(Photo credit:  Scott Paulus)

There will be a new captain in Milwaukee this year.

The St. Louis Blues have signed Scott Ford to a one-year two-way contract.

(Apparently….they really liked the picture from his time in Providence for their press release over anything from the last four seasons in Milwaukee.)

It’s sad to see him go.  Such is life as a fan in the AHL.  I don’t want to write a eulogy, but I will say that if Fordo spends the season in Peoria, it’s going to be really weird seeing him in a Rivermen jersey 12 times next season.

But congrats to him on the contract — it’s an NHL deal, as opposed to the AHL deals he had  with Milwaukee.

Thanks for four good years, Fordo.  You’ll be missed.

So the Predators have signed former Admiral/Predator Chris Mason to a one year contract.  I think it’s safe to say that he’ll be the guy playing for the Preds this year when it isn’t Pekka Rinne.

So what does that mean for us?  That means we are likely to get a tag-team of Jeremy Smith and Magnus Hellberg, who will be playing his first year in North America this season.

I look forward to asking Coach Evason about how he plans to split the playing time between the two guys when both are healthy.  It’s been awhile since the Admirals have sported a bona fide tag-team goalie approach.  Usually, there’s the #1 goalie, and then the other guy.

2011-12 – Smitty played in 56 games, Atte Engren played in 23.

2010-11 – Dekanich played 43, until he got hurt on March 16th, and Smitty took over full-time.  Smitty played 18 games before the injury, and then 9 more regular season games afterwards.

2009-10 – Dex with 49 games, Pickard appeared in 36….which is a higher number than I expected…

2008-09 – Drew MacIntyre 55, Dekanich 30.

2007-08 – Pekka Rinne 65, Maxime Daigneault and Dov Grumet-Morris 9 each.

So Roundtable — how would you like to see the games split between Smith and Hellberg this year?  

Dear Hockey Gods,

First of all, happy free agency day.  I know you find this just as exciting as media and fans do.

Here is what I am hoping for this day.

– I hope that the Predators can hold on to Ryan Suter.  I’d like to know that all of the public posturing was at least truthful just a tiny little bit.

– I hope that the Predators can add some smart under-the-radar pieces for themselves and for Milwaukee…..although it does seem to look like our roster is mostly complete.

– I hope that the biggest free agent that the Penguins sign will be Dean Arsene.  I hope Zach Parise takes less money to play anywhere other than Pittsburgh.

– I hope Alex Semin signs some place where the local media is a lot more brutal towards players who under-achieve.

– I hope that somebody becomes the new Cristobal Huet.  That was hilarious.

– And probably above all else…I hope that there will be nothing that happens today that will make it tougher to get a new CBA ratified this summer.

Just a quick note….the AHL Borad Of Governors annual meeting has ended, and we now have some divisional alignments and some new rules.

Goodbye Charlotte.  Hello Grand Rapids.

The Griffins join us in the Midwest Division, Charlotte joins the Texas teams and OKC in the new South Division, and Abbotsford joins the North Division.  That North Division….lots of travel….holy cow….Abbotsford, Cleveland, Toronto, Hamilton, and Rochester…..

And rule changes…..(ripped from the press release at theahl.com)

Video Review
The Board has approved the use of a video goal-review system for AHL games beginning with the 2012-13 season.

(Let us rejoice and be glad!)

Rules Changes
The AHL has adopted the following rule changes recently approved for use in the National Hockey League:

• Rule 67.2 (“Handling the Puck”) now calls for a minor penalty “any time a player places his hand over the puck while it is on the ice in order to conceal it from or prevent an opponent from playing the puck”.

(Keep your hands to yourself)

• Rule 76.4 (“Face-offs”) states that “both players facing off are prohibited from batting the puck with their hand in an attempt to win the face-off.” Violation of this rule will result in a minor penalty for delay of game.

(Which will hereby known as the Wacey Rabbit Rule)

• The Board has also approved a test of a variation on Rule 81 (“Icing”) at the request of the National Hockey League, that will, in the event of a potential icing violation, complete the play should a defending player be the first to reach the end zone face-off dots and provided the puck has crossed the goal line at that point. This rule will be in effect until Nov. 19, 2012, at which time its continued use will be determined by the Board. This was the only rules test approved.

(This will be interesting….Hopefully the linesmen are up to the challenge of calling it accurately and consistently)

So Roundtable — do you like the new changes? 

Coach Evason was introduced to the Milwaukee media yesterday.  I do find these sorts of events exciting because everyone is all smiles and it’s easy to be optimistic about the future of the team.  But at the same time, the content of these sorts of events can be somewhat predictable.  Happy to be here, thanks to my former team, thanks to the management of the current team, looking forward to winning hockey games, but understand that it’s also about player development.  He touched on all of those points.

That said, we did learn some things from the Q&A, and also from Aaron Sims’ 1-on-1 interview with the coach afterwards.  And Admirals’ GM Paul Fenton was gracious to give me a few minutes of his time and provide some of his insight on Coach Evason also.

