The Los Angeles Kings removed the interim tag from head coach Jim Hiller to make him their full-time bench boss, the team announced Wednesday.
Additionally, the club signed Hiller to a three-year extension, reports ESPN's Kevin Weekes.
Hiller took over for the fired Todd McLellan midway through the 2023-24 campaign and guided the Kings to a 21-12-1 record. Los Angeles was then ousted by the Oilers in Round 1 for the third year in a row.
The Kings' defense and power play both improved under Hiller's watch.
Stat
McLellan
Hiller
Points%
.583
.632
GF/G
3.15
3.03
GA/G
2.65
2.44
PP%
21.2
25.0
PK%
87.3
80.6
This is Hiller's first stint as an NHL head coach. He previously served as an assistant coach with the New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs. The 55-year-old was also a head coach in the WHL with the Tri-City Americans and Chilliwack Bruins. He was named the WHL and CHL coach of the year in 2011-12 for leading the Americans to a 50-18-0-4 record.
The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks are going the distance.
The Oilers handily defeated the Canucks 5-1in Game 6 on Saturday to force a winner-take-all contest Monday night in Vancouver.
The winner of Game 7 will book a ticket to the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars.
It was a dominating performance by the Oilers, who outshot the Canucks 27-15.
"All we did is give ourselves a chance to play one more game," Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said. "We gotta bring the same mindset to Vancouver on Monday."
Stuart Skinner wasn't tested often in his return to the crease but was stellar when called upon, stopping 14 of 15 shots.
"Not many shots, but the ones they did get I thought were dangerous, and he did a great job stepping up," McDavid said postgame, per Sportsnet.
Vancouver tallied eight high-danger scoring chances compared to Edmonton's nine, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Skinner took a back seat to Calvin Pickard for Games 4 and 5 after struggling to the tune of a .793 save percentage in the first three contests of the series. McDavid said the team's belief in Skinner never wavered.
"We never had a doubt, honestly," McDavid said. "He's a battler. He's always been a battler. Our team always responds, and he's no different."
Arturs Silovs, meanwhile, struggled in the opposite crease, as he was on the hook for all five goals. He projects to get the call in Game 7, too, as Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said injured netminder Thatcher Demko won't be able to return Monday. Vancouver's other option between the pipes is veteran Casey DeSmith, who hasn't played since Game 3 of Round 1.
Tocchet believes in his group's ability to turn the page after a rough performance.
"We are a good bounce-back team," Tocchet said. "That's the way I look at it. Our job right now is we gotta flush this game. Obviously some guys know they have to play better. You have 48 hours to get your energy back. It's Game 7, people would kill to be in this situation right now."
"Rod has been instrumental to the success we've had over the last six season," general manager Don Waddell said. "Ever since he joined the organization 24 years ago, Rod has embodied what it means to be a Hurricane. We hope to keep him a Hurricane for life."
The rest of the Hurricanes' coaching staff - assistant coaches Jeff Daniels and Tim Gleason, video coach Chris Huffine, and goaltending coach Paul Schonfelder - also received extensions.
Brind'Amour coached under the final year of his contract in 2023-24 and could've become a free agent.
Reports following Round 1 of the playoffs indicated Brind'Amour had become unsure about his future with the organization that's employed him for the last 24 seasons.
The Hurricanes were ousted by the New York Rangers in six games in Round 2. The club has qualified for the playoffs in each of Brind'Amour's six seasons as head coach, making it as far as the Eastern Conference Final in 2019 and 2023. He was named the NHL's coach of the year in 2021.
Brind'Amour played 10 seasons with the Hurricanes from 2000-10, captaining the franchise to its lone Stanley Cup in 2006. He became the director of player development immediately after his retirement before moving to an assistant coach role in 2011 and taking the head coach job in 2018.
It was always going to be Craig Berube in Toronto, wasn't it?
The Maple Leafs hired the former St. Louis Blues bench boss Friday in a move that should surprise nobody.
