The Ottawa Senators fired head coach Guy Boucher on Friday, the team announced. Associate coach Marc Crawford will take over on an interim basis.
Boucher took the Senators on a miracle run to the conference finals in his first season behind the bench but couldn't replicate that success in the following two years.
Crawford has served as an associate coach with the Senators since Boucher was hired prior to the 2016-17 season. He ranks 22nd all time with 549 wins as an NHL head coach, winning a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 1995-96. His last head coaching job was a two-year stint with the Dallas Stars from 2009-2011.
Chris Kelly, who suited up in 545 games with the Senators during his playing career, has been added to Crawford's coaching staff.
The Senators will conduct a search for a new head coach after the season and have specific qualities in mind:
- A teacher who will focus on the development and growth of each player on the team;
- A listener who encourages feedback from players and the coaching staff;
- A communicator who lets every team member know where they stand and what is expected;
- A tactician who brings structure and game planning that will enhance our rebuild.
The Senators sit dead last in the NHL and traded away their three leading goalscorers - Matt Duchene, Mark Stone, and Ryan Dzingel - before the deadline.
Boucher's only other head coaching gig with the Tampa Bay Lightning followed a similar pattern to his stint in Ottawa: a conference final berth in the first season, significant regression in the second, and a coaching change midway through the third.
As we head into the home stretch of the NHL season, the battle to be anointed the league's most valuable player is heating up.
A familiar face still leads the pack, but a group of superstar contenders ensures it'll be a compelling race that could come down to the wire.
Here are our top five candidates at this point to claim the Hart Trophy in June:
5. Nathan MacKinnon
Steve Babineau / National Hockey League / Getty
GP
G
A
P
ATOI
SCF%
CF%
64
33
48
81
21:51
53.08
53.88
The Colorado Avalanche have found it tough to break through in the ultra-competitive Central Division, but MacKinnon's strong play has kept them in a playoff position, or right on the doorstep, for most of the season.
Mikko Rantanen has taken his game to another level in 2018-19, but he clearly owes some of that improvement to playing alongside the proven catalyst in MacKinnon on one of the NHL's most dangerous top lines.
The 2018 Hart runner-up might have a hard time convincing voters he belongs among the finalists this time around due to Rantanen's increased contributions, but MacKinnon should once again be in the conversation.
4. Johnny Gaudreau
Bruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / Getty
GP
G
A
P
ATOI
SCF%
CF%
64
30
52
82
20:11
53.3
53.69
Gaudreau has cooled off a bit since our last edition, but he's still the most lethal weapon on the Calgary Flames, who remain one of the league's best stories this season.
Similar to the first name on this list, Johnny Hockey has some help, but there's no way the Flames are atop their division without his stellar play in 2018-19.
Gaudreau is on pace to eclipse the 100-point mark, and he'll likely soon surpass his career high of 84 that he established last season.
3. Connor McDavid
Mike Stobe / National Hockey League / Getty
GP
G
A
P
ATOI
SCF%
CF%
60
33
54
87
22:58
51.12
50.61
The Edmonton Oilers are probably too far out of the playoff race now for McDavid to garner enough first-place votes, but - as we've documented many times - he's arguably the NHL's most valuable player, irrespective of his team's struggles.
As such, the superstar center should at least be a Hart finalist, especially given that he's figured in on an utterly astounding 48.6 percent of the Oilers' goals.
No player does more to help his team than McDavid, but as the Oilers have slid further out of contention, the all-world forward's case to win the Hart has gotten tougher to justify.
2. Patrick Kane
Gregory Shamus / Getty Images Sport / Getty
GP
G
A
P
ATOI
SCF%
CF%
63
40
54
94
22:26
45.77
48.07
Kane has been carrying Chicago and warrants a long look for this award, even with the Blackhawks sitting outside the playoff picture.
They certainly wouldn't have gotten back into the playoff mix without Kane, who potted his 40th goal of the season in dramatic fashion Wednesday night and recently reeled off a 20-game point streak. The Blackhawks are closer to a postseason berth than the Oilers, and if they manage to secure one, it would be tough not to tab Kane for this award given his impact.
He has figured in on 44 percent of the Blackhawks' scoring (94 points on 214 team goals), which illustrates just how much Chicago depends on his elite production.
