Roughly one-third into the grind, the most striking league statistic is that coaches are 32 for 32. Not a single bench boss has been canned. It’s a compressed, uptick pace of play in an Olympic season, and it appears some general managers are content to let the season run away from them.
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In Nashville, where coach Andrew Brunette’s Predators (7-12-4) were parked dead last in the standings on Thanksgiving, GM Barry Trotz has chosen to stand by his man.
“I do believe in Bruno,” Trotz told ESPN early in the week. “I’m not worried about what people think.”
After losing eight of nine, the Predators rallied back for a 6-3 win Wednesday night in Detroit, but it’s a long claw back to respectability in Tune Town.
In Calgary, where the flickering Flames plucked ex-Bruins forward Johnny Beecher off waivers for some help, GM Craig Conroy has kept Ryan Huska on the job. Their points percentage a smidge lower than the Predators (.380 vs. .391), the Flames on Friday owned the game’s weakest power play (12.6 pct).
Toronto GM Brad Treliving still has Craig Berube on the job despite the Maple Leafs, a milquetoast 10-10-3, sitting 27th in league standings. Elite goal scorer Auston Matthews finally made it back to the lineup following a two-week injury layoff, helping the Maple Leafs squeeze out a 2-1 overtime win in Columbus on Thanksgiving eve. Toronto was 1-3-1 in his absence, and it looks as if Matthews alone will determine whether they finish above or below the DNQ line.
In Edmonton, coach Kris Knoblauch has been unable to shake the lethargy from the Oilers after their back-to-back losses in the 2024 and ‘25 Cup Finals — the first franchise to go belly up in two straight since the Bruins fell short to the Habs in both 1977 and ‘78.
Oilers GM Stan Bowman isn’t likely to turf the mild-mannered Knoblauch after he steered them twice to the Final, but unless he finds a remedy in net, where the 6-foot-4-inch Stuart Skinner keeps coming up short, powerhouse forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl won’t be enough for them to reach the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season.
By this time last season, the Bruins (Jim Montgomery) and Blues (Drew Bannister) had sent their coaches packing, with the Blackhawks (Luke Richardson) days from doing so. The Red Wings (Derek Lalonde) waited until midseason. The Flyers gave up on John Tortorella with nine games to go. The Kraken (Dan Bylsma), Ducks (Greg Cronin), and Rangers (Peter Laviolette) all dealt their pink slips at season’s end.
No doubt, some of the slow turn in the coaching carousel we’re seeing now is due to last season’s 25 percent turnover. It’s also GMs realizing that their intended jumpstarts often turn out only to reconfirm the poor performance points more to their roster engineering than the guy driving the train.
The latter scenario is the case in Nashville, where Trotz has made clear he’s open to moving some core roster talent, telling ESPN he has “a couple of top sixes” he’d consider wheeling.
Though he didn’t name any player specifically, it didn’t take much sleuthing to realize Trotz was referencing Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and/or Ryan O’Reilly. Trotz said he talked with agents of some of his players, GM speak for finding out willingness to waive no-trade clauses.
If Trotz’s message to the agents hit their ears like it’s time for a franchise rebuild, that would increase their interest in leaving town, albeit if they have a large say in choosing their final destination. Long ago, in similar circumstances, Ray Bourque hoped for Philadelphia before Bruins boss Harry Sinden shipped him to Colorado. Partings can be dicey.
The Bruins are hardly alone in needing to upgrade their top six. Top-end scoring and playmaking talent is always coveted, particularly at center, where the Bruins have yet to fill the Patrice Bergeron-David Krejci void.
No. 1 pivot Elias Lindholm is just back after missing most of November. The No. 2 spot is held by Pavel Zacha again, which might be OK if Lindholm were more consistent and impactful. Too many nights, this season and last, the offense lacked pivots to drive the top two lines.
Stamkos and O’Reilly, the latter of whom does not have no-trade protection, have shown their age of late. But at the right price, with the Preds retaining some salary, both could bolster the Black and Gold offense. Ditto for Marchessault, who can play either wing, but the need here is greater at center.
Equally intriguing is whether some of the other GMs with clubs off to poor/lackluster starts follow Trotz’s lead, keep their coaches, and instead look to deal big roster parts. It’s the kind of action we typically only see around July 1 free agency.
