Folks, we’ve made it through the brunt of summer. Sure, the thermometer is still reading 100 degrees, but we’re into August, the final summer month on the calendar that doesn’t have NHL action. Soon, players will start trickling back into their home cities for informal workouts (unless you’re Nikita Kucherov and have been doing it since May). Then it will be prospect showcases, and before we know it, training camp.
Until then, it’ll be pretty slow on the news front, but there are still some restricted free agents out there without contract that could be offer-sheeted (we can dream) or traded. Some pundits feel like another wave of trades may happen as teams get closer to training camp and look to finalize their rosters.
Hang in there as we delve into the dredges for what’s happening in the hockey world.
Hockey News
Good Guy Ryan McDonagh [Instagram]
Imagine having to do a video interview with a NHL player in order to help your chances to win a scholarship. Well, Ryan McDonagh eased that pressure by telling Connor Canfield that he wasn’t being interviewed, but had already had it awarded to him.
One arbitration case remains [Elliotte Friedman]
There is just one case that could be going to arbitration as Toronto and Nick Robertson have yet to come to an agreement on his salary for next season. According to Friedman, Robertson is looking for $2.25 million while the club is offering $1.2 million. The hearing is set for Sunday. Will they make it there?
Sabres sign Devon Levi [Die by the Blade]
Another restricted free agent is off the offer sheet market as the Buffalo Sabres signed their young netminder to a two-year contract with an AAV of $812,500. The 23-year-old is in a bit of a hockey limbo right now as he has seemingly been passed on the depth chart by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, but is probably too good for the AHL right now.
How the Dallas Stars monopolized Texas youth hockey [USA Today]
If you control the ice, you control hockey. Apparently, that’s the Dallas Stars’ approach to developing youth hockey in their area. In a story that seems more apropos for US Soccer, USA Today’s investigation into how the Stars deal with youth hockey development, and it’s not great.
NHL Prospect Pool Rankings [Bleacher Report]
BR has the Bolts at 22nd in their rankings. That’s…not bad! We’re not saying that you may want to start looking at how the prospect watchers grade individual Lightning prospects, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea [that’s foreshadowing, folks!].
Bowman gives update on McDavid contract [Sportsnet]
While Lightning fans patiently wait for the McDonagh extension to be announced [yes, we’re manifesting this through positivity…JG] there is another player out there that is eligible for a contract extension. And he just happens to be the best player in the NHL. Connor McDavid is in the final year of his current deal, and Oilers’ general manager seems fairly confident that they can wrap this thing up fairly quickly. Expect him to sign the largest contract in NHL history once they iron out the details.
Sidney Crosby on the verge of passing Mario [Pensburgh]
Mario Lemiuex is up there with Mickey Mantle in the “how good would he have been if he had been 100% healthy” sports debate. The Penguins franchise icon managed to put up 1,723 in just 915 games. Sure, a bulk of it came during the late 80’s and early 90’s when everyone was putting up 90 points a year, but it’s still a phenomenal production pace. That franchise record looks like it might fall this season, though. Sidney Crosby is just 36 points behind him (albeit in 400 more games) and should pass his former boss and teammate pretty soon.
NHL and DAZN announce multi-year contract [NHL]
For our overseas fans it looks like there will be a new streaming partner for the NHL. DAZN has agreed to a multi-year deal to be the overseas streamer for NHL.TV for more than 200 countries (the U.S., Canda, and Nordic countries are among the ones that are excluded). So, if you’re looking to tune in from Christmas Island, update that DAZN subscription!
We almost lost Buoy [Twitter]
“Hey Sam, we got a bear.” Look, we’ve come to be extremely distrustful of social media due to AI, but it looks like an uninvited guest made a cameo during a Seattle Kraken video shoot. A brown bear appears to wade into the river as Buoy and some others are fly fishing. No one is hurt despite the furry friend making a bluff charge at the blue mascot.
