New Jersey Devils assistant general manager Tom Fitzgerald will join John Hynes' coaching staff and serve as an assistant coach, the team announced Wednesday.
There is no timeline for Fitzgerald's duties behind the bench. He will serve as a sounding board for coaches and players until the club "gets on track," the team's public relations department said, per NHL.com's Mike Morreale.
On Oct. 8, Hynes was listed at +900 to be the first coach fired this season. This trailed only Jim Montgomery (+400), Peter DeBoer (+500), Rick Tocchet (+600), and Bruce Boudreau (+700), and tied him with Paul Maurice.
Hynes is in his fifth season as New Jersey's head coach and has just one postseason appearance to his name.
On Tuesday, TSN's Bob McKenzie reported Devils GM Ray Shero is not considering a coaching change at this time.
Shero made a number of splashes this offseason, trading for P.K. Subban and Nikita Gusev, signing Wayne Simmonds in free agency, and drafting Jack Hughes first overall. The overhaul came with high expectations, but the club is off to an 0-4-2 start.
Perry signed a one-year, $1.5-million contract with Dallas over the summer after the Anaheim Ducks bought him out, but he'd been sidelined to this point due to a foot fracture.
The 34-year-old winger battled injuries last year, too, and posted 10 points in 31 games. For his career, he's notched 751 points in 932 contests to go with a Stanley Cup, a Hart Trophy, and a Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy.
A bounce-back campaign from Perry would certainly be welcomed by the Stars, who've struggled out of the gate to a 1-5-1 record and rank 24th in goals for.
The Washington Capitals will start rookie netminder Ilya Samsonov over a struggling Braden Holtby on Wednesday versus the Toronto Maple Leafs, but head coach Todd Reirden insists the decision is not worth reading into.
"It's not a goaltending controversy at this point. Braden's our No. 1 goalie," Reirden said after the team's morning skate, per Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.
Holtby, the club's No. 1 since 2013, hasn't been good enough to start the 2019-20 campaign. In five games, the 30-year-old has posted a .846 save percentage and was yanked from his last start after allowing three goals on three shots.
While Reirden doesn't believe Holtby is handing over the reins just yet, pressure has certainly begun to mount on the veteran netminder, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent July 1.
Samsonov was a first-round pick of the Caps in 2015, and after spending four years in the KHL and one in the AHL, has looked impressive to start his career in Washington. The 22-year-old owns a .944 save percentage in three games so far and he'll be tasked with shutting down a Leafs offense tied for first in the NHL with 28 goals for through seven contests.
"Jake Muzzin, their best defender early this season, there have been no contract talks at all. Not this summer, not early in the season between his camp and the Toronto Maple Leafs," LeBrun said.
Muzzin is an impending unrestricted free agent and is eligible to sign an extension at any time. Yet the Leafs are reportedly waiting to see how blue-liners Tyson Barrie and Cody Ceci fit before engaging in contract discussions with any of their other defensemen. Barrie and Ceci were acquired in July and are also impending UFAs.
Toronto's contract extension with Mitch Marner, among several other transactions over the offseason, presumably pushed a potential Muzzin extension down the team's list of priorities. However, Morgan Rielly is the club's only blue-liner under contract beyond this season.
Muzzin was acquired by the Maple Leafs in January for a 2019 first-round pick, as well as prospects Carl Grundstrom and Sean Durzi. He currently carries a cap hit of $4 million.
The 30-year-old has been rock solid for Toronto so far this season. In seven games, Muzzin has notched three points while averaging over 23 minutes per night. He also has strong underlying numbers, sporting a 55.11% Corsi For rating and 52.66% of expected goals, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Toronto has a projected $65.5 million committed to its 2020-21 roster.
"In speaking with (Wild general manager) Bill Guerin on Tuesday, he said, 'Listen, I respect Bruce Boudreau, I'm going to be patient here,' and when he says 'patient,' not just with him but with the entire roster before he starts making big changes," LeBrun reported on Tuesday's edition of "Insider Trading."
