News Clips June 16-18, 2018

Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 02: Columbus Dispatch: Michael Arace | Blue Jackets should look to trade for a center PAGE 04: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets | Preseason schedule opens with home games Sept. 17 and 18 PAGE 05: The Athletic: Scratch Pad #1: Updates on Ian Cole, Jack Johnson, Zach Werenski and more as Blue Jackets head into NHL’s silly season PAGE 07: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets look for draft value in middle of first round PAGE 09: Utica Observer-Dispatch: It’s official: Clinton Arena will host NHL game

Cleveland Monsters/Prospects

NHL/Websites PAGE 11: The Athletic: LeBrun: More and more NHL executives believe Tavares is staying put, change of scenery for Lucic and more PAGE 13: The Athletic: Custance: Examining the trade possibilities of every first-round pick in the NHL Draft PAGE 18: TSN.ca: Hoffman plummets on latest TSN Trade Bait board PAGE 20: TSN.ca: Insider Trading: Tavares focused on negotiations with Islanders PAGE 22: .ca: How to fix the NHL's broken offer sheet system PAGE 26: USA Today: 's long history of worldwide travels

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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180615/michael-arace--blue-jackets-should-look-to-trade-for- center

Michael Arace | Blue Jackets should look to trade for a center By Michael Arace – June 16, 2018

The Stanley Cup parade wended its way through our nation’s capital a few days ago. The NHL draft is set for Dallas next weekend. And free-agent-signing season opens Sunday, July 1. Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen tends to be heard at this time of year. He made the deal for Artemi Panarin at the draft in Chicago last year and sent a tremor through the arena in Buffalo when he selected Pierre-Luc Dubois third overall in 2016. “I’m not actually that patient,” Kekalainen said. “I can be if I have to be, but I’m not by nature that patient.” He said that Thursday. He really did. On one hand, it doesn’t ring true. This is the man with a scouting background, and his considered, conservative bent is to draft and develop. Thus do the Jackets remain one of the youngest teams in the league. In another sense, this same man has not hesitated to pull the trigger on some major deals: hello Panarin, goodbye Brandon Saad; hello , goodbye Ryan Johansen; hello and goodbye Marian Gaborik. Kekalainen’s bold streak cannot be discounted. It is an interesting dynamic as offseason busy time nears. To me, the next task is clear: Shore up the center position — with a top-six, if it can be done. (And, if possible, add another strong veteran to the locker room. Coach John Tortorella’s voice remains too dominant for a team with aspirations.) The Jackets are capable of punching their way to the second round (finally) of the playoffs next season. If the bar is going to go any higher, they’ll need an upgrade at center. Alexander Wennberg took a step backward, and Brandon Dubinsky turned into an expensive liability last season. As good as rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois was — and he was very good — the teenager bore the brunt of the stress at the position. That’s not right. We can talk (as we have) about how the Jackets were a pinged post away from taking a 3-0 lead against the Capitals — but the real conversation has to center on matching up with Evgeni Kuznetsov, Nicklas Backstrom, Lars Eller and Jay Beagle. And with , Evgeni Malkin, Derick Brassard and (insert Pittsburgh Penguins fourth-line center here). Kekalainen understands that the Jackets have to go through the Capitals and the Penguins to win the Metropolitan Division. He also believes that his team will be stronger down the middle as Dubois continues to mature, Wennberg and Dubinsky bounce back from injury and ignominy, and the experience of the collective is banked. Kekalainen also points out that almost every team in the league is looking for top-nine centers, and they are imported only at a premium. Quick: Name a Vegas center other than Wild Bill Karlsson.

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There is also the salary cap to consider. The way Kekalainen was talking, it sounded as if he wants to get extensions for Panarin, goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and defenseman Zach Werenski (among others) done sooner rather than later. Bread and Bob will be unrestricted free agents next year, Werenski restricted. Although the salary-cap ceiling is not a problem right now, it might well be pushing down on the Jackets in a year. Planning is paramount. If center , the prize of the current crop of unrestricted free agents, wants to come to Columbus, then you roll out the red carpet immediately and worry about the cap later. Absent that remote possibility, do you give Paul Stastny, a legitimate No. 2 center, a kick in the 32-year- old tires? Do you look at Tyler Bozak, a No. 3 center who can be a defensive liability? Their price tags will inflate on the open market; signing one of them could inhibit cap flexibility for years. “If there’s anything we like — anything we believe will make the team better for the short and long term, we’ll go for it,” Kekalainen said. Jackets fans have oft heard that boilerplate response. I’m still thinking: trade. The cap ceiling is rising, which leaves space to move contracts. Kekalainen has chips, and he’s about to sit down at the table.

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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180615/blue-jackets--preseason-schedule-opens-with-home- games-sept-17-and-18

Blue Jackets | Preseason schedule opens with home games Sept. 17 and 18 By Steve Gorten – June 16, 2018

The Blue Jackets announced Friday their eight-game preseason schedule leading up to the start of the 2018-19 NHL regular season. It will feature four home games, three road games and a neutral site game in Clinton, New York, as part of USA’s annual event. Clinton was chosen to host the 2018 Kraft Hockeyville USA preseason game after receiving the most votes online. In winning the contest, it also was designated as “the most spirited hockey community in America” and awarded $150,000 for rink upgrades to Clinton Arena, where the game will be played. Tickets to the preseason game are free and awarded to the winning community. In other Jackets news, the team confirmed that forward Cam Atkinson will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Columbus Clippers’ home game June 27 at Huntington Park. The Jackets are offering fans a chance to win tickets to the game and meet Atkinson, as well as receive a game-used Atkinson stick, jersey and signed puck. Preseason schedule Monday, Sept. 17 vs. Buffalo, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18 vs. Chicago, 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21 at St. Louis, 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22 at Pittsburgh, 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 23 vs. St. Louis, 3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25 vs. Buffalo Sabres at Clinton, N.Y., 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28 vs. Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29 at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.

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https://theathletic.com/394296/2018/06/15/scratch-pad-1-updates-on-ian-cole-jack-johnson-zach- werenski-and-more-as-blue-jackets-head-into-nhls-silly-season/

Scratch Pad #1: Updates on Ian Cole, Jack Johnson, Zach Werenski and more as Blue Jackets head into NHL’s silly season By Aaron Portzline - June 16, 2018

A collection of notes and nibbles as the Blue Jackets head into the NHL’s silly season:

• The only pending unrestricted free agent the Blue Jackets seem intent on resigning is defenseman Ian Cole, and even that is far from a guarantee. Cole has said that he loves playing in Columbus and would be delighted to stay, even if it means foregoing a taste of the market on July 1. But it’s unclear if the Blue Jackets are willing to put a deal on the table that’s substantial enough — likely $4 million-plus per year on a multiyear deal — to keep Cole from testing the market. He could make substantially more amid a feeding frenzy in what is a pretty weak class of free-agent defensemen. Talks continue with the Blue Jackets, but Cole is in the driver’s seat here.

• If the Blue Jackets can’t/don’t re-sign Cole, there’s a chance there will be a market for his rights between the draft and July 1. Perhaps surprisingly, the same holds for UFA D Jack Johnson, who has generated surprising interest from teams anticipating his availability on July 1. Montreal has been mentioned as a destination, as has Detroit. But keep Pittsburgh in mind, too. The Jackets could acquire a late-round draft pick for teams to acquire the rights to negotiate with Cole or Johnson before they hit July 1.

• It’d be something, wouldn’t it, if Johnson stayed in the Metro and played for the rival Penguins? (Remember, he’s very close with Sidney Crosby.) In the small world that is the NHL, it would be Johnson taking Cole’s old spot with the Penguins — as a physical, 4-5 defenseman — just as Cole, essentially, took Johnson’s spot a few months earlier with the Blue Jackets. The Jackets were open to trading Johnson at the trade deadline but didn’t get the first-round pick they wanted. (At least one team offered them two later-round picks.) So they kept him as an insurance policy. He didn’t dress in any of the six games against Washington in the playoffs.