The question is how close the team needs to get to the playoffs for his individual exploits to be rewarded. That's up to the voters, but there's no disputing how good he's been or where the Blackhawks would be without him.
1. Nikita Kucherov
Scott Audette / National Hockey League / Getty
GP
G
A
P
ATOI
SCF%
CF%
65
30
74
104
19:38
53.16
53.04
It's easy to get caught up in the "most valuable" debate when it comes to Hart voting, but let's not make this more complicated than it should be.
Kucherov has been far and away the league's best player on what is unquestionably the league's best team.
Yes, the Tampa Bay Lightning superstar has a talented supporting cast and the team would probably be reasonably competitive without him. But it wouldn't be the juggernaut that's already broken the triple-digit point barrier in the standings if not for Kucherov, who's been putting up video-game numbers, having already surpassed 100 points of his own.
He's been sensational all season long, and no one is more deserving of MVP honors than Kucherov at this point.
ATOI = Average time on ice SCF% = Percentage of scoring chances generated by the player's team with him on the ice at five-on-five CF% = Percentage of shot attempts generated by the player's team with him on the ice at five-on-five
Three periods of relentless booing from a rabid New York Islanders crowd hardly surprised John Tavares, who played his first game in his old barn as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.
"I expected it was coming," Tavares told TSN after the game. "No one's walked in my shoes, I know that. I just tried to be open and honest. Obviously, no one has to like my decision."
Tavares joined Toronto as a free agent on July 1 after nine seasons in New York, signing a seven-year, $77-million contract and spurning the club that drafted him first overall.
Islanders fans were more than prepared to let him hear it, serenading the former captain with "We don't need you!" chants, among several others, throughout the entire game. They also launched toy snakes on the ice during warmup and set plenty of old No. 91 jerseys ablaze while tailgating to set the tone for a playoff-like atmosphere.
Even the team's video tribute was drowned out by boos, despite Tavares leaving the organization with 621 points to his name - the fifth-highest total in franchise history.
"You must be a real special player, and a real special person, for them to honor you like that," head coach Mike Babcock said postgame. "They only boo you if you're important - for most of us, they didn't even know who we were - so what an honor that is.
"I thought our team handled that really good. I thought we played good, we started good - to me, the crowd had nothing to do with the outcome of the game."
Though Isles fans were consistently hostile, Tavares' former teammates openly tipped their caps during the video and shared their own perspectives following the game - a dominant 6-1 victory for the home side.
"Maybe during the tribute, they could have maybe given (him) a round of applause," Cal Clutterbuck told Newsday's Andrew Gross. "He put everything he had into winning here. But I understand both sides."
Tavares was held pointless with five shots on goal in his much-anticipated return. He's notched 68 points in 64 games this season.
New York Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk was forced to leave Thursday's game versus the Toronto Maple Leafs after Mitch Marner's skate appeared to clip him in the neck area late in the second period. He returned to the game in the third frame.
Boychuk heads to the dressing room after taking Marner's skate to the neck area. pic.twitter.com/4UrjfQk5A4
The 22-year-old is the second Toronto blue-liner to be sidelined recently, as Jake Gardiner was announced as week-to-week with a back injury prior to Wednesday night's contest.
The Edmonton Oilers forward will undergo hip surgery and be forced to miss the rest of the 2018-19 campaign, the club announced Thursday.
#Oilers Assistant GM Keith Gretzky says the injury has been bothering Jesse for some time now & after careful consideration with the player, his agent & the team's medical staff, the best decision was to have the surgery & miss the remainder of the season.
Assistant general manager Keith Gretzky added that Puljujarvi is expected to be able to rehab and train throughout the summer and be 100 percent healthy for training camp.
The 20-year-old winger was placed on injured reserve last week.
He collected nine points in 46 games with Edmonton this season, adding two goals and two assists in four AHL contests.
The 23-year-old was taken to hospital on Wednesday night after crashing headfirst into the boards late in the Devils' game against the Calgary Flames. He was stretchered off the ice following the incident and gave the crowd a thumbs-up.
The club announced on Wednesday that Mueller has full feeling and movement in his extremities and is alert, oriented, and conscious.
