Richardson comes to the Canadiens after one year as an assistant coach with the New York Islanders. He previously spent three seasons as an assistant with the Ottawa Senators, followed by a four-year run as the bench boss of the Senators' minor-league club.
The Ottawa native is the Canadiens' second coaching hire this offseason, after the team appointed Dominique Ducharme as assistant coach in April. The two will work under associate coach Kirk Muller and head coach Claude Julien.
"I'm delighted with the addition of Luke Richardson to our coaching staff. Luke is a very credible hockey person and a very knowledgeable coach," Julien said in a statement. "We undertook a process to select a coach with specific criteria in mind, and after taking the time to meet with several candidates, we're very happy that Luke accepted to join our group. He has already been told that his role on our staff will be to work with our defensemen."
The top pick in the 2018 draft, Dahlin is expected to immediately step into the Sabres' lineup and stabilize the Buffalo blue line alongside defensive stalwart Rasmus Ristolainen.
In 41 games with the Swedish Hockey League's Frolunda HC last season, Dahlin notched seven goals and 13 assists. The Swedish import has been compared to fellow countrymen Nicklas Lidstrom and Victor Hedman.
Dahlin is the third player in the Sabres' franchise history to be selected with the first-overall pick, following Gilbert Perreault (1970) and Pierre Turgeon (1987).
Don't underestimate the value of freshmen in your fantasy league.
Often overlooked, rookies can provide important production. Better yet, given their relative inexperience, these under-the-radar performers can be picked up in the later rounds of your draft.
For first-year players on top teams, where they are surrounded by high-end talent, the rewards can be even more significant. With that in mind, here are five names to keep an eye on when your draft team gets called to the podium:
Anthony Cirelli
Load up on the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are once again a Stanley Cup favorite.
While Bolts rookie center Anthony Cirelli won't be among the top contributors on this potential champion - Tampa Bay's offensive riches means Cirelli will likely be used in a bottom-six role - it stands to reason he will play alongside other scoring threats, possibly Yanni Gourde and veteran winger Alex Killorn. Gourde finished third in rookie scoring last year, while Killorn has been a consistent contributor across six seasons in Tampa Bay.
As for Cirelli, while he spent most of last season in the minors, Lightning fans got a sneak peak of what's to come when the budding center put up 11 points in 18 appearances with the big club. Expect his production to climb alongside his experience.
Ryan Donato
Few have made better debuts than Ryan Donato, whose first game with the Boston Bruins last year saw him pick up a goal and two assists. In fact, Donato was only the second player in franchise history to notch three points in his introduction to the NHL.
While his production expectedly tailed off - he tallied six points in the next 11 contests, and was held pointless across three postseason games - Donato should be a key contributor next season on a Bruins squad capable of securing top spot in the Atlantic Division.
Current projections have Donato on Boston's third line, possibly alongside fellow freshman Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and second-year pro Danton Heinen.
Jordan Greenway
For leagues that value size with skill, look to Jordan Greenway of the Minnesota Wild. The hulking winger brings both a scoring touch and impressive size, so you're sure to see his name across a handful of fantasy categories.
Greenway wrapped his third campaign with Boston University just shy of a point-per-game pace, while his 52 penalty minutes ranked second to only 2018 draftee Brady Tkachuk. He got a short stint with the Wild following the college season, which included five playoff games, where he notched one goal and one assist.
The New York native also brings winning pedigree, as he was a member of Team USA's gold-medal squad at the 2017 World Junior Championship. That international experience helped Greenway land a role with the Americans at 2018 Pyeongchang, where he scored one goal in five outings.
The team's top pick in the 2017 draft, Thomas impressed last season in what is sure to be his last year skating in the junior ranks. After beginning the season with the OHL's London Knights, where his production eclipsed 1.7 points per game, a deadline deal saw Thomas shipped to the Hamilton Bulldogs. While his offensive output dipped early on with his new club, Thomas turned heads in the postseason, finishing third in league scoring with 32 points in 21 games.
Loads of offensive options with the Blues means not only solid linemates for Thomas, but also the likelihood of him fitting into a lower spot in the top nine, where he won't be matched against top defenders and will be given plenty of time to shine.
Eeli Tolvanen
After a record-setting rookie season in the KHL - including a hat-trick in his debut game - you can't fault Nashville Predators fans for buying into the hype surrounding 2017 first-rounder Eeli Tolvanen.
The 18-year-old Finnish forward, who set the KHL record for the most points in a season by a teenager (a mark previously held by Evgeny Kuznetsov), made the move to Tennessee at the end of the year, ready to tackle the next pro league. But his scoring stopped there, as Tolvanen skated in just three regular-season contents, where he was held scoreless in each, and was then scratched for all 13 of the Predators playoff games.
Still, the betting here is Tolvanen will hold down a more regular role next season, and most likely a spot alongside two other dynamic forwards, given Nashville's wealth of scoring options.
Alex Ovechkin's summer with the Stanley Cup has sadly come to an end.
After bringing the chalice back to his hometown of Moscow for a few final days of partying, the Washington Capitals captain had some parting words before officially passing it off to teammate Michal Kempny.
For the Ottawa Senators and their fans, disaster has been inescapable over the past 12 months.
