Former Edmonton Oilers head coach Ralph Krueger says he turned down a pair of job offers from NHL clubs and is focused on his role as chairman of Premier League soccer side Southampton.
"It was nice and honorable that I was offered two NHL jobs postseason and I was happy they didn't forget about me but I turned them down," Krueger told NBC Pro Soccer Talk's Joe Prince-Wright in an interview published Tuesday.
"It just feels like we've only just got started here (in England) and especially with the management re-organization we just did, there is kind of like there's something here where we are going to take it to another level."
Krueger guided Team Europe's unexpected run to the World Cup of Hockey final last fall, and that performance was expected to earn him interest from NHL teams.
ESPN's Pierre LeBrun reported Tuesday that new Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill wants to talk to Krueger, who's still keeping tabs on hockey despite his soccer commitments.
"I still love the game and I have lots of friends still in the playoffs, I am keeping a close eye on them," he said. My son is playing at the World Ice Hockey Championships for Germany right now in Germany and all of that ... but it is Southampton. At the moment this is doing it. I don't think you ever close the door on anything in your life but I love being here."
Southampton is seeking its fourth straight top-eight finish, sitting in eighth place in the EPL table through 36 matches. Krueger joined the Saints as director in January 2014 and was promoted to chairman about two months later.
He lasted only one season as Oilers head coach, compiling a 19-22-7 record in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign.
The Toronto Maple Leafs took the first steps toward improving their flawed blue line Tuesday, signing Swedish defensemen Calle Rosen and Andreas Borgman to two-year, entry-level contracts.
The acquisitions are likely just the beginning of general manager Lou Lamoriello's offseason plans. Here are three things to know about the newest Maple Leafs.
1. The profiles
Here's how both defensemen stack up:
Player
Age
Height
Weight (lbs)
Shoots
Rosen
23
6-0
185
Left
Borgman
21
6-0
210
Left
Rosen participated in 41 games for Vaxjo of the Swedish Hockey League last season, recording six goals and 19 points. The undrafted rearguard was reportedly linked to the Maple Leafs and Blackhawks for weeks before putting pen to paper with Toronto, according to The Athletic's David Alter and Scott Powers.
Borgman, who also went undrafted, participated in his first SHL season in 2016-17, notching five goals and 10 assists with HV71 Jonkoping. The 21-year-old earned Rookie of the Year honors for his impressive debut season, joining previous winning defensemen including Mattias Ekholm, Victor Hedman, Toby Enstrom, and former Leafs first-round pick Kenny Jonsson.
2. They'll get opportunities
While both players need to prove their worth to earn an NHL roster spot come October, the Leafs didn't bring them overseas for nothing.
"They'll get every opportunity, they have the ability," Lamoriello said, according to Kevin McGran of The Toronto Star. "Whether it's right away, or whether it's in a month, we'll have to wait and see. No pressure on anyone. We're delighted they've chosen us, they were highly recruited."
The Leafs brought in Nikita Zaitsev from the KHL immediately into their top four last season, and though he's older and came from a stronger league, Toronto's brass is likely hoping Rosen and/or Borgman follows a similar development curve.
3. Much-needed depth
Toronto's still in the market to acquire blue-line help via free agency or trade this offseason, but adding two young defensemen addresses the Leafs' biggest roster problem.
Toronto's top three of Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner, and Zaitsev is set in stone, but the subsequent spots are surely up for grabs. Roman Polak suffered a brutal leg injury in the playoffs and is scheduled for unrestricted free agency, as is Matt Hunwick, who rounded out the Leafs' top six last season.
Connor Carrick is likely to stick around, while one of Alexey Marchenko or Martin Marincin - who each have one year remaining on their current contracts - could very well be exposed for Vegas.
Whether Rosen and Borgman are with the Maple Leafs or the Marlies, Toronto's gained two promising pieces for its program.
Randy Carlyle should spend less time nitpicking about the accuracy of the shot counter and more time focusing on the fact that his team is being outplayed.
The Anaheim Ducks head coach took aim at a statistician following a 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final on Tuesday night - a game in which the Ducks were outshot 40-20.
"Well, I think the shots against tonight, I just have one tidbit that at one point it was 9-8 for us. And on one flurry it went to 14. So I don't know who is counting the shots," he told reporters postgame.
"They dominated the shot clock tonight. I'm not going to say they didn't. But in reference - I didn't think they had five shots in net, and then next thing you know they've got 14. It was out of sequence. There was one sequence, I think, they got one shot and a little bit of a scramble, and all of a sudden they had four more shots at it. I don't know who was keeping it, but he better get a pair of glasses."