Barring the unlikely scenario that Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour became available, Berube was the most obvious fit for the Maple Leafs from Day 1. Optically, it made too much sense.
A 2019 Stanley Cup winner with the Blues, Berube is an easy sell to the fans and holdover players for a team that's consistently come up short in the postseason. The Leafs have made the playoffs eight straight years - tied for the longest active streak in the league - but only have one series victory to show for it. The franchise hasn't won a Stanley Cup since 1967.
Having a Stanley Cup ring doesn't mean Berube has some magic formula for winning. If that were the case, he'd still be in St. Louis. But it undoubtedly helps begin his tenure in Toronto with a certain level of respect that his predecessor lacked.
When NHL teams look for a new head coach, they typically hire someone different from their last bench boss, and that couldn't be more true with this move.
Scott Rovak / National Hockey League / Getty
Sheldon Keefe, the Leafs' coach of the last five seasons, took the job without any prior NHL coaching experience. His puck-possession system was highly successful in the regular season, and he'll likely coach in the NHL for a long time. But accountability was a persistent issue during his tenure. In the Keefe era with Kyle Dubas as general manager, Toronto's star players were treated like the innocent, youngest sibling that could do no wrong. Rarely were they criticized publicly by the team for their shortcomings.
Berube will help establish a culture of accountability that the Leafs have lacked in recent years.
"There were some words that were said that I can't repeat," former Blues goalie Jake Allen recalled of Berube's first time addressing the team as head coach in 2018-19, per The Athletic's Joshua Kloke. "(Berube) made his presence felt immediately. We understood from that moment on that every single person in that locker room was accountable for their own actions, and he was going to hold you to that standard."
By all accounts, Berube is honest and direct. That's fitting because when Berube's Blues were at their best, they were a hard-working team with a direct, north-south style of play. How that works with the Maple Leafs remains to be seen, but general manager Brad Treliving - hired a year ago - is clearly trying to build a blue line that mimics the 2019 Blues.
That Cup-winning team boasted a top four on defense consisting of 6-foot-3 Alex Pietrangelo, 6-foot-6 Colton Parayko, 6-foot-4 Jay Bouwmeester, and 6-foot-5 Joel Edmundson. See the theme?
Size on the back end was a staple of Treliving-built teams in Calgary, too, and he's beginning to do the same in Toronto. Just look at the defensemen he's acquired since taking over:
Player
Acquisition type
Height
Weight
Cade Webber
Trade
6-7
208 lbs
Joel Edmundson
Trade
6-5
221 lbs
Ilya Lyubushkin
Trade
6-2
200 lbs
Simon Benoit
Signing
6-3
203 lbs
John Klingberg
Signing
6-3
190 lbs
William Lagesson
Signing
6-2
211 lbs
Max Lajoie
Signing
6-1
191 lbs
Noah Chadwick
Draft
6-4
201 lbs
Treliving also clearly values toughness, based on the signing of Ryan Reaves last offseason. Berube, a former NHL enforcer himself, is as tough as they come, sitting seventh in NHL history with 3,149 penalty minutes.
Synergy between a head coach and a GM is important in any sport, and Treliving and Berube seem to have it - whether you believe in their philosophies or not.
The coaching options outside of Berube weren't the most appealing, either.
The Leafs also reportedly spoke to Todd McLellan and Gerard Gallant about the vacancy. McLellan, a disciple of Mike Babcock whose teams have consistently underachieved in the playoffs, would've been a tough sell to the fan base. Gallant went to both a Stanley Cup Final and an Eastern Conference Final in a four-year span, but he failed to get the most out of the New York Rangers' young players, and the team has thrived since his departure.
Hiring someone without NHL head coaching experience would've been far too risky for Treliving - especially in a market that receives as much attention as Toronto. There was no obvious internal replacement, either.
Berube, for what it's worth, played 40 games with the Leafs in 1991-92. That isn't a game-changer, but it doesn't hurt, either. For a man who wasn't afraid of anyone as a player - even Bob Probert - it's hard to imagine he'd be afraid of the spotlight in Toronto.
