of 16 games, got into a feud with ownership saying that the 2008 first-overall pick wasn't ready for the NHL while owner Len Barrie was said to have been meddling while trying to get his franchise player into favorable positions on the ice. Stamkos went from 46 points in that tumultuous rookie season to 95 points the next season under Tocchet including 51 goals which tied Sidney Crosby for the league lead that year.
Downie was more noted for his abrasive style of play than anything else up until Tocchet became head coach. According to Cristodero, Downie had a "breakout year" under Tocchet's stewardship with 22 goals and was a team-best plus-14.
Lingering in the background, however, were criminal charges against Tocchet in 2006 for being a part of a "huge gambling ring" in New Jersey, according to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article. That story "became even bigger when authorities said that Janet Jones, the wife of hockey great Wayne Gretzky, and several current NHL players placed bets with the ring."
According to his Wiki page, Tocchet "pleaded guilty to conspiracy and promoting gambling" on May 25, 2007 and on August 7 he was sentenced to two years probation "in exchange for his plea." An investigation by the NHL found that the betting did not involve the league and on February 6, 2008 the NHL announced that Tocchet was "reinstated, and would serve as assistant coach the next day, exactly two years after taking a leave of absence."
It's been nearly a decade since that incident and with "character" being one of Pegula's apparent four pillars to build his team with, we're not sure if that would disqualify Tocchet, but would make for an interesting angle were Tocchet to be hired. At least when it comes to the "character" mandate handed down by Pegula.
However, from a hockey perspective, with Tocchet's style of play during a long, successful career, and with his apparent ability to reach players as diverse as Stamkos and Downie while head coach, he may be a good candidate to guide Buffalo through this difficult phase. Tocchet should be well respected in the Sabres dressing room and that might be the most important aspect of his hire at this juncture, should be he the guy. As an example, Jack Eichel and Evander Kane are two talents that seemingly need a coach like that to unflinchingly look them in the eye, and with a wealth of experience in hockey and in life backing his words, tell them straight up how he sees it.
Whether Tocchet can actually coach or not is the big question but getting the players respect is a huge hurdle that could go a long way towards winning more. It would seem as if he could have the discipline and structure aspects of Pegula's edict covered and perhaps through his checkered past Tocchet will be able to reach those who those who's character might be in question. Which is a good thing for a disjointed team like the Sabres who have a lot of talent that's just waiting to break out.
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