• Without Cole and Johnson, the Blue Jackets’ blue line would look like this: Werenski-Jones | Murray- Savard | Nutivaara-Kukan/Harrington/Carlsson.

• Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen told The Athletic last week that the amateur scouting staff and hockey operations had settled on a master list for next weekend’s NHL draft in Dallas. The Jackets own the No. 18 pick in the first round. The Jackets were still making phone calls on a few questions that surfaced about players at the NHL combine. Nothing major, just morsels of intel that shouldn’t be overlooked. Maybe the list is tweaked a little, maybe not. The Blue Jackets didn’t bring any prospects to town for individual visits, but they’ll circle back with a few players once they land in Dallas early next week.

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• As of now, the Blue Jackets have their first-, second-, third-, sixth- and seventh-round picks in this year’s draft. They traded their fourth-round pick to Nashville in the trade that brought Mark Letestu back to Columbus and traded the fifth-round pick to Chicago in the Artemi Panarin trade last summer. The trade was Brandon Saad, Anton Forsberg and a fifth-round pick in 2018 for Artemi Panarin, Tyler Motte and a sixth-round pick in 2017. The Jackets spent that sixth-round pick last season on Swedish center Jonathan Davidsson, whom Kekalainen has raved about.

• The Blue Jackets were interested in Ilya Kovalchuk last summer when his brief flirtation with returning to the NHL was made more difficult by the owning his rights. If another NHL team had reached terms with Kovalchuk, they would have owed the Devils something in trade to complete the deal. Now Kovalchuk’s re-entry to the NHL has changed. He’s an unrestricted free agent, free to sign with any team. He’s already begun meeting with a handful of NHL clubs, with the stated of signing with a club that can win the Stanley Cup. But the situation has changed for the Blue Jackets, too. Their interest in Kovalchuk last season was prompted by a need to add a game-changer offensively after getting bounced by Pittsburgh in the first round. But then they added Artemi Panarin last summer, and the wish list has changed. The Jackets are not in on Kovalchuk, per sources.

• The NHL hopes to establish the 2018-19 salary cap by early next week, perhaps as soon as Monday. That’s always a big day across the league, giving clubs a clear view of how much play money they’ll have in the next few weeks. Here’s our intense look from earlier this summer at what the Jackets’ cap situation is.

• The NHL’s initial buyout window opened today. The Blue Jackets have been active the past two years — Scott Hartnell (2017), Jared Boll and Fedor Tyutin (2016) — but don’t expect them to buy out any contracts this summer. All of this is subject to change, of course. If John Tavares tells his agent that he dreams of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and quiet walks along the Scioto River, Kekalainen & Co. will kick into action. Otherwise, expect no buyouts.

• Many have pinpointed C Brandon Dubinsky as a buyout target, but — as noted above — that seems unlikely. Dubinsky has $17.55 million still owed over the next three seasons. It would cost the Blue Jackets $11.7 million — $1.9 million per year, spread over six years — to buy out the remaining three years. The Jackets are counting on Dubinsky bouncing back after a miserable season on and off the ice. It’s a steep hill to climb, but seems reasonable that Dubinsky could be the club’s third-line center next season, with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Alexander Wennberg fighting over the top two spots.

• Kekalainen did not offer an official update on D Zach Werenski, who had shoulder surgery shortly after the Jackets were bounced from the playoffs. Werenski played through a torn labrum, The Athletic has learned. Those can range from being extremely painful to mildly painful, depending on where the tear occurs. “There was irritation there when they opened him up (for surgery),” Kekalainen said. “They knew that he’d been in pain. But there was no question, looking at it, how irritated it was, that he’d been in serious pain and played through it.”

— Reported from Columbus

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http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180616/blue-jackets-look-for-draft-value-in-middle-of-first-round

Blue Jackets look for draft value in middle of first round By George Richards – June 17, 2018

Making the playoffs for a second consecutive season comes at a cost this time of year for the Blue Jackets. It’s a price general manager Jarmo Kekalainen can deal with. By earning a postseason spot, the Jackets find themselves with a mid-first round selection when the draft kicks off Friday in Dallas. Kekalainen said the Jackets may not remain there. “We have to see what the 17 teams in front of us do,” Kekalainen said. “If we think it’s worth our while to move up … we will see. We just hope someone high on our list is still there if we decide to stay at 18.” This will be the Jackets’ sixth draft under Kekalainen. In 2013, they had three first-round picks. As is the case this year, none of those three were top selections. Of Kekalainen’s previous five drafts, he has only had a top-10 pick twice. Both times, he stuck the landing. “The job is to find good players in the middle of the rounds and that is crucial to the success of an organization in the NHL,” Kekalainen said. “But when you are in the top 10 of a draft, you cannot miss.” In 2015, the Jackets took Michigan defenseman Zach Werenski at No. 8. The next year, Werenski joined the team and had a terrific rookie season, scoring 11 goals with 47 points. Last season, Werenski fought through a shoulder injury that required surgery after the season. “In my mind, he was still a top-flight defenseman even though there are things he was battling through,” teammate Ian Cole said. “What he could do with being limited was great.” In 2016, Kekalainen surprised some by taking Pierre-Luc Dubois with the third pick over Finnish wing Jesse Puljujarvi. Last season, Dubois went from being an outlier to making the team to moving up to centering the top line and playing in all 88 games. “It’s fun to watch guys take the next step and do it in the proper way,” coach John Tortorella said of Dubois, who scored 22 goals (two in the playoffs) last year. “When I call him on the bench, it’s like calling a veteran guy. He knows how to play the game.” Kekalainen’s has hit more than missed on mid-round selections. In the first draft, he connected by taking center Alexander Wennberg at No. 14. Later, the Jackets took forwards Kerby Rychel at 19 and Marko Dano at 27. Although Wennberg has worked out — he had an off year last season — and has become a part of the team’s core, Rychel and Dano were traded away. Dano, now with the , was part of Kekalainen’s big deal with the in 2015 for Brandon Saad. Rychel was sent to for Scott Harrington in 2016. Oliver Bjorkstrand was selected by the Jackets in the third round of that 2013 draft and has turned into a solid player.

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Other mid-first round draft picks by the Blue Jackets have also found success. In 2014, the Jackets used the 16th overall selection on left wing Sonny Milano, who scored 14 goals in 55 games last season. In 2015, after the Werenski pick, the Jackets took defenseman Gabriel Carlsson with the 29th pick. Carlsson has bounced back-and-forth from minor-league Cleveland the past two seasons. Last year, the Jackets didn’t have a pick in the first or second rounds but moved into the second round where he took center Alexandre Texier at No. 45. As for this year’s draft, the Jackets hope to find another late-round gem as they did in the seventh round in 2015 with Markus Nutivaara. “If you can find impact players later in a draft,” Kekalainen said, “well, that’s what everyone wants to do.”

