On the Arizona Coyotes …
Nick Kypreos: Hearing that the Arizona Coyotes could go through a management shakeup. It could come as early as today, and it could start with GM Don Maloney being let go.
Elliotte Friedman: Adding to Kypreos’s tweet, any shakeup with the Coyotes could mean an increased role for Dave Tippett with regards to personnel decisions.
Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic: The Coyotes have only nine players signed for next season. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Zbynek Michalek are the only defensemen that have contracts. Nine forwards don’t have contracts for next season.
“We’ll collect all the data and go through things next week,” coach Dave Tippett said. “But we want to make sure players, their minds are in the right spot. It means a lot. It’s a privilege to play in this league. If you take that for granted, it’s probably not the ideal situation. Most of our guys I think have worked hard.”
UFAs include: Shane Doan, Alex Tanguay, Boyd Gordon and Nicklas Grossmann.
RFAs include: Connor Murphy, Michael Stone, Klas Dahlbeck, Kevin Connauton and Jarred Tinordi.
On the Montreal Canadiens …
Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette: GM Marc Bergevin and Michel Therrien will meet with the media today. Bergevin gave Therrien a vote of confidence back in January. Bergevin didn’t really do anything to help his coach out and could be on the hot seat. Cowen notes:
“Bergevin can’t just keep stockpiling third- and fourth-line character players. He’s going to have to make a major trade to not only shake up the locker room, but to find someone who can play as a top-six forward and put the puck in the net on a consistent basis. Sort of like Smith-Pelly did in New Jersey.”
On the Ottawa Senators …
Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen: New Senators GM Pierre Dorion will have to make a decision soon on head coach Dave Cameron and his coaching staff. It’s expected that they’ll be making changes on that front. If the Bruins fire Claude Julien, he’ll be at the top of the Senators list.
“As far as the future, anyone who falls under the umbrella of hockey in this organization will be evaluated,” Dorion said. “We can all talk about accountability, but for me, net results bring accountability. We are in the business of wining and positive results. People who know me know that I’m driven, sensitive, passionate, demanding.
“But most importantly for me, it’s usually black or white.”