Clearly, Tuesday night's shot counter isn't the problem, and Carlyle shouldn't use him or her as a scapegoat for the Ducks' larger issues. Nashville is dominating Anaheim, and this series isn't as close as it appears.
That's what Carlyle should really be concerned about.
While the club still needs two more wins to secure a trip to the Stanley Cup Final, much of the hockey world has become enamored with the Preds during their first-ever run beyond the second round of the playoffs.
It's tough not to be aboard the Nashville bandwagon, but if you aren't, here are three reasons why the Predators' run - no matter where it ends up - has been terrific for the sport.
1. Smashville
Before Tuesday night, Nashville had never hosted a conference final game, and boy, were they ready.
Whether it was the flight of a giant catfish, numerous deafening chants, or the local football team chugging beers to ramp up the crowd, one thing has been clear: Nashville loves its Predators.
The mustard-toned raucous crowd has been non-stop, and it gives their players the boost required to gain an edge in the playoffs - it's no coincidence that Nashville has won 10 consecutive home games in the postseason.
Roman Josi asked to describe playing in Nashville: "I can't. I really can't. It's tough to put into words... Our fans are amazing." #Preds
It's tough to recall now, but the Predators finished the regular season as the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
Hardly anyone gave them a chance to get past the Chicago Blackhawks, yet they blew them out of the water. The Preds were noticeably better than the Blues in Round 2, and now three games into the Western Conference Final, Nashville has been dominant once more.
After the P.K. Subban trade, expectations were sky high in Music City, and while it took longer than anticipated for the Predators to reach their peak, they're here now, and the underdog tag could soon be a notion of the past.
3. Much-deserved exposure
Subban has been the focus for much of the season, but if anything, this playoff run has showcased the depth and strength of the overall roster that general manager David Poile constructed.
Whether it's the coming-out party of Ryan Ellis, the stabilizing force of Mattias Ekholm on the blue line, or the national exposure of 30-goal scorer Viktor Arvidsson on Nashville's top unit, this club is rock solid from top to bottom.
Formerly just a middling franchise in a mediocre market, the Predators have exploded on the strength of an incredibly likable team, and the hockey community has rightfully taken notice.
With the offseason underway for a number of teams, with the remainder to join them in a few weeks, we're looking at what's in store for each club in the coming months.
2016-17 Grade: C+
In the end, the 2016-17 Carolina Hurricanes were what we thought they would be: a non-playoff team that appears to be trending upward.
Sure, the Hurricanes finished with a single point more in the standings than they did the previous season, but a promising group of talented young forwards and defensemen now have another year under their belts, with steps taken in the right direction under head coach Bill Peters.
It was near the end of the season that the Hurricanes put the rest of the NHL on notice, amassing the fourth-highest point total (28) from March 1 onward, thanks to a record of 11-6-6 in 23 games down the stretch.
More of that, and these Hurricanes will be upgraded a category or two sooner than later.
Free Agents
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
The Hurricanes have a handful of players who need contracts come July 1, with Teuvo Teravainen standing out from the bunch:
Player (Position)
2017-18 Status
Age
2016-17 Cap Hit
'16-17 Points
Jay McClement (F)
UFA
34
$1.2M
8
Teuvo Teraivanen (F)
RFA
22
$894167
42
Brock McGinn (F)
RFA
23
$811667
16
Derek Ryan (F)
UFA
30
$600000
29
Matt Tennyson (D)
UFA
27
$675000
6
2017 Draft Picks
The Hurricanes have 10 picks over seven rounds in the coming draft.
Round
Picks
1
1
2
3 (Own + Rangers + Penguins)
3
2 (Own + Devils)
4
1
5
1 (Bruins)
6
1
7
1
Summer priorities
1. Center of attention: One of the worst kept secrets in hockey is the Hurricanes' need for a top-line center, an acquisition that is most likely to be made possible by dealing from a position of strength, namely defense.
General manager Ron Francis, to his credit, has done an amazing job stockpiling impressive talent on the blue line, and while there's also some nice pieces to build around up front, a high-end pivot is an absolute necessity if this team hopes to return to the ranks of the relevant.
2. Clear out the crease: The Hurricanes already took care of a huge piece of business by trading for and subsequently signing goaltender Scott Darling to a four-year, $16.6-million contract. Darling has the look of a backup ready for a starting gig, and he's certainly being compensated as such before really proving he can do it.
