No coaching changes coming for the Canucks
Nicholas Cotsonika of NHL.com: Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning said that they are not considering a coaching change and that they hope to get a contract extension in place for head coach Travis Green.
“My feeling on Travis is, we really like him,” Benning said. “He’s done a good job with this group. He’s our coach. … Like I don’t comment on player negotiations, I’m not going to comment on coaching negotiations. But it’s something that we would like to get done moving forward.”
Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini tweeted last month that he has full confidence in both Benning and Green and doesn’t plan on making a change.
Blackhawks have some options with Seabrook’s contract
Scott Powers of The Athletic: Defenseman Brent Seabrook announced last week that he’ll no longer be able to play hockey. He had three years at a $6.875 million salary cap remaining on his deal with the Chicago Blackhawks. Since he’s not officially retiring, he’ll remain on the LTIR for the next three seasons. There are some options for the Blackhawks going forward.
The Blackhawks could look to trade his LTIR hit to a team looking to get to the cap floor or for added LTI salary pool space. In the past, the Arizona Coyotes had been a team willing to take LTI players – Marian Hossa (from the Blackhawks), Chris Pronger, Dave Bolland – but they, and several other teams may not be in that position anymore.
Seabrook’s contract is structured differently than say Hossa’s was as Seabrook is owed $15.5 million over the next seasons were Hossa’s deal was at $1 million. It’s also not easy for teams to manage three years of a player on LTIR as opposed if they had just one or two years left.
A source said maybe the Colorado Avalanche or Tampa Bay Lightning would be interested in the added LTIR space.
“Maybe a team like the Colorado Avalanche could be interested in Seabrook’s contract considering they’re going to have some major financial hurdles in the coming years with (Cale) Makar and Nathan MacKinnon’s next contracts coming up. Maybe the Lightning will be looking to do that again, too.”
Would the Blackhawks be able to persued the Seattle Kraken to take Seabrook?
If the Blackhawks were able to find a trade partner, then they’d need to agree on a price. One source thought a first-round pick or a top player – teams asking for Alex DeBrincat or Kirby Dach – but GM Stan Bowman likely wouldn’t be into that. Would a package of Ian Mitchell and Brandon Hagel work?