- Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: The Avalanche have fired coach Joe Sacco after missing the playoffs in each of the last three seasons.
“The organization believes a change of leadership behind the bench is needed going forward,” Greg Sherman, Avs general manager, said in a release.
“Joe has worked for this franchise for eight seasons and he is a dedicated and hard-working coach. We appreciate all he has done and wish him the best in the future.”
- Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: Eric Lacroix has stepped down as the Avalanche’s vice president of hockey operations.
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: Dallas Stars owner Tom Gaglardi has confirmed that Jim Nill will be the Stars next GM after Joe Nieuwendykwas let go.
“I had a list of candidates and when it became clear that Jim Nill would be interested in leaving Detroit and coming here, I threw the list away,” Gaglardi said. “I think he is without a doubt he best candidate to take his job.”
- Renaud Lavoie: Lavoie has been told that Glen Gulutzan won’t be the Stars coach next season.
- George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press: Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said the players that got them into the playoffs, will play in Game 1. So it’s unlikely that Todd Bertuzzi and Mikael Samuelsson will start the series.
- Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press: Red Wings Johan Franzen play of late has allowed the Wings to reunite Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.
- Ed Willes of the Vancouver Province: Canucks Cory Schneider might now be questionable for Game 1. The severity of his injury is still unknown.