Do read Dave’s Boehler’s write-up, where he talks about the Coach inviting the media to ask him two hours worth of questions, and explains how he feels about the concept of traveling on buses instead of airplanes.

One of the things Coach mentioned when talking to Aaron was how this whole chain of events was set in motion.

“I had an opportunity in Washington and I interviewed for the head coaching there. When I spoke with George McPhee, they were going to go in another direction.  George asked me, at my convenience, to talk to David Poile, if I wouldn’t mind.  So I talked to him quite quickly after that, and he in turn told me that Paul would call me, and that started the process.”

I find it interesting that it was the GM of the Caps that played the role of matchmaker in this story.

But Evason has a previous history with both Poile and Paul Fenton.  Poile drafted him, and Fenton was his teammate on three different teams.  Fenton talks about what kind of a player Evason was back in the day.

“Dean, for not being an overly big guy, he played with some great edge and determination and smarts.  The smarts is what kept him in the league for over 800 games.  He could adapt to anything.  He could play a skill game, he could play a hard-nosed game.  No matter what, he showed up every night to play.  And that’s what I expect his team will be like as well.”

Seven years as an assistant with the same team…that’s a long time in hockey years.  And Fenton explains some of the success of his longevity.

“First of all, he’s a great hockey person.  He’s been involved in professional hockey and in coaching for well over 30 yeras.  So experience in itself kept him there.  He’s a great person, an excellent teacher.  He has great values in hockey and as a family man.”

Coach Evason knows that there is plenty for him to learn as he works to become better in his role, in hopes of securing an NHL job some day.  And one of the keys for him will be the relationship-building with his team.

“I think the biggest thing is dealing with the players 1-on-1. Dealing with men.  I had an opportunity as a head coach at the junior level,  but you’re dealing with 16-20 year old guys.  Here, you’re dealing with men.  You’re dealing with guys that are trying to make their next step.  Fortunately, I’ve been in that position, as they are.  I was in that position trying to get the NHL, I know that process, and hopefully we, Stan and I, can teach them how to conduct themselves not only on the ice, but off the ice as well.  How to play the game the right way in order to play at the next level. ”

Coach Muller had a similar quote around this time last season too.  They’ve been there, and they can use their experiences to prepare the next generation.

While Coach Evason hasn’t specifically laid out plans for what responsibilities will primarily be his and which ones will primarily be Stan Drulia’s, it sounds like he wants to focus on having a team community.

“The biggest thing that I talked to Stan about, and to our trainers and to everybody, is that we’re a team.   It’s not me, coaching the team and Stan looking after special teams.  We’ll do it together.  One guy may present video, one guy may head up a special team, but it’ll be a team effort.  Not only between the two of us, but everybody else.  The trainers as well.   The closeness of your off-ice group at this level (is important) so that your players can be that close on the ice.”

So now the two men behind the bench for the Admirals have come from a forward/offensive background.  I asked Paul Fenton if hiring a third coach to work with the defense would be out of the question.

“You know, that’s a professional coach.  I don’t have a problem with what position you played whether it’s goaltender, forward, or defenseman.  We’ve had several years where we’ve had two forwards, and several years where we’ve had two defensemen.  It just depends on the quality of the teacher, and I believe that we have two extremely quality teachers there that are going to be able to teach our guys the proper way to play the game.”

So now what?  Entry draft….Rookie development camp…Summerfest….free agency.  Looking forward to it.

Meet the new boss.

His name is Dean Evason.

Quick summary of his playing and coaching career up to this point:  He made his NHL playing debut as a member of the Washington Capitals in the 83-84 season.  After stays with Hartford, San Jose, and Dallas, he played his last NHL games as a Calgary Flame in the 95-96 season, before spending a few years playing in Europe.  He was even a teammate of Ads GM Paul Fenton for some time.

For those of you that like guys who aren’t afraid to throw down…. here’s an oldie but a goodie.

The year after his playing career ended, he started coaching in the WHL.  After stops in Kamloops, Vancouver, and Calgary (he coached Brodie Dupont there), he got his first NHL coaching gig with the team that originally drafted him — The Washington Capitals.  In the 05-06 season, he was an assistant under Head Coach Glen Hanlon.

He’s been there in that role ever since.

His first year was the same as a guy named Alexander Ovechkin.

Seven years with the same team as an assistant?  That was the 2nd longest assistant coach tenure with one team in the league….behind Peter Horachek in Nashville.

He was an assistant under three different head coaches in Washington.  To be retained by new leadership I think says something about how valuable he was to the team.  Bruce Boudreau could have cleaned house when he arrived, or during the following off-season.  Dale Hunter could have cleaned house when he arrived.  But Evason made himself essential.

