After a couple of weeks of inactivity, it appears things are slowly building back up as we hit the final week of August. There were some signings, some news about international tournaments, and an injury update. On the Tampa Bay Lightning front, not much. It appears that there is some frustration with the Stadium Series pre-sales for season ticket holders, but that’s usually the case for these events that are dictated by the league instead of the team.
I know we keep teasing it, but the Top 25 Under 25 will get underway at some point this week along with some other quick posts about the upcoming season. Hang in there folks, we are almost through the summer.
Hockey News
Matthew Tkachuk officially out for the start of the season [Florida Hockey Now]
We know he’s a Stinkin’ Panther, but the phrase “torn the adductor muscle clear off the bone” sounds like an issue that should require surgery. It appears the forward finally had it done and is now expected to miss the first few months of the season. Some sources speculate a January return which would allow Tkachuk to get in a few games before the Olympics start.
Panthers sign Luke Kunin [Litter Box Cats]
While Kunin isn’t a direct Tkachuk replacement, he will be a solid addition to the Panthers and should adapt to their style of play fairly quickly.
Minnesota Wild sign Marco Rossi [Hockey Wilderness]
An object of offer-sheet and trade speculation all summer long, Marco Rossi finally agreed to a new deal with the Wild. The 23-year-old restricted free agent is signed for the next three years at an annual average value of $5 million. The Platonic ideal of a bridge deal for a young forward (if you’re keeping notes Conor Geekie).
World Cup of Hockey for 2028 will be handled by the NHL directly [Darren Dreger Twitter]
While we’ve known that the World Cup of Hockey would be returning since the league announced it in February, the details were pretty sparse in regards to who would be participating. It now appears that eight teams will be participating and the initial rounds will take place in Europe and North America with the finals being held in North America.
The biggest takeaway from the latest news is that the NHL will be dealing directly with the hockey federations of each country and keeping the IIHF out of it. Why is that important? Because it opens the door for Russia to participate. They are currently banned from international competitions by the IIHF, hence their absence from the 4 Nations Face-Off and the Olympics. If the NHL controls the entire operation, they can sidestep that prohibition.
Mitch Marner didn’t plan on leaving the Leafs until the summer [NHL.com]
At least according to his teammate. William Nylander chatted with the press about his former teammate and was highly complimentary of him, calling him an “incredible guy” on and off the ice.
Ranking every team’s prospect pool [Daily Face-Off]
They’re not last! The Lightning bump up two spots from 32nd last year to 30th this summer. Sam O’Reilly, Ethan Gauthier, and Ethan Czata are highlighted, but other than that they’re referred to as “one of the worst pipelines in the NHL.” Harsh, man, really harsh.
Top 20 Centers [NHL.com]
Brayden Point cracks the top ten as he places in the eighth spot in this year’s list. Looking at the list, it seems about right. Honestly, the only one we would bump down below him is Jack Eichel.
