March 2015 - Hockey Wiretap

Wings Waiting For End Of AHL Season To Announce New Coach

Jun 4, 2015 5:11 PM

Red Wings GM Ken Holland said the team will not announce a new head coach until the Grand Rapid Griffins are finished with the AHL playoffs.

Grand Rapids coach Jeff Blashill has been an obvious candidate to take over the Red Wings from the moment coach Mike Babcock left for the Maple Leafs.

ESPN.com

Tags: Detroit Red Wings, Misc Rumor

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Toews, Crawford Lead Hawks To Game 7 Win

Jun 4, 2015 5:11 PM

Jonathan Toews scored two goals in the opening minutes, Corey Crawford made 35 saves and Chicago roared into the Stanley Cup finals with a 5-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night, according to an ESPN.com report.

ESPN.com

Tags: Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, Game Recap, Misc Rumor

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Ryan McDonagh Played With Broken Foot

Jun 4, 2015 1:59 AM

Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh was playing through a broken foot, coach Alain Vigneault revealed after New York was eliminated from the playoffs with loss to the Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals Friday night at Madison Square Garden.

"[Ryan] played through a lot of pain," Vigneault said, adding that McDonagh played through the injury for "a couple games."

ESPN.com

Tags: New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Injury, Misc Rumor

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Lightning Take Game 7 From Rangers

Jun 4, 2015 1:59 AM

The Lightning will play for the Stanley Cup, winning their third straight game at Madison Square Garden 2-0 on Friday night to beat the Rangers in the Eastern Conference finals in seven games, according to an ESPN.com report.

ESPN.com

Tags: Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, Game Recap, Misc Rumor, Team Achievement

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Sabres Hire Dan Bylsma As Head Coach

Jun 3, 2015 12:22 AM

The Buffalo Sabres have hired Dan Bylsma as head coach.

Bylsma's first objective is developing a winning attitude in Buffalo, on a team that has finished last in the standings in each of the past two seasons.

''The expectation for the winning culture and how we play is not going to change,'' Bylsma said during his inaugural news conference shortly after being hired Thursday. ''And that's going to start, starting today. And it's going to continue as we go, as we develop this group.''

The 44-year-old Bylsma led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup title in 2009 in his rookie season as coach. He eventually spent five-plus seasons in Pittsburgh, where he won a franchise-best 252 games and was the NHL's 2011 coach of the year, before being fired during front-office shake up a year ago.

AP

Tags: Buffalo Sabres, Misc Rumor

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Sharks Hire Peter DeBoer As Head Coach

May 28, 2015 10:51 PM

The San Jose Sharks will hire Peter DeBoer to replace Todd McLellan as head coach.

The decision to hire DeBoer ends a lengthy search that started April 20 when the team and McLellan announced that he would not be back for an eighth season in San Jose. 

After three seasons without making the playoffs in Florida, DeBoer was fired by the Panthers following the 2010-11 season.

He took over the Devils in 2011-12 and led New Jersey to the Stanley Cup finals in his first season where they lost to Los Angeles. 

Josh Dubow/AP

Tags: San Jose Sharks, Misc Rumor

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Chris Hansen: No NHL First Seattle Arena Plan Yet

May 26, 2015 10:15 PM

Seattle arena investor Chris Hansen has remained open to the idea of a hockey team being the first tenant for a proposed facility in the city's stadium district even if his focus is on basketball.

Even with indications that Seattle could be a viable expansion market for the NHL, no one has come to Hansen's group with a proposal for a hockey franchise to be the initial occupant.

''We've had a lot of informal discussions with people about this, but us or the city have yet to be presented with any kind of offer. I mean any kind of even basic offer that would be the opening point for negotiating something,'' Hansen said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday.

''I just want to make that clear. No one has come forward and made an offer to do this in a way that would be unacceptable or acceptable. There hasn't been any negotiation around the terms of how this could be changed. We've taken a very simple approach: Don't make it worse for us and don't make it worse for the city and use your own creativity and just come back to us with something that is fair and we don't have anything back yet.''

The lack of formal discussions around a potential hockey franchise was surprising, considering his original memorandum of understanding with the city of Seattle and King County was approved more than two years ago and immediate NBA prospects have dimmed.

Tim Booth/AP

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Ken Hitchcock Stays With Blues On One-Year Contract

May 27, 2015 9:11 PM

The St. Louis Blues have agreed upon a one-year contract for Ken Hitchcock to return as head coach.

