With activity around the league set to pick up in the near future, teams have been busy finalizing their coaching staffs and trying to get some early contract work done. Unsurprisingly, those two topics dominate the top stories from the past seven days.
Key Center Off The Market: Another prominent pending unrestricted free agent came off the board with the Avalanche signing center Brock Nelson to a three-year, $22.5MM contract. Colorado acquired the 33-year-old near the trade deadline for a pricey package that included 2023 first rounder Calum Ritchie and a 2026 first-round pick. Nelson was a little quieter offensively than expected with his new team, picking up 13 points in 19 regular season games while adding four assists in their first-round loss to Dallas. Despite the struggles, GM Chris MacFarland took full advantage of the chance to solidify the second center position, one that has had a considerable amount of turnover in recent years. In doing so, one of the top middlemen is now off the market.
Coaching Hires: The week started off with two teams still needing a head coach. Both of those vacancies were filled with first-time hires. The Penguins named Dan Muse as their new bench boss while soon after, Boston hired Marco Sturm as their head coach. Muse has five years of assistant coaching experience at the NHL level but has not been a head coach in the pros; his only head coaching time has been in the USHL and international junior levels. But with GM Kyle Dubas looking to make his roster younger, bringing in more of a development coach makes some sense. As for the Bruins, Sturm returns to an organization he spent several years with as a player. He spent the last seven seasons with the Kings, four as an assistant in Los Angeles and the last three running their AHL affiliate in Ontario. He also has a handful of years of coaching internationally for his native Germany. While Boston was a big seller at the trade deadline, it appears they plan to try to get back into the playoff mix in a hurry so Sturm will have some win-now expectations fairly quickly.
Staying In Tampa Bay: Yanni Gourde and the Lightning had mutual interest in getting a new contract done but with limited cap space, they had to find a compromise. They did just that as the 33-year-old signed a six-year, $14MM deal, one that will lower his cap charge to $2.33MM after making nearly $5.2MM per season on his last contract. Gourde had his lowest point total since…
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