Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Talking Possible Changes In Washington, Carolina And Florida

04/11/2014 at 10:04am EDT

TSN Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun have the latest on Brendan Shanahan's new job in Toronto and its trickle-down effects, and the futures of Paul Maurice, George McPhee, and more.

There has been lots of speculation about the future of George McPhee in Washington. What happens there?

LeBrun: We don't believe that the owner, Ted Leonsis, has actually tipped his hand at this point but we do know that McPhee's deal is up at the end of the year. There have not been any talks about an extension. So the betting money, the whispers coming out of Washington, are that there is a better chance than not that there is a change at the GM position. But again, no final call there. Now what does that mean for Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin? He is a lightning rod for that team - 50-goal scorer but almost minus-50 as well. There have been some whispers out of the KHL in Russia that would they try...one of the clubs over there try to approach Ovechkin like they did with Ilya Kovalchuk a year ago, if not this summer then certainly over the next couple of years.

Has the future of Carolina's management been decided?

McKenzie: There have been several days of meetings with Peter Karmanos, the owner of the Hurricanes, and general manager Jim Rutherford, and the expectation is that in the not-too-distant future, maybe a week or two or three down the road after the season has ended, Rutherford will move upstairs to a position and Ron Francis will take over as general manager. And amid great expectation that Kirk Muller is a slam dunk to be fired, don't say that necessarily. There is still plenty of consideration going on to keeping Muller as the head coach.

Dreger: And keep an eye on the Florida Panthers as well. Dale Tallon has to meet with ownership in early May to talk about the future, including Peter Horachek as head coach. It sounds like the Panthers might go to an experienced coach, and if Randy Carlyle were to get fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs, he would be high on the list.

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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