Habs News: NHL, Montreal Canadiens, Luke Richardson, Sean Burke, Laval Rocket, Trois-Rivieres Lions
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — On Friday, the Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported that Luke Richardson will be the Chicago Blackhawks’ next head coach. The two sides are currently finalizing a contract.
Richardson was hired by the Canadiens as an assistant coach for the start of the 2018-19 season. He was responsible for the defencemen and the penalty kill. Before joining the organization, Richardson spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Ottawa Senators and the New York Islanders.
Chicago would be Richardson’s first experience as a head coach at the NHL level. Richardson coached the AHL’s Belleville Senators for four seasons from 2012 to 2016. In 2016-17, he was the bench boss for Canada’s gold medal win at the Spengler Cup.
Drafted seventh overall by the Maple Leafs in 1987, Richardson played 1,417 NHL games in 21 seasons. The defenceman collected 201 points in his stints with Toronto, Edmonton, Philadelphia, Columbus, Tampa Bay, and Ottawa.
Richardson’s imminent departure will create an opportunity for an addition to Martin St. Louis‘ coach staff. The 53-year old was the team’s most experienced coach at the professional level behind the bench. Trevor Letowski made his pro debut last season when hired by Dominique Ducharme, and Alex Burrows completed his first full year as an assistant at the NHL level, after joining Ducharme’s staff during his third season with the Laval Rocket.
Burke Heading to Vegas
On Saturday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Sean Burke will be joining the Vegas Golden Knights. The Athletic reported that Burke will be hired as the organization’s director of goaltending.
Burke was hired by the Canadiens in 2016 as a professional scout for the Western region and as a goaltending consultant. When Stephane Waite was relieved from his duties as goaltending coach in March 2021, Burke was promoted to director of goaltending. Burke spent the remainder of the season coaching the team’s goalies. Prior to the start of the season, Eric Raymond was hired by Ducharme to serve as goalie coach.
Burke never seemed to be in the plans of the new Canadiens administration. Since the hiring of Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes, there was no mention of Burke and his role with the the organization. In an interview with 91.9 Sports in May, Hughes said that Burke was a professional scout with the Canadiens and not the director of goaltending. The 55-year old’s contract with the organization is expiring at the end of the month.
Rocket Signings
On Friday, the Laval Rocket announced the first signings for the 2022-23 season. Firstly, forward Peter Abbandonato and defenceman Tory Dello signed one-way AHL contracts.
Abbandonato started the season with the Trois-Rivieries Lions before being recalled by the Rocket. During the regular season, he collected 25 points in 18 games in the ECHL, and 20 points in 38 games in the AHL. Abbandonato joined the Lions for their playoff run, and recorded seven points in the seven game series against the Newfoundland Growlers. Following Trois-Rivieres’ elimination, he joined Laval’s playoff run as a black ace, and eventually dressed for eight games and collected four assists.
Dello played 55 games in his first season with the Rocket. The 25-year old totaled 18 points and finished second in the league for defencemen with plus-28. Dello was used in a shutdown role, and on the penalty kill.
In addition, Laval signed defencemen Olivier Galipeau, Santino Centorame, and forward Anthony Beauregard to two-way AHL contracts.
Galipeau spent most of the season with the Lions, but had an 18-game sting with the Rocket on professional tryout contract. Centorame played with St. Francis Xavier University for the last four years, where collected 62 points in 90 games. Beauregard played in the Swiss League, and totalled 41 points in 50 games. In 2020-21, he was named the ECHL’s Most Valuable Player.
Lions Signings
The Trois-Rivieres Lions signed an additional five players for the 2022-23 season. Forward Nicolas Lariviere and defenceman Francis Thibeault signed deals to return with the team. Last season, Lariviere recorded 20 points in 47 games, while Thibeault collected two points in six games.
The Lions also signed forwards Conner Chaulk, James Phelan, and defenceman Alex Breton to contracts. Chaulk had 17 points in 17 games with the University of Alberta last season. Phelan played 22 games with the University of New Brunswick in 2020-21. He has 47 games experience in the AHL, including two games with the Rocket in 2019-20. Breton returns to the ECHL after playing the last two seasons in Slovakia. In 2019-20, he was named the ECHL’s Defenceman of the Year.
The Lions currently have 11 players signed to ECHL contracts for the 2022-23 season.
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By Chris G., Senior Writer
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