After serving as the Florida Panthers general manager for the past four seasons (and head coach for three of those seasons) Jacques Martin will be named the new head coach of the Montreal Canadiens on Monday. During his four-year stint in charge of the Panthers, the team failed to make the playoffs each season, while he brings 14 years of head coaching experience to the Canadiens.
After a brief two-year tenure with the St. Louis Blues in the late 1980s, Martin took over the Ottawa Senators in 1995, leading the team to the playoffs eight times in nine years, while also winning three division titles and the Jack Adams award as coach of the year in 1999.
A crucial offseason, possibly the most significant in franchise history, is underway for the Minnesota Wild. Head coach Jacques Lemaire and general manager Doug Risebrough, the only people to ever hold those positions for the Wild, are both gone.
The process of finding a new general manager took precedent for owner Craig Leipold, and he made sure to take his time and get things right. After a series of interviews, and a list of candidates that included high-profile broadcaster Pierre McGuire, Leipold has settled on a front-office veteran with a track record of helping build winning teams.
It's not exactly a national secret that hockey teams tend to go through coaching changes about as often as a high school kid goes through a change of clothes (speaking on personal experience, that's about once per year). As we begin the conference finals, it's probably worth pointing out that three of the four teams taking part -- the Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks -- experienced a change behind the bench during the regular season.
The Vancouver Canucks have come a long way as an offensive team. This group is much more dangerous than previous Canuck teams, and it's a big part of why they're considered a legitimate threat to win the Stanley Cup.
That said, Vancouver still thrives with their defense. Coming off a big-time meltdown in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against Chicago, the Canucks got some bad news. One of their main defensive cogs is going to miss Tuesday's Game 3 in Chicago.
In 2000, I had a chance to interview Doug Risebrough on a radio show I hosted in Duluth, Minn. It was an interesting conversation, and it was a bit of an education. Frankly, I didn't know a lot about hockey then, and I certainly didn't know a thing about building an expansion franchise from the ground up.
Newsmakers in the NHL is a weekday morning attempt to clear yesterday's rebounds and look to the day ahead.
Rangers 4, Flyers 3: With a win on Sunday -- or a loss in overtime -- the Philadelphia Flyers could have secured the No. 4 seed and home ice advantage in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Instead, the Flyers watched a 3-2 lead after two periods turn into a 4-3 loss, at home, against a New York Rangers team that had absolutely nothing to play for in terms of playoff positioning. As a result, the Flyers are going to begin their opening round series in Pittsburgh against a Penguins team that is extremely difficult to beat on home ice.
Speculation had been floating around for a while. A year ago, Minnesota Wild coach Jacques Lemairedecided to return, but only after consulting with general manager Doug Risebrough. He admitted he wanted Risebrough to tell him he could still coach, and it was an odd type of reassurance for a coach of Lemaire's stature to seek.
After the Wild closed out their season with a 6-3 win over Columbus Saturday, Lemaire announced he was stepping down as Wild coach.
When the NHL trade deadline passed Wednesday without the Minnesota Wild making a significant move, no one was really surprised. After all, the Wild have never really been known for their deadline aggression. Not only that, but they are on the fence when it comes to buying or selling, and those teams usually tend to stand pat at the deadline, hoping to sneak into the playoffs with what they already have.
General manager Doug Risebrough had a chance to do something significant Wednesday. Instead, he may have committed his biggest blunder by not pulling the trigger on a deal for his best player.
Full disclosure: I am a fan of the Minnesota Wild. I have been on the proverbial bandwagon since their inception, and I'm not the kind to switch teams or quit being a fan.
This has been a frustrating season. Marian Gaborik was injured early and has pretty much stayed that way since. The team is short on offensive talent and long on goaltending, and they've relied way too much on their defense to win games. With Gaborik on the way back, the Wild are trying to hang on in the playoff race until he returns. I have a better idea.
Derek Boogaard has two career NHL goals. It's not like Wild coach Jacques Lemaire uses him for his skill. Boogaard is on the ice to protect the Minnesota Wild's skill guys, and he's there to be a physical presence.
He took that role a bit too far on Friday night. Boogaard used his huge elbow as a weapon, sending Calgary Flame Brandon Prust crumpling to the ice. The hit has earned Boogaard a five-game ban.
After serving as the Florida Panthers general manager for the past four seasons (and head coach for three of those seasons) Jacques Martin will be named the new head coach of the Montreal Canadiens on Monday. During his four-year stint in charge of the Panthers, the team failed to make the playoffs each season, while he brings 14 years of head coaching experience to the Canadiens.
The Vancouver Canucks have come a long way as an offensive team. This group is much more dangerous than previous Canuck teams, and it's a big part of why they're considered a legitimate threat to win the Stanley Cup.
In 2000, I had a chance to interview 
Newsmakers in the NHL is a weekday morning attempt to clear yesterday's rebounds and look to the day ahead.
Speculation had been floating around for a while. A year ago, Minnesota Wild coach 
When the NHL trade deadline passed Wednesday without the Minnesota Wild making a significant move, no one was really surprised. After all, the Wild have never really been known for their deadline aggression. Not only that, but they are on the fence when it comes to buying or selling, and those teams usually tend to stand pat at the deadline, hoping to sneak into the playoffs with what they already have.
Full disclosure: I am a fan of the Minnesota Wild. I have been on the proverbial bandwagon since their inception, and I'm not the kind to switch teams or quit being a fan.