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http://www.uticaod.com/sports/20180616/its-official-clinton-arena-will-host-nhl-game

It’s official: Clinton Arena will host NHL game By Marquel Slaughter - June 17, 2018

CLINTON — The village of Clinton’s hockey centennial celebration keeps getting better. Mike Orsino, the Town of Kirkland Parks and Recreation official who oversees Clinton Arena, confirmed Saturday that the Kraft Hockeyville USA-winning Clinton Arena will host the NHL preseason game between the Buffalo Sabres and Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, Sept. 25. Confirmation came after two months of deciding if the game should be played in another venue. “It’s the grass roots. It’s what Hockeyville USA stands for,” Orsino said about the NHL game being chosen to be played at Clinton Arena. “It’s a small community arena that developmental hockey players and figure skaters are all a part of. I think that’s where it all ties in.” Andrew Burns, who helped organize votes for the Hockeyville USA contest and coordinate the “Thank You, Albert Prettyman” centennial celebration in February, also confirmed that the game was OK’d to be played in Clinton. According to Orsino, NHL and Kraft Hockeyville officials also had the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium and Colgate University’s Class of 1965 Arena in mind to host the preseason game. Clinton Arena won the Hockeyville grand prize in April, earning $150,000 toward renovations and the chance to host an NHL preseason game. Rinks in Brandon, South Dakota, Middlebury, Vermont and Shreveport, Louisiana also were in contention. The Buffalo Sabres’ preseason schedule, which was released Friday, noted Clinton Arena — which was famously rebuilt after a fire burned the building first finished in 1949 — as the location for their Sept. 25 game. Orsino was officially told the decision Saturday afternoon, when an email from organizers of the Kraft Hockeyville USA contest was relayed to him by a Town of Kirkland administrator. Access to the Sabres-Blue Jackets game is sure to be exclusive. The nearly 70-year-old historic village of Clinton rink holds a standing room only crowd of about 2,000 people. How tickets will be dispersed was unknown as of press time. A few renovations have to be made before hosting the game. Clinton Arena, which is currently inserting a new refrigeration system, has to heighten the side glass from 3 feet to 6½ feet, among other things. Orsino is unsure if the glass will come out of the grand prize money or not. Regardless, repairs will not be a problem. Clinton’s smaller-than-regulation rink also is not a problem to the NHL and Hockeyville officials whom visited the rink in April. The Clinton Arena rink is 190-by-86½ feet with a 14-foot corner radius. Most NHL rinks are 200-by-85 feet with a 17-foot corner radius. NHL experiences have been few and far between for the Mohawk Valley. Orsino said the New Jersey Devils played a preseason game at Clinton Arena in 1993. He also recalled Dominik Hasek, Martin Biron and other players from the likes of the and Philadelphia Flyers playing a pair of pickup games at Clinton Arena and one more at the Aud during the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

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He can’t wait for the local children to experience something similar in September. “It was truly awesome,” he said, “and I’m sure this will be too. They’re going to remember this game forever ... They’ll be truly amazed at what they see. It’ll be a great thing for the community and the Mohawk Valley.” O-D Sports Reporter Ben Birnell contributed to this report.

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https://theathletic.com/393972/2018/06/15/lebrun-notebook-belief-is-tavares-leaning-toward-staying- put-change-of-scenery-for-lucic-and-the-goalie-market/

The Athletic / LeBrun: More and more NHL executives believe Tavares is staying put, change of scenery for Lucic and more By Pierre LeBrun – June 16, 2018

Take this with a grain of salt but it’s uncanny over the last few days how many NHL team front office people have opined to me that they believe John Tavares is staying put with the Islanders. I mean, four rival different team execs said that this week to me, even though all four of them insist they really don’t know but that’s their guess at the moment. “To me, Lou doesn’t take that job unless he thinks Tavares is staying put or feels there’s a real good chance of it,” one Eastern Conference team executive told The Athletic on Thursday afternoon. Maybe. But I have zero evidence to suggest Tavares has made up his mind one way or another even at this very late juncture, with the UFA speaking period just around the corner, opening June 24. Yes, I do believe Lamoriello’s arrival at the helm of the Islanders and the steady hand that comes with that no doubt has improved the chances of Tavares staying put. And the veteran hockey man has been in constant touch with Pat Brisson, Tavares’ agent, since coming on board. “We’ve been having ongoing dialogue with the Isles for the past three weeks on a daily basis,” Brisson told The Athletic via text message Thursday night. In fact, my TSN colleague Darren Dreger added Thursday that Lamoriello and Tavares himself have had a ton of direct communication, the Isles boss sharing his vision of what he wants to do with the club. But beyond that, I just don’t have a good enough sense of it yet to predict how this plays out. If I were advising Tavares, this is what I would urge him to do: even if you think you’re going to stay put, you owe it to yourself to listen to what’s out there, just like your pal Steven Stamkos did two years ago. Stamkos heard pitches from Buffalo, Toronto, Montreal and San Jose before re-signing with Tampa Bay. But at least Stamkos doesn’t have the regret looking back of not knowing what those teams had to offer or say. He heard it, absorbed it, and realized his heart was in Tampa anyway. Teams like San Jose, St. Louis, Vegas, among many others, are dying to make their pitch to Tavares and Brisson. If I’m Tavares, I allow that to happen and still reserve the right to re-sign with the Islanders at the end of it. But that’s just my two cents. At the end of the day, maybe all those execs are right and Tavares doesn’t even let it go that far. It’s certainly his call. Elsewhere: – A Jeff Skinner trade out of Carolina is probably being held up to some degree by the Ilya Kovalchuk free-agent situation. My understanding is that some of the same teams that have interest in Kovalchuk have also talked to Carolina about Skinner. Both the Kings and Sharks would be examples of that, I believe. So, it’s very possible Skinner isn’t dealt until Kovalchuk makes up his mind.

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– There have been various reports about the Oilers talking to teams regarding Milan Lucic and there’s no doubt that is a fact. But my sense is that this isn’t about GM Peter Chiarelli trying to simply offload a contract that is burdensome, he’s trying to make a hockey deal according to other team sources around the league. The Oilers believe Lucic is still a good player who will bounce back. Which seems to give weight to the speculation that Lucic in fact is looking for a change of scenery, even though no one connected to the situation is officially confirming that. But it also tells you that the Oilers likely aren’t making this trade just to make it; it must make sense for them. Either way, one team you can forget as a potential option for Lucic is Montreal. Yes, the Canadiens tried to sign Lucic two years ago but my understanding is that GM Marc Bergevin is no longer interested. That ship has sailed. – Where will pending UFA goalie Carter Hutton end up? He’s coming off a season where he posted a .931 save percentage and 2.09 goals-against average. To me, he’s arguably the top UFA goalie option on the market this summer although , Kari Lehtonen, Anton Khudobin, Cam Ward and Jaroslav Halak may disagree. Now, the St. Louis Blues still would like to bring Hutton back, both sides have had an ongoing dialogue, and the Blues won’t close that door on him. But I think as every day goes by, it will be hard for the 32- year-old Hutton not to see what’s out there with the UFA speaking period opening June 24. Affecting his situation probably is the potential trade scenarios around Washington’s Philipp Grubauer, as I reported last week both Carolina and the Islanders have shown interest in the 26-year-old German goalie, who is RFA and the cap-challenged Caps really can’t spend money there; Grubauer is a guy many around the league see as an on-the-cusp No. 1. But only one team can get him from Washington. Once that trade materializes, it really opens up the market for Hutton, I think. Both Carolina and the Islanders would make sense for Hutton if they don’t get Grubauer, as would Buffalo, too. And what of Boston if Anton Khudobin doesn’t re-sign or Chicago as quality insurance to starter Corey Crawford, who is coming off a tough year health-wise. All things to ponder. Hutton pushed Pekka Rinne in Nashville and certainly did the same and more with Jake Allen in St. Louis. He’s worth a flyer in my books. – There’s no denying that Oliver Ekman-Larsson has helped set the market for pending UFA defenceman John Carlson by agreeing to an eight-year contract paying $8.25 million on average per season (the Coyotes can’t make it official until July 1, one year out from Larsson’s current deal expiring). Both Carlson and Caps GM Brian MacLellan reiterated this week that they have mutual interest in trying to work something out but my sense is that if Washington truly wants to retain Carlson, it’s got to be something close to the deal OEL just agreed to. Probably a bit less. Let’s say eight years and $8 million per season might be the ballpark contract figure; but can Washington do that? The expectation is that MacLellan and Carlson’s agent Rick Curran will meet in person in Dallas at the draft next week. – I think the one aspect regarding Erik Karlsson and his playing future that’s been underplayed is the fact that he’s under no obligation to sign an extension this summer, not with Ottawa, not with any team trading for him. It is his absolute right, if he chooses, to play out his final season and hit the July 2019 UFA market if that’s what he so desires. Now, I’m not saying that’s where he’s leaning. I’m just saying there’s been an assumption by many that if he doesn’t sign with Ottawa this summer that an extension would be part of any trade. Maybe, but maybe not. If if the answer is maybe not, it devalues his trade stock from a Senators’ perspective, that is for sure. And people will look back and say the Senators should have taken that offer from Vegas at the trade deadline, or whatever San Jose or Nashville or Tampa Bay offered. Because back then, his value was two playoff runs, now it might be just one if indeed he doesn’t sign an extension this summer.