Through the hardships, one final blow remains, as captain Erik Karlsson's departure from the organization via trade before the start of the 2018-19 season is inevitable. The deal, one would think, will help stock the cupboards for the Senators' future with a handful of nice assets, which is about all Ottawa can hope for at this point.
Beyond the ongoing Karlsson saga, which, in fairness, is a colossal league-wide storyline, the Senators have another key piece of business to take care of this summer: signing Mark Stone.
Stone was one of 44 restricted free agents to file for arbitration Thursday, and is by far the most talented member on the list. At 26 years old, Stone is only one year away from becoming an unrestricted free agent, meaning he can only get a one-year contract if he goes to arbitration.
Surely, the Senators want to avoid that scenario, and while a high number of players filed this offseason, it's rare for these cases to ever reach the point of arbitration. Last year, Nate Schmidt and the Vegas Golden Knights were the only case out of 30 to require a third-party negotiator.
With that in mind, let's assume Stone and the Sens strike a long-term deal, and try to map out what kind of salary the star winger just might fetch.
The player
Injuries limited Stone to just 58 games in 2017-18, yet he finished tie atop the Senators' scoring list alongside Karlsson with 62 points, and averaged more than 20:40 of ice time per contest - the highest mark of all right wingers across the league.
Stone's high usage can be attributed to his effectiveness at both ends of the ice, as he's evolved into one of the best two-way forwards in the NHL. Despite missing 24 games, Stone ranked fourth at his position with 59 takeaways.
On offense, 62 points is just two off his career high, set in 2014-15. Among all Senators skaters, Stone ranked third with a 4.68 Corsi relative to his teammates at five-on-five despite Ottawa ranking 30th in possession at 47.12 percent. Elsewhere, Stone ranked eighth in the league in five-on-five points per 60 minutes (2.68), and his primary point rate (goals and first assists) per 60 of 1.93 puts him in equal to Leon Draisiatl, and ahead of players like Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, Artemi Panarin, and MVP Taylor Hall. Certainly not terrible company to keep.
The team
What else is there really to say about the organization at this point? Be it Eugene Melnyk's threat to relocate the team during a weekend they were in the national spotlight, or harassment charges against assistant general manager Randy Lee, it's been an eternity since any good news came out of Ottawa.
A new deal for Stone is a chance to get things turning in the right direction. Once Karlsson is out of town, Stone is the best player on the Sens' roster, and will serve as the main piece of the team's core. In February, Stone said he wants to be part of Ottawa's long-term solution, but much has changed since then, and there's assuredly no quick fix to the hole the club has managed to dig itself into.
The Senators will ice a lousy roster in 2018-19, and any hopes at the Jack Hughes lottery were dashed when they decided to hold onto this year's pick, No. 4 overall, to take Brady Tkachuk - who will likely spend another season at Boston University come fall.
Ottawa can't sell him on the strength of his surrounding personnel, but Stone has been carrying an incredibly team-friendly cap hit of $3.5 million for the past three seasons, and it's unlikely he'll be willing to forego loads of guaranteed money at his age just for the chance to walk as a UFA next summer. General manager Pierre Dorion can use promised dollars to his advantage, as the Senators are nowhere near the cap ceiling, but doing so in a manner that keeps Stone happy should be priority No. 1 once negotiations get underway.
Comparables
Here's a look at some prominent right wingers to sign long-term contracts (not including those coming off entry-level deals) over the last three years, and how Stone stacks up.
Player (Team)
Career P/GP
Contract Length (AAV)
Patric Hornqvist (PIT)
0.63
5 years ($5.3M)
Jonathan Marchessault (VGK)
0.72
6 years ($5M)
Alexander Radulov (DAL)
0.73
5 years ($6.25M)
T.J. Oshie (WSH)
0.69
8 years ($5.75M)
Jakub Voracek (PHI)
0.74
8 years ($8.25M)
Through 307 games in his NHL career, Stone stands at 0.81 points per game, out-producing all players on the list above. With the exception of Voracek, he'll also be younger than each of his comparables at his time of signing.
The number
Considering Stone's career production and value at both ends of the ice, the Senators' financial flexibility and need for something positive inside the organization, along with the market of winger contracts across the league, it's fair to assume Stone will soon be paid among the league's elite.
Only six right wingers currently have a cap hit of over $7 million, and Stone is poised to become the seventh. A multi-year deal with an annual payment of anywhere between $7.5 million to $8.5 million would be more than suitable for both sides as they embark on a new era in Ottawa.
The St. Louis Blues continue to stock up at the forward position.
According to Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic, unrestricted free agent Patrick Maroon and the Blues are expected to reach an agreement on a contract. No word yet on terms.
In the 2017-18 season, Maroon split his time between the New Jersey Devils and Edmonton Oilers, contributing a total of 17 goals and 26 assists in 74 games. The St. Louis native's production topped out the year prior, with 27 goals.
Blues GM Doug Armstrong has been a busy man over the past week. He signed UFAs Tyler Bozak and David Perron, and traded for Ryan O'Reilly in an effort to revamp his forward group.
Maroon, 30, was arguably the top UFA remaining on the market.