The offshoot to that is Cam Ward ($3.3 million) and Eddie Lack ($2.75 million) are still on the books for 2017-18, and Francis will certainly be looking to move one - presumably the more expensive Ward - to clear the goalie glut and free up some cap space in the process.
3. Complement blue line with experience: The age range of the Hurricanes' defensemen under contract for next season is 20 to 25. There's obviously no need to break the bank here, as Francis has some star potential and heavyweight depth already at the position.
Some veteran savvy would be nice, however, and the addition of an older, serviceable, and affordable free agent at this position could go a long way toward not asking too much, too soon of this young core.
2017-18 Outlook
The Hurricanes have not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2009, and that drought needs to end as soon as possible. As mentioned above, Carolina made a late push to jump into the postseason conversation, but ultimately fell short by eight points.
Darling should bring an immediate boost to a team that registered a 26th-ranked .902 save percentage last season. Conversely, the Hurricanes ranked third with a Corsi For rating of 57.25 in all situations, meaning even average goaltending should give this team a much better chance to pick up some points on any given night.
Francis has done a solid job of setting up a foundation for success since taking over the job in 2014, stockpiling assets and clearing cap space. Few deny he's doing it right, but what he does next - beginning this summer - will determine where Carolina goes over the next few seasons.
Bridgestone Arena, in particular, where playoff hockey is alive and well, and where the Predators took a 2-1 decision over the Anaheim Ducks to lead the Western Conference Final by the same score.
The atmosphere in Nashville was by all accounts incredible, and below are some of the best photos from a raucous Game 3:
Gnash knows how to make a first-time-in-the-Western-Conference-Final entrance.
The Tennessee Titans were in the house, and they were quite glad to be there.
Nashville took the "go hard to the net" game plan to another level Tuesday. The Preds had two goals disallowed in the third period after John Gibson was ruled to have been interfered with.
Simple, yet effective.
These teams hate each other, and it's just fantastic.
In the upcoming NHL Entry Draft on June 23, forwards will likely make up the majority of the top picks. Viewers at home may wonder why more defensemen aren't being chosen higher, especially those who have watched the Nashville Predators run through the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the foundation of a strong blue line.
This is simply because defensemen take much longer to develop than forwards. It's a much more difficult position to play. A general manager's rationale may be "why take a defenseman who will be on his third contract by the time he enters his prime when I may not even be here to see it?"
It's an understandable thought process, but for Predators architect David Poile, drafting defensemen - and being willing to show patience with their development - is paying off in a big way right now. Specifically, with 26-year-old Ryan Ellis.
Ellis, the 11th overall pick in the 2009 draft, enjoyed a breakout year in his sixth NHL season. Take a look at his progression:
PPG = Points per game AGC = Adjusted goals created PS = Point shares (an estimate number of a team's points contributed by a player)
While his regular season was great, Ellis has elevated his play to a whole new level in the postseason. He now has 10 points (tied with Roman Josi for a Preds single-season playoff record) through 13 games.
As an undersized defenseman (5-foot-10, 180 pounds) failing to meet the expectations of his high draft status through his first four NHL seasons, Ellis could have easily been part of a trade out of Nashville. Instead, the Predators decided to ride it out, and they probably wouldn't be in the Western Conference Final without him.
Ellis isn't the only defensemen to take some time to develop.
Schultz, of course, is a classic example of a player that was given up on by his original team far too early. He was with the Oilers from 2012 until last season, when Edmonton's patience wore too thin.
Other late-bloomers include Calgary's Mark Giordano, who didn't become elite until his age-30 season, and Edmonton's Andrej Sekera, who didn't come into his own until after he'd spent six years in Buffalo.
The NHL is a copycat league. If Nashville goes on to win the cup, it wouldn't be surprising to see teams be increasingly willing to use high draft picks on defensemen - especially recently-hired GMs, who know they're on a long leash.
With their win in Game 3 against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, the club pushed their home winning streak in the playoffs to 10 games, the highest mark by an NHL team in 20 years, according to Adam Vingan of the Tennessean.
The streak dates back to the fist round of last season against - you guessed it - the Anaheim Ducks. The Predators last dropped a playoff game at home on April 21, 2016 in Game 4 against these same Ducks. In fact, the Ducks won Games 3 and 4 of that first-round series in Nashville after the Preds took the first two games in Anaheim.
Nashville can push that streak to 11 with a win in Game 4 on Thursday night.