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https://theathletic.com/394909/2018/06/15/custance-examining-the-trade-possibilities-of-every-first- round-pick-in-the-nhl-draft/

The Athletic / Custance: Examining the trade possibilities of every first-round pick in the NHL Draft By Craig Custance – June 16, 2018

The moment the Buffalo Sabres won the lottery and the right to select Rasmus Dahlin No. 1 overall in June’s draft, the fortunes of their franchise shifted considerably. It was a game-changer. It’s the stroke of luck every rebuilding team needs to make the leap into Stanley Cup contention. The Sabres know it. So do the other general managers around the league. That’s why nobody has yet to seriously make a trade proposal to GM Jason Botterill. Or at least they hadn’t as recently as last week. Oh, occasionally a GM will make a joke about moving it, perhaps to gauge Botterill’s reaction, but those talks don’t go far. It’s a painful process to get to No. 1 overall. When the pain aligns with the reward of a franchise player, you just take the player and move on. It’s why you rarely see this pick moved. But this draft is fascinating because, after the top two, there’s a lot of uncertainty and there’s not a ton of separation among the prospects. “The general consensus is they’re pretty clustered together,” said one amateur scout. It’s also considered a deep draft. So teams without picks later might be inclined to move down in order to accumulate picks later on in the draft and acquire another player. Teams without a first-round pick are eager to get back in. It sets up a fascinating draft weekend June 22-23 in Dallas. “This is a weird draft,” said one Western Conference executive. “After the first couple of picks, people are all over the map.” It should be fun, so we wanted to take a look at the likelihood of each pick being traded in the first round, based on extensive conversations, reports and historical tendencies of the general manager. But there’s a big caveat: Most of these picks aren’t going to get moved and if they are, they’re likely draft floor deals when players start slipping. So, even as general managers start to lay the groundwork now, these talks don’t get serious until the clock starts ticking. “You can start to get anxious a week out, but you have to be patient,” explained an Eastern Conference executive. That won’t stop us from diving in and looking at each pick: 1. Buffalo Sabres: GM Jason Botterill would do his proper due diligence and listen if somebody made a crazy offer here, but it’s not happening. The Sabres won the lottery. They’re getting the best defenseman prospect in years. Good times in Buffalo. Nothing is off the table with the Hurricanes until this pick is made. They’re listening to everyt2. :hing in Raleigh. But in Andrei Svechnikov, the Hurricanes have a player who fits a major need and can play right away on a team that hopes to make the playoffs. It’s the perfect combo. “We’ve locked in on him. We’re still doing some more homework on him and the other guys,” GM Don Waddell told The Athletic.

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Waddell said nothing is 100 percent in place until they make the pick, but all indications to the Hurricanes staying put. Teams are calling Carolina to trade into this spot, but there haven’t been any conversations the Hurricanes would call serious. 3. : This is where things get interesting. The general consensus is that the Canadiens want a center. Taking one here might be a reach. There’s also a belief they like Brady Tkachuk, who might slide a bit in this draft. And then there’s the camp that thinks it all could just be a smokescreen and that Filip Zadina is the pick. “I’m hearing mixed stuff,” one team executive said of Montreal. It wouldn’t be surprising to see this pick traded if there’s a team willing to pay the price to move into this spot. “Montreal would move down,” said one executive. “I don’t think they’d want to move down more than a couple spots. So, I think they’re going to make the pick.” 4. : The Senators are another candidate to trade down. They don’t have a second- or third-round pick. They also owe a first-rounder to Colorado as part of the trade. There’s an Erik Karlsson trade to be made at some point. Mike Hoffman, too. There’s a lot of moving parts surrounding the Senators right now. Still, if Zadina is sitting here at four, it’s hard to pass on that kind of talent and, by all accounts, his visit to Ottawa went really well. “He loved Ottawa,” said one source close to Zadina. 5. Arizona Coyotes: After moving their first-round pick in the Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta trade last year, the Coyotes aren’t likely to move out of this spot of the draft completely. But we know GM John Chayka is a deal-maker and the Coyotes are open to moving this pick in order to go up or down depending on how the draft plays out. There’s plenty of flexibility in this spot, but it’s more of a draft floor deal. It’s worth noting that Chayka and the team drafting next have made a significant draft day deal in the past. 6. : The Red Wings’ preference is to take a defenseman or center with this pick, and it could be that the best player available is a winger. That makes Detroit a real candidate to trade down, but there’s no appetite internally to drop out of the top 10. Plus, the Red Wings already have another first-round pick and two high second-round picks. All that ammunition makes Detroit a team to watch in this spot. There are a lot of teams that would love a crack at the cluster of defensemen in this range and they know Ken Holland is a deal-maker, so there will be calls. 7. Vancouver Canucks: This pick is on TSN’s trade-bait board, if that’s an indication as to whether it’s in play. Colleague Mike Halford did a great job breaking down whether it truly is and what Vancouver might be able to do with the pick. But the Canucks need good, young defensemen and this is the right range in which to grab them in this draft. They should have their choice of a player like Noah Dobson, Adam Boqvist or Evan Bouchard, and the right play may just be to make the pick. Still, the Canucks keep coming up in trade talks. “They’re looking for help on the back end and a little depth up front,” one NHL source said of the Canucks. “If they move the pick, they’d like to get a player that can be on their roster and still not move completely out of the first round.” 8. Chicago Blackhawks: The Blackhawks, however unlikely, are our first real candidate to move out of this spot completely. The consensus around the league is that Chicago GM Stan Bowman is looking to do something significant this offseason. That may come in the form of a free agent signing, like John

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Tavares or James van Riemsdyk. But if those options disappear, and you can’t underestimate Lou Lamoriello’s full-court press on John Tavares right now removing him from the market, this pick becomes the ammunition to make a big move. The buzz around the Blackhawks fuels the belief that they want to take another run with their core group. That suggests they’d like to get someone with this pick who can contribute sooner rather than later. “If you knocked their socks off, maybe,” said one source when asked if Chicago would move out. “But they’re not really shopping it.” 9. : GM Jeff Gorton is getting a lot of calls right now because of the Rangers’ mix of premium draft picks, cap space and available players. They’re still very much in best-player-available mode during their rebuild, and there’s internal optimism that a surprise player or draft riser could get taken in front of them that might push a player from the consensus top eight into this spot. It would be surprising if New York moved out of this spot. 10. : The Oilers have been mentioned as a trade-up candidate, especially if a player they really like slips. The problem is that they don’t have a ton of ammunition to make that move. They only have their own picks in the second and third rounds, and they traded their fourth-round pick in the Al Montoya deal. The Oilers haven’t ruled out trading this pick for immediate help, but it’s not an easy trade to make. It would have to be a significant addition and, with their cap situation, they’d have to move salary out in the deal to make it happen. That raises the degree of difficulty significantly. 11. and 12. New York Islanders: For teams looking to get into the heart of the first round and willing to move a significant roster player to make it happen, these picks may be the best shot at it. The belief is that Lamoriello is open to anything that helps the team have success right now. This is a new regime, one that has increased the urgency for real success, and with that comes a willingness to make a deal. The Islanders need a goalie and Lamoriello used a pick in this range to bring Cory Schneider to the New Jersey Devils. The would like to get back into the first round and history suggests that GM Brad Treliving is active this time of year. What better pick to re-acquire than the one given up in the Travis Hamonic deal? But Calgary also doesn’t have a pick until the fourth round and teams aren’t eager to move completely out of the top portion of a draft that’s considered deep. Lamoriello should be open for business, but the expectation is that the price will be high to get one of these picks. “You’re going to pay,” one NHL source said. 13. : This is an interesting spot in the draft because the separation between the player GM Jim Nill can grab here or later in the first round likely isn’t all that dramatic. One source suggested that there were a lot of teams, as this round shifts into its mid-range, looking to move up and Dallas may be one of them. “Everyone is looking to move up. I think it’s for the D. That cluster of D in the first round,” said a Western Conference executive. “This is the year you like to have picks. There will be action.” 14. and 19. Philadelphia Flyers: Teams have called the Flyers about moving one of these two picks, but the outside sense is that Philadelphia is content to stay put. Ron Hextall has shown a willingness to deal at the draft and the Flyers already have a deep prospect pool, though, so you can’t rule anything out here.

