SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 8/6/2021 Pittsburgh Penguins 1219073 is already developing Bruins lineup plans 1219099 Penguins re-sign restricted free agent forward Zach for the 2021-22 season Aston-Reese 1219074 Bruce Cassidy susses out new Bruins’ lineup 1219100 Penguins already searching for new goaltending 1219075 Boston Bruins Cassidy: ‘Obvious Choice Is Coyle’ To development coach Replace Krejci 1219101 Penguins 'needed a change' with goaltending coaches 1219076 Bruins Winger Brad Marchand Continues To Be A Leader 1219102 Penguins re-sign 'versatile forward' Zach Aston-Reese to 1219077 NHL Trade Market Has Settled Down As Bruins Still Look a one-year contract For A Center 1219103 Ron Hextall explains why the Penguins waited to move on 1219078 Bruce Cassidy on David Krejci’s exit, Charlie Coyle’s from goalie coach Mike Buckley opportunity and the new goalie era 1219104 Penguins Signing Zach Aston-Reese to 1-Year Deal, 1219079 After Tuukka Rask, Jaroslav Halak and Dan Vladar exit, Avoid Arbitration Kyle Keyser is eager for opportunity in Bruins’ net 1219105 Hextall ‘Gut Feeling’ to Hire Chiodo; Improve Jarry’s Mental Game 1219080 History with coach Don Granato led Vinnie Hinostroza to San Jose Sharks sign with Sabres 1219106 Report: Teammates don't want Kane back; Sharks tried for trade 1219081 5 things we learned about Marc-André Fleury, including Tampa Bay Lightning the goalie’s like of the Chicago Blackhawks’ personnel 1219107 Arbitration hearing date set for Lightning’s Ross Colton 1219108 Lightning depth chart: Roster taking shape with Corey Colorado Avalanche Perry, Zach Bogosian additions 1219082 Avalanche appear to make minor changes to road jersey 1219083 Darren Helm hopes his career comes full circle with the Vancouver Canucks Avalanche as he chases his second Stanley Cup 1219116 What we’re hearing about the rest of the Canucks offseason, Danila Klimovich, Vasili Podkolzin and RFA Detroit Red Wings negotia 1219084 Detroit Red Wings re-up Chase Pearson, the last man standing from their 2015 draft 1219085 Ex-Michigan hockey players cash in during NHL free 1219109 Golden Knights front office official leaves organization agency 1219110 How NBA Summer League found its way to Sin City: ‘Vegas had become a go-to place’ Florida Panthers 1219111 Knights CMO Brian Killingsworth Leaves Organization, 1219086 Brandon Montour ‘wanted to be a Panther’ Per Report Washington Capitals 1219087 Kings sign defenseman Austin Strand to 1-year contract 1219112 Hershey Bears name Scott Allen next extension 1219113 Eller meets Nadal, gifts a Capitals jersey at Citi Open 1219088 LA Kings re-sign defenseman Austin Strand to one-year, 1219114 Why Martin Fehervary may be the key to the Caps two-way contract, $771,750 AAV defense Websites 1219089 Nashville Predators sign Dante Fabbro to two-year deal, 1219117 The Athletic / NHL offseason by the numbers: Which avoiding arbitration teams have improved the most (and least)? 1219118 .ca / Edler excited for new challenge, but still coming to grips with Canucks exit 1219090 Devils add top-six winger Tomas Tatar to continue drastic 1219119 Sportsnet.ca / NHL’s Top 10 UFAs remaining: Latest offseason overhaul rumours, reports 1219091 Devils sign forward Tomas Tatar to two-year-deal 1219120 Canada women’s worlds roster heavy on youth 1219121 Is the Flames' defence good enough to reach the New York Islanders postseason? 1219092 Adam Pelech has arbitration hearing date set with 1219122 10 takeaways from Canada’s World Junior Summer Islanders Showcase 1219093 Sources: Brendan Burke close to new MSG Networks deal to stay as Islanders broadcaster Winnipeg Jets 1219115 Arbitration dates set for Jets' Pionk, Copp Ottawa Senators SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1219094 Pierre McGuire impressed with first-hand look at prospects Sanderson, Boucher, Kleven and Merilainen 1219095 Craig Anderson knows first time he faces Senators as a Sabre will be 'emotional' 1219096 Victor Mete happy to get deal in place to avoid arbitration process with Senators Philadelphia Flyers 1219097 Flyers file for arbitration with RFA Sanheim 1219098 Flyers offseason depth chart 2.0: Where the lineup stands after a busy offseason 1219073 Boston Bruins Krejci’s wingers could look for more scoring opportunities off the rush, while those in Coyle’s sidecar can expect chances to develop off puck possession and time spent in the zone. Krejci wore silken mitts, while Bruce Cassidy is already developing Bruins lineup plans for the 2021-22 Coyle’s gloves come from Ace Hardware. season Cassidy said he has no intention of breaking up the Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak trio, one of the league’s most potent lines.

By Kevin Paul Dupont Globe Staff “We know what they have there,” Cassidy said. “They’re a handful to play against. As the year goes on, see how the chemistry develops on the Updated August 5, 2021, 5:16 p.m. other lines. If we need to drop David down and move some pieces around, we’ll look at that if it makes us a better team.”

The Grzelcyk-McAvoy pairing in the playoffs, Cassidy said, “did not work The Oct. 16 season opener still the stuff of summer hammock and pina out as well as we would have liked. It was a lot of demands on Grizz.” colada contemplations, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy on Thursday all but But the pairing was productive enough to merit more time together, installed Charlie Coyle to the vacated David Krejci chair between wingers depending on game circumstances. Taylor Hall and Craig Smith. “Forbort [6-4, 220] is a bigger, different type of defender than Grizz [5-9, Cassidy, who chatted with beat reporters via Zoom for the first time in 175],” he added. “So we want to see how that would look with Charlie. seven weeks, also said he’ll probably deploy former Boston University Whether we do that every night remains to be seen. That’s a big ask. We blue liners Matt Grzelcyk and Charlie McAvoy as partners again at times, know Grizz can slot in there at times. I think you’ll see some toggling.” while newcomer Derek Forbort also is pegged for time with McAvoy on the No. 1 D tandem Mike Reilly, who signed a three-year deal to stay here, likely will pair again with Brandon Carlo, with either Grzelcyk or Forbort then sliding Jake DeBrusk, who muddled along to the tune of 5-9—14 last season, down to pair up with a No. 3 right stick (likely Connor Clifton). most likely will open 2021-22 as the No. 3 left wing, according to Cassidy. For a guy on the books to bank $4.85 million, DeBrusk’s No. 3 “Clifton has a great shot to be that regular guy on the right side,” said left wing designation could prove added incentive for general manager Cassidy, who watched Jeremy Lauzon, a left-shot D, get picked by Don Sweeney to deal him. Seattle in the expansion draft. “He shoots right and he’s gotten better every year — now with a bit of an opening there, let’s see if he can take DeBrusk, 24, with four seasons on his résumé, would have to receive a advantage of it.” qualifying offer at that same figure next June for the Bruins to prevent him from becoming an unrestricted free agent. Last day of camp

“Third line, behind [Brad Marchand] and Taylor, would be a good fit for Jamie Langenbrunner, Chris Kelly, and crew put their 28 charges through him to start,” said Cassidy, musing over where DeBrusk fell in the left Day 4 of development camp at Warrior Thursday. The eager charges, wing order, “and we’ll see where it goes with the other guys.” including 12 invitees, will wrap up camp with a Friday session (10 a.m. to noon) and then scatter back to their various hockey homes for the 2021- Sweeney, anticipating that Krejci would depart Causeway to play in 22 season, including college, USHL and junior programs … A gleeful Czechia, allotted some $8 million in cap space July 28 with the free agent Cassidy noted that he was fully vaccinated and healthy, leading one acquisitions of Nick Foligno, Tomas Nosek, and Erik Haula as bottom- six reporter to ask if he also would profess to being a scratch golfer. “No!” he forwards. said. “The putter is atrocious. If anybody has free tips for me, let me Based on Cassidy’s calculations, DeBrusk and the new trio of free agents know, because right now I can’t make anything.” … Sweeney will hold his will make up two-thirds of that workforce, with the likes of prospects Jack end-of-camp Zoom call Friday at noon. Studnicka and Trent Frederic, as well as Curtis Lazar, Chris Wagner, and perhaps Karson Kuhlman vying for the other two spots. It’s a very crowded field. Logic would dictate a DeBrusk move. Boston Globe LOADED: 08.06.2021 With Tuukka Rask unsigned and recovering from hip surgery, newcomer Linus Ullmark and top prospect Jeremy Swayman will be the designated goaltenders for the start of the season. Jaroslav Halak, Rask’s backup for three seasons, signed with the Canucks. For now, it appears Ullmark and Swayman will mark a new era in Black-and-Gold netminding.

“Both,” Cassidy said, “are going to compete for a majority of the starts.”

Coyle, entering Year 2 of a six-year pact at a $5.25 million cap hit, is poised for his highest-profile role since arriving here before the February 2019 trade deadline. He never has been Krejci’s equal in production or playmaking, but he also hasn’t paired regularly with anyone with Hall’s elite skills at left wing.

Watching the Hall-Coyle-Smith trio shape an identity will be lead among the key talking points when camp opens Sept. 22 at Warrior Ice Arena.

“I think the obvious choice is Charlie Coyle,” said Cassidy, asked about the open Krejci spot. “He’s the one most familiar with our guys. I’m most familiar with him, and we’ll allow the other guys to fall into place.”

Haula and Nosek, Cassidy noted, prefer to line up as centers, though both have seen NHL duty as wingers. Foligno, also a center, has extensive duty on the wing, and Cassidy sounded inclined to use him on the side instead of the middle.

“He’s a little more of a guy who’ll move around,” Cassidy said, “so that’s probably how it will play out for him. So Charlie and Taylor Hall [on the No. 2 line], and Smith was on that line last year. If Coyle can bring some of what Krech did, it will be a real good line.”

At 6 feet 3 inches and 215 pounds, Coyle is a more physically imposing center than the 6-foot, 190-pound Krejci. But while Krejci drove lines with his superb passing and ability to dart into open areas, Coyle’s strength is holding on to the puck, fending off checkers with his size and strength. 1219074 Boston Bruins “We know (Matt Grzelcyk) and Charlie can play together. It didn’t work out in the playoffs as well as we’d like,” said Cassidy. “There’s a lot of demands on Grizz. So we brought in a guy like a Forbort that’s bigger, Bruce Cassidy susses out new Bruins’ lineup more of a defender than Grizz … or a different type of defender. So we want to see how that would look with Charlie. Whether we do that every night remains to be seen. That’s a big ask. We know Grizz can slot in there at times. I think you may see some toggling. We did not see (Mike) By STEVE CONROY | [email protected] | Boston Herald Reilly with Charlie and probably won’t. I think he was a good fit with PUBLISHED: August 5, 2021 at 5:11 p.m. | UPDATED: August 5, 2021 (Brandon) Carlo and (Connor) Clifton, so I think we’re going to see those at 5:11 p.m. guys move up and down a little bit, Forbort and Grizz, with Charlie and see how best it works out. Clifton has a great shot to be that regular guy on the right side A, because he shoots right and B, because he’s gotten better every year and now with a bit of an opening there, let’s see if he Relatively speaking, the Bruins’ lineup has undergone seismic shifts in can advantage of it.” this offseason. Goalie battle David Krejci, a pillar of the B’s three Stanley Cup Finals teams over the past decade, has decided to return home to the Czech Republic. Vezina Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman will battle it out for the No. 1 job. On Trophy-winning goalie Tuukka Rask is unsigned, recovering from hip Ullmark, Cassidy said, “We feel he’s a young goalie who’s got a lot to surgery and in a kind of career limbo. Sean Kuraly, a fourth line fixture give, some upside, and he’s put up some solid numbers in this league the past four years, signed in Columbus. Backup goalie Jaroslav Halak (with Buffalo) but has certainly room to improve on those with our group.” landed in Vancouver. Third pair/ killing defenseman Jeremy Lauzon was claimed by Seattle in the expansion draft. On the Development Camp front, rising Boston College sophomore Trevor Kuntar, the B’s third round pick in 2020, has caught Cassidy’s eye To fill some of the holes, Don Sweeney had his busiest free agency day as a gritty winger who goes to the net. But on Thursday, Kuntar flashed since becoming general manager. He inked three left shots that can play some high-end skill as well, going between the legs to score a pretty wing and center in Erik Haula, Tomas Nosek and Nick Foligno (who can , drawing the biggest reaction from fans of the week so far. The kids also play right wing), signed stay-at-home defenseman Derek Forbort will finish up with a scrimmage on Friday. and made the somewhat surprising move — at least in length of commitment — of signing goalie Linus Ullmark to a four-year, $20 million Cassidy was not shy about sharing his vaccination status. contract. “I am fully vaccinated and healthy as a horse right now,” said Cassidy. Now it’s up to coach Bruce Cassidy to figure out where all the new pieces “Let’s keep it that way.” best fit.

For the first time since the B’s were bounced from the playoffs, Cassidy Boston Herald LOADED: 08.06.2021 spoke with reporters at Development Camp on Thursday and shared his ideas on how the new lineup will take shape.

Coyle has first crack

First off, Charlie Coyle will get first crack at filling the open second line center slot. Cassidy called him “the obvious choice.”

“He’s the most familiar with our guys, I’m the most familiar with him,” said Cassidy. “I know that Haula and Nosek prefer to play in the middle. Nick Foligno’s more of a guy that we’ll move around. That’s how it will play out for him. So it’s Charlie and Taylor Hall and (Craig) Smith, who was on that line last year. If Coyle can bring some of what Krech did, it will be a real good line. That’s the way we’re leaning and we’ll see how the other pieces shake out.”

For the first time in over a decade, the B’s will not have that 1-2 center combo of Patrice Bergeron and Krejci, but Cassidy is hoping Coyle will warm to the golden opportunity in front of him and more offense can be had from previously untapped spots such as Hall at second line left wing and Jake DeBrusk playing further down the lineup. Cassidy also expressed excitement about getting to know the games of the three incoming forwards. He also didn’t discount Jack Studnicka, who has added some needed weight this offseason, competing for a job.

Still, the product is going to look different.

“Bergie will still give us high-end minutes. We know that. David is the one that played a big role for us, sometimes quietly. Now all of a sudden that he’s not here, we’ll probably realize how good of a player he was. I think we all knew it but now we’re going to live it firsthand without that one-two punch,” said Cassidy.

Don’t mess with perfection

Cassidy is not inclined to tinker with the longstanding top line of Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. That sounds like it would be a last-resort measure.

“We’re going to start with it together,” said Cassidy. “We know what we have there. They’re a handful to play against. Let’s see how the other guys shake out rather than start moving David around. Then as the year goes on, we’ll see how the chemistry develops on the other lines. We know the top line has it. Then if we need to drop David down and move some pieces around, then we’ll look at that if it makes us a better team.”

*Forbort will get some looks with Charlie McAvoy on the top (defensive) pair. 1219075 Boston Bruins management types retreat to their summer cottages for the dead part of the offseason.

And no matter how much would be a dream fit for the Bruins Boston Bruins Cassidy: ‘Obvious Choice Is Coyle’ To Replace Krejci as he tries to escape Buffalo, the Bruins simply don’t have the trade pieces or the cap space to come away with the Chelmsford standout.

Published 10 hours ago on August 5, 2021 So, a trade doesn’t sound like it’s going to be an option at this with the Bruins required to clear cap space for any big moves. By Joe Haggerty Cassidy also confirmed the B’s aren’t going to break up the Perfection Line to start the season either.

While it was always going to stand as something of a surprise to Boston “We know what we have there. They’re a handful to play against,” said Bruins fans that David Krejci opted to head home over one more run with Cassidy. “Let’s see how everybody else shakes out more than start the B’s next season, it clearly shouldn’t have been shocking to the team. moving David [Pastrnak] around.” The Black and Gold been prepared for the end of David Krejci’s contract for the last couple of years, and that was reflected in the big contract The good news is that the additions of Foligno, Haula and Nosek really extension ($5.25M AAV) they handed Charlie Coyle two years ago. add to the overall depth of Boston’s forward group, and they still have DeBrusk as a potential trade chip once training camp gets going. But if Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy confirmed on Thursday that some were hoping the Boston Bruins had a card up their sleeve to the B’s will give Coyle the first crack at the No. 2 center position behind address Krejci’s departure, it sure doesn’t look like that’s going to happen Patrice Bergeron, with Taylor Hall and Craig Smith most likely on his with most of the dominoes already having fallen in the trade market. wings. It’s the most obvious choice based on the candidates, even if it doesn’t exactly put fear into Boston’s opponents next season. Clearly, the Bruins are hoping that Hall and Smith can drive that line offensively Boston Hockey Now LOADED: 08.06.2021 given the six goals and 16 points Coyle managed in 51 games for the B’s last season while battling through knee issues.

The 29-year-old Coyle has topped 20 goals and 50 points just once in his NHL career, so we’re not talking about a Krejci-style playmaker that will rack up offensive chances. Instead, the B’s second line will likely turn into a big, physical trio intent on puck possession and second-chance opportunities that they’ll need to work for to get their chances.

At his best Coyle is a puck possession horse and a size/strength/speed beast in and around the net, but he’s never been a consistently dynamic offensive player at the NHL level. The Bruins are hoping Coyle will be at his best next season, but it’s still a question if even his best is good enough to be a No. 2 center for a team with Stanley Cup aspirations.

Clearly the Bruins are leaning toward Coyle, but open to see how things develop in training camp and during the regular season.

“The obvious choice is Charlie Coyle. He’s the most familiar with our guys and I’m the most familiar with him, and that would allow the other guys to fall into place. I know [Erik] Haula and [Tomas] Nosek prefer to play in the middle,” said Bruce Cassidy. “Nick Foligno is a little more of a guy that will move around, so that’s probably how it will play out for him. So, it’s Charlie and Taylor Hall [on the second line], and [Craig] Smith was on that line last year. So, if Coyle can bring some of what [David Krejci] did then that’s going to be a really good line.

“That’s the way we’re leaning, and we’ll see how all of the other pieces shake out. Jake [DeBrusk] obviously on the left side third line behind Brad and Taylor would be a good fit for him to start, and we’ll see where it goes for the other guys. We added some good pieces that can move around. I know Haula and Nosek prefer to play in the middle. We had [Trent Frederic] in there at times and on the wing at times. Then there’s Jack Studnicka and how he’ll fit in. Some of that will depend on his growth. He didn’t get to play a lot of hockey last year unfortunately, and like a lot of young players he missed time because of the COVID restrictions. But he’s also in the mix. He looks bigger and he’s really going to be pushing for a spot, so I have to include him in that mix as well.”

As Cassidy referenced, it will be interesting to see where the 22-year-old Studnicka ends up at the conclusion of training camp. After posting 23 goals and 49 points in 60 AHL games two seasons ago while pushing into NHL action during the bubble playoffs in Toronto, Studnicka had a lost season last year largely due to COVID.

Studnicka finished with a goal and three points in 20 games in Boston and had just seven assists in sporadic playing time for the Providence Bruins while spending plenty of time on the NHL taxi squad. It was obvious he needed to build up his NHL strength when he was in the lineup, and that’s something it looks like Studnicka has done while skating around at Warrior Ice Arena with the rest of the NHL guys this summer.

Though there have been whispers that the Bruins might still pursue a trade with a player like Arizona Coyotes center Christian Dvorak to fill the second line center need, the trade lines are drying up as NHL 1219076 Boston Bruins

Bruins Winger Brad Marchand Continues To Be A Leader

Published 10 hours ago on August 5, 2021

By Jimmy Murphy

The transformation of Brad Marchand into one of the NHL’s best leaders continued this week at Boston Bruins Development Camp.

After finishing a career-best fifth in the Hart Trophy voting for the NHL’s MVP Award and being voted as a First Team All-Star at left wing, Marchand is still contributing to the present and the future for the Boston Bruins. Instead of simply, as he was asked to do, speak to Bruins prospects at Warrior Arena on the opening day of camp, Marchand trained with them as well. Seeing Marchand jump on the AssaultBike Elite with the prospective Bruins just made the players at camp not only admire him more but want to be part of the winning culture Marchand, captain Patrice Bergeron and other leaders with the Bruins have built for the past ten years.

“It was tremendous having Brad Marchand here yesterday,” forward Curtis Hall said Tuesday. “Even when we first got to the rink, we were here around 7 AM to do some testing, we had a bike test. We all see Marchand walk in the room and hop on the bike and do the test with us, and that was just a testament to how hard he works. He’s really an inspiration for all of us, all of us in the program and the prospects.”

Since his infamous licking days back in 2018, Marchand has become a backbone and leader for the Boston Bruins on and off the ice and that leadership is having an impact on the future of the Bruins’ franchise.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be in the organization for five years now and I’ve been around ‘Marchy’ quite a bit,” Bruins goalie prospect Kyle Keyser said this week. “But for him to just jump into the bike test, which is not an easy test by any stretch, just because he was here and he wanted to show the guys what it takes, I think that’s pretty impressive, and it speaks for itself on why he’s one of the best players in the NHL. I think it’s huge for us to see the kind of work ethic and what he brings to the rink every single day as a professional. His speech was awesome, just talking about the compete level and what it takes to be a champion at this level.”

Keyser then alluded to Marchand’s role with the 2011 Stanley Cup win for the Boston Bruins and his role since.

“He’s won a Stanley Cup here in Boston. He knows what it takes and how to push it to the end,” the 22-year-old netminder said. “I think it’s important for us, especially me, to hear from his experience on what worked and what didn’t. And him talking about not waiting for opportunities and going out and getting them, all those kinds of things touch home for us guys. It’s important to listen and have your ears open when guys with that much knowledge and experience are talking.”

Hall also expanded on his lasting impression from the 33-year-old veteran Bruins winger.

“In the meeting yesterday, he was talking about the keys to being a Bruin: being a good teammate, having courage, and being there and supporting each other and pushing each other, being competitive,” Hall said. “Even just to have him in the room with us was unbelievable. I remember a couple years ago, [Bruins captain Patrice] Bergeron came and talked to us, so whenever we get a chance to see those guys it’s really something special for us. Those are the guys we really look up to.”

Boston Hockey Now LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219077 Boston Bruins

NHL Trade Market Has Settled Down As Bruins Still Look For A Center

Published 14 hours ago on August 5, 2021

By Jimmy Murphy

Just when the Boston Bruins need to explore the NHL trade market for a center, the market has settled down.

NHL sources have confirmed to Boston Hockey Now that while Bruins GM Don Sweeney is still open to hitting the NHL trade market to find a replacement for longtime second line center David Krejci, the market has simply gone stale over the last five days. The timing couldn’t be worse for Sweeney and the Bruins after Krejci announced last Friday, that he was moving on from the Bruins and the NHL. For now, it appears the Bruins will slot Charlie Coyle in that 2C spot.

“I think the obvious choice is Charlie Coyle,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy told the media on Thursday. “He’s familiar with our guys and I’m familiar with him. That’s the way we’re leaning and we’ll see how the other pieces shake out.”

It was well known that Krejci was at a crossroads in his life and that him moving back to the Czech Republic was a very real possibility.

“I talked to my parents, and they asked me. I can’t even give them a straight answer,” Krejci said when addressing his future back on June 12. “I just don’t know right now. I just don’t know.”

With that in mind, Sweeney was aggressive on the NHL trade market at the NHL Draft and leading into NHL free agency. One NHL source has confirmed that while, as numerous outlets reported, the Bruins and Coyotes had serious trade talks involving Coyotes center, Christian Dvorak, two weeks ago, those talks have hit a bit of a stalemate. There has been chatter for a while that Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk and defenseman Jakub Zboril are players the Bruins are willing to trade to snag a center on the NHL trade market, but this source could not say if that was specific to the Dvorak talks.

DeBrusk is entering the final season of a two-year contract that carries a $3.6 million cap hit and Zboril is also heading into the final season of a two-year deal with a $725,000 cap hit. The Coyotes currently have $7.4 million in cap space but considering how much cap space Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong has been willingly absorbing on the NHL trade market over the last month, neither DeBrusk’s nor Zboril’s cap hits would be an issue. The question is, is Armstrong interested in either?

DeBrusk is coming off a difficult season that had the 24-year-old winger that the Bruins drafted 14th overall in their infamous showing at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

“I’ve been struggling. It’s not fun when you’re struggling,” DeBrusk said back on May 6 just prior to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. “You try to find little positives and things like that and move on from there. It’s not the end of the world. Obviously, I’d like to do a lot more with what I can do, but at the same time, it obviously hasn’t been meant for me. I understand that my time will come. Like I said earlier, just trying to stay positive. But yeah, the game’s not fun when you’re struggling, man.”

DeBrusk had five goals and nine assists in 41 regular season games and two goals and one helper in ten playoff games.

Zboril was taken one pick before DeBrusk at that the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and in his first full season in the NHL, he had nine assists in 42 regular season games.

Boston Hockey Now LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219078 Boston Bruins experienced roster. One of Ullmark’s first tasks will be to clean up how he plays behind a penalty kill — which, in the Bruins’ case, is always among the league’s best.

Bruce Cassidy on David Krejci’s exit, Charlie Coyle’s opportunity and the “Kind of a fresh canvas, to a certain extent, in terms of the work you want new goalie era to put in with him,” said Cassidy. “He’s got his techniques and how he plays. I don’t think you want to completely change a goalie. But it’s the beginning of a new relationship. So you can put your finishing touches on By Fluto Shinzawa what you see needs to improve.”

Aug 5, 2021 Left side options

Cassidy knows what he has in Matt Grzlecyk and Charlie McAvoy: an all- zones super pair that oozes with speed, skill and hockey IQ. In 2020-21, Bruce Cassidy had to deal with the goodbyes of Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug. A cohort of Jeremy Lauzon, Jakub Zboril, Jarred There are situations, though, that do not play to Grzelcyk’s strengths. For Tinordi, Urho Vaakanainen, John Moore and Jack Ahcan fell short of example, Grzelcyk is not built for an endgame lead-protection scenario occupying the left side vacancies. against a beefy opponent. For such instances, Cassidy is happy to have 6-foot-4, 219-pound Derek Forbort as a shutdown partner for McAvoy. In 2021-22, Cassidy’s upcoming challenge is devising workarounds for the exits of David Krejci and Tuukka Rask. Whether his expected “A bigger defender, a different type of defender,” said Cassidy. “So we solutions — Charlie Coyle for Krejci, Linus Ullmark for Rask — fill the want to see how that will look with Charlie. Now whether we do that every voids remains to be seen. night or not remains to be seen. It’s a big ask. We know Grizz can slot in there at times. I think you’ll see some toggling.” “He played a big role for us, sometimes quietly,” the Bruins coach said of Krejci on Thursday. “Now all of a sudden, when he’s not here, we will For now, Cassidy is not inclined toward giving Mike Reilly time with probably realize how good a player he was. I think we all knew it. But McAvoy. Reilly should play with Brandon Carlo on the No. 2 pairing. He now we’re going to live it firsthand without that 1-2 punch.” could move down to the third duo with Connor Clifton at times.

Cassidy faces four areas that will require his highest attention: No. 2 Jakub Zboril, John Moore and Urho Vaakanainen will compete for depth center, goaltending, left side of the defense and forward depth. For now, roles. here’s how he’ll attack each segment. The depth issue Krejci out, Coyle in Cassidy identified Jake DeBrusk as the No. 3 left wing. The identity of Cassidy spent little time worrying about his 1-2 center combination of DeBrusk’s center remains unknown. Patrice Bergeron and Krejci. The two veterans submitted professional three-zone shifts that had opponents worrying about pucks in their nets Even if Coyle’s puck-possession approach blends well with Hall and while having little luck scoring goals of their own. According to Natural Smith, his promotion takes some bite out of the bottom six. None of the Stat Trick, the two centers combined for a 68.18 goals-for percentage parties with hands raised for third- and fourth-line center duties — Erik during five-on-five play. Haula, Tomas Nosek, Nick Foligno, Trent Frederic, Jack Studnicka, Curtis Lazar — has played a full season for the Bruins. It remains to be The right-shooting Coyle, healthy following knee surgery, should seen how much offense this collection of would-be centers can provide. approximate some of what Krejci delivered between Taylor Hall and Craig Smith. In Hall, Coyle will have a left wing who does not necessarily Cassidy noted that Haula and Nosek prefer to play in the middle. If depend on a center to drive the line. Hall has a history of pushing the Haula, for example, starts as No. 3 center next to DeBrusk, Nick Foligno pace and initiating zone entries while carrying the puck. could skate on the right side. Nosek could center Frederic and Lazar on the fourth line. If anything, Cassidy is depending on second-line opportunities to translate to production. For example, this will be Coyle’s best chance The wild card is Jack Studnicka. The 2017 second-rounder has the since arriving in Boston for primo playing time and statistics. speed, skill and creativity to be a second- or third-line NHL center.

