Hall, Kopitar, MacKinnon named Hart Trophy finalists
NEW YORK — New Jersey Devils left-winger Taylor Hall, Los Angeles Kings centre Anze Kopitar and Colorado Avalanche centre Nathan MacKinnon were named the three finalists for the Hart Memorial Trophy on Friday.
The Hart Trophy is awarded “to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team.”
Hall ranked sixth in the NHL with 39 goals, 54 assists, setting career highs across the board to lead the Devils to a 27-point improvement in the standings and their first playoff appearance since 2011-12. Hall recorded 41 more points than his next-closest teammate, the highest such differential by a club’s top two scorers since 2007-08.
Kopitar finished one point behind Hall in scoring with 35 goals and 57 assists, nearly tripling his goal total and doubling his point total from 2016-17 to power the Kings to their seventh playoff berth in the past nine years.
He became the first Los Angeles player to reach the 90-point milestone since Wayne Gretzky did it in the 1993-94 season with 38 goals and 92 assists.
MacKinnon placed second in the NHL with 1.31 points per game, totalling 39 goals and 58 assists to guide the Avalanche to a 47-point improvement in the standings, matching the fourth-highest year-to-year gain in League history. MacKinnon increased his goal total by 23 and point total by 44 to lift Colorado from last place in the 2016-17 NHL standings to its first playoff berth since 2013-14.
Oilers keeping McLellan, but changing assistant coaches
EDMONTON — Todd McLellan will return as head coach of the Edmonton Oilers next season, but Ian Herbers and Jim Johnson won’t be on his staff.
The team announced Friday that McLellan will keep his job after a disappointing 2017-18 season, while assistant coaches Herbers and Johnson have been relieved of their duties.
The 50-year-old McLellan presided over a dud of a season that saw the Oilers miss the playoffs with a 36-40-6 record despite another MVP-calibre campaign from superstar captain Connor McDavid.
The Oilers also named Jay Woodcroft as the head coach of the Bakersfield Condors, Edmonton’s American Hockey League affiliate.
Brian Burke parting ways with Calgary Flames
Calgary Flames president of hockey operations Brian Burke will be leaving the team May 1, ending a near five-year run with the organization.
“When Brian came to us in September 2013 we discussed a structure and timeline of four to five years for his new role. Each year we review our mandate going forward and determined together that we would move on,” Flames president Ken King said Friday.
“Brian’s leadership and guidance of our hockey operations and work with general manager Brad Treliving have been exemplary and we are grateful for his contributions.”
The hockey operations side will be directed by Treliving, vice-president of hockey operations Don Maloney, and assistant general managers Craig Conroy and Brad Pascall, the team said.
Sportsnet announced later Friday that Burke would join its broadcast team for the remainder of the 2018 playoffs. Starting this weekend, Burke will provide commentary, insight and analysis, the network said.
Canadiens hire Canada’s world-junior coach, Ducharme
MONTREAL — Canadian world junior championship coach Dominique Ducharme has made the jump to the NHL as an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens.
The Canadiens dropped assistant coaches Jean-Jacques Daigneault and Dan Lacroix and hired Ducharme away from the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Friday.
Montreal also gave a contract extension to goaltending coach Stephane Waite, who has been with the team for five years.
The moves are part of an off-season shakeup by a Canadiens team that missed the playoffs for a second time in three years. On April 17, the club fired Sylvain Lefebvre, coach of their American Hockey League team, the Laval Rocket, which also missed the playoffs. Lefebvre has yet to be replaced.
Ducharme, 45, has built an impressive resume in junior hockey and may be seen as a potential future replacement for Canadiens head coach Claude Julien.
Ducharme coached Canada twice at the world juniors, winning silver in 2017 and gold in 2018.
“With Dominique, we are very confident that we hired an excellent coach, a man who proved himself at the junior level in the QMJHL,” said Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin. “Furthermore, his experience on the international stage with Hockey Canada has given him valuable knowledge which will allow him to make the jump to the professional ranks.
“Claude Julien and I are committed to fully evaluating the work of our personnel, and we both agreed to make this difficult decision, and to proceed with these changes in our coaching staff,” Bergevin added.
Canucks’ farm team ties AHL playoff series at 2-2
UTICA, N.Y. — Reid Boucher had a pair of goals, including the eventual winner, as the Utica Comets topped the Toronto Marlies 5-2 on Friday in American Hockey League playoff action.
The best-of-five series is now tied 2-2. Game 5 is in Toronto on Sunday.
Tanner MacMaster and Michael Carcone had a goal and an assist each for Utica, the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks. Tyler Motte added a single, while Thatcher Demko made 40 saves for the win.
Kelowna Rockets forward Kole Lind has yet to suit up for a playoff game with Utica, having joined the Comets following the Rockets’ exit from the WHL playoffs. Lind had one assist in six AHL regular-season games.
Dmytro Timashov and Pierre Engvall replied for the Marlies. Garret Sparks stopped 15 shots.