Welcome back to NHL Notebook — the series here at <a class="text-accent" href="https://canucksarmy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CanucksArmy</a> where we deliver you news and notes from around the National Hockey League — oftentimes through a <a class="text-accent" href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Vancouver Canucks</a>-tinted lens!
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The Vancouver Canucks season has ended and now all eyes are focused on next season. But first, they have some offseason decisions ahead of them. Will they re-sign their free agents, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/we-let-noise-creep-brock-boeser-quinn-hughes-reflect-24-25-vancouver-canucks-shortcomings">Brock Boeser</a>, Pius Suter or Derek Forbort? What trades are they going to make to try and help fill the second line centre void? Will they re-sign head coach <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/just-didnt-work-out-vancouver-canucks-head-coach-opens-up-pettersson-miller-situation">Rick Tocchet?</a>
If they don&#8217;t re-sign Tocchet, there are a few more coaching options for the Canucks and destinations for Tocchet if he moves on after the news from earlier on Saturday:
<h1>Coach firings</h1>
<blockquote>Anaheim Ducks fires Greg Cronin</blockquote>
After a 62-87-15 record over his two seasons as Ducks bench boss, Anaheim has elected to move on from Cronin. The move doesn&#8217;t come as a surprise, given that some of the young stars on the team struggled to utilize their offensive talent effectively. However, the Ducks saw an impressive 21-point improvement from last season.
Cronin began his coaching career at the University of Maine of the NCAA from 1995-1996. He wouldn&#8217;t find another head coaching job until 2005, when he joined the Northeastern Huskies for the following six seasons. Cronin then bounced around the NHL and minor league affiliates before landing his first NHL head coaching job in Anaheim.
<blockquote>New York Rangers fires Peter Laviolette</blockquote>
Just one season after winning the President&#8217;s Trophy, the Rangers relieved Laviolette of his duties as coach of the Rangers. After an impressive 55-23-4 first season, Laviolette and the Rangers followed that up with a 39-36-7 record and missed the playoffs. Unlike Cronin, Laviolette saw a decrease of 29 points in his second year.
Laviolette has been a journeyman coach in the NHL. He&#8217;s head-coached the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, and Washington Capitals before joining the Rangers. During his time in Carolina, he helped the franchise win its first Stanley Cup in team history in 2005-2006. He also took the Flyers (2009-2010) and the Predators (2016-2017) to the Stanley Cup finals, but in losing efforts.
Unlike Cronin, Laviolette has a proven track record of winning in the NHL, and with numerous job openings this summer, he will likely be high on many teams&#8217; radars for their coaching vacancies.
<h1>NHL draft lottery odds</h1>
With the conclusion of the regular season, all eliminated teams now get into draft mode and know what odds they have for the upcoming draft.
Here are the draft lottery odds for all eliminated teams and their chances at landing the number one overall pick:
<blockquote>1. San Jose Sharks &#8211; 18.5%
2. Chicago Blackhawks &#8211; 13.5%
3. Nashville Predators &#8211; 11.5%
4. Philadelphia Flyers &#8211; 9.5%
5. Boston Bruins &#8211; 8.5%
6. Seattle Kraken &#8211; 7.5%
7. Buffalo Sabres &#8211; 6.5%
8. Anaheim Ducks &#8211; 6.0%
9. Pittsburgh Penguins &#8211; 5.0%
10. New York Islanders &#8211; 3.5%
11. New York Rangers &#8211; 3.0%
12. Detroit Red Wings &#8211; 2.5%
13. Columbus Blue Jackets &#8211; 2.0%
14. Utah Hockey Club &#8211; 1.5%
15. Vancouver Canucks &#8211; 0.5%
16. Montreal Canadiens (via Calgary Flames) &#8211; 0.5%</blockquote>
Now, the numbers don&#8217;t tell the entire story, as if teams win the lottery, they are only able to move up 10 positions. This means Detroit can only move up to second overall, Columbus to third overall, Utah to fourth overall, Vancouver to fifth overall and Montreal (via Calgary) to sixth overall. So the extra 7% from teams 12-16 goes to the Sharks, giving them a 25.5% chance to select first overall.
The top of the lottery odds are very similar to last season, as the Sharks won the draft lottery last season with the best odds, while the Blackhawks stayed put at second. San Jose selected forward Macklin Celebrini, and Chicago drafted defenceman Artom Levshunov.
However, if either of these two teams wins the draft lottery, they will not be eligible to select first overall in the following seasons, as teams can only win the draft lottery twice in a five-year time span.
After trading their first-round pick to the Canucks in the JT Miller trade (which was then flipped to Pittsburgh for Marcus Pettersson and Drew O&#8217;Connor), the Rangers have a decision to make. The pick is top-13 protected, so if they hold their position, New York can elect to keep this pick, and the pick now transfers to an unprotected 2026 first-round pick. The 2026 draft is projected to be a much deeper draft than this season.
There seems to be a consensus top-five players for this draft class, highlighted by Erie Otters (OHL) defenceman Matthew Scheafer, Saginaw Spirits (OHL) centreman Michael Misa, Boston College (NCAA) centreman James Hagens, Brampton Battalion (OHL) right-winger Porter Martone and Djurgardens (SHL) centreman Anton Frondell.
If the Canucks win the draft lottery, they could jump up to as high as fifth overall, where they will have the opportunity to pick one of the top five options.
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Welcome back to NHL Notebook — the series here at <a class="text-accent" href="https://canucksarmy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CanucksArmy</a> where we deliver you news and notes from around the National Hockey League — oftentimes through a <a class="text-accent" href="https://canucksarmy.com/combinations" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Vancouver Canucks</a>-tinted lens!
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The Vancouver Canucks season has ended and now all eyes are focused on next season. But first, they have some offseason decisions ahead of them. Will they re-sign their free agents, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/we-let-noise-creep-brock-boeser-quinn-hughes-reflect-24-25-vancouver-canucks-shortcomings">Brock Boeser</a>, Pius Suter or Derek Forbort? What trades are they going to make to try and help fill the second line centre void? Will they re-sign head coach <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/just-didnt-work-out-vancouver-canucks-head-coach-opens-up-pettersson-miller-situation">Rick Tocchet?</a>