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“I anticipate making our picks. Certainly, we would move up if the right deal were there and we’d look at moving back if the right deal were there, too,” Hextall said during a conference call this week. “It’s really hard to project or predict. I don’t even know in my own mind what might come our way, but I know something will at some point.” 15. Florida Panthers: The Panthers have made a first-round pick every season since GM Dale Tallon joined the organization in 2010. It’s a sound strategy for a team that has traditionally kept a manageable budget while building. But the Panthers are at a point where they should be making the playoffs and could use another scorer. The Panthers were connected to Max Pacioretty at the trade deadline and he’d still make sense in Florida. Tallon has options here. 16. : The Avalanche are operating under the belief that the Senators will keep their first-round pick, but that’s an area to monitor. The Avalanche, even with their surprising playoff appearance this spring, are still in draft-and-develop mode. So the bet here is that they sit tight and make their pick in this spot to add another talented player into the system. It’s worth noting that the Avalanche have an extra second-round pick from the Duchene trade (Nashville’s pick, No. 58), so they could use it to move up if a player they covet slips. “Joe (Sakic) is hard to read,” said one fellow executive. “He plays it pretty tight, but he may want to move up.” 17. New Jersey Devils: The Devils were one of the great stories in hockey last season, with Taylor Hall and John Hynes guiding them to the playoffs. GM Ray Shero rewarded his group at the trade deadline by picking up Michael Grabner for the cost of a second-round pick. The Sami Vatanen trade included shipping New Jersey’s third to Anaheim. So the Devils don’t have a pick in this draft after this one until Round 4, making them a trade-down candidate. You can bet Shero’s phone will be ringing if a surprise player slips into this range. 18. Columbus Blue Jackets: Here’s what we know about GM Jarmo Kekalainen. He’s fearless when it comes to making a deal. You might not hear much happening on their front and then, all of a sudden, they have Artemi Panarin. The Blue Jackets are in an interesting spot, where the price tags for guys like Panarin and Zach Werenski are about to go up. They might want to move salary. They might want to upgrade their team for a run in the short term. But Columbus has just five picks in this draft, so they may even be open to trading down to add more. Lots of flexibility here. Chances are, because they traded their first-rounder last year to Vegas, there’s little appetite to move out of the first completely. 20. : The Kings need goal-scoring and, depending on how they do in the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes, they might have to make a trade to address this issue. Both Pacioretty and Phil Kessel are options for the Kings and this might be a pick that would have to be included to make it happen. GM Rob Blake has been active this offseason and the Kings are very much a team to watch. 21. San Jose Sharks: The Sharks don’t have a first next year because of the Evander Kane trade. They don’t have a second or third this year either. That might make San Jose hesitant to do anything in this spot. Sharks GM Doug Wilson is expected to be a major player this summer in upgrading the Sharks and taking advantage of the cap flexibility San Jose has, but the heavy lifting may have to be done in free agency. 22. Ottawa Senators: This might be the best spot for the Senators to start recouping their draft picks later in this draft. There are going to be teams eager to get into this range of the draft and a team like Detroit or Montreal, with extra picks to deal, may look at this spot as one to target. “They might trade 22,” said one NHL source. “If they keep their pick at four, and could get another player for this pick, (Ottawa) might be a team to call.”

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23. Anaheim Ducks: Last year was the first time Anaheim didn’t make a first-round pick since 1999, when the Ducks grabbed Jordan Leopold in Round 2. So, yeah, it’s been awhile. The small-market Ducks stay competitive because they do a great job drafting and developing, so it would be out of character for GM Bob Murray to move out of the first round again. 24. Minnesota Wild: The Wild aren’t rebuilding. They’re retooling. But they are light on impact prospects, which is a problem in a league where younger players are so crucial. They have players on their NHL roster who teams like and who could be available for a deal. Package in this pick and GM Paul Fenton could find his way into the top 10 of this draft. But Fenton also had a lot of success in Nashville with picks later in the draft. His history suggests he doesn’t necessarily need a top-10 pick to unearth a gem. The Wild don’t have a second-round pick, so Minnesota could also be a trade-down candidate. 25. Toronto Maple Leafs: The expectation is that new GM Kyle Dubas is very amenable to moving down if the price makes sense for the Leafs. They’re going to need cheap, young talent flowing through the organization to surround the hefty price tags that are about to accompany their young stars. There’s certainly a level of curiosity to see how Dubas runs his first draft. “Especially with (Mark) Hunter gone,” said an NHL source. “Dubas will be interesting.” 26 and 28. New York Rangers: The Rangers have players in this range they really like, so they may be completely content letting Gordie Clark collect talent at this point. The Rangers are prepared to make their picks but also are preparing for anything. “With the number of draft picks that we do have, it’s going to be active,” assistant GM Chris Drury told The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello. “It remains to be seen if we pull off moves, with those picks, or with players. Again, that’s evolving day-to-day.” 27. Chicago Blackhawks: Last year, Henri Jokiharju was the Blackhawks’ first pick in the first round since 2015. So acquiring this pick from Nashville is a real opportunity to make up for that gap. Chicago doesn’t have a second-round pick, so it may be a move-down candidate in this spot. 29. St. Louis Blues: GM Doug Armstrong has kept his team competitive for a long time with strong drafting and a constant influx of young talent. The Blues could still use a top-six forward at the NHL level and, after making two first-round selections last year, have the flexibility to move one this year if the right deal is there. Armstrong has consistently shown a willingness in the past to move a first-rounder for a player who will be part of the long-range plan in St. Louis. 30. Detroit Red Wings: The Red Wings are looking for impact players after a bit of a conservative draft last year. If someone they consider a high-end impact player starts to slip, they won’t be afraid to package this pick with another from their pool (they also have Nos. 33 and 36) to move up and grab their guy. They’re a fascinating team to watch in this range because of the number of picks they have and how many teams are eager to either add picks or get into the first round. 31. : The Capitals didn’t pick until the fourth round last year and, for a championship team that was built primarily through the draft, that’s problematic. Thus, they may be inclined to make this pick. GM Brian MacLellan has the trade ammunition in backup goalie Philipp Grubauer to get another first-rounder. Package him with No. 31 and things get really interesting.

