A contract hasn’t been signed yet, but Rick Bowness will be the Dallas Stars’ full-time head coach next year. His return provides some stability to what has unfortunately been a tumultuous coaching carousel in Dallas the past several years.
Just because Bowness is returning, however, doesn’t mean that there won’t be any changes:
“I think there is room for improvement on both specialty teams… We’ll continue to address the offense. And with all that being said, we’ll never lose our identity; team defense wins. And we’re going to continue to stress that, but we are also going to continue to improve in those other areas that give you a chance to win. You can’t just rely on winning 2-1 every night. There are some games you’ve got to score some goals, and we need to be able to do that.”
One way Bowness could improve the Stars’ offense would be to lean on some of his younger players. With the Stars staying quiet in free agency, prospects like Jason Robertson and Ty Dellandrea will have a chance to make an impact:
“The young players will all be given a really good chance so they can help us. Maybe not immediately, but show us as the season progresses they are going to improve to the point where they are going to help us get into the playoffs or help us in the playoffs. But they’ll all be given a good opportunity and real good look. They deserve that.”
You can hear more from Rick Bowness, including injuries in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, his coaching staff, and more, in his interview with Sean Shapiro here.
Around the League
ICYMI, contract negotiations between the Montreal Canadiens and Brendan Gallagher broke down, followed quickly by an extension being signed anyways:
BREAKING: The Canadiens have signed Brendan Gallagher to a six-year extension. The deal has an average annual value of $6.5 million.#GoHabsGohttps://t.co/w57uPcmwoQ
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 14, 2020
The extension is just the latest in a series of moves designed to get the Canadiens back to regular playoff contention:
Locking up Brendan Gallagher on a long-term deal proves the Habs believe they are ready to start challenging for regular playoff berths and more, writes @THNMattLarkin:https://t.co/UkcZ5cxiaH
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) October 15, 2020
Jake Oettinger makes an appearance on Scott Wheeler’s top goaltending prospects list — albeit a bit lower than you might expect:
Unsurprisingly, No. 11 overall Yaroslav Askarov is the top drafted goalie prospect in 2020. But who else made the list?@scottcwheeler ranks this year’s top 10 drafted NHL goalie prospects, with analysis, honorable mentions and more ⤵️https://t.co/0LyiPFTbs5
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) October 15, 2020
Greg Wyshynski writes why this offseason should serve as a sort of wake-up call for NHL players:
New column:
– Torey Krug, Alex Pietrangelo and Nate Schmidt give us a lesson in the cruel realities of NHL free agency.
– 3 things about the end of @DaniRylan‘s run as NWHL commish
– Winners/losers and more! Thanks for supporting the column each week.https://t.co/GzqziMP185— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) October 15, 2020
When it comes to signing marquee free agents, the biggest difference between contract offers isn’t necessarily the term or money, but the protection clauses:
The economic pressure on the NHL landscape the next few years will further exacerbate what was already a key fight in negotiations.@PierreVLeBrun examines how full no-move and no-trade clauses are now a bigger deal than they have ever been before ⤵️https://t.co/2PwEUrPSD8
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) October 14, 2020