If the coaches aren’t going, then something has to give. Because 32 GMs know that they could be the next ones told to pack their bags.
Alex Steeves tallied twice against the Islanders, bringing his season total to three goals.AP Photo/Adam Hunger/Associated Press
FULL SPEED
Steeves goal not short on ‘Wow!’ factor
The Alex Steeves shorthanded goal Wednesday night on Long Island, the first for the Bruins this season, was an absolute beauty. He finished off the two-on-one with an authoritative whack as he sliced to the right post, converting a slick, fancy feed from Fraser Minten that had a Denis Savard “Wow!” factor.
There’s just something about a shorty, right? Amid a torrent of a third period, in which the Isles pelted Jeremy Swayman with 23 shots, the strike by Steeves was a punch to the throat with just less than 10 minutes to go.
As of Friday morning, Steeves’s goal stood as one of only 59 shorthanded goals across the league this season. The 32 teams had been forced to play man down 2,290 times, representing a mere 2.57 percent “shorty” conversion rate.
Granted, coaches are far more concerned that their penalty-killers do as they’re assigned and rub out opposition power plays. Fine. But that miniscule percentage across thousands of opportunities represents way too much money left on the table.
Life on the PK is tough work, but killing scenarios are also chockablock full of scoring opportunities that players have been programmed to ignore. From squirt hockey on up, PK units are taught to disrupt plays, gain possession, fire the puck as far away as fast as they can, and race to the bench to get fresh legs on the ice.
It’s the hockey version of finger painting. If it were art class, no one ever would be allowed to advance to paint-by-number.
Bruins fans have been fortunate over the decades to watch some of the game’s top shorty specialists, including most recently Brad Marchand, whose 36 SHGs are tied for eighth in league history. Others included Dave Poulin and Butch Goring (T5 with 39) and Derek Sanderson (T12 with 34).
Coaches, adverse to risk, prefer to play by the odds and are happiest when their killers are working somewhere around 85 percent efficiency. What they fail to recognize (or even explore) is that goal-hungry PKers have the ability to change game temperature — see: Minten to Steeves — and, oh, kill time off penalties by maintaining puck possession and making plays rather than hammering it down ice and handing it back to the opposition.
There are also more goals to be had — and excitement galore accompanying them — by astute coaches able to spot tiny moments in a game, no matter what period, to yank their goalie for an extra attacker. Again, it comes with inherent risk, but a coach able to foresee personnel mismatches could ambush the opposition and potentially seal off a win.
The top three shorthanded scorers of all time? Wayne Gretzky (73), Mark Messier (63), and Steve Yzerman (50). Good things happen when good players are trusted to create.
Trent Frederic hasn’t produced much offense for the Oilers since signing a new deal as a free agent.Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press
NOT TOO SLICK
Listless Oilers need help at both ends
Doubtful that the Oilers find an answer in net — impossible for a Canadian team to have considered Carter Hart, now in Vegas — during the season. Stuart Skinner has his good moments, just not enough of them. If general manager Stan Bowman envisions Connor McDavid seeing out his senior playing days in Edmonton, he’ll have to find a legit No. 1 tender in the summer.
The Oilers have been listless from the start, due in part to their parting of the ways with Corey Perry (UFA to Los Angeles), Connor Brown (UFA to New Jersey), and Evander Kane (June trade to Vancouver). Perry, 40, is way beyond prime, but he was highly respected in the room, particularly by McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Brown was ever dependable in the bottom six, and the combustible Kane was effective in riling up opponents and teammates.
Bowman felt former Bruins center/wing Trent Frederic could be the guy to drag the Oilers into the fight when needed. Thus far, “Freddy” has been the biggest swing-and-miss in the July market. Bowman inked him to an eight-year deal with a $3.85 million cap hit, far above what anyone considered market rate. Entering the weekend, Frederic had just two goals in 25 games and looked as out of place as a cactus (minus the prickly needles) in an Alberta oil field.
In hopes of finding a spark, Bowman recently promoted 6-foot-2-inch forward Connor Clattenburg from AHL Bakersfield. Clattenburg arrived with requisite hiss and vinegar, though some of that was lost in the 8-3 shellacking Edmonton took Tuesday at the hands of the Stars. It looks like Clattenburg, who scored career goal No. 1 against Dallas, could be the bottom-six fire starter, provided there’s enough will in the lineup for the fire to take hold.