Graig Abel / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Every coach has their strengths and weaknesses, though. For Berube, he's considered far more of a motivator than a strategist.
"From a technical standpoint, like Xs and Os, we didn't really change a whole lot," Parayko said of when Berube took over in St. Louis, per TSN's Chris Johnston. "He just came in and made sure that we put in the work and worked together. He got everybody to buy into their roles."
Nailing his assistant coach hires will be critical. Special teams were up and down during Berube's six seasons in St. Louis. The power play had some great years, ranking 10th overall during his tenure, while the penalty kill was more inconsistent, ranking 20th.
Incumbent Leafs defensive assistant Mike Van Ryn worked under Berube in St. Louis and could be an option to stay, though he was fired by the Blues in 2023.
Finding a suitable coach to run the power play should be No. 1 on Berube's to-do list. Toronto's power play has consistently gone cold in the postseason, and it reached an all-time low when it went 1-for-21 in Round 1 against the Boston Bruins this year under Guy Boucher's watch.
Fortunately for Berube, he should have unlimited resources available, as the Maple Leafs are the NHL's wealthiest organization. If there's an assistant he covets, money won't be an issue.
It also makes sense that the team with the deepest pockets was able to land Berube, the most coveted coach on the market.
Sometimes a hiring or an acquisition is obvious for a reason - it's the right fit. At the very least, the Leafs' process with this move is sound. But ultimately, Berube will be judged on one thing: playoff success.
The Florida Panthers are heading to the Eastern Conference Final to face the New York Rangers after eliminating the Boston Bruins with a 2-1 victory in Game 6 Friday night.
Defenseman Gustav Forsling scored the game-winner with 1:33 left in regulation.
Barkov left the ice momentarily but returned to close out the game, though he didn't take a crucial faceoff in the final minute.
Pavel Zacha opened the scoring for the Bruins in the first period, but Boston wasn't able to solve Sergei Bobrovsky afterward. The Panthers netminder finished the contest with 22 saves.
Anton Lundell ripped home a loose puck from the slot to even the game in the second period.
It's the second straight year in which the Panthers have made it to the Eastern Conference Final after losing in the Stanley Cup Final to the Vegas Golden Knights a year ago.
It also marks the second straight year in which the Panthers ended the Bruins' season, though they did so in Round 1 in 2023. Florida has now won six consecutive postseason contests at Boston's TD Garden.
The Florida Panthers are heading to the Eastern Conference Final to face the New York Rangers after eliminating the Boston Bruins with a 2-1 victory in Game 6 on Friday night.
Defenseman Gustav Forsling scored the game-winner with 1:33 left in regulation.
"It's an amazing feeling to see that one go in," Forsling said postgame, according to Sportsnet. "I think we really battled back today and hung in there. I'm happy we got it done today."
Tkachuk added, "That shot block shows the completion of his game."
Pavel Zacha opened the scoring for the Bruins in the first period, but Boston wasn't able to solve Sergei Bobrovsky afterward. The Panthers netminder finished the contest with 22 saves.
"Bob saved us a bunch of times during the second period," Forsling said, per Sportsnet. "He made us win this game."
Anton Lundell ripped home a loose puck from the slot to even the game in the second period.
It's the second straight year in which the Panthers have made it to the Eastern Conference Final after losing in the Stanley Cup Final to the Vegas Golden Knights a year ago.
The Panthers have ended the Bruins' season in back-to-back years, though they did so in Round 1 in 2023. Florida has now won six consecutive postseason contests at Boston's TD Garden.
The 58-year-old led the Blues to a Stanley Cup in 2019. He replaced Mike Yeo 19 games into that campaign and sparked an incredible turnaround, as the club was in last place around midseason. He was named a Jack Adams Award finalist that season.
Berube guided St. Louis to the postseason in each of the next three seasons, losing in Round 1 in 2020 and 2021, and Round 2 in 2022. The team missed the playoffs in 2023 and fired him after a 13-14-1 start to the 2023-24 campaign.