“I would think a guy like Charlie Coyle, when we meet and sit down, he’ll be excited for that opportunity,” said Cassidy. “Why wouldn’t you be, The Athletic LOADED: 08.06.2021 right? You get some extra minutes. You’re moving up in the lineup. A little more ask, probably, on the offensive side of things.”

Crease competition

For the last nine seasons, the identity of the No. 1 goalie was clear: It was Rask and no one else. The only question was how much work his backups, be it Jaroslav Halak or Anton Khudobin or Chad Johnson, would see when Rask required downtime.

That is no longer the case. A $5 million annual payday, in fact, does not guarantee that Ullmark gets the season-opening start against Dallas on Oct. 16. Not if Jeremy Swayman has anything to say about that.

“It’s going to be new for Sway to come in and potentially be the No. 1,” Cassidy said. “And Ullmark, in a new organization, having been the No. 1, how’s it going to play out for him? It’s a different environment here, different expectations. At the end of the day, we’re all looking forward to seeing where they’re both at. In the past, it’s been veteran guys. Jaro and Tuukka. They’ve been around. You know what the expectation was: Take your time, get ready for the regular season. We knew what we were getting. This year, it’s going to be a little different in that regard. In a good way, too. Because they’re both good, young goaltenders with a lot of room to go.”

Swayman has only 10 NHL appearances. But he is the better known internal commodity. He is used to the Bruins’ defensive system. His performance signaled the promise of things to come.

Ullmark, meanwhile, has to disinfect himself from Buffalo’s legacy of losing. He will be delighted, though, to transition to a more talented and 1219079 Boston Bruins But as Keyser progressed through the OHL, his speed wasn’t always an asset. The momentum of his slides took him into the second row of the stands. As much equipment as goalies wear, brakes are not part of their After Tuukka Rask, Jaroslav Halak and Dan Vladar exit, Kyle Keyser is wardrobe. So if Keyser couldn’t control the first shot, he would be out of eager for opportunity in Bruins’ net position for the rebound.

Keyser saw this happening in the OHL. He knew it would only get worse in pro hockey. By Fluto Shinzawa So under the watch of goalie coach Bob Essensa and goalie Aug 5, 2021 development coach Mike Dunham, Keyser has worked to hold his edges and stay patient. It hasn’t been easy. Keyser, who started playing goalie

when he was 5 years old, has not had the benefit of enough pro playing Kyle Keyser signed his entry-level contract on Oct. 3, 2017. This makes time to accommodate his technical progression. him the Bruins’ longest-tenured goalie. “It’s hard to stay patient, especially when you’re trying something new Jeremy Swayman agreed to his NHL deal on March 18, 2020. Linus and you’re failing at it,” Keyser said. “You’re getting scored on in Ullmark signed his four-year, $20 million contract on July 28. On the situations in practice and you get frustrated. The easy way is just to go same day, depth goalie Troy Grosenick accepted a one-year, two-way back to your old ways. But you know that in the long run, that’s not going deal. to work for you. So staying patient and knowing what’s going to help you be successful in the long run, that’s what you have to focus on. That was That Keyser, 22 with zero NHL experience, leads Black-and-Gold puck my mindset. It was like, ‘OK, you can take the easy way out and continue stoppers in organizational seniority captures the historic degree of crease to play the way you play, and you’ll have a short career because it’s not churn. going to work.’ Or you can stay committed to a process that might be frustrating for a little bit. But in the end result, you’ll be better off and Tuukka Rask is recovering from hip surgery, his NHL future in question. you’ll have more success in the long run.” Jaroslav Halak signed with Vancouver. Dan Vladar was traded to Calgary. This will be a critical season for Keyser to stay healthy, embed his habits and gain a full year of pro experience. It will be a good signal as to All of this opens Keyser’s door the widest it’s ever swung. whether he’s developing into a future NHLer. Keyser will have his best Last year, Keyser was No. 6 on the depth chart behind Rask, Halak, chance yet to prove just that. Vladar, Swayman and taxi-squad goalie Callum Booth. In 2021-22,

Keyser, in all likelihood, will have the keys to the starting job in Providence. The Athletic LOADED: 08.06.2021 His aim is higher.

“I’m going to come to camp and compete like I’m going to play for the Boston Bruins,” said Keyser. “That’s how my mindset is every single day. I’m going to work in the summer. I’m going to come to the rink. That’s what I’m here for. I want to play in the NHL. I know I will one day. As far as next year, wherever the Bruins organization decides that I’m going to be, I’m going to go out there and give it every single day. I’m going to make it hard for them to not want to pull me up if I’m down in Providence or wherever I am.”

Keyser’s opportunity does not align neatly with his development. In 2019- 20, a concussion practically wiped out his first pro season. He was limited to six appearances in Providence (.890 save percentage) and one in Atlanta of the ECHL (.818).

Last year, parked behind Vladar and Swayman, the native of Coral Springs, Fla., spent most of the season with Jacksonville of the ECHL (.917). Once Swayman went up to Boston for good, Keyser got his turn with Providence, where he made five starts (.913).

His first two pro seasons, then, have been anything but normal.

“It was tough, honestly,” Keyser said of his professional introduction. “It was not how I pictured it coming out of juniors. I had a really good season in Oshawa my last year. I was hoping to keep the momentum and keep the pace going into the next season. We had a couple preseason games where I played in Chicago and New Jersey, and I felt like I played well. I felt like I had a good training camp. I came out of the gate really hot and really feeling good about my game. And then I had a couple injuries and took me out for most of the season.”

Two years of professional stops and starts occurred when Keyser needed reps. Lots of them.

In 2018-19, his final OHL year, Keyser posted a career-best .915 save percentage as Oshawa’s ace. He took leave from the Generals to play for Team USA in the 2019 World Junior Championship, where he was No. 2 in the rotation behind Cayden Primeau (Montreal) and ahead of Spencer Knight (Florida).

Even then, Keyser acknowledged his game required adjustment.

Speed has never been a problem for the 6-foot-2, 185-pound goalie. Sparks fly off his blades when he explodes from side to side. Keyser can practically keep up with a cross-crease puck.

This served him well in minor hockey. He had just about everything down low on lockdown. 1219080 Buffalo Sabres Instead, Hinostroza will be teammates with Rasmus Dahlin, Dylan Cozens, Casey Mittelstadt, Rasmus Asplund and Tage Thompson, among others. None are older than 23.

History with coach Don Granato led Vinnie Hinostroza to sign with “I’m super excited,” said Hinostroza. “Obviously, I’m at that age where I’m Sabres 27, so I’m not a young guy and I’m not an old guy. Kind of the ups and downs of my career is something nice to have with all these young guys in Buffalo. I’m going to look to try to have a secondary leadership role Lance Lysowski and help out as much as I can and be there for these guys, too, because you’re always that young guy at one point and it’s tough when people Aug 5, 2021 Updated 9 hrs ago aren’t on your side.”

Unlike with Florida, Hinostroza will receive consistent minutes in Buffalo. Back in October 2020, when the NHL faced an uncertain path to playing His speed will be a weapon on the Sabres’ penalty kill, a significant area and cash-strapped teams were seeking cost-effective options in free of need as, among the team’s top-seven players in shorthanded ice time agency, Vinnie Hinostroza chose the Florida Panthers on a one-year last season, only Jacob Bryson and Cody Eakin are expected to return in contract. 2021-22.

Hinostroza, a 5-foot-9, fast, relentless winger, viewed the change as a Hinostroza has logged ice time on the power play in the past, but he chance to carve out a role on a playoff contender under his former coach, makes a bigger impact in 5-on-5 situations. Among his 38 career-goals in . The opportunity never materialized, as Hinostroza was six NHL seasons, only four were on the man advantage. Hinostroza buried on the Panthers’ depth chart. hasn’t always been buoyed by an elite supporting cast, either. His top linemates at 5-on-5 during his career offensive year with Arizona: Brad On the nine occasions Hinostroza cracked Florida's lineup, the 27-year- Richardson and Michael Grabner, are both effective bottom-six role old received little ice time. He sought clarity from the coaching staff, only players. to receive no answers. It wasn’t until Hinostroza was traded back to the Chicago Blackhawks in April that he was able to remind the league why Hinostroza’s ability to play up or down the lineup will give Granato he’s an effective middle-six forward, as he totaled four goals and 12 options when the season starts Oct. 14. The combination of top-end points over the final 17 games of the season. speed and tenacity on the forecheck could work well with every center on this roster, including Cozens and Mittelstadt. “Going to Chicago, I had a bit more opportunity and I was just able to go out there and play and have fun,” Hinostroza explained. And while usage can change throughout a season, the certainty in the coach’s office is what mattered more to Hinostroza when deciding what’s So, when the time came for Hinostroza to weigh his options at the start of next. free agency on July 28, a 40-minute phone call with one of his former assistant coaches in Chicago, Don Granato, swayed him to sign a one- “Being in Chicago, (Granato) was obviously an assistant coach, so he year, $1.05 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres. was kind of second in command where he’s getting the orders and he’s telling you what he’s hearing from the top or the head coach,” said It was under Granato’s watch in Chicago during the 2017-18 season that Hinostroza. “Him having all the power is a bit different and it’s something Hinostroza totaled a career-best 6.4 goals above replacement, an that’s really fun and exciting because he’s such a good coach and he Evolving-Hockey metric that measures a player’s overall contributions to really cares about each player that he has. his team. Hinostroza played up and down the Blackhawks’ lineup, but the bulk of his 5-on-5 ice time came alongside Jonathan Toews and Brandon "If you’re not playing your best, you always want a coach who’s going to Saad. tell you how to get back out there and get in the positions you want to be in. Talking to him, it sounds like that’s something he’s willing to do with Although Hinostroza totaled only seven goals and 25 points while every player and that’s something that a team needs in today’s NHL. I averaging 13:49 of ice time across 50 games, the encouraging season think that’s going to help the team be that much better.” under Granato’s watch preceded a career-best 16-goal year with the Arizona Coyotes in 2018-19. And while Hinostroza will likely experience some difficult nights by joining a rebuild in Buffalo, his respect for Buffalo News LOADED: 08.06.2021 Granato, combined with a stylistic fit, led him to take the leap of faith.

“The way the team is going and the way they want to play, I think I fit perfectly there. Hard working, relentless with some speed,” said Hinostroza. “With him as a head coach, you’re always going to have transparency where you know what he wants from you and if you’re not doing something right, he’s going to tell you. There’s never going to be that gray area where you’re wondering what did I not do or what could I do better. He’s always going to tell you and try to help you be the best player you can because ultimately, if everyone is the best player they can be, the team is going to have success.”

Like most NHLers, Hinostroza is a self-described hockey fan, and he’s kept a close eye on the wave of young talent reaching the league, some of whom are now his teammates in Buffalo. But Hinostroza wanted to learn more about the culture in the dressing room and the players he’ll be skating alongside in training camp next month.

Though Granato could brief his former player on the plan to build around the young core, Hinostroza also phoned a friend: his new Sabres teammate, Anders Bjork, a 25-year-old winger who was a linemate of Hinsotroza’s at Notre Dame in 2014-15.

Bjork, who was acquired by Buffalo from Boston in the Taylor Hall trade, totaled three goals and six points in 15 games with the Sabres last season. He could speak to Granato’s preferred style of play, the environment in the dressing room and the talent on the roster. A scouting report was necessary because the roster received a significant makeover with the departures of Sam Reinhart, Rasmus Ristolainen, Jake McCabe, Linus Ullmark and Carter Hutton. Jack Eichel, the Sabres’ three-year captain and top-line center, is expected to be the next to leave Buffalo. 1219081 Chicago Blackhawks The deal cost the Hawks only prospect Mikael Hakkarainen, but it would’ve been an embarrassment to Bowman had Fleury rejected the Hawks.

5 things we learned about Marc-André Fleury, including the goalie’s like Toews reached out to Fleury, who also talked to several ex-Hawks about of the Chicago Blackhawks’ personnel moves ‘to make this team their experiences. competitive right away’ “I talked with Lenny (former Hawks goalie Robin Lehner) a bit this season or last season when he first came,” Fleury said. “I talked a little bit with By PHIL THOMPSON Cam Ward who was there for a season. Chris Kunitz is an old teammate. Craig Adams is another old teammate. A few guys on the team I had a CHICAGO TRIBUNE chance to talk with too. That was really nice.”

AUG 05, 2021 AT 11:59 AM On Sunday, he posted a video via the Hawks Twitter account letting Chicago fans know “I’m in, let’s get to work.”

So what made up his mind? With all due respect to defenseman Seth Jones, no Chicago Blackhawks transaction caused a bigger ripple in the NHL this summer than the “I don’t know, honestly,” he said. “Just sleeping, good night’s sleep, right? surprise trade for former Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-André I think just talking with the different guys, talking with the staff and talking Fleury, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner. with family also, just seeing what’s good for everyone and thinking things through. It just adds up and it’s exciting. I don’t think it was one thing that Fleury may not alter the course of the Hawks’ rebuild, as team President made everything change.” and general manager Stan Bowman insists, but he certainly kicks it into a higher gear. Fleury had been through a similar experience in 2017, when the Penguins sweetened his expansion draft acquisition with a side-deal Coupled with the acquisitions of Jones and Jake McCabe on the blue second-round draft pick to Vegas to get out of Fleury’s $5.75 million cap line, along with the possible return of Jonathan Toews, the Hawks can be hit at the time. taken seriously again. This time around, the Golden Knights parted with Fleury in a salary-cap “I keep hearing so many great things about the team and how they treat clearing move — he would’ve counted $7 million against next season’s the players and the families,” Fleury said during a conference call cap. Wednesday. “I thought Stan did a great job too of getting some players over the summer, trying to make this team competitive right away. That’s “Yeah, a little bit crazy, right?” Fleury said of the process. “Obviously, also very appealing.” there’s a lot that goes into it. I’m very fortunate Stan gave me some time to reflect on what I wanted to do, what was best for me and my family. But on a personal level, Fleury’s trade represents a life reset as well. Excited now, excited to move and try to help the Blackhawks.” “It is a little surprising,” he said. 3. Fleury plans to move his family to Chicago. “Flower” was the most venerated name of the four-year-old Golden The newcomer admits he hasn’t had many opportunities to learn Knights, and a three-time champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins before Chicago. On the occasions he flew in with the Penguins or Knights, both that. A move to a developing Chicago team — a franchise he had no nondivisional opponents, he mostly stayed at the hotel and would eat at a previous connection to — was not a move he sought or expected. Or nearby restaurant. welcomed at first. “I didn’t get to venture off much, but I got to discover Lincoln Park, Retirement was an option. Lakeview, all those areas, it was nice to see,” he said. But after talking to several people in his circle and giving it a “good He’ll have plenty of time to explore now. night’s sleep,” Fleury, who turns 37 in November, has decided to embrace this fresh start. “I was there this weekend, I went with my wife for a couple days to look at some houses, look at some schools,” he said. “So we have a good He talked to reporters about what went into his choice and some other plan in place now.” considerations that lay ahead for him and the Hawks. Here are five things we learned. 4. Fleury is OK joining a rebuild.

1. Fleury confirmed he was caught off guard by the trade. This postseason, Fleury’s Golden Knights reached the semifinals before bowing out to the Montreal Canadiens. When the Golden Knights dealt Fleury to the Hawks on July 27, a day before the start of free agency, he might not have been the last to know The Hawks’ most recent playoff experience came against Fleury and the but he certainly wasn’t the first. Golden Knights during last summer’s Edmonton, Alberta, bubble. And the Hawks only made the cut that season because of a wide playoff field that Fleury confirmed as much Wednesday. followed a months-long break because of COVID-19. “Just my agent gave me a call, told me that it was out on Twitter that I By the end of last season, the Hawks were starting 10 rookies and was traded, and so that’s how I found out,” he said. “I don’t have social missed the playoffs thanks to a midseason slump. media so I’m not on there looking things up all the time. I think he knows that, too, so that’s why he gave me a call.” It appears Fleury knows what he’s taking on.

It’s understood that deals at the trade deadline, draft day and the eve of “They still have a lot of young guys, but they also gained some free agency can come together quickly and involve several moving parts experience in the past few seasons here,” he said. “They still got some — not to mention that teams often have to pivot to the next move — but guys who won the Cup and then went and got (Tyler) Johnson, who also it’s mystifying how someone of Fleury’s caliber can be left out of the loop, won the Cup with Tampa, McCabe, who has been around for awhile, if this is truly how it went down. Seth Jones on ‘D.’

2. It wasn’t a given Fleury would ever wear a Hawks sweater, so what “I think it’s all guys who have been around for little while, brings a little changed his mind? experience and hopefully all of us together can contribute every night and on a daily basis and helping the young guys, too, making us a good Fleury said he knew it was a possibility he’d get traded but he hoped to team.” stay in Vegas. 5. How does Fleury see himself fitting in? He was well-liked in the locker room and befriended several teammates. He didn’t want to uproot his family. He and wife, Veronique, have two Toews helped talk Fleury into giving the Hawks a chance, but apparently young daughters, Estelle and Scarlett, and welcomed son James in Patrick Kane was just as much of a lure. March 2019. “Kane’s one of the guys who gave me the most trouble in shootouts during my career,” Fleury said. “Looking forward to getting to practice with him every day and having some good battles with him.”

Toews revealed this summer that he’s dealing with Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, a condition that taxes his immune system and leaves him with brain fog and fatigue. He worked out with the Hawks this summer after missing the entire season, but his return is no given.

“I think Toews looks pretty good and hopefully he goes again,” Fleury said of the Blackhawks captain. “Another guy I got to know over the years. I think it’ll be fun.”

Fleury’s arrival also potentially stunts the development of Kevin Lankinen, who had the lion’s share of starts (37) among the Hawks’ three young goalies last season.

Fleury, who bears the wear and tear of 17 seasons, welcomed splitting duties with Lankinen.

“I haven’t spoken to him yet, I’ve watched him play the past season and to me he’s a very talented goalie, and still young and hopefully I can help him in his development,” he said. “It’s going to be a crazy schedule, so I think you’ll need both guys to play and that’s a good thing.

“Good thing both of us can play and hopefully I can help him.”

Chicago Tribune LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219082 Colorado Avalanche

Avalanche appear to make minor changes to road jersey

By Aarif Deen

August 5, 2021

It appears the Avalanche have made minor changes to their road jersey.

Prospect Andrei Buyalsky, who the Avs drafted No. 92 overall in the NHL Draft two weeks ago, was seen modeling the new look on the campus of the University of Vermont.

Buyalsky, who is entering his freshman season with Vermont, is seen wearing a jersey that shows the organization has continued to get away from the color black in its uniform. The number appears to be blue with a burgundy outline. The nameplate also seems to have a new burgundy outline highlighting the black.

Listen to “Depth Chart” on Spreaker.

Both the name and number were entirely black before the change.

Prior to the 2020-21 season, the Avs made drastic changes to both the home and road uniforms, dropping the black pants, gloves and helmet. The team has slowly been rebranding to a look that is entirely burgundy and blue.

Many had questioned the new road uniforms at the time, stating that the blue pants and gloves did not match the jersey. These minor changes modeled by Buyalsky, seem to have corrected that issue.

The Avs have yet to formally announce the changes.

milehighsports.com LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219083 Colorado Avalanche

milehighsports.com LOADED: 08.06.2021

Darren Helm hopes his career comes full circle with the Avalanche as he chases his second Stanley Cup

By Aarif Deen

August 5, 2021

Recently signed Avalanche forward Darren Helm is hoping his NHL career comes full circle.

Helm embarked on his rookie campaign 14 years ago with the Detroit Red Wings — once a bitter rival of the Avs — and went on to hoist the Stanley Cup. He was just 21.

Helm played just seven regular-season games that year. But he appeared in 18 playoff games, including the four where Detroit swept the Avalanche in the second round. Helm was held without a point but played a season-high 13:16 in the series-clinching Game 4 at what was then called the Pepsi Center. It was the last playoff game of Avs general manager and former captain Joe Sakic’s playoff career.

Now 35, Helm is hoping to get another shot at the Cup. And in signing a one-year, $1 million deal offered by Sakic last week, the opportunity for him has never been greater.

“That’s something I’m very excited for,” Helm said of joining a Cup contending team. “The first year I had, it was a great experience. I loved every part of it. I think we missed another opportunity in ’09 and then it’s been a cold drought for the last 13 years.”

Helm and the Red Wings were one goal away from a repeat in 2009, falling in the Stanley Cup Final to the same Pittsburgh Penguins team they defeated in his rookie season. Since then, Helm has not made it out of the second round. And neither have the Avs.

But an opportunity to make a run with the team Helm once defeated to win the Cup was too good to pass up. Even if it meant leaving the only place he’s known to be home since his debut.

“There’s a little bit of mixed emotions,” Helm said of leaving Detroit. “I’ve been here for a long time, I’ve raised a family here. I’m sure this will be home for my family when I’m done. But I’m just really looking forward to playing with the Avs and being on a contending team.”

“The team that they’ve been building for the last couple of years, I just wanted to be part of it.”

Helm has played 744 games, scoring 112 goals and recording 251 points. He was a vital piece of the Red Wings’ penalty kill for over a decade and is hoping to bring that part of his game to the Avs.

“I can use my speed to my advantage. Get some pressure up ice. I’m willing to block some shots,” Helm said. “I just want to be a piece of the puzzle and continue to do what I’ve been doing. These guys are great players and good professionals, I just want to be part of it.”

Helm will likely slot on the Avs’ fourth line, potentially alongside Logan O’Connor and fellow newcomer Mikhail Maltsev. Neither of them have ever played together. In fact, Helm is entering a locker room with entirely new faces.

“I don’t know a single guy but I’m also looking forward to getting to know everyone,” he said. “It’s a fresh start for me so that part has been exciting.”

Once a storied rivalry, the Avs and Wings saga ended with that 2008 series. It was the sixth and final time the teams met in the playoffs, each winning three. The Red Wings have since moved to the Eastern Conference and have fallen entirely out of favor as a playoff team.

Helm joined Detroit at the conclusion of what many consider to be the most intense rivalry in NHL history. Joining the Avalanche was never a taboo for him like it may have been for older Red Wings alumni.

“I didn’t know a whole lot about it coming in,” Helm said. “I definitely heard a lot about it being in Detroit and kind of reliving that with the media and whatever. I don’t think it’s been a rivalry since I’ve been here so signing in Colorado wasn’t an issue.” 1219084 Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings re-up Chase Pearson, the last man standing from their 2015 draft

HELENE ST. JAMES

Over the past two seasons Chase Pearson has shown nice growth within the Detroit Red Wings organization, blending size and skill.

He was re-upped for one year Thursday, continuing a relationship that began when he was drafted at No. 140 in 2015. Pearson is the only player left in the organization from that draft; the others all have washed out.

Pearson, who turns 24 on Aug. 23, recorded eight goals and 14 assists in 2020-21 with the Grand Rapids Griffins, matching his production from 2019-20. But last season he did it in 28 games, compared to 59 the previous season, and he improved his rating from minus-9 to plus-3.

“He did really well in GR this year,” general manager Steve Yzerman said in July. “I think he made a significant step.”

Pearson (6 feet 2, 209 pounds) could compete for the fourth-line center spot.

“If he’s the right fit for that, if he’s the best man for the job, we’ll put him in there,” Yzerman said. Pearson, who has yet to appear in the NHL, does not need to be placed on waivers to be sent to the minors.

“I would trade off how much is he going to play,” Yzerman said. “If he’s going to play five or six minutes — is he maybe better off playing significant minutes in Grand Rapids? He really benefited last year, he played in all situations and did really well. We were really pleased with the year that he had. We’ll see what happens.”

With the free-agent signing of Pius Suter, the Wings depth in the middle includes Suter, Dylan Larkin, Michael Rasmussen and Joe Veleno, though Rasmussen and Veleno could be moved to the wing. Veterans Vladislav Namestnikov and Frans Nielsen are also centers who can play wing. There’s also Mitchell Stephens, a former draft pick under Yzerman in Tampa Bay who is looking for an opportunity.

Pearson was scouted as a center with good size and skill when, under former general manager Ken Holland, the Wings took him in the fifth round. Pearson was one of six picks the Wings made in 2015. The first, Evgeny Svechnikov, was not tendered a qualifying offer this summer and is now an unrestricted free agent; he recorded 12 points in 42 NHL games. Defenseman Vili Saarijarvi (No. 73) never appeared in the NHL and is playing in Europe. Goaltender Joren Van Pottelberghe (No. 110) never appeared and is likewise in Europe. Defenseman Patrick Holway (No. 170) and forward Adam Marsh (No. 200) also never appeared in the NHL. None are in the Wings organization any longer.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219085 Detroit Red Wings Werenski, the eighth overall pick in 2015, has one year left on his current deal with a cap hit of $5 million. The 24-year-old has been one of the top offensive defenseman in the game since entering the NHL in 2016. He Ex-Michigan hockey players cash in during NHL free agency has 65 goals and 189 points in 335 career games.

Werenski isn’t the only Michigan defenseman likely to sign a monster deal this offseason. Quinn Hughes is a restricted free agent with the Updated Aug 02, 2021; Posted Aug 02, 2021 Vancouver Canucks and is in line for a big payday.

By Ryan Zuke | [email protected] The seventh overall pick in 2018 finished second in the rookie of the year voting in 2019-20 after registering 53 points in 68 games and followed

with a 41-point season in 56 games last year. NHL teams have splurged in free agency this offseason, and several former University of Michigan players have cashed in. Michigan Live LOADED: 08.06.2021 After the free agent mark opened Wednesday, NHL clubs signed 163 players to contracts worth $785 million, according to Capfriendly.com. On the second day, they spent another $133 million.

Zach Hyman, a 29-year-old forward who spent the first six years of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, signed the biggest free agent deal among ex-Wolverines, inking a seven-year, $38.5 million contract with the .

Hyman, a 2010 fifth-round pick, scored just 13 goals in 114 games over his first three seasons in Ann Arbor before a breakout season as a senior in 2014-15, when he tallied 22 goals and 32 assists in 37 games.

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound winger’s offensive numbers also have improved since entering the NHL. He has scored at a 30-goal pace in the past two shortened NHL seasons, totaling 36 goals and 70 points in 94 games. The Toronto native has 86 goals and 99 assists in 345 career games.

“Going to Michigan, it changed my career,” Hyman told media after signing. “When you’re a kid, all you care about is scoring points and trying to get to the next level. A lot of times, how you get noticed is through your statistics. There aren’t many scouts who are watching you at lower levels. I always thought in order to make the NHL, you have to have great statistics. When I went to Michigan, that was kind of what my focus was on. I played on the fourth line my first two years and I really learned how to play on the defensive side of the puck, how to penalty kill. I remember (former Michigan coach) Red Berenson calling me in his office and telling me, ‘You aren’t going to make the NHL scoring goals and putting up points. You are going to make it to the NHL with this kind of foundation that I am going to help you build.”

"Going to Michigan changed my career, changed my life."

Hyman could have the opportunity to play with star centers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

“He’s a guy that can play up and down the lineup; play right wing and left wing,” Oilers general manager Ken Holland said. “He had 33 points in 43 games, so he can play with skill players but he can also play a grinding game. I think one of his greatest traits is his compete and work ethic.”

Other notable free agent deals include forward Luke Glendening, forward Andrew Cogliano, forward Phillip Di Giuseppe, defenseman Jon Merrill and defenseman Greg Pateryn.

Glendening, who graduated from Michigan in 2012, inked a two-year, $3 million deal with the after the first eight years of his career was spent with the Detroit Red Wings. The 32-year-old checking-line center has just 126 points in 554 career games but brings strong defense, penalty-killing, shot-blocking and physicality to the lineup.

Cogliano, 34, will spend his 15th NHL season with the San Jose Sharks after signing a one-year, $1 million contract. The 29-year-old Merrill is joining his fifth NHL team after inking a one-year, $850,000 deal with the Minnesota Wild.

Meanwhile, Di Giuseppe and Pateryn each signed one-year, two-way deals with the Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks, respectively.

The 32-year-old Pateryn has appeared in 280 career NHL games, while 27-yeard-old Di Giuseppe has played in 201.

