As we head into the final days of the regular season and wait to see what comes out of the locker clean-out days for all the non-playoff teams, I thought I’d take another look at what’s going on and being talked about around the league…
• Still no word on where things stand regarding the future of the Vancouver Canucks’ management team.
Going into last weekend, President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford and GM Patrik Allvin were still awaiting word from owner Francesco Aquilini on their immediate future, as it appeared Aquilini had yet to give either of them any assurances, as he continues to weigh all his options.
Plans still could include anything from a complete dismissal of both managers, keeping one, or kicking the can down the road and keeping both for another season, since they are under contract through 2026-27. The latter seems unlikely, considering Rutherford and Allvin don’t appear to be nearly as aligned today as they were when Allvin first arrived in Vancouver in 2022.
If Aquilini doesn’t find a solution outside the organization, there is strong speculation he could dismiss Allvin, keep Rutherford, and promote assistant GM Ryan Johnson. One of the major points of contention regarding the roster that was put together on Allvin’s watch was its lack of “push back” as the team sank to the bottom of the standings. No doubt Johnson’s mandate would be to get heavier players who bring some edge to their game.
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• If the Canucks do let go of Allvin, it sounds like the Minnesota Wild might have some interest in him. Allvin has a solid relationship with Wild GM Bill Guerin, built when the two worked with the Penguins at the same time. Allvin and Guerin were both seen as key up-and-coming figures in Pittsburgh’s organization during their championship seasons.
• On to the Maple Leafs: going into this week, they still hadn’t reached out to the Blues to seek any formal permission to speak to Doug Armstrong about their front office vacancy. In fact, it doesn’t sound like the Leafs are going after that type of traditional hockey guy right now, as they also haven’t reached out to others such as Peter Chiarelli, Dean Lombardi, or Ron Francis, either.
• Many eyebrows were raised when Ron Francis ‘stepped down’ as president of the Seattle Kraken.
Our Elliotte Friedman spoke on his 32 Thoughts show about a split between Francis and others in the organization over the hiring of Dan Bylsma as head coach in 2024. Francis was definitely leaning towards other candidates, such as Todd McLellan or Dean Evason, at the time. He even preferred Joel Quenneville, but ownership had no interest.
The organization subsequently went with Botterill’s recommendation of Bylsma, which turned into a disaster.
At that moment, it was clear Francis was president of the hockey club in title only. Critique him all you want for the decisions that were made over his five seasons with the team, but he did not hold any ‘final say’ power there the last two years.
So what’s next for the Kraken? After falling short of the playoffs for a third year in a row, look for them to be as aggressive in free agency this summer as they were at the trade deadline. But their big issues will be two-fold: first, the free agent pool isn’t teeming with roster-changing options; second, they won’t be challenged about offering UFAs enough money, but rather with convincing players to come at all.
At this year’s trade deadline, Botterill had a keen interest in Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas from St. Louis, but couldn’t get them interested in lifting their no-move clauses. Seattle did receive permission from the New York Rangers to offer Panarin a contract extension that included a higher AAV than Leon Draisaitl’s $14 million, but Panarin also had no interest in going there.
According to one source, the Kraken actually thought they had a deal done with Nashville to give up a second- and third-rounder for Erik Haula. However, there was never a trade call, and there’s no indication why the deal didn’t happen. It should be noted, however, that Haula has partial no-trade protection.
• Francis would like to get back in with a front office somewhere else, so he is someone to keep in mind as these searches continue. However, as of yet, he has not been contacted by any team looking to fill a role.
• Sounds like the Nashville Predators have a budget in mind to spend on their next hockey boss, so it’s not likely they’ll pay a lot for a big name such as Brendan Shanahan.
Not sure where that would leave someone like former Devils president and GM Tom Fitzgerald, but he is expected to interview with the Predators this week, at the recommendation of Barry Trotz. Fitzgerald was the first captain in Nashville’s team history when Trotz was the head coach.
• It doesn’t sound like the search in New Jersey for Fitzgerald’s replacement is progressing as quickly as everyone thought it might. While they have permission to speak to certain individuals, including Sunny Mehta from Florida, it doesn’t sound like any formal interviews have been conducted yet.