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https://www.tsn.ca/hoffman-plummets-on-latest-tsn-trade-bait-board-1.1113819

TSN.CA / Hoffman plummets on latest TSN Trade Bait board By Frank Seravalli – June 16, 2018

That sound you heard on Wednesday as the story broke about the series of allegations levied by Erik Karlsson’s wife against teammate Mike Hoffman’s fiancée wasn’t jaws hitting the floor in the Ottawa Valley. It was Hoffman’s trade value plummeting. Now it all makes sense why the talk around the Senators last week was that Hoffman was a sure bet to be traded – which is why he ranked No. 3 on TSN’s first Trade Bait board of the summer. Hoffman has dropped to No. 9 on the latest Trade Bait list – only remaining so high because it’s a near certainty that he will be traded now. It’s just a matter of when, where, and for what. The situation had been simmering behind the scenes for months. Hoffman’s agent, Robert Hooper, told the Ottawa Citizen this week that he has “been aware of it since the end of the season.” Karlsson's wife, Melinda, filed for an order of protection against Hoffman's fiancée, Monika Caryk, for an alleged cyberbullying campaign that began in Nov. 2017 and continued through the death of the Karlssons’ stillborn son. No criminal charges have been laid against Caryk and none of the allegations have been tested in court. Hoffman told the paper there is a “150 per cent chance that my fiancée Monika and I are not involved in the accusations.” There is little chance the Senators' roster can be put back together as currently constructed – adding yet another layer to Karlsson's complicated extension or trade process looming this summer. “It would be very difficult for both parties – both Erik and Mike as well as the wives and fiancées – to co- exist in the same wives’ room and the same dressing room,” Hooper told the paper. “Hopefully it can be resolved as quickly as possible.” Senators GM Pierre Dorion must be kicking himself now for not pulling the trigger on a trade before the drama leaked. He could be faced with moving Hoffman, who has averaged 26 goals over each of his first four full NHL seasons, for pennies on the dollar compared to the asking price at February’s trade deadline. One NHL GM said Thursday that Hoffman would be “persona non grata” with his team – “at least until this legal matter is resolved up one way or the other.” Another GM said he “would never invite that kind of circus” into his dressing room. The Senators would love nothing more than to move on from this latest embarrassment in a calendar year full of them – from a 30th place finish to owner Eugene Melnyk’s show on Parliament Hill to Karlsson’s trade and extension drama to assistant GM Randy Lee’s arrest. Here is TSN Hockey’s latest Trade Bait, with trade season revving up and just one week until the NHL Draft kicks off in Dallas: - Oliver Ekman-Larsson [previously No. 8] is off the board as he has agreed to terms on a $66-million extension with the Coyotes, which can officially be signed on July 1.

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- Canucks defenceman Alex Edler joined the board in concert with teammate Chris Tanev, as Vancouver is expected to entertain and explore many different avenues to improve their roster. Edler is the longer shot of the two to go. - P.K. Subban slid to No. 15 from No. 10 after Predators GM David Poile told Pierre LeBrun this week that a Subban trade is “not happening.” If it sounds familiar, Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin said “I would say no” when asked if a Subban trade was unrealistic just days before it actually happened in 2016. No one is questioning Poile’s word or integrity. It’s just other GMs insist on Subban’s recent availability. Whether or not Subban is actually moved is another story. No. Player Pos. Age Salary GP G Pts YL Movement 1. Erik Karlsson, OTT RD 28 $6.5M 71 9 62 1 M-NTC 2. Ryan O'Reilly, BUF C 27 $7.5M 81 24 61 5 3. Jeff Skinner, CAR LW 26 $5.73M 82 24 49 1 NMC 4. Philipp Grubauer, WSH G 26 $1.5M 35 2.35 .923 RFA 5. Max Pacioretty, MTL LW 29 $4.5M 64 17 37 1 6. Justin Faulk, CAR RD 26 $4.83M 76 8 31 2 7. Canucks' No. 7 overall pick 8. Noah Hanifin, CAR LD 21 $925K 79 10 32 RFA 10. Phil Kessel, PIT RW 30 $8M 82 34 92 4 M-NTC 11. Milan Lucic, EDM LW 29 $6M 82 10 34 5 NMC 12. Alex Petrovic, FLA RD 26 $1.85M 67 2 13 RFA 13. Dougie Hamilton, CGY RD 24 $5.75M 82 17 44 14. Rasmus Ristolainen, BUF RD 23 $5.4M 73 6 41 4 15. P.K. Subban, NSH RD 29 $9M 82 16 59 4 16. Jacob Trouba, WPG RD 24 $2.81M 55 3 24 RFA 17. Conor Sheary, PIT LW 25 $3M 79 18 30 2 18. Max Domi, ARI C/LW 23 $1.36M 82 9 45 RFA 19. Alex Galchenyuk, MTL LW 24 $4.9M 82 19 51 2 20. Andre Burakovsky, WSH LW 23 $3M 56 12 25 1 21. Chris Tanev, VAN RD 28 $4.5M 42 2 11 2 M-NTC 22. Alex Edler, VAN LD 32 $5M 70 6 34 1 NTC 23. Vladislav Namestnikov, NYR LW 25 $1.94M 81 22 48 RFA 24. Sam Reinhart, BUF RW 22 $894K 82 25 50 RFA 25. Corey Perry, ANA RW 33 $8.63M 71 17 49 3 NMC

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https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/insider-trading-tavares-focused-on-negotiations-with-islanders~1417629

TSN.CA / Insider Trading: Tavares focused on negotiations with Islanders By Staff – June 16, 2018

TSN Hockey Insiders Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun joined host Gino Reda to discuss the latest with John Tavares, what might happen in Ottawa and what negotiations might look like between Mitch Marner and the Toronto Maple Leafs. What’s the latest with Tavares? The interview period for unrestricted free agents opens on June 24. What are the chances John Tavares takes full advantage of that? Dreger: Well there is a chance. No question about that. But the reality is, currently John Tavares and his agent, Pat Brisson of CAA Hockey, are focused on negotiations with the New York Islanders. Now, Lou Lamoriello has been in daily communication with Brisson and in fact he’s talked on many occasions with Tavares, offering up his vision as to how they see they build the New York Islanders into a contending team. So let’s say maybe by the weekend or early next week, the negotiations aren’t going as well as Tavares would like, well then you look at that interview period as more of a reality. Lucic on his way out in Edmonton? Milan Lucic still has five years and $30 million left on his deal with the Oilers, but will he finish the tenure of his deal in Edmonton? LeBrun: There are absolutely trade conversations happening between the Edmonton Oilers and other clubs but when I talk to some clubs around the league the impression I get is that it’s not Peter Chiarelli, the general manager, saying I need to dump this player and this contract, it’s Chiarelli saying are you interested in making a hockey deal. And that gives me the impression that this isn’t so much as Edmonton trying to get rid of Lucic as perhaps more Lucic suggesting a change of scenery – although everyone connected will not confirm that. I will say this: a lot of people are connecting the dots to the Montreal Canadiens because they were runners up in trying to sign Lucic two years ago. I’m told there’s no way the Canadiens aren’t interested at this point in Lucic. Kovalchuk holding up the trade market? Russian sniper Ilya Kovalchuk is one of the most sought-after free agents this off-season, but are there some trickle-down effects as he weighs his options? LeBrun: Well it’s kind of holding up some trade scenarios around the NHL, specifically Jeff Skinner. He’s a guy the Carolina Hurricanes will absolutely trade in the coming weeks but some of the same teams that are talking to Carolina about Skinner are also interested in Ilya Kovalchuk and my sense is Kovalchuk has to make his decision here in the next week or two before the Skinner trade can happen. I think of a team like the Los Angeles Kings, a team like the San Jose Sharks, those are a couple teams that we know that have both shown interest in Skinner, but also in Kovalchuk. Dreger: And the Boston Bruins are a team that has interest in Kovalchuk. I think that general manager Don Sweeney is looking at all of his possibilities in terms of building and what he has offensively and Kovalchuk could be a great replacement for Rick Nash who they brought in prior to his free agent status, obviously. There’s word that there’s interest in David Krejci on a trade front, they’d like to move David Backes, my expectation is that Boston will talk with Kovalchuk in the days ahead.

