The search process for the general manager of the Canadiens has moved into high gear with interviews starting this week. According to some sources, the Habs plan to meet up to 10 candidates during the first phase of interviews which will be conducted through Zoom. As I posted on Twitter on Sunday, Roberto Luongo (Florida), Daniel Brière (Philadelphia) and Mathieu Darche (Tampa Bay) are confirmed candidates that the Canadiens intend to interview after being given the green light to do so. But again, they are among several other candidates.
Veteran agent Kent Hughes doesn’t appear to be part of this first round of interviews, however, and as I’ve said before, it’s not certain that the job of CH GM is something he really wants. . Hughes is happy in his current job. But I guess we should see how this first round of interviews goes, if Gorton decides to woo Hughes later in the process or if he instead thinks the CH will find the person he really wants during this first round of interviews. I think given the long list of candidates the Canadian plans to interview, he will find his GM within this group.
There is no specific date for the hiring of the GM, but I think that by the end of the month, the Canadiens will have a fairly clear idea of the situation.
An update regarding Carey Price
With the Canadiens in last place in the Eastern Conference and the Olympic goal no longer there, some people have wondered if Carey Price has a reason to return to the game this season.
But at this point, there’s no indication that Price has changed his mind and doesn’t want to come back and play a few games this season. He did the work necessary to come back. One thing that some have overlooked is that when he participated in the Player Assistance Program of the NHL in the first month of the season and checked into a center for help, Price had to delay his rehabilitation following his offseason knee surgery. He has therefore had work to do since his return to the Canadiens to prepare his knee.
I think from a mental health standpoint alone, Price has enough reason to want to come back so he knows before the end of the season where his game is.
And I also know that a few NHL staffs are curious to see his level of performance by the March 21 trade deadline, if not in anticipation of the offseason.
(Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)
Trade rumors escalate around Jakob Chychrun
Jakob Chychrun’s presence in trade rumors has intensified over the past few weeks, which doesn’t necessarily mean he’s about to be traded. In fact, there is no guarantee that he will change his address.
But the noise is real, and sources confirm more and more teams are calling the Arizona Coyotes about him.
My TSN colleague Darren Dreger mentioned Tuesday during our Insider Trading segment that the Coyotes so far have been asking similar to the one paid for Jack Eichel.
“The price is too high right now,” the manager of a rival team told me on Tuesday.
But why wouldn’t the Coyotes ask a lot for a 23-year-old defenseman who signed a reasonable $4.6 million-a-year contract through the end of the 2024-25 season, someone Team Canada valued enough to include him in his long list for the Olympics in October?
I don’t feel like anything is imminent regarding a trade involving Chychrun. But the mere fact that the Coyotes continue to take calls about him signals the possibility of a trade before the March 21 deadline.
But the Coyotes have no obligation to trade until March 21, if they do. There is no deadline for any of this. But it’s also no secret that Arizona is in the midst of a rebuild, that the Coyotes already have four first-round picks and six second-round picks lined up for the next two NHL Drafts. As I described earlier this seasonthe team practices a scorched earth policy.
And it’s because of this perception that Arizona is in sellout mode that, sources say, teams began making calls about Chychrun as early as last summer, but now the noise is getting louder.
What the Coyotes need is a team that can rise up and meet an asking price that most people consider too high right now.
But I’d also like to point out that for nearly a year people thought Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong was asking too much for Darcy Kuemper until circumstances worked in his favor on July 28 and forced Colorado to pay that price. Armstrong’s patience paid off. I suspect he will also be patient when it comes to Chychrun.
Paul Kariya and Scott Niedermayer on Anaheim’s next GM search committee
Hockey Hall of Fame members Scott Niedermayer and Paul Kariya are part of the Anaheim Ducks general manager search committee that has been created, sources tell us. Ducks CEO Michael Schulman and the team’s president of business operations Aaron Teats are also on the committee, as are owners Susan and Henry Samueli.
I love that the Ducks brought in Niedermayer and Kariya. Niedermayer has worked part-time for the organization in the past, in player development. It has a lot to offer. And it’s really good to see Kariya involved. He’s one of the smartest guys I’ve met over the years in hockey. I wonder if the Ducks can find a way to involve him in some other way in the future. Either way, having Niedermayer and Kariya on the Ducks GM search committee is a great idea.
The Ducks, meanwhile, plan to begin interviews for the GM job as early as next week. I was told that they had reduced their initial long list of candidates. Jeff Solomon (interim CEO), Martin Madden Jr. and Dave Nonis are considered internal candidates, but there is also a large list of external candidates.
Meanwhile, the Vancouver Canucks, under new president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford, have already started talking to some candidates to fill their own general manager position, but not yet in person. Sources say Rutherford has spoken to a few candidates over the past three weeks; he will speak to several of them before establishing his shortlist and moving on to the next phase of interviews. What I’m told is that Rutherford has worked almost every day for the past three weeks. If all goes well, the Canucks hope to have a GM in place by February.
The Stars get calls about Anton Khudobin
Veteran goaltender Anton Khudobin, who went on waivers last month, remains in the American League until the phone rings.
Sources say the Dallas Stars have received calls about him recently. It is obvious that they would have to withhold salary or take a contract in return for a trade to materialize.
Khudobin, 35, led the Stars to the Stanley Cup Final in the Edmonton bubble just two years ago, and he still has a $3.33 million contract valid next year.
Would the Edmonton Oilers take a chance with him? The Oilers have no wiggle room under the salary cap and would need to get creative with help from the Stars to make it work. And the second year remaining on his contract could scare the Oilers. But to my eyes, given the minimal price that will be asked and the fact that the Oilers desperately need help in net, I wonder why they wouldn’t bother to at least look.
No timeline yet for Tuukka Rask’s return
Our excellent journalist Fluto Shinzawa, assigned to the coverage of the Boston Bruins, provided us an update on Tuukka Rask mardi.
The question is to know when the Bruins will sign the current free agent goaltender, not if they will. But for now, according to a source close to the situation, there is not yet a definitive timeline to know when exactly this will happen. Part of that decision will come down to Rask’s health and fitness.
(Photo by Jeff Gorton: Mines Panagiotakis/Getty Images)