However, the biggest new contract for a former Wolverines wasn’t even a free agent. Zach Werenski inked a seven-year, $57.5 million extension with the Columbus Blue Jackets. His $9.583 million salary cap hit is the third largest among NHL defenseman behind Erik Karlsson and Drew Doughty. 1219086 Florida Panthers

Brandon Montour ‘wanted to be a Panther’

By MALLORY SCHNELL

SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL

AUG 05, 2021 AT 5:31 PM

Being an unrestricted free agent, defenseman Brandon Montour had options. The only option he had his heart set on was returning to the Florida Panthers.

“As an [unrestricted free agent] you obviously get to explore and see what’s out there, but my interest was never like that,” Montour said. “I wanted to be a Panther. You know the business side, so you’ve got to work that through, but this is where I want to be.”

The Panthers the re-signed Montour to a three-year contract last week.

“I wanted to find something where I’m on a winning team, a team that wants to win now,” Montour said. “Obviously, we’re at that point here where we want to take another step forward.”

Montour, 27, posted a plus-eight rating and four points (2-2-4) in 12 games with Florida. Before being traded to the Panthers on April 10, Montour recorded 14 points for the Buffalo Sabres (5-9-14).

“I felt like I was one of the guys right away,” Montour said on joining the team toward the end of the season.

Looking forward to the 2021-22 season, Montour is ready to get back on the ice with his team.

“We have a great group,” Montour said. “Guys were bummed the way the season ended there, but I think just with the excitement, seeing how well our team is shaped from top to bottom, guys just want to get back to it. In a shortened season, anything can happen last year. Now we’re back into the swing of things.”

Sun Sentinel LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219087 Los Angeles Kings

Kings sign defenseman Austin Strand to 1-year contract extension

By ANDREW KNOLL

PUBLISHED: August 5, 2021 at 12:34 p.m. | UPDATED: August 5, 2021 at 4:12 p.m.

The Kings re-signed defenseman Austin Strand to a one-year, two-way contract worth up to $771,750, the team announced in a news release Thursday.

Strand, 24, made his NHL debut last season and went on to compete in a dozen more games for the Kings, recording an assist, eight penalty minutes and a plus-two rating. He also had five points in 19 games for the , the Kings’ top minor-league affiliate.

He was one of several inexperienced Kings defensemen thrust into duty last season by a lack of depth on their NHL roster that was further compounded by injuries.

“Guys like Austin Strand have really opened our eyes, he’s been a pretty good defenseman for us,” Coach Todd McLellan said of Strand following his third game with the Kings last season.

Strand, a native of Calgary, competed in the . He played a defensive-oriented role until a breakout performance in the playoffs led to an explosive campaign in which he posted 64 points in 69 games.

The Kings signed him as an undrafted free agent and, after two years of developing him between two affiliates, Strand was able to make a contribution at the top level. His play elicited plaudits during his limited duty.

“For an inexperienced player, he seems to have a high level of poise. His panic point is fairly low,” McLellan said. “He puts himself in pretty good situations to have simple success.”

Strand projects to begin the year as a depth defenseman, though injuries and underperformance led the Kings to shuffle the deck during two points of last season that saw them call up minor-leaguers and sometimes switch defensemen to their opposite sides. One spate of absences hit the left side of the defense hard, while another ravaged the right.

A right shot, Strand would be competing for a roster spot with the more established Sean Walker since shutdown defender Matt Roy and No. 1 rearguard Drew Doughty have firm places in the Kings’ top four.

Restricted free agent Kale Clague, a left shot, can also play the right side comfortably and should be back in the fold once his contract situation is resolved. The Kings added just one blue-liner in free agency, veteran left defenseman Dan Hamhuis.

Orange County Register: LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219088 Los Angeles Kings

LA Kings re-sign defenseman Austin Strand to one-year, two-way contract, $771,750 AAV

By Zach Dooley

The LA Kings have re-signed defenseman Austin Strand to a one-year, two-way contract extension, carrying an AAV of $771,750 at the NHL level.

Strand, 24, returns to the organization for his fourth professional season, after he made his NHL debut earlier this year. The Calgary, Alberta native tallied one assist from 13 games played with the Kings, including the first game of his NHL career on February 5 in Vegas.

In his time with the Kings, Strand was one of the better surprises during the early half of the season. With regulars on the right side – Matt Roy and Sean Walker – both injured, Strand stepped into the lineup and filled a third-pairing role effectively. A strong skater for his 6-3, 215-pound frame, Strand impressed with his firm, efficient passing game, showcasing an ability to transition the puck to the forwards and exit his own zone. Strand impressed McLellan and his staff for his ability to play within himself and keep things relatively simple on the backend.

“For an inexperienced player, he seems to have a high level of poise,” Todd McLellan said of Strand in season. “His panic point is fairly low, he puts himself in pretty good situations to have simple success, he’s not overplaying his position or his role and he’s defended perhaps better than we thought he might when he came up. As a result, he’s become a pretty steady defenseman back there.”

Looking at his possession metrics, Strand was right around the 50 percent mark across the board, slightly under in terms of shot attempts and scoring chances and exactly even in terms of high-danger opportunities. Partnering mostly with Olli Maatta, the duo formed a serviceable third pairing, learning each other’s games and building chemistry on the fly.

Strand also played in 19 games with the AHL’s Ontario Reign this season, tallying five points (1-4-5) in his time with Ontario. Though still a developing player himself, Strand provided a bit of a veteran presence for a young Reign squad, with the team posting a 10-7-2 record in games Strand played, as opposed to five games below the .500 mark without him.

In his professional career, Strand has skated in 103 AHL games with Ontario, tallying 38 points (16-22-38) in that span. He also appeared in nine ECHL games with the Manchester Monarchs back in 2018 and was an accomplished juniors player, winning the WHL championship in 2017 with the .

Looking ahead, Strand’s path to the NHL is currently blocked on the right side by a veteran trio, led by Drew Doughty, also including Roy and Walker. With two veterans and two evolving younger players currently penciled in on the left, Strand likely finds himself just outside of the NHL picture in training camp, but with an impressive cameo to his name, the organization has seen him as a player who has played in NHL games. A good re-signing for player and club.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219089 Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators sign Dante Fabbro to two-year deal, avoiding arbitration

Paul Skrbina

Nashville Tennessean

The Nashville Predators signed defenseman Dante Fabbro to a two-year, $4.8 million contract Thursday.

Fabbro's autograph on that binding document meant the 23-year-old restricted free agent avoided salary arbitration. His hearing was set for Aug. 20.

The 17th overall pick in the 2016 by the Predators, Fabbro had two goals and 10 assists in 40 games last season, though he was a healthy scratch for the entire postseason.

He has eight goals and 16 assists in 108 career regular-season games. He carried a $925,000 cap hit during his first three seasons.

Predators goalie Juuse Saros also filed for salary arbitration, one of 17 restricted free agents to do so. His hearing date is scheduled for Aug. 18.

Tennessean LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219090 New Jersey Devils

Devils add top-six winger Tomas Tatar to continue drastic offseason overhaul

Andrew Tredinnick

NorthJersey.com

When the Devils landed the first strike of NHL free agency, picking up star defenseman Dougie Hamilton, GM Tom Fitzgerald said the franchise's next target was a top-six winger but at the right price.

Fitzgerald got his wish.

The Devils signed 30-year-old veteran Tomas Tatar to a two-year, $9 milliion deal on Thursday adding to the team's offseason haul that includes Hamilton and goalie Jonathan Bernier.

Tatar just closed out his 10th NHL season with the Canadiens where he scored 10 goals and 20 assists in 50 games. He spent three seasons in Montreal, scoring 57 goals and dishing out 57 assists in 198 games.

Tatar's 30 points would have been tied for third-most on the Devils last season behind Pavel Zacha and Jack Hughes.

The left-handed shooter can fill in as a left or right winger for the Devils.

The Slovakian, who was drafted in the second round of the 2009 NHL Draft by the Red Wings, has played 625 games over the course of his career. He has amassed 377 points on 176 goals and 201 assists.

Hamilton:What does the Dougie Hamilton signing mean for the Devils moving forward?

Before the condensed 2020-21 campaign, Tatar had scored 19 goals or more across seven seasons. He spent six full seasons in Detroit and three in Montreal. He was traded during the 2017-18 campaign to the Golden Knights.

The Devils also continued to fortify their offense on Thursday as they resigned 23-year-old center Yegor Sharangovich to a two-year, $4 million contract following his standout rookie season.

Sharangovich tallied 16 goals and 14 assists in his first season in Newark last season.

Bergen Record LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219091 New Jersey Devils

Devils sign forward Tomas Tatar to two-year-deal

By David Lazar

August 5, 2021 | 7:01pm | Updated

A top forward is coming to Newark.

The Devils signed Tomas Tatar to a two-year, $9 million contract, general manager Tom Fitzgerald announced Thursday.

The 30-year-old joins defensemen Dougie Hamilton, Ryan Graves and veteran goalie Jonathan Bernier as key additions for New Jersey this offseason.

With 176 goals and 201 assists over his 10-year NHL career, Tatar immediately gives the Devils an offensive jolt.

In this past truncated season, the Slovakia native notched 10 goals and 20 assists while playing less than 15 minutes a night for the Canadiens. He led the team in scoring in the 2019-20 season with 22 goals, 39 assists and 61 points.

Tatar — a 2009 second round pick of the Red Wings — spent the first seven years of his career in Detroit before a trade to the Golden Knights in 2018.

Tomas Tatar has scored at least 20 goals in five different seasons.

After a disappointing 20-game stint in Vegas, Tatar was dealt to the Canadiens — along with prospect Nick Suzuki and a 2019 second-round pick — for star forward Max Pacioretty.

The Devils also announced another move Thursday, re-signing restricted free-agent forward Yegor Sharangovich to a two-year, $4 million deal.

The 23-year-old tallied 16 goals and 14 assists in 54 games played as a rookie. He scored his first NHL goal on Jan. 16 in overtime against the Bruins to give the Devils their first win of the year.

New Jersey finished seventh in the eight-team East with 45 points in the pandemic-shortened season.

New York Post LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219092 New York Islanders

Adam Pelech has arbitration hearing date set with Islanders

By Andrew Gross [email protected] @AGrossNewsday

Updated August 5, 2021 1:23 PM

Restricted free agent Adam Pelech will have a new deal soon.

One way or the other.

The Islanders' top-pair defenseman had his arbitration hearing scheduled for next Wednesday, as announced by the NHL Players’ Association on Thursday. It is the first date of the hearings, which run through Aug. 26.

Of course, Islanders president and general manager Lou Lamoriello — who, so far, has not announced any of his presumed offseason moves — would prefer to work out a long-term deal with Pelech, who is coming off a four-year, $6.4 million deal but whose market value has likely risen to nearly $7 million per season.

Pelech is one of 17 NHL players who elected arbitration, along with two team-elected cases. Three of those 19 players have already come to an agreement on a new contract. The Islanders and Pelech can negotiate until Pelech’s arbitration hearing.

Pelech’s defense partner, Ryan Pulock, avoided salary arbitration last offseason, agreeing to a two-year, $10 million deal two days before his scheduled hearing.

Lamoriello is likely waiting to reach a new deal with Pelech before revealing his other offseason moves. The Islanders have $17.6 million in space available under the $81.5 million salary-cap ceiling. They can also exceed the ceiling by $6 million when Johnny Boychuk returns to long- term injured reserve.

It is widely believed Lamoriello has new deals in place with unrestricted free-agent forwards Kyle Palmieri, Casey Cizikas and, most likely, Travis Zajac. It’s also believed Lamoriello has reached agreement with UFA forward Zach Parise, who was bought out of the final four seasons of his 13-year, $98 million deal with the Wild.

Lamoriello must also reach agreements with RFAs Anthony Beauvillier and goalie Ilya Sorokin, neither of whom elected salary arbitration.

Defenseman Andy Greene was re-signed to a one-year contract with a cap charge of $725,000, though the team has yet to announce the deal.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219093 New York Islanders

Sources: Brendan Burke close to new MSG Networks deal to stay as Islanders broadcaster

By Neil Best [email protected] @sportswatch

Updated August 5, 2021 3:24 PM

Brendan Burke is close to signing a new contract with MSG Networks to remain as the Islanders’ lead TV play-by-play man, industry sources said on Thursday.

Burke’s return was no sure thing upon the expiration of the original five- year deal he signed in 2016. With entering his final season calling Blackhawks games — and with the plan to have Foley share the job during the transition season — Burke was offered that job but passed on it, a source said.

Burke also had a prominent role for NBC on its national telecasts, and with both Turner and ESPN carrying NHL games this coming season, it is likely Burke will continue doing national work as well.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 08.06.2021

1219094 Ottawa Senators “I equate this to Brian Leetch when I saw him at Boston College, Scott Niedermayer in Kamloops, Cale Makar at the University of Massachusetts and Chris Pronger, who I helped draft and coach in Hartford,” said McGuire. “All that extra time helps those defencemen Pierre McGuire impressed with first-hand look at prospects Sanderson, dominate. The fact Jake is going back to college will allow him to Boucher, Kleven and Merilainen dominate more offensively and it will enhance his game a ton.”

Tyler Kleven, 19, D, University of North Dakota (NCAA)

Bruce Garrioch The 6-foot-4 Kleven has made good progress since being selected by the Senators from the U.S National Development Team program and after Publishing date:Aug 05, 2021 spending his first season at UND. The school played a limited schedule and this year Kleven will get the full college experience along with Sanderson with a normal schedule and fans in the stands. The Ottawa Senators got a first-hand look at four of their top prospects last week. “I watched him a significant amount last year at North Dakota and he was more of a support player at the world juniors than a go-to guy. He will be And they left the 2021 world junior showcase in Plymouth, Mich., a go-to guy at UND, a go-to guy at the world juniors and his game is thoroughly impressed with what they’d seen. translating fantastically well offensively,” said McGuire. “He’s always been a shutdown guy, but now you’re seeing offensive components in his Pierre McGuire, the club’s new senior vice-president of player game that you didn’t see last year. It’s really exciting to see the growth in development, along with coaches Shean Donovan and Jesse his game. Winchester, made the trip to the Detroit area late last week to attend games with Minnesota-based amateur scout Bob Janecyk to get an up- McGuire said the trio sat down with Kleven to speak to him about where close look at the club’s draft picks taking part in the tournament. they’d like to see progress. He’s a strong package and just needs to mature. The Senators had three players on the Team USA roster, including 2020 No. 5 pick Jake Sanderson, 2021 No. 10 selection Tyler Boucher and “More than anything with Tyler it’s just recognizing outlet (passes) in his 2020 No. 44 overall pick Tyler Kleven, along with Finnish goalie Leevi own zone because he can force turnovers with his big body and his Merilainen, who was taken at No. 71 last October and will suit up for the strong play,” McGuire said. “I’d like to see him recognize outlets a little OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs this season. more quickly. What he does well is he takes away space and he really closes well. When he does close, he’s physical and he’s got a strong Canada opted not to attend the tourney because of the rules surrounding stick.” crossing the border and player safety, but teams use this tournament to evaluate their rosters for the annual holiday season event. Leevi Merilainen, 18, G, Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)

While Janecyk was on hand scouting most of the week, McGuire jumped This selection was panned by some experts when the Senators took him in a car with Donovan and Winchester early Friday morning for the trek to No. 77 overall, but he opened eyes by having success in Finland last Detroit. They caught two games Friday and two games Saturday before season. He was signed to a rookie deal in the spring and was solid at the heading back to Ottawa that night, and just so we’re clear Donovan tournament. doesn’t like flying so he tends to drive wherever possible. “He was fantastic at camp. I saw him play one game, and Finland beat McGuire told Postmedia in an interview Thursday it was worth the drive Team USA 4-2, and he was a major difference,” said McGuire. “His and he “loved spending time with Shean Donovan and Jesse Winchester composure level, how big he is to the shooters and he’s legitimately 6- because they’re such good hockey people. It took about eight hours each foot-3, I was really, really excited to see his growth. He’s not a loud way and we just spent eight hours talking hockey and telling great goalie where you say, ‘Wow, look at that stellar save.’ stories.” “He’s one of those goalies that makes saves because he’s in the right Since being brought in to be another set of eyes and another voice to position. He’s smart and he reads the play so well. I am so pumped for help assist general manager Pierre Dorion and the club’s hockey Zac Bierk and Justin Peters, our goalie coaches, to spend some time operations department, McGuire jumped at the chance to get a look at working with him. He’s really talented. Our scouts deserve a lot of credit some players in the system. All four have the opportunity to suit up for finding him. He’s an incredible talent.” the Senators down the road and here’s McGuire’s take on where they’re at individually: Merilainen made the decision to come overseas and get adjusted to the North American game. Jake Sanderson, 19, D, University of North Dakota (NCAA) “Thats says a lot about his mental makeup, his toughness and his desire Taken two picks after the Senators made Tim Stuetzle the No. 3 overall to be a pro. He doesn’t want to get comfortable and he wants to selection, Sanderson was impressive. challenge himself on small ice. I just respect the young man so much for doing that,” said McGuire. “He could go home and be comfy, cozy at “He was the best player in the tournament,” McGuire said. home with his club team or he can come challenge himself in the best The Senators wanted to bring him out of the University of North Dakota junior development league in the world, and that’s what he’s doing. I to turn pro this season, but he opted to stay another year and nobody in really respect that.” the Ottawa organization has an issue with that decision. Tyler Boucher, RW, 18, Boston University (NCAA) “He can control the tempo of the game. He knows when to speed it up The Senators are confident they’ve got a good one in Boucher even and he knows when to slow it down,” McGuire said. “He’s a great first- though some said they “went off the board” by making him the No. 10 pass defenceman coming out of his own zone and nine out of 10 times overall selection. it’s tape-to-tape and it’s hard and precise. In the offensive zone, he controls the flow of the game amazingly well and usually it takes a lot of “I like his straight-ahead speed. That’s something that stands out when defencemen a long time to do that. You can see it’s not going to be an you see him on the ice,” McGuire said. “That’s a real positive and you adjustment for him. can’t teach what he has. He’s nasty at the point of attack, he likes to get physical, and we really like that part of his game. He only played 14 “His peripheral vision is phenomenal. There are areas he needs to games this year so that makes it tough for him to go into a tryout situation improve to get to the next level, but for a 19-year-old kid he’s impressive and stand out offensively because it’s a different game with the puck.” and he’s very, very talented.” Boucher has been compared to Washington Capitals power forward Tom McGuire said Sanderson needs to improve his shot by “utilizing it more Wilson and if that’s what he turns out to be that will be a huge addition for and one-timing pucks more often. He’s always looking to make a really the Senators. McGuire reached out to Boston University coach Jay nice pass rather than a hard play on goal.” Pandulfo to talk the areas where the organization would like to see But McGuire noted those aren’t major concerns because Sanderson will Boucher make improvements. get the chance to play big minutes at UND and he’ll also play a key role for Team USA at the world junior tournament. “I had a 25-to-30-minute talk with Jay about things we’d like to see Tyler do to progress offensively,” said McGuire. “Jay’s on board. He can’t wait to work with him and Tyler can’t wait to work with Jay. That’s really positive. Shean, Jesse and I will be paying a lot of attention to him down at BU. We’re excited and now it’s about refining. That’s usually the case with most young players.”

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219095 Ottawa Senators that’s learned when you have had the kind of experience that Anderson has had in his career. That’s the kind of knowledge he’ll be able to hand to the 22-year-old Luukkonen.

Craig Anderson knows first time he faces Senators as a Sabre will be “I had to go through the hurdles of playing poorly, going back to the 'emotional' minors and just being happy to be in the league, which sent me back down to the minors,” Anderson said. “There’s lots of stepping stones in my career where I don’t want to see these other guys make the same mistakes. That’s the main thing (he can bring): ‘These are my Bruce Garrioch experiences and this is what I’ve gone through.’ Publishing date:Aug 05, 2021 “If I can help just one other guy to not have to go through the same fate as I had as far as getting bounced around or going through waivers three times in two weeks. The reason why those happened was practice During his decade in the Ottawa Senators net, Craig Anderson spent habits, it was mindset and it was just being satisfied. That’s the problem several nights doing battle with the Buffalo Sabres. with being a professional athlete and being satisfied, you’ll be out. My main lesson during my career was never to be satisfied.” Now, the veteran goaltender may get a chance to see his former Ottawa teammates for the first time since his departure this season.

The 40-year-old Anderson, who spent last season with the Washington Ottawa Sun LOADED: 08.06.2021 Capitals after his contract wasn’t extended by the Senators, signed a one-year deal with the Sabres to bring a veteran presence to help top prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

And, if Anderson gets the opportunity to face the Senators this season, he knows it will be different.

“Last year was a weird situation where you only played teams in your division and we never get up to see Ottawa,” Anderson told reporters on a Zoom call from his Coral Springs, Fla., home Wednesday. “It’s definitely going to be weird, but at the same time it’s an opportunity to go and play the game I love.

“Whether you’re wearing the Ottawa jersey or the Buffalo jersey, my job is to go out and stop the puck, and continue to do what I love to do. There’ll be emotions (when he plays the Senators), but at the same time, I’m looking forward to doing it as well.”

The Senators informed Anderson they’d decided to move on at the end of the 2019-20 campaign. It was the end of an era for Anderson, who was brought to the Senators in a trade for Brian Elliott from the Colorado Avalanche at the 2011 NHL trade deadline.

Anderson quickly established himself as the No. 1 goalie here and had a tremendous amount of success in 435 appearances in the club’s net. He’s the winningest goalie in franchise history with 202 victories and, undoubtedly, his time in Ottawa will be fondly remembered.

At some point, his No. 41 will either be raised to the rafters at the Canadian Tire Centre or he’ll be placed in the Ring of Honour with the club’s legendary general manager Bryan Murray.

While there was some belief Anderson may retire after being let go by the Senators, he went to Washington in January on a pro tryout and earned a contract as the club’s third goaltender. He was called on to play for the Capitals in the playoffs because of injury issues and welcomed the fact Buffalo was able to offer a deal on the first day of free agency.

Look, Anderson has made a lot of money in his career, so he’s at the stage where signing a one-year, $750,000 deal makes sense because he’s not ready to hang up his skates.

“I guess it’s less stressful (because he has a deal) and I’m honoured to have the contract and go in there and prove to Buffalo and everyone else the reason why they offered me the deal,” Anderson said. “I’ve got to make sure that I’m ready to go and go in there to get the job done when I get the opportunity.

“It comes down to the mindset of setting goals, and what’s the goal here? Well, the goal here is to go and earn your ice time. My first year pro, I had a coach tell me everything is earned in this game and he wasn’t wrong. It took me a few years to figure that out, but once you understand that you do everything you possibly can to be ready and you don’t take anything for granted.”

Some goalies feel they need to play a lot to get into a groove, but Anderson has never been that way. We witnessed it first hand when he played for the Senators. If he was out for an extended stretch with injury, it wouldn’t take long for him to get back to form once he returned to the net, and that’s why he had so much success here.

Anderson’s best attribute is that he never gets too high or too low, he’s always been able to stay on an even keel. That’s usually something 1219096 Ottawa Senators

Victor Mete happy to get deal in place to avoid arbitration process with Senators

Bruce Garrioch

Publishing date:Aug 05, 2021 • 11 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation

Victor Mete was happy to settle with the Ottawa Senators on his own terms.

Yes, the 23-year-old defenceman filed for arbitration at Sunday’s 5 p.m. deadline, but that was a formality to ensure that one way or another he’d have a contract in place when training camp opens Sept. 22 at the Canadian Tire Centre.

Nobody actually wants to go through with arbitration, which is why general manager Pierre Dorion was able to get a deal in place with Mete fairly quickly. No hearing had been set, but in most cases the player and the team want to avoid the process because it’s been known to result in hard feelings once the actual hearing is held.

Mete signed a one-year, $1.2 million deal Wednesday night and is now focused on getting ready.

“It happened pretty fast and that was good, so now I’m just looking forward to the season,” Mete said in a Zoom call with reporters Thursday.

Picked up on waivers from the Montreal Canadiens at last year’s trade deadline, Mete suited up for the final 14 games of the season with the Senators and fit in well. He played big minutes under coach D.J. Smith and was able to establish himself as someone who could play quality minutes.

“The first couple of games were tough to adjust, and not having the chance to practise, but after getting in some practices and games I felt I was able to adjust well,” Mete said. “It was the opportunity that D.J. gave me. He gave me the green light to go out there, play my game, and I think I was just able to take advantage of that.

“I was able to play like I can and not worrying about the fact that if I did make a mistake I won’t be playing in the rest of the game. I was just going out there, playing my game and I had full support from the coach.”

The No. 100 overall pick in the fourth round of the NHL draft by the Canadiens in 2016, Mete simply fell out of favour under new coach Dominque Ducharme and saw only a limited role. The Senators went looking for help after dealing Mike Reilly to the Boston Bruins and Mete turned out to be a good fit under Smith.

When the Senators made the claim on waivers, they weren’t the only team that tried to add Mete. He has five goals and 36 points in 199 games in his NHL career.

“If your coach has confidence, then you’re able to play the game and love it more,” Mete said. “D.J. told me, ‘It’s a new start for you and do what you can.’ I was able to do that and I felt really good about it.”

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219097 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers file for arbitration with RFA Sanheim

BY JORDAN HALL

FLYERS

The Flyers on Monday filed for salary arbitration in negotiations with restricted free-agent defenseman Travis Sanheim.

The deadline for club-elected arbitration was 5 p.m. ET Monday, while the deadline for player-elected arbitration was 5 p.m. ET Sunday. Sanheim, Carter Hart and Connor Bunnaman are the Flyers' notable restricted free agents this offseason. As expected, all three were extended their qualifying offers last Monday. Only Sanheim was eligible for arbitration.

With the Flyers filing for arbitration, the club and Sanheim's representation can go to a hearing overseen by an independent arbitrator to settle on a salary. Arbitration hearings are set to begin Aug. 11. The Flyers-Sanheim hearing date is Aug. 26, the last day for arbitration hearings. General manager Chuck Fletcher and Sanheim's side can still negotiate and strike a deal before then. That oftentimes happens, but every case is different and a club-elected filing is much less common than player-elected arbitration.

Despite a challenging 2020-21 season, Sanheim is an important piece to the Flyers' present and future on the back end. The 25-year-old was a first-round pick in 2014 and has the ability to play in all situations. Before last season, Sanheim had made positives strides in consecutive years as more was put on his plate.

Sanheim's previous deal was a two-year, $6.5 million bridge contract. The Flyers have revamped their defense this offseason with the acquisitions of Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Ristolainen and Keith Yandle.

"We feel it's important to make our team more competitive. To get more competitive, we felt we needed to add some right-shot defensemen to our club this year to complement [Ivan] Provorov and Sanheim and to kind of slot everybody in the right spot," Fletcher last month after the club traded for Ristolainen. "We feel if that group can improve, then our team will improve."

Operating in the NHL's flat-cap world, much of the Flyers' busy offseason has had to revolve around salary flexibility. Projecting around RFAs is required every offseason. The Shayne Gostisbehere trade was a move made solely about cap relief in return. In adding players this summer, the club has had to subtract.

"The environment’s tough," Fletcher said July 22 about the stagnant cap. "Shayne played really well for us, not just last year, but for many years. He was a model citizen, he was at Skate Zone today working out on his own and training — he’s a true professional, he was a very good Flyer, so I really want to thank him for that.

"But our reality was pretty simple: when you factor in the expected raises that Sanheim and Carter Hart will receive, and we very much want to sign those two players, we didn't have a lot of space left to fill the holes we needed to fill."

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219098 Philadelphia Flyers for a bounce-back 2021-22, and he needs one badly to reaffirm his place in the organization.