If they don't re-sign Tocchet, there are a few more coaching options for the Canucks and destinations for Tocchet if he moves on after the news from earlier on Saturday:
<h1>Coach firings</h1>
<blockquote>Anaheim Ducks fires Greg Cronin</blockquote>
After a 62-87-15 record over his two seasons as Ducks bench boss, Anaheim has elected to move on from Cronin. The move doesn't come as a surprise, given that some of the young stars on the team struggled to utilize their offensive talent effectively. However, the Ducks saw an impressive 21-point improvement from last season.

Cronin began his coaching career at the University of Maine of the NCAA from 1995-1996. He wouldn't find another head coaching job until 2005, when he joined the Northeastern Huskies for the following six seasons. Cronin then bounced around the NHL and minor league affiliates before landing his first NHL head coaching job in Anaheim.
<blockquote>New York Rangers fires Peter Laviolette</blockquote>
Just one season after winning the President's Trophy, the Rangers relieved Laviolette of his duties as coach of the Rangers. After an impressive 55-23-4 first season, Laviolette and the Rangers followed that up with a 39-36-7 record and missed the playoffs. Unlike Cronin, Laviolette saw a decrease of 29 points in his second year.

Laviolette has been a journeyman coach in the NHL. He's head-coached the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, and Washington Capitals before joining the Rangers. During his time in Carolina, he helped the franchise win its first Stanley Cup in team history in 2005-2006. He also took the Flyers (2009-2010) and the Predators (2016-2017) to the Stanley Cup finals, but in losing efforts.

Unlike Cronin, Laviolette has a proven track record of winning in the NHL, and with numerous job openings this summer, he will likely be high on many teams' radars for their coaching vacancies.
<h1>NHL draft lottery odds</h1>
With the conclusion of the regular season, all eliminated teams now get into draft mode and know what odds they have for the upcoming draft.

Here are the draft lottery odds for all eliminated teams and their chances at landing the number one overall pick:
<blockquote>1. San Jose Sharks - 18.5%

2. Chicago Blackhawks - 13.5%

3. Nashville Predators - 11.5%

4. Philadelphia Flyers - 9.5%

5. Boston Bruins - 8.5%

6. Seattle Kraken - 7.5%

7. Buffalo Sabres - 6.5%

8. Anaheim Ducks - 6.0%

9. Pittsburgh Penguins - 5.0%

10. New York Islanders - 3.5%

11. New York Rangers - 3.0%

12. Detroit Red Wings - 2.5%

13. Columbus Blue Jackets - 2.0%

14. Utah Hockey Club - 1.5%

15. Vancouver Canucks - 0.5%

16. Montreal Canadiens (via Calgary Flames) - 0.5%</blockquote>
Now, the numbers don't tell the entire story, as if teams win the lottery, they are only able to move up 10 positions. This means Detroit can only move up to second overall, Columbus to third overall, Utah to fourth overall, Vancouver to fifth overall and Montreal (via Calgary) to sixth overall. So the extra 7% from teams 12-16 goes to the Sharks, giving them a 25.5% chance to select first overall.

The top of the lottery odds are very similar to last season, as the Sharks won the draft lottery last season with the best odds, while the Blackhawks stayed put at second. San Jose selected forward Macklin Celebrini, and Chicago drafted defenceman Artom Levshunov.

However, if either of these two teams wins the draft lottery, they will not be eligible to select first overall in the following seasons, as teams can only win the draft lottery twice in a five-year time span.

After trading their first-round pick to the Canucks in the JT Miller trade (which was then flipped to Pittsburgh for Marcus Pettersson and Drew O'Connor), the Rangers have a decision to make. The pick is top-13 protected, so if they hold their position, New York can elect to keep this pick, and the pick now transfers to an unprotected 2026 first-round pick. The 2026 draft is projected to be a much deeper draft than this season.

There seems to be a consensus top-five players for this draft class, highlighted by Erie Otters (OHL) defenceman Matthew Scheafer, Saginaw Spirits (OHL) centreman Michael Misa, Boston College (NCAA) centreman James Hagens, Brampton Battalion (OHL) right-winger Porter Martone and Djurgardens (SHL) centreman Anton Frondell.

If the Canucks win the draft lottery, they could jump up to as high as fifth overall, where they will have the opportunity to pick one of the top five options.

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