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Sens looking to move Hoffman amid allegations? The Senators have been shopping Mike Hoffman for a while now, but on the heels of the allegations regarding Hoffman’s girlfriend and cyberbullying, how much more difficult is it to move him? Dreger: It makes it more difficult, there’s no question about that. In a perfect world you would like to separate hockey from the other stuff, but in this case there are general managers with considerable interest in Mike Hoffman that are worried about the other stuff. Pierre Dorion and the Ottawa Senators may have to sell cheaper on the dollar to move Hoffman, but the belief is he will get traded. What about Karlsson? Dreger: Meanwhile, Erik Karlsson, the captain of the Senators is a more complicated story – and the Hoffman story is complicated – but the sense is that Karlsson is willing to be patient. If Dorion is true to his word, and most believe that he is, then he’s going to table an offer for Karlsson on an extension on July 1. Karlsson may look at that offer and go yeah that’s not bad, that’s a good starting point, but he’s got full leverage to sit back and wait going into the final year of his contract and if Ottawa comes to him and says hey, we’ve got a deal that we really like, would you consider it, well he’d consider it at that point as well. But he’s not pushing too many buttons. How does Ekman-Larsson’s deal affect Carlson? The Arizona Coyotes handed Oliver Ekman-Larsson an eight-year, $8.25 million extension earlier in the week, so how does that relate to John Carlson’s negotiations this summer? LeBrun: Well it sets the mark certainly in terms of what John Carlson and his agent Rick Curran can look at, there’s no question about it. Now, does it mean that he gets a $8.25 million AAV deal with the Washington Capitals? I think that’s probably a little too rich for a team in Washington that has salary-cap issues. But, does eight times eight make sense? I will tell you this. Brian MacLellan, the general manager for the Capitals, is expected to meet with Curran next week at the draft in Dallas and for all this talk about a discount for the Caps, he’s just coming off a deal where he was making $4 million. I think the discount days are over. Yes, he may stay, that’s his preference, but the Caps are going to have to pay up to keep him. Will Marner take a hometown discount? Dreger: Speaking of discount days, the Toronto Maple Leafs may be looking for a discount on Mitch Marner as well. That seems highly unlikely. Now, we know who the big fish in the Toronto pond is and that’s and it’s been speculated that maybe Matthews comes in at $11.5 million or around that target. Well look, Marner has the productivity, the statistics, to back him up to upwards of Jack Eichel at $10 million flat. I get the sense that although there’s a willingness to negotiate with Auston Matthews, there’s a battle ahead for the Marner camp with the Maple Leafs.

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https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/goes-brown-fix-nhls-broken-offer-sheet-system/

Sportsnet.ca / How to fix the NHL's broken offer sheet system By Sean McIndoe – June 17, 2018

We’re closing in on the July 1 opening of the NHL free agent market, and while much of the attention is focused on big-name UFAs like John Tavares, Ilya Kovalchuk and John Carlson, there’s also the usual batch of excellent young players hitting RFA status. And that means it’s time for our annual round of “Will this be the year that somebody signs an offer sheet?” We already know the answer. No, it probably won’t. It should be. There are plenty of players who could be eligible that any team would love to add, including names like William Karlsson, Mark Stone, Jacob Trouba and William Nylander. In a league in which players (especially forwards) hit their prime in their early 20s, offer sheets remain one of the only ways to acquire a young star who can instantly slot into the top of your lineup. For most teams, short of winning the draft lottery in a year with a sure-thing franchise player or two available, it’s just about the only way. And yet we never see them. The NHL hasn’t had an offer sheet signed in over five years, going back to Ryan O’Reilly’s two-year deal with the Flames back in 2013. There have been only eight in the salary cap era, five of which had already come by 2008. And only three cap-era offer sheets have been signed by players who could be considered stars at the time – O’Reilly, Shea Weber in 2012 and Thomas Vanek in 2007. It’s not like there’s a shortage of impact players in the RFA pool for teams to target. In 2015, a GM could have made a play for Vladimir Tarasenko. In 2016, there was a chance to sign Nathan MacKinnon, Mark Scheifele, Johnny Gaudreau or Nikita Kucherov. Last year, the target could have been David Pastrnak, Evgeny Kuznetsov or Leon Draisaitl. These are franchise-altering players, many just entering their most productive years, all of them available to any team that was willing to extend an offer. And yet, nothing. A weekly deep dive into the biggest hockey news in the world with hosts Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek. New episodes every Thursday. From a distance, none of this makes any sense. Every GM in the league has a tool in their toolbox that can be used to acquire a superstar in his prime, and virtually none of them ever bother to use it. When hockey fans complain about the lack of offer sheets, they often settle on one culprit: the GMs. If they actually put winning first, the thinking goes, we’d see offer sheets every year. But if their priority was to stay chummy with their colleagues, and to make sure their status in the hockey management old boys club remained in good standing, then they’d think twice. Wouldn’t want to get uninvited from a round of golf at the next GM meetings. There’s probably some truth to that. But there’s a bigger issue: offer sheets are broken. Put differently, the problem here isn’t just the 31 men who don’t seem to want to use the system. It’s the system itself. Given the way the rules are currently set up, a lot of the GMs who keep passing on superstar talent are actually acting rationally. (We’ll pause here to acknowledge that from the NHL’s perspective, the system might not be “broken” at all. Maybe the league and it’s GMs don’t want any offer sheets signed, because the lack of them means

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that young superstars sign ridiculously undervalued contracts. But we’re coming at this from a fan’s perspective, not Gary Bettman’s or a typical NHL GM’s. So, we’ll stick with broken.) Here’s where the problem kicks in. When an RFA signs an offer sheet, his old team has a week to match. If they do, they keep him under the terms of the offer sheet. If they don’t, he becomes property of the new team, which has to compensate the old one with draft picks. Those picks are determined by the annual value of the contract, and they range from nothing at all for deals under $1,339,575 to four first- round picks for deals over $10,148,303. You can find a full breakdown of all the compensation levels here. When you review those levels of pick compensation, something becomes clear: they’re too cheap. Sure, four first-round picks seems like a heavy price to pay. But for a player who was already worth over $10- million by his early-20s – we’re talking the Connor McDavid level here – it would be a bargain. Same with the next most expensive level, which ranges from $8,118,642 to $10,148,302 and costs a team two firsts, a second and a third. Again, that’s not nothing. But would want to your favourite team to give up a package of those picks to land someone like Kucherov, MacKinnon or Scheifele? In a heartbeat. On the surface, this seems like a reason to flood the market with offer sheets. If something is priced too cheaply, you want as much of it as possible, right? But the bargain compensation levels actually work against any team looking to poach a player, because they virtually guarantee that the offer will be matched. If a team is facing an offer sheet on one of its best young players and has to weigh the value of accepting the draft picks instead, there’s basically no choice to be had. You match and figure out the cap headaches later. There are other problems with the draft pick system. For one, it heavily favours the league’s better teams. First-round draft picks from the Predators or the Lightning aren’t anywhere near as costly as firsts from the Sabres or Coyotes. In a league that typically prefers to offer a hand up to struggling teams, that seems backwards. And teams must use their own original picks as compensations, meaning those that have been active traders have often inadvertently dealt themselves out of the offer sheet game before it even begins. For example, the Evander Kane trade means the Sharks can’t offer sheet anyone to a deal higher than $4 million this summer, because they don’t have their own first-round pick. They’re punished for the sin of aggressively trying to improve their roster. But the main problem is that the compensation is just too cheap. Put yourself in the shoes of a GM who may be considering an offer sheet on someone like Nylander at something like a $7.5-million annual range. The charts says that would cost you a first, second and third. That’s not a fair trade, so the Maple Leafs will match that, every time. It wouldn’t even be a hard decision. So, what have you gained? You’ve forced an opponent to pay a higher salary than they’d like to keep a player, which could upset their cap situation and cause other players on the roster to shake loose. There is value in that. But that value gets spread across every other team in the league. Meanwhile, you see your cap space and picks temporarily tied up while the team you targeted takes their time announcing their decision, plus the small but non-zero risk of bad blood and even future retaliation. Your offer sheet gets matched, the benefits are shared by everyone, while the costs are paid by you alone. It’s a bad deal for you all around. Better not to bother. That equation changes if there’s at least some possibility that a team won’t match. Maybe the Senators’ notorious internal budget means there’s a slim chance that an aggressive Mark Stone offer sheet would be worth trying. But it’s unlikely. Offer sheets are almost never worth it, because the compensation system is broken. But here’s the good news: we can fix this.

