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Dan Bylsma is looking for another new assistant coach after Dave Barr has departed the Buffalo Sabres to join the Florida Panthers coaching staff.
Barr was named as an assistant coach with the Sabres last June.
Two weeks ago, Dan Lambert left the Buffalo staff to become the head coach of the Rochester Amerks.
Barr's move to Florida follows a major organizational shift in the front office for the Panthers, who reassigned their GM Dale Tallon in May, among other moves. John Madden was fired as assistant coach.
Barr will run the Florida power play.
Buffalo owned the NHL's 12th best power play (18.9%) in 2015-16.
One door closes, another one opens. Welcome to the NHL.
So, who will Bylsma hire to replace Barr and Lambert?
I have heard that Bylsma and Mike Yeo, the former Minnesota Wild head coach, have spoken about the Buffalo gig. Yeo served as Bylsma's assistant in Pittsburgh from 2008-10. Bylsma and Yeo won a Stanley Cup together in 2009.
If Yeo does not win the Calgary nor Anaheim head coaching job, he wants accept an assistant coaching job.
Bylsma is also said to be interested in reuniting with his former Pittsburgh assistant Todd Rierden, who is currently on the Washington Capitals' coaching staff.
Bylsma has a connection to former Columbus Blue Jax head coach Todd Richards, who is looking for NHL work.
Luke Richardson has been passed over several times for the Ottawa Senators' head coaching job and is said to be interested in an NHL assistant coaching position. Richardson has been on Buffalo's radar screen in the recent past.
Barr is close friends with Florida head coach Gerard Gallant. The two men played parts of five seasons together with the Detroit Red Wings from 1987 to 1991.
Speaking of the Florida Panthers, here is a look at their new home sweater.
I like the color scheme. The new logo? Yeah, not so much.
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Memorial Cup hero Matthew Tkachuk will not be participating in any of the agility and fitness testing at the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo. Tkachuk revealed earlier this week that he suffered a sprained ankle during the Memorial Cup tournament. Tkachuk injured the ankle against the Niagara Ice Dogs in the OHL Championship series.
Will missing the combine workouts negatively impact Tkachuk's fourth overall draft status? Not one iota. This kid has proven to the hockey watching world that he is ready to be the next Rick Tocchet, John Leclair, or Brendan Shanahan in the NHL. He is THAT good. Missing the testing woill not be an issue for Tkachuk.
Tkachuk is expected to be chosen fourth overall at the June 24 NHL Draft in Buffalo.
Edmonton presently holds the 4th overall pick by virtue of the NHL Draft Lottery. However, Oilers GM Pete Chiarelli is very open to trading the pick in exchange for a top four, right shot veteran D. The Oil also want to secure a veteran center and premium draft choices in exchange for the 4th overall selection. (PS- Tim Murray loves Tkachuk. Murray would trade his 8th overall pick, Mark Pysyk, Zemgus Girgensons or Tyler Ennis, and a second rounder for the 4th overall pick. Pysyk and Ennis are Edmonton natives. The Oil could then use #8 to select one of either left D Olli Juolevi, Mikhal Sergachev, or Jakob Chychrun).
Tkachuk and Pierre-Luc Dubois will be the top two power forwards chosen in the first round of the draft.
In my opinion, Tkachuk is a perfect combination Corey Perry-Jamie Benn-Jeff Carter in terms of his skating, physicality, endurance and sniping skills. He can beat you with his fists, heavy body checks, his clapper, and his wicked wrister. If there is one area of his game that needs a tad bit of work is his power skating.
Pain clearly was not an option for "Chuckie", who scored the OT game winning goal on Sunday to clinch the Memorial Cup for Dale Hunter's London Knights.
The London Knights power forward presently ranks #2 on the NHL Central Scouting final ranking of North American skaters. eligible for the 2016 NHL Draft, has been dealing with the injury since the Ontario Hockey League championship series against Niagara.
Tkachuk scored 20 goals and added 20 assists in 18 OHL Playoff games this spring. He also earned 42 PIMs. He popped five goals and three assists in four games at the Memorial Cup tourney after scoring 30 goals, 77 assists and 80 PIMs this season for the high octane Knights.
"I'm going to hold off on the testing; I'm a little dinged up," Tkachuk told NHL.com on Thursday.
"There's no point in doing any of the bike tests or the testing right now if I'm not 100 percent. Whichever team drafts me, I'll be excited to test at development camp and see where I rank. We'll see what they think and go from there."
Tkachuk took his medical exam Wednesday in Buffalo. He said that he completed the functional movement screen test on Thursday, but will remain off his ankle as much as possible.
On Friday, the boys will rock out on the puke-inducing VO2 Max bike test at HarborCenter.
The VO2 Max, one of three tests on Friday, measures the endurance capability of a player's heart, lungs and muscles.
The Wingate Cycle Ergometer peak power output test, a 30-second all-out sprint on a stationary bike that measures a player's explosiveness and could provide critical information in learning how quickly a player might be able to begin a transition up ice, is the last of nine fitness tests to be completed on Saturday at HarborCenter.
At the 2015 NHL Scouting Combine, Jack Eichel handily defeated Connor McDavid in the VO2 segment. McDavid defeated Eichel in the Wingate test.
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Soon to be Columbus Blue Jackets sniper Jesse Puljujarvi will not be participating in any of the fitness testing at the NHL Scouting Combine.
Puljujarvi underwent successful surgery on his left knee in May. He suffered the injury in Finnish Elite League play in March. He aggravated it at the IIHF U18 tourney.
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