McKenzie said there was no truth to the notion shared by a fake Twitter account Tuesday that Hynes had been fired.
"It was not true at all, and it's not something that general manager Ray Shero is considering at this time," McKenzie said in the same segment, before adding that while Shero may have to eventually do something to shore up his lineup, "firing the coach at this moment in time is not one of those considerations."
Dreger then addressed the situation in Dallas.
"The Stars organization believes that they are a better team than their record clearly indicates," he said. "There's no sense of panic coming from management or the coaching staff."
The Wild entered Tuesday evening's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 1-4-0 record and with their lone win coming against the rebuilding Ottawa Senators.
Expectations are high in New Jersey after the Devils traded for P.K. Subban and Nikita Gusev while drafting Jack Hughes first overall. However, the team is winless with only two points in the standings through six games.
The Stars are 1-5-1 through their first seven contests.
The 2019 Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues visited the White House on Tuesday, and President Donald Trump was pleased to have them in the Oval Office.
The @StLouisBlues amazing comeback reminds us to never give up – and never lose faith. When you work hard, support each other, believe in yourself, and give it everything you’ve got, victory is always within reach! #STLBluespic.twitter.com/QeF54kqUak
The ceremony didn't start off on a high note. The White House public address announcer apparently didn't have a copy of the NHL pronunciation guide and struggled with the surname of captain Alex Pietrangelo (puh-TRAN-geh-loh).
President Donald Trump, Blues owner Tom Stillman and captain Alex Pietrangelo pic.twitter.com/EHQsxn2nn8
The president then took a jab at sports agents while bragging about the trade deal he made with China.
During White House event with the St. Louis Blues, Trump disses sports agents: "Those agents, right? They sit in bed, they weigh 350 pounds, and they complain, 'you're not playing very well today, c'mon.'" pic.twitter.com/GECGxTOMbF
Trump brought veteran forward Alexander Steen front and center to show the crowd what toughness looks like. Steen, stereotypical of hockey players, has missing teeth, and Trump jokingly asked the crowd, "Do you think I could take him in a fight?"
White House visits from the NFL and NBA champions have become either rare or nonexistent since Trump took office, but Stanley Cup winners have been a constant. MLB champions have also continued to visit, but some players and staff have declined to attend, including many stars from the 2018 Boston Red Sox and the team's manager.
As a kid, Josh Manson would dart out the door, hop on his bicycle, and pedal down a Saskatchewan dirt road to his grandparents' cabin. There, the future NHLer would often find his grandpa Harold fiddling around in the garage. The image, though simple, is forever etched onto Manson's brain.
The Anaheim Ducks defenseman couldn't help but think of Harold, an amputee, late last month as he welcomed sled hockey player Lera Doederlein into the organization's inner circle. Manson handed Doederlein a customized jersey to congratulate her on becoming the 21st Duck, an annual honor bestowed upon one fan "who embodies perseverance, character, courage, and inspiration."
Harold Manson, who died in 2012, lived an active life for 81 years. Doederlein, 16, is doing the same. Two amputees from different generations and with different stories; both unwilling to be defined by their challenges.
"When I knew him, it was never a limitation," Manson said recently, reflecting on how Harold coped with losing a leg during a railroad accident in the mid-1950s. "He was a very strong man. I don't think there was ever a point where we were feeling bad for him. That was not what he wanted.
"It's all about your mindset, and that's something Lera has as well. For her to have gone through (so much) and to have the attitude that she has - a nothing-you-can't-accomplish mindset - it's inspiring."
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Lera Doederlein was born Chueva Valeria Valerivna in Russia on April 15, 2003.
Immediately, doctors in the southwestern city of Saratov identified a serious problem: she had joint contractures in both of her legs, and would later be diagnosed with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, a rare, incurable condition that severely limits mobility.
Valeria was put up for adoption the next day. It was at a nearby orphanage where she took on the nickname of Lera and, about 15 months later, endeared herself to her future parents.