Initially under consideration for the vacated coaching position in Washington, recent comments made by GM George McPhee made it sound like he wasn’t going to be a finalist. The case for Evason for that job?  Familiarity.  He’s paid his dues with the organization.  The case against him?  None of the last four Capital head coaches had previous NHL coaching experience.  The last one was Ron Wilson in 01-02.  Perhaps they’re looking to make that a pre-requisite.

Evason comes to Milwaukee with the experience of having coached some very different styles of hockey with the Caps over the last seven years, and it’ll be interesting to see whether the systems he will implement in Milwaukee will resemble any of the systems used in DC.  Plus he brings previous experience of coaching youngsters, and coaching some…we’ll say….interesting personalities.

Personally, I’m excited to see what he’ll be able to do with his own pro squad.  (Yes, I’m a Caps fan…and yes I’m trying my best not to let that cloud my judgement!).  Press conference tomorrow morning to introduce the new boss….what’s the over/under on number of times the phrase “The Road To Nashville Goes Through Milwaukee” will be spoken?

In the meantime, here are some old Evason clippings for your reading/viewing pleasure:

When Dean Evason Faced Sergei Fedorov – Washington Post

Face-Off With Captials’ Assistant Coach Dean Evason – Mount Vernon Patch

Mic’d Up With Dean Evason:  Alumni Game – Caps Website

Remember when we were all surprised that Martin Gelinas turned down Milwaukee’s head coaching gig so quickly?

If you don’t here’s the quote from a prior Ryan Miller post entitled “The Aftermath“:

I (aka Ryan) asked Fenton (Preds assistant G.M. Paul Fenton) if he knows if Marty (Martin Gelinas) has any interest in changing career paths.

“He doesn’t.  No, I’ve already spoken with Marty.  He has no interest in it.”

Come to find out the former Calgary Flames forward had another plan in place the whole time. Though that may or may not be the case, yesterday Gelinas chose to leave the Nashville Predators organization altogether.

The current/now former director of player development for Nashville, and former interim Admirals assistant coach is moving back to Calgary, joining coach Bob Hartley’s new staff in the land of the stampede.

In a Canadian Press article Gelinas expressed that it was difficult choice.

“When this came about and I had this opportunity, it was a tough decision because I’m leaving a franchise where in Nashville I was treated very well where David Poile (Predators GM) is a great man and treated me like family,” Gelinas said. “(But) after the 2004 run, it was a dream of mine to come back and work for this organization. Calgary’s home for me. It’s always been since I left.”

So Gelinas and Herbers are headed back home to Alberta. The question now is who will make their new home in Milwaukee?

Sounds like Fenton is narrowing in on his choice according to Dave Boehler of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Josh Cooper of the Tennessean goes a step further and says the Predators are ‘close’ to having a new Milwaukee head man in place.

“I’m very close to hiring a coach, it may not be this week, but it’s certainly in the works,” Fenton told Cooper. “It has been a great process I’ve had some tremendous candidates this year. I hope I don’t have to do it again next year.”

Fenton also added:

“The person I have in mind is going to be a very, very good coach for us.”

So Roundtable . . . What are your feelings on the departure of Martin Gelinas from the Predators organization?

As you may have read, we’re expecting an announcement on the new Admirals Head Coach sometime in the next week or so. Everyone is doing a nice job in keeping the name of the individual from being leaked.  And after that mess in Alberta with the GM flat out lying to the media…..I’m certainly okay with ‘no comment’ as the answer for now.

But a few other teams made some hires this week.  So you can take them off of your short list for the Milwaukee coach.

We’ll be seeing former Milwaukee coach Dave Allison about 12 times next season, as he will be taking the helm for the Peoria Rivermen.  This after the Blues declined to exercise the option on Jared Bednar’s contract.  Check out the Rivermen Blog for some commentary there…. But judging from the quotes from the players, this was a pretty surprising move.

And it begs the question:  Why is Dave Allison the answer?  He hasn’t been coaching since the 07-08 season, when he led the Iowa Stars to a masterful 35-37-8 record, and out of the playoffs.  Not just out of the playoffs…dead last in the division.  But he did have something going for him — a previous working relationship with the GM of the Blues.

Interesting.

The Texas Stars named Willie Desjardins as their new head coach.  He has spent the majority of his coaching career in the WHL, where he was in charge of the Medicine Hat Tigers for eight seasons, before spending the last two as an associate coach for the Dallas Stars.  Hmmmm….an assistant at the NHL level going down to the AHL level to run a pro team there….where have we seen that career path before…. (check out the 100 Degree Hockey blog’s commentary here….they dig the hire)

And Sylvain Lefebvre was named the new head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs.  After serving as an assistant for the Lake Erie Monsters and Colorado Avalanche over the last five seasons, this will be his first head coaching gig.  Hmmmm….long playing career….assistant at the NHL level going down to the AHL level to run a pro team there….where have we seen that career path before….

Will the Admirals coach come from the same background?  We’ll see.

Oh, and the Wolves need a new coach after Craig MacTavish spurned the Vancouver organ-eye-zation to go work for the Oilers.  Bummer, right?