His only other NHL head coaching experience came with the Philadelphia Flyers from 2013-15, failing to advance past the first round of the playoffs.
Berube enjoyed a 1,054-game NHL playing career from 1986-2003 as an enforcer, racking up 159 points and 3,149 penalty minutes - the latter being the seventh most all time. The Calahoo, Alberta, native played 40 games for the Leafs during the 1991-92 season.
Berube takes over for Sheldon Keefe, whom the Leafs fired after five seasons on the job.
His No. 1 task will be attempting to get Toronto over the hump in the playoffs. The Maple Leafs have made the postseason eight years in a row - tied for the longest active streak in the league - but only have one series victory to show for it. The franchise hasn't won a Stanley Cup since 1967.
Berube is the 32nd head coach in franchise history and the first hired during Brad Treliving's tenure as general manager.
Armstrong's exact title is to be determined. His last day with Wasserman Sports and Entertainment will be May 31.
Bill Armstrong - who's not related to Chris - has served as general manager of the Arizona Coyotes for the last four seasons. He's expected to stay on as GM through the relocation to Utah and report directly to Chris.
Chris Armstrong has mostly represented professional golfers, including Salt Lake City native Tony Finau. He also repped Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas during 2023 negotiations with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Montreal, Quebec, native advised Utah owner Ryan Smith in his acquisition of the NHL franchise, which was confirmed in April.
Ryan and Ashley Smith also own the NBA's Utah Jazz. The NHL club will share the Delta Center with the Jazz and begin play next season.
One-half of the Los Angeles Kings' goaltending puzzle for the 2024-25 season has been solved.
Pending unrestricted free-agent netminder David Rittich is staying put on a one-year, $1-million contract, the team announced Wednesday.
The 31-year-old journeyman was a revelation for the Kings last season, posting a .921 save percentage and a 2.15 goals against average in 24 games after starting the season in the AHL.
Rittich wasn't nearly as effective in the postseason, though, recording an .872 save percentage in two games before the Kings were ousted by the Edmonton Oilers in Round 1.
Prior to signing Rittich, the Kings had no goalies under contract for next season. Cam Talbot and Pheonix Copley are also pending UFAs.
Rittich owns a .906 save percentage in 196 games across eight NHL seasons between the Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets, and Kings. He spent most of his time with the Flames, serving as the team's primary starter for two seasons.
Further addressing the goaltending position is still expected to be a major priority for Kings general manager Rob Blake this offseason. Blake reportedly had a deadline deal in place for Boston Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark, but the reigning Vezina Trophy winner nixed the move with his no-trade clause.
While the UFA goalie class isn't overly strong, some notable veteran netminders are expected to be on the trade block. In addition to Ullmark - who's taken a back seat to Jeremy Swayman so far this postseason - Jacob Markstrom and Juuse Saros are among those who could be made available this summer.
Pettersson has managed just one goal and three assists in 10 games so far this postseason. He's been held to just one point in the series.
The star Swede is not the only Canucks player who needs to elevate their game, though, according to the Jack Adams Award finalist. Tocchet had some harsh words for several other unnamed players who he believes aren't carrying their weight.
"We need five or six guys to get going here. I mean, this is the Stanley Cup Playoffs," he said. "There's some guys, I don't know if they (knew) it was the playoffs. We can't play with 12 guys."
Tocchet added: "You can't win if you have five, six, or seven passengers. It's playoff hockey. One of those guys can be the hero for us next game, but they've got to step it up."
The rest of the Canucks' core is performing as expected in the postseason, as Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller, and Quinn Hughes are all producing above or near a point-per-game clip.
The Canucks have been outscored 2-1 while Pettersson has been on the ice at five-on-five in Round 2 and have controlled 44.1% of the expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick.
Pettersson ranked third on the Canucks with 89 points in 82 games during the regular season.
The series sits at 2-2 heading back to Vancouver for Game 5 on Thursday.
