With a wild day of NHL player movement, we’re moving up our Quick Strikes publication to immediately for Friday night so you can see a bit of the cache of coverage from around the ‘net… Consider this an open thread to include your own links or speak about just about anything.
- With all the hoopla around some of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s bigger moves, a notable signing that’s missed: Prospect Dennis Yan. He inked his entry-level contract with the club. [Tampa Bay Lightning]
- With Audio: GM Steve Yzerman discusses the new deals signed by D Victor Hedman and G Andrei Vasilevskiy. [Lightning Shout!]
- ♪ Memories, from the corner of my mind, little Steven Stamkos memories… of the way he was… ♪ [TSN]
- We’ll have more coverage of this on the site, but organizational depth was added to the Syracuse Crunch… including an enforcer. [Syracuse.com]
- Mike Blunden heads north of the border… and potentially back to upstate New York, just not with the Syracuse Crunch. He signed a two-way contract with the Ottawa Senators, whose AHL affiliate is situated in Binghamton, NY. [Sportsnet]
- Meanwhile, Jonathan Marchessault goes south… He signed a two-year deal with the Florida Panthers. [Litter Box Cats]
- …And while Steve Yzerman labeled Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman as “cornerstones” in remarks on Friday, the question gets posed about that title -€” cornerstone -€” and the Syracuse Crunch. Just who fits that bill in franchise history? [Syracuse.com]
- Former Bolt Teddy Purcell is rejoining one of his former clubs: The Los Angeles Kings. [Jewels from the Crown]
- Speaking of Lightning alumni, Brett Connolly goes from Boston to the Washington Capitals. [Japers Rink]
- In unsurprising news, the courtship of Milan Lucic by the Edmonton Oilers is complete. He signed to join the club. [Los Angeles Times]
- A long time standard for the Carolina Hurricanes, team captain Eric Staal, departs for northern climates and the Minnesota Wild. [Hockey Wilderness]
- Now just who will replace Staal as captain with the Hurricanes? [Canes Country]
- Brian Campbell rejoins the Chicago Blackhawks, the best of the best of the deals that could be made for the ‘Hawks… or so says a ‘Hawks source. [Second City Hockey]
- Thomas Vanek, bought out by the Minnesota Wild, signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings. [Winging it in Motown]
- In fact, there are more stories to tell from Motown regarding movements (and failures) of July 1. The trip through hell is summarized here. [Winging it in Motown]
- How about a summarization of things out of the tri-state area? New Jersey specifically? Here you go. [All About the Jersey]
- A noteworthy addition by an Atlantic Division rival: Justin Falk inks a deal with the Buffalo Sabres. [Die by the Blade]
- After the hoopla of courtship for Steven Stamkos, the Toronto Maple Leafs were and are better off standing pat, especially on July 1. [Pension Plan Puppets]
- David Backes is now a Bruin. [Big Bad Blog]
- …and they added a few chunks of depth for the organization as well. [Stanley Cup of Chowder]
- Another straight from Stanley Cup of Chowder: Does the addition of David Backes compromise or end David Krejci’s tenure with Boston? [Stanley Cup of Chowder]
- The Calgary Flames made some additions to address precise needs of the club, though the players of note may not be so awe inspiring, they do fill a need. [Flames from 80 Feet Above]
- So, now you’ve read some news from today (oh, boy) about the transactions that made a grade… Were the rankings good or bad? Seriously, here’s a review and grading of transactions from Friday. [SB Nation]
- It wasn’t just the players in the transaction column for Friday: Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford got his own extension, too. [Today’s Slapshot]
- Lousy, awful, no-good, bland, ugh, and totally worth defending: the efforts of Doug Armstrong on the St. Louis Blues off-season. [St. Louis Game Time]
- And then there’s Marc Bergvin’s words on transactions of note by the Montreal Canadiens. This is… well, this is awkward just knowing the controversy of the moment. [Habs Eyes on the Prize]
