LA Kings
Stano’s Daily: Bill Ranford Promoted & Arizona Vote
This move also means the Kings are in search of a new goalie coach at both the NHL and AHL levels.
Tuesday the Los Angeles Kings announced they were promoting goaltending coach Bill Ranford to a new position.
Ranford is now the Director of Goaltending and goaltending developmental coach Matt Millar is now the North American goalie scout.
This move also means the Kings are in search of a new goalie coach at both the NHL and AHL levels.
It will be interesting to see how hands-on Ranford is with the goalies moving forward. He has a history of significantly improving goalies, Darcy Kuemper, Jack Campbell, etc. And Pheonix Copley has said that Ranford was one of the reasons he wanted to sign with Los Angeles last summer.
He was excellent as a goalie coach and his name carries a lot of weight in the industry, it won't be easy for whoever replaces him.
More interesting than who replaces Ranford is the message this sends to me. That the Kings have recognized a flaw in how they scout and develop goalies. The Director of Goaltending position is a new one within the Kings' organization and a fairly new one in hockey.
Given the Kings' struggles to replace Jonathan Quick in recent years and their lack of quality goalies in the system, it seems like the Kings have fallen behind the curve a little in net.
This move should get them back on track. LAKingsInsider described Ranford's new role as, "Ranford’s oversight will include the team’s coaching direction for goaltenders, as well as scouting and development direction moving forward, both with goaltenders currently within the organization and those who are external."
Arizona Could Be Gone:
On Tuesday the city of Tempe voted no on a potential new arena for the Arizona Coyotes, leaving their future in the NHL uncertain.
Cities like Salt Lake City, Houston and Kansas City are all being discussed as possible relocation spots with it seeming likely that the team has to move.
It's a shame for Coyotes fans but not a massive surprise. The organizations had a lot of issues in the past decade and this move seemed inevitable at times. You never want to see a fanbase lose their team, but hockey in a new market could be fun.
NationalHockeyNow:
BostonHockeyNow: We're fully in silly season now, Leon Draisaitl to the Boston Bruins?
FloridaHockeyNow: The Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes play similar systems, setting up an intriguing battle.
PhiladelphiaHockeyNow: The draft will soon be upon us and it's never too early for projections. Ryan Leonard in a Philadelphia Flyers Jersey?