Leafs to hire Brad Treliving as general manager, Predators to fire John Heinz and hire Andrew Brunette as head coach, Capitals to hire Spencer Carberry as their new head coach, the latest Stanley Cup Final news and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
TSN: Darren Dreger broke the news that the Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to hire Brad Treliving as their new general manager. Treliving spent nine seasons as the GM of the Calgary Flames before stepping down last month.
Bystander note: The Leafs were reportedly looking for someone with managerial experience to replace former general manager Kyle Dubas. Treliving certainly has it, but whether he can pull off where Dupas failed in terms of ending the Leafs’ 57-year Stanley Cup drought remains to be seen.
Under Treliving, the Flames have reached the playoffs five times and finished atop the Pacific Division 2018-19 and 2021-22. During his tenure, he formulated Matthew Tkachuk, Adam Fox, Sam Bennett, Andrew Mangiapan, Rasmus Anderson, Oliver Killington and Dillon Dobie. Tuesday I also traded About Dougie Hamilton, Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifen, Tyler Toffoli, Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weigher, Milan Lucic and Travis Hamonic.
However, the Flames also missed the playoffs four times and only reached the second round twice while Treliving was their general manager. He’s also had his share of failures, like losing Johnny Goudreau to free agency while the jury is still out on swapping Tkachuk for Huberdeau and Weegar.
Treliving has some significant issues with the Leafs. Topping the list is Auston Matthews signing a contract extension. He must also determine the futures of Leafs stars John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander, and the fate of head coach Sheldon Keefe.
tennis: The Nashville Predators fired head coach John Haynes on Tuesday, replacing him with Andrew Brunette. As an assistant coach this season with the New Jersey Devils, Brunette was a finalist for the 2021-22 Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year after leading the Florida Panthers to their first-ever Presidents’ Trophy victory.
Bystander note: Incoming Predators General Manager Barry Trotz is Face some criticism for letting Haynes flop in the wind while he looked for new candidates to coach given his history as a longtime NHL head coach.
However, Trotz noted that change will be afoot for the Predators. He obviously wanted his man behind the seat and would take his time to find him. Now that he has his new boss on the bench, his focus could shift toward making some roster changes this summer.
Hockey in Washington now: The Capitals hired Spencer Carberry as their new head coach. He has spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the Maple Leafs leading powerhouse. Prior to that, he spent three seasons as the head coach of the Capitals’ AHL affiliate in Hershey.
Bystander’s note: Carberry will be under pressure to quickly reverse the aging Capitals’ fortunes after they missed the postseason for the first time since 2013-14. He will be reunited with fullback Rasmus Sundin, who played under Carberry in Toronto until the Capitals acquired him before the March trade deadline. Meanwhile, the Capitals will be assistant coaches Scott Allen and Brian Murray Back next season.
TSNThe Calgary Flames have reached out to former New York Rangers coach Gerard Gallant, who is interested in the head coach vacancy.
Las Vegas SunThe continued success of the Vegas Golden Knights is attributed in part to two former Florida Panthers. The Golden Knights selected Jonathan Marchesault in the 2017 expansion draft when the Panthers left him unprotected. Around the same time, they acquired Reilly Smith in a trade with the Panthers.
Florida hockey now: Patrick Hornqvist has been sidelined since December with a concussion, but remains a valued member of the Panthers. He’s been out on the ice in an off-the-shoulder jersey during practices, hitting shots on goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky while offering guidance and encouragement to other teammates.
Spectator note: Hornqvist is still out for the season and the future of his football career is murky at the moment. At the moment, he is like another assistant coach for the Panthers.
TWINCITIES.COM: After spending several seasons with the Minnesota Wild as an assistant coach, Brett McClain takes over as the head coach of Iowa’s AHL affiliate.
Detroit hockey now: Former Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg has said he has no interest in joining their front office. Sunday Zetterberg was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame, and spends his days as an unofficial advisor with the Wings as well as with his former Swedish club (Timra) and the Swedish national team. His only active hockey work is assisting with his son’s practices as he is focused on his family and life outside of hockey.