On paper, the RW position seems relatively straightforward for the Flyers Flyers offseason depth chart 2.0: Where the lineup stands after a busy — they have four clear NHL-caliber players in Travis Konecny, Atkinson, offseason Wade Allison and Nicolas Aubé-Kubel. Konecny and Atkinson are the early favorites for top-six minutes, while Allison will have to prove at camp that his promising NHL debut at the end of last season was no fluke. As for Aubé-Kubel, his disappointing 2020-21 campaign makes him By Charlie O'Connor a potential candidate for the press box to begin the season — if a Aug 5, 2021 prospect or two earn a spot in the lineup and someone like Laughton or Lindblom moves over to the right side — but the fact that the Flyers ultimately protected him in the expansion draft implies that they still see his value as a player. Chuck Fletcher and the Philadelphia Flyers promised to be active this offseason, and active they were. The Flyers aren’t lacking for solid RW prospects, either. Linus Sandin is the logical low-upside, next-man-up from the AHL if Philadelphia’s NHL The roster turnover this offseason in Philadelphia has been truly depth at the position takes a hit. Zayde Wisdom and Tyson Foerster are impressive in scope. Out went Philippe Myers, Nolan Patrick, Shayne long shots to make the club out of camp this year, but their impressive Gostisbehere, Robert Hägg, Jakub Voracek, Brian Elliott, and a host of performances in the AHL imply they might not be as far away from NHL depth options scattered throughout the organization. And in their place? readiness as originally thought, and if ’s report from late Let’s just say it’s been a full-scale overhaul: July that under-20-year-old junior players with at least 20 AHL games So where do they all fit? It’s time for an updated version of Philadelphia’s played in 2020-21 will be able to return to the AHL in 2021-22 proves organizational depth chart, evaluating where the Flyers stand at each true, then Wisdom and Foerster will be just a small step away from their position, looking only at players currently under contract or with at least a ultimate goals this season. chance of breaking training camp at either the NHL or AHL level. What Maksim Sushko’s stock took a bit of a hit in 2020-21, but he still has fans are the organization’s strengths? Where do they remain thin? Let’s give it in the organization who view him as a future solid fourth-liner. Recent all a look. depth signing Gerald Mayhew has the ability to tear up the AHL and earn At the NHL level, LW is easily the deepest Flyers’ position. Philadelphia himself an occasional NHL call-up to see if his goal-scoring ability might has five left wingers who either are or have in the past established translate — even at 28. themselves as bona fide top-nine forwards at the top level of hockey: The Flyers certainly have enough left-handed shooting defensemen in Claude Giroux, Joel Farabee, James van Riemsdyk, Scott Laughton and the organization. Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim obviously top the list Oskar Lindblom. As a result, at least one of them will have to switch and should anchor the first and second pairings, respectively (so long as positions to stay in the lineup, because it’s highly unlikely any of them will Fletcher can get Sanheim signed to a new deal). But that third-pair LHD spend much time serving as a healthy scratch. Luckily — with the spot is wide open, with four players realistically looking to take a run at it. exception of JvR — they’re all pretty versatile. Farabee and Lindblom can both play RW. Giroux and Laughton can comfortably step in at all three Yandle is the clubhouse favorite to nab it; he has the most experience, forward positions. will have a lot of options with this brings legitimate power play utility to the table, and is working on the group. second-longest consecutive games played streak in hockey history behind Doug Jarvis. It’s fair to assume Yandle will get the first crack at As for the organizational depth, it’s not the strongest, but there are some the gig. He’ll be pushed by Samuel Morin, who surely will look to crack intriguing names. Max Willman has slowly progressed from ECHL tryout the nightly starting lineup even if he’s more likely to be deployed as a to AHL surprise to having an NHL contract, turning himself into a viable situational No. 7, and then the top prospect duo of Cam York and Egor injury call-up via his strong work in Lehigh Valley. Isaac Ratcliffe and Zamula. York is probably the closer of the two, but there’s a good chance Matthew Strome are project prospects, with Ratcliffe having a higher both will see the NHL in 2021-22, depending upon injuries and their likelihood of success, even if his last two seasons have knocked off much respective developmental paths. of his sheen. Kevin Hayes’ cousin Ryan Fitzgerald is more of an AHL- only player, though his 21 points in 28 games showing for the Phantoms Linus Högberg and Mason Millman stand as the second tier of signed in 2020-21 did earn him a two-way NHL contract this offseason. LHD prospects; Högberg with lower upside but closer to the NHL, Millman more exciting but also further away. Nick Seeler is Even accounting for the fact that in this exercise, much of the Flyers’ organizational/injury depth in the vein of Derrick Pouliot and Nate center depth ends up stationed at other positions (Giroux, Laughton), Prosser, while Cooper Zech is a new signing (formerly of the Providence there actually are a fair number of viable options here for 2021-22. Bruins) who actually still has some prospect runway left, given that he Sean Couturier and Kevin Hayes are the no-brainer locks for the roster, doesn’t turn 23 until December. and Philadelphia’s weakness at the position is mostly due to the fact that As with most teams, the Flyers’ depth chart at right-handed defense is beyond that duo, the Flyers lack a clear-cut answer at 3C. But that relatively thin, though the three spots at the NHL level are locked into doesn’t mean they don’t have plausible solutions. Morgan Frost certainly place with Ellis, Ristolainen and Justin Braun. Beyond those three, qualifies, and he checks in at No. 3 on the depth chart for the simple (and however, there isn’t much, though they do have Ronnie Attard, Jack St. oft-forgotten) reason that he actually made the Flyers’ roster out of camp Ivany and Ethan Samson in their prospect pool who have yet to sign. In last season; the coaching staff and organization as a whole clearly like the here and now, however, it’s just Adam Clendening — a good AHL him. He may not end up securing the 3C job outright in training camp this defenseman who has yet to carve out a full-time NHL role — and Wyatte fall (Laughton is an obvious candidate, as is Giroux), but assuming he’s Wylie, a prospect who appears to still be quite a bit away from being back to full health in the wake of shoulder surgery, he’ll be given every ready for the big club. chance to do so. Presumably, if one of their RHDs were to go down to injury, one of the Then, there are the 4C options. Assuming that Laughton remains either lefty shots would move over to replace him, though Clendening could at wing or in the top-nine somewhere, Thompson stands as the chalk certainly get a look in a pinch. choice to kick off the season as a fourth-line center. But he’ll be pushed by the youth. Tanner Laczynski is coming off hip surgery and therefore The most important piece of remaining offseason business for Fletcher is might not be at full strength come training camp, but he’s physically locking up restricted free agent Carter Hart to an extension, and rest ready for the NHL otherwise and will play in games for the Flyers this assured, the two sides will ultimately come to terms. Hart will be gunning season. Recent undrafted free agent signee Jackson Cates will be in the for a big-time bounce-back season in 2021-22, and he’ll be pushed by mix as well and don’t forget about Connor Bunnaman and German Martin Jones, who looks to engineer a bounce-back of his own, though Rubtsov. Bunnaman has already held his own in the 4C role with the his would come after three straight poor campaigns, not just one. Flyers in the past, and while it’s unlikely that Rubtsov will make the Flyers out of camp, he’s facing a real make-or-break year in terms of his Behind Hart and Jones are three netminder prospects from Europe. Felix prospect status. A strong showing in front of the coaches and Flyers Sandström raised his stock significantly with a strong finish to his 2020- brass in September and October could set up the 2016 first-round pick 21 AHL campaign, and he enters the upcoming season presumably with the inside track on the “starting” job in Lehigh Valley. But Kirill Ustimenko had jumped Sandström on the organizational depth chart in 2019-20 before having his 2020-21 season ruined by a torn labrum. He could easily reestablish himself as the superior prospect. And then there’s Samuel Ersson, who very well might be the best of all three, given his impressive Swedish track record.

With Alex Lyon in the Carolina organization now, the Flyers lack a traditional experienced No. 3 goalie for injury insurance purposes, so it will be interesting to see if Fletcher snaps one up later in the offseason or if he simply plans to roll with his three prospects and let performance dictate who would be first recall if one of Hart or Jones were to go down.

There’s quite a lot of potential for flexibility here, and obviously, prospects like Frost, Laczynski, York and Zamula will be doing everything they can at camp to push down the veterans and earn spots in the Game 1 starting lineup. A lineup with Frost at 3C, for example, is almost certainly higher upside than this one. But assuming the veterans all hold serve, this would be a logical look for the Flyers to begin 2021-22.

That said, the exact line combinations could certainly be jumbled. Putting Konecny with Couturier and Giroux would be a logical way to help the 24- year old bounce back from a disappointing scoring season, but giving a high-end playmaker Giroux a natural shooter like Atkinson on his line also makes a lot of sense. Lindblom could push his way up with a strong camp if he proves truly back in form. Laughton could easily slide over to the wing on any line. Allison isn’t a top-nine lock or even a roster lock. But this lineup more or less places each player in his ideal role. Factors like chemistry and balance can then be taken into account from there.

The Athletic LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219099 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins re-sign restricted free agent forward Zach Aston-Reese

SETH RORABAUGH

Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021 5:04 p.m.

In 45 games last season, Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese scored 15 points (nine goals, six assists).

The Penguins avoided arbitration and re-signed restricted free agent forward forward Zach Aston-Reese to a one-year contract with a salary cap hit of $1.725 million.

Aston-Reese, 26, recently completed a two-year contract that carried a salary cap hit of $1 million. Last season, Aston-Reese, one of the team’s better defensive forwards, appeared in 45 games and scored 15 points (nine goals, six assists). He missed the first 11 games of the 2020-21 campaign while recuperating from offseason shoulder surgery.

The team and Aston-Reese were scheduled for an arbitration hearing Aug. 23.

This type of deal is typically referred to as a “bridge contract” as it could potentially lead to a multi-year contract extension.

Undrafted, Aston-Reese joined the Penguins as a free agent signing out of Northeastern in 2017 and has spent parts of the past five seasons with the franchise.

Aston-Reese was the team’s only remaining unsigned restricted free agent this offseason. According to Cap Friendly, the Penguins have have $121,795 of salary cap space.

Tribune Review LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219100 Pittsburgh Penguins “Spoke to Dana and Jon both and that’s where we all felt comfortable and Dana felt very comfortable there,” Hextall said. “It wasn’t that much of a change, a little bit of a change in title for Dana. But all is good there.”

Penguins already searching for new goaltending development coach

Tribune Review LOADED: 08.06.2021

SETH RORABAUGH

Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021 3:20 p.m.

New Penguins goaltending coach Andy Chiodo spent three seasons as the organization’s goaltending development coach.

With the Penguins promoting Andy Chiodo to goaltending coach at the NHL level on Wednesday, a search for a new goaltending development coach has already begun.

Chiodo as well as his predecessors, Mike Bales and Mike Buckley, ascended to the NHL goaltending coaching role after starting in the development position.

“Andy will kind of lead that process,” general manager Ron Hextall said via video conference Thursday. “And in the end (assistant general manager Patrik Allvin), myself and (president of hockey operations Brian Burke) will talk to a couple of candidates at the end and alongside with Andy, make a decision on who’s best for the situation. We’re definitely going to replace him. That’s an important role. … (Prospects Joel Blomqvist, Calle Clang), they need some attention from the organization, some teaching and some mentoring. So we’re definitely going to look for the best guy we can find there.”

DeSmith on the mend

Backup goaltender Casey DeSmith continues to rehabilitate from offseason surgery to repair a groin muscle injury that sidelined him for the final games of the regular season and the entire postseason.

“He’s back on the ice taking shots,” Hextall said. “He looked terrific yesterday. I chatted with him briefly and everything is going very well. I anticipate him being 100% long before training camp.”

Heinen a ‘value signing’

Hextall spoke publicly about the signing of veteran forward Danton Heinen for the first time. The Penguins and Heinen agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.1 million July 29.

A member of the Anaheim Ducks for parts of the past two seasons, Heinen previously spent four seasons playing for the Boston Bruins and reached double-digit figures in goals on three occasions.

“He’s a well-rounded player that we feel like there’s some upside there,” Hextall said. “There’s obvious numbers in Boston there at the start of his career that kind of catch your eye. We feel like there’s a little bit more goal-scoring there. He can kill penalties. We feel he’s a good fit for our team. Can play both wings. We feel it’s a little bit of a value signing. So hopefully, he can do what we expect him to do there.”

Depth on defense

After losing steady right-handed defenseman Cody Ceci to free agency last week, Hextall expressed optimism he has adequate in-house replacements in reserves Mark Friedman and Chad Ruhwedel.

“We’ll look to upgrade at any position,” Hextall said. “If we can upgrade on defense, we’ll certainly look at it. We don’t have much wiggle room in terms of cap space. (Friedman) and Chad (Ruhwedel) are both guys that we feel can certainly play in the league along with a guy like (left- handers) Juuso (Riikola) and a certainly P.O (Joseph). You look at guys like (Marcus Pettersson) and John Marino and we think there’s more there. They’re both young players. There’s more there than what they gave us last year. … We feel in some ways, like there’s upside in those players that can really solidify our defense.”

Equipment staff changes

The Penguins quietly promoted Jon Taglianetti, previously an assistant equipment staffer, to head equipment manager. Dana Heinze, the head equipment manager since 2006, is now listed as an assistant equipment manager. 1219101 Pittsburgh Penguins Chiodo’s professional career was a nomadic experience. He also played in far-flung outposts for teams in leagues in Finland, Russia and Austria.

After retiring as a player in 2017, Chiodo embarked on his second career, Penguins 'needed a change' with goaltending coaches becoming goaltending coach of the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) Ottawa 67’s. In 2018, he was hired by the Penguins.

“I really like the way Andy came up through the (OHL), the (AHL) and SETH RORABAUGH now to the NHL,” said Hextall, himself an All-Star NHL goaltender during the 1980s and ’90s. “I actually watched Andy as a scout way back in the Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021 12:52 p.m. day when he was in (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton). So I understand the competitiveness. … Being for the most part a minor league goalie, the trials and tribulations, the ups and downs, (he) spent some time in Former goaltending coach Mike Buckley spent eight seasons with the Europe. Penguins in various capacities. “I just really like the profile of what he is. Talking to a lot of the people Mike Buckley’s name isn’t engraved on the Stanley Cup. around here that are familiar with him, there wasn’t a bad word said about him. His attention to detail on our prospects and our goalies in But he had a significant role in the Penguins’ two most recent (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton), delving into the mental side of it and their lives championships of 2016 and ‘17. to some degree, I just liked what he brings to the table. I’ve met him a As the Penguins goaltending development coach half a decade ago, he couple of times and felt comfortable that he was the right guy.” refined a mid-level prospect named Matt Murray, who eventually became Chiodo’s main job now? Helping Jarry rebound after a poor postseason the first rookie starting goaltender to win back-to-back Stanley Cup titles. performance. For that accomplishment, the Penguins opted to discard their incumbent “When you’re a goaltender — and I’ve lived it — there’s disappointment goaltending coach at the NHL level, Mike Bales, and insert Buckley into that you have to get over and you have to bounce back from,” Hextall that role during the 2017 offseason. said. “I feel strongly that Tristan is going to bounce back and be a very Four years later, Murray’s career is in a tailspin as a member of the good goaltender throughout the entire year.” woebegone Ottawa Senators, his successor, Tristan Jarry, is trying to reassemble his shattered game and Buckley is out of work. Tribune Review LOADED: 08.06.2021 On Wednesday, the Penguins fired Buckley and replaced him with Andy Chiodo who also, previously was the goaltending development coach overseeing the organization’s prospects in net.

The move comes a little more than two months after the Penguins were shuffled out of the playoffs by the New York Islanders during a first-round loss. While the Penguins outplayed the Islanders based on a lot of metrics such as puck possession, Jarry’s shortcomings were too much to overcome.

During that six-game series, Jarry had a 2-4 record, along with a bloated 3.18 goals-against average and a woeful .888 save percentage.

“When you make decisions like that, a lot of it is what your gut is telling you,” general manager Ron Hextall said via video conference Thursday. “And, obviously, when it comes to decisions of this magnitude, you talk to all your people. We certainly got opinions from all of our people. In the end, we just felt we needed a change. Obviously, we had Andy sitting right there. With his experience and knowledge of the organization and the goaltenders, he was, in the end, the right guy.”

Under previous general manager Jim Rutherford, Buckley was signed to a two-year contract extension as recently as September 2020. Under Hextall, the Penguins opted to dismiss Buckley relatively late into the offseason — as opposed to June or July — after going through their due diligence.

“It was going through the process, making sure we’re thinking of everything and talking things through,” Hextall said. “It’s one of those things that have been an ongoing conversation here. You’d like to do as soon as you can at the end of the (season). But sometimes, there (are) other things that either take precedent or there’s a little bit more of a process that you want to go through and that was the case here.”

Chiodo, 38, has spent the past three seasons in the goaltending development position. As a player, Chiodo was the 198th overall selection of the Penguins in 2003, 197 selections after franchise goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. The only NHL action of his career came during the franchise’s wretched 2003-04 campaign as Chiodo appeared in eight games and went 3-4-1 with a 3.46 goals-against average and an .892 save percentage.

Chiodo was in net for arguably the biggest win for the franchise during its inter-Jaromir Jagr/Sidney Crosby years. During a 4-3 overtime road win against the then-Phoenix Coyotes on Feb. 24, 2004, Chiodo made 28 saves and directed the Penguins to a victory that snapped an 18-game winless streak, a mark which remains an NHL record for futility.

In addition to his time with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the (AHL) and the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL, 1219102 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins re-sign 'versatile forward' Zach Aston-Reese to a one-year contract

Matt Vensel

2-3 minutes 8/5/2021

The Penguins on Thursday re-signed veteran winger Zach Aston-Reese, their lone remaining restricted free agent.

He inked a one-year contract with a value of $1,725,000. That’s a reasonable agreement for the useful role player.

Aston-Reese, who will turn 27 next week, had his best NHL season in 2021, after undergoing shoulder surgery to repair a nagging injury and embracing better habits off the ice, most notably a cleaner diet. He had a career-high nine goals and put up 15 points in 45 games while maintaining a high level of defensive play.

“Zach is a versatile forward that brings energy and edge to our lineup,” Penguins general manager Ron Hextall said of the 6-foot, 204-pound forward. “He is a responsible, two-way player and we’re glad we were able to re-sign him.”

While the Penguins would like to see Aston-Reese play with that tenacity and physicality more consistently, they valued his contributions as a penalty killer, a forechecker and end-to-end presence. The last two seasons, he teamed with Teddy Blueger and Brandon Tanev to frustrate the top lines of other teams.

Tanev was claimed by the in last month’s expansion draft, leaving a void in the lineup. Aston-Reese is one player who will be asked to help replace his energy and checking, along with Brock McGinn and Danton Heinen.

Aston-Reese is one of only two restricted free agents who were retained by general manager Ron Hextall. The other was fellow forward Radim Zohorna, who signed a two-year contract this week. Aston-Reese recently filed for arbitration but the Penguins and he hammered out this deal before it reached that point.

The Penguins originally signed the New York native in 2017 after he went undrafted following a productive college career at Northeastern. In 161 career games over four seasons, he has 27 goals, 51 points, a plus-30 rating and 424 hits.

Post Gazette LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219103 Pittsburgh Penguins Chiodo making “little tweaks” to Jarry’s technique. But the bigger focus may be between Jarry’s ears.

“The mental side of the game for the goaltender is a huge part of it and Ron Hextall explains why the Penguins waited to move on from goalie Andy is well-aware of that,” Hextall said. “Going back to Jarry’s coach Mike Buckley experience from last year, he’s still a young goalie that’s learning and I believe he’s going to learn a lot from last year. And I really like what Andy is going to bring to the table.”

Matt Vensel Banking on bounce-backs

5-6 minutes 8/5/2021 The Penguins lost defenseman Cody Ceci in free agency, leaving a void on the right side of their blue line. Ceci skated on the second pair for

much of 2021. One day after the Penguins announced that goaltending coach Mike The Penguins have done nothing to address that position other than Buckley would be replaced by Andy Chiodo, a curious move only due to signing depth defenseman Taylor Fedun. But Hextall expressed its timing, general manager Ron Hextall explained the change on a confidence in Mark Friedman, Chad Ruhwedel, Juuso Riikola and Pierre- conference call with reporters. Olivier Joseph. He also said the Penguins hope to get more from Marcus “When you make decisions like that, a lot of it is what your gut is telling Pettersson and John Marino. you,” he said Thursday. “And obviously when it comes to decisions of this “We think there’s more there. They’re both young players. There’s more magnitude, you talk to all your people. … In the end, just felt like we there than they gave us last year. … We feel in some ways like there’s needed a change.” upside in those two players, which would really help solidify our defense,” He added: “Obviously, we had Andy sitting right there and with his the GM said. experience and knowledge of the organization and the goaltenders, he Hextall is high on Heinen was the right guy.” Hextall explained why the Penguins targeted Danton Heinen during free Buckley had been with the organization since 2013. And after helping agency, signing the left-shot winger to a one-year, $1.1 million contract Matt Murray develop into a goalie capable of leading the Penguins to last week. back-to-back Stanley Cups, he was named Pittsburgh’s goalie coach in 2017. But his top two pupils, Murray and Tristan Jarry, experienced “He’s a well-rounded player and we feel like there’s some upside there,” setbacks after reaching the NHL. he said. “There’s obviously numbers in Boston there at the start of his career that kind of catch your eye. We feel like there’s a little bit more After Jarry’s disastrous postseason led to another first-round exit for the goal-scoring there. He can kill penalties. We just feel that he’s a good fit Penguins, Buckley’s status became a subject of intrigue. Once two [and can] play both wings.” months passed, it looked as if Buckley would be retained. Then came Wednesday’s press release. Heinen, 26, had 16 goals and 47 assists in his first full season in Boston in 2017-18. He had just seven goals and 14 points in 43 games in Hextall explained that the goaltending coach position has been “a little bit Anaheim last season. of an ongoing conversation here.” Ideally, he said, the team would have decided in May to move on from Buckley and give him a better chance to find work elsewhere. But the Penguins waited to see how the offseason went before acting. Post Gazette LOADED: 08.06.2021

Left unsaid by Hextall was that the Penguins, who had limited salary cap space, were open to making personnel changes between the pipes. They did not find a veteran goalie at the right price during free agency. And, barring a trade, they now expect to bring back both Jarry and Casey DeSmith in 2021-22.

So Hextall ultimately decided to go in a different direction with their position coach, promoting Chiodo, a former Penguins goalie who had been the organization’s goaltending development coach the last three years, to the NHL bench.

Hextall declined to say whether the Penguins also looked at external options.

When he was a professional scout for the Philadelphia Flyers in the early 2000s, he scouted Chiodo while Chiodo was with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. Chiodo’s competitiveness sticks with him all these years later.

Chiodo played only eight NHL games, all with the Penguins, but his goalie career spanned 14 years and included stints in the ECHL and playing overseas.

“For the most part as a minor-league goalie [he understands] the trials and tribulations, the ups and downs. He spent some time in Europe. So I just really like the profile of what he is,” Hextall said. “And talking to a lot of the people around here that are familiar with him, there wasn’t a bad word said about him.”

Hextall also mentioned Chiodo’s “attention to detail with our prospects” in his previous role and his touch with the mental and emotional side of the position.

“I felt comfortable that he was the right guy,” Hextall said of the 38-year- old.

Job No. 1 for Chiodo will be helping Jarry to bounce back after his disastrous display against the New York Islanders. Hextall mentioned 1219104 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins Signing Zach Aston-Reese to 1-Year Deal, Avoid Arbitration

Published 15 hours ago on August 5, 2021

By Dan Kingerski

On the day the NHLPA officially released arbitration hearing dates, sources with direct knowledge confirmed to Pittsburgh Hockey Now that the Pittsburgh Penguins will sign winger Zach Aston-Reese to a one- year, $1.725 million deal, a raise over his previous $1 million salary.

Sources said the deal pleased both sides, as the largest negotiating hurdle was the salary cap. The Penguins had only $1.8 million of cap space and Hextall needs to make a few more tweaks to the lineup, notably at right defense and perhaps some additional scoring in the lineup.

Aston-Reese, 26, signed a deal at the arbitration table two years ago but didn’t wait that long this time. His arbitration date was scheduled for Aug. 23. He will turn 27-years-old on Aug. 10.

The Penguins winger scored a career-high nine goals last season and did so in only 45 games. Aston-Reese had offseason shoulder surgery which he credited with fixing a few things that may have negatively altered his game. He was also visibly quicker and lighter after going on a no-carb diet last offseason.

He scored 15 points in 45 games (9-6-15) ad a member of the Penguins grind line with center Teddy Blueger and new Seattle Kraken winger Brandon Tanev. The trio functioned as the Penguins’ third line until the NHL trade deadline in April when GM Ron Hextall acquired Jeff Carter. Head coach Mike Sullivan kept the defensively dynamic group together as the fourth line.

According to PuckPedia.com, the Pittsburgh Penguins will have about $121,000 cap space remaining, though they have 14 forwards on the roster. The Penguins can recoup $750,000 by demoting Sam Lafferty to the WBS Penguins or up to $1.05 million by demoting anyone else.

Evgeni Malkin will likely miss the start of the season after knee surgery. It is unknown if he’ll begin the season on the LTIR, providing extended cap relief and avoiding any demotions.

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff was the first to report the Aston-Reese deal.

In four NHL seasons, including his 16-game run in 2017-18, Aston-Reese scored 51 points, including 27 goals in 161 games. He also set a career- high with an average of 14:37 of ice time per game and has a short- handed goal in each of the last three seasons.

Aston-Reese’s contract completes the Penguins list of unknowns, though Hextall is expected to further tweak the roster in the following six weeks before training camp in September.

PHN took a crack at predicting the Penguins lines, with and without Evgeni Malkin to begin the season.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219105 Pittsburgh Penguins “…Hopefully, we can make some little tweaks…the mental side of the game for a goaltender is a huge part of it. And Andy is well aware of that,” Hextall said. “Going back to Jarry’s experience from last year, he’s still a young goalie that’s learning. And I believe he’s going to learn a lot Hextall ‘Gut Feeling’ to Hire Chiodo; Improve Jarry’s Mental Game from last year. And like I said, I really like what Andy is going to bring to the table here.”

Anyone who rides the buses in the ECHL lives to tell the tales and Published 17 hours ago on August 5, 2021 continues to play hockey is mentally tough and loves the game. After By Dan Kingerski parts of four seasons in the ECHL, Chiodo qualifies.

And getting Jarry to bounce back from a poor playoff performance which was further marked by a ghastly giveaway in overtime to lose Game 5 Ron Hextall might not be the most outspoken general manager the against the New York Islanders, is part of the job. Pittsburgh Penguins have had, but he’s moved steadily to reshape the Penguins organization. Hextall fired goalie coach Mike Buckley and Hextall seemed convinced Chiodo is the right person for the job. promoted Andy Chiodo to the big job. On Thursday morning, Hextall laid out what he expects and why he made the change. Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 08.06.2021 That surprise move, though perhaps much needed, occurred on Wednesday afternoon.

Hextall called it “a gut feeling” to make the change, and from one goalie to another, Hextall was impressed with Chiodo’s long road to success. And Chiodo’s road was a long, long road that included years in Europe, the ECHL, and began in the OHL.

“I really like the way he came up through the Ontario league, the American league-slash-development, and to the NHL,” said the Penguins GM. “I actually watched Andy as a scout way back in the day, when he was in Wilkes-Barre, so I understand the competitiveness, understanding the position, and–for the most part–being a minor league goalie; the trials and tribulations, the ups and downs, (he) spent some time in Europe. I just really like the profile of what he is, and talking to a lot of the people around here that are familiar with him, there wasn’t a bad word said about him…”

Hextall certainly likes people with whom he is familiar. In his five-month tenure as the Penguins GM, Hextall has hired his former AGM Chris Pryor, Pryor’s son, Hextall’s son, and scouts he employed while GM of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Chiodo spent the last three seasons as the Penguins goalie development coach, which means he worked with the WBS Penguins goalies, which previously included current Penguins goalies Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith. Chiodo also worked with top goalie prospects Calle Clang and Joel Blomqvist, the third and second-round picks in the 2020 NHL Draft, respectively.

Both of those goalies remain in their native Scandanavian countries, Blomqvist in Finland and Clang in Sweden. Hextall plans to replace Chiodo in the goalie development role.

“We’re definitely going to replace him. That’s an important role being in Wilkes and getting out to hopefully see our prospects this year..,” Hextall asserted. “So one of those things–that you have a Bloomquist and a Clang, they need some attention from the organization and some teaching and mentoring. So we’ll definitely look for the best guy we can find.”

Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins Goalie

Hextall didn’t outright slam his fist on the table and say Tristan Jarry is the Pittsburgh Penguins starting goalie. His continued and unwavering support for Jarry includes speaking to issues the Penguins hope to improve.

“You know, when when you’re goaltender–and I’ve lived it–there are disappointments that you have to get over, and you have to bounce back from. And, I feel strongly that Tristan is going to bounce back and be a very good goaltender for us throughout the entire year.”

That’s where Chiodo comes into play. As the goalie coach, Chiodo will now focus on the NHL goalies rather than the system. Those trials and tribulations, the fighting spirit of suffering through the minors or Europe, hoping for one more shot define a player and his mental makeup. Chiodo battled for 14 years of professional hockey, despite just eight NHL games–and all of those came in 2003-04 with the Penguins.

