Also: The pick’s gotta be Schaefer, right?
It didn’t take long to fill out Patrick Roy’s bench staff after the Isles released a couple of Lou holdovers last month.
On Monday the Islanders announced longtime NHL assistant Ray Bennett (Los Angeles, St. Louis, Colorado) and former Panthers and Sharks head coach Bob Boughner as the new guys. Each ran special teams last season — Bennett on Colorado’s power play, Boughner on Detroit’s penalty kill, though Boughner was part of the mid-season firings by the Wings. Even after they cleaned house, Detroit finished with the worst PK in the league, even worse than the Isles.
Boughner’s teams in Florida (where Jack Capuano was also on staff) and San Jose did not thrive — albeit in tougher circumstances — and it seems he’s settled back into an assistant track.
Bennett was on Andy Murray’s staff in L.A., then followed Murray to St. Louis, where he stayed for six more seasons after Murray’s firing, working with Davis Payne and then Ken Hitchcock.
Islanders News
- Bennett and Boughner join the show. [Isles | Newsday | Post]
- Who are/should the Islanders draft at #1? Most put Matthew Schaefer as the clear #1 and everyone agrees he’s far and away the best D prospect; for a few there isn’t much gap between him and Michael Misa as a #1 draft prospect. (Also, there’s another Anders Lee — Mason West is a Minnesota two-sport guy who some worry could choose NCAA football over hockey.) [Athletic]
Elsewhere
- What an implosion! It’s only one game, so the margin doesn’t matter, but the Oilers did not look good losing their cool in a 6-1 blowout Game 3 loss in Florida. They really tried to dirty it up once the score got to 4-1, but the Panthers largely turned the other cheek while accepting 11 power plays. [NHL]
- Sam Bennett had a huge, very Sam Bennett type of shift. [TSN]
- Continuing a tradition, the top four North American skater prospects got to visit the Stanley Cup final and talked to some of the stars and coaches. [NHL]
- After missing all of last season, the final year of his contract, TJ Oshie surprised no one by announcing his retirement. They threw a big to-do at the fountain in Washington. [Sportsnet]