The middle of October is normally too early for NHL teams to be contemplating roster or coaching changes, but a pair of teams unexpectedly stumbling out of the gate may force the hand of their general managers.
Goodbye, Columbus?
The Columbus Blue Jackets were thought to be a team aspiring for a top three spot in the Metropolitan Division or an Eastern Conference wild card spot after finishing last season with 16 wins in their final 20 games. They acquired two-time Stanley Cup winner Brandon Saad over the summer, but the Blue Jackets have started the season 0-6 and the pressure is already rising on GM Jarmo Kekalainen to do something to right the ship.
Former Vezina winner Sergei Bobrovsky was in goal for the first five losses before backup Curtis McElhinney started in Chicago on Saturday and admitted last week that he had “zero confidence”, but a greater reason for concern is core players Ryan Johansen, Nick Foligno, Jack Johnson and David Savard struggling.
Columbus has allowed a league-leading 30 goals against, including six goals to the low scoring Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday that Kekalainen is looking to make a deal before considering firing head coach Todd Richards, but this is the fourth time in the fifth-year head coach’s tenure with Columbus that they have struggled at the start of the season (2012-13: 5-12-3, 2013-14: 7-10-3, 2014-15: 6-12-2).
If the Blue Jackets do pull the trigger on a trade, it will likely be to upgrade their defense, which was considered their weak spot entering the season. Top pairing blueliners Jack Johnson and David Savard were a collective -8 against the Maple Leafs and youngster Ryan Murray has yet to fulfill the promise expected from a second-overall pick because of a series of injuries.
Anguish in Anaheim
Anaheim was the choice of many to come out of the West, especially with the decline of the LA Kings and the roster reshuffle in Chicago weakening the Cup champion Blackhawks, but the Ducks have started 1-3-1 and been shutout three times.
Head coach Bruce Boudreau has been on the hot seat in spite of regular season success after losing to the Kings in the second round two years ago and getting to Game 7 of the Western Conference Final last season.
GM Bob Murray upgraded the Ducks roster by acquiring veteran defenseman Kevin Bieksa, wingers Carl Hagelin, Mike Santorelli, Chris Stewart and backup goalie Anton Khoudobin during the off-season, but may have to go in a different direction as he did four years ago when he replaced Randy Carlyle with the more player-friendly Boudreau.
One factor that may give Boudreau a longer rope are the options available on the coaching market. With Mike Babcock, Todd McLellan, Dan Bylsma, Peter DeBoer and Calder Cup winner Jeff Blashill hired over the summer, the prominent candidates are Carlyle, Ron Wilson, Kevin Dineen, John Tortorella and Mike Keenan.
The former Leafs bench boss Carlyle was interviewed for the San Jose coaching position this summer, has an off-season home in Southern California and is still respected as a top-flight head coach (outside of Toronto). Wilson will be coaching Team USA for the upcoming World Junior Tournament in Helsinki, Dineen is an assistant to Joel Quenneville in Chicago and Tortorella is under contract to the Vancouver Canucks and was named head coach of Team USA for next summer’s World Cup of Hockey.
Keenan won the KHL’s Gagarin Cup with Metallurg Magnitogorsk in 2014, but was relieved of his duties by the club on Sunday.
Staal-ed Talks?
The three most intriguing potential free agents of the 2016 UFA class are centers Anze Kopitar, Steven Stamkos and Eric Staal. Indications are that Los Angeles and Kopitar are close to agreeing on a multi-year extension, while things have been quiet on regarding deals for Stamkos and Staal.
Carolina may be challenged to re-sign their soon-to-be 31-year-old team captain, as they are expected to finish near the bottom of the Eastern Conference and may not be able to convince Staal to take a hometown discount and be a part of the Hurricanes for the remainder of his career.
The task of being competitive became more challenging for GM Ron Francis with the loss of defenseman James Wisniewski for the year with an ACL tear.
The injury robs the offensively challenged Canes of a blueliner capable of playing major minutes and on the power play. Francis will have to determine whether Staal will re-sign in the next few months or lay the groundwork to deal him before the February 29th trade deadline for a package of prospects and draft picks to help in the club’s rebuild.
Written by Michael Augello, who can be found on twitter @MikeInBuffalo