Chiodo didn’t retire until after playing52 games for the Innsbruck team in the Austrian league in 2017.

That’s the mental toughness and the mental game Hextall wants Chiodo to bring to Tristan Jarry. 1219106 San Jose Sharks

Report: Teammates don't want Kane back; Sharks tried for trade

BY JOSH SCHROCK

Several of Evander Kane's teammates don't want the 30-year-old winger to return to the Sharks this season, The Athletic's Kevin Kurz reported Tuesday, citing sources.

Kurz also confirmed a report by The Daily Faceoff that the Sharks attempted to trade Kane earlier this summer. Kane's teammates' issues with the winger reportedly were one of the main drivers for the Sharks to try and find him a new home.

Kane currently is being investigated by the NHL after his wife, Anna, accused him of gambling on his own NHL games and intentionally trying to lose in order to turn a gambling profit.

On Sunday, Kane denied the allegations.

"I have NEVER gambled/bet on Hockey, NEVER gambled/bet on a Sharks game, NEVER gambled/bet on any of my games and NEVER thrown a hockey game,'' Kane wrote on Twitter. "The facts are I personally had my best season of the my career last year and was the most consistent I've been throughout any season, I'm proud of that. I love the game of Hockey and would never do any of what was alleged. I look forward to cooperating fully with the league's investigation, having my name cleared and looking forward to this upcoming season."

Kane's gambling issues have been known for some time, as he filed for bankruptcy in January. In the filing, he noted he had lost $1.5 million on gambling in the past year.

Kane has said he and his wife are in the process of getting a divorce.

"The San Jose Sharks have been in contact today with the about the serious allegations made against Evander Kane. We support a full and transparent investigation into the situation to maintain the integrity of the game and consistency with our team values.''

Kane had 22 goals and 27 assists in 56 games for the Sharks last season.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219107 Tampa Bay Lightning

Arbitration hearing date set for Lightning’s Ross Colton

By Mari Faiello

Published Yesterday

Updated Yesterday

TAMPA — There’s one player remaining on the Lightning’s checklist to sign before camp opens next month.

Forward Ross Colton has yet to sign his qualifying offer and instead has elected arbitration to decide his salary for the coming season. Colton, who made $700,000 this past season, is one of 17 NHL players who chose to file for arbitration.

The players’ association announced Thursday that Colton’s hearing will be on Aug. 16. But his representatives and the Lightning can continue to negotiate in the meantime. The sides can either complete a contract for the amount determined by the arbitrator or walk away, with Colton becoming an unrestricted free agent.

Colton, 24, is the last restricted free agent who has yet to sign a deal with the Lightning. He was one of seven up-and-coming players Tampa Bay made a qualifying offers to before the start of free agency.

Colton made a big impression on coaches and the front office this past season en route to the Stanley Cup, where he scored the game-winning goal against the Canadiens in Game 5 of the final.

He acclimated quickly to the NHL, with nine goals and three assists in 30 regular-season games and another six points (four goals and two assists) in the postseason. In his NHL debut on Feb. 24, he opened the scoring against the Hurricanes in a 3-0 Lightning win.

Colton found a consistent role on the Lightning’s fourth line alongside Mathieu Joseph and Pat Maroon. He started the postseason on the third line in the absence of injured Barclay Goodrow before returning to the fourth line to play with Maroon and Tyler Johnson.

The Lightning are set to open the 2021-22 season Oct. 12 against the Penguins.

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219108 Tampa Bay Lightning and Perry are tough below the circles and around the net, and they really complemented each other well. Perry should get a shot on the second power-play unit, too, which is losing Johnson and Gourde.

Lightning depth chart: Roster taking shape with Corey Perry, Zach Bellemare, 36, who was a key leader on the Avalanche the last couple Bogosian additions seasons after a few years with Vegas, is the kind of versatile forward who could play on the third or fourth line. He’ll also be depended on to be a faceoff-man (61-percent last year) and penalty killer. Tampa Bay needs to replace their top PKers Coleman and Goodrow, whom Engblom joked By Joe Smith must have started 98-percent of the Lightning’s kills. Aug 5, 2021 “Bellemare is a really strong fourth-line center,” Engblom said. “He’s got some size and grit to him. For where he fits in, third or fourth line, he should be terrific.” The Lightning’s “Last Day of School” is officially over, with the back-to- back Stanley Cup champs having seen quite a bit of turnover so far this There’s always going to be wild cards like Swedish forward Simon Ryfors offseason. and Cole Koepke (University of Minnesota-Duluth), who should get looks in camp. The Lightning know vets like Gabriel Dumont, the former Gone is the entire third line of Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman and Barclay Crunch captain, and he’ll try to push for a bottom-six role. There should Goodrow. Tyler Johnson got traded, too. be plenty of competition up front, which is always a good thing.

GM Julien BriseBois has tried to re-shape his championship team, Others vying for spots: Frederik Claesson, Andrej Sustr, Alex Green. bringing in veterans like Corey Perry and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Zach Bogosian to add to a young group of prospects that should finally In the system: Sean Day, Darren Raddysh, Jack Thompson. get their chance. The Lightning blue line is pretty much set, and the envy of most of the “They still look at this like, ‘We’ve got the top two lines, still got the three league. big D and the goaltender,'” said Lightning color analyst . They return perennial Norris Trophy candidate Victor Hedman, who “Are you a contender? Damn right you’re a contender. Did you lose a lot should be fully recovered from a torn meniscus he played through since of guys? Absolutely. But it’s not unlike Chicago and, more recently, March 30. Ryan McDonagh may have been the team’s best defenseman Pittsburgh. You’re going to lose some guys that start to make more in the playoffs, and he was on my Conn Smythe Trophy ballot. money, you lose the middle of your order. How do you replace that? The key question will be who slides into the sixth defenseman spot. Cal “They need some kids to have good years, there’s no doubt about it.” Foote got his first taste of the NHL last season, playing 35 games as a The biggest shakeup for the Lightning this summer was their forward rookie (plus-9). The coaching staff praised his development. But there group. was still room to grow, especially in the quickness in his first 2-3-4 steps.

The top six should be pretty much the same, with the touted top line of The Lightning brought back Zach Bogosian, who won a Cup with them in Ondrej Palat-Brayden Point-Nikita Kucherov up there with one of the best 2020, on a three-year deal ($850,000). When I asked what Bogosian’s in the league. They were a driving force for the last two Cup runs. presence meant for Foote, BriseBois said both will play regularly, whether that is in an 11/7 lineup or due to injuries, etc. But Bogosian is a There was some concern Palat was going to be traded or picked in the proven commodity, someone who could play on the third pair with Seattle expansion draft, so having him back is a big boost. He’s been the Sergachev and has experience playing well with Hedman if need be. engine of every line he’s been on. This may very well be his last season with the Lightning, with his contract with a $5.3 million cap hit ending “He’s always been a good skater,” Engblom said. “He’s comfortable here, after next year. But there are few guys coach trusts more. he likes it. Players like him. He’s very reliable. He may end up being more of a regular than you think. It all takes care of itself.” The second line should at least start the same. Alex Killorn and Anthony Cirelli have been a combo ever since Cirelli came into the league, with Engblom thought Foote was “okay” last season, needing to focus on his the two boasting excellent chemistry at 5-on-5 and the penalty kill. quickness and his turns. He’ll be given every opportunity to play, and Steven Stamkos has been their wing for most of the past season and should get his share of reps. It’s up to him what he does with them. playoffs, though his 5-on-5 ice time dipped to ninth among forwards in “He’s got the brains, he knows the game,” Engblom said. “The next step the postseason. You could see a few young players get a crack in the is judging speeds, recognizing when do you start moving back and top-six, like Ross Colton. controlling the gaps. He has to be more aware than the other guys on Colton, an RFA heading for an Aug. 16 arbitration hearing, scored the who has great speed. Those first 2-3-4 steps, the turning and not letting Cup-clinching goal and showed he can play up and down the lineup. He guys go wide on you, all those come with experience.” had as many 5-on-5 shots on goal in the Cup final as Stamkos. But I’d There’s some depth in the seventh defenseman role in Sustr and expect Colton to be a great fit as third-line center. Claesson, but not a ton of high-end prospects in the AHL at this point, “I’m a big fan — he has a chance to be that guy to replace Yanni with the closest being Green. Gourde,” Engblom said. “His skating is better, he proved that. He can Andrei Vasilevskiy won the Conn Smythe and could end up being one of play center. He can play wing. He’s got excellent hands, and a better the best of all-time. shot than Yanni. He’s smart, can create offense. He seems to blend in well, whether it’s on the fourth line or when he moved up with Killorn and But the 27-year-old star is going to need some rest, especially this year. Cirelli. He could be a real Swiss Army knife guy.” Vasilevskiy has played a ton of hockey the past 18 months, including Mathieu Joseph should get an opportunity for a regular role, and he every minute of each of the 48 combined playoff games in the last two played some excellent hockey in the Cup final replacing an injured Cup runs. He played in 42 of the 56 regular-season games last season, Killorn. He’s a tremendous skater and relentless forechecker, with the too. That’s why the signing of Brian Elliott, and his performance, will be key for him being clean coming out of his zone. There will be significant so important. competition for that other bottom-six spot, with Alex Barre-Boulet, Taylor Raddysh, Boris Katchouk among those in the mix, along with Gemel Elliott, 36, is a veteran with plenty of experience. He can be that steady Smith, who was re-signed to a two-year deal. presence behind Vasilevskiy like Curtis McElhinney was the past two seasons. Elliott’s numbers the last two seasons haven’t looked great, just “Everything the coaches want, he does,” Engblom said of Smith. “He’s under .900 save percentage with the Flyers, but they weren’t telling the got some beef, he’s aggressive. He might be the guy that really surprises whole story. on that third or fourth line spot and say, ‘I’m going to play like Coleman and Goodrow did with Yanni.’ He’s got decent speed, good hockey IQ.” Engblom said he was chatting with broadcaster , who calls some of the Flyers games, and Clement believed the numbers were a Things can change, but the fourth line might start out with Pat Maroon, product of the team’s struggles. Bellemare and Perry. Maroon and Perry played on the same line together years ago with Anaheim, teaming up with Ryan Getzlaf. Both Maroon “He said Elliott was an underrated guy,” Engblom said. “He had a good season on a team that struggled in so many different ways and was so up and down. There was so much turmoil. He had a solid season. They’ll be looking to relieve some pressure on Vasy.”

Keep in mind this is an Olympic year, and if NHL players are allowed to go to Beijing in February, Vasilevskiy will likely play a large role in net for the Russian team. Making sure Vasilevskiy is fresh, and healthy, will be as crucial as any factor in Tampa Bay’s quest to three-peat.

The Athletic LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219109 Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights front office official leaves organization

By Ben Gotz Las Vegas Review-Journal

August 5, 2021 - 6:35 PM

Updated August 5, 2021 - 7:12 PM

Brian Killingsworth, Vegas Golden Knights' senior vice president and chief marketing officer. (Vegas Golden Knights)

Golden Knights chief marketing officer Brian Killingsworth is leaving the organization, the team confirmed Thursday.

Killingsworth had been with the franchise since June 2017 and played a key role in cultivating its culture and image. He was instrumental in several of the Knights’ initiatives over the years, including their expansive social media footprint, the creation of their gold jerseys, the Marc-Andre Fleury figurines they gave away and the NFTs they released in July. Much of the franchise’s off-ice success the past four years can be traced to him.

Before joining the Knights, Killingsworth spent five years in the NFL overseeing marketing and branding for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St. Louis Rams. He also spent 10 years with the Tampa Bay Rays as their senior director of marketing and promotions.

“Brian was a respected, impactful leader for the Golden Knights organization who brought many of our most recognizable activations and marketing campaigns to life, dating back to our inaugural season,” the team said in a statement. “We wish him the best in all his future endeavors.”

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219110 Vegas Golden Knights went and knocked on doors, it was like, ‘Call us another time. Not interested.’”

The reception was discouraging, but they remained optimistic due to how How NBA Summer League found its way to Sin City: ‘Vegas had become many NBA coaches were behind the league. In the past, summer a go-to place’ leagues had been scattered around the country in cities such as Princeton, N.J., San Antonio, Atlanta, Orlando, Salt Lake City and typically lasted only three to five days. (Salt Lake City and now Sacramento still host those smaller two- to three-day events.) They By Tashan Reed required a lot of travel and the payoff wasn’t always worth it considering Aug 5, 2021 the limited time to observe talent. Having a centralized summer league that spanned for an extended period of time just made more sense.

That part was easy to get across, but fans didn’t care about that. They By the late 1990s, Las Vegas was an offseason magnet for basketball. wanted entertainment, which meant the on-court product had to be legit. AAU basketball held summer tournaments in the city. The UNLV men’s The 10-day league had notable rookies such as Dwight Howard, Rajon basketball team made three Final Four appearances from 1987 to 1991 Rondo, Al Jefferson and Marcus Banks in its first year, but it wasn’t until and won a national championship in 1990. Professional players went it expanded to 12 teams in Year 2 that locals really took notice. there in the offseason to work out and established residencies to take advantage of lower taxes. Coaches congregated to meet with one “The local community really got behind it,” Hall said. “We kept ticket another as well as scout and evaluate amateur and professional talent. prices low. We’ve maintained our one ticket is good for all games NBA teams went there for offseason minicamps. philosophy. We could’ve easily priced it as sessions and all these other things, but we really wanted the locals and the fans and the basketball “Vegas had become a go-to place,” NBA agent Warren LeGarie said last people of Las Vegas to feel like this was their slice of the NBA. month. “It gives you an opportunity to get better at your sport and, at the same time, once you’re off the court you can have a nice evening. … For “We’ve done an excellent job of maintaining our footprint in our the coaches who were working out guys, it was like, ‘Man, why don’t we community. We now have a foundation in Vegas. So, we’ve really given have a summer league here?'” back where we can each and every year and made this not just a, ‘Hey, we’re in town for a week and promoting something,’ situation, but we’ve LeGarie pitched former NBA executive vice president of basketball made Las Vegas our NBA home.” operations Rod Thorn on doing just that in the late 1990s, but the idea was shot down by the league. The league viewed the Las Vegas Strip as In its first year, Las Vegas Summer League only drew about 1,700 fans nothing but trouble with its gambling-based economy and tempting total. Its most recent showcase in 2019 averaged 12,199 fans per day. nightlife. That increase includes people from all over, but many of the attendees remain Vegas locals. “It just seemed to suggest more problems than solutions,” LeGarie said. “Initially, it was a hard no.” “The Summer League is homegrown,” LeGarie said. “The people in Vegas, I think when you bring it up there, there’s a source of pride that LeGarie didn’t give up, however. He and his business partner Albert Hall this is one of their own. It isn’t an event that they bought or had to pay a had been attending various NBA summer leagues for years and, while rights fee to come in; this is something that they initially helped create they believed they were good places to do business, they thought they and sustain. And look, a good portion of the fans are Vegas fans; they’re could be improved. That led to the idea to create their own, and they from Vegas. That part has been terrific for us.” found themselves continuing to come back to Vegas as the destination for it. Additionally, the business brought in from the NBA, international teams, international scouts, agents and spectators in attendance have had a “We thought we could make it more of an event,” Hall said last month. positive impact on the city’s economy. According to a report in “Vegas was an ideal location because you could get direct flights from collaboration with Las Vegas Events and Las Vegas Convention and everywhere. And, at the time, it was really starting to come around from a Visitors Authority, Summer League is estimated to bring in $50 million to recreational, lifestyle, family perspective. There was something for that Vegas. group; it wasn’t just gambling and nightlife. It was entertainment. It was shows, golf, recreational activities and food and dining.” “We’re really proud of that as two guys who started this on a credit card, six handshakes and a box of fliers,” Hall said. “You have fans from all 30 The duo added more detail to their plan and LeGarie pitched the idea NBA teams coming to Vegas because it’s a great destination and they again to then-deputy commissioner Adam Silver in 2003. This time, he can get away. They’re really growing their fan base using Summer received a much warmer response. League. That economic impact is real. I think we’re going to continue to see that and that will keep growing as we keep adding to Summer “He seemed to have a better feel for what the reality of Las Vegas was,” League.” LeGarie said. “It was no longer just about The Strip. There were the outlying communities, it had the fastest-growing school districts, there Summer League wasn’t spared from the effects of the COVID-19 was home construction. He was aware that the whole atmosphere had pandemic. The postponement of the NBA season last March and restart changed from before.” through the NBA bubble, which spanned from July through October, meant the 2020 NBA Draft didn’t occur until November. So, for the first LeGarie met with then-commissioner David Stern at All-Star weekend in time since it began in 2004, Summer League didn’t happen. 2004 and, a month later, the Las Vegas Summer League was approved. LeGarie and Hall fronted the cost for the initial event that year, which “Having to take 2020 off, it was a blow,” Hall said. “It was a big challenge. included six NBA teams. Now, 17 years later, all 30 teams participate in Because the one thing that Warren and I have always done is we Las Vegas in the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League. The 10-day reinvest back into the business. We’re not just trying to carve out profit league runs this year from Sunday to Aug. 17 with games at the Thomas every year; we’re re-investing in our business from Day 1 and that’s & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on the UNLV campus. always been the key to our success. Having done that in ’19 thinking that ’20 was going to be another record year and it not happening, it was a The popularity of the league has grown exponentially. At the same time, tough pill to swallow. so has the sports community in Vegas. It’s become home to the NHL’s Golden Knights, WNBA’s Aces and NFL’s Raiders in the last three years “We’re excited about ’21 now and not going to try to make up lost ground alone. In many ways, Summer League paved the way for Vegas to overnight, but building that momentum up is going to be a challenge. become a destination for sports. And it doesn’t appear to be finished People are still coming out of COVID. We’re doing everything we can to growing yet. have a safe event and to build that model for what a safe event looks like. And we’re in this for the long haul, so once we get through ’21 we’ll Locals were not believers initially in the Las Vegas Summer League. take a step back like we always, figure out how we can build things up That was abundantly clear to LeGarie and Hall from the onset. and make things better and then really attack ’21 with a long runway. … “We held a press conference and every question was like, ‘You gotta be If we get out of ’21, I think ’22 will be special.” kidding. What makes you think you can do it? A lot of other people have The 2021 NBA Draft took place July 29, just 10 days before Summer tried,’” LeGarie said. “There was no encouragement. Zero. When we League is set to start on Sunday. Preparations had begun before then, but LeGarie and Hall still had less time to work with than normal. The presence of the ongoing pandemic has precipitated an intense focus on details.

“As much as we’d like to believe that we’re past the pandemic, we’re not,” LeGarie said. “We’re really just focusing on making sure that we keep everybody safe. And we’re trying to put together the right protocols in between games to make sure that we’re doing everything we can so that this not only allows the teams to challenge their players and get better but for the fans to certainly have an enjoyable time at our event without potentially getting sick or being in a situation where they feel unsafe. Right now, that’s our new thing is to just make this thing work and be able to pull it out.”

Assuming Summer League gets back on track, it’ll rejoin the trio of the Golden Knights, Aces and Raiders in continuing to establish the presence of professional sports in Vegas. On top of the three professional franchises it already has, it’s also a “viable” option to land the MLB’s A’s. In combination with the increased prevalence of legalized gambling nationally and the willingness of sports leagues to embrace it as a part of their business, Vegas has become a legitimate sports hub.

“In all fairness, there’s a lot of pride and authorship in helping pull this off,” LeGarie. “Clearly, this can’t be done without the invaluable assistance and partnership with the NBA, but each and every year we know that they’re going to be busy with so many other events and our focus is solely on this event.”

The Summer League co-founders spent about three months planning the event when it began. Now, it requires about 11 months of planning.

“You get an emotional investment in something like that,” LeGarie said. “For us, we’ve watched our baby grow up to be a contributing member of society. … It really is a great source of pride that we’ve watched something grow from you knew personally all the people in the gym when you first started off to now you’re sitting there watching a sold-out event not only on the first day but the second and into the third day.”

Summer League helped prove professional sports can work in Vegas and, more specifically, it’s shown that there’s a city affinity for professional basketball. The Aces have checked that box on the women’s side, but there’s still a full-time void on the men’s side.

There hasn’t been confirmation of plans for NBA expansion or relocation, but it’s easy to envision Vegas as a city that would be eager to host a franchise. The planned entertainment complex All Net Resort and Arena will have a capacity of 22,800 and could potentially provide a home floor for a team. There’s no way of knowing now whether that’ll ever come to fruition, but the mere possibility of it is something that the Summer League co-founders are pleased to see.

“It fires us up,” Hall said. “We just produced this event that felt like an additional team, in a way. We softened the beach a little bit. I think we showed people that Vegas is much more than just a weekend gambling town. It’s still a small town in its own ways, but it’s grown up in so many others from a technology and hospitality standpoint. … I think Summer League was able to do that and say, ‘You know what? This is one way where they can sustain it.’

“That’s been enlightening to a lot of people. They’re like, ‘Wow, they’re able to do that with this smaller operation.’ Whereas now you bring in ownership groups and teams and they’re able to build it. … We take a lot of pride in it. If we were a big part of that early on and could help it, that’s great.”

The Athletic LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219111 Vegas Golden Knights

Knights CMO Brian Killingsworth Leaves Organization, Per Report

Published 10 hours ago on August 5, 2021

By Owen Krepps

Chief Marketing Officer Brian Killingsworth has left the Vegas Golden Knights organization leaving on his own terms Thursday afternoon, per a report from SinBin.com. The former CMO was vital to the early success of the Golden Knights and has been with the team since its inception in 2017.

Killingsworth and his team are responsible for the “VegasBorn” slogan. They also had their part in the gold jerseys and helmets, Chance the Gila Monster as the mascot, as well as various community events and fundraisers plus so much more.

According to SinBin Vegas, Killingsworth is the 15th member of business management in the Golden Knights organization that has left within the past three months. This is number is close to the number of people that have left the organization within the first three years of the team combined.

This comes a week after trading goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, one of the most marketable players in the NHL.

In 2019, when Fleury made his diving save against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Killingsworth saw a marketable opportunity. The Golden Knights president put Fleury’s save on Nic Petan into trophy form in December 2019. For more than a year, Killingsworth and his team kept the thousands of Fleury figurines a secret before giving them out as souvenirs on May 7th and 8th 2021.

In April of 2018, Killingsworth and his team put a Golden Knights jersey on the Vegas Statue of Liberty before a playoff game against the Los Angeles Kings. He also helped launch VGK Worldwide, an internet website that allows Golden Knights fans from all across the world to communicate with one another.

In his four years with the organization, Killingsworth did a tremendous job in marketing the Golden Knights. He was able to bring in thousands of new fans in an expansion city for the NHL. Previously, Killingsworth has worked for the Tampa Bay Rays, St. Louis Rams, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He will no doubt find a new home somewhere else in professional sports.

Vegas Hockey Now LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219112 Washington Capitals

Hershey Bears name Scott Allen next head coach

BY ANDREW GILLIS

CAPITALS

The Hershey Bears named Scott Allen the 27th coach in franchise history on Thursday morning, ending the team’s search for a new bench boss.

Scott Allen has been named the 27th head coach in franchise history. Allen brings 25 years of coaching experience at the NHL, AHL, and ECHL levels, including serving as an assistant coach with the Bears the past two seasons. #HBHhttps://t.co/lH8uAb8aP5 pic.twitter.com/1oLJ5fW86n— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) August 5, 2021

Allen, 55, was an assistant coach for the Bears for the last two seasons under Carbery. He has previous experience with the New York Islanders, Florida Panthers and Arizona Coyotes as an assistant coach in the NHL and in all, he’s coached 13 seasons in the AHL.

"We are thrilled to promote Scott Allen to head coach of the Hershey Bears," Bears VP hockey operations Bryan Helmer said in a statement. "He's done a great job over the past two years in Hershey, and his familiarity with our organization will make this a seamless transition. Scott is well-respected and has a long resume of invaluable experience, bringing a tireless work ethic to everything he does.”

Allen will replace Spencer Carbery, who recently left for a job as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Carbery assembled a record of 104-50-9-8 in his time with the Bears and would have made the playoffs all three seasons, were it not for the COVID-19 pandemic. He was also the ECHL Coach of the Year for the South Carolina Stingrays in the 2013-14 season.

Allen began his coaching career in the 1996-97 season as an assistant coach for the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL, the team he had just finished playing for, and became the head coach during the 97-98 season. He has further head coaching experience for the San Antonio Rampage and the Portland Pirates of the AHL.

“We are pleased to promote Scott and name him as the next head coach of the Bears,” Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said. “Scott brings many years of coaching experience, and in addition to his familiarity with our organization, we are confident our prospects will continue to grow and head in the right direction under his guidance.”

The Bears also hired Steve Bergin to be an assistant coach to serve under Allen. Bergin was the head coach of the South Carolina Stingrays during the 2019-20 season (when he won Coach of the Year) after serving as an assistant for the team for three seasons. In the 2020-21 season, he left the Stingrays to become the head coach at Sacred Heart University, but will return to the organization.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219113 Washington Capitals

Eller meets Nadal, gifts a Capitals jersey at Citi Open

BY MIKE DEPRISCO

CAPITALS

Lars Eller took some time out of his offseason to go see one of the greatest athletes of all time do his thing on the tennis court.

Washington D.C.'s Citi Open is in full swing and Rafael Nadal has advanced to the Round of 16 in the tournament. Eller went to watch Nadal and ultimately met him afterward as well.

Had a great time watching The King of Clay play last night. pic.twitter.com/2sfk2oXYEU— Lars Eller (@lellerofficial) August 5, 2021

Eller also gifted Nadal with his own custom Capitals jersey as the two players shared a few laughs while taking pictures.

Nadal took down American Jack Sock in the Round of 32 Wednesday night. The 35-year-old will take on Lloyd Harris from South Africa in the Round of 16 Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 08.06.2021 1219114 Washington Capitals pounds, Fehervary also provides a big body that the Caps are now lacking on the blue line.

Barring any offseason trades or additional signings, the Caps are going Why Martin Fehervary may be the key to the Caps defense to have to choose between Kempny or Fehervary to plug into a top-four role next season. It's not ideal to expect a 21-year-old rookie to be able to take on that role and it may take time for Fehervary to adjust to the NHL. But if the Caps do hope to make a run at the Cup this season, they will BY J.J. REGAN need Fehervary to entrench himself on the second pair in time for the playoffs or this could prove to be a major hole on the blue line.

CAPITALS

Change was coming to the Capitals this offseason, it was inevitable given Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 08.06.2021 the team's salary cap situation. Brenden Dillon ended up being the cap casualty as he was traded to the Winnipeg Jets and that leaves the Caps in a tough position. With few options on the left side of the defense, rookie Martin Fehervary may be the key to the Caps' entire blue line in the 2020-21 season.

Once Alex Ovechkin's cap hit was settled, general manager Brian MacLellan knew he needed to shed about $4 million of salary. Soon after, Dillon and his $3.9 million were shipped out.

It's a big blow.

You may not think so, as some fans have expressed after the trade. Dillon ranked third on the team in PIMs last season and fourth in minor penalties. His relative Corsi-for percentage has been negative his entire career. But Dillon was a top-four defenseman for Washington, generally given tough assignments and he was a great locker room guy.

With Dillon gone, the Caps' left defense options are limited. Dmitry Orlov was the team's best defenseman in the playoffs and has the top pair locked down. Behind him, however, it looks like Michal Kempny and Fehervary will be the team's other left defensemen.

Fehervary has only six games of NHL experience and has never been a full-time NHL player, but at the team's final media availability of the season, MacLellan specifically named Fehervary as a player ready to the roster next season. It's a good thing too because he looks like the best option behind Orlov to play on the second pair.

In 2018, Kempny was brought in at the trade deadline and eventually was plugged into the top pair alongside John Carlson. He was great and the Caps do not win the Stanley Cup that year without the Kempny trade. Kempny, however, missed the entire 2021 season and we just do not know what to expect from him going forward.

Kempny tore his hamstring in 2019 and ended up missing the postseason and the start of the 2019-20 season. When he did return, he hardly looked like the top-pair player the Caps had come to rely on him to be. He was honest about his struggles if you spoke with him and it soon became clear that he had returned too soon from what was a serious injury. When COVID forced the NHL to pause the season, Kempny had several more months to recover and train. Expectations were high for him when the Caps returned for the 2021 postseason and, again, he struggled.