The Penguins were a sizzling 8-2–2 when ex-Bruin Justin Brazeau exited the lineup due to injury after Oct. 30. Big Braz, 6-6, is back skating, his return date to be determined. The FSG Flightless Birds entered the weekend 3-4-3 in his absence, his presence missed after he clicked off the hop on a second-line trio with Evgeny Malkin and Anthony Mantha (combined weight, 667 pounds). The Penguins are hoping he can deliver the same touch upon returning that produced a 6-6—12 line in his 12 games prior to the lower-body injury … With former UMass Lowell tender Connor Hellebuyck shelved for some six weeks after recent knee surgery, the Jets will forge ahead with journeyman Eric Comrie as their No. 1, backed by rookie callup Thomas Milic (a ‘23 draft pick). Hellebuyck, though often disappointing in the playoffs, has been a high-performing workhorse, averaging 63 starts across the last four seasons. Now 32, perhaps the unwanted rest will give the River Hawk alum a boost in the second season … The Avalanche were a league-best 17-1-5 (the one loss to the Bruins) as of Friday morning. Their dazzling .848 points percentage had them on pace to finish with 139, 4 points better than the record the Bruins posted with their 65-12-5 mark in 2022-23 … Alex Steeves led Notre Dame in scoring in both his sophomore and junior seasons, leading to his turning pro with the Maple Leafs in the spring of 2021. He signed with the Bruins as a free agent in July after four seasons of not being able to crack Toronto’s forward code. Way too early for a straight-on comparison, but he has some Zach Hyman elements to his game. Hyman, straight line and aggressive to the net, signed with the Oilers in the summer of ‘21, the Maple Leafs then not too interested in straight line and aggressive to the net … Of the eight coaches canned last season, only Montgomery, snapped up right away by the Blues, is leading a team now. Laviolette, about to turn 61, would be the most likely to be next back. Calgary could be a good fit for the no-nonsense “Lavvy,” though he’s never worked for a Canadian team. This coming spring will be 20 years since he led the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup … In the post-Original Six era, the Blues own the ignominious mark of losing the most consecutive Cup Final appearances (three). The Scotty Bowman-led expansionists took it on the chin in 1968 and ‘69, each time losing to the Canadiens, and then again in ‘70 to the Bruins (capped by the Flying Bobby goal). Prior to expansion, only the Maple Leafs failed three consecutive times in the Final, losing out to the Black Hawks (1938), Bruins (‘39), and Rangers (‘40) … Johnny Beecher posted a lone assist in his first four games with the Flames prior to weekend play. He averaged 10:33 in ice time, with Calgary going 3-0-1 … Corey Perry, signed in Edmonton by then-GM Ken Holland, was signed again by Holland in Los Angeles. His bonus-laden deal could bring him $4 million this season; he entered the weekend fourth in Kings scoring with 13 points … The Bruins were outshot by a whopping 45-14 in their 3-1 Wednesday win on Long Island. In the 65 years that the league has kept track of shots, it was only the third time the Bruins were outhammered by 30 or more. The others: March 27, 1971, on Causeway Street, a 6-3 loss to the Rangers in which the Blueshirts rolled up a 52-18 shot edge; and Feb. 28, 2023, a 4-3 OT win at Calgary, the Flames totaling a 57-20 advantage … The Bruins, who played host to the Red Wings on Saturday night, again will see Patrick Kane in Winged Wheel red with they visit Detroit on Tuesday. The Buffalo-born Kane, 37, entered the weekend with a 495-861—1356 regular-season line, on target soon to pass Mike Modano (1,374) as the highest-producing American in NHL history. In a story with nhl.com’s Nick Cotsonika, Modano, now 55, recalled that then-President George W. Bush phoned in 2007 with congratulations after Modano passed Phil Housley for the record. “The operator came though, saying, ‘This is Air Force One,’ ” Modano recalled. “I thought, ‘Who’s pulling this joke on me?’ ” Top three Yanks on the NHL goal-scoring list: Modano (561), Keith Tkachuk (538), and Jeremy Roenick (513). Modano and JR are both in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Tkachuk’s omission remains as baffling as a two-line offside.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.