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One way would be to simply increase the compensation levels, so that teams would have to at least think about accepting the picks. That’s the easy answer. But there’s another way that would be far better, because it would be far more fun. And we already know how to do it, because it’s the way the system used to work. It’s time to go back to player-for-player compensation. That’s right – the old forced trade system, like we had in the ‘80s and early ‘90s. Here’s how it works. When a team signs an RFA to an offer sheet and his team declines to match, there’s no draft pick chart to consult. Instead, each team comes up with a trade proposal that they think would be fair compensation for the signed player. Those trades could be one-for-one or involve multiple players. Each team submits their proposal to an NHL arbitrator, who picks the one that he thinks comes closest to equal value. He can’t split the difference or come up with an alternate deal. He picks one or the other. If that sounds like it would cause chaos, well, yeah. That’s part of the point. Chaos is fun. Going back to player-for-player compensation would basically turn the RFA process into a high stakes game of chicken. If you’re signing a player, how much do you offer in return to maximize your value while still having a chance of winning the arbitration case? If you’re the team losing the player, do you stay realistic or get aggressive and see if you can actually win the swap outright? Do you feel lucky? Back when the RFA system worked this way, it led to deals like Troy Mallette for Adam Graves, or Peter Zezel and Grant Marshall for Mike Craig, as well as rejected proposals like the Devils trying to steal Bob Probert away from the Red Wings. But by far the biggest forced swap came in 1991, when the Blues signed 22-year-old winger Brendan Shanahan. They offered two good young prospects in Curtis Joseph and Rod Brind’Amour – not bad at all, considering both guys went on to become borderline Hall-of- Fame candidates. But the Devils decided to swing for the fences and asked for Scott Stevens instead. The arbitrator sided with New Jersey, Stevens became a Devil, and the course of the next decade or so of NHL history had changed. Imagine that kind of scenario playing out today. If you’re a fan, the drama would be hard to resist. The player-for-player system has the dual advantage of simultaneously juicing both the offer sheet and trading markets, both of which are fun and, these days, practically comatose. And NHL off-seasons might just go from featuring a whole lot of speculation and not much action to something very different altogether. It would be great. Will it ever happen? There’s virtually no chance. For one, as we’ve already mentioned, the NHL probably likes the current system just fine. GMs don’t want other teams to be able to prey on their key players. In their minds, boring works. Some fans might even feel the same way; big-name roster moves are fun from the outside, but if it’s your favourite player heading to a new team you might prefer the status quo. Ask any 1990s Blues fan what they think of Stevens-for-Shanahan and get ready to hear some f-bombs. For players, the new system would represent a mixed bag. An invigorated RFA market would mean more money in the pocket of young stars, and maybe even a wider reset to how players in their prime are valued. But under the current cap system, that extra money would just be redistributed from other players. And most players don’t like being uprooted and sent to a new team against their will (Stevens initially refused to report to New Jersey). Presumably, no-trade and no-movement clauses would have to figure into this somehow as well.

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But the biggest obstacle is that this would be a fairly radical change, and the NHL doesn’t like to do those. It takes a lot to get this league to move off of the status quo, and arguments like “this would make things more fun for your paying customers” never seem to hold much weight. So sure, it’s probably a pipe dream. Instead, we can look forward to another summer of rampant offer sheet speculation that doesn’t result in anything actually happening. And then another, and another after that. But just remember: the solution is out there, and it’s not all that complicated. All we’d have to do is go back to the way things used to be.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2018/06/16/stanley-cup-celebration-washington-capitals- nhl/707554002/

USA TODAY / Stanley Cup's long history of worldwide travels By Kevin Allen – June 17, 2018

While it seemed as if Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was establishing a new standard for partying with the Stanley Cup, he was merely preserving a long tradition of players taking the famous trophy anywhere and everywhere. “Pavel Datsyuk took the Cup to Siberia – he was on the Europe-Asia border, in the Ural Mountains,” said vice president Phil Pritchard, often seen on television as the man with the white gloves bringing the Cup onto the ice. Ovechkin will get his chance to take the 126-year-old Cup to Russia because every member of the Capitals will have a day with the Cup this summer as part of the NHL’s agreement with the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Cup has visited 25 countries, but that doesn’t begin to tell the story of its travels. “We have been mountain climbing in Colorado, and (Scott) Niedermayer took it to the top of the Rocky Mountains,” Pritchard said. “(Teemu) Selanne took it to a sauna party. We tried to take it waterskiing with Mike Babcock, but he couldn’t figure out how to do it. I’m glad of that. We’ve been water tubing. We’ve had a christening in it. Players try to be creative.” Former NHL player Blake Sloan, a member of the 1999 Dallas Stars championship team, once asked Pritchard if he could take the Stanley Cup skydiving. “I guess the rest of the guys told him to go ask me,” Pritchard said. “But he couldn’t keep a straight face after a while, and finally he said, 'I don’t want to go skydiving with it. I want to play road hockey with it. But I just wanted to know if you could go skydiving with it.'” Skydiving would not be allowed, although there is nothing etched in stone, or on the Cup, about where it can or can’t go. “But we aren’t going skydiving and we aren’t going scuba diving, and we are always going to be respectful to the player, the community, the team and history of the game,” Pritchard said. The Cup’s history reads like a page-turner. The Montreal Wanderers accidentally left the Cup at the home of a photographer in 1907 and his wife turned it into a flower pot before the team reclaimed it. The 1924 Montreal Canadiens left the Stanley Cup on the side of the road after changing a tire on an automobile. Pritchard recalls that Tomas Kopecky took the Cup to Slovakia and he served a traditional soup in the Cup. It was made by his mother and the name of the soup, according to Pritchard, translates into “inside of a stomach of a cow soup.” “I didn’t eat any out of the Cup, but I did try some out of a bowl, and it was great,” Pritchard said. He pauses, and laughs hard: “I don’t eat anything out of the Cup because I want to win it first. Then I will.”

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Twice, scofflaws tried unsuccessfully to steal the Stanley Cup. Guy Lafleur once took the Stanley Cup home to show friends and family and didn’t realize that the Hall of Fame was looking frantically for it. Celebrations have become more public through the years. Now, because of social media, people know exactly where the Cup is located. Pritchard said last week Ovechkin took the Cup to an establishment in Georgetown and the destination was all over Twitter before they even arrived. “Everything has changed so much,” Pritchard said. “Lanny McDonald was telling me last week that when he won it in 1989, he had it for three days and it just sat on his table.” Pritchard said Ovechkin “was as emotional” as anyone who has won the Cup. “But he has been great in dealing with it,” Pritchard said. Having been a Cup keeper for almost three decades, Pritchard has found he enjoys emotional Cup experiences more than the adventurous ones. “Some of the best places I’ve been are trips to the cemetery so a player can place the Cup on a relative’s grave or when he knocks on the door of a former (youth) coach and just says, ‘Thank you,’" Pritchard said. “It is so powerful, so emotional for the coach and the player.”

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