from Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet,

Vancouver Canucks coach Travis Green, marooned on an expiring contract without an extension for next season, broke his silence Tuesday on his employment status but only to explain that he is a better coach now than when he came to the National Hockey League team four years ago.

“I think every year has its own challenges,” Green told reporters before the Canucks, freshly eliminated from the playoff race, crashed 5-0 to the Winnipeg Jets. “We came into the season and you're always hoping for good things. It hasn't gone the way we wanted. But you learn from everything. I think every year you coach you have an opportunity to improve as a coach, and I know over the years in Vancouver, I've improved every year and become a better coach every season. And this year is no different.

“When you go through challenges and you go through adversity, sometimes you grow even more in those situations than when you're having success. And when I look back at the season ... I know I'll be able to look back and say, 'You know, I'm a much better coach today than I was coming into this season.'”

And, yet, here we are.

After inheriting a 29th-place, 69-point team in 2017 and taking it three years later into the playoff bubble last summer where the Canucks had their first post-season success since 2011, Green and his entire staff of assistants are about to become coaching free agents.

There are a lot of ways to judge a coach besides wins and losses, and Green’s teams have opened him to criticism even as they improved until this season.

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That's thinking outside the box.

Video starts with the segment of Art Regner and Helene St. James,

added 11:31am,

added 11:32am,

NYR release is below.

from TSN,

This year’s prospect class is shaping up to be a boon for teams looking for blueline help, with defencemen holding down the top four spots on the latest edition of TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button’s rankings ahead of the 2021 NHL Draft, scheduled for July 23.

Owen Power, the towering 6-foot-5-1/2, 213-pound Michigan Wolverines defenceman, is Button’s top prospect available after scoring three goals and 16 points in 26 games at the NCAA level. And his talents will be showcased again later this month as he'll play for Team Canada at the IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship in Latvia.

“Power’s combination of skills is unique,” Button said of the left-shot defenceman. “He’s got superb hockey sense, very good skill and superior size.”

Barrie Colts defenceman Brandt Clarke, who spent this season with HC Nove Zamky in the top Slovakian professional league while the Ontario Hockey League was on pause during the pandemic, comes in second in Button’s rankings.

Clarke, a right-shot defenceman who is 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, helped Canada win gold at the under-18 men's hockey championship in Frisco, Texas with two goals and seven points in seven games.

“Clarke brings a skill set that includes creativity, boldness and confidence,” Button said. “His game combines elements of Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns.”

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from Michael Traikos of the National Post,

It’s not whether he is going to be traded in the off-season. That much is certain following his end-of-year comments of a “disconnect” between him and the team regarding his health. Rather, it’s whether the Buffalo Sabres can get enough value for him to make a deal worth pursuing.

After the miserable year he and the team have had — two goals and 18 points in 21 games before a neck injury ended his season — it’s a question that isn’t necessarily easy to answer.

Sabres fans might consider Eichel a superstar, or at the very least a top-10 centre. And with a $10-million cap hit, he is certainly being paid like one. But the 24-year-old hasn’t exactly produced at a superstar level during his six years in the league.

Nor would he even crack the top-10 when it comes to goals and points among NHL centres.

Prior to this year, 23 players had produced more offence than Eichel since he entered the league in 2015-16. Among centres, he ranks 15th in goals and 14th in points. He has never scored 40 goals. He has never put up 90 points. Only twice has he even finished the season with a point per game. And just once has he ranked among the top-10 in scoring, when he tied Jonathan Huberdeau with 82 points in 2019-20.

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THREE HARD LAPS

* A Jets victory on Tuesday locked in the Scotia North Division’s First Round matchups for the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, with Toronto squaring off with Montreal and Edmonton going head-to-head with Winnipeg.

* The Capitals benefited from a last-second goal in regulation to defeat the Bruins ahead of their First Round series, which begins on Saturday.

* The Presidents’ Trophy race takes center stage tonight, with the Golden Knights, Avalanche and Maple Leafs all in contention for the honor.