''This is unfinished business for me,'' Hitchcock said. ''I don't want to coach to coach, I want to coach to win. I couldn't find a better spot.''

 

Both Hitchcock and general manager Doug Armey referred to the term ''detoxing'' since the Blues were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

AP

Tags: St Louis Blues, Misc Rumor

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Dan Bylsma Free To Take Any Head Coaching Job Offered To Him

May 24, 2015 3:23 PM

Dan Bylsma is free to take any job opening that is offered to him.

Though Bylsma was fired last June, he remains on Pittsburgh's payroll because his contract runs through the end of next season.

Buffalo, San Jose, New Jersey and Detroit have coaching openings.

John Wawrow/AP

Tags: Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, Misc Rumor

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Lightning Expect Matt Carle To Play In Game 5

May 24, 2015 3:22 PM

The Tampa Bay Lightning expect Matt Carle to return to the lineup for Game 5.

Carle, who missed Game 4 on Friday with an undisclosed injury, had played in all 16 Stanley Cup Playoff games prior to that. He took part in the morning skate and was optimistic.

"I feel good," Carle said. "I don't know if I'm playing yet, but we will see."

David Satriano/NHL.com

Tags: Tampa Bay Lightning, Injury

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Blackhawks Beat Ducks 5-4 To Even Series
Game 5 of the Western Conference finals will be on Monday in Anaheim.

ESPN.com

Lundqvist, Rangers Beat Lighting To Even Series
Henrik Lundqvist stopped 38 shots in the Rangers' 5-1 win over the Lighting on Friday night.

ESPN.com

Fetisov Wants To Prevent Young Russians Jumping To NHL
Slava Fetisov wants to stop Russians from moving to North America before they turn 28 years of age.

ESPN.com

Bettman Expects Salary Cap To Increase Five Percent
Commissioner Gary Bettman expects the salary cap for the 2015-16 season to be around $71 million.

ESPN.com

Ducks Edge Hawks, Take 2-1 Series Lead
Frederick Andersen made 27 saves in the Ducks 2-1 win over the Blackhawks on Thursday night.

ESPN.com

Kucherov's Overtime Goal Gives Lightning Series Lead
The Lightning defeated the Rangers 6-5 in overtime on Wednesday night.

ESPN.com

Bruins Name Don Sweeney New GM
Don Sweeney has served the past six seasons as the assistant general manager in Boston.

ESPN.com

Maple Leafs Hire Mike Babcock As Head Coach
Mike Babcock joins the Leafs after serving as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings for the past 10 seasons.

RealGM Staff Report

Blackhawks Prevail In Third Overtime To Even Series
Marcus Kruger scored the game-winning goal at 16:12 of the third overtime.

ESPN.com

Oilers Name McLellan New Head Coach
Todd McLellan has a 311-163-66 coaching record in the regular season, but is 30-32 in the playoffs.

ESPN.com

Report: Mike Babcock In Contract Talks With Sabres
Mike Babcock remains under contract with the Red Wings through June 30.

ESPN.com

San Jose Sharks Plan To Interview Dan Bylsma
Dan Bylsma was fired by the Penguins last June, but remains under contract with Pittsburgh.

San Jose Mercury News

Tyler Johnson's Hat Trick Helps Lightning Even Series
The Lightning defeated the Rangers by the score of 6-2 on Monday night to even their Eastern Conference series.

ESPN.com

Oilers Close To Hiring Todd McLellan
Todd McLellan just won the gold medal as Team Canada's coach at the World Championships.

ESPN.com

Chris McFarland Leaves Blue Jackets Organization
Chris McFarland was a member of the Blue Jackets franchise for 16 years.

Press Release

GM MacLellan: Capitals 'On The Right Path'
There's an opportunity for the Capitals to win a Stanley Cup title in the next 3-4 years with Alex Ovechkin.

ESPN.com

Report: Mike Babcock To Visit With Sharks
The Sharks are one of four teams that sought permission to talk with Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock.

San Jose Mercury News

Jaromir Jagr Retires From International Competition
Jaromir Jagr scored six goals for the Czech Republic in the World Championship.

ESPN.com

Flyers Name Dave Hakstol Head Coach
Dave Hakstol led North Dakota to seven Frozen Fours in 11 seasons as head coach.

ESPN.com

Sidney Crosby Leads Canada To Worlds Gold
Canada defeated Russia 6-1 to win the hockey world championship on Sunday.

ESPN.com