Kempny is not why the Caps lost to the New York Islanders in just five games in 2021, but he still did not look close to being the player he had been prior to the injury.

An Achilles injury forced Kempny to miss the entire 2021 season and he will now be returning from a second major injury. There is just no way to know what to expect from him this season.

The problem is that, with Dillon's departure, not only do Kempny and Fehervary look poised for everyday roles but one of them will have to play in the top four. Both players are a question mark, but Fehervary ultimately looks like the player the Caps need to step up and take command of that role, if not right away then at least by the postseason.

Fehervary is a prospect the Caps think very highly of. His style is more defensive which would pair well with a puck-moving offensive defenseman like Justin Schultz.

"Really smooth skater, good first pass and sound defensively," Zack Fisch, voice of the Hershey Bears, said of Fehervary. "Can kill penalties, he's a good shot-blocker, can clear the net-front."

Also worth noting, with Dillon and presumably Zdeno Chara both gone, the Caps have lost their two most physical defensemen. At 6-foot-2, 200 1219115 Winnipeg Jets Copp has earned a solid deal, it’s just increasingly uncertain if that payday will come in Winnipeg.

Either way, the future of both players in Winnipeg will be known by the Arbitration dates set for Jets' Pionk, Copp end of the month.

Scott Billeck Winnipeg Sun LOADED 08.06.2021

Publishing date:Aug 05, 2021

Deadlines are now in place for two of the Winnipeg Jets’ remaining restricted free agents to hash out new deals before an arbitrator does it for them.

Arbitration hearing dates were released by the National Hockey League Players’ Association on Thursday, with defenceman Neal Pionk’s date set for Aug. 13, and forward Andrew Copp’s set for Aug. 26.

Arbitration dates across the league have been scheduled between Aug. 11-26. Negotiations can continue between all parties, the dates just put a deadline on those talks.

Pionk, 26, is coming off a two-year, $6 million bridge deal he signed with the Jets back in the summer of 2019. He is also coming off his two most productive seasons as a pro, with 45 points in 71 games during the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season, and 32 points in 54 games during the truncated 2020-21 campaign.

Last season, Pionk was a force, both in minutes played, physicality and on the scoresheet. During the playoffs, Pionk was a key contributor to shutting down Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in Winnipeg’s first- round sweep of the Edmonton Oilers.

Evolving Wild’s contract projections, which uses a model that takes into account other contracts, math, the salary cap, etc., suggest a long-term deal between the Jets and the Minnesotan to be in the $6-million range in terms of average annual value. Pionk could easily ask for Josh Morrissey money as well — a $6.25 million AAV, given Pionk’s better production and play.

It’s unlikely Pionk’s new deal gets consummated by an arbitrator, as he is a key piece in Winnipeg’s top-four and worth the price of admission for the club.

Where the waters get murky is with Copp’s contract.

Copp is coming off a breakout season, setting career highs in goals (15), assists (24), and points (39) in 55 games played. Stretched out over a full 82-game slate, Copp was on a 58-point pace.

Evolving Wild has Copp making $5 million over a new four-year contract. His last deal — two years at $2.28 million per annum — was settled by an arbitrator, and Copp was far from pleased with the situation that unfolded.

Copp has production on his side this time around and the fact that head coach has leaned on him everywhere up and down the lineup at times. He’s Winnipeg’s Swiss Army knife — a young version of the departed Mathieu Perreault, and one-third of the team’s effective shutdown line.

But the Jets simply can’t afford to give Copp $5 million per season without a corresponding move to make him fit under the cap. As it stands, and with Bryan Little’s LTIR space include, the Jets are working with just under $10 million in space. While both sides would seemingly like to avoid arbitration this time, there is the possibility it makes it there and Copp gets a one-year deal and becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The Jets could also seek a trade for the 27-year-old, or if they feel they could make a run at the Stanley Cup this season, use him as a season- long rental before watching him walk for free next summer.

Copp has been an integral piece of Winnipeg’s core and its leadership. In each of his NHL seasons since coming into the league in 2015, Copp has improved.

But the price of reloading their blue-line with Brendan Dillon and Nate Schmidt may come at the expense of a player such as Copp. And if you’re Copp, and you think you’ve earned a top-six role on an NHL team, Winnipeg may not be the best fit for that ambition long term. 1219116 Vancouver Canucks Soon, though, with work permit in hand, the most highly anticipated Russian-born Canucks prospect in a generation will land on Canada’s West Coast.

What we’re hearing about the rest of the Canucks offseason, Danila A cryptic Instagram photo of Klimovich on a Belarusian tarmac sent Klimovich, Vasili Podkolzin and RFA negotiations Canucks Twitter aflame with anticipation on Wednesday evening, but the Canucks’ 2021 second-round draft pick is not Vancouver bound. At least not yet.

By Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal He is, however, preparing to come to North America. On Thursday, Klimovich was flying to Bulgaria to get vaccinated, his agent Dan Milstein Aug 5, 2021 informed The Athletic, a step designed to permit him to avoid an extended quarantine on arrival in North America.

Vancouver Canucks hockey operations will take a moment this week, a When he arrives, however, he’ll be well prepared. breather of sorts, before getting back to work. Unlike Podkolzin, he already has a work permit (through Rouyn-Noranda July was an absolute haul for Canucks management. The roster freeze of the QMJHL, who selected him in the CHL Import Draft). He’s soon to deadline, the buyout window, the expansion draft, the NHL Entry Draft, be fully vaccinated. And he’s certainly done his research. negotiating an unprecedented blockbuster with the Arizona Coyotes, “I know that the city is very pretty,” Klimovich told The Athletic over text offloading Nate Schmidt and a free agent frenzy that saw the club paper message, through the intermediary of a translator. “I have read that the and execute 18 contracts in a 27-hour period, that’s behind the club now. city of Vancouver has been voted 3 times as the best city in the world to What awaits, however, over the balance of the offseason is both live in. I have looked at many photos of the city and I really like how it complicated and crucial. There are four key restricted free agents to sign, looks, and I want to live and play there.” including a pair of franchise players in Elias Pettersson and Quinn Klimovich has the option to come over and play in North America right Hughes, an arbitration hearing on the horizon and a pair of super- away, although the Canucks are also weighing the possibility of placing talented European-based prospects to sort out. him on loan with a KHL team. HC Dinamo Minsk, located in Belarus and Over the course of this week, The Athletic’s Thomas Drance and Rick coached by a Canadian in Craig Woodcroft, would fit the bill. It’s an Dhaliwal worked the phones to try to get a sense of what odds and option the Canucks may consider. remain on the horizon over the balance of this offseason. What’s the There’s going to be a ton of competition for minutes up front with the status of negotiations between the Canucks and Elias Pettersson and depth the club has carefully curated at the American League level in Quinn Hughes? What should we expect after Jason Dickinson’s Abbotsford. And considering Klimovich’s dynamic offensive toolkit and arbitration filing? When exactly will Vasili Podkolzin and Danila Klimovich the rawness of his skating and overall game, it would behoove the come over to North America? This is what we’re hearing about those Canucks to find him a place to play where he’ll log major minutes. If he’s topics and more. not going to play a top-six role with a ton of power-play time, then a KHL Podkolzin, the Canucks’ top prospect, has patiently waited for this loan would give Klimovich an opportunity to hone his game against men, moment. rather than putting up crooked numbers against teenagers in the QMJHL.

Through uneven, politicized deployment in the KHL, Podkolzin has been The lure of attending an NHL training camp looms large for Klimovich steadfast in his desire to try his hand in the NHL. He’s been committed to though. getting to this moment and the moment is nigh. “I would obviously like to make the team and be in the lineup right away,” “I was very excited to sign with Canucks,” Podkolzin told The Athletic Klimovich texted The Athletic, adding when asked what his preference is over text message this week, without the help of a translator. “I have for next season, “next year I would like to play for the Vancouver always wanted to play in NHL. I’m really looking forward to the start of Canucks but will certainly do what management thinks is best.” the season.” Klimovich caught the Canucks’ eye with an electric tournament at the When the newly married 20-year-old power forward arrives at Canucks U18s in Dallas this past spring. He’s got a uniquely violent, high-velocity training camp in mid-September, he’ll get a long look in the Canucks’ top wrist shot, plus puck control ability and a tendency to go to the net that nine as an NHL rookie. The club is counting on him and is optimistic that has earned him the admiration of a ton of NHL talent evaluators, his game will translate immediately at the NHL level. although others have concerns about his skating and maturity.

“I am really hoping to get in the lineup, have a lot of ice time and perform “I am an attacking-minded hockey player,” Klimovich says, when asked well!” Podkolzin joked about his goals for this season. “I am really excited to describe his game. “I always aim to go towards the net, love to score to start my NHL career. Can’t wait! I want to feel the atmosphere of goals and always have been scoring since childhood. My job is to score playing for such a club, for NHL, and I hope I will be able to help my team goals.” a lot and perform to the best of my abilities!” In possession of a tantalizing offensive toolkit and aware of where his Before all of that, though, Podkolzin has to get to Vancouver. strengths lie, Klimovich has grown up idolizing the most dynamic offensive players in the sport. “I will arrive to Vancouver as soon as I get all the documents ready,” Podkolzin said. “During my childhood, my favourite players were Ovechkin, Datsyuk, Kovalchuk, and Pavel Bure — legend of Vancouver, I admired his Those documents, specifically Podkolzin’s work permit, are complicated speed,” Klimovich says, showing off a sturdy awareness of playing to the to procure these days. The pandemic has slowed everything down crowd. “Currently I believe that my playing style reflects the game of immigration-wise for NHL clubs. Nathan MacKinnon.”

The Canucks began the process to get Podkolzin’s work permit the Wherever he ends up playing next season, and there’s a ton of routes for moment he signed, but they’re still waiting. the club and Klimovich himself to consider and work through, he’s about to start out on the path of emulating those childhood heroes. There’s no urgency just yet, this wait is normal, but the club would like to get Podkolzin over as quickly as possible. Coming over from Russia, he’ll The slow negotiations have to quarantine. And the club wants to make sure its top prospect is acclimated to his new surroundings, ramped up and raring to go when Hughes and Pettersson’s representatives with Creative Artists Agency camp opens. spoke with the Canucks late last week after the dust had settled following the free agency frenzy. Caught in limbo, for now, Podkolzin is putting in the work. Talks seem pretty quiet at the moment and it’s clear now that the sides “I am working on getting better at skating, doing lots of work at the gym,” have entered into a bit of a holding pattern on negotiations. Getting Podkolzin said of his summer so far. Hughes and Pettersson under contract is going to be a process. For whatever reason, negotiations have unfolded in a very deliberate mid-July, agreeing to deals with cap hits ranging from $2 million to $2.25 fashion. There was optimism as recently as late June that the sides might million. be able to get deals done before the Canucks entered the meat of the offseason. In the flat cap era, the NHL’s middle class has been hollowed out somewhat, clearly. Those team-friendly settlements have sort of tilted the Despite ongoing negotiations, it hasn’t prevented the Canucks from being balance a bit in Vancouver’s favour, in terms of the arbitration path among the NHL’s most active teams on a variety of offseason fronts in undergirding Dickinson contract talks: late July. The flip side of this is that negotiations do exist independently — to some To this point in the offseason, however, talks have remained relatively extent — from arbitration case positioning. And if the club wants to do a general. Things don’t appear to be contentious, both players and the longer deal, which makes a ton of sense considering that there’s no team appear to be open to a variety of different structures and term Canucks centre on the roster signed beyond the 2022-23 campaign, it lengths. Hammering out exactly what different scenarios might look like remains a very different sort of conversation. more specifically just hasn’t quite happened yet. If there’s going to be a settlement, after all, it has to work for both sides. It’s long been believed that negotiations on a possible Pettersson deal have been further along than talks with Hughes, which makes sense on a We’ll see where this one goes. Arbitration filings very rarely result in an variety of fronts. There was a real pressure point there with the Canucks actual hearing taking place, although arbitration filings are also relatively and Pettersson ahead of the market opening, as a result of an offer sheet rarely made by players that have only just switched teams. That creates threat that Benning was preoccupied with. a unique dynamic here too.

Once the Canucks dealt Schmidt and his $5.95 million cap hit, that Either way, Dickinson’s first deal with Vancouver will be done or awarded pressure was relieved. The club carefully built ample cap space with by month’s end. There are short-term cap benefits of a shorter settlement which to ward off any offer sheets, and that defensive wall — now built — or arbitration award, and longer-term logic to doing a deal with more will exist even after the club reaches a settlement with, or an arbitrator term. rules on, Dickinson’s first contract with the club at some point in mid- Talks on this front are just about to heat up, and we’ll see how the club August. opts to stickhandle negotiations with one of their key under-the-radar As for Hughes, things did get a bit more complicated over the past 10 offseason acquisitions with arbitration looming. days. Obviously, the big paydays earned by second contract defenders What about Juolevi? Miro Heiskanen ($8.45 million over eight years) and Cale Makar ($9.5 million over six years) will have an impact on Hughes’ contract talks, and The fourth of the Canucks’ remaining restricted free agents is 2016 fifth likely his ultimate valuation. pick Olli Juolevi.

There’s no question those are lofty comparables for Hughes — The status of Juolevi negotiations hasn’t been front of mind in the comparables that have altered the paradigm for how second contract Vancouver market with the same level of scrutiny and fanfare as defenders can be valued, frankly. Although the fact that Hughes is a negotiations with Hughes, Pettersson and Dickinson. 10.2(c) blackhole player, where Makar and Heiskanen are not, has to Juolevi, who has battled through a series of injuries and has appeared in factor into any attempt to do an apples-to-apples comparison. 24 games for the Canucks all told, didn’t accept his qualifying offer. Hughes’ 10.2(c) status is of particular interest here. You don’t often get We’re hearing that both sides continue to talk, but there’s work to be 10.2(c) players of Hughes’ calibre. And historically when star-level done here. players have had 10.2(c) status— Jaden Schwartz, Johnny Gaudreau, Fleshing out Abbotsford even further? Torey Krug, Brock Boeser — second contract negotiations have had a tendency to bleed into the opening of training camp. The Canucks have built a robust, deep group of depth blueliners just below the NHL level. Acquired in the final hour before rosters froze ahead of the Seattle Kraken expansion draft, Dickinson filed for arbitration over the weekend. Having loaded up for their first season running an American League team in Abbotsford, the Canucks are poised to go 10 or 11 bodies deep with The club is thrilled to have added the player and paid the price to acquire credible NHL-level depth defenders, representing a level of blue line him despite his arbitration rights. With so much other business to attend insurance unseen in these parts in a decade. to following Dickinson’s acquisition, however, contract talks between the club and Dickinson’s agent — Pat Morris of Newport Sports, who also We were interested to hear this week that the Canucks still have interest represents Bo Horvat and ex-Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom — in unrestricted free agent defender Ashton Sautner, who remains have been on the back burner. unsigned. The club has stayed in touch with the player since the market opened and could consider bringing him back to play on the farm, most That will change shortly. Arbitration creates a pressure point for teams likely on an AHL contract. and players to reach a settlement. And we tend to believe that the club’s preference with Dickinson would be to sign a medium-term deal, ideally Sautner’s game, professionalism and leadership abilities are well one that purchases an unrestricted free agent season or two. respected by Canucks coaches and management. He could even be a candidate to captain the first-year Abbotsford club were he ultimately to Because Dickinson filed for arbitration, the Canucks will get to decide on sign an AHL deal with the club. a one- or two-year award if talks are at a stalemate when the arbitration hearing date arrives. If Sautner were to rejoin the Canucks at the minor league level, the defence corps in Abbotsford will be absolutely stacked. And while that’s a There is logic behind the Canucks selecting either a one or two year luxury, it does pose some tough questions about whether there’s enough award, although because the club still has a ton of crucial business to minutes to go around, particularly for the likes of key Canucks defensive attend to with Hughes and Pettersson, one suspects that the lowest cap prospect Jett Woo and trade deadline acquisition Madison Bowey. hit outcome — a one-year award — is likely to prove the most sensible approach.

When it comes to a player like Dickinson, who has a pending arbitration Vancouver Province: LOADED: 08.06.2021 hearing, it’s crucial to note that the negotiation takes place on parallel paths. There’s one path which is the arbitration hearing itself and how both sides are positioned for it, which grounds talks, but is ultimately untethered from the second path, which is the negotiation.

Let’s begin with the arbitration path, because it’s fascinating, especially in light of some of the recent settlements for arbitration-eligible restricted players that have occurred in just the past two weeks. There’s a trio of comparable players — Ivan Barbashev, Zachary Sanford and Teddy Blueger — who have come to terms with their respective teams since 1219117 Websites Out: Ethan Bear, Adam Larsson, Caleb Jones, Dmitry Kulikov, Jujhar Khaira

There are a number of people out there who didn’t like what the Oilers The Athletic / NHL offseason by the numbers: Which teams have did this summer, myself included. The defenceman musical chairs where improved the most (and least)? they kept Tyson Barrie and lost Adam Larsson, traded Caleb Jones for Duncan Keith and signed Cody Ceci to a four-year deal while losing Ethan Bear all felt misguided. That the team gave Mike Smith a two-year deal in the hopes he can repeat last year’s magic without any semblance By Dom Luszczyszyn of a strong backup plan also isn’t ideal. Aug 5, 2021 But one area where the team did legitimately improve is up front. The team’s top six looks the best it has in decades and they have added two strong depth pieces on top of that to help out a bottom six that always Free agency has been open for one week and already things have begun gets crushed. That’s where much of the value is coming from. to slow down. There are still some intriguing players on the board like Tomas Tatar and Kyle Palmieri and some big names left to be traded There’s a lot of risks that comes with signing a 29-year-old power forward (cough, Jack Eichel, cough), but for now we already have a pretty good to a seven-year deal, but Zach Hyman is still a great player who should fit idea of where teams will be at for next season. While there will still be in perfectly with the Oilers. He’s developed into a bonafide top line more player movement to come, now feels like a good time to analyze contributor over the past couple of seasons and has a proven track which teams improved the most based on their offseason moves. record playing next to superstars and making their lives easier. Remember Chris Kunitz being the perfect linemate for Sidney Crosby? There are other variables that will decide how much better or worse a Edmonton is hoping Hyman can be the same for either Connor McDavid team is next season — team-wide regression, differing usage, breakouts, or Leon Draisaitl, and I don’t think that’s a bad bet. declines, lineups, rookies, luck, coaching — but this should still provide a solid framework for how much each team has changed on paper. For Add Warren Foegele to the mix, an elite forechecker who resembles better or worse. early career Hyman well, and the team has a strong third line left wing addition. Derek Ryan is a massive upgrade over Jujhar Khaira as well. That’s what we’ll be looking at here as we measure how many wins a Those three pieces together should give the Oilers one of the best team added or subtracted from their roster to date based on their current forward groups in the league … just don’t mind the rest of the team. lineup, while also paying attention to how much salary has been added or subtracted (though that figure will only take into account the players who 3. Los Angeles Kings were brought in or taken out, nothing else). As usual, value is determined Wins Added: 3.5 wins using my model, Game Score Value Added. Salary Added: $12.5 million Here’s how much each team has changed this offseason, from highest value added to most value subtracted. In: Phillip Danault, Viktor Arvidsson, Alex Edler

1. New Jersey Devils Out: Matt Luff

Wins Added: 4.3 wins It was a big money offseason for the Kings, one that signified this team is ready to move forward in its rebuild and take the next step. I don’t think Salary Added: $9.9 million it’ll be nearly enough to climb out of the basement, but the Kings are In: Dougie Hamilton, Jonathan Bernier, Ryan Graves definitely a much more intriguing team now.

Out: Ryan Murray, Will Butcher, Nathan Bastian, Aaron Dell Los Angeles’ biggest issue was depth last season, at every position. They didn’t have much top end talent either, but the lack of talent The Devils are perennially at or near the top of this list every offseason throughout the lineup was also concerning. That’s been addressed here, and for each of the last two years, it hasn’t really mattered. Last year they first with a trade for Viktor Arvidsson and then with two key signings in were stuck in an extremely difficult division so they have some excuse for Phillip Danault and Alex Edler. not improving further, but there shouldn’t be one this time around. This time, they need to take an actual legitimate step forward. Arvidsson was once a bona fide top line winger and it’s possible he can regain that in Los Angeles, especially if he slots in next to Anze Kopitar. When a team pries the best player off the market and spends $9 million He grades out as a second-liner, as does Danault who now gives the per year to do so, they better. The Devils added Dougie Hamilton, an team a solid one-two punch down the middle. That should take some elite No. 1 defenceman who finished fourth in Norris Trophy voting last stress off Kopitar while also shielding prized prospect Quinton Byfield as season, in free agency and that’s a big deal. This isn’t like when they he makes the jump to the big leagues. Both additions add some much added an injured P.K. Subban hoping for a bounce-back; Hamilton is at needed presence to the top six. the top of his game. New Jersey has long been missing a true No. 1 defender and in Hamilton the team finally has it. Elsewhere on defence, Edler isn’t what he once was, but he can still play. His poor results can the team also added Ryan Graves, hoping this Ryan actually pans out on mostly be explained by environment and he’ll either be a nice the back end unlike Ryan Murray the year before. Graves should be an complement to Drew Doughty or a decent anchor on another pair. He still upgrade too, but Hamilton is obviously the story here. has some game.

The Devils also upgraded in net with Jonathan Bernier and that’s the 4. Chicago Blackhawks other major difference from last season: Bernier should be the veteran Wins Added: 3.4 wins who can steal starts and push Mackenzie Blackwood – like they thought Corey Crawford would be. Crawford was the main reason the Devils Salary Added: $11.0 million showed up so high on this list last year and him retiring instead obviously put a wrinkle into things. In: Marc-Andre Fleury, Jake McCabe, Tyler Johnson, Seth Jones, Caleb Jones, Jujhar Khaira Not this time, as the Devils shored up two big areas of need and should be over four wins better while not adding too much extra salary, relatively Out: Pius Suter, Adam Boqvist, Vinnie Hinostroza, Nikita Zadorov, David speaking. With a little more forward depth, they could be a playoff threat. Kampf, Duncan Keith

2. Edmonton Oilers Very few teams went as hard this offseason as Chicago who made some huge splashes. First, it was the addition of Seth Jones who has the Wins Added: 3.8 wins potential to be the legitimate No. 1 defenceman this team has been missing since Duncan Keith’s decline. Then, the Blackhawks went out Salary Added: $8.2 million and added last year’s Vezina Trophy winner in Marc-Andre Fleury, In: Zach Hyman, Warren Foegele, Derek Ryan, Cody Ceci, Duncan Keith signifying they’re ready to get back into the playoff mix. An additional 3.4 wins certainly puts them in the conversation. That doesn’t include any potential resurgence for Jones who my model notoriously isn’t nearly as fond of as others, especially after his last Salary Added: $5.8 million season. What should help with that is that the team also went out and got Jake McCabe, arguably the best defensive defender available on the In: Alex Nedeljkovic, Pius Suter, Nick Leddy, Jordan Oesterle, Mitchell market. He should be a perfect complement to Jones’ games, especially Stephens if Chicago lets him run freer than he did in Columbus. It’s a brand new Out: Jonathan Bernier, Richard Panik, Dennis Cholowski, Luke top pair, one fans should be very excited about. Seth’s brother Caleb Glendening, Darren Helm adds some further depth on defence while Tyler Johnson is hoping to prove he still has some offensive flair to show in a bigger role. One massive addition is driving Detroit’s standing here and that’s potential goalie of the future Alex Nedeljkovic. He was lights out in 23 The additions did come at some cost. Adam Boqvist has potential to games last season and Carolina’s loss is Detroit’s gain between the break out elsewhere and make Chicago regret the massive deal, but that pipes. There isn’t a lot of data to go off, but based on what he’s shown to will hopefully be worth it if Jones is as elite as advertised. I’m not quite date (and a heavy dose of regression) the model is a big fan of sure why the team didn’t qualify Pius Suter as he was a solid depth piece Nedeljkovic. He’s projected to be a pretty sizeable upgrade over last season. Jonathan Bernier.

The Blackhawks are better, but whether it’ll be enough to make the The rest isn’t much, but they’re all upgrades to the team’s depth. Nick playoffs remains to be seen. Leddy had a nice bounce-back last season and provides a boost to 5. San Jose Sharks Detroit’s defence, while Pius Suter proved in his rookie season he can be a responsible middle-six center. In addition by subtraction news, losing Wins Added: 3.2 wins Luke Glendening and Darren Helm also helps.

Salary Added: $3.3 million 8. Philadelphia Flyers

In: Adin Hill, James Reimer, Nick Bonino, Andrew Cogliano Wins Added: 1.9 wins

Out: Martin Jones Salary Added: $3.4 million

It may be a bit surprising to see the Sharks this high, but it’s mainly In: Ryan Ellis, Cam Atkinson, Keith Yandle, Martin Jones, Rasmus because the team seems to have greatly improved its goaltending. Martin Ristolainen, Nate Thompson Jones was obviously not the answer anymore and while a tandem featuring Adin Hill and James Reimer isn’t great by any means, it’s still a Out: Jakub Voracek, Shayne Gostisbehere, Philippe Myers, Robert legitimate improvement over what the team had. Hagg, Nolan Patrick, Brian Elliott

The other main facet of the team’s large wins added number is Nick The Flyers did a lot of retooling this offseason and while the overall result Bonino, who remains one of the game’s better bottom six pieces. He can points in the right direction, there are varying levels of success here. drive play well and provide solid depth scoring. At the price the Sharks First and foremost, acquiring Ryan Ellis was a slam dunk. He’s coming paid, that was a big win and he should add some much needed depth to off a down year and that may be a bad sign at his age, but he’s had a the lineup. steady career of posting elite results next to Roman Josi. He’s the exact 6. Vancouver Canucks help Ivan Provorov needs on the top pair and the Flyers didn’t pay much to acquire him. Wins Added: 2.3 wins It was their best move, but they had a couple of other solid ones too. Salary Added: -$4.8 million Keith Yandle was a solid depth bet considering he posted decent numbers in a sheltered role while also adding some power play value. In: Conor Garland, Jason Dickinson, Jaroslav Halak, Brad Hunt, Oliver He’s basically the new Shayne Gostisbehere at one-fifth the cost. Ekman-Larsson, Philip di Giuseppe, Justin Dowling, Tucker Poolman, Despite his reputation, Martin Jones is still probably a better bet for Luke Schenn backup over Brian Elliott. And while Cam Atkinson isn’t as good as Jakub Out: Nate Schmidt, Alex Edler, Braden Holtby, Jalen Chatfield, Antoine Voracek, the move cleared needed cap space for this year while adding Roussel, Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle a shooting element to the group.

Vancouver’s front office had a tough job to do this summer: Get better for And then there was the Rasmus Ristolainen trade. I’m still not sure why it next year and clear cap space in order to have room for star RFAs Elias cost that much to acquire him, but here’s how he affects the bottom line: Pettersson and Quinn Hughes. Those two paths don’t normally correlate zero wins added, $5.4 million salary added. The Flyers would be in the so it is impressive that the Canucks were able to add 2.3 wins worth of same spot with or without him. value while shedding nearly $5 million off the books for next season. 9. Toronto Maple Leafs

Vancouver ditched three awful contracts in Antoine Roussel, Loui Wins Added: 1.1 wins Eriksson and Jay Beagle and shipped out the inefficient Nate Schmidt to make most of that happen. Up front, Conor Garland is a seriously good Salary Added: -$5.9 million addition who really beefs up the top six, while Jason Dickinson is a strong defensive-minded third-line center who gives the team some In: Petr Mrazek, Michael Bunting, Nick Ritchie, Ondrej Kase, David serious depth at the position. Add an upgrade in net at a discount and the Kampf Canucks do look better. Out: Zach Hyman, Nick Foligno, David Rittich, Frederik Andersen, Zach But that came at a tremendous cost to the team’s future cap, kicking the Bogosian can further down the road for short-term gain – a likely gambit to save I didn’t expect to see the Leafs here after losing Hyman who the model Jim Benning’s job. Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s contract, even with salary loves, but then the team went out and signed a couple of model breakers retained, is one of the very worst contracts in hockey. Taking it on was while making some OK depth bets. not worth getting Garland and clearing the three awful contracts off the books (all of which expire next summer). Especially since it meant trading Toronto added Petr Mrazek to replace Frederik Andersen and he adds ninth overall. Ekman-Larsson’s numbers fell off a cliff last year and it’s more wins at a cheaper price. Mrazek’s expected goals saved rate over been a long time since he’s played at a top pair level. the last two years is third in the league while Andersen’s is 11th worst. The model is a big fan of that swap, but Mrazek has only played 52 He doesn’t move the needle enough and while the team improved games over that stretch and his goals saved above average numbers overall, the defence looks like it may be one of the league’s worst. That are, well, only average. He’s likely not as good as projected. the team signed Tucker Poolman to a four-year deal is just icing on the cake. It all shows that even if the team can clear space, they don’t know Same goes for Michael Bunting, who went on a shooting bender over 21 how to use it. games, scoring 10 goals. The model regresses as much as it can but still views him as a one-win player after that. It’s a good bet at the price he 7. Detroit Red Wings went for, but another player where the model is overrating the effect.