David and Fami Doederlein, devout Christians from Minnesota with three biological children, were a world away when they first laid eyes on her. In a video shared by a friend, Lera won them over instantly. "It was her bright eyes, inquisitive look, and the way that she was very attentive," David recalled.
The adoption process took about six months. Not yet two, Lera had gained a new family, a new country, and a culture willing to confront her medical condition.
"The attitude in Eastern Europe is very different than it is around here," David said. "I would say those attitudes are somewhat backward, knowing what we know about people with special needs being able to thrive in so many ways. When Lera was born - and her doctor and her mother saw she had these birth defects below the hip - the doctor encouraged her mother to give her up for adoption because they lived in a very poor area of Russia. He convinced her that, if she were adopted, she might have a better chance at a better life."
Lera at age 9. Doederlein family
Lera was unable to do much physically growing up, confined by braces that would run from her ankles to her knees, and a set of complex crutches. Surgeries offered little relief. So, at age 14, Lera opted to undergo a double above-knee amputation.
"I just wanted to take control of my life," Lera said of her decision. "From there, I had no idea what would happen, but obviously it took a good turn."
The medical bill - which included the operation, physical therapy, prosthetics, and a wheelchair - was offset somewhat by insurance and a fundraising drive run by Lera's brother Isaac Doederlein, a professional Brazilian jiu jitsu competitor. The family covered a large sum out of pocket, but the payoff has been immeasurable.
Lera had so desperately wanted to be free, mobile in some way, and prosthetics granted her that freedom. Not long after the surgery, she took an interest in adaptive sports like surfing, hand cycling, and sled hockey. She was invigorated.
"Getting her legs gave her such a sense of freedom that she can do all of these things that she didn't think she could do before," said Sarah Bettencourt, Lera's teammate on the San Diego Ducks sled hockey team. "That's her mentality, her personality that we all love. She's willing to try anything, and give it a go, see what sticks and see what doesn't."
Manson, Lera, and Getzlaf salute the crowd Debora Robinson / Getty Images
It was San Diego coach Nick Hurd who nominated Lera to become the 21st Duck, largely because she's blossomed into one of the top ambassadors for the adaptive sports community. Not only is she excelling in the sled hockey world, where only 2½ years into her career she's joined Bettencourt as a member of the U.S. national development team, but she's also a strong surfer and cyclist, competing in national events in those sports as well.
"A lot of people get into other sports in the offseason, dabble with it to stay in shape," Hurd said, "but she's really excelling in hand cycling and surfing, really anything that people are putting in front of her. She's taking the bull by the horns and going with it."
Lera, the fourth recipient of the 21st Duck honor, recently shared her story with Anaheim players before joining them on the Honda Center ice for practice. She then arrived at the home opener in a Lamborghini driven by team captain Ryan Getzlaf, walked the ceremonial orange carpet with him, and received a standing ovation under a spotlight during player introductions.
"It shows you there's a lot more important things in hockey out there," Manson said. "At the end of the day, we're very fortunate to go out and play a sport for a living."
Lera on the orange carpet with Getzlaf Debora Robinson / Getty Images
Lera's perks as the 21st Duck include a season-long open invitation to join the team at practice, and she has her own stall inside Anaheim's dressing room. The Ducks opened the season with two home wins and on Monday wrapped up a four-game road trip. The club is now 4-2.
Manson is impressed by Lera’s resilience, maturity, disposition, and on-ice skills: "I’d love to get on a sled and try it one day," he said. "She'd skate circles around me, I'm sure. It doesn't look easy (overall), but she makes it look pretty effortless."
Lera, who's described as a quick, aggressive, cerebral forward with a scoring touch, has thought about studying biomedical engineering at university. Still in 10th grade, she's in no rush to pick a career path, though something involving prosthetics and orthotics is possible.
"Part of my motto is to always stay positive and to look at the brightest side possible," Lera said. "You should always surround yourself with good people who care about you and your life."
