On coaches on the hot seat and others to watch …
Gary Lawless of TSN: Coaches on the hot seat: Claude Julien, Ken Hitchcock, Bob Hartley, Jack Capuano, Bruce Boudreau and John Torchetti.
Coaches to watch for vacancies: Marc Crawford, Randy Carlyle, Sheldon Keefe, Guy Boucher, Scott Arniel, Todd Richards, Paul MacLean, Mike Yeo, Dallas Eakins, Bruce Cassidy, Nate Leaman, Kevin Dineen, Todd Nelson, Brad Shaw and Kirk Muller.
On the Ottawa Senators …
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen: Claude Julien would be the Senators top coaching candidate if he’s let go by the Bruins. Other options would be Mike Yeo, Kevin Dineen and Guy Boucher.
“Are my hands tied? Not at all. Mr. Melnyk has made it very clear to me that we have the resources to hire whoever the best coach is,” said Dorion. “I come from a bit from a scouting background and we always say we’re going to draft the best player available. Well, we’re going to hire the best coach available.”
On the Carolina Hurricanes …
Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer: GM Ron Francis hinted yesterday that they have a stockpile of draft picks and some could be used to in trades. The rebuild is a long ways from being finished.
“Does it make sense for me to run out and sign a guy to a six- or seven-year contract at a lot of money when I have a young team and we’re building in that direction? Probably not,” Francis said. “It may be different if we’re at a different stage and we think that’s the one piece we need.”