Wins Added: 2.2 wins 10. Winnipeg Jets Wins Added: 0.7 wins The Canadiens finish in the upper half of this list, but only because it doesn’t take into account that the team is also losing Tomas Tatar and Salary Added: -$0.7 million Shea Weber for next season. With Phillip Danault gone that’s two-thirds In: Nate Schmidt, Brenden Dillon, Riley Nash of the top line and a top pairing defenceman which will not be easy to replace. Add Corey Perry to that list and it’s a number of major pieces Out: Laurent Brossoit, Mason Appleton, Mathieu Perreault, Trevor Lewis, from the Cup Final run that are no longer playing for the team. Derek Forbort, Nate Thompson, Tucker Poolman Montreal’s additions help a little bit, but not quite enough in what will be a The Jets desperately needed to address their defence corps and they did very tough division. Mike Hoffman can shoot the puck, but anything else so in two key ways. The first was addition by subtraction, letting Tucker is a struggle. On this Montreal team that has plenty of play-drivers he Poolman and Derek Forbort walk in free agency. Then they swung two might do OK, but he’s still a frustrating addition. Perreault and David trades to acquire Nate Schmidt and Brenden Dillon, two defencemen with Savard were once analytics darlings, but don’t currently move the needle actual top-four upside. It’s a big upgrade. as much.

Losing Mason Appleton, Mathieu Perreault and Laurent Brossoit does It’s just not enough at all to replace what the team has lost. nullify some of that, though. Appleton is a strong third line forechecker, Perreault has always been a play-driver and Brossoit was a very capable 15. Ottawa Senators backup. The Jets come out ahead overall, but they now have a couple of Wins Added: -0.8 wins new holes still left to fill. Salary Added: -$5.8 million 11. Columbus Blue Jackets In: Nick Holden, Michael Del Zotto Wins Added: 0.1 wins Out: Evgenii Dadonov, Ryan Dzingel, Derek Stepan Salary Added: $0.0 million The only item of note from Ottawa’s offseason is that the Senators In: Jakub Voracek, Adam Boqvist, Jake Bean, Sean Kuraly effectively cut salary. Evgenii Dadonov just wasn’t cutting it with the Out: Cam Atkinson, Seth Jones, Michael Del Zotto, Riley Nash Senators and was shipped out after one season. The team is worse, but not by much. The Blue Jackets made some serious noise at the draft, signalling a rebuild is on the way. But, really, the team is about as good as it was 16. Washington Capitals beforehand without spending anything extra. Columbus did a lot and the Wins Added: -1.3 wins end result is just a different look. Salary Added: -$4.3 million There were two big trades that inform most of the wins added number. Up front, the team got the better forward between Voracek and Atkinson. In: On defence they may have traded the better player, but the difference between Jones and Boqvist may not be that wide next season Out: Brenden Dillon, Craig Anderson, Michael Raffl considering the age of both players. The model may be very wrong about The Capitals almost lost goaltender Vitek Vanecek through the Jones, but for now that’s what it projects. expansion process, but traded back for him to lessen any offseason 12. St. Louis Blues damage. It was mostly a quiet one for Washington, but the Capitals did trade Brenden Dillon which accounts for much of the value lost here. He Wins Added: -0.4 wins should be able to be replaced internally which means the team shed some decent salary while likely not missing a beat this season. Salary Added: -$1.2 million 17. Boston Bruins In: Pavel Buchnevich, Brandon Saad Wins Added: -0.9 wins Out: Jaden Schwartz, Vince Dunn, Mike Hoffman, Sammy Blais Salary Added: $6.4 million We’re still waiting on a Vladimir Tarasenko trade that will likely push them down this list. For now, they should be grateful to only be down minus- In: Linus Ullmark, Nick Foligno, Erik Haula, Tomas Nosek, Derek Forbort 0.4 wins considering they’ve only added two players and lost four. Out: David Krejci, Nick Ritchie, Jaroslav Halak, Ondrej Kase, Jeremy The Pavel Buchnevich trade was a gift though as the team essentially Lauzon, Kevan Miller, Sean Kuraly, Jarred Tinordi added a top line talent (and potential Tarasenko replacement) for a fourth-line grinder. That and the addition of Brandon Saad more than A lot of changes for Boston, but the biggest is definitely David Krejci covers the losses of Jaden Schwartz and Mike Hoffman. At forward, the leaving to play in the Czech Republic. He’s been a staple on this team for Blues upgraded. over a decade and his departure leaves a massive hole in the team’s second line center spot that I don’t think Charlie Coyle can fill. Losing Vince Dunn to the expansion draft does hurt, though, and that’s what takes St. Louis into the negatives. Dunn had a down season, but he He’s the biggest reason the Bruins lose value this summer and the still carries top four potential and will be difficult to replace. team’s four new skater additions don’t really fill the void. Nick Foligno might be washed, Erik Haula and Tomas Nosek don’t move the needle 13. Anaheim Ducks and Derek Forbort is just a warm body for the backend.

Wins Added: -0.5 wins It would look a lot worse too if Tuukka Rask was included. There’s no certainty in that situation, but the fact the team signed Linus Ullmark feels Salary Added: -$3.2 million pretty telling. That’s a likely downgrade and if accounting for Rask In: leaving, the Bruins fall comfortably into the bottom 10 of this list.

Out: Danton Heinen, Haydn Fleury, Andy Welinski 18. Dallas Stars

The Ducks added no one of note (unless you count Greg Pateryn) and Wins Added: -0.9 wins lost a few low valued depth pieces. Not much to see here. Salary Added: $2.5 million

14. Montreal Canadiens In: Ryan Suter, Braden Holtby, Michael Raffl, Jani Hakanpaa, Luke Wins Added: -0.7 wins Glendening

Salary Added: -$2.6 million Out: Jamie Oleksiak, Jason Dickinson, Mark Pysyk, Andrew Cogliano, Justin Dowling In: Mike Hoffman, Mathieu Perreault, David Savard, Cedric Paquette A lot more changes than meets the eye and overall the Stars are a little Out: Phillip Danault, Jon Merrill, Corey Perry, Cale Fleury bit worse off. Ryan Suter should replace Jamie Oleksiak fine in the top four, but that is In: Evgenii Dadonov, Laurent Brossoit, Nolan Patrick, Brett Howden far from true of Luke Glendening for Jason Dickinson. The latter is a very strong defensive-minded center who actually gets results worthy of the Out: Marc-Andre Fleury, Nick Holden, Tomas Nosek, Cody Glass, Ryan role while the former wins a lot of faceoffs and gets badly out-chanced on Reaves the regular. After several seasons of offseason improvement Vegas took a step back Those two swaps are the difference here, though the team did also add this summer in order to cut costs. That meant trading Marc-Andre Fleury, Braden Holtby which I found odd and interesting. Dallas already had the mistreated face of the franchise who just won the Vezina Trophy. For NHL-calibre goalies on the roster, plus Ben Bishop on injured reserve. nothing but cap space. Holtby’s addition may signify Bishop’s health is still in question, but if he’s Considering the team’s tight financials, it felt like a necessary evil to healthy what happens? And is Jake Oettinger just supposed to go back alleviate the cap crunch, but to see that space used on Evgenii Dadonov to the AHL now? It all seemed so strange. felt like a slap in the face. He’s a hugely declining asset that’s not worth 19. Florida Panthers his current deal. He gives the team some forward depth down the wing, but that doesn’t come close to replacing the value Fleury brought to the Wins Added: -1.0 wins team.

Salary Added: -$14.4 million In the end, the Golden Knights lost nearly two wins of value in the process, but only saved $3.7 million. That’s not good enough. In: Sam Reinhart 23. Tampa Bay Lightning Out: Chris Driedger, Keith Yandle, Alex Wennberg, Anton Stralman Wins Added: -2.5 wins Three key players leaving, but one big upgrade should make it all worthwhile in Florida – especially as the other two can be replaced from Salary Added: -$21.0 million within. In: Corey Perry, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Zach Bogosian, Brian Elliott Florida passed on Alex Wennberg’s exorbitant contract in free agency after a shooting percentage tinged season and in turn traded for a much Out: Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman, Tyler Johnson, Barclay Goodrow, more effective option. Sam Reinhart has long been a legitimate top six David Savard, Cedric Paquette, Luke Schenn, Mitchell Stephens talent and came into his own last year when switched to center. He’s the We all knew it would be a painful summer for the defending back-to-back fit this team has been looking for behind Aleksander Barkov for a long Stanley Cup champions as they would need to shed a lot of money. while. Gone is the entire second line from the Cup wins, Yanni Gourde to The model likes Chris Driedger and Yandle a fair bit which is why there’s expansion and Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow to free agency. The a pretty big win discrepancy, but Spencer Knight should replace Driedger latter two’s new salaries just weren’t something Tampa Bay could afford. fine while Yandle’s main value comes from the power play where the The same applies for David Savard. All that still wasn’t enough and the team is in good hands with Aaron Ekblad or MacKenzie Weegar. In other Lightning also had to trade Tyler Johnson, with a sweetener to make it words, Florida should be a better team next year. Losing Anton Stralman happen. also does help with that. The end result is $21 million less in 2021-22 dollars, the most of any 20. Calgary Flames team. Despite that, the team didn’t end up losing all that much value Wins Added: -1.3 wins given the circumstances. Eight other teams did worse and didn’t save nearly as much. Even with all the turnover, the Lightning should remain Salary Added: -$1.3 million an elite team next season.

In: Blake Coleman, Tyler Pitlick, Nikita Zadorov, Andy Welinski, Trevor 24. Pittsburgh Penguins Lewis Wins Added: -2.7 wins Out: Mark Giordano, Derek Ryan, Josh Leivo, Dominik Simon Salary Added: -$6.3 million Blake Coleman was a great add for Calgary, a power forward with the ability to play in the top six. But the Flames aren’t a better team after this In: Danton Heinen, Brock McGinn, Dominik Simon offseason because they haven’t been able to replace what they lost in Out: Jared McCann, Brandon Tanev, Frederick Gaudreau, Cody Ceci expansion: captain Mark Giordano. That’s a huge hole to fill on the blue line and Nikita Zadorov isn’t the guy to fill it. Giordano was still a No. 1 Pittsburgh’s biggest loss was in the expansion draft where the Penguins calibre defenceman last year creating a void on the team’s blue line. were basically the only team that had two quality players pried away. The Coleman makes the Flames better up front, but it’s not to cover up that Penguins couldn’t protect both Jared McCann and Brandon Tanev, so loss. they traded one away and let Seattle take the other.

21. New York Islanders It was a cap-clearing move, and in the case of Tanev a savvy one given his contract, but it made the team a lot worse in the short term. Tanev is Wins Added: -1.7 wins a quality third-line winger and McCann showed last year he was a Salary Added: -$9.6 million legitimate top six calibre player. Frederick Gaudreau was a very cheap internal option that could’ve helped alleviate those losses, but he also left In: Richard Panik in free agency.

Out: Jordan Eberle, Nick Leddy The incoming players aren’t very exciting with none of the three forwards moving the needle much. All three grade out as fourth line calibre. The Islanders have been extremely quiet so far, with not a peep coming out of their front office about some of their free agents that needed to be 25. Buffalo Sabres signed or even rumoured additions like Zach Parise. Things could look a lot different by the time everything gets announced, but for now the team Wins Added: -3.0 wins is slightly worse (but much more cap flexible) thanks to losing Jordan Salary Added: -$2.9 million Eberle to expansion and trading away Nick Leddy. Eberle is the big loss as he’s still a capable second line calibre winger, but that could be In: Will Butcher, Mark Pysyk, Vinnie Hinostroza, Robert Hagg, John alleviated by resigning Palmieri and adding Parise. Either way, the Hayden, Craig Anderson, Aaron Dell Islanders offseason is obviously incomplete so it’s tough to fully judge. Out: Sam Reinhart, Linus Ullmark, Jake McCabe, William Borgen, 22. Vegas Golden Knights Rasmus Ristolainen

Wins Added: -1.9 wins The Sabres are a worse team true talent-wise than they were to end the season and that doesn’t even include the impending Eichel trade that will Salary Added: -$3.7 million only drop their wins added further down. This team has limited short term hope so getting worse is the right play here as the rebuild starts over. Buffalo earned some amazing draft capital in the Ristolainen and Out: Philipp Grubauer, Joonas Donskoi, Brandon Saad, Ryan Graves, Reinhart deals, though losing Linus Ullmark for nothing does hurt. Conor Timmins, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Patrik Nemeth

26. Minnesota Wild The Avalanche had some gigantic contracts to sign this summer and paid the price to fit those pieces in. Losing starting goaltender Philipp Wins Added: -2.5 wins Grubauer is the biggest loss for the team by far, but the next five players Salary Added: -$3.6 million were also important contributors too. Joonas Donskoi and Brandon Saad were excellent in the middle six, Ryan Graves was mostly great in a top In: Frederick Gaudreau, Alex Goligoski, Jon Merrill, Dmitry Kulikov four role, Conor Timmins is coming into his own and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare is a strong fourth-line defensive center. It’ll be very tough to Out: Ryan Suter, Carson Soucy, Nick Bonino, Brad Hunt, Ian Cole replace all of that and it’s why Colorado has a huge win offseason deficit. It was a shock to see Ryan Suter bought out by Minnesota (salary added Two of the players, Darren Helm and Kurtis MacDermid, really obfuscate is based on his new deal’s price tag). The Wild needed the space and it things because they carry huge negative value, but the other two do help. figured they would do it to Parise (not accounted for above), but Suter Darcy Kuemper is no Grubauer, but when healthy has had some strong still had game. That’s a tough spot to fill in the top four, especially as the numbers for the Coyotes. Same goes for Ryan Murray, although his play natural internal replacement, Carson Soucy, was drafted by Seattle. did dip from his Columbus days. There’s no one to replace the two Those are two big losses and suddenly Minnesota’s blue line isn’t that forwards lost and that’s the biggest issue, but Colorado is obviously deep. Bonino is an underrated loss on top of that. hoping that can be done from within. The players Minnesota acquired are solid, but none can replace what 30. Carolina Hurricanes was lost. Alex Goligoski has potential to fill Suter’s shoes, but it’s a tough gamble. And while Jon Merrill and Dmitry Kulikov should make a Wins Added: -6.0 wins cromulent bottom pair, neither are on Soucy’s level. The Wild surprised everyone last season, but they look likely to take a step back in 2021-22. Salary Added: -$12.1 million

27. New York Rangers In: Tony DeAngelo, Antti Raanta, Ian Cole, Josh Leivo, Ethan Bear, Derek Stepan, Frederik Andersen, Jalen Chatfield, Brendan Smith Wins Added: -3.6 wins Out: Dougie Hamilton, Petr Mrazek, Alex Nedeljkovic, James Reimer, Salary Added: $1.1 million Warren Foegele, Brock McGinn, Morgan Geekie, Jani Hakanpaa, Jake Bean In: Barclay Goodrow, Dryden Hunt, Sammy Blais, Patrik Nemeth, Ryan Reaves, Jarred Tinordi A terrible offseason showing both on and off the ice. I previously defended Carolina for not being as cheap as its reputation, but the major Out: Pavel Buchnevich, Tony DeAngelo, Colin Blackwell, Philipp di offseason moves reek of frugality. Giuseppe, Brendan Smith, Brett Howden Carolina had a Norris-level defenceman on its team in Dougie Hamilton, No team had a more baffling offseason as the front office seems to have and let him walk to a division rival despite a more than reasonable gone all-in on the tougher to play against mandate. The Rangers spent contract signed. The team is betting Tony DeAngelo can help fill that void an extra $1.1 million to be nearly four wins worse. Not a single player and while that technically may be true on the power play, it very much brought in is a significant needle mover and that includes Barclay was not worth the off-ice cost given how problematic DeAngelo has been Goodrow who will look much worse when not playing next to Gourde and for much of his career. Coleman. Ryan Reaves, at this stage of his career, hurts much more than he helps while neither Sammy Blais nor Patrik Nemeth offers much In net, the Hurricanes had a three-headed beast all season and now value above replacement. have none of the above (and it’s worth noting the value lost there is inflated from using all three goalies on their new teams). I can see the It’s a whole pile of nothing but toughness. It has a place, but the Rangers argument for moving on from Mrazek and Reimer, but the Nedeljkovic should prefer players who are actually good on top of being in tough, like trade was off-putting. That’s now even more true considering the team’s Wilson, to solve their Wilson problem. They overpaid to curb a hyper- goaltending tandem replacement of Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta fixation on one player and arguably set the team back to do it. looks far worse for only $300,000 in savings. The Rangers should still be in the playoff mix after this, they had a strong The rest doesn’t matter too much, but those two decisions make Carolina base to begin with, but they didn’t make things any easier for themselves look a lot worse going into next season. Cheaper, but worse. The front trading away Pavel Buchnevich. That’s a legitimate top line forward office, which deserves the benefit of the doubt, is betting the effect won’t traded for a low pick and someone who hits. Great work. be nearly as much as advertised. 28. Nashville Predators 31. Arizona Coyotes Wins Added: -4.0 wins Wins Added: -8.0 wins Salary Added: -$10.3 million Salary Added: -$3.4 million In: David Rittich, Philippe Myers, Cody Glass, Matt Luff In: Shayne Gostisbehere, Ryan Dzingel, Conor Timmins, Antoine Out: Ryan Ellis, Viktor Arvidsson, Calle Jarnkrok, Erik Haula, Pekka Roussel, Loui Eriksson, Anton Stralman, Jay Beagle Rinne Out: Conor Garland, Darcy Kuemper, Michael Bunting, Adin Hill, Antti The rebuild is officially on with the team trading away Ryan Ellis and Raanta, Alex Goligoski, Dryden Hunt, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jordan Viktor Arvidsson, though the package for the former was thoroughly Oesterle, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, John Hayden underwhelming. Philippe Myers and Cody Glass don’t look like they’ll be In terms of greatest tank battles, the Coyotes are definitely in the lead impact NHLers given their current trajectory leaving Nashville with not after their offseason. They shipped every goalie out, their best forward, much to show for a top pair defenceman. Given the market for those this and lost several other key pieces including most of their blue line. Aside summer, it felt like a huge misstep. from Shayne Gostsibehere (who should receive new life in Arizona), no Losing Calle Jarnkrok to expansion also hurts the team’s bottom line and one Arizona brought in really moves the needle either. barring some major bounce-backs for key forwards, Nashville looks a lot In return, Arizona took in a hefty pile of draft capital, but also the worse than it did a couple months ago in the playoffs. It’ll be difficult to knowledge that this new rebuild can start on the right note with a very get back there now. high draft choice. After the offseason they had, the Coyotes look like 29. Colorado Avalanche they’ll be in the running for worst team in the NHL.

Wins Added: -4.3 wins

Salary Added: -$13.6 million The Athletic LOADED: 08.06.2021

In: Darcy Kuemper, Ryan Murray, Darren Helm, Kurtis MacDermid 1219118 Websites During the Canucks’ dismal descent to the bottom of the standings in 2021 after their playoff breakthrough the previous summer, there were a few reports and a lot of conjecture about unhappiness among players, especially about the perceived lack of communication within the Sportsnet.ca / Edler excited for new challenge, but still coming to grips organization during the team’s frightening P.1-variant outbreak in April. with Canucks exit “I don't have any bad feelings toward Vancouver,” Edler said. “I have had so many good years there. I have so many things to thank them for. I get it, there's always a business side to hockey. It depends what situation the Iain MacIntyre@imacSportsnet team is in and ... what you can offer players and what their roles will be, August 5, 2021, 6:42 PM things like that. But the decision was mine. I just felt like it was time, I think, for me and my family to try something new. Me personally as a hockey player, I think I needed something new.”

VANCOUVER – For nearly half of his life – and all of his adulthood – After the July 23 trade with Arizona, it was clear that Edler wasn’t coming Alex Edler has returned to Vancouver from Sweden each summer to get back to the Canucks for a 16th season. The only surprise in free agency ready for hockey season. is that he didn’t find a team with a realistic chance at winning the Stanley Cup next season, but chose a young Kings’ team still trying to emerge Later this month, he’ll return so he can get ready to leave. from its rebuild. The 35-year-old defenceman said the reality of leaving the Vancouver “I'm not in a position where I could just pick any team I want,” Edler said. Canucks, the team that drafted him in 2004 and two years later gave him “There was some interest from teams. his first of 1,007 National Hockey League games, won’t seem real until he returns to the city in August and starts packing up his house for the “The reason why I had picked L.A. is just they showed a lot of interest move next season to the Los Angeles Kings. and they really wanted me, and they saw how I would fit in there and how I would have a big role, and also helping out with some of their young After announcing through agent Mark Stowe that he planned to explore defencemen. They really showed interest and really believed in me, and I free agency for the first time in his career, Edler signed a one-year think that was a big part. And, obviously, it's also a decision for the whole contract to play in Los Angeles last week. family. I think that weighed in a little bit, too, with the city and everything.” Right now, he told Sportsnet in an interview from Stockholm, the change Although he said he wants to play “as long as possible” and doesn’t rule doesn’t seem real. out anything beyond next season, Edler’s final game for Vancouver was “Definitely weird,” he said. “I've been there my whole career, haven't a 4-2 home win against the Calgary Flames on May 18. seen anything else. I think it's going to feel even more weird when I come Goal-less for the season and stuck at 99 regular-season markers in his back to Vancouver. Being in Sweden, you're kind of away from career, Edler briefly had the puck late in the game with Flames’ net everything, so I don't think it has really sunken in yet that I'm not going empty. But Edler made a play out of his zone, and teammate Brock back to the Canucks, that I'm trying something new. That's going to feel Boeser eventually scored into the empty net. weird. But the whole family, we're excited to try something new and move to L.A. I'm excited to play there and we're all kind of excited to live there. “I don't know if I had an opportunity to even try (for the open net), but I It's a mixed feeling. It's definitely going to be sad to leave Vancouver.” just remember Boeser taking a lot of heat from the other guys for not giving it to me,” Edler said. “But I don't think he even had an opportunity It may be weird for the Canucks, too, when they open training camp in to do that. That goal never came, but that’s OK. It's kind of weird to go a September without Edler, who not only was their longest-serving player, whole season without getting one goal. Something usually goes in. But but has been a key fixture on defence almost since he arrived in 2006 the fact that it was No. 100, no, that doesn't matter to me. It’s just a after a meteoric rise from a beer league in Northern Sweden from which number.” he was plucked by Vancouver scout Thomas Gradin. Here are some others for Edler as a Canuck: 925 regular-season games, Edler wore Gradin’s old number, 23, from the day he arrived in plus another 82 in the playoffs, 409 points, 1,431 hits, 1,758 blocks, November 2006 and played in a 3-2 road loss to the Colorado average time on ice of 22:54, 575 wins during his 15 seasons. Avalanche, for whom Joe Sakic was the captain, not the general manager. Edler’s original Vancouver teammates included long-retired “I don't really know anything else,” Edler said of playing for the Canucks. Canuck icons Markus Naslund, Mattias Ohlund and Trevor Linden. “There's not enough things I can say (about) just how thankful I am for everything, not only the actual organization, but the whole city and how In theory, the Canucks’ decision in July to acquire Oliver Ekman-Larsson good I've felt there with my family. It's a great city, they have great fans. and the risk of $43.6-million owing on his contract from the Arizona There's so many good memories from there. Being there for so long ... Coyotes should be a lineup upgrade for Vancouver. Ekman-Larsson is it's always going to be a home for me and my family. Maybe we'll settle 30. Could his next five years be as good as Edler’s last five years, over down there after my career, I don't know. But Vancouver has been great the same age span? Sure. to us.” But Vancouver is also losing a navigation marker in Edler, a steadying He was great for the Canucks, too. and dependable influence on all the players around him.

Until Stowe went on Rick Dhaliwal’s and Don Taylor’s television show last month to prepare the market for Edler’s exit, the defenceman had Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 08.06.2021 always insisted he wanted to be a Canuck for life. His wife, Amanda, is from Vancouver. This is the only home their daughters, Emme, 7, and River, 4, have known.

Canuck general manager Jim Benning put a contract in front of Edler. He could have stayed, but didn’t.

What changed?

“I kind of just felt like I wanted to try something new,” Edler said. “I felt like, I think, I kind of needed it for myself. Maybe last year might have helped that part too — just not feeling like I had that much fun. It was a different year, with no fans and COVID. It was more my decision, my family's decision, that we wanted to try something new.”

Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what they think about it. 1219119 Websites identify if we have some needs going forward that we may have to have some changes as well.”

2. Kyle Palmieri Sportsnet.ca / NHL’s Top 10 UFAs remaining: Latest rumours, reports Age: 30

Position: Right wing / Left wing Luke Fox@lukefoxjukebox 2020-21 salary cap hit: $4.65 million August 5, 2021, 2:58 PM Rental piece Palmieri’s two goals in 17 regular-season games for the Islanders underwhelmed, but he exploded for seven more in the post- season. A whopping 243 players have scribbled their autograph on contracts worth a silly $988,121,625 through the first five days of the NHL’s open All reports point to Palmieri staying put on the Island. The belief is that a season on free agents. long-term deal has already been agreed to… but GM Lou Lamoriello hasn’t announced a thing. (Mike Hoffman, Blake Coleman, Jaden And yet, more than few notable athletes remain without employment for Schwartz and Boone Jenner could serve as comparables.) the 2021-22 season. Lamoriello must also compensate key RFAs Anthony Beauvillier and General managers will need to bargain harder, and jobless players may Adam Pelech this summer, and he may be exploring a Vladimir need to lower their asking prices, but there are still gems — or at least Tarasenko trade as well. Perhaps he doesn’t want agents to know how worthy gambles and depth additions — to be unearthed from 2021’s UFA much cap space he has left. class after the July 28’s frenzy. With Jordan Eberle now a Kraken, New York needs some dependability We round up the rumours and assess the value of the free agents who on its wing. are taking a more patient approach this summer (in some cases, that’s even by choice) and are still up for grabs in August. 3. Casey Cizikas

More from Sportsnet Age: 30

31-thoughts-podcast Position: Centre

31 Thoughts Podcast: Recapping free agency with a thought on all 32 2020-21 salary cap hit: $3.35 million teams The pivot of the New York Islanders’ crash-and-bang identity line drew a Sportsnet Staff healthy amount of interest from the competition, with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Seattle Kraken, Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks all reportedly NHL's Top 10 RFAs of 2021: Latest rumours and reports exploring a signing.

Luke Fox A career-long Islander, Cizikas has apparently shook hands on a multi- year deal to remain on the Islander. Like Palmieri, we’re still awaiting an 1. Tuukka Rask announcement. Age: 34 There is also speculation that Lamoriello will sign sudden UFA Zach Position: Goaltender Parise, whose price should be more modest.

2020-21 salary cap hit: $7 million 4. Jason Demers

The question isn’t whether Rask — a Vezina-winning, Cup-winning, Age: 33 Jennings-winning stud — is deserving of a rich, new short-term contract. Position: Defence The question is whether his body is up for one. 2020-21 salary cap hit: $4.5 million Rask openly pondered 2021 retirement this past season and drew criticism in some (unkind) circles for departing the playoff bubble early to Right-shot defencemen were scooped up fast and furious on July 28, but attend to a family matter. this former Coyotes blueliner and steady, stay-at-home veteran is still available. He underwent surgery on a torn hip labrum in late July and won’t be ready to play until January or February. If and/or when he straps on the Demers only registered four assists in 2021, but he’s still logging more pads again, Rask only sees it being in Boston. than 17 minutes a night and driving play north despite starting the majority of his shifts in the D-zone. "I'm not going to play for anyone else than the Bruins. This is our home," Rask said on June 11. Another $4.5-million payday is unlikely, but some team will scoop him up.

