Colliton may not be on the hot seat yet
Jay Zawaski: ESPN’s Emility Kaplan on the Chicago Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton:
“I’ve talked to a lot of people around the BH organization. They feel like they haven’t deviated from their (rebuild) plan. The sense I get…the people I talk to…there aren’t even closed meetings at this point about Jeremy Colliton losing his job.”
“They’re not panicking here. Now, if it gets to 20 games and they’re still seeing the same results, maybe we’ll see a change, but it’s not a situation if they lose two of the next three, that Jeremy Colliton would be on the way out.”
Senators may not be looking for a center, and Brannstrom may be safe for now
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion indicated on Bob McCown’s podcast that they were happy wiith their way their centers have played so far this season. Center Shane Pinto has a shoulder injury now though. Since they aren’t a contending team this year, Dorion doesn’t feel the need to go acquire a center. If they were a contender, he’d have a diferent answer.
“If we felt we could be a Cup-contending team, then the answer would be different, but we have to realize our job and D.J.’s job is to keep developing these players by taking that next step and trying to win more games. Last year, we felt the need to get one to protect our younger centres. This year, with the evolution of some of our wingers taking on a bigger role and with a bit more experience on the back end, they’ll be fine.”
Elliotte Friedman reported that the Senators defenseman Erik Brannstrom could be a trade asset for the team, but doens’t see them moving him anytime soon. He still has a future with the Senators, he just needs a little more time.