The Chicago Blackhawks have re-signed Lukas Reichel to a 2-year contract.
Reichel, 21, had a somewhat disappointing season for the Blackhawks in 2023-24, putting up 5 goals and 11 assists in 65 games at the NHL level. He also had 1 goal and 7 assists in 10 games for the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL.
Reichel will still have 3 RFA seasons after the conclusion of this 2-year deal.
The St. Louis Blues have named Drew Bannister as their head coach.
Bannister took over for Craig Berube on an interim basis, after being a head coach in the AHL since 2018-19.
Travis Green will be the next head coach of the Ottawa Senators, reports Darren Dreger.
Green was head coach of the Vancouver Canucks from 2017-18 to 2021-22, the team putting up a 133-147-34 record over that stretch. He was an associate coach with the New Jersey Devils in 2023-24, serving as interim head coach after Lindy Ruff was fired late in the season.
Rick Bowness will announce his retirement from coaching today, Darren Dreger reports.
With Bowness leaving, that adds another team to the list looking for a coach for next year. Jets associate coach Scott Arniel figures to be a prominent candidate, though the search will no doubt be wide.
Rod Brind’Amour may explore the open market after the Hurricanes have retracted their previous contract offer, reports Darren Dreger.
Carolina famously has their price ranges that they don’t deviate from, which lead to a drawn out process with Brind’Amour’s last contract 3 years ago, which reportedly was markedly under market rate.
Kevin Weekes tweeted recently about a coach getting more than $7 million this summer. If Brind’Amour indeed hits free agency, he would be the most likely candidate to garner a contract that high.
The Seattle Kraken have announced they have fired head coach Dave Hakstol.
Assistant coach Paul McFarland has also been let go.
In 3 seasons with the expansion Kraken, Hakstol had a 107-112-27 record and had one playoff appearance.
According to Andy Strickland, both the New Jersey Devils and Ottawa Senators are possibilities for coach Craig Berube.
He also mentions the Sabres made an attempt to hire Berube before making Lindy Ruff their coach.
Given that he’s drawing plenty of interest, it might make sense for Berube to wait a bit before making his decision to see the full range of possibilities for him. The Los Angeles Kings have only committed to Jim Hiller as an interim head coach, and there may be other teams that fire their head coach after a disappointing early exit from the playoffs.
The Chicago Blackhawks have re-signed Alex Vlasic to a 6-year extension.
Vlasic, 22, had his first full-time season in the NHL in 2023-24, recording 2 goals and 14 assists in 76 games. The 6-year contract covers 4 RFA seasons and 2 UFA seasons.