“At this point of my life and my career, I don't see any reason to go 5. Marcus Johansson anywhere else, especially with the health I'm looking at now and a recovery time of five or six months. Hopefully it works out that I recover Age: 30 well, and we can talk about contracts when the time is right for that.” Position: Centre / Wing The Bruins’ crease is already in overhaul mode, with Jaroslav Halak 2020-21 salary cap hit: $4.5 million (Vancouver) and Dan Vladar (Calgary) moving on. A 20-goal, 50-point asset for Washington before concussions and a slew Expect Rask’s situation to simmer on the back burner, as the B’s roll into of sweater changes derailed his career, the versatile Swede is the type of 2021-22 with a young, fresh tandem of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy gamble that should be worth a short-term gamble. Swayman. Fans in Boston, New Jersey and Pittsburgh are among those suggesting “We needed to be prepared and allow Tuukka all the time he needs to their GM take a flyer on this useful utility forward. get healthy. He just had surgery, spoke to him this morning, doing very well,” GM Don Sweeney said after signing Ullmark in free agency. Johansson scored just six goals and eight assists for the Wild in 2021, but he was primarily used in defensive situations. “We’ve always left the door open for Tuukka to return. And I think it just allows Jeremy to continue to progress at a natural rate but also give him 6. Nikita Gusev the opportunity to be at the NHL level. Age: 29 “When you’re trying to be a competitive team, you have to have depth. We felt that the last two playoffs, and we came up short. Now we’re trying Position: Right wing / Left wing to make sure that we’ve got the most competitive team we can, and 2020-21 salary cap hit: $1 million Age: 25

A right shot capable of playing either wing, Gusev made some noise in Position: Centre / Left wing 2019-20 when he finally left the KHL, scoring 13 goals and 44 points in 66 games for a bad Devils squad. 2018-19 salary cap hit: $1.9 million

The Russian's '21 campaign was split between New Jersey and Florida. Rare that 25-year-old NHL centres appear on the open market. But with His shooting percentage dropped, and he failed to find his groove in the San Jose Sharks trading for Donato in 2020 and not deeming the either lineup. forward worth a qualifying offer in 2021, here we are.

Gusev is only 29. He should have some game left, and he's garnered The Boston native is coming off back-to-back 20-point seasons in some interest on the market. Does he give the NHL another shot, or shortened campaigns are should be able to find a bottom-six niche in the return to the KHL? league.

7. Travis Zajac But with a non-playoff club like the Sharks taking a pass, Donato's bargaining power has taken a hit. A short-term, low-money gamble could Age: 36 help Donato rejuvenate his career and wouldn't be a bad gamble for clubs looking for depth up the middle. Position: Centre Donato was drafted by his hometown Bruins back in 2014 and is already 2020-21 salary cap hit: $5.75 million looking to join his fourth franchise.

Like so many other veteran Islanders who are technically unrestricted free agents, there is a quiet assumption that bottom-six centreman Zajac may have a deal in principle to return to the Eastern Conference finalists. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 08.06.2021

At this stage in a career, Zajac should be signing a one-year contract near the league minimum.

Despite seeing his 1,000th game drift in the rear-view mirror, the durable Zajac can still play.

He’ll kill penalties, chip in a bit of offence (20 points in 46 games in 2021), and remains an excellent faceoff asset, with a career 53.8 per cent success rate in the dot.

8. Sami Vatanen

Age: 30

Position: Defence

2020-21 salary cap hit: $2 million

My how Vatanen’s stock has fallen since his days as an emerging Anaheim Duck. The right-shot D-man still has some offensive upside and could thrive in third-pairing minutes.

Bouncing from Anaheim to New Jersey to Carolina to New Jersey to Dallas over the past four seasons, there is still belief that if Vatanen finds the proper fit, he could resurrect his career and celebrate his 500th game this upcoming season.

Righties are tough to come by.

9. Zdeno Chara

Age: 44

Position: Defence

2020-21 salary cap hit: $795,000

The oldest and tallest man in the NHL hasn't retired yet, so it remains unknown if his career ended in a handshake line against the Boston Bruins or if he'll give it another go on a one-year, team-friendly contract.

“Z is in Slovakia spending time with family. He is working out hard and leaving all of his options open. There is no rush on anything with him," Chara's agent, Matt Keator, told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.

Last season, Chara didn't sign with the Washington Capitals until about a week before training camp. If he's interested, we're certain a few GMs will kick tires at a third-pairing leader and excellent penalty killer.

During Chara's season-ending Zoom call, he was unsure if he’d play a 24th season.

“This season didn’t end the way we wanted, but that’s life,” Chara said.

“You have to move on. As far as myself and my future, I’m probably going to take a few days to talk to my family and make decisions after. I think that, obviously, it’s not always a decision I can make myself. Sometimes there are things in life you have to realize. I have to have those conversations with my wife and my children and see where we’re going to be in the next two days or weeks. After those conversations, I’ll probably let those emotions settle in and see where I’m at.”

10. Ryan Donato 1219120 Websites The 10-team tournament, which has Canada in Group A with Finland, ROC (Russian Olympic Committee), Switzerland and the United States, will run from Aug. 20-31. Group B teams include the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary and Japan. All games will be played at Canada women’s worlds roster heavy on youth WinSport Arena in Canada Olympic Park in Calgary.

Hockey Canada announced the 25 players who will represent Canada at the upcoming 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship from Aug. 20-31 By Salim Valji at WinSport Arena at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary.

Canada will play all of its preliminary-round games at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. It’s official. The next generation of Canadian women’s hockey players PT., with TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey have arrived on the world stage. Canada, carrying extensive game coverage and analysis throughout the tournament. TSN will broadcast all preliminary-round games, playoff On Thursday, Canada announced its roster for the upcoming IIHF games and medal games, while RDS will provide coverage of all Women’s World Hockey Championship in Calgary later this month after Canada’s games as well as playoff games. its 29-member centralization roster participated in a two-week development camp.

“It has been a challenging 16 months for our athletes and staff, but we TSN.CA LOADED: 08.06.2021 have never lost sight of our goal of competing for a world championship on home ice,” said director of hockey operations Gina Kingsbury. “We have had few opportunities to train together as a group, but our training camp has been high tempo and competitive. We are confident in our group; we are a team full of skill, youth and veteran leadership that will give us the best chance to compete for a gold medal beginning Aug. 20.”

Canada, which opens its preliminary round on Friday, Aug. 20, against Finland on TSN/RDS (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT), captured a bronze medal at the 2019 Women’s Worlds but hasn’t won gold since 2012. The 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Of the 25 players named to the 2021 team, eight will be making their world championship debuts. That includes a trio of young NCAA players in blueliner Ashton Bell and forwards Emma Maltais and Sarah Fillier. Canada’s trio of goalies include the returning Emerance Maschmeyer and Ann-Renée Desbiens, along with senior team newcomer Kristen Campbell.

Clearly, Hockey Canada feels that an injection of youth is needed to end the country’s nearly decade-long gold-medal drought at the tournament. Head coach Troy Ryan isn’t going to change the on-ice structure much, but wants his players to play quicker and possess the puck more.

“You’re just trying to weigh different options,” he said. “Who potentially looks good with who, but also just to give some different people an opportunity.”

There are also familiar veterans on the team, names like captain Marie- Phillip Poulin, Sarah Nurse, and Brianne Jenner. Rebecca Johnston will also suit up. The 31-year-old was cut from the 2019 team and then tore her Achilles while training last summer.

“Often times, it doesn’t matter what happens to you, it’s how you react to it,” Ryan said last week. “Rebecca has come back to the program and dealt with it to the best of her ability and came back and been a great addition to the program for sure. She’s highly skilled, plays the game the right way, plays with speed. We’re pretty happy with where she’s at right now given all that she’s dealt with.”

Forwards Jessie Eldridge, who made her debut with the senior team in the Feb. 2020 Rivalry Series versus the United States, and Julia Gosling, one of the youngest players on the centralization roster, did not make the team.

“One of the messages to the entire group was that we’ve been very confident and happy with both Julia and Jesse’s play to date, but we felt at this point we were going to go in a different direction,” Ryan said. “I’m very confident they’ll be back in the mix Sept. 1 and ready to join our team for centralization.”

That 29-player centralization roster will reunite after the Women’s Worlds to prepare for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

While the new additions could help, management could be overlooking other talented players not on the current centralization roster, particularly recent Patty Kazmaier (best female college hockey player) winners Daryl Watts and Loren Gabel.

“When I think about these athletes, I think of pure skill and goal scoring ability,” two-time Olympic gold medalist Cheryl Pounder told TSN this week. “Both Loren Gabel and Daryl Watts possess creativity. They don’t just play north-south, they play east-west. They have abilities to slow the game down.” 1219121 Websites pairing going forward. If we look at the last couple of seasons in which Giordano and Andersson played together, then isolate their performance when separated from one another, Giordano’s presence is palpable:

Is the Flames' defence good enough to reach the postseason? Even if you discount the goal numbers (the Flames were outscored 53 to 36 with the Giordano and Andersson pairing on, an .878 save percentage at issue here), it’s clear Giordano was driving the bus. That was true on two fronts: Giordano’s performance dramatically increased when moved By Travis Yost away from Andersson, and Calgary’s team performance suffered whenever Giordano was taking a breather.

Part two of our Seven Questions series heads to Calgary and an I attribute much of this to Giordano’s breakout and transition abilities as organization that’s been running on the treadmill of mediocrity for some both a skater and passer; the Flames' forecheck, which is quite good time now – not nearly good enough to compete for the Stanley Cup, but when it’s on its game, can recover pucks and drive offence to the heart of talented enough to steadily hunt postseason berths. the net.

It’s clear 2021-22 will be a pivotal season for the Flames’ core, if not That’s what made Giordano so valuable for so many years in Calgary. because of the under-performance from a season ago, then because of His ability to take the defensive burden and zone exit responsibilities off pressure from the salary cap. the forward group (and in some cases, even off his partner) unlocked a lot of what Calgary wanted to do in the transition. Giordano isn’t being Players the calibre of Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau will see replaced by another form of Giordano – he’s being replaced by a number contracts expire at the end of next season, and such an investment of internal (and up until now, lesser) options and a defensive defenceman would signal a belief in the core pieces of this roster to get over the in Zadorov. proverbial hump. This is a talented group. But it is reasonable to wonder if they will take a What’s particularly fascinating about this pressure cooker of a season step back in Giordano’s absence, and what that might mean for roster- ahead is the fact that this group is going to have to get over the hump building strategies over the long term. without face of the franchise Mark Giordano, the former captain having been selected by the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft. Another losing season in Calgary may drive calls for more change. But a season where Calgary’s younger core of defenders step up and deliver The loss of Giordano (and the prior loss of T.J. Brodie to the Maple Leafs could make Giordano but a memory and give Treliving the ammunition in unrestricted free agency) stripped the Flames of one of their team he needs to continue adding talent around this core group. strengths, a reliable first pairing that could be deployed against every level of competition.

Thus, our Calgary question is very simple: Is the Flames’ defence good TSN.CA LOADED: 08.06.2021 enough to get this team into the postseason once more?

Let’s start with the expected Flames depth chart on the back end for the approaching year, and their respective contributions – measured by Goals Above Replacement – over the past couple of seasons:

On the plus side of things, the Flames do have depth heading into next season, but some of that will be contingent on taking care of a bunch of restricted free agents. Nikita Zadorov, Oliver Kylington, Juuso Valimaki (10.2), and Connor Mackey are all in need of new deals this summer.

Zadorov is the biggest name of the group, his rights acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks last week for a third-round pick. Assuming Zadorov is extended, it’s likely he – along with Noah Hanifin, Rasmus Andersson, and Chris Tanev – will be playing a bulk of those top-four minutes against difficult competition.

Andersson is perhaps the most interesting; his sterling results two years ago transitioned him from depth option to reliable top-four option (playing more than 21 minutes a night), but with most of those minutes anchored to Giordano. Hanifin and Tanev were another regular top-four pairing last season and we should expect that trend to continue into next season.

Zadorov is more of a question mark. It seems likely he’ll be used in more of a shutdown-type of role, but if the Tanev-Hanifin pairing is sacred, the look and feel of Andersson’s next partner will be quite different.

That matters a great deal. It is true the Flames have depth. It is also true that their performance has been exceptionally dictated by the strength of the Giordano pairing (and the respective top-six forwards in front) driving scoring and winning games.

Over a three-year horizon, spanning significant minutes with both Brodie and Andersson, the Giordano pairing dominated at even strength. The rest of the group (a group, I point out, that included most of the other names in the defensive pool) fell underwater by the end of the 2020-21 season:

The Flames had to move on from Giordano at some point – 37-year-old defenders are already defying the aging curve in extraordinary fashion. But Calgary’s bet here is that Andersson was a part of the reason why their top pairing was so effective last year in transitioning the puck and sustaining pressure in the offensive zone; in other words, it wasn’t Giordano taking Andersson along for the ride.

Andersson looks like a promising player – he’s still just 24 and has started to show a bit of a scoring touch in the past couple of seasons as well. But there are reasons to be bearish about the effectiveness of this 1219122 Websites Kent Johnson would be a great fit alongside Perfetti Johnson seems ready for a prime-time role. The Michigan Wolverines

forward lined up at centre during the camp and was the star of the final 10 takeaways from Canada’s World Junior Summer Showcase game, recording two goals and three assists.

"He has great poise," noted Dave Cameron, Canada's head coach. "He sees the ice really well and distributes the puck really well, but also has a By Mark Masters sneaky shot too. Just real good offensive instincts and he wants the puck."

The fifth-overall pick in July's draft made a crafty play in overtime Hockey Canada wrapped up its summer development camp for under-18 Tuesday night drawing in two defenders and setting up fellow Blue and under-20 players in Tsuut'ina Nation, Alta., earlier this week. Here Jacket prospect Corson Ceulemans for the winning goal. are 10 takeaways as Team Canada gears up for the 2022 World Juniors in Edmonton and Red Deer. "Just entered the zone and tried to suck two guys to me," said Johnson. "Cooly was busting in there and I tossed it to space." Kaiden Guhle is ready to lead the way to redemption "His ability to find plays that other players might not find and create How long did it take Guhle to get over the 2-0 loss to Team USA in last something out of nothing, he's really special that way," Ceulemans said. year’s gold-medal game? Button's projected roster features a top line of Johnson between Perfetti "I don't think I'm over it yet," the Prince Albert Raiders defenceman and Hurricanes prospect Seth Jarvis. admitted. "Probably not a day where I don’t think about it. That was a pretty heartbreaking loss, even for the guys who weren't there. They still Johnson actually started the camp on a line with Perfetti and made an feel the pain. Any time you lose the gold medal the whole country feels immediate impression. it." "Super skilled," Perfetti observed following the first practice. "He can Guhle is eager for a shot at redemption and ready to take on a leadership really think the game. It was really fun to play with someone like that. I role. had never met him before, so it was nice to kind of put a face to his name." There are five players eligible to return for Team Canada, but Kings forward Quinton Byfield and Ducks defenceman Jamie Drysdale appear Johnson, Sillinger put on a show in wild camp finale likely to be in the National Hockey League and didn’t attend the summer camp. As a result, TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button says Guhle is It was the battle of the Blue Jackets prospects in the final game of his choice to wear the 'C' for Canada. The Canadiens prospect watched Hockey Canada's Summer Showcase. Cole Sillinger scored four goals Montreal's playoff run closely and was inspired by Shea Weber. for Team Dyck, but Kent Johnson responded with two goals and three assists, including a beautiful set-up on the overtime winner by fellow "That's the kind of leader I want to be like," Guhle said. "It looks like he Columbus pick Corson Ceulemans. doesn’t say a whole lot, but he does everything the right way and the guys follow him." Shane Wright envisions a big role

As one of three returning players at Hockey Canada’s summer camp, It was a relatively quiet camp for Wright, at least by his lofty standards, Kaiden Guhle is taking on a leadership role. The Prince Albert but the Kingston Frontenacs centre made it clear what his expectations defenceman is driven to avenge last year’s defeat in the gold medal are for the World Junior team. game. "I don’t think I’m over it yet," Guhle said. "Probably not a day "I feel like I can have a huge role," the 17-year-old said. "I have where I don’t think about it.” The Canadiens prospect was inspired by experience being at the [selection] camp last year and going through that how Shea Weber led Montreal to the Stanley Cup Final. and the U18s as well. I'm hoping to bring those experiences and be a Cole Perfetti's development was accelerated by professional experience leader."

With Byfield likely in Los Angeles, Perfetti may be Canada's only returnee Wright captained Canada to a gold medal at the World Under-18 up front. After settling for silver in the Edmonton bubble, the Jets Championship earlier this year producing 14 points in just five games. prospect spent the rest of the year playing with professionals, producing "For his age, he's almost a consummate pro now," said Ottawa 67's 26 points in 32 games with the in the American Hockey general manager James Boyd, who heads up Hockey Canada's League. management group. "He brings it every day. He's good in all three zones. Perfetti feels like a stronger and faster player now. For the level of the skill, you know, the attention to detail in all areas of ice is really, really impressive. He's mature beyond his years. The way he "Playing in the A, it kind of forces you," he explained. "If you're not carries himself, it's something to see." moving your feet and playing at a certain speed you're not going to be able to make plays or be able to keep up. I think naturally you just Wright, who received exceptional player status allowing him to suit up in develop being able to play at that high speed." the Ontario Hockey League at age 15, scored 39 goals in 58 games as a rookie with Kingston. Perfetti, who will turn 20 on Jan. 1, also benefitted from being part of Canada's gold-medal run at the World Championship in Latvia. "The thing about Shane is he's always been playing up one, two and in some cases three age groups, so it's not foreign to him," Boyd noted. "There are a lot of winning habits that I developed and learned from "He’s got a lot of confidence and he’s proven himself as a player so the being there," he said. situation is prime [for him to make an impact]."

Perfetti has the gold medal on display at his home. "I love high expectations," said Wright, who is on course to be the top pick in the 2022 NHL draft. "I like playing with the pressure. I think that's "I got the World Junior silver and Hlinka silver on the left and right of it, something I thrive under so I'm fine with it. I enjoy it." and sometimes I go in there and look and remember how I don't ever want to feel what it was like to get a silver again," he said. "I want that Button is projecting Bedard, the first player to receive exceptional status gold feeling so a little bit of motivation for sure." in the Western Hockey League, will become the first 16-year-old to crack Canada's World Junior roster since Connor McDavid in 2014. Emboldened by pro experience, Perfetti brings winning habits to World Junior camp "He's an unbelievable talent, such a skilled guy and a great person as well," said Wright. "He definitely has a shot.” After settling for silver inside the Edmonton bubble in January, Cole Perfetti got a taste of the professional level playing for the Manitoba "It wouldn't surprise me at all," said Peterborough Petes centre Mason Moose in the American Hockey League and representing Canada at the McTavish, who roomed with Bedard at the World Under-18 senior men's worlds. The Winnipeg Jets prospect feels like that Championship. "He's capable of it." experience accelerated his development and will now help him take care of some unfinished business at the junior level. Added Guhle, "We came to watch him when we first got here and he Sebastian Cossa is the favourite to be the starter made a shot out of every single angle. He's so good at changing angles." One of the players eligible to return for Team Canada is Kamloops goalie Bedard produced 28 points in 15 games with the Regina Pats last Dylan Garand, who backed up Devon Levi at last year's event. But season and then scored seven goals and added seven assists in seven Button sees Cossa as the favourite to win the starting job. games at the World Under-18 Championship. Cossa has never played for Team Canada at an international event, but "His hockey sense is extremely high," said Alan Millar, Hockey Canada's believes he's ready for the moment. He says pressure makes him play director of player personnel. "He's deceptive in his pace in terms of better. controlling the game, slowing the game down, and then bursting through seams. But, on top of that, he has the intangibles in terms of will and "It's in Edmonton, which is close to my home in Fort McMurray so a lot of determination." friends and family would be able to be there and the pressure would be the tops. I couldn't think of a better place for it be," he said. One moment, in particular, stands out. Cossa posted a 17-1-1 record and .941 save percentage with the Oil "When he missed the penalty shot in the gold-medal game at the World Kings last season and was the first goalie picked (15th overall) in July's Under-18, you could see he came out on the ice the next shift with a NHL draft. The building in Edmonton that will host the World Juniors is purpose and scored an outstanding goal to tie the game," Millar said. also his home rink in the WHL. What's his comfort level in that barn?

"I was mad," Bedard recalled. "I missed and there was 10 of these little "I'd say 10 out of 10. I love it," he said with a big smile. "I couldn't think of Russian kids screaming at me, so that definitely did fire me up. I didn't a better spot to have my first real international stage." want to go out on that. The [Russian] goal before was probably my fault too, so just a bad turn of events and I really wanted to get one." Cossa is an imposing figure in the crease. Listed as 6-foot-6 and a half last season, Cossa is now up to 6-foot-7. Bedard will have to earn his ticket to Edmonton. At the summer camp, he was skating with the under-18 group, but the World Juniors are "There's not a lot of net to look at," said Jarvis, who plays for Portland in absolutely on his radar. the WHL. "When you're coming down you kind of shoot and hope he moves the wrong way. He's a monster in net." "It's kind of in the back of your head," he acknowledged. "All I can do right now is just play my hardest and try to impress the people that are "He's a big boy, for sure," said Hockey Canada goaltending consultant making that decision." Olivier Michaud. "He covers a lot of net and he's pretty agile for his size."

Can Bedard crack Canada's World Junior roster at 16? The big goalie also has a big mouth.

After a stand-out performance at the World Under-18 Championship, "He chirps the other team and the other goalie and he really has no Regina Pats forward Connor Bedard is making a bid to become the first mercy," said Dylan Guenther, Cossa's teammate in Edmonton. 16-year-old to crack Canada's World Junior roster since Connor McDavid When Guenther failed to convert on a shootout attempt at the summer in 2014. "It's kind of in the back of your head, but you just got to focus on camp, Cossa let him hear it. now and all I can do right now is just play my hardest at this camp," said the North Vancouver native. Brandt Clarke is having a good time

Zachary L'Heureux and Ridly Greig can drive an energy line The blueline may end up providing Team Canada management with their greatest question marks at the final selection camp in December. Button L'Heureux scored in all three games at the camp and also made his only felt comfortable projecting four defencemen (Guhle, Michigan's presence felt with physical play. Owen Power, Moose Jaw's Daemon Hunt and Clarke) on his roster.

"I thought I had a great camp," the Halifax Mooseheads left winger said. Clarke is the only right shot among those four. The Barrie Colt posted "I did everything in my power to show everybody what I can do … I seven points in seven games at the World Under-18 Championship and opened a lot of eyes so, moving forward, I think I'm a guy they definitely was also responsible for Canada's goal song: 'Nothin’ But A Good Time,' have on the radar." by Poison.

Picked by the Predators 27th overall in July’s draft, L'Heureux models his "I'm a big rock guy and that was on my playlist," Clarke revealed. "That game after Mathew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand and sometimes lets his chorus, 'Nothin' but a good time,' fires me up every time I'm in my car and emotions get the better of him. He was suspended four times in the I thought it'd be good for the boys. I threw that in the group chat and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League last season, but there's no question everyone loved it." he injects energy into a team. Forwards tend to love it when Clarke is on the ice. He makes things "Compete level is something that’s been with me my whole life," he said. happen and that was the case throughout Canada's summer camp. He "I don’t think I need much to motivate me. I know the guys that were scored in the opening game on a play that saw him end up below the drafted in front of me and I want to prove everybody wrong. So, that’s the hashmarks in the offensive zone. mindset I'm going to show up to camp with, show up to next season with, and make sure when people see me they regret the decision to not pick "It was a blocked shot and they started turning up the ice and their me." forward wasn't really checking so I just kind of stepped in front of him and we went on a quick three-on-one. I drove and got it to [Zayde] Wisdom Button's projected roster features L'Heureux and Greig on the fourth line and he threw it back to L'Heureux and he took a one-timer and it was just and that duo could drive other teams nuts. Greig racked up 32 points and sitting there for me to chip it in." 39 penalty minutes 21 games with the Brandon Wheat Kings last season. Clarke posted three assists in Tuesday's finale. Greig's physical play will pack an even greater punch if he's able to bulk up. The Lethbridge, Alta. native was listed at 164 pounds at the camp The 18-year-old seemed even more energetic than usual at the camp. and wants to get to 175 by the start of the next season. Perhaps he was still riding a wave of adrenaline from the draft. The Kings made Clarke the No. 8 pick. "It's pretty tough," the Ottawa Senators prospect admitted. "I pretty much eat all day and the weight is kind of on its own page right now. Hopefully I "Anze Kopitar reached out to me," Clarke said. "He signed it 'AK11' in his can get there ... I can eat junk food and chocolate cake. I definitely spent text and I was like, 'Who is this?' And then it snapped in and I was like, a lot of money on chocolate this summer." 'Oh my God!' That was a cool moment. I was like sitting in a breakfast diner when that happened. I screamed. It was pretty funny." Struggling to gain weight, Sens prospect Greig indulges his sweet tooth Barrie defenceman Brandt Clarke scored on Saturday in the opening Struggling to put on weight, Senators prospect Ridly Greig has indulged Red-White Game of Hockey Canada’s summer camp for World Junior his sweet tooth this off-season. The Brandon Wheat Kings centre, who hopefuls. Afterwards he spoke to TSN about his quest to make the team, calls chocolate cake his guilty pleasure, is at the Hockey Canada what it was like to get a text from Kings captain Anze Kopitar following summer camp this week. Greig, who hails from Lethbridge, Alta., is the NHL draft and why he picked 'Nothin' But A Good Time' as Canada's hoping to play in front of family and friends at the World Juniors in goal song for the World Under-18 Championship. Edmonton. Cameron gets a second chance.

Cameron was the head coach at the 2011 World Juniors when Canada squandered a 3-0 lead in the third period of the gold-medal game against Russia.

"It was a heart-wrenching defeat," he said. "I never thought I'd get the chance again and now that I got it, I'm really excited. So, yes, there's some unfinished business. The disappointment of that took me a long time, I don't know if 'get over it' is the right term, but to let go."

When incumbent World Junior coach Andre Tourigny was hired by the Arizona Coyotes on July 1, the job opened up. Boyd, who was on Cameron's staff when he coached Mississauga in the OHL, reached out to his old friend.

"It came together extremely quickly," Boyd said. "It's fortunate that Dave and I worked together and have been in constant communication over the years. He's up to date on what's on the scene here in Canada. He always has been."

"He was asking me about a few guys he was interviewing for the job," Cameron said. "Out of the blue he asked me if I'd be interested. I said, 'Well, I always listen.'"

Added Boyd, "When the opportunity arose for the national junior team, that's something Dave's not going to say, 'No,' to."

Cameron, a former bench boss of the Ottawa Senators, spent the past three years coaching the Vienna Capitals in Austria.

"From the last time I did it to this time, there's a lot of experience [gained]," said Cameron, who celebrated his 63rd birthday during the camp. "I'm a lot more relaxed this time."

Out of the blue: Cameron's second chance at World Junior glory

Hockey Canada opened its summer camp for World Junior hopefuls this week in Alberta. The returning players are seeking redemption after falling short in the gold medal game in the Edmonton bubble, and their new head coach is also looking to make the most of a second chance. Mark Masters has more.

Adam Fantilli took advantage of a unique camp format.

The camp saw the under-18 group join the under-20 group at the Seven Chiefs Sportsplex. And the rosters were actually combined for the last two days. The coaching staff held a draft to create four different teams featuring players from both age groups.

"We made a difficult decision earlier in the year that we would not play international competition this summer, so that meant no Ivan Hlinka for our under-18s," explained Scott Salmond, Hockey Canada's senior vice- president of hockey operations.

"This under-18 group also missed the under-17s [event], so we wanted to make sure we had an opportunity for them to learn about Hockey Canada, the Canadian way, and there's no better way to do that than to merge them with our under-20s to get some mentorship there."

Fantilli, the MVP of the USHL playoffs last season, took full advantage of the opportunity. The Chicago Steel centre scored twice and earned player-of-the game honours on the camp's final day, helping Team Louis Robitaille pick up a win.

"He's a guy I was intrigued by," said Robitaille, who is the head coach and general manager of the Gatineau Olympiques and will serve as an assistant at the World Juniors. "I didn't know much about him. I watched him in practice and was really impressed. He's a guy who's really mature. He plays the right way. He's a big boy, who skates well. As soon as he gets the puck, it's on and off his stick. He's a guy with a high IQ and he was excited for that challenge to play with the U20 guys ... and wanted to prove himself and that's what he did."

TSN.CA LOADED: 08.06.2021