After the Boston Bruins were eliminated by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, some changes began. Two of them were assistant coach Jay Leach, seeking employment elsewhere, and assistant general manager Jamie Langenbrunner left. Both have found new homes with other organizations.
Leach was recently named the head coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the New York Rangers. On Wednesday, Langenbrunner was named Special Assistant to the General Manager of the Nashville Predators under new GM Chris McFarland.
“Jamie is a two-time Stanley Cup champion (with Dallas and New Jersey), silver medalist, member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, and one of the best leaders in this sport,” McFarland said in a statement. “He will assist in many areas across the hockey operations department as we work toward our goal of building a championship caliber management team. He is a fantastic addition to our staff, and we look forward to the future of the Nashville Predators.”
Boston has yet to fill Langenbrunner's oepning in Boston.
Toronto Maple Leafs name new coach
One of the more interesting openings remaining in the NHL was the Toronto Maple Leafs. Where they going to try and pry former Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy away from the claws of the Vegas Golden Knights? They have limited his ability to talk to teams for new jobs so far.
Rather than waiting, Toronto on Wednesday named Jim Hiller to replace the outgoing Craig Berube. Hiller was fired as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings in March and replaced by associate coach D.J. Smith. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out with the Maple Leafs.
Buffalo Sabres make impactful trade
Since the Stanley Cup Final ended, moves are beginning to be made around the NHL. On Wednesday, the Buffalo Sabres, who won the Atlantic Division this season, sent restricted free agent Michael Kesselring and the 27th overall pick in next week's NHL Entry Draft, to the San Jose Sharks for the 20th pick in next week's Draft. Still waiting on Don Sweeney and the Bruins to make a move of some kind.
